Miyuki-dori Dragons

Thursday, Jan 3rd 2008

One day while my parents were visiting, Mitch and my dad went off fishing with Zuka and Dai. That meant that my mom, the kids and I had the day to ourselves. So we headed downtown to the Miyuki-dori to do some souvenir shopping. While we were there, we were unexpectedly treated to a Chinese Dragon show.

The Dragons mouth snapped closed and sometimes they would try to "eat" one of the little kids.

I was impressed by how well the 2 people working the dragon worked together.

RJ and Sara weren't too sure about the large "things" when they came at them and RJ said the drums were too loud, but it was fun to watch.

Dang it!!!

The weather was beautiful last week! Sunshine, a bit of warmth. I was thinking we could put the scarves away. And we had plans to go for a couple of long bike rides this past weekend.

But Sunday morning we woke up to this outside our windows.

yep, more of that beautiful white stuff. There must have been about 2 inches of it everywhere.

The kids wanted to eat some snow, so daddy scooped it off the window ledge and gave it to them.

We decided that since we were not going to get to go for that long bike ride, we might as well head down to the castle to capture some pictures with snow and the castle.

As we left our apartment and waited for the elevator, I noticed this picture. This is the 2nd floor patio of our apartment building. Looks like someone already tracked through the snow.

Once we were down in the parking lot, RJ and Sara immediately began playing with the snow. Please notice the smart child (RJ, wearing his gloves).

Mitch helped the kids make this impromptu snowman. RJ was a bit upset that he didn't have any buttons for his eyes or carrot for his nose, but he quickly got over it.

I hope you enjoy my bike tours, because I have another one for you today. This is on our way to the castle and a little around the castle.

When we head downtown to the castle, we always ride along this river. Mitch and the kids were on the other side, so they stopped so I could get a picture of the snow on the bank with them as well.

Another part of the river. I just love the spooky trees (that is what RJ calls the trees now that they have no leaves) covered in snow.

These are some statues outside a Shinto shrine. There has been some confusion about the red hat and bibs, I asked my co-worker Izumi today about it and she said that the bibs are for miscarriages and infant deaths, but the red hats are to help keep the statues warm during the winter. I though they looked mighty cold today with the snow on their heads.

A bigger statue without a hat and some snow.

I don't think I have ever seen palm trees with snow. I thought they looked cool. This is on the north side of the castle, over by where Mitch and the kids feed the fish.

This is that tree lined area that was so beautiful in November with the fall colors. Don't the trees look cool with the white snow?

Mitch thought that this would be a good place to get a picture of the falling snow. It snowed on us all the way to the castle.

Snow on Himeji Castle. I have been told on numerous occasions that it is not normal for this much snow in Himeji.

Mitch and the kids in front of the snowy Himeji Castle.

The kids and I in front of the snowy Himeji Castle.

I think this is my favorite picture of the day. The snowy Himeji Castle with one tree with greenish-yellow leaves.

After we finished taking pictures and Mitch and the kids recovered from their first bike accident (don't worry everyone is ok, a few bruises, but nothing broken and no blood), we headed over to the Himeji Baptist Church for Sunday services. On our way there I took more pictures. This is of Nagoyama Cemetery.

At the entrance to the cemetery there are these bushes shaped into Japanese writing. I asked Izumi what they said and she said "Spirit Park". Since the spirit of a person is placed here to rest after death, it is spirit park.

After a couple of hours at church and riding home, we came home to....

a half melted snowman and no snow left in the parking lot.

So, Mitch and the kids had a snowball fight.

Mitch was just as much into it as the children.

They decided that it was not ok for me to be hiding behind the camera and tried to hit me

They had a blast and afterward Sara was very upset that her hands hurt from being so cold...she hasn't learned yet that wearing the gloves keeps your hand warm.

Here is a short video of the snowball fight. Hope you enjoy.

Sara is at it Again

Mitch loves teaching Sara new things to say.

"Happy Day Daddy" is a good one because she can let us know that she is having a good day.

She is also learning to say "Hello" It seems her tongue is getting in the way, but she enjoys saying it and we enjoy asking her to.

Magic Show

RJ received a magic kit from Santa this past Christmas and he enjoys practicing all of his tricks. I hope you enjoy the shows!!

Naps and Doughnuts

We must have had a busy weekend, because on Sunday, Mitch and RJ laid down to take a nap on the couch. It seems that Mitch manged to take a nap.





While Mitch was napping, RJ decided he wanted to be a doughnut salesman. So he set up his shop, got dressed and began selling doughnuts. Be sure to orders yours the next time you talk to RJ. They are oishi.

Shoe Tying

I am not really sure if this is exciting news for the rest of the world, but it certainly is for us here in the Hammes Family. I hope you enjoy the video, Grandmas.

Yes, I know we still need to work on the double knotting, but atleast he can do all of it by himself. Now Daddy only has to worry about getting Sara's shoes on.

Another attempt at Ikebana

Sara and I still travel our way over to the Nozato Community Center twice a month and take a stab at another beautiful flower arrangement. This time I brought my camera and had Eiko pose as she is the one who helps us every time.



