Here or There

I took a walk around the neighborhood with my son yesterday.
He has a favorite place is near our house. At that place, he likes to watch a waterwheel. There is a Udon noodles restaurant next to the waterwheel. When we are there, we can feel much cooler!



Next to that Udon noodles restaurant, there is a village of old houses which is called "Shikoku-Mura". I've never been there with my son yet, but I will try to take him here in the near future.



It looks like a mysterious entrance!

Here is some information about Shikoku-Mura.
http://www.shikokumura.or.jp/  

Usually, I take my son to the park next door. It's a very beautiful place because everyday a group of kind volunteers clean it up. I am always amazed by how hard they work. They even pull up the weeds one by one by hand. Of course, there is no garbage in that park.

When the evening comes, many people come to the park. They walk around the park with their dogs, exercise, or play with their children.

Next to the park, there is a pair of train tracks. When the train comes, children in the park get really excited! Sometimes, if the children wave their hands while saying "Bye-bye" to the train conductor, he will wave his hand back to them. Then, all of the children jump for joy!

These days, because my son has so much energy, I need to go to the park and play with him. While there, he can run much, play with his friends, and do high-fives with the kind volunteers that I talked about before.
Needless to say, while he is playing with his friends, I can talk about many things with my son's friend's mothers (I became friends with them through this park) and then I can get rid of some of my stress!

  

It was rainy all day yesterday. I don't like rainy weather because I can't play outside with my son.
However, if it doesn't much rain in Shikoku, we have a big problem. Especially in Kagawa prefecture, we always have a water shortage during the Summer. It rains very little in Kagawa. Our water supply comes from the Sameura dam in Kouchi prefecture.

About 13 years ago (maybe) during the Summer, we had a very serious shortage of water. At that time, we got water for only 4 hours (5pm to 9pm) a day. I remember that, when we could get water, I would save it by putting it into the bathtub or a water bowl. Then, I would pour some water from the bathtub into the toilet tank or washing bowl, using the water little by little. Of course, we only took a bath or did laundry from 5pm to 9pm. I think we did that for about 1month.
It was an experience that I can't forget. Sometimes, I check the amount of stored water in Sameura dam and try to save water to prevent this from happening again.




Here is a picture of the "Dragon men", who came to nearby kindergarten before. These original characters were created in order to teach children the importance of saving water.


  

Today, my son and two of his friends had a giant birthday bash at my house. Can you guess how many people came to the party? 13 people, including my son and me!


Yesterday, I prepared for the party by decorating our house with streamers and a Happy Birthday sign. My friends, on the other hand, made some cakes, pizza, bread, and rice balls.

The party was a lot of fun! The children enjoyed the food and decorations, but most of all they enjoyed all of their new toys!

My son is very happy! He got many toys and books.


While my son's actual birthday is ten days from now, I've decided that, since the decorations are so cute, that I will leave them up until then.

After his private party is over, I'll be sure to post some more pictures on this blog.  

Last Summer, my family and I enjoyed a simple but fun event called, "Akari Road." "Akari" means light in English. It was event that featured beautiful stone lanterns lined along a neighborhood road in Mure Town. The two month event always began at sundown and ended around 10 pm. The stone lantern road event consisted of strolling down a 1 kilometer route that was lined with stone lanterns in a variety of shapes and styles. The homes that participated in the event (i.e. allowed the stone lanterns to be placed in front of their homes ) made an agreement that they would not turn on their lights once the event had started. Because of their kind support, the simple neighborhood road became a fantastic illusion filled with animals, Japanese characters, and water fountains. While walking down the road we took this picture.





If you would like more information about the Stone Lantern Road event for this year, please visit the following web page (http://www.ishiakari-road.com).
  

Our son loves to see construction sites.
Especially, forklifts and power shovels. When I drive a car , if he sees a forklift, he always screams "A forklift! A forklift!"

At the beginning of this month, my father bought a forklift. His rock quarry is part of a mountain. So, he needed to buy a new one.
The rock that my father removed is called "Aji-ishi".
They are precious stones, and are used to make graves, lanterns and so on.

If you wanted to decorate something at your entrance, I can recommend one of them for you.
Maybe, you will get more relaxed!

Here is a picture that I found a stone shop when I drive a car.


  

Last week, I took a son to the beach in Aji town.
It is very convenient place for us because it's near Yashima. Of course, we have interesting places in Yashima, but I wanted him to get a new experience! I think he needs to get them more and more these days.
While going to Aji town only takes 20 minutes, a trip that I have made many times, I never knew that it was located on the northern end of Shikoku island.