Happy Holidays from the Emoto Family in 2024!

 

Our Dear Mother, Ikuko Emoto

January 20, 1935 - July 27, 2020

Our dear mother, Ikuko Emoto, passed away peacefully on July 27, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. She lives on through her husband John of 57 years, three children and their spouses, four granddaughters, two grandsons, other family and many friends far and near. Ikuko was born on January 20, 1935 in Kurashiki city, Okayama prefecture in Japan. 

Ikuko lived a full life, moving to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska in 1962 soon after marriage. Moving to the small fishing village of Sand Point was not the portrait of coming to America that she had imagined. Her husband John worked at the seafood processing plant as a maintenance worker. Ikuko’s focus in her new hometown was homemaking and raising her first two children, Casey and Yuki, who were born in Sand Point. For a short time, later in the mid-1960s, she and the family moved to Seattle where a third child, Tatsu, was born. The stay in Seattle did not last long though as Ikuko and family once again found themselves back in Sand Point working at the seafood processing plant. 

Sand Point was home until 1994. Ikuko made sure that the family was active in the community. She was known by all in town for her cooking, sewing, arts and really anything that had to do with handiwork. Friends who were invited over to Ikuko’s for holidays and other occasions were treated to homemade Japanese food. She was single-handedly responsible for introducing Japanese cooking to the town. Dishes such as sukiyaki, shrimp and vegetable tempura, chicken teriyaki, and various sushi came to be well known. The Sand Point Women’s Club’s centennial cookbook in 1987 included Ikuko’s recipes. She even taught cooking classes at the school. She did this with happiness all from her heart, enjoying that she could share her love of Japanese food and culture with others. 

Many of the seafood processing plants in Alaska were owned by Japanese companies and the one in Sand Point was no different. Imagine being sent to the Aleutians from Japan to oversee some part of the fish processing and finding a Japanese family! This doubling of the ethnic Japanese population of Sand Point was a happy occasion for both Ikuko and the Japanese strangers. 

Ikuko was also a master crafter of antique Japanese dolls. If you are able to visit Sand Point you may be able to still find some of these dolls in people’s homes. She was certified for the making of these dolls through the Japanese Doll Association. 

Ikuko made incredible life-long friends especially having lived in Sand Point where even today the population barely hits four digits and almost everyone knows everyone. After finishing her career working in quality control at the seafood processing plant, Ikuko worked for several years at the Aleutian Commercial Co., the main store in Sand Point where you could buy everything from food to clothing to guns to hydraulic fittings. Ikuko loved to visit and share stories. The store was the perfect place for her to work as it was one of the main centers of social activity. Casey and Yuki even had the opportunity to spend time working with her at the store and have many fond memories. 

Ikuko, the daughter of Shigeru and Shikano Ono, was #4 of six siblings and is survived by her older brother, Masahiro, younger brother Yoshio and younger sister Kazuko who live in Japan and was preceded in death by older sisters Hideko and Teruko. Except for distant relatives that live in Hawaii and Brazil, Ikuko’s extensive Ono family all live in Japan. But she was very proud to have raised a family in America. Although the family is mostly west coast based, with Casey and wife Dorothy Emoto in Concord, California, Yuki and husband Chuck Kistler in Seattle, Tatsu and Diane Emoto in Gresham, Oregon, the family is starting to become a little less west coast based. Tatsu and Diane have daughter, Jessica, in medical school in Kansas. Casey and Dorothy have two children, Naomi and Ethan, attending college in Utah. Tatsu and Diane’s oldest daughter, Alyssa, having graduated with a degree in civil engineering married Jason Mah in 2019 and live in Bremerton, Washington. Yuki and Chuck’s daughter, Lianne, is a senior in high school. Casey and Dorothy’s younger son, Ryan, is a junior in high school. In her three children, Ikuko instilled honesty, hard work, to share and to be giving that has been passed onto her grandchildren and will be for generations to come. Ikuko will be laid to rest at Washington Memorial Park (also known as Bonney-Watson Cemetery) at 16445 International Boulevard in Seattle, Washington. In Ikuko’s memory, donations may be made to Providence ElderPlace, 4515 Martin Luther King Jr Way S, Suite 100, Seattle, Washington 98108 (https://washington.providence.org or https://washington.providence.org/donate/hospice-of-seattle-foundation/ways-to-give/give-now)

