Blue Lotus

Foraging in Tokyo

A few posts back I mentioned picking cherries while at a local park, and I thought I'd follow that up with some pictures from a more recent visit. (The park is actually two parks: Oizumi Chuo Koen in Tokyo and Wako Jurin Koen across the border in Saitama, so the title of this post is a bit misleading as not all of my foraging was actually within Tokyo's borders.)

This is a hebi ichigo (false strawberry), which looks like it would be delicious. The first time I found one here I assumed it would be similar to the wonderful wild strawberries we get at home, so it was a huge disappointment when I had a taste. Despite the colourful, juicy appearance, they dry and have virtually no flavour. Occasionally one will have a hint of sweetness, or a faint melony-cucumber flavour, but it's very subtle. They are fully edible, and don't actually taste bad, but would only be worth picking if you were starving. Still, I occasionally find myself popping one in my mouth, just because.

These are sakura no mi (wild cherries). They're ready when they're black and plump. Over-ripe cherries are slightly wrinkled and should be avoided: they're plenty sweet but likely to be chock full of bugs.

This is the queen of wild fruit, at least in my area: yama ichigo. Literally "mountain strawberry", these are actually a type of raspberry.

They are sweet and mild, and the seeds are lighter and softer than regular raspberries: they are pleasantly crunchy and do not get stuck in your teeth.

This is a yama ichigo flower, the centre of which will eventually turn into a berry. The plants are abundant at the park, but don't produce a lot of fruit--and what fruit they do produce is a bit hard to find, usually hidden under the leaves.

Unfortunately they prefer the same terrain as hebi ichigo produce fruit at roughly the same time. And because the berries look similar, at least from afar, they can be rather annoying to pick. Here are a few hints: up close, yama ichigo plants can be identified by the white flowers--hebi ichigo usually have smaller yellow flowers, and their flower season is long over when the berries ripen. The fruit of the yama ichigo is large and reddish orange, and usually grows off the ground, up to a height of about 40 cm, while hebi ichigo fruit is bright red, small and close to the ground.

These berries weren't very tasty.

Heehee, just kidding, but I did almost reach for one of these ladybugs. This particular tree, and this one only, was just covered with ladybugs--some brand-new and some still in the larval stage. They had an amazing variety of spot patterns and came in three different types: black with orange spots, black with white spots, and reddish-orange with black spots (the orange one at top right has just emerged and will shortly turn a bit darker). There are more varieties of ladybugs in Japan than this, but still the large variety of them on this one single tree was astonishing. I only wish I was able to get a picture with a bunch of them together, but they weren't very cooperative. So failing that this collage gives an idea of how heavily this tree was crawling with ladybugs.

This is what I came home with: a bag of sakura no mi, a bag of yama ichigo and kuwa no mi (mulberries), and a few sprigs each of ki no me (leaves of sansho, or Sichuan pepper) and yomogi (mugwort). There were a few more edible plants that I didn't pick: warabi (bracken fern), which was too mature, and tampopo (dandelion) which were too far out in the open (see warning below). And those are just the plants that I know and can identify. I wonder what other edible herbs and berries are out there?

Here's a better look. Clockwise from left: yama ichigo, sakura no mi, ki no me, hebi ichigo, kuwa no mi. I had originally planned to turn the berries into jam or liqueur but I ended up just eating them as-is. Hopefully the park will continue to produce berries for a few more weeks, and then I'll get to do something more exciting with them.

So if you live in Tokyo, don't assume that it's all a concrete jungle! Sakura no mi and kuwa no mi abound even in the city, and other edible treats may be lurking around as well. The next time you're at a park or even just walking through the streets, keep your eyes peeled. An easy way to find cherries and mulberries is by searching the ground for black splotches caused by fallen fruit: look up and you see fruit that is dark puple to black and looks like a berry, it probably is. One little bite will tell you if it's tasty or not.

