Nothing But Words

On Thursday we leave for an 8 day vacation in Kagoshima, which is the southernmost prefecture in Kyushu, which is the most southern of Japan’s four main islands. Next week is Golden Week in Japan, which is like spring break, except it’s for everybody, not just students. The whole country practically shuts down, as everyone is on vacation.

I may not post much over the next week or two, depending on our internet access while we’re away.

Our original plan was to go even further south, to Okinawa, but then we started reading about Kagoshima, and it sounded like a lot of fun, so we changed our plans. We’ll spend a few days in the Kagoshima City area, with a side-trip to Kaseda for their annual Sand Festival (check out the pictures at that link – I think it will be a nice complement to our visit to the Snow Festival). Then we’ll visit the islands Yakushima and Tanegashima – both are supposed to have beautiful beaches. Yakushima is a rain forest island – check out this guy’s amazing pictures. Tanegashima is home to Japan’s largest space center. Maybe if we’re lucky we’ll get to see a satellite launching.

We’ll briefly return to Tokyo, to pick up Maria’s friend Andrea, who is flying in from the US, and then we’ll head to Hida for a few days. Hida is a mostly rural area in mid-Western Japan. Maria and Andrea will be tourists with the boys. I’m being released on my own recognizance to go hiking around Mt. Tateyama with Paul, a former student of Maria’s from Villanova, who is currently living in Hida and kindly agreed to take me hiking.

The only thing I’m worried about is Eidan – for the past 6 weeks he’s been getting up 4 or 5 times every night. Maria and I are exhausted. We probably could have improved his sleep if we were at home in Philly. But here, with neighbors on every side and 4 of us in a 1 bedroom apartment, the best we can really do is try quieting him down as quickly as possible when he wakes up. All the moving around we’ll do on this trip will be a major disruption for him, which means his sleeping will get even worse, …or if we’re lucky it’ll get better. Who knows – wish us luck

Maria and Kai on Kashiya yokocho (candy lane) in Kawagoe View at Picasa Maria and Kai on Kashiya yokocho (candy lane) in Kawagoe25-Mar-2007 14:49, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.006 sec

A massive collection of prayer boards at Hikawa shrine, in Kawagoe View at Picasa A massive collection of prayer boards at Hikawa shrine, in Kawagoe25-Mar-2007 15:31, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec

The Hikawa shrine dates from the 6th century – the main building shown here was built in 1850. I took this picture through a fence, as the public is not allowed to approach it – the carvings are amazingly detailed. View at Picasa The Hikawa shrine dates from the 6th century – the main building shown here was built in 1850. I took this picture through a fence, as the public is not allowed to approach it – the carvings are amazingly detailed.25-Mar-2007 15:34, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec

Statues representing the 500 disciples of Buddha at Kitain temple in Kawagoe. The area was closed to the public, so this is as close as I could get for the picture (even with the zoom) View at Picasa Statues representing the 500 disciples of Buddha at Kitain temple in Kawagoe. The area was closed to the public, so this is as close as I could get for the picture (even with the zoom)25-Mar-2007 16:22, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 4.0, 10.8125mm, 0.017 sec

Kawagoe is a modest size tourist town, located just 30 minutes north of Tokyo by train. We made a family day trip there on a rainy Sunday a few weeks ago, along with Maria’s friend Atsuko. We started with a walk along Chuo Dori, the main street. While it contained a typical mix of tourist shops and restaurants, what made it special were the many kurazukuri (fireproof storehouses), some of which date back to the 1700s. Most Japanese buildings prior to the 20th century were wooden, and they had a habit of burning down, so expensive kurazukuri were built by those who could afford them (they were also used for storing critical items such as rice). They looked like giant safes – the shutters, at least a foot thick, even looked like safe doors. The street was especially charming because even the newer buildings matched the Edo-period style of the kurazukuri. This is what earned Kawagoe it’s nickname “Little Edo.” Edo is the old name for Tokyo, but hardly any of Tokyo’s wooden buildings survived World War II. So visiting Chuo Dori in Kawagoe can give you a sense of what a Tokyo street might have looked like in pre-war Japan.

