Ending Summer With a Bang
Summer, at least academic-calendar-wise, is drawing to a close. We celebrated it by going to Yamanashi with the Steigers. Wilson had been talking up the fireworks there since the last time went to Yamanashi with him last fall, and we were not disappointed.
Jeff was in the States, so Wil picked us up on Sunday and we went straight to Grinpa, which is part of the Fuji Campgrounds area. It's a total kiddie amusement park, with an Ultraman theme (also nearby Fuji Safari, to which I am going next time, if I have anything to say about it). The kids all had fun, except for a D meltdown in the last 20 minutes.
Then back to Baba's house. She's Miki's mother and a very doting grandma, whom you may remember a mention of from a previous post. I know she has a proper name that I'm supposed to call her by, but it has too many syllables for me to remember, and I don't want to be rude, so I just don't call her anything. M and D adopted Ryokun (Viktor) again, sort of like a pet.
Next day, to Fuji-Q High Land again. I didn't have anyone forcing me to go on any roller coasters (Jeff wasn't there, Miki was paranoid after some freak accident in Korea or somewhere, and Wilson was born an old woman), so I mostly split my time between kids riding on kiddie rides. D and I wanted to go in the haunted hospital this time, but the wait was 2.5 hours, and upon seeing pictures of it later, it was probably a good thing I didn't go in with a 7 yr old. We did go on the really cool water ride, which dumps you through a huge amount of water (you can buy ponchos). M went on the swing ride like 40 times (OK, 3). On our way out, the sky was breathtaking.
We laid around on Tuesday mostly, gearing up for the fireworks. Miki and I got dressed by the neighbor, who is a professional dance-master. This was my first experience in traditional yukata (summer kimono), and man, it's tight. I actually had a board on my belly to create a flatter silhouette. My yukata was from UniQlo (sort of like a Japanese Gap, Miki says. I thinks it's way better), and its pattern is based on artwork by a famous Japanese graphic designer.
A bunch of us, mostly Miki's relatives, drank and ate a ton of yummy food in the backyard. Jeff showed up just in the nick of time after an all-day train journey from Sasebo. Wilson wasn't kidding around when he said the fireworks were right over the you. We all had towels or plates over our heads to protect us from the raining, and sometimes smoldering, debris. It went on for like 2 hours. It was truly the most mold-breaking display I have ever seen, and all subsequent displays will be disappointing. Even D said, and I quote "This is something I won't ever forget."
When we moved up to the river proper to view the finale, I got a cinder or something in my eye that made it weep for a day and a half (no permanent damage, I think). We went down the street to the actual matsuri, anyway, where D "won" a few goldfish (that were floating upside down the next day. They have since been replaced. Because we need more pets.).
I was exhausted the next day, with my weeping eye and a dread that I had caught my kids' nasty colds. The journey home was uneventful except for a quick stop at an omiyagi (souvenir) place that had the World's Largest Drum, a weird old-man mannequin, and a sake-sample vendor (which Jeff could not get to work, sadly).
Oh, and Baba sent us home with the biggest goddamned grapes I have ever seen.
The pictures don't do the fireworks justice. I am working on video to post soon. In the meantime, you can see the rest of the trip's pics here.
Am I sad that summer is ending? Not really. I'm tired of kicking the kids off the video games, because that's all they want to do. Soon they are going back to school and I can have my life back. I have painting to do, and studying, and shopping, and all the things I can't do with anyone else in tow. I have enjoyed spending time with them, but 24/7 with my loving munchkins is a bit much. I am going to remedy my need for adult time a little tonight in Shibuya, for Dave's birthday.
Jeff was in the States, so Wil picked us up on Sunday and we went straight to Grinpa, which is part of the Fuji Campgrounds area. It's a total kiddie amusement park, with an Ultraman theme (also nearby Fuji Safari, to which I am going next time, if I have anything to say about it). The kids all had fun, except for a D meltdown in the last 20 minutes.
Then back to Baba's house. She's Miki's mother and a very doting grandma, whom you may remember a mention of from a previous post. I know she has a proper name that I'm supposed to call her by, but it has too many syllables for me to remember, and I don't want to be rude, so I just don't call her anything. M and D adopted Ryokun (Viktor) again, sort of like a pet.
Next day, to Fuji-Q High Land again. I didn't have anyone forcing me to go on any roller coasters (Jeff wasn't there, Miki was paranoid after some freak accident in Korea or somewhere, and Wilson was born an old woman), so I mostly split my time between kids riding on kiddie rides. D and I wanted to go in the haunted hospital this time, but the wait was 2.5 hours, and upon seeing pictures of it later, it was probably a good thing I didn't go in with a 7 yr old. We did go on the really cool water ride, which dumps you through a huge amount of water (you can buy ponchos). M went on the swing ride like 40 times (OK, 3). On our way out, the sky was breathtaking.
We laid around on Tuesday mostly, gearing up for the fireworks. Miki and I got dressed by the neighbor, who is a professional dance-master. This was my first experience in traditional yukata (summer kimono), and man, it's tight. I actually had a board on my belly to create a flatter silhouette. My yukata was from UniQlo (sort of like a Japanese Gap, Miki says. I thinks it's way better), and its pattern is based on artwork by a famous Japanese graphic designer.
A bunch of us, mostly Miki's relatives, drank and ate a ton of yummy food in the backyard. Jeff showed up just in the nick of time after an all-day train journey from Sasebo. Wilson wasn't kidding around when he said the fireworks were right over the you. We all had towels or plates over our heads to protect us from the raining, and sometimes smoldering, debris. It went on for like 2 hours. It was truly the most mold-breaking display I have ever seen, and all subsequent displays will be disappointing. Even D said, and I quote "This is something I won't ever forget."
When we moved up to the river proper to view the finale, I got a cinder or something in my eye that made it weep for a day and a half (no permanent damage, I think). We went down the street to the actual matsuri, anyway, where D "won" a few goldfish (that were floating upside down the next day. They have since been replaced. Because we need more pets.).
I was exhausted the next day, with my weeping eye and a dread that I had caught my kids' nasty colds. The journey home was uneventful except for a quick stop at an omiyagi (souvenir) place that had the World's Largest Drum, a weird old-man mannequin, and a sake-sample vendor (which Jeff could not get to work, sadly).
Oh, and Baba sent us home with the biggest goddamned grapes I have ever seen.
The pictures don't do the fireworks justice. I am working on video to post soon. In the meantime, you can see the rest of the trip's pics here.
Am I sad that summer is ending? Not really. I'm tired of kicking the kids off the video games, because that's all they want to do. Soon they are going back to school and I can have my life back. I have painting to do, and studying, and shopping, and all the things I can't do with anyone else in tow. I have enjoyed spending time with them, but 24/7 with my loving munchkins is a bit much. I am going to remedy my need for adult time a little tonight in Shibuya, for Dave's birthday.
posted by Sandi at 12:16 PM
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