The kids in Japan are (finally) out school here and boy, did that change Kids Plaza! It was 10 times busier than usual..and we were never "almost the only ones there." It was a completely different experience (and honestly, I'm not sure if I would have bought a membership pass had it been like that all summer). But, because I had been there all summer I easily noticed they were staffed for it. There were suddenly 2 staff members working in the "grocery store" where there was usually one. Last week we had noticed about 15 extra tables set up where we usually eat lunch...and they were full this week! We actually sat on a bench for lunch instead of at a table (and it was fine!).
So, we've never been to the "Craft Room" at Kids Plaza because it's on the floor that we go to to exit. They call it a craft room, but I think it's more like science and learning. Perfect!
First all the kids sat in a semi-circle for a lesson about colors and how when you mix them together you get other colors. I was so proud of the girls - sitting there so intently listening to the "teacher" talk to them in Japanese. As I sat and watched them, I realized (how lucky I was) how good they were being...watching and listening to this guy teach them and not be able to understand. Although, the teacher was also demonstrating and Grace was able to answer a few questions even though they were asked in another language.
The lesson was on the color wheel (and I think that is what the lesson is all of the time). They were to put a drop of yellow, blue and red in each of their little tubes. Then add another drop of color to change it to green, orange and purple. Here they are.
At the end, after all the kids helped clean up, the teachers then had all the kids sit around the table and spin some tops that had 2-3 colors on it to again show them that things change color. This is visit six to Kids Plaza and we are blessed to have always found at least one new thing to do during our visit.
Grace assures me this device above is new. I can't believe with where it was located that we could have missed it all summer. But this is a little coloring screen in which you get to color in the pattern on an old (Aztec??) house. This photo shows their teamwork so that Sarah could color all the little blocks!
Miyuki told us about this cute little restaurant she thought the girls may enjoy. They did and we are so glad to have spent an afternoon at Pennennenumu Harry.
One of the even-more-special parts of this trip was that the restaurant had two little dogs and one was "Harry" from a book that Grace's Specials teachers read to her last year in Kindergarten. So, except for the Japanese title and text..she recognized it the second we walked in the door - where it was on display with the dogs.
Grace had liked the book Mrs. Freking read to the class so much, she checked it out from the library for me to read to she and Sarah at home. So, we all remembered the cute story about a dog named Harry...
Here is a photo of the girls with the book (in Japanese). The girls are standing right in front of the dogs (below). The black dog has a Japanese name and also had a book that he was named after too. Unfortunately I can't spell or pronounce his name...but here they are. "Harry" and his friend:
The golden brown dog is "Harry"
Next, we went upstairs to find a table. You find many Japanese restaurants are multi-level for seating. Here are the girls enjoying looking through the books, many of which we did recognize (just couldn't read)...
Grace was excited to see one of Jim's favorites
as a child..."Where the Wild Things Are"
As you can see, even at the table, there were plenty of books to select and choose from. (behind Grace above)
"A Light in the Attic" by Shel Silverstein
And then, the food arrived! Grace wouldn't eat her "Harry" cookie because it was too cute (at least for a while) and the girls oohed and ahhed over the cute little cocoa powder paw prints that were on the plates!
Lemon cheesecake for the girls (above).
Tiramisu for me (below). Sarah and I ended up trading...she wasn't too excited about the lemon part.
And if you order a meal...this is the presentation that is delivered to your table. You may be able to see a little, but the bread is shaped and decorated to look like a little turtle!
And, you know octopus is common here. We ARE on an island in the middle of the ocean...it's in the grocery stores, it's in many, many dishes at restaurants, it's placed on pizza and mixed in fried noodles. But, please don't think that means that we are eating much of it!
However, we did think it fitting that they had an octopus slide in a park a block away that we stopped at for a few minutes on the way home. I made this picture larger so you could try to see Sarah in it's mouth (or that's how the girls explained it)!
We are so glad Miyuki suggested that we visit this place. What a special afternoon!
Okonomiyaki is very famous in Osaka. (o-konomi-yaki) It is said to have originated here and people describe it as a pancake with vegetables and meat in it. We had this for dinner at Spa World. They mixed it up and grilled it right in front of us. We had a pork and shrimp version and a beef and pork version. The latter had noodles also added to it which is mentioned in the definition below.
From Wikipedia:
Kansai- or Osaka-style okonomiyaki is the predominant version of the dish, found throughout most of Japan. The batter is made of flour, grated nagaimo (a type of yam), water or dashi, eggs and shredded cabbage, and usually contains other ingredients such as green onion, meat (generally pork or bacon), octopus, squid, shrimp, vegetables, kimchi, mochi or cheese. Okonomiyaki is sometimes compared to an omelette or a pancake and may be referred to as a "Japanese pizza" or "Osaka soul food".
In Osaka (the largest city in the Kansai region), where this dish is said to have originated, okonomiyaki is prepared much like a pancake. The batter and other ingredients are fried on both sides on either a teppan or a pan using metal spatulas that are later used to slice the dish when it has finished cooking. Cooked okonomiyaki is topped with ingredients that include otafuku/okonomiyaki sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce but thicker and sweeter), aonori (seaweed flakes), katsuobushi (bonito flakes), Japanese mayonnaise, and pickled ginger (beni shoga).
When served with a layer of fried noodles, the resulting dish is called modan-yaki, the name of which may be derived from the English word "modern" or as a contraction of mori dakusan, meaning "a lot" or "piled high" signifying the volume of food from having both yakisoba and udon.
We had both okonomiyaki and madan-yaki. Jim likes it with noodles better. I prefer without. The girls won't tell me what their preference was, but they both ate it. So - that right there says alot...it was good!
If you would like to watch a few videos of how this is prepared, I took them for everyone. And if we don't already look like tourists, me video taping them making okonomiyaki sure confirmed it! I think it made almost all of the workers in the restaurant laugh a little...but not in a bad way. Most Japanese people we find are proud to share their culture with westerners...even if it means their hands are on video!
This is the beginning. They bring the mix in the bowl to the table, mix it up right in front of you.
Then they place the mixture on the grill....
And then they flip it...just like a pancake!
Add two special sauces...and it's ready to eat! (This is just a photo, not a video)
