Nishi Rokugo Koen

Also know as "Taiya Koen" or "Tire Park". Yesterday while I was helping out at a school marketing event and then hooping, Roo and Ryan visited tire park in Ota-ku. Arriving home dusty and dirty, the guys had stories about the tires, but most of Roo's excitement revolved around the numerous trains that barrel pass the park. In fact, he set right to work building his own convoluted city of Shinkansen tracks. These days most of his play is with super heroes or race cars, so it was fun to see him go a little retro and play with his wooden train set.

Book Review: Three Cups of Tea

by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin. A wonderful story about a man who is a strong candidate for a Nobel Peace Prize. And, he's a Minnesota native. Every American could benefit by hearing this story. Three Cups of Tea is required reading for U.S. senior military commanders, for officers in the Norwegian War College, Forsvarsnett, for U.S. Special Forces deploying to Afghanistan, Pentagon officers in counter-insurgency training, and Canadian Defense Ministry members. It, as well as a young readers version, is available in many languages.

Links:

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time

Central Asia Institute

Scandinavia

This month at school Roo has been learning about his ancestral land (mostly) of Scandinavia. September has been filled with conversation about fjords, vikings, and beet salad. Today the children demonstrated their Nordic culinary and hospitality skills by hosting their parents at the Viking Cafe in their classroom. A suprise performance in their long boat preceded the feast. Unfortunately Roo had an intruding horn in front of his face for most of the performance.

The children in their long boat with horned hats, shields and oars.

Each child decorated an old t-shirt and then using a real sewing machine, attached their t-shirt half to one anothers to create a sail for their long boat.

Roo's Viking next to a campsite. The circles are shields.

His fierce looking shield.

Daddy & Roo.

Roo and Lucy, our tables serving staff.

The food: bread, cheese, grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, beet salad, meat balls, boiled potatoes and for dessert, sweetened rice cooked in milk. I told Ryan it reminded me of family reunion food in Hanska, MN.

Our placemat.

"We are the vikings big and strong..."

Nara

After a very crowded look at Kyoto’s Kiyomizu Temple, we traveled further countryside to the smaller town of Nara. The main attraction in Nara is the Todaiji Temple and it’s object of worship, the bronze and gold Vairocana Buddha. The Todaiji temple is the largest wooden structure in the world. The sika deer, regarded as messengers of God, roam freely around the temple and park grounds.

Ryan in front of Roo in front of Kiyomizu Temple. The main hall (further back) stands on tall pillars on the mountain side.

We saw many ladies dressed in pretty kimono.

Geisha at Kiyomizu Temple

Beneath the main hall is the Otowa waterfall, where three channels of water fall into a pond. Visitors can catch and drink the waters, which is believed to have therapeutic properties. Drinking the water of the three streams is said to confer wisdom, health, and longevity. However, some Japanese believe that you must choose only two; if you are greedy and drink from all three, you invite misfortune upon yourself.

A coin collector outside the temple.

Trying to feed a deer in Nara Park. There were so many tourists the deer must had their fill of crackers by late in the day.

The entrance to Todai-ji Temple.

The Great Buddha Hall at Todai-ji: Frontage 187.03 ft, Depth 165.61 ft, Height 159.89 ft.

Virocana Buddha: Body Height 48.91 ft.

Nijo Castle

After monkey park we visited the ancient Nijo Castle, constructed in 1603. This 68 acre, six building complex was the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shogun. In contrast to the castles of Europe, the palace interior is clean and unadorned. This simplicity is a beautiful backdrop for the paintings, carvings and gardens that are aesthetically pleasing. Roo had his first look at real "icky dirty moat water".

At the end of the day we retreated to the lovely ryokan, Kanamean Nishitomiya. Ryan and I enjoyed a delicious Japanese dinner, served to us in our room, while Roo amused the young woman serving with his silliness. Later, we all visited the hot bath. A peaceful slumber on a cozy futon and we were refreshed the next morning to continue our adventures.

