Happy Autumn!

Cora and I got a chance to visit the "scarecrow festival" in local town Hasami. It was a gorgeous fall day, breezy and mid-70s and truly lovely. The town hosting the event appeared to include all residents in the festivities, from helping people park to serving "country soup" made from local farm ingredients. We skipped picking edemame because the logistics were too hard, but since it's Cora's favorite veggie, I kind of regret that decision. This is rice harvesting season, so we enjoyed walking about the terraced paddies, as well.

women, tea and onigiri (rice triangles - one of C's favorite meals)

"praying to porcelin throne" (notice giant sake bottle next to slippers)

make-shift onsen (hot spring)

rice sprouts

meanwhile, back in Sasebo...

The end of Nana and Duke's visit was spent in good ol' Sasebo. Greg and Meg both returned to work and the grandparents got to baby-sit miss Cora and spoil her rotten. They even took her a couple of nights which allowed for some dates! We re-visited favorite restaurants and shops, as well. Greg took them to meet the many animals of Bio Park, as well.

at BioPark

Duke loved the squirrel monkeys (and they loved him!)

"catch me!"

Mary Poppins rehearsal

posing in her new cowboy boots from Nana

giving big sis Bonny a kiss

giggling at Harbor View Club

Cora and Duke water the flowers (or sidewalk)

dinner with the Ogawas

watching sunset and dogs in front of Pinnochios

good night ya'll

Hiroshima and Miyajima

Our next stops include a visit to the A-bomb dome and Peace Park and museum in Hiroshima AND the island of Miyajima. The weather FINALLY started to cool down a bit and we were thrilled! We stayed at a ryokan on Miyajima, which is a traditional Japanese inn where we dressed in yukata (summer cotton kimono) and ate and slept on the floor -- it was a neat experience!

at A-bomb dome in Hiroshima

our ryokan on Miyajima

serving up rice

"studs"

petting the wild deer

in front of sake offering

to the right in this picture is a bride and groom getting photographs taken

mom strikes a yoga pose

Kyoto

We spent 3 days in Kyoto and really had a great time, despite the near 100 degree weather. After having been there at Christmas and freezing inside every old temple/castle/shrine, we'd prefer that over sweating inside of them this time around!

Cora hydrating frequently

Nana and Duke drinking water from Kiyamizudera (filling Cora's water bottle for good fortune)

family shot in front of Kiyamizudera

mom taking part in buddhist ritual of making a wish and hitting big gong pot

family picture in front of Golden Temple

mom and dad at Zen garden

Nanoji temple pagoda

Cora taking a break in the heat in her cute jinbei

streets of Kyoto

REAL geisha in a rickshaw at bamboo forest (we were shocked to see them!)

in bamboo forest

Shabu shabu dinner