Playful Boys

Gi and I spent a May weekend in Melbourne visiting my sister and her family. An unseaonably warm Saturday afternoon saw us in the backyard playing with the boys. Here are some of the fun moments we captured.

JAL Building

My friend Kaz works for Japan Airline (JAL) and as a family unit they are typically transferred every 3 years. At the time of planning our trip Kaz was expecting to be transferred at any time. Thankfully they were still based near Osaka when we touched down.

As an employer Japan Airlines provides accommodation to its employees and Kaz and his family live in a 3 bedroom apartment as part of a large complex of eight apartment blocks.

The photo above reflects one of those blocks in the window of their family car prior to our departure on a weekend driving around the peninsula.

Much like apartment blocks elsewhere the balconies give insights into the lives of those residing inside.

An apartment block full of Japan Airline employees and their families.

At the front of the building - garbage and recycling are very strict in Japan.

Gigi and Take wait by the car.

A local sign showing character and age.

Day 2: Dinner

Arriving back at Kaz's family's apartment after a day of plum forest, castle tours and driving Takako served up Nabe for dinner. Our first experience of Japanese hot pot was fantastic. Fresh ingredients and noodles cooked in a soup base in the centre of the table inspired and surprised us. An array of vegetables and tofu were devoured, noodles and bowls of soup noisily slurped as is the custom in Japan, cooling the food as it enters the mouth and perhaps also a sign of appreciation. Each night to come would find us sitting at this table enjoying the most amazing Japanese meals, as Takako found ways to broaden our experience of Japanese food while catering to Gigi's veganism. The woman deserved a medal for her culinary efforts during our stay.

We just hope that one day the Mastuda family come to visit us here in Australia so we can repay the favour.

Take and Hanami showing us how it's done.

Day 2: Himeji Castle 27 Feb

Himeji Castle stands on a hill, looking a little disappointing from afar as it blended into the bleak sky on the day of our visit. Sometimes known as the White Heron Castle it is a Japanese National Treasure and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Upon entering the castle, visitors are required to remove their shoes and shuffle up, and up, and up the flights of smooth wooden stairs in borrowed slippers or stockinged feet. In addition to potentially damaging the beautifully crafted wooden buildings, all 83 of them, that comprise the castle complex, people are a major threat for another reason...fire. Many of Japan's wooden structures have suffered devastating losses due to fire and the castle is full of signs constantly reminding visitors not to smoke.

As the most visited castle in Japan it was very interesting wandering through the grounds, a maze created in order to confuse attacking troops, entering through imposing gates and later ducking our heads to step through narrow, low doorways. Inside the castle were dark wooden walls, a strange contrast to the light, bright exterior. The most interesting architectural feature though must surely be the roofline, gently curving up at each end, giving it a graceful, somehow feminine touch. Thought to be originally built in the 1300's the history of the castle was a little contradictory. As we climbed up to the top floor, following a group of international students marvelling at the evidence of where weapons once hung in readiness for battle, or completely uninterested in the buildings stories I was reminded that whatever we chose to do today will be remembered and appreciated by some of those yet to come, and completely irrelevant to others.

I certainly don't imagine that the architects and labourers who constructed this castle completely from hand ever expected their handiwork to still be standing in the 21st century, with ipod clad teenagers and camera toting tourists clambering in and around it. I wonder what they would have made of us?

The Familiar - 2

School girls in uniforms, waiting at the pedestrian lights to cross the road, on their way home from school. A familiar site around the world, we would find ourselves fascinated with the school girls in Japan, especially those in Tokyo. These girls near the Himeji castle were conservatively attired in knee length skirts and ankle socks. The school girls we marvelled at in Tokyo were the complete opposite in very shirt thigh skimming skirts and long thigh high socks (although capturing them on film without appearing pervy was a little difficult...so I left that challenge to Gigi).

Day 2 - Rice Surprise

At the top of the hill, overlooking the plum orchard there was a little shed with two middle aged women decked out in white hats and aprons, selling plum preserves and products and serving little cups of a warm rice drink spiced with ginger. Kaz explained it was like sake but non alcoholic and I was a bit suspicous at first but with the little cup instantly warming my hands I found it incredibly delicious and invigorating, the ginger picking up my mood and spurring me on to the next adventure of the day.

Day 2 - Rugged up Bees

We stumbled across these bee hives at the plum orchard, all rugged up in blankets to keep the bees warm. I just had to go back to take a photo imagining the bees all standing around the open hearth, or cuddled up with their hot water bottles against the cold.

Day 2 - Plum Blossoms

After our first night on the futons, me twisting and turning trying to find a soft spot for my hips (we would later work out a solution), Kaz drove us about an hour north west to see the plum blossoms at a plum orchard.

Despite the grey sky and threatening rain, we wandered around the plum trees, delighting in the colours and form of the delicate blossoms. Pale and deep pinks, offset the white blooms with all of them sharing the spindly yellow centres.