Lyrics for Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki
Kyu Sakamoto

(Words by Rokusuke Ei, music by Hachidai Nakamura)
- released in Japan as "Ue O Muite Aruko" (I Look Up When I Walk)

ue o muite arukou
namida ga kobore naiyouni
omoidasu harunohi
hitoribotchi no yoru

ue o muite arukou
nijinda hosi o kazoete
omoidasu natsunohi
hitoribotchi no yoru

shiawase wa kumo no ueni
shiawase wa sora no ueni

ue o muite arukou
namida ga kobore naiyouni
nakinagara aruku
hitoribotchi no yoru

whistling

omoidasu akinohi
hitoribotchi no yoru

kanashimi wa hosino kageni
kanashimi wa tsukino kageni

ue o muite arukou
namida ga kobore naiyouni
nakinagara aruku
hitoribotchi no yoru

(whistling)

-----------------------

Translation:

I look up when I walk so the tears won't fall
Remembering those happy spring days
But tonight I'm all alone

I look up when I walk, counting the stars with tearful eyes
Remembering those happy summer days
But tonight I'm all alone

Happiness lies beyond the clouds
Happiness lies above the sky

I look up when I walk so the tears won't fall
Though my heart is filled with sorrow
For tonight I'm all alone

whistling

Remembering those happy autumn days
But tonight I'm all alone

Sadness hides in the shadow of the stars
Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon

I look up when I walk so the tears won't fall
Though my heart is filled with sorrow
For tonight I'm all alone

--------
The story goes that the song was written by Rokusuke Ei when his heart was
literally broken by a Japanese actress, Meiko Nakamura.

Two Versions of Sukiyaki

Here's the original:


Here's a version used for a Suntory commercial that includes Tommy Lee Jones singing:

Debris from Japanese Earthquake Tsunamis to Hit West Coast

The experts are saying that debris from the Japanese earthquake tsunamis will eventually hit the west coast of the U.S. It's just a matter of time. We've bookmarked a site called "Beachcombers' Alert!" that can be found under our Links that has information on this subject. Check it out.

KokuaJapan

Came across this web site set up by a San Francisco law firm to raise funds to aid the victims of the earthquake in Japan:

KokuaJapan.org

Kokua means 'help" in Hawaiian.

The following are other notable donations:

Taiwan - $38 million through televised fund raisers
Tadashi Yanai (president of Uniqlo) - $12.2 million (cash and goods)
Coach (fashion house) - $5 million
JPMorgan Chase - $5 million (through various charities)
Toyota - $3.75 million plus donation drive through North American plants
Nissan - $3.75 (through Red Cross and other donations)
Honda - $3.7 million
Walt Disney Company - $2.5 million
Boeing - $2 million (through Red Cross)
Wells Fargo - $1.5 million (through Red Cross and other charities)
Gree, Inc. - over $1.5 million
Mixi, Inc. - over $1.5 million
Starbucks - 100 million yen plus donations
Ichiro - 100 million yen (about $1.23 million)
Hyundai - 100 million yen
Sandra Bullock - $1 million (through Red Cross)
Demi Lovato - $1 million
SM Entertainment - $900,000 (through Red Cross)
Sutter Health - $500,000 (through Red Cross)
Red Cross funderaisers at Angel Stadium and the Rose Bowl - $250,000
Google - $250,000
Lady Gaga - $5 bracelets raised $250,000 in 48 hours
Mazda Foundation - $150,000 (through Red Cross)
Microsoft - $100,000
Telus - $100,000 plus matching funds (through Red Cross, Salvation Army and UNICEF
Seattle Mariners - $100,000 to match donations by their fans and front office
New York Yankees - $100,000 (through Red Cross and Salvation Army)
Eric Schmidt of Google - $100,000 in matching funds
Pacific Software - $70,000 in donations and matching funds
Oakland A's - $1 for every ticket sold for April 3 game against Mariners plus other fund raisers
San Francisco Giants - $12,500
Medefile International, TEMPTU, Clint Eastwood/Warner Bros., Charlie Sheen, Creed, Hanae Mori Parfums, Jewelry for a Cause, Afterzine, Artist James White, Made With Japan, Steven Alan, Rebecca Minkoff, Theory, American Eagle Outfitters, Karmaloop, Gap Inc., Bergdorf Goodman, Brroks Brothers, Forever 21, H&M, Gilt City, Natori and Josie, Zero, Alexis Bittar and other designers and celebrities are making donations through the sale of merchandise.

