I received the school photos yesterday that were taken last month. I am glad schools still do this in the digital age. There is something about opening the envelope and seeing your children in a formal school photo. You notice how they change from year-to-year. Owen still looks like a boy, but is on the verge of becoming teenager. Oliver, below is such a typical “Dennis the Menace” mischievous little guy with a heart of gold.
Oliver – Grade 3
Finally, my angel-princess Ocean (below), the best of the Kralovecs, is so beautiful! I know I am biased, but I appreciate her intelligence and calm demeanor more and more everyday. Nadia and I are so fortunate to have three children. I feel so lucky!
I have been pleased with Owen learning the trumpet this year. The school has a quality instrumental music program and all students either learn a wind or string instrument or sing in the choir. Owen chose the trumpet and last week, he performed in the middle school band concert. This was his first concert with a full band and I am happy that he is getting this experience. Currently, he is in the beginning band, but next year he will move up to the concert band. I would like to thank his music teacher, Mr. Mark Elshout for his work with Owen! We will have to take him to the home of the greatest trumpet players, New Orleans someday!
It was a glorious early spring day yesterday, so we took advantage of the perfect weather and hiked through Rokku Gaaden (Rock Garden in English) in the hills above Kobe. The 5 kilometer hike goes through the sandstone “badlands” to the summit called Fubukiiwaato (447 meters). The views of Osaka Bay and the Koshien metropolitan area were quite nice. I can’t get over how close the dense urban population is so close to the quiet, forested hills. It is much like Avila Park outside of Caracas, Venezuela.
Nadia was a bit nervous climbing through the rocky bits, but seeing local senior citizens moving down the rocky paths, inspired her to power through. The kids loved scrambling over the rocks on the way up to the top. There were not that many people on the trail, considering it being a beautiful Saturday. It is a great hike to do close to Osaka/Kobe and can be reached by public transport.
We were disappointed not to see any of the famous wild boar, but it provided entertainment through the hike when one of us would snort like a pig to fool the others that boar were in the area. I did see the pygmy woodpecker for the first time and we discovered the source of a foul odor we have been smelling during this holiday. A bush that I think may be a Boxwood (Buxus sp.) has flowers that give an odor with a hint of small, rotting animal. We’ve been wondering what they were the past couple of days in our runs around Minoh and our visit to Kyoto earlier this week. I’ll have to look more into it and identify it.
The view from the top
I found a description of the hike in the Lonely Planet’s “Hiking in Japan” which I highly recommend for residents and tourists wanting to get out and explore a bit of the countryside. There are 70 detailed hike descriptions including maps.
We finished the day with a meal down at the Kobe Port waterfront. All and all, an excellent day with my family.
The best thing about holidays is reconnecting with my family. I take so much pleasure in watching my wife and children enjoy themselves and experience new things. I get more pleasure out of their joy than my own. I guess that is where an adult wants to be in middle age and in the middle of raising a family. It has changed me profoundly, thinking of others before myself. It makes life better.
Oliver came down with a fever and stomach problems while we were here, but managed to recover enough yesterday afternoon to enjoy some time in the snow. Nadia, Ollie and I went for a snowshoe hike on the hill behind the hotel. I can’t get over the amount of snow here, especially in this time of global warming and ski resorts around the world suffering from a lack of snow. The snow pack in the woods was a good 250 centimeters. The guide showed us how trees give off enough heat to melt the snow at their base, resulting in little snow caves. These allow one of the see the depth of snow. The little guy Oliver was non-stop talking and he really had a good time. Nadia doesn’t like downhill skiing and the resort doesn’t have cross-country skiing, so this was a good alternative. The fresh winter air and quiet of the woods caused by the heavy snow reminds me of my winters in Michigan. Something to be said for experiencing the change of seasons.
Owen, Ocean and I had a great final day of skiing. There was hardly anybody on the slopes, as spring break doesn’t start for the Japanese until next week and it being a Monday. The snow conditions were perfect and slashing down the groomed runs was a bit of heaven. It was the best day of skiing I ever had. Owen is getting good and was taking jumps and going off the course (they call runs, courses in Japan) and into deeper snow. If downhill skiing could be like this all the time, I would do it more often. The lines, hassle of equipment, and people all over the place, deter me from truly enjoying downhill skiing. But yesterday, with two of my kids and I spending a day outdoors challenging ourselves physically, was a bit of heaven!
I highly recommend the Kiroro Resort for a family ski destination. It has many different intermediate runs which provide the average skier variety of experiences. Kiroro comes from the Ainu words, Kiroru meaning a wide-walking path and Kiroro-an meaning resilient or healthy. The Ainu are the indigenous people of that region, but today they have mostly been bred out of existence in Japan with intermarriage with Japanese. The resort is owned by the Yamaha group and consists of two hotels in this mountain valley. There is no town or city close by.
I usually like the most wildest part of any country, like the Tara River valley of Serbia, and Hokkaido fits the bill. I hope to explore more of this beautiful island in my time in Japan.
