A Fish Out of Water

Bear hat

Here's an outfit from back in May, when Shuma was just eight months old and still couldn't really pull off a collared shirt, due to having no neck. But we know of a way to overcome that:

Ears on a hat. Guaranteed to make any baby 25% cuter.

A walk in the park

Here are some pictures from two recent trips to the park. We go every chance we get, although I haven't been in what seems like ages thanks to a nasty cold that's sweeping through our family. He gets to practice his full range of transportation there. Crawling, climbing, walking with a walker, walking without a walker, and his favourite: riding on his dad's shoulders.

LUCKY!

Here's a sweet little romper featuring a basket full of desserts with happy smiley faces. I guess if you were in possession of such a basket you'd be lucky. Four delicious goodies to eat! And/or four new friends to play with! Or maybe you'd be unlucky, because you'd have to choose between friendship and tasty snacks. How could you possibly eat something with a cute happy face? On the other hand, how could you resist such delicous baked goods?

Oh what a sweet dilemna!

Kinchakuda

At the end of September I took Shuma to Kinchakuda, a park in Hidaka City, Saitama that is famed for its flowers. I've been wanting to go for years but never had the time, and now that I often find myself at a loss as to how I'm supposed to fill up the days with a baby I thought this would be a nice little outing. I was right, and aside from a really sore back from carrying him for most of the day things went great. I'm guessing the early toddler years are a good time to do touristy stuff like this, before he's old enough to get bored of it.

The park can be visited as part of a hike or long walk, but I chose to go directly from the station (Koma Station on the Seibu Chichibu Line). It took about fifteen minutes and was a rather pleasant walk, along paths lined with farm fields, rice paddies and chestnut orchards. There were also vendors for much of the way selling local flowers, produce and crafts. I was interested in the sesame, which we'd seen growing a few years ago in nearby Hanno, and I wonder if the area produces a lot of it.

There were also plenty of flowers, and as we got closer to the park they increased, as did the crowds. After paying my 200 yen entry fee, this is what I saw:

The flowers in question are called here manjushage (曼珠沙華), and more commonly known as higanbana (彼岸花; English names include red spider lily, cluster amaryllis, and storm lily).

This is what a single flower looks like, and it's beautiful enough on its own, but people come here to see thousands of them together in a sea of red. Indeed, if you've seen a picture of a field of higanbana then it was probably taken here, as Kinchakuda is famed throughout Japan. Speaking of pictures, I wasn't expecting to take amazing ones, but here are some examples of what more talented photographers can do with these flowers.

So of course even though we went on a weekday we had to deal with major crowds, and it was slow moving along the narrow paths in the park. Luckily the place is well-designed and the number and layout of the paths make it possible to occasionally escape the worst crowding and also get some pictures that aren't filled with people.

There was evidence here and there of the previous week's Typhoon 15, one of the biggest storms to pass through in recent memory. Here a few trees have been knocked over but left where they lay, presumably so as not to disturb the flowers.

Near the middle of the park was a market area full of vendors selling snacks and local products, so I bought a simple lunch and found a place by the nearby Komagawa River to sit down and eat it. Shuma charmed the pants off of the surrounding picnickers, and the couple seen on the right in the above picture gave him a manju (sweet bun stuffed with red bean jam). Which I brought home for Hideaki, because Shuma hasn't discovered sweets yet.

Across the river was a small landslide from the typhoon. The river was nice and shallow and looked to be a great spot for swimming in the summer, so we'll be back.

The other side of the park was far less crowded, perhaps because the flowers weren't quite in full bloom yet.

Can you spot the dragonfly above? It's an akatombo (red dragonfly, or autumn darter), the same as the one below:

This is the Aiaibashi Bridge, a pedestrian bridge said to be the biggest of its type in Japan.

Every once in a while there were white higanbana, which are even harder to photograph than red (the flowers also come in pink and yellow).

Watch out squeamish people, a spider shot follows:

You didn't think I would do a whole post without a picture of Shuma, did you? Of course, it was hard to take his picture- he can stand by himself but every time I backed up to take his picture he would grab the flowers and try to eat or otherwise destroy them.

By the time I left the higanbana section of the park it was late afternoon. This would be a good time for serious photographers to visit, as the light was lovely and the crowds were thinning out.

Nearby there were fields of cosmos. The park actually has several types of flowers that bloom throughout the year, although higanbana are by far the most famous.

More pictures can be seen here.

