Today is our anniversary! We’re celebrating by going out for Chinese food and a movie with the kids (Ponyo, the new animated movie by Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki). We’ve been married for 11 years, the last 6 1/2 spent in Japan. Reia is eight now and attending a Japanese elementary school. The twins are five and in their last year of preschool.

I haven’t given any updates about our life for awhile, so here’s a quick recap of where we’re at. We moved to Hachioji 2 1/2 years ago. We came here to sink our roots closer to nature and launch Global Adventure.

We’ve enjoyed living closer to nature. We live near Takao Station on the edge of Tokyo next to the mountains. The kids are in an outdoors school where they’re learning kayaking plus mountain biking, camping, etc. We live one station away from Mount Takao, which has great hiking trails (especially if you take off on the seldom walked longer routes).

Global Adventure is slowly gaining momentum. I’m taking our second group to Cambodia in September. I’m sure they will come back with new perspectives on life and stories to share. Meanwhile, one of the participants from the first group is putting the finishing touches on a Japanese website for the orphanage that we partner with (it’s still in rough form but you can see the site here). The other participant is also helping to orient the new group, and she hopes to return to Cambodia on our first trip next year. Based on what I’ve seen of other groups, it’s the past participants and their ongoing participation that creates real momentum and progress.

Here in Hachioji we’ve developed many friendships and expanded our network in exciting directions. We also had our first serious conflict recently. (As a wise friend simply said, “These things are expected.”)  At the same time this conflict came up, another friend offered to help get me on campus at a nearby university. I’ll be working with him starting in the Fall. As one door closed (with some relief in the end to be honest) and another opened.

All of this and it’s Summer, a season of enduring and vacationing if you can. The Summer in Japan rarely lends itself to progress. Too hot, and muggy.

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Miu smiles for the camera

Masato takes a turn in front of Mount Fuji

A proud look from a third grader (first place, 200 meters)

Reia going to the starting line

A pair of girls after their race (see yesterday's photo)

One of the boys in practice

Like a classic painting

Reia and an older friend (who placed second at 200 meters)

Four tough girls after their race

Flatwater slalom racer

Two of the junior high boys who came to help

Gambarazou!

Life has many wonderful and rewarding experiences. One of them is to see your kids (and kids you’ve invested in) developing and growing. This past weekend we drove a couple of hours from Tokyo so our oldest daughter, Reia, could participate in a kayaking competition. Reia is in the second grade. We’d like to see her do her best and learn what she can do, and she’s discovering that she’s strong and capable. She’s also quite the competitor. We’ve tried to avoid stressing that part (as does her coach…supposedly), but she picks it up.

The kayak meet was held at Shojiko, one of the five lakes near the base of Mount Fuji. The lake itself wasn’t so beautiful, and it literally stank when you got close tot he water (for some reason quite a few dead fish had washed up on the banks). But in the morning you could see Mount Fuji light a vast shadow partially hidden in haze. I’d love to be there after a strong rain and see it clearly.

After the kayak meet was over, we returned home without Reia. She stayed for an extra two nights with the teachers and one other parent; they camped out at Lake Saiko nearby. On Monday they went kayaking around the lake. They swam and played. Three of the older kids had a rolling competition and apparently rolled about 55 times in succession each (with two of them crying toward the end). One night they went to an onsen (hot spring facility), and then they played Kick the Can until well after dark. What a blast!

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This weekend the kids’ school had one of their semi-annual bazaars (the same word is used in Japanese). Prior to the event all the families collected things to sell (toys, clothing, odd bottles of alcohol laying around, vegetables from the garden). On the day we set up tables with food for sale. Every year several families team up to bring pots of curry ranging from spicy to mild. We brought 2 apple pies from Costco (and sold out as always). The family selling flavored ice (kakigouri) was the biggest hit. It was REALLY hot outside most of the day. We left in the morning and came back about 6pm, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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They range in age from first grade to Junior High (with a couple of adults mixed in). The event was a mostly fun slalom kayaking competition. For those who are unfamiliar with the sport, you have to navigate a series of gates suspended above the river. Some gates must be entered facing downstream and others facing upstream. Your score depends on the time it takes to finish the course plus penalties for each time you touch (2 seconds) or miss (50 seconds) a gate. In this case, most of the kids only had to touch each gate with a paddle (rather than passing through) to avoid deductions. The outdoors school tries to play down competition, but it’s hard for the coach to be a purist when his daughter is an international level competitor who seems to have just barely missed making the Japanese team for Beijing. One of the Junior High boys aspires to be an Olympian, too.

My daughter, Reia, is in the second grade now. She really loves kayaking. She says she’s not afraid of being in the river. That makes us a little nervous, but I’m excited for her, too. I would have loved this sport when I was young but never had an opportunity to give it a try. If you watch the video you may see her. Her kayak is blue on top with a yellow bottom. Actually, there is another boy with the same colors, so picking her out may be a challenge.

The music is by my friend, Rennie Foster, who has been called a significant force and a pioneer DJ in the techno music scene. He’s recently been named one of the top 50 DJ’s in Japan and he’s hoping for a Top 5 ranking (by a music magazine here in Japan that I don’t read…so no link due to my ignorance, sorry).

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Getting their feet wet and a first look

Instructions before the start

Turning at one of the gates

A second grader (Reia, my daughter) having a blast

Recovering from a spill

One of the boys facing downstream

Cheering for friends

A father watching

A "big sister" (one of the top 5 female kayakers in Japan)

A proud 1st grader participating for the first year (with his dad)

Genuine smile

Two happy second graders (Reia, my daughter, and her friend)

We had one of our biggest events of the year this past weekend. We woke up at 4am Saturday morning and drove to a river in Nagano. Our kids practice kayaking in still water throughout the year, but the younger kids only have two or three opportunities to try their skills in a running river. This year two first graders were initiated. This river has a real slalom course (gates are suspended above the water that kayakers must pass through either facing downstream or upstream). There were assorted second, third, and fourth graders with varying abilities to navigate the course. Usually, kids start attempting the upstream gates in the fourth grade. By the sixth grade, most can complete the course well. Some of the graduates have become national and international level competitors. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. I have a couple of videos that I want to post later.

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