Parents in Japan

I've been a little bit of a slacker recently but I have had company.  My parents came to Japan for about 2.5 weeks to checkout Japan and to visit.  Since they have been staying with me I have been playing tour guide which at this point in my pregnancy is enough to wear me out enough that trying to blog on top of it was not possible.

They started out in Osaka and Kyoto on their own.  They seemed to have some difficulties with getting the hang of the trains but managed to get where they needed to go eventually but it sounds like they had some help along the way from people who were nice enough to give them directions.

Since they came to Hiroshima, they have done the following:

• taken a Sake tour (Jeff went with them on this and I'm going to try and get him to write blog on sake)
• went to tea ceremony class with me

  

  Making tea at tea ceremony class

• went to Bizen and had a kiln tour and shopped for pottery

  

  Kilns in Bizen

  
  

  

  Wood that is used to fire the kiln

• went to the samari sword museum and saw some of the processes for making swords in the traditional way

  

  Dad learning how to use the hammer they use to shape the sword

  
  

  

  Sparks flying early in the forging process

  
  

  

  Carving intricate designs on the blade of the sword

  
  

  

  Sharpening the blade of the sword

  
  

  

  Carving the hilt

• threw me a cyber baby shower 

  

  Holding up a tiny pair of pants to show the people on the 2 phones and 2 iPads that I was skyping/facetiming

• took a day off and did laundry
• my mom took a Japanese cooking lesson from my Japanese teacher while my dad had lunch with a Japanese guy who used to teach English
• went to Miyajima

  

  Pagoda through blossoms

  
  

  

  Torii gate through the shrine

  
  

  

  Parents and the torii gate

• went to Tobishima (Jeff took them for a drive there, the same route that was the 7 bridge bike ride in early blogs

  

  Azaleas were blooming

  
  

  

  Islands in the Seto Inland Sea

  
  

  

  Parents with a bridge

  
  

  

  Big bridge

• went to Shukkeien garden in Hiroshima city

  

  Umbrellas to protect flowers from rain, cracked me up

  
  

  

  Folks and Jeff on bridge in the garden

  
  

  

  Not sure what kind of flower this was, it was maybe 5 inches across

  
  

  

  Another umbrella pic since I think it's pretty

• mom went shopping in Hiroshima with me and Jeff and my dad when to the peace park and the museum

They headed out yesterday morning to see Himeji castle on their way to Osaka and they fly out today.   I think they had a good trip.  Jeff and I enjoyed visiting with them and playing tour guide.  This was my last big burst of travel before the baby is born.  I have 5 weeks till my due date and I'm going to try and relax a little bit and get the baby room ready.