 |
| Ewan: "Say, Daddy, why don't we take a closer look at the Land of the Rising Sun? The place where Mommy is from. You know, right? The place that makes me at least half of what I am." Me: "Absolutely, son. Let's go now." |
 |
| "Here we are at the jumping-off point, Sac Metro Airport. Can you hear the distant sound of the shamisen out past the ukulele?" |
 |
| "Aloha! I'm with Mommy in Hawaii at the airport in Hololulu." |
 |
| "Now where are we? Is this Japan, Daddy? What are some of these things behind me?" |
 |
| A genuine elephant's tusk ivory carving! In Japan? |
 |
| A tiny detailed boat in a bottle! But is it Japanese? |
 |
| A katana? No way! |
 |
| Yes. |
 |
| Yes! |
 |
| YESSS! |
 |
| I am a samurai-Jedi! |
 |
| I am Leonardo! |
 |
| I am Duncan MacLeod! |
 |
| Ooohh baby! |
 |
| Me: "I am a huge geek." Ewan: "DADDY! You okay? Anything else?" |
 |
| Ahem. Hmm. Well, let's see … an intricate doll in samurai costume. |
 |
| A shimenawa kept in the kamidana room of a traditional Shinto household. It serves to enshrine a god. |
 |
| And a baseball team … complete with Japanese high schoolers and my wife's brother, Makoto (pictured center in the second row). Yup! No doubt. This is Japan! |
 |
| "Cool! I wonder what else is out there? And who's that coming up the way?" |
 |
| "Cousin Asahi! What fun we'll have!" |
 |
| Most of the time… |
 |
| Obaachan to the rescue! For love that stretches across an ocean, coming close together is something special. |
 |
| "But it's fun also to get out and cut loose!" |
 |
| "Like this play area; crossing up my wires in the best way possible!" |
 |
| "Or eating sakuranbo (Japanese cherry) ice cream!" |
 |
| "And visiting a local petting zoo!" |
 |
| "Or biking to the park for a picnic…" |
 |
| "…home-made bento style!" |
 |
| "Mmm, yum!" |
 |
| "While Daddy viewed a Japanese angel…!" |
 |
| Hmm? New York City? |
 |
| Nope! It's Icho Kouen (Liberty Park) in Oirase-cho, Aomori! |
 |
| "Enough of nature, Ewan? How about some art?" |
 |
| "Here we are in Aomori City, home of the famous Nebuta Festival and the Aomori Bijutsukan (Art Museum)." |
 |
| Ahh, Japan! How I love thee! |
 |
| MacArthur? |
 |
| "Kali ma … Kali ma … Kali ma, shakthi deh!" |
 |
| "Arigatou Aomori-ken!" |
