Swim, soccer and noodles

When the kids were at the Japanese kindergarten they made some good friends. Thanks to FB and Messenger we have been in contact with some families. Luckily we managed to meet up with one of the families before we left Osaka. We wanted to take the kids somewhere outdoors even though it has been so super hot. My friend Asami found the perfect place for us.

It is located in the mountains 30 minutes drive from our place, called "honoji no sat". It has accommodation facilities with hot springs.

It is built on an abandoned school property. Hence they have a huge playground and indoor gymnasium. During summer they put up a temporary paddle pool for the little ones which was just perfect for the kids. Oliver and Haruhito enjoyed playing soccer together too.

After being in the hot sun for several hours, we moved to the "Nagashi Somen" station we booked in advance to cool the kids down. It is a Japanese Summer tradition, putting some thin noodles (somen) on a bamboo flume and letting them flow along with water. You need to catch the noodles with your chopsticks as they pass in front of you.

We explained to the kids what to do:

And off they went!

Us adults didn't get much of a taste as the kids were very hungry and got most of the noodles in their bowls. Can you see how greedy Luca was?!

It was a perfect afternoon, which helped the kids bond together once again. Thank you Asami for taking us to such a cool place. We are looking forward to having you over in Singapore!!