My Hamamatsu Life

2016 update

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 07:32:00 +0000

It's been about 4 years since I tried to post last. How is everyone? We are still surviving our Hamamatsu Life, the kids are getting big, and I have been busy with work!

Ken has been playing soccer with a local team since the last year of Kindergarten. He joined the team Formiga which is based in the next town to us. His kindergarten was a bit far from home, so it was a good way to stay in contact with his old friends from kindy and have fun. He is fast and has a hard shot, but is still learning some of the fundamentals of the game.

Mona is in the first grade of elementary school from this year. She is still making her new friends and we are interested in finding piano lessons for her but the tough point is when can we take her? Soccer takes up most of our weekends and I work in the evening and Ritsy gets home at different times each day. We need to find a solution soon.

That's all for now. I will try to post more again if I can!

We are here!

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:11:00 +0000

It's been a while! How is everyone? I am glad they made an iPhone app for Blogger- it was getting too tough to spend free time with the PC.

We are getting by- Ken is 4 now and in a couple of months will enter 2nd year of Kindergarten. That means he can change his cap to Blue I believe...

Mona is 2 and seemed to start her terrible 2s right on her birthday. Meaning some moments of cute and sweet and some of absolute terror. Ahhh... 2 kids is enough...

Foreigner fun for Easter

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 03:29:00 +0000

Back in April a number of us families of Japanese/outside country people mix variety got together to have a bit of fun. The event was organized by Warwick, another teacher who works the same times as us in the mornings named Matt and I. Hopefully the first of many for the kids to get together and communicate in English and get to know some other kids like them. It was easy for the 3 of us to put together as we are all on the same schedule, though we'd like to extend that to more participants in the future.

All the young'uns like Mona in the foreground, and Oto and Ume in the back seemed to be on their own missions.

Ken was hamming it up as usual with Matt and his son Oto.

Marty and his daughter came out too and enjoyed the Egg coloring activity.

Marty enjoyed a beer too.

Tyler was eating something, hopefully not a rock.

Next we scattered a bunch of candies about and the Easter hunt was on.

The kids searched earnestly and it quickly turned into a cut throat competition.

Ken managed only a few items, though he proclaimed himself the winner- I think Tyler actually was...

It was a good time, even after the crazy ANZAC'S took out the Cricket bat and lobbed a ball into the mat where all the mothers and kids were sitting. Looking forward to more such outings.

Mastery of the tricycle- Ken

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 05:32:00 +0000

We bought a tricycle for the little guy last birthday, and he often enjoyed going out and taking the trike for a spin. But he couldn't fingure out how to use the pedals- finally around April 16, 2011 he managed to do it. 'jouzu'- means great btw....

Mona is developing her personality

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 20:20:00 +0000

Really in the absence of my blog posting, Mona's character has really been filling in. While she is much more stubborn than Ken was at such a young age- she also has a golden heart and often has us laughing or smiling happily.

She loves to make different poses and from early on enjoyed looking out between her legs (after making a mess of our living room as you can see)

She also loves drawing- she is often found lying on the floor or sitting on the couch with her magnetic drawing board- drawing Arfie, Mommy or her favorite, Anpanman.

She seems to have a more artistic side indeed- she also loves songs and is starting to fill out her repertoire.

Ken's a big boy now- Kindergarten

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 08:06:00 +0000

In Japan Kindergarten is a separate school from elementary school and goes for three years. So from this April- Ken's journey into schooling began. We had chosen Akasa Youchien, which was a little further from our house- but as both of us work (and apparently they want to discourage this in Japan) the pickings of schools with early daycare and late daycare programs was very sparse (azukarihoiku they call it). It is a pretty quaint school, and he enjoys it so far, so there are no regrets.

The first day, on April 8th, 2011 there was a entry ceremony that all parents and kids could enjoy together. You notice mothers are all standing with their little bundles of joy, but Ken demanded I do it.

We had to take turns calming Mona as she was a bit on the fussy side- probably she was nervous because of all the strange people and noise.

Ken wearing a Flava Flav kinda medallion and Ritsy looking all lady-like.

And finally the next day the real Kindergarten began with his red cap for the first year (Tulip gumi) and the regular shirt. In the 2nd and 3rd years he will have to get a uniform shirt too. Wow, time goes fast. Just another year and a half until Mona gets into Kindergarten too.

Thomasland trip 2 part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 01:58:00 +0000

As the 11th of September marks the 10th anniversary of... well Sept 11th, I scheduled this post to run on the 12th. I hope we don't find any maniacal nonesense on the reunion of that horrible date.

