(IMAGE: Day 3: Long Day of Play)
Day two of my camping adventure with Anthony ended pleasantly, with new friends and a nice sunset.
Day 3, however, started much earlier and much less pleasantly than I would have expected – right at midnight – when some rude family burst into the campground with loud voices and bright lights, searching for a spot to set up their tent, then setting it up.
Inconsiderate people suck.
I barely got a few hours of sleep, and was up at 5:30 or so with Anthony and daybreak. Day three was Saturday of Golden Week, meaning that now the crowds would [...]
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(IMAGE: Akiko-chan and Anthony Hopping Rocks) Stepping stones across the Kamo and Takano Rivers, Kyoto Japan
Anthony's kindergarten had a field trip yesterday, so the pickup time and location were different from normal, this time near the spot in Kyoto where the Kamo river joins the Takano River to become (oddly enough) a different Kamo River.
He wanted to play more, and his friend Akiko-chan hadn't left yet, so we decided to go down to the river together to play. I didn't have my nice camera with me, but I took a few snaps of the fun with my cell-phone camera.
(IMAGE: This Looks Like a [...]
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(IMAGE: Getting Wet)
Picking up my “Camping with Anthony” story from after our early-morning walk on Day 2....
The campground is on a cliff overlooking part of Kotobikihama (northern Kyoto Prefecture, Japan), a large beach more than a mile long, with many distinct sections. We spent the rest of the morning, and the early part of the afternoon, exploring, but it eventually came time to get wet.
Nearest the campground was a section of wide beach fronted by rocky outcroppings....

(IMAGE: Running in the Water is Fun)

(IMAGE: It's Fun to Get Wet)
(IMAGE: View from Near Our Tent) ( Anthony is right [...]
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(IMAGE: Up with the Sun)
Picking up my “Camping with Anthony” story (about my camping trip with Anthony to Kotobikihama beach, in northern Kyoto Prefecture, Japan) from after the end of Day 1....
On the second day, the sun rose at 5:07am, and, unfortunately, that means that we did too.
(IMAGE: View from the Camp)
(IMAGE: Someone Else Up Early Too) ( the early bird catches the, er, fish )
We decided to talk a walk along a path to a big hill we could see along the coast, stopping by a big beach in between that the path dipped down to.
(IMAGE: View Back [...]
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We started our camping trip last week, May 1st, heading out at about 11am for what should have been about a 3.5 hour drive. Unfortunately, there was some kind of parade that caused the road I happen to have taken to be intermittently closed, turning roads in eastern Kyoto into a parking lot. It took 20 minutes to go half a mile. Not a good start.
Having gotten past that, I thought things would be smooth sailing, but quickly ran into heavy traffic again. I took some side streets and eventually got through the city. What should have been 15 or 20 minutes had taken an hour, [...]
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, f/3.5, ISO 500 — full exif & map (IMAGE: First Evening) Half an hour after sunset.
I mentioned the other day that I was going to take Anthony camping for the first time, and I did. We just got back this afternoon.
I'll write more about the whole experience another day (one that I don't wake up at 5am), but the location was a campground on a cliff overlooking Kotobikihama beach (map) about three and a half hours away by car, in the far north-western corner of Kyoto prefecture.
I took the picture above on our first night, about half an hour after sunset. It was so dark [...]
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Yesterday afternoon, prior to the Pleasant Day Along the Kamo River, I had to kill an hour with Anthony near his school. We decided to go with a classmate, Mizuki-chan, across the street to the grounds of Kyoto's old imperial palace...
(IMAGE: Heading To The Park)
(IMAGE: After I Said “Okay, You Have an Hour to Play”)
(IMAGE: Must.    Inspect.    Rocks.)
(IMAGE: Just Being Kids)
While they played, I and the camera noticed some things...
(IMAGE: Baby Pinecone?)
(IMAGE: Field of Purple)
(IMAGE: Agriculturally Minded) “Planting” flowers brought from a field
(IMAGE: Final Touches)
(IMAGE: Blossoms Gone, Leaves Green)
(IMAGE: ( [...]
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(IMAGE: My World is Spinning Out of Control) and I love it!
During last month's trip to Amami Ooshima (a southern-Japan island in the South China Sea), the big attraction for Anthony at our hotel was a swing. Out behind the gift shop was a spooky-style tree with three swings hanging from it, and a bunch of netting above to allow kids to climb its expansive branches in safety.
(IMAGE: Spooky Tree and Swings)
His favorite by far was the orange buoy, which he sat on while I pushed or swung him around.
(IMAGE: Holding on for Dear Life)


(IMAGE: Exposure Was a Challenge) especially [...]
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(IMAGE: About to Expire)
Anthony's US passport is about to expire, so we need to renew it at the US Consulate in Osaka. Hopefully the trip goes better than last time I had to go there.

We've got all the paperwork ready, but for a while had trouble finding his birth certificate. Eventually, I had to make contingency plans and check to see how to get a copy (from the State of California), and was shocked to find that it takes, on average, three months to get one!
However, that's nothing compared to how long it takes to get a simple copy of a [...]
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It's hard to believe that it's been two years since Anthony started preschool, but with the Japanese school year beginning in April, he's just started his third year, comparable to kindergarten in The States.
Among the new kids – all three years old – are a few little siblings of Anthony's classmates, including Monet's little sister, May, who just turned three and so is perhaps one of the youngest.
(IMAGE: May is Proud of Her Welcome “Medal”)
May was featured on my blog a year ago as the Two-Year Old Using Chopsticks, while Monet has been featured several times (here, here, and here).
Here's a snap [...]
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(IMAGE: Rock Climbing at the Beach)
Despite having a cold during our vacation last week to Amami (a southern Japanese island in the South China Sea), I somehow found the energy to take a few pictures.

