Holloween Event at MSL

The last Monday of October, Maiko's English class had a holloween event. Maiko dressed up as Minnie Mouse - just like last year - and had a ball!

Us moms were called in to the classroom for the last 20 minutes, and the kids had a chance to come trick-or-treating to our "houses," which were just chairs with pictures of a door taped on.

Sports Day (Oct. 12, 2008)

If you've ever lived in Japan, you'll know that Undoukai - sports day - is a big deal in Japan. In the fall, all over Japan, from pre-schools to large companies to villages and towns, children, men and women all gather up at their school/company (or park/stadium rented for the day by the company) and participate in various form of sports.

The indivisual games are not very serious - tug-of-war, 10-100 m race, throwing soft balls into a basket etc, although those who participate take them pretty seriously.

Anyway, Maiko's Yochien - the one she will be entering next spring - had one on October 12th. Those planning to enter next spring were to participate in two games, one of which involved dads - or moms or grandpas etc.

The dads/moms give his/her child a piggy-back ride, grab soft balls, pass them to the child, and the child throws the ball(s) into one of three baskets on the backs of three running teachers. Fun Fun for the dads/moms, huh?

Another game Maiko enjoyed was Musunde-Hiraite, a simple hand game. Small children from the area were allowed to join in and those who participated were all given a gift - a cute set of sand toys.

Sennin Onsen

Okay, this is really annoying. I've been uploading pictures from our trip to Sennin Onsen, writing a whole paragraph about the beautiful hotel - more like a luxurious resort in Bali - and without warning, Internet Explorer shuts itself down.

So forget the words, here are the pics. If you want to see better pictures, try this website.

Bellow is one of several library/reading rooms. They have various novels, non-fics, children's books both with and without pictures, dictionaries, etc.

Maiko chats with her grandmother while her uncle enjoys his cigarette.

One of the many sitting areas with comfortable chairs and sofas.