One spring day

It is so special to me spending spring time here in Japan. Watching my boys enjoy being outside makes me smile :)
This year is extra special as my little sister had a baby and she is off work. We have been doing lots of things together, so nice to have a baby friend who is your sister!!

Oliver took his little cousin to a park the other day:



Baby Rua is already 2 months old:



We stopped at my favourite bakery to get some lunch and ate in the park. Things taste so much better when you are in the fresh air!



Oliver was in full swing again, the boys love playing with Shinobu so much. Spending longer in Japan this time they feel so much more comfortable around their Japanese family.



Luca:



Found a little Sakura tree:





Again Oliver took my little camera and practiced his photo taking, he is getting better and better don't you think?

Sakura Chiru

It is such a shame these beautiful sakura don't last long. But for us Japanese it is also nice to see the petals blown by winds and making a pink carpet. Feels like spring is passing by in a hurry...

Oliver's view

When we were at the cafe enjoying nice sweets and coffee, Yumiko took Oliver for a walk. I gave Oliver my small camera to take some photos.

He came back with some interesting photos.



















I just love what he pays attention to.

Visit to Tennoji

Like two years ago we hopped on a train to catch up with my old workmates in the city. Oliver insisted we go on "Ocean Arrow" but I found out it doesn't stop at our train station any more so instead we got on "Kuroshio".



Unfortunately the non-reserved seats were quite full and I had Luca in a buggy so we had to stand by the window. But it was the perfect height for Oliver to check out the view.



He was happyish but still complained it was not Ocean Arrow...

We met up with Yumiko and Tomoko at the station and walked to Chie's house. I haven't been to Tennoji for over a year and a half, I was amazed how much has changed. There used to be lots of old shops but they are all gone and have been replaced by brand new malls and shops. I would love to go back when Matthew is over here next time to check out more.

Chie had bought a big red snapper from a morning market and was waiting for us. She made us this great seafood dish and pasta - not to mention we enjoyed some beer and champagne with it :)



Yumiko got Oliver a boys day present:



Tomoko with Luca:



After girly chat over nice lunch we met up with our old boss at a cafe. He is still very casual and so cool!



They told me they are visiting us in Singapore this summer. I am so looking forward to having them over to share our new home :) I better get settled and be ready. See you soon!

Oh and on the way home we hopped on Haruka to make Oliver's day extra special but he was too tired and fell asleep and missed most of the ride - bless him...

My hands are...

It is a part of Japanese culture to have a long bath soak at night. The boys are getting used to the routine and are loving fun bath time. But when we spend a while in the bath Oliver complains his hands are rainbow - yeah he means wrinkly.



I haven't told him he is using the wrong word it is just too cute!

Which one ?

At the train station there is a display of all the trains which passes or stops at our station.

When we went out the other day Oliver had a very good look at them. He was determined he was going to get on Ocean Arrow and Haruka.

I guess we have to go somewhere a bit further before we head back to Singapore to make a little man's dream come true.

A girl with a red backpack

Yuzuki (my older sister Mako's youngest) has started primary school (1-6th form) this week. She looked so cute in her brand new uniform with her bright red randoseru / Japanese school leather backpack.





You are supposed to use the same backpack for the entire 6 years. When we were little there wasn't much selection for these backpacks but now you can get all sort of colours and designs. Yuzuki's one is very girly with lots of hearts on it. I like it!

Sakura saku

The day has come! My favourite time of the year in Japan - Cherry blossoms in full bloom! We were away for the weekend in Wakayama prefecture where the cherry blossoms had already came and gone, I had to make a special effort to go to my usual viewing spot before it's too late.

We only got there after 4pm so the light was soft but the photos didn't come out as bright as last time we were here for it. Still very impressive to see though.



I was so happy!! You can tell I didn't know what to do? - jumping on the tree branch?



Oliver wanted to copycat me but I wasn't quite tall enough...



Doesn't smell strong - but just nice subtle smell:





Such a beautiful sight. I am so happy to be Japanese.





We walked to a park to have an early dinner under Sakura trees. Oliver was very impressed with the flower tunnel:







Unfortunately it rained so heavily yesterday so most of cherry blossoms are already gone. I was so happy Matthew was here to enjoy beautiful wonderful Japan with us :) We will be back again next year for sure!

If you are thinking of visiting Japan, I highly recommend picking this very special time of the year.

This is what I love

After grandma left to Nagoya we decided to go down to the beach. It was too cold to put our feet in the water but I really enjoyed the fresh air and clear sea water.

Oliver couldn't believe he saw his favourite train right in front of him:



Awesome stone beach:





It was low tide when we visited but when it is high tide this is a great paddling spot. This was our spot for so many years.



And this little pool - we used to call it "our bath" as the water gets very warm from the sun. We used have a dip every time we got too cold from swimming.



Miyakuni sisters :)



And our kids:



There is another spot we used to go - only 5 min drive from where we were. Can you see why this beach is very special??
-Yap the wave comes from both sides!



We realised how much we missed being there and what our kids are missing out on. So my sisters and I decided to visit there again this summer. I cannot wait! It will be so much fun :)

At grandma's house

On the next day we all visited grandma's house where we spent so many holidays. The house is surrounded by mountains and it takes only 5 minutes to walk to the sea. She moved to Nagoya 5 years ago so nobody lives in the house but we are keeping it as a holiday house.

I think I started to go there when I was 5 for summer and new year holidays. So to me over 30 years of memories in this house. I really miss visiting the place but without her and grandpa there it is not the same anymore... Very sad... But I hope we can keep the house in the family so we won't stop visiting this wonderful place.



Family photo time:



Once more all of us together:



Time to say goodbye:



I hope it won't be too long we visit her again next. She is just so important to us and I really want Oliver and Luca to get to know their great-grandmother.