Another old fashioned part of town is the Kashiya yokocho – a small lane filled with small candy stores selling traditional Japanese sweets and snacks. Kai of course loved it, and three weeks later he’s still working through his bag of candy loot.

Kawagoe also attracts tourists with its unreasonably large number of temples and shrines. We visited half a dozen of them, and while they lacked the splendor of the temples and shrines you’ll find in other “temple towns” like Nikko and Kamakura, a couple of them are of particular interest. One is Hikawa shrine. It traces its history all the way back to 514, and it has Japan’s largest wooden shrine gate (15 meters high). Fenced off from public access, but still visible behind the main shrine building, is a much older shrine, with intricate wooden carvings all over it (I’d provide more specific information about it, but I haven’t been able to find any). Also, it is the shrine for the god of marriage, and we were lucky enough to witness a traditional marriage ceremony while we were there.

The other interesting historical site was Kitain temple. Its grounds are home to not only the temple itself, but also the Toshogu shrine (as far as I know, it’s odd to find a Buddhist temple and a Shinto shrine sharing the same grounds), the only surviving structures of Edo castle (portions of it were moved to Kawagoe before the castle was destroyed), the graves of Kawagoe’s Daimyo (feudal lords) from the 18th and 19th centuries, some nicely landscaped gardens, and – my favorite – the statues representing the 500 Rakan (disciples) of Buddha. Unfortunately, the statues were not open to the public while we were there, so I had to settle for taking pictures of them over a wall.

If you find yourself in the Tokyo area for a week or more, and you’ve already gone to Yokohama and Kamakura, then I’d recommend Kawagoe as a good day trip if you want a break from Tokyo’s hyperactivity. There are a number of different ways to get there by train. We took the Tobu Tojo line to Kawagoe-shi station, and then walked a counter-clockwise loop around the city: north up Chuo Dori, east to Hikawa shrine, south to Kitain temple, and then back west to Kawagoe-shi station. This takes you past Hon-Kawagoe station, which has a lot more going on around it than the much quieter Kawagoe-shi station, so it’s a good place to stop for dinner. And if you want a really full day, Kawagoe also has some museums near Hikawa shrine (we skipped them since we had the kids with us, so I can’t offer an opinion on the museums).

View at Picasa Chuo Dori, in Kawagoe25-Mar-2007 12:39, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.002 sec	View at Picasa Sunday afternoon taiko drumming on the main street in Kawagoe25-Mar-2007 14:03, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 4.0, 10.8125mm, 0.013 sec	View at Picasa One of just a few dozen surviving Kurazukuri (fireproof storehouses) from the 1700s in Kawagoe25-Mar-2007 14:25, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.01 sec
View at Picasa The Kawagoe bell tower. In and around Tokyo, you don't see many old wooden structures like this.25-Mar-2007 14:18, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 7.1, 5.40625mm, 0.008 sec	View at Picasa Kai working the fields25-Mar-2007 14:34, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec	View at Picasa Inside the Renkei Temple, in the town of Kawagoe25-Mar-2007 12:42, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.125 sec
View at Picasa Mizugo Kosodate Jizobosatsu, in front of the Renkei Temple. Buddha statues like this are often donated to temples, in memory of children who died.25-Mar-2007 12:42, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.013 sec	View at Picasa A nice old shop on Kawagoe's candy lane25-Mar-2007 15:01, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec	View at Picasa Hikawa shrine is dedicated to the god of marriage, and we happened to be there during a wedding ceremony25-Mar-2007 15:36, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 4.0, 10.8125mm, 0.017 sec

View at Picasa Kai waiting for the group photo to be taken at his kindergarten graduation22-Mar-2007 11:25, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 4.0, 10.8125mm, 0.017 sec

View at Picasa All the kids, parents, and teachers. Kai's in the middle of the front row, and Maria, Eidan, and I are in the back, on the right.22-Mar-2007 11:25, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec

From an American’s perspective, Kai’s graduation from kindergarten was fairly typical… for a high school senior. From beginning to end the whole thing took about three hours. There were songs, slideshows, speeches, the ceremony itself, and multiple rounds of various group photos.

