On Tuesday night (April 29) my parents (Doug & Margaret), my sister & brother-in-law (Barbara & Jason) and my aunt & uncle (Elizabeth & Carl) arrived in Hamamatsu for the first (as well as being the first time to Japan for some of them). There was a short time for chatting before bed. The next day we had a long drive out to Kawane area (Sumatakyo specifically). Everyone got to see the ripe-for-picking tea fields and Barbara even got a tea-picker to pose for a good shot:
We got into town about lunch time and so the first Japanese food everyone tried on this trip was soba and udon. Here's a shot of everyone minus mom (taking the shot):
After some souvenir shopping for tea products in town, we went for a walk to the dam nearby and it's teal-coloured lake. Here's a shot of us crossing the suspension bridge there:
Here's a shot of Barbara finishing the cross:
After the long day (with a short line up for gas) we rested at home and looked at our plan for the next day:
On Thursday, Elizabeth and Carl went to a nearby city called Okazaki, where Aunt Elizabeth did a home stay. The rest of us went to the air self-defence force in Hamamatsu. We had a good guided tour there. Here we are with our tour guides:
A shot of Barbara and Ayako in a Kawasaki T-4:
And me figuring out the many controls:
Here's Barbara with some more guides who showed us the air-rescue planes:
And here's Ayako with mom:
Barbara looking out of the bubble window of a rescue helicopter:
And me in the pilot's seat of the helicopter:
Here's a shot of us in the tour van:
Our Japanese food that day for lunch was ramen. After lunch, we went to one of the Yamaha music factories for another tour. When we arrived, we were surprised to see that they had raised a Canadian flag alongside of the Japanese flag for our private tour:
We were given an interesting hour-and-a-half tour of how grand pianos are made. Below is mom trying out a very old pump organ that Yamaha made long ago:
After the tour, we could try the many instruments in their show room. Here's me trying a silent cello (with earphones on as you can see):
And here's Barbara trying the silent drums:
On Friday, Elizabeth and Carl joined us again as we went for a tour of the Hana-no-mai sake brewery. Here's Barbara with the rice to make sake:
And here's Barbara and I with sake in large bottles with labels used for special events (such as the upcoming festival in town):
Afterwards we got to sample some of the sake. Here's me doing the pouring:
And our "kanpai" (cheers) before drinking:
Our sampling of Japanese restaurants for lunch took us to a kaiten sushi restaurant (revolving sushi on the conveyor belt). Everyone enjoyed sampling the many types of sushi that came by:
Here's our table enjoying sushi:
In the afternoon, we broke into small groups to look around downtown. Ayako and I went with mom and dad to visit the music museum and the Muji store (Japanese-style Ikea). The others enjoyed shopping. We all went out for dinner for a Korean-style BBQ. We sampled 8 types of meat & seafood:
Here us cooking our meat:
Barbara found it was also good for warming her hands:
And thus the end of part 1. The next day would be when the two families met for our "wedding" day.
We got into town about lunch time and so the first Japanese food everyone tried on this trip was soba and udon. Here's a shot of everyone minus mom (taking the shot):
After some souvenir shopping for tea products in town, we went for a walk to the dam nearby and it's teal-coloured lake. Here's a shot of us crossing the suspension bridge there:
Here's a shot of Barbara finishing the cross:
After the long day (with a short line up for gas) we rested at home and looked at our plan for the next day:
On Thursday, Elizabeth and Carl went to a nearby city called Okazaki, where Aunt Elizabeth did a home stay. The rest of us went to the air self-defence force in Hamamatsu. We had a good guided tour there. Here we are with our tour guides:
A shot of Barbara and Ayako in a Kawasaki T-4:
And me figuring out the many controls:
Here's Barbara with some more guides who showed us the air-rescue planes:
And here's Ayako with mom:
Barbara looking out of the bubble window of a rescue helicopter:
And me in the pilot's seat of the helicopter:
Here's a shot of us in the tour van:
Our Japanese food that day for lunch was ramen. After lunch, we went to one of the Yamaha music factories for another tour. When we arrived, we were surprised to see that they had raised a Canadian flag alongside of the Japanese flag for our private tour:
We were given an interesting hour-and-a-half tour of how grand pianos are made. Below is mom trying out a very old pump organ that Yamaha made long ago:
After the tour, we could try the many instruments in their show room. Here's me trying a silent cello (with earphones on as you can see):
And here's Barbara trying the silent drums:
On Friday, Elizabeth and Carl joined us again as we went for a tour of the Hana-no-mai sake brewery. Here's Barbara with the rice to make sake:
And here's Barbara and I with sake in large bottles with labels used for special events (such as the upcoming festival in town):
Afterwards we got to sample some of the sake. Here's me doing the pouring:
And our "kanpai" (cheers) before drinking:
Our sampling of Japanese restaurants for lunch took us to a kaiten sushi restaurant (revolving sushi on the conveyor belt). Everyone enjoyed sampling the many types of sushi that came by:
Here's our table enjoying sushi:
In the afternoon, we broke into small groups to look around downtown. Ayako and I went with mom and dad to visit the music museum and the Muji store (Japanese-style Ikea). The others enjoyed shopping. We all went out for dinner for a Korean-style BBQ. We sampled 8 types of meat & seafood:
Here us cooking our meat:
Barbara found it was also good for warming her hands:
And thus the end of part 1. The next day would be when the two families met for our "wedding" day.
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