Days 14, 15, 16, and 17

Day 14 in Japan
Trevor: Today was my last day of school.  Because of the typhoon coming, we only had 3 periods and lunch.  The last period was a celebration of my 2 weeks at school.  My classmates made me a book that has messages and origami from each of them, and they also made me a necklace of paper rings.  We played some games (Fruit Basket, and Rock-Paper-Scissors Train) and I gave a speech.  I was nervous, but I made it!

Eli: Dad and Mom came to my school today.  Mom left for a bit (for Trevor's going-away class party) then came back, and we all ate lunch with my classmates.  I had fun, but when I got to school I was pouty.  But it was still fun. 

Mom: After school let out and the kids came home, we went to visit several people.  We visited the person who gave us the Koinobori (Carp wind socks used for Boys' Day, May 5th), the person who gave me a beautiful kimono, and practically everyone in my old neighborhood.  That last visit was a lot of fun, as we saw people we had not seen in years, and got to catch up.  I was amazed at how well everyone is still doing and how good they all looked.  It was like a reunion, and was very touching.

Dad: Eli's preschool is very different than American preschools and also very interesting.  Seeing all the people in Ann's old neighborhood and seeing how excited they were to see Ann's family was awesome.  We had dinner at a place called Bikkuri Donkey that specializes in hamburger steaks.  They serve "Donkey Beer!" (I did not try it so I cannot give a personal review.) 


Day 15 in Japan
Trevor: We went to 3 parks today.  At the first park (Isahaya Park) we went on a long hike.  It was my first time to hike and I liked it.  At the second park (Omura Park) I ran 2 laps around the moat.  We also played catch over a big castle wall with dad on one side of the wall throwing the ball over, and me, Eli, and mom, on the other side trying to catch the ball and throw it back.  After we played catch, dad tried to throw the ball through an opening in the wall and didn't make it after 28 tries.  I made it after 16 tries.  Eli made it after 6 tries but he actually cheated because he threw it over the wall instead of through the opening. 

Eli: Lunch was at a sushi restaurant that has a belt going around with plates (like Genki Sushi) but also has a train that delivers your orders to you that you order on a touch screen. It was so much fun!  My favorite sushi was the Inari, but I was bummed they didn't have avocado rolls like we get in America.  We went to 3 parks today (Trevor already talked about the first 2).  My favorite park was the last park.  It had a long slide, lots of play equipment, and a REALLY big rope jungle gym. 

Mom: It has been nice having a car to get around the city. 

Dad: I had Pastrami sushi today, basically pastrami on rice - an interesting combination.  The hike in Isahaya Park was cool.  I had fun playing catch with the boys in Omura Park.  By the time we got to the third park, I was very hot and sticky, and tired.  We met another foreigner there, who just happened to bring his daughter to the park, and it turns out he is from close to Vancouver, BC, so we had a fun conversation about living in the Pacific Northwest.  He has lived in Japan for 11 years, but can still relate to our feelings about the muggy-ness and lack of temperature changes in this part of Japan.   


Day 16 in Japan
Trevor: We picked up Alex from his homestay today.  We went to Sky Park again, but this time with Alex and Dad, and we had a very fun time.  We played miniature golf.  There were 9 holes and it was totally different than miniature golf in America because it was in real grass with greens and lots of weeds (roughs).  Alex lost his ball 3 times. 

Eli: I had a tummy ache today (he woke up with a slight fever also).  I didn't feel very good so I took a long nap in the afternoon, then I felt a lot better so I went to Sky Park with Trevor, Alex, Mom, Dad, and Ojiichan.  We played miniature golf, and I hit the ball very straight on most of the holes. 

Mom:

Dad: It was fun going to Sky Park with the boys.  I remember visiting this park each time I have been to Japan, so to go with the boys this time and them being older (5 and 6 versus 2 and 3 last time) was a blast. 


Day 17 in Japan
Trevor: Today we went to Nagasaki City.  We went to many places but my favorite part was when we went to the park/playground that Dad, Alex, and Mom had gone to on Monday, and we rode the suspended rope rollercoaster thing.  I also liked the Confucian Temple we visited first.  We fed the fish there, took pictures with statues, and we visited the museum.   

Eli: Today we visited a museum that was kind of scary to me.  It was a Chinese museum.  It was dark inside.  But we got to take pictures next to statues and that was really fun.  After that we went into the temple (Confucian) and there were weapons.  But there were weapons that Alex and mom did not know.  We rode an inclinator up to Glover Park.  I did not like Glover Park.  There are a lot of houses and I did not want to got into them.  But the last park that we went to that was close to a church had a rope ride/rollercoaster and I LOVED that.  I rode it many times.  I tried to swing once too, but I hit the ground so I got off of it.  We rode the train (to and from Nagasaki City) and the tram too (within Nagasaki City). 

Mom: We went into Nagasaki City by train today.  My parents' house is right by the train tracks, so the boys have seen multiple trains go by daily, and this was a lot of fun for them to actually ride the train versus see it go by.  The first place we went was the Confucian Temple.  China actually owns the land the temple is built upon, so technically, we were in China today!  This is the only land in all of Japan that is owned by the Chinese, so it's pretty significant.  We then went to Glover Park, which is a "collection" of houses - some in their original locations, some transplanted - that were owned by the prominent "white" foreigners in the mid to late 1800's to the early 1900's.  Glover himself started the Japan Brewing Company - among other business ventures and achievements - which is now known as the Kirin Beer Company.  After Glover Park, the kids were getting tired so we took a tram (we had purchased day passes, so we were taking trams everywhere) and got some ice cream at Baskin Robbins in the Nagasaki shopping arcade.  They have flavors like Carnival (vanilla ice cream with multi-flavored pop rocks), Trio de Janeiro (kiwi, raspberry, and lemon sorbet swirl), Love Potion 31 (white chocolate and raspberry swirl with chocolate hearts), and my favorite, Matcha, all of which I have never seen in America so that was fun.  The boys' favorite part of the entire day was the park with the rope glider (suspended rollercoaster type thing).  Even though it was a long walk to the park and back to the tram, they thought it was TOTALLY worth it and really perked up afterwards. 

Dad: We did a TON of walking today.  Starting off with the Confucian Temple, then to Glover Park next, the Nagasaki Shopping Arcade, and lastly, to the park/playground with the suspended rope rollercoaster, we rode the tram in between, but still managed to walk so much my legs are achy.