Unseasonably warm weather just before our arrival in Japan meant that most of the plum blossoms in the Kanzai province were already finished, so we felt privileged to have the opportunity to get up close to such prettiness. As our trip unfolded we would also come to appreciate how amazingly gorgeous the country and cities must look when the cherry blossoms take hold in April.

Gigi and Kaz, two thorns amongst the blossoms.

Are you adjusting to the drop in temperature yet?

The Familiar

As one travels the world, there are certain things that are always instantly recognisable. Yet somehow these things are always unique to that particular place. For me, petrol stations are one of those things. In Japan, full service seems to still be the norm, to the extent that the attendants would wipe down all of the windows and parts of the body be they dirty or clean. It's decades since full service stations operated in Australia, and sometimes its a miracle if you get a smile and a thanks from the staff member swiping your credit card.

Day 1 - Mino-Shi 26 Feb

We arrived at the Kansai International Airport in Osaka after a nine hour flight (a breeze compared to the 35 hour ordeal it is to get to Naples) to be met by Kazuyoshi. Kaz and I were at high school together in HatYai in southern Thailand, way back in 1987. I remember Kaz as a tall, shy young man who attracted the attention of the Thai teenage girls for his prominent eye teeth and mysterious air. As a fellow exchange student, trying to cope with the cultural and language changes, I always marvelled at Kaz who was learning Thai and coping with communicating in English at the same time.

The last time we crossed paths was at an AFS reunion in 1993. Since then, we have both married, lived in more foreign countries and Kaz now has two children. It was the children who greeted us with enthusiasm and smiles at the front door of their apartment, Hanami is 9 years old, into pink and ballet, and Take is 6 years old, a boy who likes playing sport. As we struggled out of our winter coats and boots, Kaz's wife Takako was at hand to usher us inside.

Takako had dinner waiting, and it was just the first of many lovely meals that we would share with the family over the following week. Gigi was delighted to find tofu burgers on the menu, and Takako really went out of her way to accomodate for his vegan diet. After unpacking, Takako gave us a lesson in laying out our beds, futons rolling out onto the tatami mats, then the sheets and the double layers of quilts. This photo is a little shrine set up in the corner of the bedroom, and as the three weeks unfolded we would come to better understand its significance.

With only hours of our Japanese holiday behind us we were already thoroughly enjoy ourselves.

J & G in Japan

After 20 years of trying to get to Japan I have finally made it. Ever since befriending an AFS exchange student at Ipswich State High School in 1987, a girl from Japan called Keiko, have I been wanting to visit this country. Then in Thailand I was at school with a boy called Kazuyoshi. There have been other Japanese friends since then and other AFS ex pat friends are now based in Tokyo with families of their own.

We arrived less than a week ago, into Osaka, met at the airport by Kaz. We have been staying with his family, wife Takako, and children Take and Hana. It`s been a joy and much like being an exchange student all over again, except this time I can drink and stay out late if I want...although with all the touring and walking Gi and I are in bed by 10pm most evenings.

We are having a wonderful time, with our hosts showing us some of Japan`s real life moments, family life, home made food mixed with tourist highlights.

We transfer up to Tokyo on Friday and another chapter of our Japanese holiday will begin.

Gi is cooking pasta tonight, giving Kaz`s wife Takako a lesson in Italian cuisine, the king of a tiny kitchen for the evening. There is much detail to share and I have much to write about but time is short and the smell of the food beckons. Enjoy the photos. Nara, a former capital

Plum blossoms

Antique kimonos...we walked out with a bag full.

PJ party

I recently spent a weekend in Melbourne with my gorgeous sister Kim and her trio of boys (the big lanky one she married isn't featured here). Joshua, the eldest, started school last week, simultaneously breaking his mother's heart and filling it with pride. The youngest, Lachlan, turned 3 years old on Friday 13th - make your own assumptions about the little devil he may or may not be.

Both boys are a delight, with lovely manners and vocabularies well beyond their peers. However, as one of three girls growing up in the Banham household I have to say I still marvel at the world of boys. It just doesn't stop - there is no sitting quietly playing with dolls, it's all action, all the time til they are packed off to bed. I suffer a bit of culture shock everytime, and only wonder how my sister Kim has adapted where pretend sword fighting, physical play and male appendages are all part of a normal day.

For now though we will continue to enjoy the fact that they will still hold your hand to cross the street, and crawl onto your lap for a cuddle and stand in defiance with hand on a hip while trying to negotiate with an adult who towers above. For they will surely grow to be tall young men who pass through a period of surly indifference before blossoming into heart breakers who will once again enjoy holding someone's hand and snuggling in for a cuddle. Just don't tell their mother that it may not be her. Josh's first week of school was traumatic enough for Kim!

These photos were taken before bedtime with the boys in their new pyjamas featuring The Wiggles and Ben Ten.