Shimanami Kaido Bike Trip

Perhaps one day this will be a family trip. Saw this on NHK television this morning on a travelogue. The Shimanami Kaido is the only way (of three options) that is completely traversable on foot or by bicycle from Honshu to Shikoku.

The total distance of this toll road is just under 40 miles. From what we saw on the show, the bike route is well-maintained, well-traveled, has incredible scenery of the Seto Inland Sea, and stations along the way catering to bikers and walkers.

Ichiro Gets 2000

Ichiro got his 2000th Major League Baseball (MLB )hit today against the A's. If you combine this with the hits that he got in 9 years playing professional baseball in Japan (starting as an 18 year old) before joining MLB, it would be enough to place him 12th on the all-time MLB list just 5 behind Willie Mays' 3283 hits.

Pete Rose leads the hit parade with 4256 career hits in his major league career. He got a hit about every 3.3 times at bat. Ichiro in just his MLB career has averaged a hit every 3.0 times at bat. If you add his Japanese baseball stats, then it's one hit every 2.93 at bats.

He's made it to 2000 faster than anyone not named Al Simmons who went on to finish with 2927 hits. He'll be 36 when baseball starts next year, when he should have about 2040 hits. By the time he finishes his first season as a 40 year old five years from now, he should be at about 3140 hits.

At one point, it was thought that Ichiro's stats in Japan would be needed to help him get into the MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. This is no longer the case. He's gotten 200 hits in all 10 years in the majors. Pete Rose did not get his 10th 200-hit season until his 17th season. Ichiro also has been a Gold Glove fielder each year in the majors. He's broken the all-time single season hits record. He led the Mariners to their record 116-win season. Now it's just a matter of how many more stats he will amass before he decides to hang up his cleats for good.

A Blast from the Past

I came across something the other day that I hadn't seen in quite some time. This is proof (I suppose) that you can find almost anything on YouTube.

When I was in Japan for a year in the 80s, there was a female singer who was all the rage. It was 24/7 Akina Nakamori. You could not escape her music, picture and videos.

We went to a robata one evening and they had a television blaring her video. Later at a kisaten (a Japanese cafe) near the train station there was more Akina on a television. Then at the train station there were near-life sized ads featuring every where you looked.

Another time, we went out and one of the stops was for karaoke. Stopping for karaoke in itself in Japan is not amazing, but seeing the same song sung over-and-over-and-over was bordering on too much. The Japanese pop idol wannabes that took the stage to be like Akina had their pop idol's every move down, able to exactly mimic Akina's every movements as they sang her hit "Desire."

Here's one of her many videos for the song "Desire":



And here's a site that has an English version of the same song: Desire

The Cats of Mirikitani

My sister told me about this documentary called "The Cats of Mirikitani" that is being screened in the Mission District of San Francisco April 27 through May 3 at the Roxie New College Film Center.

Jimmy Mirikitani was born in Sacramento in 1920. His family returned to Hiroshima (where several perished in the atomic bomb), but he returned to the U.S. at 18. When WWII started he was interned at Tule Lake. Through the course of events, he landed homeless on the streets of NYC.

