The Howl & Chinami, Reunited

Last time we were in Kamiyama, Hopper met Chinami. She was working at one of the satellite offices and had turned up to a dinner that all the resident artists were invited to. They hit it off immediately, and their bond was obvious. 

We've been in contact with her on facebook ever since, exchanging photos and messages, and sending each other surprise packages. Hopper would speak of her from time to time in the last year and a half, sometimes breathlessly, and though she had moved back to Chiba with her family, she promised she would come visit us on this trip.

So she came to town for Golden Week! We got to hang out with her a few days doing different things like eating soba and special deserts on a mountain top, chasing kites in the park, and eating pizza. She brought lovely gifts, and won him over all over again. In fact, the shinkansen t shirt she gave him quickly became his favorite and he refused to take if off for over 2 days. When I asked why, he said it was because he loves shinkansens but also because Chinami gave it to him.

We feel so lucky that she came to see us, and it was lovely to see her mom as well. Chinami, thank you for coming all this way to spend time with Hopper (and us), and for helping make this trip special. And for bringing fantastic gifts! We hope to see you again sometime soon!

30 min drive to mountain top, handmade soba noodle soup and warabimochi desert (Nik, Hopper, Iwamaru-san, Reiko [Chinami's mama], Chinami, Chinami's friend whose name I forget)

How's this for a rest stop?

warabimochi = gelatinous bracken rhizome starch (fern bulb, for lack of better word) + sweet toasted soybean flour powder +sweet shoyu sauce = totally effen special delicious

road leading to nature walk behind soba/warabimochi restaurant

Jack in the Pulpit

Nik standing next to shitake growing logs (I never knew. google it, quite fascinating.)

Hopper being a gentleman, giving her a hand picked flower

fields of small purple flowers, no idea what, but we were about a week too early for blooming

reed sword fight

back seat squeaky swordfight (welcome distraction from nausea inducing road)

those wooden handles have been banned from use

2nd day in shinkansen shirt, duckling slippers he insisted on getting despite being 3 sizes too small

okonomiaki night with Chinami, Neo, Yama, and Valery

Hopper loves frogs. Chinami does not. Hopper does not understand why she runs away from his new friend. But chasing is fun so it's still a win win situation.

Yusan Pizza with Chinami, her mama Reiko, Yama and my boys. Such yummy scrummy pizza!

parking lot shenanigans while waiting for our desert pizza

with pizza chef Luca and our desert pizza (with honey and dried fruit)

sounds weird, tastes great

old boats at the park

they went on a pretend journey

some good chase sequences

Is there enough wind?

Yes go go goooo!

rock garden with good puddles, removed pants and shoes for stomping, and he found a big frog so happiness abounds

a beautiful day calls for a BBQ so we got some meat and stuff and invited the gang and Chinami and mama

morning coffee meet up before they flew out, Chinami overwhelmingly happy with her small drawing

such lovely sweet people, we are so lucky to know them (Hopper has good taste!)

日本 Nihon BBQ

BBQ seems to be the official past time around here. And there is a house near the logging plant that has no residential neighbors so the music is turned up. A famous DJ from Tokyo moved here about a year ago so he's the official music man with fill-ins from The Rufus and Yu. It's good times for everyone, even with a little dancing. And... wait for it... the food is fine. Aren't you surprised?

The real story is Hopper and Ira. They are some kind of dynamic duo. They found a gargantuan earth worm and the rest of their day revolved around holding it, poking it, flinging it, running from it, running with it, fighting over it, and then cleaning it. To death. 

It was a bit of an albo-gator situation, it had to take one for the team. They were in heaven for hours, totally concentrated, and having little boy conversations about what to do. My heart bled for the thing, and then I had to realize that part of being a kid is playing with worms and such. I mean, I would dig em up, put em on a hook, and catch fish. So I told myself after explaining for the umpteenth time to be gentle, that they just had to be little boys, on a mission to "care" for this poor lifeless thing, pouring bucket after bucket of water on it. They really were trying to be nice. To death.

Mountain Pizza

There is a man who has lived here his whole life, up high in the mountains, who decided to build a pizza oven on his property. Our friend Ikkun knows him and invited a small bunch of us to have a pizza bake.

We drove up the steep scraggly mountain road and arrived at a little oasis in the stratosphere. He's an avid photographer and his whole house is full of his nature photos. Literally full. On all the walls, hanging down from the walls, over and under everything. He planted over a hundred sakura (cherry blossom trees) around the area so you can imagine that the photos are mostly pinky fluffiness at different angles.

When asked why he built the oven, he explained that someone told him sakura wood has a lovely aroma that could possibly add to the flavor of food. So he built the pizza oven. Like you do.

The scene is gorgeous. And all you hear are birds and wind. And the air smells like flowers with a slight evergreen twang. And the little paths all around are perfect for little legs to run and chase things. And the stones are perfect for looking for creatures to admire. 

And the pizza is scrumptious.

The man also built a lookout tower. He explained that in his childhood, he spent most of his time climbing trees to see how high he could get, to be able to look out over the valleys, and if high enough, to see the sea. He built a tower in response to this voice that came back to him later in his life. But it wasn't right so built another. The view is absolutely breathtaking, and the climb up is quite thrilling.

Nik and I climbed up when Hopper went with Eri and Ira to collect something from the car, because the structure was completely inappropriate for a 3 yr old. But when they returned, I was still up the tower. Hopper did not like mama on the tower, 80 ft over his head. And yelled to me to come down, that it was old and had splinters. 

I loved him a little bit more for that, for showing a deep guttural concern for my wellbeing, really for the first time. And it felt well-founded. He needed to talk about it a few times, about how he would be boos (mad) at me if I went up there again. This interchange sunk deep into my mama well, and I felt important and needed and loved in a very tangible way.  With a full heart I promised not to go up again.

Sometimes parenting is also scrumptious.