 

Kinchakuda
Saitama-ken Hidaka-shi Koma Hongo 125-2
042-982-0268
15 minutes from Koma Station on the Seibu Chichicu Line; can also be accessed on hiking routes from Komagawa Station (JR Hachiko and Kawagoe Lines) and Hanno Station (Seibu Ikebukuro Line)
Open daily from 7:00am to 5:00pm during the higanbana season (two to three weeks around late September, but varies; season announced in September here)
Admission 200 yen during the higanbana season; free during the rest of the year
Parking 500 yen
Wheelchair and stroller accessible, but most paths are unpaved and crowds may be hard to navigate

Canada, Part Two

After a few weeks visiting my family in Brampton, Ontario, Canada (the first part of the trip was blogged here) my sister arrived, followed a few days later her daughter Zoe. We now had an almost complete family reunion (only my husband and nephew were missing) and to make it extra special we drove up to Sauble Beach and stayed in a rented cottage for a week.

It was a little bit early for really great beach weather, but we did have some nice warm days and it was nice being in a more northerly growing zone because we got kind of an extended spring. The best part: more lilacs! I had been so glad to see the lilacs in bloom my family's garden, which I haven't been home for in years and years, and here I got to enjoy the flowers all over again.

Sherry (my brother's girlfriend) and Shuma (9 months old) enjoying the lilacs in the cottage's lovely garden.

Here's Julie and Shuma on the deck. We spent as much time out here as we could, but mosquitoes, rain and cool weather often kept us inside.

I love Shuma's old-man face here.

Besides recently learning to pull himself up to standing, he started spending more time on his belly (something he's never enjoyed). No crawling yet though.

He reports that the sand on Sauble Beach is delicious.

Here's Zoe demonstrating out traditional family "glorp" sandcastle technique.

Don't go thinking she did all the work though- this masterpiece was a group effort.

Here is Shuma taking over an abandoned sand hill (you could hardly call this inferior creation a sandcastle, could you?).

And Zoe modeling her new floppy hat (she's a real actual model currently working the runways in Thailand).

Us older ladies had some nice hats of our own.

Sauble Beach is actually really beautiful, but on this day we were at the dog-friendly section. Which is right next to the parking lot.

There were swings right on the beach and we got plenty of use out of them.

Oh yeah, and the water? Freezing! Only the hardiest could get in past their feet (this was Lake Huron in June after all, and even in Sauble's shallow waters it was about 14C) but guess who loved it?

Shuma "Nerves of Steel" Nakazawa, that's who.

When the weather cooled we hung around in town.

And went for walks.

We found these pretty pink lady slippers by the side of the road.

And some some inviting places to take a rest.

Our cottage was very nice and had plenty of visitors, like this popcorn-loving chipmunk and the chickadee below.

This window feeder attracted many birds more exotic than this, but goodness they were fast! No chance of me getting a picture. One night my parents heard some noise outside, and in the morning the feeder lay in pieces on the ground. We figured raccoons but when we told the cottage owner she thought it might be a bear. Yikes!

We took plenty of little trips and always seemed to end up in Wiarton, including a stop at Howell's Fish for some local whitefish, perch and trout. Mom fried it up for a wonderful Father's Day dinner.

Also near Wiarton was this section of the Bruce Portage, an old route between southern Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. We were in search of a nice easy hike and were somewhat disappointed to find only a very short trail, but this would have been a nice place if we'd had a boat or some fishing gear. And we did manage to see lots of pretty flowers, an eagle's nest (and the eagle herself), and a turtle nest surrounded by hatched eggshells. And Shuma got a nice new stick.

We kept passing this Turtle Crossing sign on our drives, but never saw any turtles.

Wiarton is home to Wiarton Willy of Groundhog Day fame (he is the Canadian version of Punxsutawney Phil). I got to see the groundhog himself (or at least the bit of his fur visible as he napped in his nest) and of course we all admired this tribute to him. Majestic, isn't it?

My family's groundhog impersinations (I feel that Shuma and Cletis could have tried a little harder).

Wiarton had a little playground where we swung and watched Shuma practice his standing, and a nice waterfront and small historic downtown where the ladies did a bit of shopping while Shuma napped in the car.

And a nice pub with an outdoor patio. This is the kind of place I really miss when I'm in Japan.

Cool weather didn't completely keep us from the beach. There were sticks to collect, views to admire, and rare piping plovers to spot.

And of course the swings. This time I got a nice view of Shuma's curls.

We spent some time at Sauble Falls. We used to play in these falls when we were kids and especiially loved sliding down on our bums, but on this day the level was too high and the weather too cool to do much. Dad did get to show Zoe how to find crayfish, and I almost stepped on two snakes out sunning themselves on rocks. That's always fun.

Shuma was not terribly impressed though. Not even by the snakes.

He did like Shipwreck, the pirate-themed fish & chips place in Tobermory, though.