My father John was born in Snoqualmie Falls, Washington outside Seattle in 1929. His older brother's American name was Jimmy. My father with his family returned to Okayama before WWII. He returned to the U.S. on his own after WWII. Eventually he was drafted by the U.S. Army and served some of his time in the military in Japan. Through the course of events, he landed in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska where he would spend most of his adult life. Now retired, he lives outside Seattle.

One of my carpool partners recently said, "fate is whatever happens to you; you can't control it."

I suppose this is one explanation.

Bicycling in Japan - Part III

Continuing this series on bicycling in Japan, here's what Cousin Keiko had to add:

There are differences in bicycle parking between a place like Okayama and a larger city like Tokyo. [My thoughts: Let's put this in perspective though. In Japan, Okayama is viewed as a smaller metropolitan area even though the Okayama prefecture area has a population of around two million. The San Jose, California area has a population of about 1.7 million.]

An ordinary bicycle like the kind that you see at train stations generally costs less than 10,000 yen. Below is a picture of such a bike.


When I (Keiko) lived in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo, I paid to park my bicycle at the nearest subway station because parking my bicycle near the station on the street was impossible. The bicycle parking charge was 100 yen per day or 3000 yen per month. Below are pictures of typical bicycle parking areas near stations near my present home town of Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture. The picture in the upper left hand corner includes a sign that basically warns people not to ride their bicycles across the opening to the stairwell to the bicycle parking area.


Office buildings in Japan do not have bicycle parking because there is really no need. People usually bike from their home to a train station near their home. At the other end it's usually a walk trip to the office. In a smaller city like Kurashiki, commuting by car may be more common. My husband commutes to his office by car. When I go to Okayama station, I use my bicycle to get from my house to Kurashiki station and take the train to Okayama station.

Apartments and hospitals in the Okayama area do have bicycle parking as shown below. The first line of photos shows parking at an apartment complex, while the second line shows parking at a hospital.

Bicycling in Japan - Part II

Continuing this series on bicycling in Japan, here's what Cousin Hisayo had to add on the subject:

Public facilities for bicycling in Japan are poor, especially when it comes to bike lanes. Under present traffic laws, bicyclists have to pass on the left side (left side driving in Japan) within the traffic lane. Passing is allowed only when the paved travel way is 2 or more meters in width.

An ordinary bicycle in Japan costs about 10,000 yen (about $80 at 125 yen per $). Many of these lower cost bikes are imports from China. At most, these bikes have 3 gears. It makes sense to use lower cost ordinary bikes for ordinary every day use, especially with the threat of theft or vandalism present. Recently, battery powered bikes to provide assistance on slopes have gained popularity particularly for the middle-aged, older and women crowd.

Parking at stations may or may not be free. Bike parking when in a building ranges from 1500 to 3000 yen per month. At roof covering-only bike stands, parking is sometimes free. However, many people will not use such dedicated parking areas but instead will try to find an open place closer to the station. For many bedroom communities, this is a common problem because often the bike parking area is constructed after the area has been developed. Then the only places available for such bike parking are further away from the station. If the designated location is say more than 100 meters from the station entrance, people are more likely to park illegally closer to the station than to use the designated parking area. The most common place with large designated bike parking areas is a station. Other areas could be large shopping malls or supermarkets.

In some cities, bike rental systems at a reasonable cost have sprung up. The cost for such bike rentals is comparable to the cost for parking bikes.

There really is no need for providing bicycle parking at urban work sites. Most commutes are not conducive for biking to work. The most common commute modes are trains, buses and private auto. [I don't think bikes are allowed in stations and on trains and buses either.] Commuting by motorcycle (50-mL engine variety) may be more common than commuting by bicycle.

Bike parking at the work site may be more common for a suburban office or factory where many workers live nearby.

What is the Cost of a Bicycle in Japan?

A colleague recently asked me if I could find out from my relatives in Japan what a typical bicycle that one would use for commuting in Japan costs. Interesting question.