There is plenty of powder snow on the slopes of Hokkaido, the main northern island of Japan. We are staying at the Kiroro ski resort, which is located 43km west of the capital city of Sapporo and 28km from the seaside town of Otaru. We really enjoyed the day yesterday, with almost no one on the runs, inspiring views and fresh mountain air. The resort is much less known than Niseko and it is perfect for kids and intermediate skiers. The elevation only goes up to 2,000 meters but there are no snow-making machines in sight. I estimate around a meter of snow on the ground.
This is our first time in Hokkaido and skiing in Japan. One of my first impressions was the care of the lift operators. They take their job very seriously and are so caring, especially with the children. When Ocean dropped her ski on the lift, they went and got it and brought it up the mountain for her. They are also super helpful on entering and exiting the chairs. One of the nice things about living here is that you are always well taken care of.
Ollie and Ocean had a great time on the beginners slope. Owen and I went further up the mountain and did the intermediate runs. We are planning on going all the way to the top on day 2. The spring break for Japanese schools doesn’t start for another week so there are no lines waiting for the chairlifts and clear lanes on the runs. My only complaint is a lack of cross country ski trails. Nadia is being a trooper and playing a support role for the kids.
We finished off the day with a relaxing onsen here at the hotel. The boys liked the outdoor hot baths and were throwing snowballs at each other. They are getting over not wearing bathing suits and are learning the Japanese customs in public baths.
I sampled one of the delicacies of Hokkaido for lunch at the New Chitose airport, salmon roe on rice. Mixing in wasabi/soy sauce and combined with seaweed miso soup,it made for a perfect start to our Hokkaido adventure.
Hokkaido is surprisingly not that far north (43 degrees) but gets plenty of snow coming from the westerly winds off the massive Siberian plains. It looks and feels like the Baltic nations with the snow and pine trees. I really want to explore more of the island, which is the size of Ireland.
I would like to thank our friends Naomi and Tara for inviting us to go with them. We are having a fabulous holiday.
Nadia ran a 55:02 10 kilometer race on Sunday in the Suita Bampaku Marathon race. This was her first competitive race here in Japan. The race took place in the Expo ’70 Park in the nearby suburb of Suita. Our school’s biathlon team participated and Nadia joined several of the faculty. We all had a fun day with an exceptionally beautiful autumn sunshine and fall colors.
The race differed from others she ran in that the crowd was very quiet and the only people cheering loudly were the family support for our us. Usually in Europe or America, strangers cheer on the runners to give them support.
She was a bit nervous because of her back, but it did not give her problems. Nadia wanted to be under an hour so she completed her goal.
We would like to thank Marcella, Dawn, and Tara for inviting us to run with them. We are planning to all run as a family in January for our next race.
We had a funny experience earlier this week when we tried to buy a Christmas tree. We heard that Ikea sold real trees so on the last day of our rental car, we drove south to the store. Ikea is located on reclaimed land in the Osaka Bay, close to the mouth of the Yodo River. The waterfront in Osaka is not developed as a tourist destination, but instead is very industrial with a large port and factories. My guess is that land was cheap and it was easy to receive imported goods so Ikea put their store there. The store is not near public transport so Ikea runs their own shuttle bus from the Namba station.
After about a 45 minute drive we got to the parking lot and there was a frenzy of activity near the entrance. They were selling “trees” around the corner from the entrance and when Nadia asked a salesperson how to buy a tree, she tells us that they are quickly selling out and to hurry to buy a ticket for a tree and stand before they run out. Nadia left for the sales desk and I went out to select a tree. When I got there however, I saw that the “trees” were just large branches. The locals were presenting their tickets and wrapping their branches in newspaper and were carrying them to the cars like babies. Hilarious! They were very happy with their branches. I guess it is all relative and in thinking about the size of most Japanese apartments, a large tree would not fit. I quickly called Nadia and told her not to spend the 2,000 yen on a branch. Being from northern Michigan and having spent several years shaping Christmas trees at Hanson’s Tree Farm in my home town, I couldn’t get myself to buy a branch. It was a full branch, but it would have been worse than a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.
Instead we ended up getting an artificial tree. The main point was the kids, especially Ocean, loved trimming the tree and we infused some Christmas spirit into our house. We decided to put up the tree early this year because we are traveling to Australia for the holiday and want to enjoy the tree for a longer time.
The view from the Ikea parking lot back towards Osaka
I didn’t want to take any photos of people, so we sent Oliver to snap a photo of the branches to give you an idea of what they looked like. He took the photo that led this post, this branch sitting on a pallet, waiting for pickup from some happy customer.
I find it interesting as well that the Japanese love Christmas! There are decorations everywhere and Christmas carols playing in the stores. Nadia bought some ornaments and decorations at the local Ikea version, Nitori. Halloween was big here as well.
