Ikadaba

This weekend we went down to Rika's Mum's house for a long weekend to help with the rice-planting. This time we remembered to charge the camera but we still didn't get photos of everyone (or rather in-focus photos).

This is Rikas mums house, behind the sheds on the other side of the rice-field.


Family photo.


Hannah with Granny.



Hannah with Rika's sister Naomi.




Hannah reading a book when she couldn't sleep.





Taking Hannh for a tour of the garden.


I think Hannah really enjoyed staying at Rika's Mum's house. But she also tried to make a break for the front door whenever she could.


This is Atsuko's cat Musashi sleeping in the garden. Japanese gardens really do have stone lanterns, sculptured and manicured pine trees, beautiful blossom and maples and ornamental rocks - just like in the movies. The family next door even have a pond with a waterfall and koi carp.


General views of Ikadaba. Looking north, down the valley across a neighbor's fields. The stone building is a small shrine.


Looking south up the valley. You can see the fields are flooded ready for planting.


A neighbors house flying 'koi nobori' (koi carp streamers) to celebrate 'children's day'. From these koi nobori we can tell that this family have several very tall children.


The village shinto shrine.




Some old grave-stones near the upper field. Rika's family can trace their ancestors back in this village for at least 7 generations, and maybe more. And almost everyone in the village has the same surname. So although these are not the gravestones of their direct ancestors they may belong to relatives.


This video is the sound of Ikadaba in summer. Frogs partying in the rice-fields.