It`s saturday (again!), time to go out!

We are in rainy season, we don`t get blue sky . So I decided to take kids to The Science center.

First, we took a train to Osaka, then changed to an underground. We walked through underground route , but oh, it`s huge!

It conects 3 or 4 different lines of train, 3 big department stores and various shopping center in between, and it spreads about 1.2km around. I never know where I`m walking in there!

This is an underground city we saw.....

Are we teleported back in UK?

One of passages was entirely covered with 3D picture , the image of London!

This one was in the corner of one end and looked most realistic!

It doesn`t show up in a photo well.

After we teleported back again to where we were, we got on tube train.

I couldn`t believe how empty it was!! But yey!


After few minutes of walk we arrived to the Science center!

The Cubic Robot welcomed and entertained us at the entrance.

It completes making cube (that toy which you have to match each face with each colour by moving around one line of squares at a time. what does it called??)

Inside was bit smaller than the one in London, but same kind of hands on stuff and sience shows that kids can enjoy.

Making sparks from high voltaged electricity.

Balls are floating in a wind.

And there was a planetarium and also they showed little movie in there.

We watched " the pre-histric park" and that was from English TV program with Jonathan Marvin(I think that was his name....) in, that he goes back to when dinousaurous were around and teleport them back to now to save them! They made program really short for this, so it was bit disappointing.

After lots of walk around, it`s got to be tea time!

I had searched and found a organic-eco style cafe near-by, so with my hand made map, we walked to the cafe.

But when we got there ... it was closed down and now changed into "Ra-men noodle bar"!!

Ra-men(noodles in a soup, and it`s really yummy !) is nice but Hunny is off wheat and I`m not big fun of MSG!

and anyway we wanted to have some tea!!

so, just went to the cafe on the way back to the station.

Hunny and Viz with Pizza(end up to have some wheat, oh well..) and cold chocolate.

and strawberry mousse!

Back at the station, we dicided to go to a book shop as they have " English book coner"

Twilight, Harry Potter, Rainbow magic, Paffin classics.....

They`ve got some books for grown-ups too.

and magazines... quite good selections!

Now we are officially in a Rainy Season!!

A weekly weather forcast...... It`s all an umbrella mark!

(except northest and southest parts of Japan which

have quite different climate)

Though, it hasn`t rained last couple days, just beeing cloudy.

bit cooler but still very humid. And this humidity really does make us tired...

I feel sweaty and sticky all the time!

We started to use an air conditioner now. oh, such a bliss.....

I`d love to be green & eco, but, sometimes a paper fan is just not enough...

It`s completely changed from yesterday`s beautiful blue sky.... Raining all day long...

We had another shopping trip to nearest shopping center.

The entrance of shopping center. Plastic bags for umbrellas were put out. When we finish shopping, those bags were put in a bin on front of it. hope those get to be recycled.....!

This time we needed Swiming kit for their school.

When they first started to go to school, I made bags after bags to put various bits in like p.e. kit, apron, indoor shoes etc. and had to buy painting sets, a piano harmonica, a calligraphy set , colour pencils and loads more. and now swiming set... it never finishes!!

These swimming towels, they have snap buttons and an elastic band to make a skirt, so kids can change easily using both hands without beeing seen by the others. No more wriggling to get your kit off with one hand holding towel with the other!

And other few bits Hunny bought.

A bag and a pencil case. So bright and flashy!!

It`s all written in English!

The Banpaku Park

It`s Saturday and weather is good, so we decided to go to　the big park in the city where we used to live. The international exposition was held here about 50years ago (This event has being held in Shanghai at the moment in a bigger scale!) and the park was built afterwards. I used to come here when I was Hunny`s age, but in different part of park and also it has been changed a little, so didn`t feel so nostalgic.

The park is devided to many sections, but we couldn`t go around all as kids wanted to be in play area than going around to see flowers!

Some of the things we enjoyed.....

1. Cycling on funny bicycles!

Hunny is on skating bike.

Viz is in a capsule bike.

and this one moves sideway as you pedal and bit tricky with a handle!

2. Snake Hunting!

Trying to get snake out of the bush.

Can you find little snake head poking out?

Kids spend ages poking in a bush with stick!

3. playing tennis in the coner of the park (as it wasn`t really allowed to play ball games)

4. Pond dipping

Kids and water.... always.

5. and Of corse, IceCream!!!

It`s really getting hot here.

We have average of 25~28c everyday, and sometimes go over 30c....

This weekend we didn`t do much as Hunny was recovering from cold which made her leave early from school on Thursday....

We went to a little shopping trip to nearest shopping center and few bits&bobs.

and this is summer`s must have.....

A Parasol which brocks 90% of UV!

We are the unti-aging obssessed nation and direct sunlight is big no-no!

And cute tiny socks!

The gray one on the left is tiny. it covers only toes and half of heels!

And my favourite is "toe-less socks"!!

It has little pads on the bottom so great for sandals with heals!

I had rather sweet pics of Hunny&Viz walking hand in hand in shopping mall which I was going to use. I must deleted it... It`s gone!! hmmmm

Things that bring us the feel of summer.....

The place my parents live is by the station and it`s built up with houses, apartments, shops and car parks. It`s busy with many cars and peoples but still have little fields to grow some crops here and there. From late Autam to late Spring it`s been used to grow some vegetables. A couple days ago we walked passed one of these fields and we saw that water has been drown in and changed to a paddy field! We could see little rice plants have been planted. In fact several other field had been changed into the paddy field too. And as soon as water has been drown in, frogs starts to croak. They are loud! They live very quietly hiding somewhere, but every year as soon as rice fields appear they start a big chorus. Why is this? Are they looking for mates as water`s there now to lay eggs??

It was another hot day, around 30c in the afternoon. Hot weather in the city isn`t very nice!

we`ll be in rainy season soon, then it will be very warm and damp!! Things get mouldy very easily! After the frog we will be listening cicadas and then we`ll be in real summer!!!