Another Christmas

Before we left to Japan we decorated the house for Christmas even though we knew we wouldn't be here for it. So when we got home the house was still very Christmasy. This morning before we put them away our lucky boy got to open more presents from under the tree.

He got so many toys in Japan already... He is so spoiled.



The first present he got shown was the biggest. An IKEA easel from M&D. He can already write! Impressive ha?



And he got to unwrap this one.





Noah's Ark wooden sorting puzzle.



He was very smart? to find the biggest hole to put all the animals through (not using the particular one for each particular animal).

Awesome pop up airplane book! Both of my boys were very excited to see Airbus 380!



When we were in Japan he wasn't too much into unwrapping but today he was on a roll!





He was looking for more things to unwrap after opening the last one, looked pretty disappointed... but he quickly noticed he had more new toys and books and started to play : )

Thank you everyone who kindly gave him very nice presents.

Kakizome

In Japan kids at primary school traditionally get special homework during the winter holidays.
While I was in Japan I got to supervise my nephews and a niece doing kakizome, the first calligraphy written at the beginning of a year. I was there to make sure they don't make a mess in the house. The black ink they use for calligraphy can be a disaster sometimes.

Here is Hinata concentrating very hard to write - Oshogatsu=New Year.





Rui was very confident in his writing and actually he did very well, I was impressed. His one was Kokoro ni taiyou=Sunshine in ones heart.





Runa and her friend were there to join us too. They had to write Hareta sora=Fine sky.



It took each of the kids more than 1 hour to complete (they need to practice many times then pick the best one to take to school), to my surprise their concentration lasted well. I was more tired than they were just watching them...
I should have written something myself, but Oliver started to get disruptive so maybe next time.

Another lovely tradition we have in Japan.

Back in Brunei safely

We decided to spend an extra day in Osaka, as my old NZ friend Kylie came to visit us and my sister Mako scored an extra day off to take me for more shopping!

It was a perfect decision in the end, as we arrived at the airport this morning to find no queues and we could get on the flights straight away (often using the staff tickets we need to wait for a long time until everyone has checked in) plus the Cathay flight from Osaka was so empty they didn't charge us for the extra luggage we had - we were 6kgs over today, in total we had 56kgs!

Everything went smoothly, we got to HK no problems and rechecked in with no problems.

When we walked into the RBA plane we found ourselves alone in business class (well in the end one more person showed up) on the 777.



Oliver was very happy to have the whole space to himself and walked around with his suitcase up and down the aisle for a long time.





It's nice and warm back here in Brunei, we might go for a swim tomorrow! Feels odd to feel winter and summer on the same day.

Thank you so much everyone who looked after us in Japan. It was great to see you all!

Second visit to the shrine

This afternoon Mako came around before going to the shrine for hatsumode like we did on the 1st. When we visited the other day it was quite cold and dark so I thought we will go with them for another visit.



Hineno shrine Torii

This time we made sure to wash our hands to purify ourselves before going into the shrine (last time it was just too cold to take our gloves off...).



Rui, Hinata and Yuzuki



Because it is already the 4th day of the New Year, not many people were there. The kids had fun running around chasing each other while Mako read her good luck omikuji. You can see in the photo below the traditional Japanese New Year flower arrangements. It feels like New Year when I see them. They are beautiful.



Mako spent a fair bit of time deciding which good luck charm/prevent bad luck charm (they are called omamori) to buy for everyone in her family and one for me too! There are lots of different kinds. For travel, for study, for work, for health etc etc. Matthew always laughs saying "Japan is very convenient, you can buy good luck with such a small amount of money!" We are very superstitious in a way you know...

Kani trip - Part II

Here is the main event of this trip. Kani, Kani, Kani, Kani, Kani - so much of it!
After the lovely bath we changed into our yukata and sat in the tatami dinner room - all so hungry and couldn't believe the amount of crabs we were getting.



Yosuke and Runa



All of us except for Oliver who very nicely fell asleep to give some relaxing time for his parents.



Matthew and mum

Before starting with the crabs, some super fresh sashimi and oysters were served. Then full on Kani/crab meal started!
We started with Kani sashimi.



Kani tempura - they were so sweet and delicious.



Charcoal BBQ Kani.



This was my favourite - shabu shabu Kani.



Then to finished off we had Kani nabe (steamboat).



We went on the same sort of trip 7 years ago but the food was nothing like this. We couldn't leave anything on the plate. It was fantastic! I am still thinking of the Kani I ate on this day. I am sure we will be going back to the same place next time we plan a Kani trip (which won't be too long, Mum's 60's birthday is coming up in a few years time!).