* Caution: Poisonous berries are relatively rare and tend to look different from edible berries, so if you know what wild cherries, raspberries, mulberries etc. look like you'll be fine. Poisonous berries tend to be white, green or bright red and are bitter enough that you'll want to spit it out immediately. As far as I know there are no berries in Japan that can cause harm from just one taste.

A more practical warning is to steer clear of low-lying berries and herbs out in the open, especially in dog-intensive areas. I think you can guess why. Yama ichigo are safe as the stalks have thorns. And avoid berries that touch the ground, are mishapen and are discoloured as they are more likely to have extra protein, if you get my drift.

Sunday at the park

 

On Sunday evening we heard the news: tsuyu (the rainy season) had officially begun. Overnight, the weather obligingly turned cool and rainy, but Sunday itself was a lovely sunny day, perfect for spending at the park. We went to Wako Jurin Koen in Wako City, Saitama, a very nice big park just a few minutes' walk from our apartment.

As if they knew that tsuyu had started, a few hydrangea were in beautiful full bloom. The rest were holding out for the rain to begin, but were pretty in their own way.

 

 

The park was not as full of people as it usually is: a nice day like this and it's usually packed. Almost everyone headed for the brand-new playground, which seems far too small to support the kids it was swarmed with. It is completely dwarfed by the giant taikukan (gym), which is run by the city (not my city though, so as a resident of Nerima I have to pay twice as much as Wako folks). It is about a year old, and I was surprised to see how well the grass and greenery on the side of the building is doing. It's certainly in better shape than the grass on the ground. Lawns are in imported idea and it seems the Japanese still have trouble getting it right, but that's a subject for a different post.

 

 

We had a picnic lunch and then I set off to find dessert. Hideaki didn't join me as he's not much of a forager: e knows wild fruit sometimes comes with bugs. The wimp. I say a little extra protein never hurt anybody, so off I went, leaving him to nap the afternoon away.

 

These are sakura no mi (wild cherries), from the same trees that produced the sakura (cherry blossoms) I took so many pictures of earlier this spring. Hardly anyone knows they are edible, and indeed most of them are unpleasantly bitter, but a few trees produce good sweet-tart fruit.

 

 

It seems I'm not the only one who likes the cherries. These little bundles of pits and skins litter the ground around the sakura trees, and I'm not sure what they are. The park's bird population explodes this time of years, with crows especially numerous, so I'm guessing these are regurgitated pellets from the crows. Or maybe (very clean) droppings from the tanuki (raccoon dogs) that are said to live in the park. Can anyone help identify it?

 

Another interesting discovery, this one not needing to be identified: the giant beak gives it away as a crow skull. Perhaps a bit gloomy to include in this post, but I hope you'll think of it as I did: a reminder that life is short and should be enjoyed while it lasts. And that's exactly why we head to the park on sunny Sundays: life is too short not to take time to nap on the grass and smell the flowers.

お花見

On the weekend we took advantage of some lovely weather to have our first hanami (flower viewing) picnic of the year. We didn't eat under the sakura (cherry blossoms), which are the usual choice for hanami, as they won't b blooming for another three weeks or so. Rather it was ume (Japanese apricot blossoms) that decorated our outdoor dining room. Ume are less celebrated than their cherry blossom cousins in part because of the weather: it's still usually too cold to properly enjoy them. But really it's not exactly balmy when the cherry blossoms are out so on a sunny day ume are just as easy to enjoy.

This is what I made for lunch. In the box on the left is dessert: strawberries, apples (including my first ever usagi ringo, a standard bento item made of apple slices cut to look like rabbits) and segments of dekopon, a tangerine-like citrus. Next box: udo (a spring vegetable) dressed with katsuobushi (bonito flakes); cherry tomatoes; soramame (fresh fava beans); tsukune yaki (sauteed chicken patties wrapped in nori and shiso); buta no negimaki (long onion wrapped with pork); broccoli. Next box: fuki (butterbur) simmered with carrots; the same cherry tomatoes, soramame, broccoli and negimaki as the other box; and teriyaki scallops. And in the box on the right are onigiri (rice balls), two stuffed with mentaiko (spicy cod roe) and three mixed with salmon flakes.