I'm busy now with other things lately (have you done your taxes yet?) so I haven't had time to go through our photos from the trip, so here are a few from the beginning, of Anthony playing on the beach in front of the hotel.


There was a bright overcast with only the occasional bit of sun peaking through, so there wasn't much color in [...]
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(IMAGE: Boys Will Be Boys)
Anthony and I visited Zak and his 3-and-a-half-year-old son Gen for a day of play, including a trip to the same park in Otsu City that Anthony and Monet played in last week (that I mentioned on my Overwhelmed: an Embarrassment of Riches post).
The two boys spent most of the time playing in the water.
(IMAGE: Under a Bridge)
(IMAGE: “Let's Go Down There”)
(IMAGE: “Hmmm, I Like the Sound of That....”)




At this point they started to walk away on the path (a path that leads down to a busy street), so I [...]
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(IMAGE: Emperor and Empress) Hinamatsuri display made by 5-year-old Anthony
Hinamatsuri – the doll festival – is from a tradition that dates back about 900 to 1,100 years. Young children and older girls put out displays of dolls of the Heian court (the Japanese imperial court from about 800 to 1200 AD). Some people put out huge, elaborate displays with many dolls and accessories, but I much prefer to see Anthony's artwork. All the kids at preschool made them in the same basic form, but each ended up quite different, with its own personality.

I've got to wonder whether the emperor's frown is on purpose or [...]
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I feel absolutely overwhelmed with stuff I want to write about and share.
I was hoping to finally get around to posting about some interesting things from last week's trip to Kanazawa. I'd already done one post with a few pics from Kenrokuen Gardens, but there's so much more, including the interesting “Modern Art (Japanese Style)” train station, and a pool you can go into without getting wet...
(IMAGE: Kanazawa Station)
(IMAGE: Inside-Out Pool)
However, those plans got interrupted because Saturday was the graduation ceremony at Anthony's preschool, which created its own subject matter that awaits posting. I did do the one already, but I could [...]
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(IMAGE: Product Inspection)
Soybeans are the building blocks of nature. Lower on the periodic table than even hydrogen, all matter in the universe is made from some form of soybeans. When roasted, they are not only useful for driving out demons, they can be ground into a fine, tasty flour called kinako. I've mentioned kinako in passing before (in Aburi-Mochi: Grilled Mochi on Skewers, and in Preschool Mochi Production).
Today, Anthony and Mommy made some kinako, just for fun.
(IMAGE: Mortar and Pestle)borrowed from Fumie's folks
(IMAGE: You Just Know a 5-Year-Old Enjoys This)
(IMAGE: Earnest Toil)
(IMAGE: Picking out the Shells)
The roasted beans [...]
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(IMAGE: Anthony Rides a Police Horse)
Another day, another 826 pictures. Thank goodness that I decided to catch up a bit on email this morning rather than photograph the start of the Kyoto City Half Marathon, or I would have had even more photos to deal with.
As part of the festivities surrounding the half marathon, which starts and ends right here south of the Heian Shrine, the Kyoto Prefectural Mounted Police allowed kids between 4 and fourth grade to get a horse ride. Fumie's mom, who watched Anthony while Fumie and I were in Kanazawa took him over. Unbeknownst to him, I followed along [...]
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(IMAGE: Playing at Otsu's “Yumekko”)
I came down with a cold the morning of the snow in Kyoto the other day, likely because I spent the previous day at a kids' play spot with Anthony. Anywhere where kids congregate is a human petri dish of microbial fun, so I probably picked up something then.
Kyoto City has a wonderful play spot for infants and preschoolers, the Play Land at its Kodomo Miraikan (“hall for children's future”), and Anthony has been enjoying it for the last four years. Zak invited us to come to Otsu City's version of the same thing, and I was astounded at how nice [...]
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(IMAGE: This Morning)
Today was one of those “Why I Hate Living in Kyoto” days.
We awoke to a touch of fresh snow this morning, so Anthony and I headed out to play in it for an hour before he had to go to school. His play involved knocking snow off of anything that held it, and mine involved a Nikon D200 and a 17-55 f/2.8 zoom.
I took 249 pictures, of which 228 avoided the cutting room floor (including the iffy crow and snow shot I posted earlier). Of those that survived, there must be about 50 that are – to me – just stunning.

(This post's title is one of the “cute” titles that, as I wrote yesterday, I normally try to avoid; now you know why I try to avoid them.)
(IMAGE: Too Fast for my Cell-Phone Camera)
As I wrote last week, Anthony has learned to ride a bike. Today we went out for a ride on the sidewalks around town, and he rode for extended periods without my direct help. I wanted to be right there, so I trotted/ran alongside him like a Secret Service agent running alongside the President's car. It was quite a workout.
Nearing home, we stopped by a park with a [...]
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(IMAGE: Proud Bike-Rider)
It's been almost two years since Anthony got a bicycle, but although he enjoyed it a few times at first, he didn't have all that much interest again until lately, so when we went out for a ride today, it was perhaps the half-dozenth time we'd been out. However, I have a feeling he'll really be wanting to do it more, because today – for the first time – he was able to ride unassisted for fairly long stretches.
I'd used Carlos' great advice on teaching a kid to ride a bike a month or so ago, which perhaps sparked Anthony's renewed interest.