While Ken was pretty excited to be there and especially enjoyed playing in the gift shops, we saw the first signs of a trend that carried forward, a fear of the unknown. He refused to take any new rides, hence why I was on the new Bullstrode ride providing an example of how safe it was. He didn't bite.

Instead one of the favorites was the one where they ride around in circles while they play one of those creepy songs from the show and everyone shakes a tamborine.

It was good for Mona too.

Mona enjoyed having a sit down in the snow, one of her first real encounters.

I gave Ken the digital camera and one of the good ones he took was of me and his mom.All in all it was a good trip and the hotel had a connected Hot Spring so we could relax as well as enjoy a delicious dinner. Good times.

Second Trip to Thomasland- March

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 13:52:00 +0000

With Kindergarten starting up in April, we decided we wanted to get out with Ken to celebrate his big milestone with a surprise trip to Thomasland. Indeed he had no idea where he was until well after we checked into the hotel. Incidentally this trip ended 2 days before the big quake which we definitely would have felt in this area...

Thomas was happy as always to see us.

And we could sneak into Ken's inside the control room picture. Why do they even have a driver though? They seem pretty useless in Thomas' stories...

Hiro, the most famous Japanese character was happy to escape from the slavery of the Fat Controller's railway.

Mama and Mona candid shot.

Ken could enjoy the snow. Indeed it was cold.

Happy Birthday Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 01:45:00 +0000

Begining of last day- puttering around

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 14:47:00 +0000

We had the liberty to relax a bit before the final day's pool party. So Ken made himself at home.

Mona enjoyed watching people go up and down the stairs.

And a little bowling.

We walked down to the mall- Ken showed his Canadian side.

But was a bit puzzled by it all.

Actually I think he was bored of taking pictures, but I wanted to get him and the totem pole at the same time.

We headed back up to Scottoi's palace.

Where Steve and Keiko arrived bearing the gifts of clothing, all great selections that have made it into their regular attire!

Quiet night of Greek

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 02:42:00 +0000

As a thank you, Ritsy and I sprang for an evening of Greek food.

Sorry Doogie, none for you.

The ladies got comfortable as the sun set.

And finally the dark set in.

Visiting Mikey at Pane Formaggio

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:37:00 +0000

What feels like a lifetime ago I was a cook. And one of the greatest people I worked with at Yaletown was Mike. Always positive and good for a laugh, we always seemed to connect well. Our paths crossed a few times after that- later we worked at Dix and after I finally got it together to get out of the restaurant industry (don't get me started)- we both worked for the same company- Pane e Formaggio- he in Point Grey and I in Whistler. One more time when I lived back in Vancouver after Tokyo I worked for him on 10th for a short while.

As things go, you fall out of touch- but we finally managed to reconnect and we met up at the shop after I we finished at the Aquarium. He really loved Ken and Mona.

Ken started to get fussy so Ritsy took him for a little walk around while I caught up with him, and later Alberto my financial advisor (and former co-worker at the now departed Fiasco).

Finally it was time to say goodbye sadly, but we all had a great time, and got to take this great picture together.

And ended with some serious discussion. Looking forward to seeing Mikey again, next time we come out.

A trip to the Vancouver Aquarium

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 19:21:00 +0000

Benita had actually suggested going to the Vancouver Aquarium together, but I was thinking that they were too busy- so saw it as a great chance to catch my family one more time before heading home. Here mom is feeding the sharks.

Mona was nice and comfortable in the stroller that we had borrowed.

At this time we were starting to realize that Ken feels uneasy in dark lit spaces. While he didn't say it at that time- he started to act up again. Mom tried to cheer him up.

Ahhhh pretty butterfly.

Mona was having a great time.

Aunt Tracey also did a great job of sitting down and trying to cheer him up too. He was a bit better when we got outside and had lunch. It was time, though, to rush to our next destination...

Visiting with Rose and Carrie

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:13:00 +0000

Lots of catching up on this trip, as you can imagine. This time we met up with Carrie and Rose for some breakfast at a cafe I remembered in the area. I think they send their profits to building a school in Cambodia or something like that. It was a good feed to boot. Rose was shy at first.

But once Ken had out some trains and shared one (to his 5) she warmed up.

and was flashing her charming little smile.

Afterwards we hit the library which had an excellent huge kids section. Mona was digging into Snuggle Puppy it looks like.

