Autumn Equinox

Shubun No Hi is held on Sept. 23^rd and the people of Japan get a national holiday. It is a time where they pay their respects to their ancestors and remember the dead. We saw many visiting the cemetery and the local Shinto Shrine.

It is also the first day of fall and let me tell you it pushed in with O-ame (big rain).  It was so hot the night before that we were sweating through our pj’s. But as it had been cooling at night and we dislike air-conditioning we kept the windows open hoping for a night breeze. The middle of the night brought a thundering storm with a lot of heavy rain so Tim and I had to run around closing windows so the floors wouldn’t get wet. The temperature dropped at least eight degrees which left us reaching for blankets by morning. We all slept at that point with no desire to rise until later in the morn. The heavy rain, thunder and lightning didn’t let up until around ten am.

After breakfast Tim worked from home not wanting to get soaked and the kids did their homeschooling practising phonics and math. Then we shifted into learning about the full moon. Why?

It was also the day for Autumn Moonlight Viewing which everyone reminded us to do and is a very big deal. This activity occurs on the full moon of Sept. which happened to fall on the Equinox this year so today was an extra special day as the two combined in ceremony.

So, I drew a picture of the full moon containing two rabbits, male and female with a rice thresher in between them which Japanese people claim they see in the full moon. The kids coloured it and hopped we would see the moon soon.

We had a delicious feast for dinner. Yaki-Udon, noodles with squid, steamed Kabocha squash, broccoli and a big salad. The bottle of French wine called ‘Nature Vivante’ was a perfect match.  The kids call Udon ‘Kung Fu Noodles’ and they slurped them in a way that is not polite in western culture. Here, the louder the better.

For dessert the children ate a white cake with a strawberry on top that was delicious. (I know because they love me enough to have fed me a bite each). Tim bought us “Moon Cakes” which is traditional for the night and they were made of pounded rice and red bean paste. I tried my best to enjoy the chewy, sticky stuff but the light wine buzz made me child-like and I couldn’t help but do a blasphemous thing and challenge Eleanor to a tug-of-war with it. What a laugh. That led to an even bigger competition as Eleanor then challenged me to a sumo fight.

You see, the 5^th Sumo wrestling competition has been taking place in Tokyo and it has been on T.V. so we have watched a bit for cultural learning.  What could I do? So, I accepted Eleanor’s challenge and the first ever Reiffenstein Sumo competition began in my yoga room. (so much for peace and tranquility).

 Tim was the referee and Eleanor and I sized each other up, then departed company to consider our options and throw a lot of salt to cleanse the fighting area. Back in the circle we stomped and tried to look really strong while the referee (Tim with a cereal box on his head) yelled directions. Then we wrestled and laughed ourselves to the ground. Lucas challenged the winner and then Tim got in the action. All I can say is thank God we were not in those little diaper things those big guys wear.

The moon shone out from behind the clouds and we ran up to our balcony to see if those rabbits were up there. We found them upside down.  We all began to wax poetic and below is a sample;

Tim’s Haiku

Harvest moon

Crickets chirping softly

Fall is here

Lucas’ poem

Like the moon

Likes the trees

Likes the clouds

Likes the breeze

Ella’s Compilation

I see the moon in sky

I watch the clouds floating by

I love my moon

See you soon

Respect-for-the-Aged Day

Monday was a national holiday in Japan. It was Keiro No Hi or Respect-for-the-Aged Day. According to my book “Japan at a Glance”, this day is to express respect for all the elderly folks of the country, to thank them for their contributions to society over the many years, and to celebrate their longevity.

Last week the children worked on a project which the school then sent to their grandparents. Ella and Lucas participated so both Oma Agnes and Opa and Grandma Jessie and Grandpa John will receive something in Japanese which Tim will have to translate for us all.

The kids were happy to have the day off and as we couldn’t visit with our elders we went to Osaka Castle instead. They loved the train rides through the city to get there and they pointed out buildings and advertisements that they thought were interesting. Their favourite was a large red Ferris wheel bridging the top of two skyscrapers.