To drink we had amazake (a hot drink made of sake less flavoured with sugar and ginger) in the thermos, sake and water. And of course we used real chopsticks, oshibori (wet hand towels) and cups instead of the disposables commonly used. Even if we didn't care about the environment this would be a good thing to do as this park, like many others, has no garbage cans.

This was our view as we ate.

After lunch we took pictures and did some goofy posing. I'll spare you the shot of me with ume buds up my nose.

This is mansaku (witch hazel), which blooms around the same time as ume. It has odd looking flowers but a lovely smell.

Ume also have a fragrance, with an intensity that varies with the type. These ones had almost no smell at all.

Another flower just coming in to bloom is sanshuu (Japanese cornel).

But of course it was the ume was the star attraction. Ume blossoms are fairly long-lived, staying around for longer than sakura do, but I love the flower best when it's a brand-new bud. These will all be open and fully bloomed by the time I make it to the park next, so I'm glad I saw some cute little buds when I had the chance.

Snowy night

Another weekend, another snowfall. The news reports said Tokyo got three centimetres, but in our part of town we had at least ten, and in some areas we measured twenty. This time we skipped the shovelling (by the time we realized the snow was here to stay it was too late at night to ask the landlord for a shovel) and headed to the park.

It may not look like a lot of snow to some of you, but this is the most I've seen in Tokyo in years. Most of the snow was undisturbed and looked just lovely, reminding me that, despite my dislike of cold weather, I really miss the snow back in Canada. There are few things as beautiful as a tree blanketed in snow, or the sparkle of freshly fallen snow in the streetlights.

Ski camp

From December 26th to December 29th I worked as a counselor at an English ski camp run by English Adventure (whose camps and events I work at several times a year). It may seem odd that a complete non-skier like me should work at a ski camp, but it's not really: I'd just be grouped with the beginner skiers, and we'd all be taught by professional Japanese ski instructors.

Winter came late in this part of Japan, so most of the snow was man-made. Which didn't make much of a difference to me and most of the kids, who have never skied on real snow anyway. I had been dreading the cold but actually found the weather too warm, and during the first day of intensive training (crab-walking really builds up a sweat) we were pulling off our hats and gloves and unzipping our jackets.

We stayed in large cabins with several rooms each featuring tatami mats and futons-- much nicer than the tents we sleep in during summer camps. Breakfasts and dinners were cooked in the cabins, with lunch at the ski lodge on the two ski days (gyudon and curry rice, standard Japanese ski-lodge fare) and bento boxes for lunch on the first and last days. Above is a hearty camp breakfast: scrambled eggs and sausages, with the fruit varying between mandarins and bananas and the starch being either a mini-croissant, muffin or bagel (granola bars available anytime for snacking or meals). Nobody went hungry at this camp!

So yes, I finally learned how to ski. Kind of. That's me, and while you may laugh at my awkward, legs-wide-apart stance, I'm simply proud that I was upright when this picture was taken. My lack of skiing ability has long been a source of shame and is the result of a sad series of events. Here is the story (watch out, it's a long one):

Japanese people are always shocked when they learn I can't ski, since they imagine that Canada is a land of mountains and perpetual winter and that all Canadians are master skiers. It turns out that quite the opposite is true: Japan is a land of mountains, and is also so tiny that everybody lives within a few hours of a ski hill. Skiing also lacks the image it has in the west of being a sport for the wealthy, and although the equipment is costly the Japanese are used to paying a lot of money for leisure activities. Thus virtually everyone in Japan can ski. Back in Canada, if you don't happen to live near the mountains skiing is costly and time-consuming, so not everyone does it.

I had my first chance to ski when I was 12 or so, during a school trip to Camp Tawingo. To prepare, before the camp all the grade seven students were supposed to have a ski lesson at a tiny local ski hill, but I missed out. My memory is hazy but apparently the gifted class, which consisted of three grades and mostly stayed apart from regular classes (and of which through some colossal error I was a member of) was on a library visit and our teacher forgot to excuse us. So while the rest of the seventh graders learned the basics I was idling away in the library.