He ate some fries, made some great faces, and patiently posed on my shoulder (get it? he's a parrot. ha!). And the adults enjoyed some really good fish & chips.

We went for a nice walk in the woods nearby, starting with a climb up this lookout tower.

The view must be spectacular on clear days. It was petty nice anyway, but it's hard to see that with these pictures. Keep in mind that those trees below are not runty at all, and you'll understand that it was a bit scary up there.

Again, Shuma just wasn't impressed.

Lady slipper.

Lilly of the valley.

Forget-me-nots.

The path ended at the water, right near the tip of the Bruce Peninsula where Lake Huron meets Gerogian Bay.

Shuma was having much more fun now (he always has fun with Aunt Sherry).

Wow, that was like a million pictures, and it still doesn't come close to showing how much fun we had. Oh well.

I'll wrap up my visit to Canada in another post, and until then you can see even more pictures here. Please note that many of these pictures are not mine (namely: the good ones, which are by my brother Greg Bishop, his girlfriend Sherry Park or my father Jim Bishop).

Sleeping bag

Here Shuma models his new Ikea sleeping bag. When I was buying it last week I noticed that his old ones, which he was still using, were only meant for up to six months. Oops.

I do love footed pajamas, but sleeping bags keep him just a little warmer. When it's cold enough he can wear jammies AND a the bag, but until he's old enough not to kick off/get tangled in blankets we're sticking with a regular long-sleeved onsie and a sleeping bag. And of course his trusty mittens, which keep those little razor-sharp nails from messing up his pretty face while he scratches in his sleep.

This is the sleeping bag in use, with Shuma peacefully asleep. Little does he know that he's about to be rudely awakened with a camera in his face. Poor little guy.

Here's a better view of the giraffe on the bottom of the bag (it's a hedgehog up top).

And here is Shuma's morning stretch routine, showing the range of movement possible in the bag.

And I might as well keep showing pictures, because I got some nice ones.

Those teeth! Seven so far, and not a new one in months. Note the chip in his front tooth- no idea how it happened, I just noticed it one day. And ouch- was it ever sharp at first!

That hair!

This is a particularly spectacular example of his morning bedhead.

I know, it looks like he spent hours getting it just right.

I guess he's just naturally perfect.

丸ごとトマトの味噌汁

Here's a nice early-autumn dinner we had recently. From top left: maitake-niratama (maitake mushrooms and garlic chives stir-fried with egg); umeboshi (pickled ume plums); tori no kurozu teriyaki (chicken teriyaki with black vinegar, served with green peppers); simmered mystery squash; marugoto tomato no misoshiru (miso soup with whole tomato); steamed rice; kabu to abura-age no nibitashi (simmered turnip roots and greens with fried tofu).

The last time I posted about a meal with the soup I had a few questions about it. It's actually really easy to do and very yummy, with the tomato adding a pleasent sweetness, amplifying the umami of the miso and dashi, and giving an unexpected but nice kick of acidity. Plus if you use really good tomatoes you get that lovely garden-fresh tomato flavour. Try it for yourself: the recipe follows.

丸ごとトマトの味噌汁 (Marugoto tomato no misoshiru: Whole Tomato Miso Soup)

2 small tomatoes
400 ml dashi (instant or freshly made)
2 Tbsp regular miso, or to taste
1 or 2 stalks of hosonegi (thin long onions, also known as bannou negi or konegi- substitute thin green onions)

Prepare the dashi in a small pot. Wash and core the tomatoes.

Pierce the core of one tomato with a fork.

Holding the tomato over an open flame and turn to evenly char skin.

It is not necessary to completely char the skin; it should be blackened in some areas and have a crack or two. It shouldn't take more than half a minute.

Set aside to cool, repeat with other tomato.

Peel the skin off of both tomatoes, taking care not to damage the flesh.

Add the tomatoes to the dashi, bring to a simmer over medium heat, then turn to low and cook until tomatoes are soft, about five minutes. Do not boil or overcook, or tomatoes may disintegrate. Meanwhile, thinly slice the hosonegi.

Stir in miso and taste, adding more if needed. Transfer each tomatoe to a soup bowl, ladle broth over and garnish with the hosonegi.

Note: if gas range is unavailable or if using a large number of tomatoes, peel them in the usual way: dunk into rapidly boiling water for a few seconds, remove to a bowl of ice water, and peel.

Serves 2

Crimson and Clover

Here are a couple pictures from recent outings; first to Kinchakuda in Saitama to see the higanbana (red spider lilies) and then to Tokyo Midtown in search of a baby swing.

Hopefully I'll get around to posting about both visits soon.