Valentine's Day 2015--Plum Blossom Festival

 Feb. 14th--Our Valentine Day family traditions had a some glitches this year, due to a lack of some key ingredients.  The Valentine fairy couldn't come and turn the milk in the fridge a nice pink color while we were sleeping.  For breakfast on this day, I always make pink heart-shaped pancakes and we top them with strawberries and whip cream.  Usually, Dad will buy link sausages to go with them.  I was missing my large griddle this morning, as I used three different pans to cook heart-shaped pancakes.  No strawberries, since they are about 600-800 yen for 6 berries.  Instead, we used Duo Penotti.

 They weren't as pretty as the pink ones covered with strawberries, but they were better than nothing.

The kids were o.k. with the breakfast.  What they were not o.k. with was the lack of sugar cookies.  Every year, I make a heart-shaped sugar cookie for each child with their name on them.  They are much anticipated and the kids really look forward to them.  With the lack of food coloring and my frosting tips, I couldn't make them.  Plus, powdered sugar here is almost impossible to find.  In place of the much-loved sugar cookies, I bought each of the kids their own package of Genji-Pies.  They are pretty darn good and they are heart-shaped.  We'll miss these when we go back to the states.

 Since we were lacking pink things in our day, we decided to go to Hanegi Park to check out the plum blossoms.  They are blooming for the next few weeks, and this park is holding a festival in their honor.

 Ahhhh.....this will fulfill our need for pink, pretty things on this day.

 The festival was mainly a bunch of food booths.  There were a few that were selling tea and other things made from plums.  Half of the reason we came was for the authentic food, however, and so we headed over to the food booths to sample.

 This man was cooking up some squid.  We all love calamari, but have only ever had it breaded.

 It looked rubbery, reminded us of little car tires....but we tried it out.

 Wow.  They were really good.

 These are the common sweet potatoes that one can find in Japan (I can't find the sweet potatoes that we regularly eat in the states).  We haven't liked them as well as the U.S. ones, but I was curious to see what these tasted like.  They had some type of sticky stuff on them, maybe honey?  Out of everything we tried today, this was the favorite!  I need to figure out how to make this.

Mmmm.....yakisoba.  I want his big spatulas.

I have made yakisoba for awhile, and feel like I know what I'm doing.  This yakisoba didn't have any veggies other than onion, but it had amazing flavor.  It easily beat mine, and I watched the man make it trying to figure out what he did different.   Other than the veggies, I couldn't see a difference.  I think his is better just because of the spatulas.

 Takoyaki.  Raymond loves these and ordered some.  The rest of us weren't real thrilled.

 We gave them another try, however.  We're glad we did--they were MUCH better than the ones we had at the Meiji Shrine.  The octopus was tender, and the overall flavor was really good.

 Nathan didn't love them, though.  He had his heart set on one thing........

 Yakitori--chicken on a stick.  He led Dad over to where he had seen them cooking.....

 ....and came back with one for everyone. 

 We were almost full, we just wanted to try okonomiyaki. 

It was really good, but mine is just as good.  No new Japanese cooking secrets to learn here.

 On our way to the bathrooms, we bumped into this lovely lady.   She was showing off her pet owl to those attending the festival. It was so small, but was full grown for its breed.  It was very tame and let the kids pet it.  She told us all about him: what he eats, his living area, etc.  Very fun!

 Now to get our plum blossom fill. 

 The plum blossoms are not as impressive as the cherry blossoms, but they are more of a preface of what is to come during the infamous cherry blossom season.  Tayla, Chris, Logan in the picture.

 Nathan and Logan.

Chris, Nathan, and Logan

 

 The blossoms were mostly white or light pink, but some were so dark they were almost red.  There were also some yellow ones.  Their aroma was amazing.

 There were also some flowers for sale.  Oh, temptation!

 And then, we noticed some adorable bonsai plum trees.  Huge temptation!

We let the kids play on the playground for awhile before we walked back to the metro to head home.  We really enjoyed seeing the plum blossoms today.  Who needs pink food coloring for Valentine's Day when you have such beautiful pink blossoms?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's what the kids thought about the day:

Caitlin:  It was cool to see all of my very favorite flowers everywhere.  I took way too many pictures.
Tayla:  The takoyaki there was really good.  I really liked the candied sweet potatoes and the chicken on a stick.  The plum blossoms were really pretty.  I like the white ones best.  It was the best Valentine's Day ever.  It was really fun and we had time as a family.  Usually, Dad works on Valentine's Day and so we don't get to spend all day with him.  He was with us this year.
Christopher:  The playground was fun.  The food was good but I didn't like the takoyaki.  I enjoyed the blossoms in their different colors.  I enjoyed the paths because they were just cool.  They were tatami mats.  I enjoyed kind of getting lost in all the plum blossoms as I walked around on the trails.
Logan:  The plum blossoms were beautiful.  The plum blossoms are white, red, pink, and yellow. 
Nathan:  I don't have anything to say about it.  The food was good.  The playground was fun.  The spinny circle thing on the playground was really fun. 
Audra:  Some of my flowers on the trees.  And my birds.  I like flowers.  I like Mommy. 