Needless to say, once I was up at Tawingo I had a hard time, and quickly discovered that the easiest way down the hill was to simply sit on my skis and slide. Which kept me from bodily harm, but resulted in injury of another sort: I earned the nickname "Bumski" and was teased mercilessly. My already fragile confidence plummeted, and I decided that I hated skiing.

This attitude lasted for several years, until I was in my early twenties and living in Vancouver. Unlike the suburbs of Toronto, Vancouver is a very sporty, outdoorsy place, and I had fallen in love with the mountains and even discovered (through roller blading) that I didn't completely hate sports. Thus I decided to give skiing a try, and though I lacked the funds I came up with a perfect solution: I landed a job at Cypress Mountain, a ski hill just north of the city. I would work part-time as a waitress and enjoy free rentals and access to the lifts all season.

The job was set to start as soon the snow came, usually some time in November. Well, November came and went, and then December, and as I started to run out of money I realized that Plan A (which involved working at the ski lodge until the snow stopped and then heading up north to plant trees for the summer) might not happen, I made tentative arrangements for Plan B (head for a working holiday to Japan and then backpack around Asia with whatever money I'd made).

Finally I gave up completely and on January 25th, 1996 I boarded a plane bound for Narita. The flight was delayed due to a snow storm, a storm that I later found out produced a record snowfall and finally allowed Cypress Mountain to open.

Plan B never really worked out either, since soon after arriving I met Hideaki and put my plans to travel around Asia on hold indefinitely. And although I'm pretty happy with the way Plan C has worked out, I've always regretted not learning how to ski (beach-hopping around Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia would have been nice too).

When I worked at my first English Adventure ski camp a year ago I thought I'd finally get to ski. But thanks to a mix-up at the ski resort, I wasn't added to the list for lessons and my boss didn't have the insurance to let me loose on the ski hill. It was with a mixture of disappointment and relief (I had become really nervous about skiing by then) that I stayed behind at the ski lodge and took care of the sick and tired campers.

And finally, ski camp 2007. There was no mix-up, the snow-making machine was able to compensate for the lack of snow, and there was no stopping me. Along with Tony, another non-skiing councilor, I joined one of the groups of complete beginners. The first morning I did great, practicing stopping and turning on the baby hill. In the afternoon we went on the lift for the first time and tried the real hill.

And things were different. I am terrified of lifts and unsurprisingly had an accident: when getting off the lift my pole got stuck and I almost lost the hand it was wrapped around. And although I managed to untangle the pole and save my hand, the lift had to be stopped while my pole was retrieved. Zap-- there went all the confidence I'd built up that morning. And then I looked down the hill. It seemed to be a straight drop, and the void where my confidence had once been was filled up by terror.

Little kids don't have much fear, and my beginners group were already zipping down the hill. Tony and I followed as best we could, falling down every minute or so while trying to keep up with the kids who had been our equals just a few hours ago. Not all of them were doing that well though, and two beginners needed constant supervision, which our single instructor couldn't provide. So it was up to me and Tony to stay with them, not offering much in the way of actual help but at least sharing their misery. It was not a great start.

The next day, however, the two skiers who had had trouble the day before were placed with different instructors. And I discovered that once I didn't have to worry about them I was a much better skier. I still fell, and during the very steepest bits I had to resort to the Bumski method. The kids apparently noticed my troubles (note one camper's journal entry above) and had a great time laughing at me. But I managed to remain upright most of the time and I actually started having fun. That afternoon there were no lessons and we were all free to ski as we pleased. I was amazed at how good I was when there were no distractions. My last time down I only fell once, but it hardly counts as it was right at the very end and was more out of habit than anything else.

It may be 22 years late, but I can finally ski. I can't wait to try it again, and Hideaki, who is apparently quite a skier, is eager for a ski trip. As for the camp, it went really well but was the hardest camp I've worked at yet. Maybe the skiing makes it harder or maybe because it was my second ski camp I had more responsibilities and stuff to do. So I was really looking forward to several days of relaxation.