Kani trip - Part I

We have been waiting for this day! Our overnight crab trip to Hyogo on the other side of Osaka. We were very concerned about the roads being closed as on the 1st lots of places on the Japan Sea side got huge snowfalls. But luckily on the day it was extra sunny and nicely melted the snow on the highway.

All of the family members including the ones who are normally super busy and miss out on family occasions could make it : )
All 13 of us got on the train smiling.



Mum and dad



Rui and Hinata



Miyakuni ladies

This little person was extra happy in his bee jacket and his own suitcase.



I was glad we chose not to drive ourselves and got a bus tour. It cost more for us to get there but no one had to drive for a long time and everyone felt quite relaxed.

After 5 hours of traveling we got to our ryokan/minshuku. We picked the place based on internet reviews so weren't too sure about the place but rooms were all nice and the people working there were very friendly. But the best part for the kids was it was right next to a primary school which is closed for the winter holiday. Lots of snow and no traffic to worry about as they ran around.



Time for a snow fight!



Yuzuki trying to make a snow man.



Diving into the snow!



Someone tried snow boots for the first time in his life. He found it fun walking on the snow : )



But not 100% sure...



I cannot remember when I was in this much snow. I got so excited!



Three of us looking very wintery.



After playing in the cold we all had a wonderful warm bath. Doesn't it look beautiful!?





So lucky to be Japanese - love the culture, I am enjoying it so much!

Hatsumode

After eating all day at my parents we decided to go for a little walk to the shrine near our place for hatsumode. It is the first shrine visit of the New Year. It was a beautiful day but it was very cold so I made sure Oliver was nicely wrapped up in his new big jacket.



It was only 20min walk but it got pretty dark by the time we got there. Here is Matthew and Oliver looking very cold under the torii



There is a place for you to clean your hands before entering the main part of the shrine but it was too cold for us so we skipped it (sorry gods...)



You go through this huge ring to get rid of the previous half years bad luck and anything you've done bad.



Then we visited the gods. Oliver put some money into the box.



Shake the bell and wish to the gods. I am not sure what he wished for though : )



It was great to have a big fire to warm us up.



The first family photo of the year.



One of the main things you do in the shrine when you visit for hatsumode is omikuji. They are random fortunes written on strips of paper.



Shaking the omikuji box to get a good fortune.

It includes a general blessing which can be any one of the following (there are 12 types). Great blessing (dai-kichi), Middle blessing (chū-kichi), Small blessing (shō-kichi), Blessing (kichi), Half-blessing (han-kichi), Near-blessing (sue-kichi), Near-small-blessing (sue-shō-kichi), Curse (kyō), Small curse (shō-kyō), Half-curse (han-kyō), Near-curse (sue-kyō) and Great curse (dai-kyō).

It then lists fortunes regarding specific aspects of one's life, such as one's wishes or desires, a person being waited for, lost article(s), travel, market speculation, disputes, childbirth or pregnancy, work, illness etc etc.

I got a Daikichi - Great blessing!! Oliver got Middle blessing and Matthew got a small blessing so overall the Rose family did quite well : )



I am feeling very confident we will have another great year ahead of us!!

New Year's Day 2011

Happy New Year everyone! I hope all of you had a great start to the year. We certainly had a great day : )
It is our family tradition to visit our parents' house for New Year breakfast/lunch. So off we went (we slept in a little bit so they were actually waiting for us for a quite a while). My aunty and one of the cousins were there too. It was great to see more of the family : )

Mum ordered some osechi - the special New Year lunch box (often comes three layered). We used to make them when we were kids but now mum finds it easier and tastier to order from some famous restaurant. Each of the food symbolizes certain things and has a special meaning. For example the light yellow looking fish eggs (cured herring eggs) are called Kazunoko. Kazu means "number" and ko means "child". It symbolizes a wish to be gifted with numerous children in the New Year. Black beans in the middle are called kumo-mame. Mame means beans and also means "health," symbolizing a wish for health in the New Year.



I haven't had this meal for a while so it was very nice to taste the New Year : ) Then after the food it was the kid's favourite time - Otoshidama giving. The kids get given special envelopes with some money.



Oliver was bit confused...



Yuzuki and Runa were very happy.

This is a very expensive tradition we have here in Japan, it is similar to ang pao money in Chinese culture. When I was kid I loved this time but as you become parents it just hurts as you need to spend so much money (after spending a fair bit for Christmas...) but for sure it made the kids very happy : )