More sakura viewing

I couldn't wait for the next day. We had a perfect blue sky. So later in the afternoon I asked Runa to come along to a Sakura playground near our place. You might be sick of all the same kind of photos but I just cannot stop taking photos, they are just stunning!

I can see the kids really enjoy being back in Osaka. Similes all the way!

After spending a good 2 hours we crossed the road to another part of the sakura park. Again the place was full of fully bloomed amazing cherry blossoms.

The kids now appreciate the importance of sakura trees in Japanese culture. They learn something each time we visit here. I am very happy :)

Sleepover

We are lucky to have all the Japanese cousins living close by. We get to see them all each time we go back. The boys had a sleepover at Yuzuki's last time we were there so they were already asking for another one before we arrived. Mako works an irregular schedule but somehow we managed to squeeze in one sleepover :)

Ready to leave the house:

A photo update sent by Mako, bubble bath time:

In their pyjamas:

With Hinata:

Time to say good night :) 

Meanwhile I enjoyed watching Japanese TV shows and having some Japanese alcohol in the quiet house :) This is the true holiday for me!

Applying for a new passport

I didn't know Luca's passport had only two months left on it until we arrived in Osaka. Luckily we live just one train stop away from the passport centre. Before we could go and process it I had to take the boys for a haircut so for the next 5 years we don't have a funny picture of Luca on his passport like his last one!

Oliver had his cut quite short. Ready for the big boy school!

Luca's hair is quite different in thickness and how it grows so this is the best they could do. Not much styling but better than the funny cut he got in Singapore...

Once we arrived at the passport centre we went by the window and enjoyed the great view of the city and the airport. 

Then we got Luca's photo taken maybe 10 times till he didn't smile with his mouth open and showing his teeth. Unfortunately his forehead is still struggling to heal so you can see a red mark in the middle of his face :(

Let me show you how he looked in his old passport. Please don't laugh!

I mentioned to the officer that our stay is not long then they told me I can pick up his new passport in 3 days. They didn't charge me any extra for super fast processing. Yeah!

We had some lunch at McDonalds then went home. Rinku Town is a great shopping place but with three kids, I don't think so. I just had to be patient and wait until Matthew got to Osaka to help me control the the kids while I shop. 

Arriving in Osaka - Sakura!!!

We arrived safely in Osaka. Unfortunately Matthew (again) had to stay behind but managed to join us later in the month. The first night when we arrived it rained quite a bit so I was VERY worried that all the sakura will be washed away. So even though it was a quite grey day I asked mum to drive past the best spot in our neighbourhood to view sakura.

I only had Ashley with me. We did a 10 min walk under the trees.

Can you see the full bloom trees all the way to the end? This is an irrigation pond. The trees are planted all around it. Such a beautiful spot to walk. 

It was quite windy too. Blowing lots of the pretty petals away. This Osaka visit was to have picnics under the trees to enjoy the Japanese Spring. So I really wanted them to last until we have a nice sunny day. 

Eiji's birthday BBQ

Before leaving to Osaka we managed to squeeze in another social night at the BBQ pits, celebrating Eiji's 10th birthday.

The proud parents - Tetsuo and Kei:

In the end our Kiwi friends ended up BBQing right next to our pit so Matthew didn't feel too overwhelmed by all the Japanese kids and adults. I'm sure he is used to it by now though. 

Time for the birthday cakes! He was lucky to have two different flavours!

Oliver made some new friends who are also starting school together in 2 weeks time. Swimming, running around, playground. Fun filled night :)

Happy Birthday Eiji!!

Back in Chinatown

Yuzuki and mum insisted we go back and try the Taiwanese sweets in Chinatown. Runa wanted to do some extra shopping before leaving so we did a quick visit there once more.

Trying the signature dessert - mango shaved ice:

Runa had a strawberry flavoured one:

Luca and Ashley loved it!

Exploring the streets we didn't visit last time:

We also did a quick walk through of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple:

This was the end of their Singapore adventure. The week went by very fast :(  I really hope they will come and visit us again. Now it's time for us to pack our suitcase to spend the rest of the spring holidays in Osaka. Lucky we get to see them very soon!

USS

The girls' main event for this trip. A day spent in Universal Studios Singapore.

As Eiji was still on his spring holiday he came along too. It made it easier to get on rides making us a group of 4. 

When I was there last time with my sister and her two kids we were given some express passes. They worked exceptionally well. So we spent (lots of) extra money and got them again this time.

It made a huge difference. For each ride we skipped over 100 people and managed to get on 14 rides by the end of the day. You can guess how well I was feeling after running with my family all week and being put on these big roller coasters 8 times in a row!

I refused to go on this one though.  I just cannot stand spinning rides. 

We got some free gifts with our tickets :)

The kids had so much fun. I don't think I will be going back there for a while... Just thinking of the rides still makes me feel sick :(