Another day of Tony's visit!

After our pleasant encounter with the kimono lady and lunch at a ramen shop we made a brief stop home and then headed out for an overnight stay at a hotel/onsen.  

We live near an onsen town that has many hotels that border the Kinugawa River and that have onsens (and on up into the mountains there are even more onsen).  We had been to this onsen years ago and the attraction was that there was an outdoor bath, we could all dress up in yukata (cotton kimono) and sleep on futon laid out on tatami mats, and there was a huge buffet for both dinner and breakfast.  

The scenery out our windows was wonderful.

It was a bit of a job to get a yukata set large enough for Tony but the hotel came through!

I'm not sure any of us look authentic but we did have fun.

Once in yukata, the men headed off to their bath and Leiya and Luka and I headed off to the women's side.   

SORRY!  

...but since there was no one else in the bath when we went in, Leiya got a picture or two and she said this picture didn't need to be censored...  You get an idea of the partially covered outdoor bath.

Having dinner in the main dining room...

And Luka asleep on the futon on the tatami mats.

The next morning, both Tetsu and Tony enjoyed the view of the mountains from their respective rooms.

We told Luka that these were baby clouds being born in the mountains.

Off to a morning bath with Jiji.

Choosing food and drink at the morning buffet.

And finally checking out.  

On to more adventures! 

First day in Nikko

Finally Tony arrives in Nikko!

I stayed home while Tetsu went to the local train station to pick up Leiya's family and all their luggage.  But I was out the door as soon as I heard the car drive in!  

Luka was happy to be back in a place he knew and he began showing Tony all the toys that he'd been playing with the month before.  This wooden push train was Takumi's and it still toots as it moves across the floor.  Luka found the mechanism to make the train toot very interesting and had to show Daddy how it worked.

I can't even remember what we ate for dinner this first night but I know I did more cooking while Tony was here than I usually do.  The family had been on the trains all day and we didn't really want to go out to some restaurant again so I threw something together and reminded myself that I didn't have to show off for family...  

Despite the long day, or maybe because of it, we did decide that instead of taking showers at home that we would go to the nearest onsen and introduce Tony to public bathing.  He'd been warned so he took the plunge!  It was also going to be a first for Tetsu too because going to the onsen meant that Leiya and Luka and I would be going into the women's side and Tetsu and Tony would be using the men's side and Tetsu would have to do the explaining and guiding.  Tetsu's spent the last few years doing Duolingo's English but this was going to be the first chance for him to communicate on his own.  

"Have fun guys!"

Tony liked the outdoor bath, Tetsu seemed to get across all that needed to get across and afterwards Tony tried out one of the massage chairs in the waiting area (where men and women meet up after the bath.)

Tony and Leiya relaxing with us, maybe Luka was already asleep?

The next day was raining but we decided to make a stop at the Oya stone quarry (where I had been when the Great Tohoku Earthquake struck 12 years ago.)  

Tony and Leiya and Luka went on inside to the bottom while Tetsu and I enjoyed coffee at the giftshop. 

The rain made for interesting markings on the scenery's rocks.

Our next stop was at a recycle shop... Though I wasn't quite sure why as there isn't much in the way of clothing that Tony could buy... but we found ourselves in the used kimono section of the store where Tony convinced Leiya she should buy a couple of kimono coats to just wear over sweaters or something.  While there we started pulling out kimonos that I thought might fit Tony, and he was trying those on when an older woman approached us and pointed out that all the kimonos I was handing Tony were women's kimonos.  (Goes to show how much I know!)  She explained that women's kimono sleeves are open like a pocket but men's kimono sleeves are sewn shut.  Ha!  I didn't know that.  I started pawing through the racks of kimonos pulling out men's kimono and Tony tried those on.  

"Oh wait," said the lady, "that is an under kimono, not a real kimono."  

It was very interesting with figures on it but the lady explained that under kimonos that no one sees have patterns but outer kimonos are plain and "masculine".  Hmm...  I figured that no one in Indiana was going to know the difference and Tony wasn't going to be wearing a kimono out anyway... it was just for fun.

"In that case," said the woman, "Here is a very nice men's kimono with a kimono coat that could be used many ways though it is really much too short for you." and she began to explain, IN BROKEN ENGLISH, about the length of kimonos.

"You speak English!!  Could you explain to us what obi (belt) would be used with this kimono?"

and she pulled out an obi and proceeded to tie Tony into the kimono.  She reached across him in a big hug thrusting her arm through the belt and said, 

"Sword.  Here is where samurai held sword."

We were fascinated.

"Why do you know so much about kimono?"

It turns out that the lady was a kimono teacher and obviously, though her English wasn't great, she had experience dressing foreigners in kimono.  I then asked her to explain how to fold up a kimono and she demonstrated that for us.  We really took up a lot of her time but she seemed to enjoy the encounter and using her English and Tony bought the kimono set and obi though I don't know how he's going to use it once back in the States.  Just having it though will bring back memories of the very nice older lady who helped us so much this day!

We had ramen for lunch at one of our favorite ramen places and then home for a VERY short rest because we had things planned for that evening!

Tony arrives in Japan!

Okay!!!  We had a fun activity filled week and I can finally get it all written down before I forget everything!

