So, Friday night, we went to a Korean BBQ. Logan feel asleep on the car ride over, so we just brought his whole car seat in. Nifty that you can do - Logan hasn't fit into a bucket seat since he was like 4 months old and we can't move any of our other car seats. He slept the whole time which was nice. Korean BBQ have hot coals in the middle where you cook the food over and so you really have to watch the boys the whole time. Andrew loved it - Seth ate a bit of meat, but mostly ate french fries, which seems to be our default food here. We all enjoyed the food - I really loved the dessert which was a super delicious flan with caramel.
Saturday was a day busy with visiting. Aunt Takako was in town so we spent the morning with her at the Funai's apartment and then we met up with Katsu's friend Iku from BU for lunch. The boys were atrociously behaved again so we just ate at the food court at the mall by the train station. Then, we went to the mall afterwards. The boys played at the Lego store for a LONG time. Andrew was building this very detailed zoo out of Duplo blocks and almost used all the blocks they had. When we finally tore him away from it, he wasn't too happy and then we checked out the arcade. He begged and begged to go back to the Lego store and then when we did, his creation was no longer there. Andrew was crushed and crying. Poor thing. It was a day of ups and downs for him - typical of his life, but still.
After dropping Iku off, we went back to the Funais and played around. Aunt Takako and Katsu made okonomiyaki for dinner which was delicious (much better than what we make). After an apple / sweet potato pie for dessert, we headed back to the hotel.
Sunday, we went to the Funai's pretty early in the morning and had yummy breakfast that Aunt Takako had made. Then, we went to church for sacrament meeting. Logan was loud and unhappy, so we took turns with him outside. The boys were all very interested in the translator - we've never had an earpiece like that before, but there were special guests (service missionaries I think) and so they were translating English anyways. I didn't hear much of it, because I was either out with Logan or Seth was listening to it. It was fun to sing in Japanese.
We dropped Aunt Takako off at the train station and said good byes and then took a long drive to Tokyo (lots of traffic). Everyone but me fell asleep. We picked up Katsu's grandmother at her apartment and then drove over to a nearby hotel for lunch. We had eaten there before - it is very fancy, but good. The boys were pretty well behaved until the end when everything just seemed to fall apart. Surprisingly, everyone was pretty good eaters. Logan had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, which he loved. Andrew had fried rice with pork katsu. Seth had a children's plate which had a little bit of everything - spaghetti, hamburger, rice, dumplings, cake, melon, etc. Katsu had a very good time talking to his grandmother and aunt. I think they didn't think the boys were quite too much of monsters and mostly cute (hopefully). We drove home to the Funais and made some spaghetti for dinner. Then back to the hotel. Katsu was having quite a bit of a stomache on Sunday but seemed to manage.
Today wasn't raining, so we decided to try out Kawagoe. We went last time we were all in Japan and it was fun and it is close by, so we figured we would try it again. Kawagoe is an old town that has buildings that look similar to what old Tokyo would have looked like if the buildings hadn't all been destroyed. They also have a whole lane of candy shops and used to make the majority of Japanese candy.
The trains were very crowded, but we got to see lots of rice fields on the way - it was idyllic. We got there pretty early - before the buses were running (last time we mostly walked and it was too much walking, even with two strollers). So, we grabbed breakfast by the train and then walked down a shopping street, got a few snacks, and went to the bus station. We took a touristy bus that stops by all the sites. We first went to the temple. The boys weren't too excited, but I told them that at the end we could go see the 500 Buddhas and try to find the one that was picking his nose, and they thought that sounded really fabulous. We toured the temple, inside and out, and also enjoyed walking along the grounds and gardens. Then, we went to find the Buddhas and not only found the one picking his nose, but also his ear! How exciting!
Next, we took the bus to the castle. The castle insides were closed for the day, but we looked around for about 10 minutes and then went back on the bus (she waited, because it was during her break) and then drove to the old town. This took maybe 5 or 10 minutes, but by the time we got there, both Seth and Logan were fast asleep! We put Seth in the stroller and carried Logan around till we found a sandwich shop. Luckily, they had a little place to eat in the back, so we laid Logan down and ate sandwiches. The shop owners were very friendly and Katsu chatted away. We were right next to the bell tower and we got to go out in the road and watch the bell chime at noon. Afterwards, we walked through the old town district and took a few pictures.
We then went to the Festival Museum. By this time, Logan had woken up. We really enjoyed the Museum - it was our first time. It showed and explained about the Kawagoe Festival held in October with this mammoth several story floats with a band that are wheeled all over the city and the bands compete until one is finally victorious. It is pretty intense. The guide even gave us his spiel in English, which was nice for me.
By the end, Seth had woken up, so we headed over to Sweet Street. The boys went through two different sweet shops and both spent about 3 or 4 dollars and had bags FULL of candy. It was pretty exciting. Logan threw his biggest fit ever pretty much the whole time - I still am not sure what about, but finally calmed down and ate some of his candy.
Then, we took the bus back to near the train station. We got some more lunch for Logan and Seth (fried rice, gyoza and Logan's fav - french fries). A lady there thought the boys were so cute she went and bought them presents and then came back to give them to them (bubbles sets - 3!). This was the 3rd time that day that people had given the boys gifts. One an old man at the Buddhist temple - I think he was one of the croquet people we saw later - he gave them some rice cakes (they were packaged, don't worry). Also, by the bus stop, someone gave the boys a sheet of stickers each. Also the other day, a lady gave them candy at the train station. I don't remember anyone everyone giving the boys treats before, and I still think it is pretty amusing.
We took the train back and by the time we got home, Katsu started feeling really sick. He has a horrible stomachache and also a headache. We ended up ordering Dominos pizza and eating and then going back to the hotel and leaving him to take a quiet nap at the Funais. Hopefully he is feeling better and makes his way here sooner or later - the boys are all asleep now so it is quiet, but it is very hard to get enough sleep here with all 5 of us in two full beds smooshed together - especially when you are sick. Tomorrow we are supposed to go to Nikko but we'll have to see how Katsu is feeling. I think someone has been sick every single day we have been here. Travelling internationally with kids is horribly exhausting.
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