Day 10 - Swimming in the Tama River
Already Day 10 -- CRAZY!
Right now we have feelings depending on the day, kid, and even time of day, ranging from settled contentment and enjoyment of our surroundings to homesickness and just wanting to be surrounded by the familiar things of home. Traveling with four kids is interesting..... it's a challenge to have a day when everyone feels good or an activity that everyone wants to do, and everything takes a lot longer than when traveling alone or with a school trip. The kids have overall been great, though, very helpful and game to try new things. I hope they continue to settle in and feel normal here.
Today Amy and Meg weren't feeling great - they seem to have a little virus - and Isa has been dying to go swimming, but the beach is a little too far away and the local pool didn't seem too exciting, so Ang, Isa, Lila, and I took a train up to Ome, about 45 minutes from here. We passed through Fussa station on the way which is across the street from the hospital where I was born. I was surprised by how much Ome feels like small town Japan even though it's so close to Tokyo. Beautiful hills and river, with smaller, older, less well-kept buildings than closer to the center of the city.
We bought rice balls and noodles from the 7-11 and walked down the hill to Kamanofuchi Park, which is on a big bend of the Tama River.
The river is fairly shallow, but at this section there are several large boulders and the river has eroded out some deeper swimming holes. We crossed a pedestrian bridge
and walked down the steps to the river. There were a couple of other picnickers and dog-walkers, and 3-4 fisherman with long poles fishing for Ayu -- Japanese sweetfish. (they are only about 3-4 inches long, but the poles used to catch them must be 12 feet long.)
I was happy to see that there weren't any crowds, and the sun began to peek through the overcast sky about when we arrived. We had our picnic on some rocks in the shade and then explored the river. The water was cold, but not icy -- about like swimming in a Utah mountain lake this time of year. At first we Wade-ed
and then got up the courage to take the plunge. There was a nice little eddy behind a boulder that was ideal for Lila and Isa to swim a bit, and I enjoyed playing in the current and swimming around and climbing on the boulder.
I think we are still a few weeks away from summer "swimming season" in Japan, so we were the only swimmers other than Rudy,
After some time in the chilly water, we felt refreshed and hiked back up to the station and headed home. I was surprised at how the dip cooled down my core temperature to the point where an uphill walk in the muggy afternoon heat didn't bother me at all. We may need to go back when it gets hotter this week.
本当に気持ちよかった！
Right now we have feelings depending on the day, kid, and even time of day, ranging from settled contentment and enjoyment of our surroundings to homesickness and just wanting to be surrounded by the familiar things of home. Traveling with four kids is interesting..... it's a challenge to have a day when everyone feels good or an activity that everyone wants to do, and everything takes a lot longer than when traveling alone or with a school trip. The kids have overall been great, though, very helpful and game to try new things. I hope they continue to settle in and feel normal here.
Today Amy and Meg weren't feeling great - they seem to have a little virus - and Isa has been dying to go swimming, but the beach is a little too far away and the local pool didn't seem too exciting, so Ang, Isa, Lila, and I took a train up to Ome, about 45 minutes from here. We passed through Fussa station on the way which is across the street from the hospital where I was born. I was surprised by how much Ome feels like small town Japan even though it's so close to Tokyo. Beautiful hills and river, with smaller, older, less well-kept buildings than closer to the center of the city.
We bought rice balls and noodles from the 7-11 and walked down the hill to Kamanofuchi Park, which is on a big bend of the Tama River.
The river is fairly shallow, but at this section there are several large boulders and the river has eroded out some deeper swimming holes. We crossed a pedestrian bridge
and walked down the steps to the river. There were a couple of other picnickers and dog-walkers, and 3-4 fisherman with long poles fishing for Ayu -- Japanese sweetfish. (they are only about 3-4 inches long, but the poles used to catch them must be 12 feet long.)
I was happy to see that there weren't any crowds, and the sun began to peek through the overcast sky about when we arrived. We had our picnic on some rocks in the shade and then explored the river. The water was cold, but not icy -- about like swimming in a Utah mountain lake this time of year. At first we Wade-ed
and then got up the courage to take the plunge. There was a nice little eddy behind a boulder that was ideal for Lila and Isa to swim a bit, and I enjoyed playing in the current and swimming around and climbing on the boulder.
a large white dog we met who would chase into the water after the ball his owner threw, but would then lose interest on the way back and drop the ball back in the river to be captured by an eddy out of reach of the owner. She spent most of her time trying to convince Rudy to go back over there and finish the job of fetching those balls.
After some time in the chilly water, we felt refreshed and hiked back up to the station and headed home. I was surprised at how the dip cooled down my core temperature to the point where an uphill walk in the muggy afternoon heat didn't bother me at all. We may need to go back when it gets hotter this week.
本当に気持ちよかった！
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