National Foundation Day

 Feb. 11th--Today is National Foundation Day in Japan and Raymond had work and class off.  We had decided to go to the Japanese National Foundation Day Parade at Meiji Shrine.  However, last night the flu bug that's been going through the kids hit Raymond and so he spent the day recovering.  Caitlin wasn't feeling particularly festive, so we left Kirstin with her and the rest of us went! 

There is a lot to see at Meiji Shrine--which is huge--but we want to come back and explore this another day, so we didn't stop and see all the parts of it.  We were just here to witness a celebration.

After walking for some time on a wide dirt path, we found the Haiden.

This guard stopped everyone from continuing up to the shrine in order to allow this procession go by.  We didn't know who they were, but, WOW.....

She was just gorgeous. 

There was a prayer ceremony going on at the temple.

 The priests were wearing interesting hats.  It had a black flap on the back that kept bouncing around as they moved.

While we were waiting for the parade, to the side we noticed another procession getting ready to start.

These two had many photographers taking pictures of them, but they were very gracious.  I loved how they looked at each other.

After this experience, we came home and did a little research.  These processions were for a wedding.

Chris wanted to take a picture, so we posed for him in a quiet spot near the haiden.  

After lunch, some drummers set up and began to entertain the crowds.

These little ones couldn't have been more than 3 yrs. old, and they were so cute.  Most of the time, they just ran around their drums banging it.

The older ones were simply amazing!  We all loved them!  They pounded those drums so hard you wondered if they were going to break them.  While they did that, they were chanting and dancing.    They were very talented.

In front of the Haiden, many school children gathered to sing, play instruments, and recite.

We also watched several elementary school baton teams and high school marching bands. 

Then, the large courtyard cleared out....it was time for the parade.  The parade is made of many Mikoshi (portable shrines) being carried towards Meiji Jingu, where a Kigensai ritual ceremony is carried out by Shinto priests in special festive attire to commemorate the foundation of Japan.. The ceremony is to celebrate the enthroning of the first Emperor of Japan , Emperor Jinmu, on this day 2600 (!)  years ago. 

Some boys came through and walked up to the steps.

Then some girls came in.....

....and stood on the steps as well.

This guy was fun to watch as he spun this thing around.  About this time the drums started up again, along with cymbals and whistles.  There was a lot of loud chanting, yelling, and clapping.  It was a very loud party atmosphere. We were a little surprised.  At the Daruma festival, everyone was silent and it was a very solemn atmosphere.  Considering that sacred shrines were about to be carried in, we expected much the same atmosphere.  Total opposite.  Everyone was excited and having a great time.



Finally, the first shrine came through the gate.

Followed by another....

....and another....

....and another...

 ....and another....

...and another.

There were eight shrines in all.  Each shrine was carried in, brought through the courtyard to the steps, then carried around the courtyard and would end up in its designated spot. 

 As the people brought them to the spot where they would set them down on saw horses, someone would stand up on a small ladder and guide the shrine in with these wood blocks.  It was exactly like what you see at an airport as they guide airplanes.

 Through all the crazy noise and bustling, this patriotic lady stood solemn and strong.  You couldn't help but notice her for the respect and honor that she was showing to her country as she silently held her country's flag.

Some kind gentlemen came around and gave each of the kids a necklace with the Japanese flag on one side and a sheep (it's the year of the sheep) on the other side.

We saw a lot of this today....I know that this is not a big deal in this country, but for us Americans, it is a little bit of a shock. 

The drummers finishing up now that the shrines are all in their places.

 There were thousands of people here.  We couldn't believe the crowds.  Everyone was happy and having a great time, but we had been here for almost 4 hours... now that the parade was over, it was time to move on and get some food.

There were a lot of booths, bands, and people mingling all over Yoyogi Park.  We walked around for a bit, and then got some takoyaki to try out.  We were trying to be brave....eh, they were o.k. The octopus was really tough and we couldn't really chew it.  We all ended up spitting the octopus out.

What an interesting day!  I'm not sure what we were expecting, but it was very unique experience for us.  In many ways, we felt like we had been transported back to Biblical times and were watching the worship of something similar to a golden calf.  The energy in the crowd was amazing.  We're really glad that we got to see this!

Here's what the kids thought of the day:
Tayla:  I did not like the men who were wearing sumo bottoms.  I liked the pretty ladies in kimonos, they were so beautiful.  I liked the red umbrellas.  I thought the people carrying the shrines were interesting.  I thought the shrines were really pretty.  I liked the parade.
Christopher:  Awesome.  I really enjoyed it.  My favorite part was lunch and seeing the shrines being carried.  I liked the flags that the marching band girls had.  The shrine was really big.  I like takoyaki.
Logan:  It was neat to see all the shrines that went around, that people can carry.  I really enjoyed the parade. 
Nathan:  Awesome.  I liked the whole thing.  My favorite part was the dancing.
Audra:  I like my necklace.