Iwatayama Monkey Park

Our visit to Kyoto’s common tourist destinations began with a trek up Mount Arashiyama to view its inhabitants, Japanese Macaque monkeys. It’s quite a climb, but well worth the leg cramps. We arrived just in time for the outdoor feeding. There is a human cage from where you can cheaply purchase fruits or peanuts, and piece by piece, feed the monkeys. Laughing at the old fellow that parked himself in a prominent position, we tried to give favor to the brave youngsters that dare test his turf. After a few goes down a playground slide mounted in the side of the mountain, we descended. The playful primates had put a grin on all our faces! We crossed the Oi river to have lunch in the area of Arashiyama. Unfortunately for me, excessive crowds and time didn't permit for any shopping. Next time!

Kyoto

Yesterday we rode the Shinkansen to the culturally rich city of Kyoto. Although, since we're traveling with a five year old, it's unlikely we'll see much of the 1600 Buddhist temples or the 400 Shinto shrines. Instead, our agenda for today is the Iwatayama Monkey Park and maybe the grandest of temples, Ginkaku-ji. Last evening, after a series of family races around the 1.8km gravel loop at Takara-ga-ike-koen (a park) where Roo repeatedly marked the start and finish line, we hopped in a taxi to find dinner. Our thoughts were on American food and Lonely Planet boasted of an establishment called "Speak Easy". While in transit, the driver called for the address. Based on the tone of his voice we suspected something wasn't as expected. Sure enough, when we arrived at the restaurant, it was closed.

But, a young aproned woman was waiting for us outside the open door. They were closed, but willing to serve us because they understood we had a little boy who was hoping to eat American. According to Roo she was "the nicest lady in the whole world".

Eliica

Yesterday I had the opportunity to hear the delightful Professor Hiroshi Shimizu of Keio University talk about his invention, Eliica, the fastest electric car in the world. Apparently, historically, complaints regarding poor performance have plagued the electric vehicle concept. He’s managed to build an eight wheel, eight battery, 800hp futuristic ride that can outperform a Porshe 911 turbo in an acceleration contest. It took Eliica 7.04 seconds to reach 160.km/hr. The Porshe, driven by a professional race car driver, took 9.20 seconds to reach the same speed. The Eliica is capable of a maximum speed of 370 km/hr. The point he stressed was in the area of design. Currently, the auto industry uses the template of today’s vehicles and outfits them with an electrical system. He was adamant that to achieve an acceptable level of performance and space to appeal to consumers, the auto industry needs to work design from the ground up, rather than rig an internal combustion vehicle. The name of his talk was titled "The Engineer’s Answer to Global Warming". Just last month, a new company called SIM Drive was established to aid the auto industry in their quest for environmentally friendly vehicle technology. Mr. Shimizu is the President of this company.

Book Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Stieg Larsson. In 2008, Swedish author Stieg Larsson was the second best selling author in the world. Interestingly, his series of novels were not published until after his death in 2004. The completed manuscripts for his novels were found in his home, along with unfinished work that was to be part of a lofty ten book series. Writing was his way to unwind in the evening after an apparently dangerous job as editor of the anti-racist magazine, Expo. I liked this book, which falls in the category of political and journalistic thriller. While the start and finish were slow and full of what I’d consider extraneous material, the mystery in the middle kept my attention. He has filled many pages establishing the characters. The story contains some surprising twists. If you’re looking for a chance to break away from America’s crime or thriller writers, (Patricia Cornwell, John Grisham, Robin Cook) give Stieg Larsson a go. The Swedish backdrop is an interesting divergence.

Yokohama

While I was off hooping, Ryan and Roo took a day trip 45 minutes south to Yokohama. Like Tokyo, it is a port city on Tokyo Bay. Unlike Tokyo, the shoreline is beautified and promises a lovely day of adventure for children.

The Nippon Maru. Built in 1930, this ship was used to train cadets in the mercantile marine schools, and later used to repatriate Japanese after World War II.

Once on board, a posted sign invites you to give the bunk a try.

A ride at the mini amusement park.

And of course another Ferris wheel. The Cosmo Clock 21, which was the largest Ferris wheel in the world when it was built in 1989 and which also doubles as "the world's biggest clock".

Constructed in the unique shape of a yacht under sail, the hotel InterContinental is an elegant and highly recognized symbol of the newly developed Minato Mirai 21 area.

A roof top mini golf course.

A roof top spa.

No day trip is complete without a stop for vanilla ice cream.