It’s here!
Field
Day!
We’re up and dressed and present
ourselves next door just in time to set out on foot for breakfast at SunRise
Café.
Sachiko is with us and, since her
dear friends own the place, she winds up doing some of the serving!
I order the set which comes with a
hard-boiled egg, salad, banana, toast, and what I finally figure out is corn
soup.
And coffee!!
Sakurako gets my banana and a bit of toast,
and she is also munching from Ginger’s breakfast.
That’s what grandmas and aunts are for!!
Iori and Tae leave first so that he can get to Field Day on
time, and we follow after shortly. The
event is staged in a large park and there is no parking, so we’re doing
everything on foot. Happily, it’s not
too far and soon we are treated to the sight of about two hundred preschoolers,
all in their brightly colored caps. Each of the seven classes has their own
color and it makes it a little easier to spot your own munchkin in the vast herd! Each group sits with their class and pretty
soon we have the opening spectacle. All
the kids are lined up with their groups and they sing and dance to Mickey Mouse
songs! Then they break back up into their groups and the individual events
begin. There is even an event for the
younger siblings in which they run a race with an adult. Ginger gets to run with Sakurako! There’s an event for Iori’s group and their
dads in which Andy and Iori participate and there’s even a dance event and I
get nominated to do it with Iori. I took over five hundred photos – but I won’t
inflict them here!
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| Hiding from the sun! |
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| Everyone has a thermos. |
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| Go Grandma!! |
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| Relay race |
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| The kids had to capture the other team's hats. |
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| The graduates come back to show off. |
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| Two-man relay race! |
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| We had the perfect vantage point; then, at the last possible moment, the made Andy and iori switch sides so the numbers came out even! But look at that style! |
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| Dad and kid race |
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| The after-school gymnastics program, Tryle |
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| The gymnastics coach also does PE |
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| Getting ready for the ball toss at the end |
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| A free-for-all ball toss! |
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| Counting the balls in the net |
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| Closing routine |
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| Class representatives |
It is quite hot for October – or any other time – but it’s
such fun that we don’t notice.
Andy and
Ginger do turn a lovely shade of pink;
but it’s not a real sunburn!
Andy
is surprised by my endurance and I’m surprised that I can run to the other end
of the field to get a better vantage point.
Tae has seen some of the rehearsals, so she knows where Iori will be for
most of his events.
After the closing ceremonies we all walk to another
Seven-Eleven for cold drinks. I get my
favorite, Calpis (which always winds up being called cowpiss), and this store
has a new version which has even more flavor.
As luck would have it, Andy finds an item he had mentioned to us previously. It’s a juice box, complete with straw; but it contains sake!! This one is in the trash; but a picture is a picture!
It’s past time for lunch and everyone agrees to go back to
Andy’s favorite udun noodles place, especially since he didn’t get to go the
last time! It’s pretty crowded and we
get one of the tables where you have to sit on the ground. Actually, it’s a raised platform; but the effect is the same. More onion nests and tempura pumpkin and
lotus, and delicious noodles in broth! I
don’t seem to be able to eat as much as some others, so I pass half of my onion
nest to Andy and give up before my noodles are all gone! So much mouth-watering food!!
On the way home we make another attempt to locate the elusive
Coke with Coffee. We had tried another
vending machine and Tae and Sachiko think we might have better luck at a
liquor store, so we give that a shot. No
luck. Also, Andy remembered one of Stu’s Facebook posts in which he raved about
a particular chip that he truly enjoyed, so we go to a grocery store to look
for that! No luck again! Another grocery store with similar results. While we’re here, Sachiko walks to another store
that is close by and she thinks might be promising. She’s got her phone in her pocket and doesn’t
hear it when Tae calls to say we’re ready to leave. She eventually calls Tae and we connect in
the parking lot. Now Tae is really into the search!! She’s found a store in a mall that has the
chips! Off we go!! And while we’re there, we do some clothes
shopping for the kids. Ginger doesn’t
get to do this and really enjoys it!
When I come back, everyone is just starting to get ready to
leave for dinner. Tae’s grandfather has
not been much in evidence and he wants to treat us to dinner. We’re going to a yakitori place for “protein
on a stick”, Ginger’s and my favorite comfort food when we travel. Ginger coined the phrase and it has
stuck! We wait just a little for two
tables and realize that the place is understaffed tonight. We don’t care because we’re all together and,
besides, there’s beer! Grandfather,
however, isn’t quite as forgiving and after a short wait he’s had enough and
leaves! We figure he’s taking a
cab; but no one knows, nor seems
concerned!
Andy, Ginger, and I, and one or the other of the kids (they
rotate), are at one table and Tae tells Andy he’s in charge of ordering for our
table.
Tae, Sachiko, and grandfather
start out at an adjacent table;
but when
he leaves, we all shuffle around so we can sit together.
Andy’s order comes and so does Tae’s and
another feeding frenzy begins!
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| Andy tells Ginger she's throwing a gang sign! |
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| That's better! |
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| Edamame appetizer |
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| Quail eggs |
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| Salmon flakes |
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| That's a lot of sticks!! |
There are so many different “proteins” that I lose track of
what we’re eating.
I know one skewer had
quail eggs and there were pork and chicken and one that had cartilage that’s
boiled before being grilled.
There is
also bacon wrapped around what looks and tastes like mozzarella, but turns out
to be rice that is over-boiled until it had the same consistency as
cheese!
Sachiko says she’ll send us
some!
Those are so delicious that we
order three more skewers!
When you’re
done with a skewer, you put it in a tall cup on the table, and it’s quite a
visual about how much we have eaten!
We can’t possibly eat any more, so it’s time to go home and
put the kids to bed.
But before we do, there are fireworks to ignite! We go out into the quiet street and the kids (and adults!) play with the sparklers. Even Sachiko gets into the act. Sakurako is frightened at first; but she's one tough little cookie and she finally holds one all by herself!
We’re leaving
tomorrow, so tonight is our last chance for conversation and bonding.
And we make the most of it.
Bedtime comes too soon.
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