Day Trip to Nikko

Nikko is a 2 hour drive from Tokyo located in Tochigi Prefecture, Northeast of Tokyo. It's temples and shrines are World Heritage sites in Japan. A great way to enjoy the beauty of nature including Lake Chuzenji and numerous waterfalls in the area.


Toshogu Shrine & Rinnoji Temple

Justin was in a drawing mood today. He started sketching things he saw while resting on a bench. He did a very nice drawing of the ticket office, the five storied pagoda and the Torii Stone gate. After our visit to Toshogu temple and Rinnoji Temple, we proceeded to a restaurant nearby for lunch.

While waiting for our lunch, Justin continued to make sketches of the scenery outside. We had the speciality of Nikko, Yuba noodles. Yuba is made from soy milk. Similar to "tau ghee" and is Papa's favourite.


Kegon Waterfall

On the way up to Kegon Waterfall, we stopped by a viewing point for some photos. The kids were beginning to see some snow on the ground and got quite excited.

Senjogahara Plateau

The boys in the background

Long straight road

On a bridge before Senjogahara Plateau

Senjogahara Plateau

The scenery at Nikko was just amazing and beautiful. It is a popular tourist spot during autumn when the leaves change colour and start falling. Not many people go to Nikko during winter, but I still enjoyed Nikko nonetheless. No traffic jams along the way. The kids enjoyed themselves most playing with the snow.

Egg Tarts

Today is Jon's day. I promised to bring him out in the afternoon. Justin was at his friend's birthday party and wouldn't be back till 6pm. But at 2:45pm when Jon was still sleeping I decided to make some egg tarts for his afternoon snack. I had bought the mini tart molds recently from Kappabashi.

It is a surprisingly simple dessert to make. Ingredients are eggs, plain flour, milk, butter and sugar. Then, into the oven to bake for 20 mins.

Egg tarts in the oven

Removed from mold to cool

Close up view

Verdict?

Jon loved it!

After his snack, we went out for a walk. He requested to ride on his favourite shuttle bus to the station. So we did. We walked around the shops at the station before taking the bus back home again. Just in time before Justin and Papa came home. A relaxing Friday. (*Smiles*)

NHK Studio Park

I brought the kids to NHK Studio Park in Shibuya before school term started. Admission fee is 200 yen for adults, 150 yen for senior high school students and free for children (before junior high and below). Although everything is in Japanese, there are visitor guides in English, Chinese and Korean.

The tour gives a behind-the-scenes view of NHK TV and radio studio.

1. Welcome Studio. We were greeted by a huge 150-inch Hi-Vision screen. Jonathan was brave enough to step in front of the camera, and the camera man focused the camera at him. His face was shown on the huge TV screen. Justin on the other hand, was very shy and hid behind the pillar giggling away.

2. BS Digital Plaza. Presentation of television broadcasts. That is where Jon took a picture with an oversized TV control.

3. Lifestyle Programme Centre. Pretending to be on "Tameshite Gatten", a life science progam, answering a series of questions.

4. NHK World Radio Japan "Fureai" Studio. This is the studio for Radio Japan. No recordings at that time but a rather interesting notice pasted on the glass windows which read "No banging of glass windows, the whole world can hear you".


5. Dubbing Studio. A chance to dub voices for cartoons and TV shows. We gave that a miss because it would have been difficult to read the instructions in Japanese with the 2 boys.

6. Samurai Drama Studio. Jon took a picture with the costumes.

7. Design Land. This is the kid's favourite area. Their images were superimposed on the television screen which showed a series of scenes - in the clouds & under the sea with a huge octopus. They tried it three times.

8. Experience Studio Q. A little girl in the audience was trying to be a weather girl behind the blue screen.

9. History of broadcasting. Shows images about the 80 years of broadcasting in Japan.

10. Studio Viewing Corner. The boys looked at how a studio looked like. We spent 5 minutes looking at how the workmen were reproducing a scene.

11. 3-D Hi-Vision Theatre. We watched a 15 minutes 3D show without the need for special glasses.

12. Kids Plaza. A place for kids to watch NHK cartoon.

We had a simple lunch at the Studio Cafe Restaurant before heading back home. A good way to spend some time out with the children.

Lego Activities

4th January 2010. Justin is in Primary One! Well, technically, if he is in Singapore. How time flies! We applied a Leave of Absence so that he can be re-admitted back to school when he returns. For now, he still has one more week to go before his actual school term starts here.

What have the two of them been up to at home? Fixing their lego sets, board games, playing pretend, etc. Justin has been reading a few books to Jon too. They didn't watch TV. In fact, they haven't touched the TV control for the past 2 days. And surprisingly, Justin stopped playing his trains. Hmm.... is he moving on?

Quietly at work

They have been playing with their Lego - fighter jet, digger, red jet plane and green sports car all day. The ones that they have are 3-in-1s whereby one set can be converted into various vehicles, from a fighter jet to a helicopter. Justin has been fixing one, dismantling it and then re-fixing it into another vehicle.

Happy New Year 2010!

Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu!
あけましておめでとうございます

The phrase means Happy New Year in Japanese. Oshogatsu (new year, お正月) is the most important holiday in Japan. (It is interesting to note that Japanese people started celebrating January 1st as New Year's Day only about 137 years ago, when Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar after the Meiji Restoration. Before that, they celebrated the new year based on the Chinese lunar calendar.)

This is the time to spend with family and loved ones. People receive Nenga-Jo (New Year's postcards) and kids are given Otoshidama (celebration money, the equivalent of Chinese Hong Bao). In Japan, Nenga-Jo are delivered on January 1st. We were delighted to receive nenga-jo from Jonathan sent by his school, his classmate, our Japanese teacher and friends.

We were also privileged to be invited to a Japanese home for Osechi -Ryori on New Year's Eve. Our host prepared various kinds of special dishes. The dishes included kurumame (sweet black beans for health), tazukuri (small sardines), datemaki (sweet rolled omelet), kazunoko (herring roe) wrapped in shiso leaf and kamaboko (cylindrical fish cakes), gomame (small dried sardines), nutritional dish made of kanten (agar agar) and konnyaku jelly, and a heart-warming broth of shimidofu (freeze-dried tofu), chikuwa (tube shaped fish roll), carrots, potato, and other root vegetables, served with gohan (rice).

The gentlemen sat down and enjoyed their champagne and sake. The ladies chatted happily. The kids finished their meal quickly and went to play in the room. It was a very enjoyable night.


Hatsumoude

At 11:15pm on New Year's Eve, we proceeded to Meiji Jingu Shrine for Hatsumoude (the first visit to a temple or shrine in the year). It is a traditional custom for Japanese people to visit a shrine or temple during the New Year to pray for safety, health and good fortune.

On the way to the main shrine building

It was a cold night but the walk from the outer gates to the main shrine building was pleasant. The bonfires lit and managed by scouts gave the visitors directions and warmth. There were stalls selling food along the way. When we reached the outside of the main shrine building, crowds were forming for the people who wanted to visit the temple at the stroke of midnight. Even though the crowds were huge, everyone stayed in their queues and moved in a very orderly fashion. We waited till 12:20am before entering the main shrine area.

Crowds waiting outside the South Gate

Waiting in line

Background: Main Shrine Building

After another wait, our turn came to go to the main shrine building but there were too many people to go to the front with Jonathan. I threw the coin from behind, said a prayer and clapped my hands twice. We walked back to the entrance of the gate, had supper early in the morning, greeted each other Happy New Year, before heading back home.

A good start to Year 2010!