Category: Family Blog

Golden Week 2019 – Trip to Kyoto

Hi there!!

We are just on our way back from Kyoto. I am sat on the Aqualine Bus, so thought I would post a few pics from our trip.

On the first day we went to Fushimi Inari Shrine. It was amazing!

My mum was surprised to see them grilling sparrows there…..

We got to Kiyomizu dera at 6:30 am, and it wasn’t crowded at all. By far my favorite temple in Kyoto.

It did rain a bit, but it didn’t spoil it at all.

Hana loved the Golden Pavilion. She likes anything that’s expensive!!

Kyoto Imperial Palace was beautiful. Highly recommend visiting it.

Today we had nice weather, and it helped us really appreciate the beauty of Kyoto.

Even got to see Mt Fuji from the Shinkansen on the way home!!

Anyway, we will be arriving back in Sodegaura soon…..

Bye for now!!

Eddie

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everybody!

I hope the year of the hog is a great year for you all!

 

We went to Nakayama JRA  horse racing track during the winter holidays. It was a great day out!

 

The kids were more into it than I thought they would be.

 

The main event was a G1 race, with jockeys from all around the world competing.

We picked a couple of winners, but as we were only betting 100 yen each, we didn’t get much back.

 

We got to meet a jockey from Ireland called Oisin Murphy. He is doing quite well in Japan, and it looks like he is going to stay for a while.

 

Anyway, I wish everyone I know a fantastic 2019!!

All the best,

Eddie

Farmstay in Minamiboso

Hi there!!

We have just come back from a fantastic stay at a farm in Minamiboso, Chiba. We stayed in a new build with stables in front of it. We rode when we arrived, and then again when we woke up!

We rode a quarter horse called Rainbow Kid. It was my first time riding western style. Its quite different to British style riding; the main idea is that you control the horse with your feet and don’t really use the bit. You steer with your feet, and to stop you just lean back.

The weather wasn’t bad, so we had a BBQ on the patio, then went inside and got warm by the log burner. We will definitely be going there again………

Anyway, here is a short video,

All the best,

Eddie

 

Golden Week trip to Tochigi 2018

Happy Golden Week everyone!!

We have just come back from a fantastic trip to Nasu, in Tochigi. It’s about 300 km north of where we live. It was well worth the drive though!!

Having a few days off school certainly put a spring in everyone’s step……

 

 

The first day the weather wasn’t bad. We could see the tops of the mountains. It was so refreshing to be surrounded by nature……

 

There were so many amazing waterfalls to check out. This one was a 15 minute walk from the car park. The footpath was well maintained, and really scenic.

 

 

Then we went to the Teddy Bear museum. We wanted to go here to see an old friend……

 

Teddy Edward! I can’t believe he lives in Japan now! I used to ready his books when I was a child in England. He actually moved to Japan before I did!

 

One of the staff noticed we had brought a Teddy Edward book with us, and gave us some free Teddy Edward merchandise which was nice.

 

Then we went to an Alpaka Farm. Hana and Maki enjoyed feeding them pellets….

 

Then we went to our log cabin. It was comfortable, and I got straight to work on the BBQ.

 

Hana and Maki loved exploring inside the log cabin……

 

And chillin’ on the hammock…..

 

Once it got dark we went on a “Night Safari” at Nasu Safari Park. I got a photo of me feeding a biscuit to a giraffe!

 

The next day the sun was shining, and we went out for a walk around…….

 

There were so many footpaths, and bridges. It was perfect for the kids….

 

We stopped here and had a few biscuits while we looked at the waterfall on the other side of the lake…..

We missed all the Golden Week traffic thanks to Google Maps and lots of back roads on the way home.

I highly recommend Nasu in Tochigi for a short break. We hope to go there again someday.

Eddie

PS: Check out my chess board!

 

I had a nice slab of wood, and decided to make a chess board out of it. Hana and Maki helped with sanding it down and staining the dark squares. Then I added some legs and a shelf for the chess pieces. Anyway….time for a beer I think!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walnut Slabs

Hi there!

Sorry I haven’t posted anything here for so long, I have been a bit busy!

I saw some wood for sale last week, and it caught my eye.

It was a bit dirty, but after a bit of sanding down it looked great! Turns out it is Japanese Black Walnut. It has a dark center, then gets lighter around the edges.

So, I decided to make it into a coffee table! Very pleased with it! I have a couple more pieces, so looks like our house is going to need a few more coffee tables!

On Saturday we went to market at a garden center. They had lots of small stalls selling handcrafts etc. Hana and Maki tried making their own cookies…..

Not bad for a first effort! They didn’t taste bad either….

Anyway, will try and post more soon,

Eddie

 

PS: I have made a few other things with the walnut slabs!

First I found this old chest of drawers in a junk shop. It was really cheap because the top was damaged. Luckily I had plenty of walnut wood to fix it!

 

 

Then with the bit left over from the chest of drawers, I put some legs on it and made a small coffee table.

 

This morning I got a few old bits of plywood, and made a bird house. I had some green paint in the shed so gave it a lick to make it look a bit more natural.

 

I left a broken cracker at the front of it to try and tempt some birds to go in. Hopefully we will have some feathered friends living there soon!

Ed

Akimoto Farm

Hi there!

Today we had a fantastic day riding at Akimoto Farm in Nagara, Chiba. It was amazing to be able to ride with Hana in such a scenic area. Here is a video:

 

I am going to get myself some spurs and get more into dressage as the riders there really know their stuff and I think I can learn a lot from them. I think I will be a bit saddle sore when I am teaching tomorrow!!

Eddie

 

The rabbit hierarchy!

The rabbits have definitely formed a natural hierarchy. Sonny is without doubt the boss!

 

She is a bit bigger than Oreo and Mashupi and is the most dominant of the rabbits.

 

Then after Sonny it is Oreo. He is the only male, and tries to be the boss, but we all know that Sonny is calling the shots.

There is a phrase in Japan “Ikemin” which I guess means something like “handsome guy” or “good looking dude” etc. Anyway, Oreo really thinks he has it going on now that there are two female rabbits sharing his hutch. So we have started calling him “Oreo Ikemin”

 

Then we have the lovely Mashupi! She is such a sweetheart! She is so gentle, and has become great friends with Oreo.

 

Hana and Maki love Mashupi, and we are so glad that she has joined Oreo and Sonny.

Hopefully Oreo will start to stand up for himself a bit more, and not let Sonny walk all over him!!

Eddie