View at Picasa Kai gets his kindergarten diploma22-Mar-2007 10:16

View at Picasa The kids take turns saying what their favorite activity was. Kai's on the far right, and he memorized what to say in Japanese (in English it means “I enjoyed making swords for playing")22-Mar-2007 10:48

View at Picasa Maria with Naname, the sister of Kai's classmate Kaito22-Mar-2007 11:21, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec

View at Picasa Eidan, Maria, and I waiting for the group photo to be taken22-Mar-2007 11:25, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 4.0, 10.8125mm, 0.017 sec

Most of the dads took at least part of the day off work to be there, and many local dignitaries were also in attendance. Several of the moms were there in formal kimonos, which is a big deal, as getting them put on just right, plus the requisite hair and make up work, is something of an undertaking. Many of the moms were also crying as the kids got their diplomas. I had to restrain myself from blurting out “it’s just kindergarten!” Actually, many of these kids are only children, and – generally speaking – the Japanese seem take the milestones of childhood development more seriously than Americans. So, with those things in mind, their feelings are understandable. I genuinely felt for one of the moms as she burst into tears when her son got his diploma: he’s both mentally and physically handicapped, and this graduation was probably one of the last experiences he’ll have where he can participate just like all the other kids his age (I imagine in first grade or soon thereafter he’ll be moved into a special program).

The first video on the left is Kai getting his diploma. The second one is a portion of one of the songs the kids sang. They paused at various points during the song so the kids could shout out what their favorite activity was during the school year. Kai’s line is at the end of the clip. He memorized what to say in Japanese “Ken wo tsukutte asobu no tanoshikatta desu.” That roughly translates to “I enjoyed making swords for playing.” There’s actually a lot going in the grammar of that sentence, some of which is beyond my experience (like the katta suffix on the adjective tanoshii (enjoyable), which I just looked up – it makes it the past tense). For now it’s just something he memorized, but now that he’s starting first grade and getting some Japanese lessons, I imagine his Japanese will be better than mine by the end of June, when we head back to the US.

Kai had a great time in kindergarten. He made friends with the two other boys in the class who speak English. Even though Kai won’t be in the same school as them for 1st grade, he’ll still see them for playdates (the girl in the picture with Maria is Naname, the younger sister of Kai’s classmate and friend Kaito – their dad is American). I’m sure Kai will make new friends in first grade as well.

Kai spends a lot of time in his Japanese kindergarten making things from recycling materials View at Picasa Kai spends a lot of time in his Japanese kindergarten making things from recycling materials01-Feb-2007 04:47, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.067 sec

On Thursdays when I pick up Kai from school, we always have to walk home instead of taking the bus. This is because we’re too loaded down with his bags of trash for me to carry them and manage Eidan and his stroller all at the same time on the bus.

Perhaps “trash” is too strong a word.

On a regular basis, the parents are expected to bring in all their paper recyclables to the school, as well as plastic bottle caps, cups, etc. Every day the teachers let the kids have at it – along with some tape, glue, and ribbons – to create whatever they want. Kai has made jet packs, guitars, cash registers, rockets, and myriad other items – too many for me to remember. Then every Thursday, they bring all their creations home.

As we take the 30 minute walk home, Kai gives me a very animated presentation on each of his creations. When we get home, we throw out everything from the prior week to make room for the new stuff, because 1. his creations aren’t built to last, so most of them are destroyed after a week, and 2. in our tiny apartment, we don’t have any space for accumulating Kai’s trash creations.

Kindergarten is over now, and Kai clearly misses working on these projects. We’ve been finding him furtively digging through our meager cans of recycling, and voicing frustration at not having nearly enough material to work with for whatever fantastic creation he has in mind.

A portable “smoke room” for a fire drill at Kai’s kindergarten View at Picasa A portable “smoke room” for a fire drill at Kai's kindergarten21-Jan-2007 23:07, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.003 sec

Kai with his fire hat View at Picasa Kai with his fire hat21-Jan-2007 23:09, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.006 sec

The kids go into the smoke room View at Picasa The kids go into the smoke room21-Jan-2007 23:17, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 4.0, 10.8125mm, 0.008 sec

Kai starts 1st grade next week, and I have a backlog of posts to write about his time in kindergarten. So brace yourself for my next few posts: they’re all about going to kindergarten in Tokyo.