Leiya and Luka had already been in Japan a month when Tony finally flew in to Japan!  This visit has been in the planning stages for YEARS!  I had always thought that Leiya should bring Tony to Japan at least once before they got married just so he could see what her "roots" were and get an idea of her home and hometown.  Before Tetsu and I had gotten married I'd taken him to California to meet my family (he'd already met my mother) and to show him the type of lifestyle I'd grown up in.  So... I'd wanted Tony to get to know Leiya on that level too but he was in medical school, and then a trip had to be canceled because of Covid, and then another trip was postponed because Luka was born, and then another trip was postponed because we were all meeting up in the States last year for my neice's wedding anyway.  

But FINALLY this year Tony got to Japan!!!  His first trip!!!!

Tony was amazed at the crowds of people in the trains and how quietly they all moved along. 

With Jay and Erin

I think they stayed in inexpensive AirBnb's all through their travels and ate out at hole-in-the wall places and bought convience store food except for one special dinner that Takumi treated them to and another meal with Ohio friends who were also in Tokyo at the same time.  

Their first night was in Asakusa in Tokyo and the did some exploring at a temple area and even a fish market.

I gather that this is the way Luka mostly traveled... On Daddy's back.

In Tokyo they met up with one of Leiya's childhood friends who took them to the Shibuya Scramble Intersection where pedestrians cross in all directions at one time.  Tony described it like sea tides that ebb with hundreds of people all at once and then fade to the corners until the light changes again.

They got to the Hachiko statue (I think Richard Gere had a movie called Hachi, a Dog's Tale based on the true story about this dog.)  It has been the meeting place for millions of people over the years when trying to find friends in Tokyo "Let's meet up at Hachiko!" but I suppose now with cell phones Hachiko isn't the trendy meet-up spot it was in the past.

The family got to an interesting virtual museum called "teamLab Planets" that Takumi and Julieta had recommended and they had a fun few hours there

There were a few rainy days but that didn't seem to deter Leiya and Tony any.  

I guess I've mostly shown the pictures that Leiya sent me from their trip to Kyoto...

Lots of temples to visit...

Back in Nikko, Tetsu and I rested up and were visited by Takumi's friend from elementary school and middle school.  He is now a strawberry farmer and he comes by a couple of times a year with strawberries or vegetables for us.  He proudly shared his huge strawberries, the larger ones called "Sky Berry" in honor of the world's tallest free standing tower structure called Sky Tree.  The white berries are called "Scent of First Love".

And I finished up another baby quilt for an elementary school friend of Leiya's that we met up with while she was here.  This was supposed to be Leiya's project but she got only so far as cutting out the pieces and I sewed them all together.  She is still making a label (embroidered again) which she will send to me from the States.  No time to get it done in the last week she was in Japan!  Isn't it interesting how differently this quilt turned out from the other one that Leiya made a few weeks ago?!  Same pattern (no border) but such a different feel!

More in the next post because I haven't even written about Tony arriving in Nikko!

A quiet week

May is winding up and I don't know what to write about as usually I end my month with Luka updates and this month has mostly been about Luka anyway...  So let's see...

The same day that Luka and Leiya left to meet-up with Tony, I went and picked up John at the vets.  He has been boarding for a month and though he isn't particularly happy nor unhappy to be home, we have given him free range of the house, retiring the circle that he usually was confined to when we ate or at night.  So far no problems!  Unknowingly to John, he goes back to the vets for another 6 days on Thursday while Leiya and family are visiting again. (first time for Tony).

The month with Luka was great fun but must have been wearing on me because the next day I crashed and slept the whole day long...   I no longer know if my lack of energy is due to rheumatism, medications or just plain age!  It is rather frustrating (for Tetsu too because he never knows if I'm going to be up for anything in a given day.)

I had a  General Traffic Safety meeting with all the crosswalk guards in Nikko and I stumbled through the lines that I had been given to say at the beginning and the end of the meeting.  I have no idea how formal meetings are held in the States but in Japan they always begin by the spokesperson introducing the person who is formally going to open the meeting, in this case, me, and then the meeting begins with each board member reading off the agenda and numbers provided in the documents that everyone has been given.  At the end of the meeting some person (me again) formally ends the meeting and the spokeperson thanks everyone and we can all go home.  This year's general meeting only lasted an hour as no one had any comments or questions and the documents were read through quickly.  Rather boring.

Tetsu did take me out to a small, private quilt exhibition of a teacher and her students.  I think the teacher's name was Etsuko Yano.

Some beautiful quilts and it made me feel as if I really should be doing more sewing with all the fabric I have and also the time these days.

The exhibition was in a building that was part of an old farmhouse and so after we admired the quilts we admired the building and tools etc. on display.

A mortar and pestle for pounding rice.

A display of woven zori.

Pictures from Leiya have included their fancy dinner out in Kyoto thanks to Takumi who sent them a gift card they could use during their travels.  (He sent Tetsu and me one too but we are going to wait until I'm more mobile before we use it.)

From what I could see from their updates, it looks like there are a lot of tourists in Kyoto right now.

I have no idea where they were in Kyoto but it is giving Tony a good first taste of Japan.

This is the way the Smith family is traveling.  It's a good thing Tony has a strong back!

And that's pretty much how this past week went.  I've been doing some quilting and even have a baby quilt almost finished (I'm putting on the binding today).  

Relaxing...