I went to school in Japan for one year; and actually my bike was my main form of transportation between home and school, between home and store, to the train station, etc. But I never really thought too much about the cost of biking.

The bike was passed onto me from a student who was finishing up his stay in Japan. It was a rather plain lime green bike with a beige colored seat. It had a flat rack on the back where I could bungee my school bag or whatever I needed to transport. It was an everyday bike that I used every day. When I left Japan, I passed the bike onto another foreign student to keep the chain going.

Based on on-line information uncovered by my sister, a good commute bike in Japan probably can be had for about $100. However, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that many of the commute bikes parked at train stations are hand-me-downs or bikes bought on the cheap. It is an everyday almost disposable commodity.

Answers to Onomatopoetic Words

Here are the answers:

1. bari bari - the sound of tearing paper
2. boro boro - being worn out and old [something old is said to be "boro"]
3. deko boko - to be bumpy [usually in reference to a surface]
4. doki doki - excited fast beating heart [not to be confused with "toki doki" which means "from time to time"]
5. fuwa fuwa - fluffy [doesn't it sort of have a "fluffy" sound?]
6. gari gari - the sound of scraping
7. giri giri -just in the nick of time
8. gucha gucha - being very soft and wet (flooded carpeting) [imagine what footsteps would sound like on a flooded carpet]
9. guru guru - round and round in circles
10. hoka hoka - warm, heated (a warm bento) [there's a bento shop near my aunt's in Japan that's called Hoka Hoka Bento]
11. iro iro - this and that
12. kara kara - the state of being very dry
13. niko niko - smiling
14. peko peko - to be hungry
15. pera pera - fluent in a language
16. pika pika - blinking lights [just say this the next time you see a blinking light]
17. pon pon - to have a full stomach [next time after a heavy meal, rub your stomach and say "pon pon"]
18. ten ten - to be dotted
19. wai wai - a state of noisy exuberance (noisy kids)
20. wan wan - the sound that a dog makes [a doggie is sometimes referred to as wanwan-chan]

Onomatopoetic Words

Onomatopoetic words are that are used to represent sounds. Remember those old Batman shows where every time Batman or Robin punched the Joker words like BAM! or POW! would splash onto the television screen? These are examples of onomatopoetic words. The English language has its share of such words, the most common being sounds that animals make.

The Japanese have taken such words to the extreme though. They've even grouped these words into four categories: gitaigo (a word that represents an action), giseigo (a word that represents a sound made by animal, person or thing), gijoogo (a word that represents a human emotion or psychological state) and giongo (a word a word that represents a sound of nature). These words are used frequently in the ever-present comic books in Japan.

The following are some examples of onomatopoetic words in the Japanese language:

1. bari bari
2. boro boro
3. deko boko
4. doki doki
5. fuwa fuwa
6. gari gari
7. giri giri
8. gucha gucha
9. guru guru
10. hoka hoka
11. iro iro
12. kara kara
13. niko niko
14. peko peko
15. pera pera
16. pika pika
17. pon pon
18. ten ten
19. wai wai
20. wan wan

Match the above words with the meanings below:

a. the sound that a dog makes
b. blinking lights
c. the state of being very dry
d. being very soft and wet (flooded carpeting)
e. excited fast beating heart
f. a state of noisy exhuberance (noisy kids)
g. fluent in a language
h. this and that
i. just in the nick of time
j. to be bumpy
k. to be dotted
l. to be hungry
m. warm, heated (a warm bento)
n. the sound of scraping
o. being worn out and old
p. to have a full stomach
q. smiling
r. round and round in circles
s. fluffy
t. the sound of tearing paper

Check back for the answers in a future posting.

The Toire

After having arrived at my cousin's place in Osaka after a long bus ride and a taxi ride, it was natural for my son Ethan to want to use the bathroom. We were escorted to the bathroom.

"Ethan, do you want me to stay?" I asked.

"No, that's okay," was the reply. So I closed the door and left.