Which I didn't get. I arrived home on the night of December 29th, promptly came down with a cold, gave up packing and went to bed. I was up a few hours later for some frantic unpacking/repacking, and then we caught a 5:30 am bus to the airport, and then on to Osaka for a week-long visit with the in-laws.

Izu Oshima camp

Another reason for the lack of posts recently: I was away at a second summer camp. This time English Adventure headed to Izu Oshima for 4 days, and it turned out to be my favourite camp so far. Oshima is the nearest and largest of the Izu Shoto (also known as Izu Shichito, or Izu Seven Islands), a string of islands that stretch into the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo (Mikurajima, which I visited last year, is also part of the Izu Shoto).

We started early in the morning at Takeshiba Pier, where we (31 campers and 6 staff members) boarded a high-speed ferry to Oshima. The view from the ferry was great, with good views of Tokyo landmarks like the Rainbow Bridge (above) and Haneda Airport, as well as a glimpse of Mount Fuji.

An hour and forty-five minutes later we were on beautiful Oshima. A bus took us to Oshima Park, where we checked out the small zoo. It was actually pretty good by Japanese standards (it didn't make me cry, at least) and although it was free it was nearly deserted so we had the place to ourselves.

Another bus brought us to Umi no Furusato Mura, our campsite. It was nicely situated, with views of the ocean and surrounding mountains.

After settling in a bit, we were divided into our groups. Here is my group, the A-team! I actually had 12 campers, but one (who lives on Oshima) joined us after this picture was taken.

The place had all the usual campsite amenities plus a few extras: a large saltwater pool, a rocky beach, and a cool suspension bridge. 

Wild monkeys (apparently descended from zoo escapees, since monkeys aren't native to the island) could be seen at the other end of the bridge at the crack of dawn, which gave the early risers a big thrill.

The tents were comfortable, cool, (mostly) bug-free, and stayed dry during a few rainstorms, thanks to being pitched on top of a raised wooden deck.

Unlike at the Chichibu camp, we made all of our own meals. Since this was our first time letting kids help cook, we kept it simple: hot dogs, hamburgers, and curry rice. The curry was definitely my favourite.

The beach was rocky and not great for swimming, but it had a pier that was perfect for jumping and diving. Most of the kids took a turn, as did all of the staff-- except me. My LASIK earlier this summer was a good excuse to pass, but I don't think I actually fooled anyone as I'm well-known as a scaredy-cat. I did have fun swimming (gently) around in the water and helping kids climb out of the crashing waves.

The jumps looked like a lot of fun though, and I hope I can muster the courage to try it next year.

The beach next to the campsite was just as rocky, but featured cool tidal pools. We had  a few nature study sessions there, learning about tides, salt and sea creatures.

Plenty of pretty shells were collected, and we caught fish, rock crabs and hermit crabs.

We had a campfire, of course, and before we broke out the marshmallows we sang some old camping songs that really brought me back. It turns out that Derek, a fellow counsellor, is also from Brampton and attended exactly the same summer camps as I did, so we know the same songs. He sings them way better though, and knows all the dances.

Oshima features Mt. Mihara, an active volcano which last erupted in 1986. I guess the chances of it erupting twice in 21 years is slim, because the thing to do is hike up the mountain and around the edge of the caldera, which is just what we did. Unfortunately we had a lot of fog and didn't have great views of the caldera, but it was a good trek.

After the hike we rode a bus to a public beach. It was a real treat to be on a real beach with real sand-- never mind that it was black volcanic sand.

The kids had a great time in the water, swimming, snorkeling, playing water volleyball or just floating around in tubes (next year I'll have to bring an adult sized tube so I can do the same). And there was plenty of activity out of the water too- building sandcastles and canals (one little guy dug himself a private hot spring) and hunting for shells.   