Back in January, I attended one of many events at Kai’s school where a parent was expected to be there. This one was a fire drill. It’s not like the US where they just ring the fire alarm and then tell the kids to file out in an orderly fashion. I remember those fire drills from childhood, where they would also tell us about “stop, drop, and roll” and things like that. But now that I’ve experienced a Japanese fire drill, I have to say my childhood training probably wouldn’t have helped much if I were ever really in a building that was on fire. Just being told what to do when you’re in a burning building doesn’t really prepare you for the disorientation of actually being engulfed in dense smoke.

For fire drills in Tokyo, the local fire department brings a portable canvass “smoke room” to the school, as you can see in the pictures. Also, the school has fire proof hats for the kids that make them look like extras from a Dr. Who episode (but starting in 1st grade they’re expected to buy and bring their own hats). The smoke room isn’t that big, and all the kids had to do was go in one side and come out the other. No big deal, right? Well, after the kids were done, the parents were invited to try it as well. I put a hand towel over my mouth as I was instructed, and as soon as I stepped in I was completely blinded by the smoke. I figured all I had to do was walk straight, so I took a few steps, and a few more, and then a few more… and then I started to worry, as I thought I should have reached the exit by then… Maybe I didn’t quite go straight… maybe I’m actually headed to the corner, and I’ve missed the exit. So I started waving an arm in front of me as I took a few more steps so I could feel for the exit, and to my relief I found the exit flap and headed out.

So, a lesson learned: those action movies we’ve all seen with folks running around in burning buildings – it isn’t like that at all. You actually can’t see even two feet in front of you.

There’s a good chance I won’t blog again until sometime next week. This week and next week Kai is on a break from school, as he’s done with Kindergarten and 1st grade doesn’t start until April 9 (I usually blog during Eidan’s afternoon nap, but that’s harder to do when Kai sees that as his time for wrestling with me). Eidan’s been sick this past week with a cough that was keeping us all up at night, but I think he finally turned the corner today. And my mother and step-father arrive tomorrow for a 5 day visit. I have a growing backlog of cool stuff to write about, so I will do my best to start getting caught up next week.

In the meantime, if you’re not offended by pictures of “…a boisterous crowd of both Japanese and foreign visitors [witnessing] a 2.5m, approximately 300kg wooden phallus being carried on a mikoshi (portable shrine), by teams of 12 men…” then check out the Japan Visitor Blog’s post on the annual Japanese fertility festival, the Tagata Jinja Hounen Matsuri. It took place on March 15 and, to my regret, I didn’t know about it beforehand – otherwise I would have planned to go!

View at Picasa Eidan tries out Kai's mega-straw11-Mar-2007 08:06

This is another one of those Kai and Eidan videos where there really isn’t any commentary I can add that would do it justice, so just watch and enjoy.

…Actually, one thing to point out is you can get an idea of how small our Tokyo apartment is. The boys share the bedroom and Maria and I have a “semi-double” bed in the living room, which is open to the small dining area and kitchen. Yes, that’s Maria in the background, doing her best to sleep through the boys’ breakfast time antics.

View at Picasa Kai locked up in Toon Town!09-Mar-2007 04:16, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec

View at Picasa Kai lifting weights in Toon Town09-Mar-2007 04:17, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec

Kai had a blast at Disneyland, and Maria and I enjoyed it too. Maria and I also enjoyed being able to do it as a day-trip: no airplane tickets to Florida or California to buy, and no hotel reservations to make. There was just the 320 yen (about $3) round trip fare for the 40 minute train ride to Urayasu, and the Disneyland tickets. This being Japan, the land of convenience, you can get Disneyland tickets at any major JR (Japan Rail) station.