After about 10 minutes, we began to wonder if Ethan was okay. Perhaps he was having difficulties with the toilet. It was a Western style toilet so I never thought to give him pointers on the use of the toilet. I decided to go check on him.

Knock. Knock. "Is everything okay in there?"

"Yes, Dad. I'm done," was the reply. He didn't sound troubled, but I didn't hear any movement either so I decided to take a peek. Opening the door slightly I could see that he was still on the toilet, his feet not quite touching the floor swinging back and forth like the tail of a happy pup.

"Are you finished? Or are you just roosting?" I inquired.

He started to push himself off the toilet, hands on the seat like a gymnast dismounting from a pommel horse. "But Dad it's so warm."

I had no idea what he was talking about. The bathroom was your typical Japanese bathroom. A small room with a toilet with a tank that had a wash basin built on top. The room did feel a couple of degrees warmer than the rest of the house - maybe because it was small and cozy.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Dad, the toilet's warm," was the reply.

I felt the toilet seat. It was warm. The toilet seat had a seat warmer! Ethan had a big smile on his face, "See, Dad."

Meet the Toto Washlet. [Note: the brand name Toto is synonymous with toilets in Japan much as Otis is to elevators here in the U.S.]

The last time we were in Japan nine years ago perhaps one of my relative's home had such a toilet. This time around nearly all of the homes had a Washlet, likely the most sophisticated toilet ever made. The list of features available with these toilets is almost endless: adjustable water jet nozzles, massage options, blow dryers, heater, air conditioning, air freshener, auto lid, pressure sensitive seats, self cleaning nozzles, and germ resistant surfaces. See this link for more information on toilets in Japan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_toilet

As you can see, using the the "toiretto" or "toire" (from the word "toilet) in Japan can be quite a comforting experience.

The Keitai Denwa

One of the biggest changes that Dorothy and I noticed in Japan since our last visit nine years ago is the proliferation of cell phones, or as they're called in Japan "keitai denwas." But then again this change should not be that surprising - even here at home cell phones and their use have changed considerably. We only got cell phones seven years ago before the birth of our first child so that I would be reachable any where, any time.

My first memory of cell phones were objects that we called "car phones." There were a few people in my office where I worked 15 years ago who had them. They were usually grey, brick-shaped phones that were powered through the cigarette lighter in cars or could be operated on their own. Somewhere in the past 10 years the term "cell phone" has become the generic term for these phones. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_mobile_phones

In Japan, these phones are called "keitai denwas" or more simply "keitais." The word keitai means portable with the kanji characters for keitai coming from KEI meaning "carry" and TAI meaning "belt." http://www.cjvlang.com/Writing/writsys/signs/keitai.html

This literal translation of keitai would be a better description of cell phones here in the U.S. than in Japan. It's much more common to see cell phones carried on the belt here than in Japan. Most of my male relatives in Japan seemed to carry their phones in a pocket. Other observations include:

1. Not as many variations on the shape of the phone (many seemed to look like my Mom's Cingular Erickson phone).

2. High quality digital cameras and the storing of photos on their phones seemed to be more common.

3. Many of the phones were decorated with tags like we have on key chains.

4. Much more text messaging, perhaps even more text messaging than phone calls. I think text messaging is less expensive than making a call and perhaps much of what can be communicated can be done so through short messages. Another reason for the popularity is its outgrowth from the popularity of pagers in Japan from the mid-80s to the mid-90s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cell_phone_culture#Teenagers_and_keitai

5. Cell phone usage in cars is not allowed. There are also signs in may establishments that request phones to be placed on "manner mode." Trains have signs requesting phones to be turned off near senior priority seats because of the risk of cell phone radio waves interfering with pacemakers and other medical devices. Why isn't this more of an issue here in the U.S.?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cell_phone_culture#Negative_aspects

Our Family Visit to Japan

Starting with the photo in the upper left corner and going from left to right row-by-row:

1. We stayed with relatives for the entire trip and slept five across in a tatami floor room. Ryan usually found his way in between Mom and Dad, and managed to wake us up with his nai-nai request at least once most nights.

