Mt. Ogusuyama Hike

Tucker was begging to go on a hike since he got his new hiking backpack and so we finally had a free day to take him.  We made sure to get up early and go before it go too crazy hot outside.  I've done this hike before with the kids and thought it would be a good one to do again.

Bob carried Calista the whole way.  She didn't love it.  She used to love the carrier, and now she wants out of it if we keep her in too long.

We almost made it to the top.

This hike has a nice flat area at the top to eat lunch or just hang out and enjoy the view.  We did both.

Calista was so happy to be walking around.

After resting for a bit I got the energy to hike the last few stairs.  There were plenty on this hike.

Bob took this panorama shot from the lookout.

I love getting outdoors and spending time with family.

Ape Caves

We went to one of the coolest places ever, Ape Caves!  The last time we went was three years ago and so we decided it was time to try again.  Here we are right before entering the caves.

The cave is cold and pitch black.  We did not pack for this so the day before we went to the thrift store and bought tennis shoes for me and sweaters for everyone.  We also picked up headlamps and batteries.  It was totally worth it.  I wish we had just packed those things, but I'm glad we spent the money on them even if it was just for the day.  The caves stay at 42 degrees regardless of the outside weather.    The main cave is 2.5 miles long so it quickly becomes blacker than you can imagine.  Everyone is supposed to have lights and extra batteries, just in case.

Here we go...

I didn't take very many pictures because it was so hard in the dark and it was kind of a pain to keep getting my phone out.  Anyway here is my dad climbing up the wall.  There is one part where you have to climb up a six foot wall.  This time there was a rope to help, I don't remember that being there before.

The whole thing is basically just climbing over rocks in the pitch black, with some areas of flat in between rock groupings.

Penelope and Scarlett did so much better than last time.  The three years for them made a huge difference.  Plus we were more prepared with warm clothes.  Last time we didn't know it would be cold and Tucker even ended up doing the whole thing in a T-shirt.  They did it with pretty much no help at all.

There is one whole in the ceiling close to the end.

This was Leon's first time and he did really well.  He loved it and also didn't need help.

Here we are climbing up the ladder to get out.

Once you get out you need to walk the 2.5 miles back to the car above ground.  This part can be a bit boring after the cave.

Calista stayed home and my sister babysat her.  I think it went pretty well.  She came back with new clothes and toys.  We thought about bringing her with a baby carrier, but I'm really glad we didn't.  It would have been hard to climb with her and make sure we didn't bump her head on anything.

Mt. Ogusuyama Hike

I love getting outside and going on hikes with the kids!  We found a trail on Mt Ogusuyama that was just the perfect length for us.  It had a great view at the top and even some pretty flowers.

We want to go back and take Bob with us next time :)

Zushi Beach Hike

We've been getting out and going hiking quite a bit lately.  I love going to all the parks and trails that I wouldn't have otherwise known about.  Last week we hiked to Zushi beach.  The weather was beautiful and we totally overdressed.

I didn't get any pictures of us in the woods but after the woods we went right under the road to get to the water.

The tide was in so we found a different beach entrance.

Calista wanted to get out and play but I just kept her in the carrier with me.  I wasn't prepared to have a baby covered in sand at the moment.

Being at the beach reminded me so much of when we stayed in San Diego.  I missed all our fun beach days.  But now that I know that we don't live too far from a sandy beach we can go more often this summer.

The kids spent a good amount of time looking for shells.

Tucker even found a dead fish, which was pretty gross.

When we were done playing we headed back up to where we parked.  There was a playground and animals in cages up there.  I'm not sure who takes care of them because it seems like they were just kind of stuck there.  But the monkeys were a surprise.

I'm ready for more warm sunny days.

Kinugasayama Park

It has been freezing outside lately, like literally zero degrees Celsius (I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to not using Fahrenheit), but we are making sure to get out and explore anyway.  I'll be so happy when we get all of our stuff and Penelope can have her warm coat again.  She wore a sweatshirt and her coat and gloves but was still almost in tears during the hike at one point because she was so cold.

We went with our hiking group to Kinugasayama Park.  It's a charming park with plenty of trails and little wooden animals everywhere. 

When we first got to the lookout spot the children found these awesome icecles growing straight into the ground.  This piece tucker is holding he actually flipped it over for the picture, so the ice was growing straight down.  They were so thin and fine.  I've never seen anything like it.  Nature is cool.

I held a couple in my fingers to make sure they were ice and after rubbing for a second they melted away.

I only took pictures of a couple animal sculptures.  Scarlett was happy to pose for me.

I gave Penelope my scarf because she was frozen like a popsicle.

The kids were excited when we got to the playground.

I walked around the corner and Japan surprised me once again.  I've never seen anything like this at a kids playground before.  Tucker and Penelope loved it!  Scarlett even got into it after a while, but it was a little hard for Leon. 

Calista and I kept walking around to keep warm.

On the way back Penelope and I took the longer path to get a picture of this Koala, my favorite.