From what I can remember of visiting the Florida Disney World when I was a kid (in 1982!), the Tokyo Disney has all the same attractions. I thought the Enchanted Tiki Room, which I had never seen before, was bizarre and really dated. I discovered why after I looked it up on Wikipedia: it was part of Disney’s contract with Dole in 1963 that it could never be altered. My favorite attraction was Star Tours – you’re put in a big flight simulator (one capable of delivering roller coaster-like twists and dives), supposedly for a quiet tourist trip to Endor, but you quickly discover your pilot is incompetent, as he almost crashes the ship during take off. Then he gets you caught up in a battle around the Death Star. For some reason I found it even more comical in Japanese, with the host robot profusely apologizing each time we had a near-death experience, “gomen nasai, gomen nasai!” I explained to Kai before we got on the ride that it was all pretend and just for fun, and he was doing fine until the Star Destroyers appeared on the screen, when he sought some reassurance – “this is all pretend, right Daddy?”

The Westernland section of the park is distinctly American, with the Mark Twain Riverboat and old West style town. The one concession they made for the local Japanese population was the food: we had lunch in a Disney-ified frontier era restaurant, and ate good ‘ol American…curry and tonkatsu. Something else that was distinctly un-American about the food was the prices – they were not extortionary. I’ve gotten used to paying exorbitant sums for mediocre food when trapped in any kind of stadium or theme park in the US, but here the prices were shockingly reasonable.

There were only a couple things that didn’t work out. One was the weather – the day started out cold and only got colder. I brought Eidan home around 3, as it was getting too cold for him, but Kai and Maria stuck it out all the way through the nighttime fireworks show. The other thing was the lines. We thought we were being smart coming on a weekday, but some of the rides still had waits of over an hour, so we ended up skipping some of the more popular attractions.

We plan to come back when the weather is warmer. We learned we can get “fastpass” tickets ahead of time for the popular rides, which allow you to show up at a designated time and not have to wait. Also, there’s the DisneySea Park, a separate park adjacent to Disneyland – it looks like fun, and it’s the only one in the world (my guess is that in the US, Disney decided to not try competing with Sea World).

View at Picasa Kai and Maria at the entrance to Tokyo Disneyland08-Mar-2007 20:08, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 7.1, 5.40625mm, 0.006 sec	View at Picasa Kai, Maria, and Eidan in Tokyo Disneyland08-Mar-2007 20:33, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.003 sec	View at Picasa Kai, Mike, and Eidan outside the Enchanted Tiki Room08-Mar-2007 20:38, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.006 sec
View at Picasa The Toontown Jolly Trolly08-Mar-2007 22:55, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.003 sec	View at Picasa Mike and Kai on the Jolly Trolly08-Mar-2007 23:07, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.008 sec	View at Picasa One of the animatronic displays you can see while waiting in line for Star Tours09-Mar-2007 00:34, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec
View at Picasa Maria and Kai at Cinderella's Castle09-Mar-2007 01:14, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 3.2, 6.71875mm, 0.003 sec

Starting in the back, going clockwise: Maria’s aunt Hiroko, her husband Masuda-san, Hiroko’s daughter Makiko holding Eidan, Maria holding Kai, Hiroko’s daughter Akiko holding her daughter Karin, Maria’s aunt-in-law Masako holding Makiko’s son Tatsuki View at Picasa Starting in the back, going clockwise: Maria's aunt Hiroko, her husband Masuda-san, Hiroko's daughter Makiko holding Eidan, Maria holding Kai, Hiroko's daughter Akiko holding her daughter Karin, Maria's aunt-in-law Masako holding Makiko's son Tatsuki04-Mar-2007 00:08, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec

Last Sunday we visited Maria’s relatives in Zushi, which is about a one hour train ride south of Tokyo. Maria’s grandparents owned a large piece of property there until sometime after World War II, where they raised 8 children (Maria’s father Tony was the oldest). Most of the property was split up and sold a long time ago, but Maria’s aunt Hiroko (Tony’s youngest sibling) still has a house there (where she lives with her husband, and daughter Akiko), and one of Maria’s uncles who recently passed away was next door (his wife Masako still lives there).