2&3. It was the peak of the cherry blossom season in Osaka. We attended the opening of the Japanese Mint Bureau grounds on April 12 for cherry blossom (sakura) viewing. The sakura are located on the grounds along the banks of the Okawa River. http://www.pref.osaka.jp/koho/brand/no6/sl/24sakura.html

4. Only managed to get a few photos of us in a shinkansen (bullet train). A picture of a still shinkansen from outside wouldn't have done it justice anyway. We have videos that'll give you a better feel for these trains that reach top speeds of about 185 mph. The 90-mile trip from Osaka to Okayama took about 45 minutes including three stops on the nozomi (super express) train. http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/shinkansen_history.htm

5. A view of Okayama Castle from the Korakuen. Okayama-jo aka U-jo, Crow Castle, because it is one of two castles in Japan that is painted black. The Korakuen is one of Japan's official "Great Gardens" - there are three such gardens. http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/okayama.htm

6&14. A view of the Yojima Bridge, the 4th of six bridges spanning 5.8 miles between Honshu (Kurashiki city) and Shikoku (Sakaide city) that make up the Great Seto Bridges. On Yojima, there is a Fisherman's Wharf area that is sort of a mini version of "Fisherman's Wharf" areas like those in Seattle or San Francisco. The bridges were constructed in 10 years at a cost of about $7.7 billion (assuming $1 = 130 Yen). http://web-japan.org/atlas/architecture/arc22.html

7. Beaver's Bakery is Tetsuya's (my cousin) bakery located in Kurashiki. In our humble opinion, it is the best bakery in Japan!

8. Muscat Stadium (capacity of about 30,000) is located in Kurashiki. Although Kurashiki (where Casey's relatives live) is not home to a professional Japanese baseball team, a small number of pro games are played there each year. We attended the game between the Yomiuri Giants and the Yakult Swallows on April 18. We rooted for the underdog Swallows to no avail as the Giants prevailed 1-0. The highlight was the release of thousands of noise making balloons at the end of the 7th inning stretch.

9, 10&13. Another highlight for our kids was the Kaiyukan (aquarium) in Osaka. It's an interesting aquarium with a 9-meter tall central tank display that houses a whale shark (9 years ago there were 2 such sharks in the tank). It's touted as one of the largest aquariums in the world. There are some 30,000 specimens of plants and animals representing 580 species in the aquarium, including dolphins, both sea and river otters, penguins and a sun fish. Headphones with narrations in English are available. http://www.kaiyukan.com/eng/profile/index.htm

11. Wish we could have gotten more pictures of the amazing train stations. Even in the smaller urban areas such as Okayama (population of about 1.9 million in the prefecture) the train station is home to several lines and plenty of shopping both above ground and below ground. The picture is of Casey and Ryan at the Hankyu train platforms at the main Umeda station in Osaka. Including the Hankyu line there are 5 private train lines, the JR line, a subway system with 7 lines and a monorail system in Osaka. There were something like 8 slots for Hankyu trains that were coming and going every couple of minutes. The slots were designed so that doors can open on one side to let passengers exit and open on the opposite side to take on passengers. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4006.html & http://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/eng/accessmap.html

12. A highlight of shopping in Japan is the appealing cakes and pastries on display. The cake in the picture was Ryan's birthday cake. He celebrated his 2nd birthday during the trip.

15. Kurashiki is known for its Bikan-chiku area where several rice storehouses remain from the 18th and 19th centuries that were used to store rice harvested from the area around Kurashiki. The storehouses are located along the tree lined canal in the photo. http://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/eng/accessmap.html

16. The last photo is of us in front of the Okayama train station at the statue of Momotaro, Peach Boy. Momtaro is the main character in a well-known (at least to Japanese) Japanese fable about a boy found inside a giant peach in Okayama. Of course, the area is well known for its peaches with the peak peach season being in late summer. http://www.pref.okayama.jp/kikaku/kokusai/momo/e/momotarou/momotarou.html