Ken was practicing his picture pose for GQ.

We had a really great time catching up with Carrie and Rose, and now that they are plus one I am really looking forward to the next catch up!

Visiting with Steve's Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 01:05:00 +0000

Steve's Mom was in town while we were- and she just so happens to be the lady who married Ritsy and I so she was pretty interested to see how we were doing and the fruits of our (or Ritsy's more accurately)labours. Keiko was chilling with her as well when we made it out.

They had chalk for drawing on the cement with.

Ken like Keiko from their first meeting and this may be why- she knew the way to his heart.

Drawing Thomas.

The ladies bonded.

Ken tried to camoflauge himself next to the car...

Visit with the family

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 06:57:00 +0000

We hit the Red Robin out near my mom's apartment for a good old fashioned family birthday dinner. I know the 2 ladies are strapped for cash lately, so it was nice that they sprung for dinner and bought presents for Ken and Mona. Above is Tracey and her great boy, Mac.

The boys both love Thomas and vehicles so could hit it off. This was the first time we could see the depth of Ken's English skills. He was chatting as though he lived in Canada all his life.

The family mobilizes.

Down to business at the dinner table.

Mona enjoyed her new toy which was quite fun until I got it wet one day and the sounds came up eerie and distorted.

Mona got her hands on brother's hat.

No, Canada baba is not the reason she was crying, but it's the only picture I have of the 2 together...

Visiting Al and Lilly and Isabella

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 13:54:00 +0000

I was happy to hear the news that my old pal Alex was due to have a child last year and we managed to make it out to his place for a visit and some catching up on my birthday in the morning. Isabella was quite lovely, though I could see some resemblance to her dad.

Mona did not feel threatened by the competition for attention posed by another baby being there.

Al and Ken got along splendidly. Thought Ken's interest in flatulence humour increased a lot after the trip.. could be Al's influence.

Comedic photo ops presented themselves.

This is our 'in touch with our feminine side' one.

The ladies went for a more serious picture, though it was tough to get everyone's faces into the shot.

My 38th party

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:35:00 +0000

Scott was nice enough to throw a bit of a party for my birthday. It was also dubbed a summer party, hence a few people I don't know were present. Can you spot the piece of my head in the picture above? How about Ritsy eating corn and talking to Keiko.

Steve made a move to steal Mona- I had my eyes on him though.

A blast from the Whistler days past- Johnny B and Dave McGhee. Great to see the 2 of them.

Benita and her brother Carl with his little cutey. (notice me wowing Colin with my storytelling skills)

Somehow we managed to run out of alcohol, so we had to pool some money and buy more.

Colin was stunned (this was the first chance to meet his beau Susan- standing behind him)

Hey Keiko! They are saying.

The party deteriorated into battles in the pool. Apparently Ken was having a tough time sleeping and came out of his room to tell everyone to quiet down. Funny guy.

Everyone was tired and a good time was had by all!

Onwards with last year- Vancouver trip 2

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:13:00 +0000

Scotty and Benita were generous enough to open their homes and to provide for us the tickets to come out to Vancouver a second time last year. A very selfless and fantastic time we were all able to enjoy thanks to them. I can't say enough how much we appreciated their generosity. This time around it was around the time of my birthday in August. So great to escape the heat of Japan for a week!

Doogie stood guard over the room that Ken and I would be staying in.

And Benita and Ken continued their bond from the first moment.

Mona was working her charm and trying to steel the camera.

The neighbours were kind enough to lend us their Thomas toys which kept Ken occupied a lot of the time.

The first night Steve and Keiko came over and we enjoyed a nice meal and some wine together. A good start!

Unaffected(maybe)

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 08:01:00 +0000

Of course, most people know there was a quake on March 11th in Japan. The epicenter was just off the North East coast of Japan, but it was strong enough that we had a bit of a shake here. I was pretty clueless as to how major the quake was until the next day when we all started seeing the results of the tidal waves that swept through the northern towns. While there was a tsunami warning here in Hamamatsu the waves did not reach destructive sizes here.