The castle is surrounded by a forest, then a large wall with an entrance gate, a moat another large wall and a second moat. This design was to confuse enemy. The kids were amazed but wondered if they were ever going to get to the castle itself. There was a Taiko Drum troop practising so we marched to the beat pretending to be Samari until we came to a large square where there were vendors, buskers and a huge crowd.  We entered the re-built castle and explored the museum looking at armour, painted screens depicting the fights and the Golden Tea Room which was stunningly beautiful yet soothing. (Eleanor and I thought we would love to be invited to have tea in there). The kids were a bit disappointed it wasn’t like a real castle on the inside but they were happy to dress up in some period costumes.

We climbed stairs to the eighth floor and saw the view of the city. It was really something. We could also see what the gold creatures on all the turrets were. They were mystical dragon-fish placed all around the original wooden castle to prevent it from burning down. Unfortunately, they didn’t work. 

We played in the old forests around the castle for quite some time before we caught the train home.

“Pilates” Class

Once a year, in the fall, the mothers of children attending Seiwa Kindergarten are invited to attend a pilates class.  I accepted.

The class was held in the morning after we dropped off the kids. The class lasted 2 1/2 hours. It was taught by one of the mothers who is a fashion model. She is classically beautiful and one wonders if she had any intestines at all with how tiny her waist is.

Two mothers that speak English from living abroad helped me get to the location and set myself up. I thought I could just follow the actions of the teacher and figure it out. After all, I had done pilates before. I realized quite quickly that I needed assistance understanding as she spent a lot of time talking and not doing. Well, my one friend leaned over and began to translate and began getting flushed as she tried to explain ‘kegels’ and how a body changes after having babies etc.  Once we began doing exercises she would lean over and remind me to do my ‘seagulls’ and I tried not to chuckle. Most of the class consisted of yoga poses until we came to the posture lesson. We did a lot of standing against a wall to see how bad our backs were and then we had to shift as per her direction to see what it felt like to be correct. There was some giggling about my bust size and a comment about how there was no wonder my shoulders were not back like hers. We learned how to walk first by stepping our feet down properly, then how to put one in front of the other leading our bodies with our hips and not our necks, and then came the arm swing. I hope no one took offence but I would burst out laughing at the whole experience every once in a while. It was fun to be in a room full of mothers trying to walk the lines of a gym like runway models yet everyone seemed so serious about it. Then we went outside to practice our walk in a parade around the Seiwa campus grounds for 40 minutes. Picture that!

Visit to Kaiyukan

On Sunday we made the two-train, two-subway journey to the Osaka Aquarium (Kaiyukan). It was well worth the trip. We entered through the Aqua Gate- a tunnel shaped tank with colourful fish, small rays and Hammerhead Sharks. The tour took us to stops along the Ring of Fire Volcanic Belt of the Pacific Ocean. We began with the Japanese freshwater tanks that included Asian Small-Clawed Otters and Giant Salamanders. Then on to the coast of the U.S to see the playful Sea Lions and Harbour Seals, the Gulf of Panama for Red-Footed Tortoise and strange swimming rodents called Capybara which live in the rainforests of Equador. The Antarctic was a chilly pleasure as the kids watched the fast swimming penguins. After watching the dolphins of the Tasman Sea, Lucas pulled us to the big Pacific Ocean tank. He wanted to see more sharks. And did we see sharks. Living within this 5,400 tonne tank were two Whale Sharks, a Tiger Shark, Hammerheads, Black- Tipped Reef Sharks, giant Manta Rays and lots of Bluefin Tuna for them to eat among other fish species.  The kids were wide-eyed and so excited they were yelling out the names of the species as they swam by and jumping up and down. Then it was a visit to the Sea Turtles, giant Spider Crabs and jelly-fish smaller than a finger nail and we were at the end.

It was time for a sushi lunch (oh, the irony). Eleanor has taken a liking to raw fish and tempura while Lucas hasn’t ventured farther than a bowl of white rice. They spent a lot of time drawing pictures of the creatures they had just seen. We all had ume (plum) sorbet for dessert. It was the perfect way to end a wonderful morning.