The view from the Midosuji Highway – downtown Osaka
On the way home from Daisen, we stopped at the Tottori sand dunes for the day. The audible gasp from the kids when we walked over the hill and saw the dunes for the first time was worth the trip. The dunes are located just outside the city of Tottori and run along the coast for several kilometers. We had a lot of fun running up and down the hills and with temperatures in the 70s, I even went for a swim, my first in the Sea of Japan.
There were a lot of people there, but it didn’t feel crowded. All one had to do is walk a short way to get some privacy. Most of the tourists stopped for photos with the camels near the road and then walked up the nearest dune. It would have been nice to have a picnic lunch and walk to another part of the dunes away from everyone. The size of the dunes is impressive and despite the fact they are shrinking, they still attract a lot of tourists. We were the only non-Japanese tourists in the mountains and at the dunes. This area is really off the beaten track for foreigners. Below is a video from the day.
I can see why ancient people worshipped volcanoes. There is a sense of awe at the force of nature of something that big coming out of the earth. Above is our first view of Mount Daisen, located on the Sea of Japan coast of the main island of Honshu.
During this fall break from school, we rented a car and drove to the Daisen-Oki National Park. We had a fantastic stay, enjoying the peace and serenity of the forests and mountains of the park, gourmet meals at a cozy bed and breakfast, and some quality family time. It was a holiday I won’t forget soon.
We only began to explore the park as it includes a large mountain range and even several islands. My highlight was the hike we took to Misen Peak. The trail goes through the Daisen-ji, a Buddhist temple dating from the eighth century. We are getting into the Buddhist and Shinto traditions of washing away the negativity in one’s life and ringing the gong to awaken our ancestors. The kids were pretty good and we made it to the snow line, which is over 1,100 meters. The peak is about 1,700 meters, but I don’t think Nadia was ready to go all the way. There were plenty of old growth trees and spectacular views of the snow-capped peaks. It was great to get away from the crowds of urban Japan as there were only a handful of people on the trail. The mountain is called a “mini-Mount Fuji” and is so far our favorite place in Japan. The fall colors were also out in full force and the drive through the forests reminded me of my home in Michigan.
The trail leading from the back of the temple.
I am really interested in the geology of Japan as it is one of the most seismically active places on earth. Daisen last erupted about 10,000 years ago, but an earthquake in 2000, made one of its flanks unstable. The pre-Buddhist sect, Shugeno, a group of acsetic monks, used to call it the mountain of the great god. The god may awake again someday. Another interesting thing about the mountain chain is their proximity to the Sea of Japan, which you can see from mountains.
We will definitely be back to explore more of the park and maybe even for some skiing this winter.
I got to see another side of Osaka last weekend when I accompanied the students from our school on a community service activity. We went to the Sanno Childrens Center in the poorest ward of Osaka, Nishinari-ku. The ward is infamous in Japan for its crime rates, red light district and homeless. Now this being Japan, a country with one of the lowest violent crime rates in the world, I felt quite safe and yes it did seem a bit run down and not as new and tidy as other parts of the city, but compared to disadvantaged districts in cities in other parts of the world, it is extremely safe.
The Childrens (Kodomo) Center was founded in the 1960s by German missionaries. To this day, it continues to provide after school care and other services for children from the ward. As you can see from the photo above, one of the children the center cares for was fascinated with my European, bald, head. One of the initiatives of the center is a monthly yomoguri or night patrol. Volunteers led by the pugnacious director of the center Mami, lead groups into the streets to deliver food (onigiri – spheres of rice wrapped in seaweed) and blankets to the homeless men sleeping in the streets of the shopping arcades in the district. I was filled with a sense of goodness seeing how grateful and kind the men were in talking with the students, including my 7 year old daughter.
Mami gives us instructions for the patrols and you can see Ocean leaning over the middle of the table.
Within Nishinari-ku is a neighborhood called Kamagasaki. This area is home to many male day laborers, who through a variety of circumstances (gambling, alcohol, mental illness) are homeless. The government forbids the official use of the name and they try to hide media from portraying issues in the area. A recent NHK documentary about the Sanno Childrens Center featured one of the orphans the center cares for and it has brought increased donations to them. It was sad to see them laying on newspaper with cardboard boxes around them as their only protection against the elements. It gets cold at night in Osaka in November. There are several organizations helping them, including a center to organize them finding short-term manual labor, free or reduced price shelters, etc.
We also walked through Tobita Shinchi, another neighborhood within the ward. Tobita Shinchi is infamous for its red light district. As in Amsterdam, the women are displayed for street view, although here, it is open air and the architecture is old Japan style. They were only protected by an elderly woman minder that sat to the side of them. She yelled at me when I tried to take the photo (see below). The police tolerate prostitution, but again, I felt sorry for the girls, as it is a tough way to make a living.
I was so inspired to help and want to make it a regular part of our experience while we are here. I would like to thank Lyn and Hannah for assisting me and Ocean and introducing us to the center.
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