The story that took over and has been at the back of my mind since it all went down has been the situation in Fukushima. The cooling systems initially shutdown in one reactor causing anxiety about the rods overheating. An aftershock took out another one, and it seems like dominoes 4 reactors have had mini explosions (we've been reassured these are hydrogen explosions not meltdowns) and the buildings are a mess, exposing radiation to the air. They have been working for 2 weeks now to get the situation under control. They haven't totally lost the battle, they are fighting hard, but there is some huge damage, that they will only really fathom the magnitude of only years down the road. The great story is the Fukushima 50. 50 workers who have basically put their lives on the line to get the situation under control. Just yesterday I saw that 2 members had severe levels of poisoning as a result of stepping in some contaminated water. Food from the North has gone questionable- farmers had to dump their milk and destroy their crops as the food is inedible. In Tokyo they advised not to feed the tap water to small babies. I would say that is a sign no one should be drinking it. I want to say we are far away from it all to not feel the effect. But with contaminated food, there is potential that something gets through unchecked. And water. I read in the Canadian newspaper they detected some elevated levels of radiation (not dangerous though) off Canadian shores- we are much closer to it all than Canada is. Well, we are staying put- until I hear some news that the levels are becoming dangerous- which I hope they would report if it happens.

The picture at the header tells of the biggest real impact we have felt so far- the panic shopping, or hoarding factor. For about a week, you couldn't find toilet paper on the shelves. Same goes for water, rice, diapers and other such goods as people stocked up their home supply. Crazy panic- I almost had to fight with a lady over the last bag of rice at the Supermarket (we were legitimately out...), but she changed her mind and I got it in the end. To be fair, I think a lot of people have been shipping some stuff to friends in Tokyo as the supplies are much thinner up there.

Wow, that was a mouthful- but needed to document what has been going on.

The goods- Kanzanji Zoo 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:30:00 +0000

This was our second trip to the zoo in Kanzanji for Ken, though he probably doesn't remember trip number 1. He was ready to see some animals (until mid-point when his mind focused on Ice Cream- "Can we have Ice Cream Now?" repeated 100 times).

The family minus daddy, but plus the toy story bag.

Mona was serious about having a good time.

Nice timing on the picture Ritsy...

The Meerkats were popular amongst the family.

O-o-o-o!

Mother and Daughter. (now that is how to take a picture, Ritsy!)

Ken taking after daddy with a comical expression (being coached of course)

Weeeeeee! Fun has been had.

A final pose, before climbing on the statue that says; "Please Do not Climb!".

And finally a Walk and a "Ba-Bai!" from Mona.

Becoming the Animals

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:18:00 +0000

There were a few more animal themed pictures around the zoo. Each time we saw one, Ken insisted we take pictures. The lion and the rabbit- very appropriate.

Here Ken really captures the emotions of the cow.

And the reindeer and the ... what the heck is it? A horse?

Before the zoo- the kids

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:26:00 +0000

Just before we headed off to the zoo- I snapped a few great pictures of the kids. Starting with the picture of Mona enjoying checking herself out in the mirror.

Ken with his charming eyes.

Checking himself out.

Mona, becoming a charmer herself.

My lovely children. Alright sappy moment over...

Monkey boy then and now-- and monkey girl

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 07:09:00 +0000

Ken in 2008

I will blog a little deeper about our trip out to the Kanzanji zoo the weekend before last in the near future. First up offering some contrast of Ken posing in the monkey picture. Above is him in 2008, and below would be 2011.

And now Mona...

And finally our 2 little monkeys...

Living cheap in Japan

noreply@blogger.com (Todd L) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 04:45:00 +0000

I often hear the question in my classes about how I feel about how expensive Japan is. Well, ya, Japan has it's expensive points- a lot of food and materials need to be imported to Japan with no native natural resources readily available. And in a city like Tokyo, shops and landlords can get away with charging a premium because the customer base (and love for shopping there) is very strong.

But now that I have lived here for a bit of time- there are some tips that you can bear in mind to maybe help you get through the first month or so here.

1. Buy food late. This could apply anywhere I guess, but I never thought of it before living here. If you are the kind of person that likes to buy ready-made dinners- you have lots of options out there. If you want the better prices- go to Supermarkets rather than convenience stores. And go on your shopping runs an hour or so before closing (closing time here is early- basically 8PM- 10PM) when the discount stickers are out... usually from 10- 50 percent off. Ex. 3割引- would be 30 percent off.Big savings to be had. Also some meats in the not-prepared area can be discounted later in the day.

2. GyuDon. Gyu don. Beef Donburi. It's beef, it's rice and it's onions. At 2 big chains in Japan it's also cheap. At Yoshinoya and Sukiya there has been a price battle and it hovers somewhere around the 280 yen mark- about 3 bucks. Cheap and should be enough food to get you buy.

I will try to report back with more saving money in Japan ideas in future posts.....