The tree branches are peach blossoms and I can't remember the names of the other flowers. RJ and Sara always look forward to mommy's new flowers ever other Tuesday. Hope you enjoy.

One Week of Food

I thought I would take a picture everyday for one week of my bento (lunch) and then explain what the different items are. I hope you enjoy!!

Bento #1

White rice with yellow pickled radish; scrambled eggs; green beans with 1000 island dressing; squid on a stick; fried chicken; Japanese pancake with green onions and ginger; apple slice; tofu with uzu (kind of like a lemon) rind; carrot, nori(seaweed), daikon salad with a vinegar dressing; cabbage salad with black sesame seeds.

Bento #2

White rice with yellow pickled radish; Cabbage and carrot with a slimy sauce; salad with apple chunks and 1000 island dressing; orange; salmon; beef and mashed potato patty that is fried; spaghetti; Japanese mushroom salad; rolled egg; sweet potato; broccoli & cucumber with ranch style dressing; carrots, sprouts & spinach salad with Italian dressing.

Bento #3

White rice with yellow pickled radish; sweet pumpkin salad (similar to potato salad); tempura ginger and green onion; kiwi slice; sauteed beef with chili peppers; fish boiled in soy sauce mixture; zucchini, red & yellow peepers salad with garlic; 1/2 hard boiled egg; carrots, green onions, pear spout salad; potato, carrot, devils tongue, onion mixture.

Bento #4

White rice with yellow pickled radish; onion salad with bonito (dried fish flakes); sweet & sour pork; green lettuce; orange slice; beef & mashed potato patty that is fried; yakisoba; sweet potato; burdock cooked in dashi; scrambled egg; spinach and sesame salad; cabbage and carrot salad in slimy sauce.

Bento #5 Special Bento for Valentine's Day and test day

White rice with yellow pickled radish; chicken (with skin); sawala fish; fried meatball; broccoli; tempura carrot; broccoli; potato salad; sauteed zucchini, peppers & eggplant; carrot & radish salad with vinegar dressing; orange slice; rolled egg; green beans; burdock boiled in dashi; tofu; pumpkin; Japanese potato; tofu wrap with carrots & green beans inside.

February's 12 on 12

Today is Feb 14th and I have no classes (again). Happy Valentine's Day to everyone back home. Now you're wondering, why don't I have any classes today. Today the Junior High 3rd graders (9th grade for the Americans) can take a special test to see if they can be in the Science based class here at Himeji High. This means that the senior high students can not be here because they do not want noise to disrupt the testing students. How is this good for me??I get to work on my blog some more. And I heard my lunch is free today!! Happy Valentine's Day to me!!


Now on to this month's 12 on 12. I hope you enjoy.





I attend English Speaking Society (English Club) every Tuesday and Friday after school (4pm - 5pm). We listen to American music (oldies), we talk in English (most of the time) and I have been introducing the club members to some American snacks. This Tuesday I brought in the makings for Root Beer Floats. They seemed to enjoy them. Other snacks I have brought in are chips & salsa, brownies, peanut butter cookies, etc.



Erika enjoyed it much more that the other members.




This was a treat given to me by one of the 2nd grade English teachers. It is the face of a raccoon. It had sweet bean paste inside of it.


Back in December at Shogai (the adult university I teach at on Wed afternoons), one of my classes had a birthday celebration for me. One of the ladies spelled my name with a sting of beads. how cool is that.

This was my place setting for the birthday celebration. They lit the 3 tall skinny red candles and sang Happy Birthday to me.




One day while riding around downtown, Mitch stopped by these 2 fish and asked that I take his and the kids picture. Just like any downtown, there are plenty of statues to take pictures of. Maybe that will be next month's 12 on 12...

This is a different fish and I got this idea from other English teachers here in Himeji. Isn't it cool how the fish "frames" the castle. There are more of these fish on the ends of the roofs on the castle. I have no idea what kind of fish they are.



At the community center party in January they had out many different Japanese snacks. This was one of them. I took this picture to see if any of you would eat a cream sand biscuit. Actually it wasn't all that bad. It was really a cream sandwich cookie.



This was another treat that was bestowed upon me by one of the 2nd grade English teachers. It was suppose to be sweet, but I found it to be very chalky in taste. I have no idea what it says but I just think that kanji (Chinese writing) is so pretty. Well, at least when I don't attempt to write it.


During the summer months, students carry about a thin sheet of plastic and use it as a fan to cool themselves. Many of them are decorated. I found this one in my classroom and had to share it with all of you back home. Remember you can click on the image to make it bigger. Can you imagine eating something that was Very Wonderfully and more Pleasantly.


While we were riding around downtown, I stopped to take a picture of the tourist information office building. Why you ask.....


If you look closely at the English translation, you will notice that you can drain your colostomy bag here.


I hope you enjoyed this month's version of 12 on 12. Please let me know if you would like to see something specific as I can take requests. Have a great day!