a run in with Japanese tourists

Last weekend we went out to the bridge to take some pictures, and as usual, Josiah and Levi were engrossed with the rocks and their self-appointed mission to change the shape of the land by throwing as many rocks into the river as possible when they were interrupted by this group of young Japanese schoolteachers asking to take their picture. Brief moments of shyness were replaced by showing off and soon they were presenting their admirers with gifts straight from little boys' hearts: rocks, dry leaves and handfuls of dirt!

Just when we were beginning to hope we had found some great new babysitters, they told us they were visiting from another city. So, we were amused to think that we were the locals and the Japanese were the tourists!

Purple Potatoes

A couple weeks ago, Josiah had a field trip to dig sweet potatoes. He brought home a bag full of dirt and potatoes. We scrubbed them up and discovered they were bright purple! They made the most beautiful royal purple mashed potatoes!

Josiah with his potatoes before and after scrubbing.

Levi the big helper washing his potatoes.

New Videos!

We uploaded some videos to our "Spencers' Asian Adventures" photo site. Check them out if you want to see Josiah dancing in a cow hat...at least we think its a cow...could be a pig...or a pig with horns. Aren't you curious now? Not to mention Josiah as a combine too!

(Hopefully your internet is faster than ours so it will load and play normally!)

Story Time

Daddy needs a bigger chair!

Mikan Picking in November

Yesterday the family went to an island about 15 miles (roughly equal to a 2.5 hour drive at Japanese speed limits) south of Iwakuni called Oshima Island where we picked "mikans," which are more or less like tangerines or mandarin oranges except much better. While living in Northern Virginia for over three years we never managed to make it out to one of the many orchards in the area to pick apples in the Fall so we decided to wait until we came to Japan to enjoy the Fall activity of fruit picking. Strange enough, November is the peak season for these citrus fruit. They are in every way superior to an average orange. They are sweeter, have no seeds, and the rind is so soft and peals away from the fruit so easily that you must clip the mikan from the branch. If you simply pull the fruit from the tree the stem will rip a hole right through the rind, which is not so good for storing for a few days until you can eat them.
We spent about $18 in order to pick a whole bag of these beauties with our own labor. $10 just for the experience of walking the grove and $8 to take home a bag of fruit. Of course you could eat your fill of them while wandering the grove. The boys had a fun time running among the trees and picking some of the fruit themselves. Definitely a fun family outing and a neat Japanese cultural experience!

Pictures Say 1000 Words

Just some miscellaneous pictures to share from the last couple months.

Boys at Home, Oct

Japanese Sea Plane Display on Base, Oct

"Corban, you have to keep your head straight!"

At the beach in November!

UPDATE: How to fold the toilet paper and other nuances of living in Japan

Driving in Japan: We've gotten our hotrod Odyssey up to about 60 a few times...60 kilometers per hour that is (37 miles per hour). Yes, that's the fastest speed limit sign we've seen. Of course, many of the 2-lane roads in Japan are so narrow you have to fold in your side mirrors (a standard feature on Japanese cars, no joke) so you don't hit the oncoming traffic on your right or the bicycle or motorcycle trying to squeeze by you on your left. So, its always a safe idea to drive as slow as necessary.

Produce: Arable land in Japan is so scarce and farms are so small that they only have room to grow much smaller sized produce compared to what we are used to in the US. They simply don't have the room to grow full sized vegetables...see the full sized Japanese peppers and tomatoes.

"Western" toilets: A note explaining how to use these newfangled "western" toilets to the average Japanese person....in our house....which happens to be located on an American military base.

Toilet origami: Please be kind and fold the toilet paper for the person after you. Toilet etiquette.

Trash sorting: On base we sort into 4 bins, off base its about 15.