In Japan, there is a great culture of eating a variety of noodles cold in the hot, summer months- which of course kids adore, are fun to eat and are also usually meat-free meals. Zaru-Soba @art4.photozou.jp Zaru-soba ざるそば The brown buckwheat noodles are cool and delicious, served in layers in a box on a bamboo mat and if you order the large portion "Omori" then you will have another layer of

PIIC Well meet at the 1st floor of the PIIC center in Ushita for our usualy play and potluck without the park play today since it is so rainy, hope you can join us! We'll be there from around 11:30 to have some indoor play, watch a movie and share some food (maybe get a nice coffee upstairs too) --------------- Tsutsumigaura Beach The next playdate will be at Miyajima's main beach (

July 3rd is the last time we will be meeting in Ushita at the park and then at the PIIC language center. Join us on August 7th at Miyajima near the beach for the SunDance festival if you are free) There is no get together in September.  October 2nd (1st Sunday) - we'll be meeting at the Asa Zoo, please join us if you can.  October 30th (Sunday) we will also get together for a costume party in the

HIP: Hiroshima International Play Group, a set on Flickr.So many fun get togethers for the kids and families who come from near and far and speak Japanese, English, Spanish and a mix of many other wonderful languages. Please feel free to join us whenever you are free for our regular get-togethers on the 1st Sunday of the month, or for Halloween and Christmas parties.

Mitaki Oyako Statue ...and the monster parent is back... well I can't help but worry about that sometimes. Couldn't I just keep quiet and make it easier for the teachers, staff and school board to go about their day as usual? Honestly, I try not to interfere, being a teacher myself I know they are doing their best, but when kids safety is on the line... I just can't keep quiet. While I was

Mitaki Oyako Statue ...and the monster parent is back... well I can't help but worry about that sometimes. Couldn't I just keep quiet and make it easier for the teachers, staff and school board to go about their day as usual? Honestly, I try not to interfere, being a teacher myself I know they are doing their best, but when kids safety is on the line... I just can't keep quiet. While I was

Our playdate in May is actually on May 1st right after the start of Golden week, but if you happen to be staying in town - hope you can join us! We will be meeting for an hour of outdoor play in the main park in the town of Ushita (not far from the main Hiroshima station, also near to the Ushita Big Wave Astram line station and is also not too far from the Ushita Big Wave Higashi-ku Sports

Thanks to everyone who came today, it was a lot of fun! We will continue meeting the first Sunday of the month for the rest of the year, check this blog for place and time updates- hope to see you again soon!

Thanks to everyone who came today, it was a lot of fun! We will continue meeting the first Sunday of the month for the rest of the year, check this blog for place and time updates- hope to see you again soon!

Trying to find clear and detailed information on the radiation threat in Japan is rather difficult, but the fact that there is a threat at all should make residents think of its consequences. The most worrying news in the last 10 days: The reactor cannot be cooled and is leaking highly contaminated water into the sea, soil and water of the surrounding area.  Radiation has been detected as far as

Trying to find clear and detailed information on the radiation threat in Japan is rather difficult, but the fact that there is a threat at all should make residents think of its consequences. The most worrying news in the last 10 days: The reactor cannot be cooled and is leaking highly contaminated water into the sea, soil and water of the surrounding area.  Radiation has been detected as far as

Amy Chua's "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" was originally reviewed negatively based on exerts from the book; taken out of context they sound horrendous, arrogant and basically like the worst kind of parenting you can imagine. If you read the book as an entire entity however, you are given a very honest, human perspective on parenting across cultures that is illuminating and interesting. She

Amy Chua's "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" was originally reviewed negatively based on exerts from the book; taken out of context they sound horrendous, arrogant and basically like the worst kind of parenting you can imagine. If you read the book as an entire entity however, you are given a very honest, human perspective on parenting across cultures that is illuminating and interesting. She

View Larger Map We will be meeting at the back (tree side) of the big roller slides at Senda park (next to the Naka-ku sports center) on April 3rd from 11-2 for an outdoor playdate we hope mother nature smiles on and gives us some sunshine for :-) Join us and bring little plastic bags of goodies to hide for an easter goodies hunt after lunch (if you have decorated eggs too- bring them along).

View Larger Map We will be meeting at the back (tree side) of the big roller slides at Senda park (next to the Naka-ku sports center) on April 3rd from 11-2 for an outdoor playdate we hope mother nature smiles on and gives us some sunshine for :-) Join us and bring little plastic bags of goodies to hide for an easter goodies hunt after lunch (if you have decorated eggs too- bring them along).

How can normal people cope with this kind of tragedy? Natural disasters always catch us out, we can never expect them and they often completely turn our lives upside down, this is no exception. It was horrifying to be out of the country watching the news break into a normal show on a sunny Australian morning when the huge earthquake and Tsunami hit Japan recently (you can check that gov website

(* update 3/20) 3/20-21 Bring your donations to the Mazda stadium and pass them on yourself- Hiroshima city and prefectural governments are organizing the collection of emergency supplies to be sent to the quake effected areas in the north. In Hiroshima city the collection point is Mazda Stadium (Sunday, March 20 - Tuesday, March 22). People elsewhere in the prefecture can take supplies to

Australia is a great country for kids and families, most cities and towns have great playgrounds and green spaces to enjoy. Forests to explore, hiking, camping and fantastic beaches to swim and enjoy water sports.Australia also has fantastic views on education and we have found it quite straightforward enrolling our 8 year old son in public primary school in Queensland for 4 weeks even without a

Australia is a great country for kids and families, most cities and towns have great playgrounds and green spaces to enjoy. Forests to explore, hiking, camping and fantastic beaches to swim and enjoy water sports. Australia also has fantastic views on education and we have found it quite straightforward enrolling our 8 year old son in public primary school in Queensland for 4 weeks even without

Here is a letter I wrote to the Hiroshima board of education concerned about today's lunch choice of whale meat on the elementary school menu for all the schools in the city. I don't want to cause anyone trouble or make a nuisance of myself, definitely don't want to cause problems for our child in school- but when I discovered the e-mail address for the HBE that makes the choices, the decision

Here is a letter I wrote to the Hiroshima city board of education concerned about today's lunch choice of whale meat on the elementary school menu for all the schools in the city. I don't want to cause anyone trouble or make a nuisance of myself, definitely don't want to cause problems for our child in school- but when I discovered the e-mail address for the HBE that makes the choices, the

After a discussion of the Barbie phenomenon in one of my Business classes, a very intelligent American student studying here in Japan, wrote a great retrospective on the comparisons between Barbie and Japan's Licca-chan. With her permission, her essay is published here.Barbie has long been a favorite among children in America and continues to hold influence over her consumers. Developed in the

After a discussion of the Barbie phenomenon in one of my Business classes, a very intelligent American student studying here in Japan, wrote a great retrospective on the comparisons between Barbie and Japan's Licca-chan. With her permission, her essay is published here.Barbie has long been a favorite among children in America and continues to hold influence over her consumers. Developed in the

This weekend is the annual coming of age day in Japan. Young Japanese men and women who are turning 20 dress up in their best suits, rental kimono or other formal attire and go to a formal ceremony in their local town hall held by government officials in their honor.In 2002, I had the chance to hang out in a beauty salon and watch the process of beautifying young Japanese women from hair to

This weekend is the annual coming of age day in Japan. Young Japanese men and women who are turning 20 dress up in their best suits, rental kimono or other formal attire and go to a formal ceremony in their local town hall held by government officials in their honor.In 2002, I had the chance to hang out in a beauty salon and watch the process of beautifying young Japanese women from hair to