Trip to the Igawaro Iris Garden

To celebrate the last day of school (it was a 1/2 day), Elijah and I (along with some of the school staff) took a trip to a local flower garden. Eddie did not go --- I guess admiring beautiful flowers is not his thing.....it isn't Elijah's thing either...but when he heard his little buddies were being drug along too he changed his mind very quickly? Hmmm?

traditional Japanese footwear called 'Geta'

traditional Japanese baby basket....the little, old Japanese lady (sweet as could be) said that parents placed their babies in there and would rock the basket until the baby fell asleep.

The entrance to the garden

The signs were posted at every flower to tell you what they were......since I don't read Kanji and am not smart enough to every be able to read it.....we relied on our art teacher that showed us around.

wild strawberries - they were in random places around the garden - and they were Y.U.M.M.Y.!

I like poppies - reminds me of Memorial Day!

The eatery - had traditional Japanese dining. The tables were in chabudai style - low and round. There are no chairs - you sit on the floor and the middle of the table spins easily. The food is set in the middle of each table and it's buffet style for your table. So you spin the middle of the table around and serve yourself.

I was entertained by the little Japanese workers tending the garden. If I was bent down like that all day - my back would hurt like nobody's business for a week! She had to have been like 60+ years old though?!?

American Day 2010

The base puts on an American Day to show the Japanese culture some American customs, food, etc. There was this Japanese band that was setting up on the street. What do YOU think they starting singing? ........probably a Japanese tune? NOPE! Eddie and I were BLOWN away when they starting singing Earth, Wind and Fire's - September! Better than that.....they sounded really, really good! No accents at all!

So other than that - the demonstrations were pretty....ummm "American-like" so they weren't anything worthy of posting in my opinion. I am sure it entertained the Japanese though.

Here are some pics of Elijah playing at one of his favorite play spots around Misawa. This park is right outside the base.

The monkey bars!! He L.O.V.E.S. that Raw wrestling shirt! We see him wear it every single week!

One of the Japanese vendors entrees. For just 400 yen (about $4.40) you can get your very own Tornado Wiener! It looked like a rolled up steamed hotdog??

One of ingenious Japanese inventions. So as we were stopped at the crosswalk, I spotted this hat and snagged a pic! It's a solar-powered fan hat! OMGosh! Does it get any more brilliant?