Japan: Life Is Candy

Indeed.

Also, Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Only with some different flavor choices: tuna fish and sakura (cherry blossom). The tuna fish had a perfectly respectable tuna salad inside, but it didn't match the sweet doughnut exterior. (Swap this for a savory outer bread, however, and you might be on to something.) The sakura was sticky-sweet and floral.

No comment needed for the kids' reactions.

Japan: Safari Park Zoo

We visited a zoo where you could pet and feed capybaras.

Capybaras!

And kangaroos!

But mostly, our kids just wanted to hold cute small rodents.

On the one hand, we thought, "We're in Japan at a zoo with capybaras and kangaroos, and you just want to hold bunnies and guinea pigs that you could find at any pet store in America?!" On the other hand, who can argue with a smile like that?

 So we spent a long time hanging out with the bunnies and the guinea pigs...

...and the dwarf hamsters too.

I don't think our photo collection reflects just how ubiquitous this sort of photo prop was in Japan. I have to say that I think this is one of the better ones of them.

The big attraction of this zoo was the safari park ride. We rode in one of these caged, animal-themed buses...

...and got to feed large animals with tongs. Lions!

And grizzly bears!

Being able to get this close to bears was pretty amazing--definitely the highlight of the safari park. (But I think the girls would have traded it for a dwarf hamster in a second.)

Japan: Land of the Little Prince

Near Mt. Fuji we stayed at one of the strangest places I have ever visited. Our room and much of the resort had a Little Prince theme, but this place had so much more than just The Little Prince.

There was a giant bell...

 reindeer sleds...

igloos...

a gorilla statue...

a restaurant where you can drink grapefruit juice out of a hollowed-out grapefruit skin...
 

a giant bounce pillow...

 

walkways made of Christmas lights...

a trail through a fairy tale forest...
 

that ended here...

 tipis...

little round huts for guest rooms (with starry constellations projected onto the domed roof, planetarium style)...

a tent with carnival games, but no people to staff them...

...a tinkling music box soundtrack, cherry blossoms, pillars of fairy lights, and Christmas trees covered in flowers.

As far as the kids were concerned, this place was a magical wonderland. (Bonus points for catching the song playing in this video.)

It was bizarre...

...but fantastic--especially with kids.

Japan: Mt. Fuji

Mount Fuji and one of its surrounding lakes.


Hiking Mt. Fuji with kids was completely out of the question, but hiking up a neighboring (and much smaller) mountain was fun...

...and gave us some fantastic views.
 

A triumphant Nina and her dad, near the top of the climb.

Triumph all around, at the very top of the mountain. There was some whining and complaining on the way up (Honeycutt-Dills only, none from the Sugiyama-Allen kids), but all of them were thrilled with their accomplishment when they made it to the top.

Juniper leaving some coins as an offering at the Shinto shrine on top of the mountain. It is hard to imagine that a similar spot in America would have a shrine or monument so well cared for, or that the monetary offerings would be so safe.

On the way back down!

Not pictured: Hazel arriving at the very bottom wearing no pants, with her jacket tied around her waist for modesty. She went down the steepest part of the mountain on her bum and picked up some unwelcome prickly burrs.

Young Jedi

This past week, Hazel attended Jedi camp at the local Y!

She was a little disappointed that there was no actual light saber training, but on the last day the kids did get to bring in costumes and accessories for the Jedi Parade. (Thank you, Paula, for Hazel's costume.)

The kids thought that the silly version of one of their camp songs was an absolute hoot--I believe the line about "Luke Chickenwing" brought out these big smiles.
 

Our family went full on for Star Wars this week. In addition to Jedi camp, we introduced her to The Clone Wars and watched both Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The climactic final battle was pretty intense for Hazel ("Is Luke going to turn to the Dark Side?" "Is Darth Vader going to die?"), but she absolutely loved both of the movies.

Hazel was very proud to leave camp with a certificate that proclaims her an official Jedi!

Japan: On the road

 

We had an empty train car for the last leg of our journey home from Osaka. The kids loved it!

Hard to believe that just a few hours earlier, Hazel had been so exhausted that this is how we left the park with Japan's littlest mountain.

We spent a quiet day in Gifu, doing laundry and letting the kids recharge. Our biggest adventure was a walk to the river that runs through the neighborhood.

And then we were off on our next adventure--

a road trip to Mt. Fuji.

Hazel and Nina kept each other happy and entertained the entire time. Their friendship was adorable throughout the trip, and especially convenient for the long car ride.

Father's Day/Sleepaway camp

This year we celebrated Father's Day in some ways that are typical for our family. The girls made posters and gifts, and we had a lingering big breakfast.

 

We visited Toccoa Falls (one of the tallest waterfalls east of the Mississippi). Toccoa is a Cherokee word that means "beautiful," and these falls and the surrounding region are aptly named.

The girls clambered like mountain goats and enjoyed getting close enough to the waterfall to feel its spray.

But this Father's Day, it wasn't all about Aaron.

We were up in Toccoa to drop Juniper off for sleep away camp at Camp Toccoa! Here she is claiming her top bunk. She was a little bit nervous in the week before camp, but by Saturday night she was just excited. ("I'm too excited to sleep! I wish it was already tomorrow!") She was delighted to head off to camp and looking forward to making new friends (but also hoping that there wouldn't be anyone mean in her cabin, especially not her bunk mate).

When we left, she had just joined a circle of other girls and was learning how to play Poison Dart Frog--a favorite camp game.