Oga, Akita

Kids and I are in Japan for our 1 month 体験留学 where the kids will attend Japanese school like a regular kid.

After resting a few days at my parents' house, still jet-lagged, I repacked our stuff and got the kids on the shinkansen bullet train to head up north to Akita where KC and family awaited. KC and Hideto used to live in S.F., then when their daughter was 3, they moved to Akita where Hideto is from. Instead of a tiny expensive apartment in the city, they now live in a beautiful big-by-Japan's-standards house that they designed. They live in Goshono, which so far is just beautiful, and everyone is extremely friendly, cheerful, and happy. No crowds, lush green everywhere, and the town seems built around kids, meaning there are great parks, the schools are super high quality, and it's perfect for Tesla and Aila's start to this experience. After this week, we head to Yokohama where the kids will go to a different school.

As soon as we got off the shinkansen, we were whisked up to Oga town where KC's daughter Noi was attending a birthday party. This was no regular party as the father of the birthday girl is the priest of a well-known temple. I've been to temples but always in a formal manner. At this party, kids were running around, balloons were everywhere, and we got a tour including ringing the community bell. How fun! The priest was bilingual, and married a New Jersey gal. They have 4 kids. What an amazing family story that must be!

Here's the main room where we had cake and snacks.