January in Japan

Toyo win the Hakone Ekiden

Swan boats on the lake in Hakone

Making miso with Maduka

Squishing the beans for the miso

Squishy, squishy

We get invited for another amazing meal

Snug inside our thatched house in Miyama

Lila in the snow

Flowers

Making macha

Uma's birthday party

Birthday girl

Maru

The loneliness of the long-distance ekiden runner

The Golden Temple

Pancakes in Kyoto!

Tokyo skyline

The colours of Tokyo

Ornamental cabbages

The Miyata homestead in Hyogo

Playing hide and seek

Swings in Hyogo

Playing cars with ojiisan

Uma on the slopes

Lila gets some tips from Max

Sen and Uma hanging out on the piste

DOLLS by Lila

The dolls photo the knight is the dad and Russian doll is the mum

SHINKANSEN by Lila

Me, Uma, Ossian and Mummy went on the Shinkansen (bullet train). I got a Manga book.

We had to wait an hour at the station, it was very cold.

December in Japan

Kobe skyline

A geisha in Kyoto

Last day at school. Lila with some of her classmates

Uma says goodbye to her class

Matching outfits

Tongue out in concentration as Adharanand leads around the first corner

Ready to open presents on Christmas Day

Christmas Day in the doll's house

Etty at the top of Kanabe Mountain

Snack time on the way back down from Kanabe Mountain

A frosty game of "It"

Pirate ships and Mount Fuji

Lila on the pirate ship

On the last day of the year, finally, we find snow!

Uma works on her masterpiece

Lila

The doll's house

HAPPY BITHDAY by lila

A birthday feast

they're both out

Dead fishes

whats mummy doing

November in Japan

Lila sets off for a 20km bike ride with two friends

A grey day in Tokyo

Backstreet, Tokyo

About to board the bullet train back to Kyoto

Ossian casually riding a tiger

The bamboo forest

A tiny man

At the summit of Kachenjunga

Stories about Diamond Catchers and Tree People

There's some crazy wildlife in Japan!

Adharanand finishing his first ekiden

Knitting at Max's house in the country

The area is called Miyama, which means Beautiful Mountain

Ossian and Sen play trains in the morning sunlight

Uma looks out

Beautiful Mountain

Morning light

Telegraph poles

Lila

Bells in a shrine

Where does this go?

Off into the forest

Look out! The train is coming!

Ossian and Sen hitch rides home

Lila reading on the train

Dolls in the market

Densha