We spent the day at Hiroko’s house and at the nearby beach. It was a sunny day in the mid-60s – an amazingly warm day for early March and a great opportunity to spend some time at the beach. Hiroko’s other daughter Makiko came to visit, along with her son. As you can see in the pictures, the boys especially took to playing Makiko.

Everyone was impressed with the lunch Maria made – something most of them never had before – chili! (we brought a bunch of Shelby’s Texas Chili Mix with us from the US).

Akiko is the one I know best. That probably has something to do with the fact that she’s the only one who speaks English . She visited us when we lived in California, and we saw her on our two previous Japan trips as well. She’s a certified Japanese teacher – it’s too bad Zushi is so far away, as I could do with some lessons!

Our trip to Japan in 2004 started in Zushi. It was great to visit again – especially for Kai and Eidan, who got to play in the sand and spend some time with their Japanese cousins.

View at Picasa Kai with Maria's first cousin Makiko and her son Tatsuki03-Mar-2007 23:44, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec	View at Picasa Eidan with Makiko04-Mar-2007 00:13, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec	View at Picasa Kai and Eidan playing witb Makiko03-Mar-2007 23:47, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec
View at Picasa Maria with her first cousin Akiko and her daughter Karin03-Mar-2007 23:48, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec	View at Picasa Maria's aunt Hiroko designs her own embroidery04-Mar-2007 00:22, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.025 sec	View at Picasa Eidan at Zushi beach with Masuda-san04-Mar-2007 01:12, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 7.1, 5.40625mm, 0.004 sec
View at Picasa Kai getting his feet wet at Zushi beach04-Mar-2007 01:27, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 7.1, 5.40625mm, 0.003 sec	View at Picasa Kai enjoying the water at Zushi beach04-Mar-2007 01:28, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 7.1, 5.40625mm, 0.006 sec

View at Picasa Eidan sends his love02-Mar-2007 04:59, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec

I haven’t posted many pictures of Eidan since we arrived in Tokyo, so I figured I better post some before his grandparents start to complain .

He turned 19 months old yesterday, and I’m happy to report he’s as rambunctious as ever. Almost all his teeth are in, and he’s finally taking an interest in talking. Especially over the past few days, he’s been trying to repeat what he hears us say. Unlike Kai at this age, Eidan’s diction isn’t very good, but that’s ok, because it’s also very cute. We particularly enjoy listening to him as he sings along with the Miffy theme song – he sings it as “Mippy” (as evidence that I’m watching too much children’s TV, I’d also like to point out that the Miffy theme song is way more cute in Japanese than it is in English). His favorite phrase is “bye, bye.” He shouts it at the bus when we get off, and says it at just about every opportunity – to store clerks, people in elevators, etc.

His personality is quite a contrast to Kai’s: at this age Kai was all about talking, looking at books, drawing, and not touching anything that might make him dirty. Eidan is all about running, throwing, and getting as dirty as possible. His interest in books only extends to how far he can throw them. He’s definitely more hot-tempered than Kai was at this age (he’ll sometimes drop to the ground and bang his head on the floor when he doesn’t get his way), but also more affectionate.

Spring is arriving early here in Tokyo, and not a moment too soon as far as I’m concerned. Eidan is happiest (and therefore easiest to manage) when he has lots of room to run around, and being outside is much more practical when the weather’s warm. It’s likely you’ll be seeing a lot more pictures of Eidan in a variety of Tokyo parks over the next few months .

View at Picasa Eidan on the Godzilla Ride at Ueno Park02-Jan-2007 23:14, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.013 sec	View at Picasa Eidan can't fill my shoes – not yet, anyway16-Jan-2007 01:06, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec	View at Picasa The boys watching TV together24-Jan-2007 03:14, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 4.0, 10.8125mm, 0.017 sec
View at Picasa This picture captures Kai's and Eidan's personalities – Kai, the boy of words, Eidan the boy of action03-Mar-2007 02:59, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec	View at Picasa Eidan is always happy as long as he has a ball to play with03-Mar-2007 03:00, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec	View at Picasa Eidan in the Shinagawa Intercity area03-Mar-2007 03:02, Canon Canon PowerShot S230, 2.8, 5.40625mm, 0.017 sec