July 3 Lunch at a local French Restaurant.
Beautiful food....good company...and the first time I've felt full since we've been here.
Tasty dessert sampler.
We live in the heart of Sake Country. The breweries and close together, a nice walking tour. They had a wonderful movie that helped us understand the thoughtful work behind a bottle of sake. Hannah didn't want to take a sip. Spencer said the dessert sake was tasty and he would take three bottles.
uh-oh.
We put them to work.
On the walk home, we saw these boys enjoying the canal....so....
We ended up playing in the canal for an hour...it was a lovely afternoon!
Our 4th of the July was celebrated with a crab feast at a famous Osaka spot. This week has so many pictures of food, guess what I've been searching on the internet.
After lunch, we headed off to Osaka Castle.
The approach was beautiful.
July 5 & 6... Matt worked and I spent time with our friends in the neighborhood.
July 7th We headed to Koka, Japan, the Koka Ninjas used to live here.
Secret panels.......
Hidden holes in walls........
Fake ceilings to climb into.......
No ninja exploration would be complete without a little practice with ninja stars. Spencer loved this!
By nightfall we made our way to Shigaraki, a little town known for their long history of fine pottery.
Our host cooked a wonderful dinner upon our arrival.
Yunikatz was the owner of our inn. He gave us a private tour of the kiln.
Each of the kids had a lesson and 1 hour on the wheel. Amy and Matt jumped into the fun.
We each chose one of our pieces to leave for firing, they will be mailed to us before we depart for the states.
I'm glad you asked. A tanuki is a mythical raccoon-dog, shape shifting, mythical, mischievious creature.
Shigaraki literature shares, "The beckoning Tanuki is most often depicted with a big round tummy, gigantic testicles, a flask of sake, a promissory note, and a straw hat. "
This is the world's largest wooden structure. It was quite magnificent.
Ended our afternoon in Nara at the 5 story pagoda. Then a couple hours on the train back to Kobe.
5 comments:
Amy this is so amazing! I LOVE sake :) Continue to post your wonderful adventures! Call me again sometime if you can. I can't wait until you come to Arizona to get that piece of art ;)
What a lovely flock of deer :-) Awesome pictures, videos, and very neat sites you are all seeing!
Hey Heather, I am even cooking with the sake. Learning a few recipes.
Hey Jon, I forgot what the audio was on that video. Matt and I have a standing joke we say to each other.
"Hey, look at those bunch of cows!"
"Herd."
"Heard of what?"
"Herd of cows."
"Of course I heard of cows."
Then we have versions of that exchange.
Tell Hannah HAPPY BIRTHDAY from the Martins!!
Hey girl!
I haven't posted here yet but I check this so often...I love reading your comments and seeing the photos and video. What a rich and wonderful experience for your family. I can't wait to hear more when you get back.
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