After four days, I came home feeling like I always do after camps-- completely exhausted. Yet I also had so much fun that I'm still not sure if I should be getting paid for the experience, or paying for it. I hope the kids enjoyed it as much as I did.

Summer camp

If you're wondering why I haven't been posting recently, it's partly because my camera is broken, and partly because I'm busy. And most of the busyness comes from working at English camp last week, which is where these pictures are from.

As usual, it was an English Adventure camp, and it was just as fun as the others. This time my husband and I went up to the campsite, located in Chichibu, one day early. Our plans to relax and enjoy nature were somewhat dampened by the storm that started up shortly after our arrival, but luckily our log house was comfy and had a balcony with a roof and a bbq so at least we got in some good eating.

Dinner was yaki-niku (Korean bbq), with beef, pork, eggplant, green peppers and kabocha squash marinated in a Korean-style sauce. Brunch the next day was rice and tonjiru (miso soup with pork and vegetables). Both were yummy, hearty and easy meals that also happen to be classic outdoor foods in Japan.   

The heavy rain and fog continued until the next morning but pretty much cleared up by the time the campers arrived, which was great for the kids (and not so great for my husband, who headed home without ever seeing the sun). 

They were a great group of kids, a bit younger than usual and very very cute. We did hiking, nature games, martial arts, a big campfire, and plenty of just playing around the campsite. The grounds were huge and despite plenty of roaming around we only saw a bit of it (here is a map of the camspite with clickable icons, and here is what the tents looke like)

My main activities were uploading pictures to the camp blog (which I'm afraid is private, but if a child you know might be interested in attending a future camp I can give you the password) and t-shirt painting. That's my t-shirt above-- the hearts seem a bit silly, but they are actually just a clever way to cover up some spilled red and pink paint.

Lunches and dinners were served buffet-style at the camp cafeteria, and the food was pretty good. The lunch options included curry every day, which the kids were really happy about (me to--I can never get tired of curry rice) and there was plenty of other yummy stuff. This was a typical dinner:

Miso soup, rice, olong tea from the drink bar, spaghetti with bacon and cabbage, salad with beans and carrots, a cabbage roll, yakisoba (fried noodles), minchi katsu (deep-fried cutlet of minced pork) and fried fish. And yup, I ate that much at every meal, and sometimes more! I'm hoping I got enough exercise to balance it out...

Canada visit: Sauble

The second week of my visit back home we went up to Sauble Beach, a place my family has been going to since before I was born. We rented a couple of cottages for 6 days and got a lot of relaxing done. We also did quite a bit of sightseeing, visiting 4 different waterfalls in the area.

The first was Hogg's Falls, about halfway between Brampton and Sauble. They were impressive and had a small pool at the bottom, and if it had been a few degrees warmer we would have taken a dip. We'll have to remember this place for next time.

The cottages were small and basic but nice, with a large yard frequented by chipmunks, bluejays and other critters. The yard came with a fire pit which we made good use of (not every night though-- more than once we were in bed before sundown). The cottages are owned by a sweet lady who kept popping by with delicious treats like espresso (brewed on the bbq!) and cherries from her garden. She and her husband actually live quite close to us in Brampton, and I have a feeling we'll bump into eachother again. 

The only problem with the place was that, like all of Sauble, it was inundated with seagulls. These birds may not look so terrible to those unfamiliar with them, but they are nasty little buggers: when the nice weather inspires us humans to eat outdoors, the little buggers take full advantage, stealing as much food as they can. The feet in the picture below belong to a gull sitting on the roof of our enclosed patio watching for unguarded treats. And not long after I took the picture I had half of my lunch eaten by a quick-moving gull. I had only turned away for second.

Our cottages were just a few minutes' walk to the beach, so we were back and forth all day. Since it was early summer, the water was still freezing cold, but we swam anyway. And when we got tired of that, we built sandcastles.   

And when we got tired of that, we went fossil hunting. Not far from Sauble is Craiglieth Conservation Area, which has a beach lined not in sand, but in shale. This rock is brittle and can be easily broken, which reveals a faint smell of oil (there was once an oil-extracting operation here).

The broken rocks also sometimes reveal ancient fossils, especially trilobites, little creatues that lived here 445 million years ago. Below is the tail of a trilobite, one of the many we found on our visit.

Another day found us at another conservation area, to see another waterfall. This time it was Indian Falls in the Indian Falls Conservation Area, which was a great place to walk around and explore. 

 

 

Back at the beach, the weather cooled down enough to keep us out of the water. We still managed to stay on the beach, and got plenty of other stuff done to: a short canoe trip up Sauble River (we saw a porcupine on the riverbank); a walk to the local Dairy Queen for a long sought-after Skor Blizzard; a few meals of french fries or poutine from the excellent chip stand on the beach; a visit to Sauble Falls (no pictures this time but here's one from a few years ago) and a couple of night walks on the beach to see the stars (and the occasional firefly). 

Finally, on our way home we stopped for one last waterfall, Jones Falls. This one was a bit harder to get close to so I couldn't get many pictures, but here's a nice one of my Dad just upstream from the falls.

As always, more pictures can be seen on Flickr.

Around the house

My trip back home was a fairly relaxed, low-key visit this time, with lots of time spent hanging out at home. And thanks to some lovely weather, much of that time was spent out in the yard. Here is some of the stuff we did.

The back yard was just as inviting as ever, with the patio playing host to family meals and a lounge chair on the grass always available for a few hours of lazy reading. Back here in Japan, this is one of the things I'm missing the most. My little balcony just doesn't compare.

Most of the yard work is done by my brother Greg and his girlfriend Sherry. Greg can also be frequently found manning one of his three barbeques, providing us with many memoriable meals.

Sherry has a way with flowers, with flower beds and hanging baskets full of blooms in all the colours of the rainbow . The poppies were especially pretty.

These lilies, however, seem to grow all by themselves. They've been popping up every year since before I can remember, and are one of the few things back home that never change.

Within a week of my arrival the raspberries were ready. No coincedence: the raspberry, strawberry and cherry seasons were no small factor in the timing of my trip.

It was a good crop, but with several fruit lovers in the house there was never quite enough to go around. Thankfully there are some good patches of wild black raspberries nearby to supplement our berry supply. Add to that a strawberry-picking trip and some neighbors who are always generous with their cherries, and I ate more fruit my one month at home than I do in a year in Japan.

Angus, the newest member of the family, loves the backyard as much as the people do. The other cat Coco (whose pictures were lost, sadly) spent plenty of time outdoors too, but prefered to view the yard from the back door (where there was a greater chance of catching a tasty fly).

One of the reasons the cats like the outdoors: that's where the squirrels are. Thanks to a steady supply of birdseed and peanuts, there are several who either live in the yard or frequent it daily. And soon to be more: we were treated to the spectacle of a squirrel couple "courting" for a few days straight, and then building nests for the upcoming brood.

At night the fireworks came out. Greg and his friend Jim put on several shows in the backyard or, for the serious blasts, in the field behind our house:

See more pictures here.

Camping

This weekend my husband and I hopped into a rental car and drove up to a little town in the middle of nowhere Saitama called Tokigawa-cho. Why? For a camping trip, our first in 3 years. We stayed at a nice little place called Ki no Mura Kyampu-jo and had a great weekend.

Of course, I'm using the term "camping" very loosely. We do have a tent and camping gear, and actually used to use it, but since we're out of practice we decided to just do like the Japanese do and rent a cabin-- one of the cute wooden ones in the picture above. The inside was completely bare, but the floor was lined with tatami and there was bedding and cooking gear for rent, along with fully lit cooking and washing areas, heated showers, and toilets with proper plumbing. Not exactly roughing it, but it's still called "camping" here and I wasn't complaining.

The campground was pretty, situated along a river with plenty of greenery. The place was full of people having barbeques and picnics when we arrived, but little by little they all left, leaving the place nearly deserted by night. So we pretty much had the place to ourselves, and were free to do our thing. Which, you've probably guessed, is eat.