This is a story about an international couple raising and home educating three young boys on a small island in Japan, half living in buses, engaged in organic, self-sufficient farming in the middle of a mountain forest while dealing with climate, cultural, and personal challenges. These pages are about pretty much anything and everything all guided by our family motto, Taking Chances, Making Changes, Being Happy. Thank you very much for joining us on our ongoing crazy adventure.

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Home - Story - February 2015
New Mountain Bikes

February 2015 - New Haro mountain bikes from America.

This month was another rocket launch, a bunch of harvesting from the farms, and the initial ride on our new Haro mountain bikes.

Picture - Us with our new bikes at Maenohama beach.
Rocket Launch

February 1, 2015 - We went once again to Hase Park to see a rocket launch. Then we made a barbecue with friends in the afternoon. We were hanging out with friends at night again.

Picture - Hase Park - Shai was happy to play in the playground.
Picture - Hase Park - Us together waiting for the rocket launch 1.
Picture - Hase Park - Us together waiting for the rocket launch 1.
Picture - Home - Us hanging out with friends for an afternoon barbecue 1.
Picture - Home - Us hanging out with friends for an afternoon barbecue 2.
Picture - Home - Us hanging out with friends at night 1.
Picture - Home - Us hanging out with friends at night 2.
Nice Lettuce

February 5, 2015 - Today one of my friends brought over a load of really nice lettuce.

Picture - Home - They say two heads are better than one. Then over ten heads must be fantastic.
More Produce

February 7, 2015 - This nice bunch of goodies came from the neighbors in the back of the house.

Picture - Home - The selection today included spinach, green onions (negi), and Chinese cabbage (hakusai) which were all delicious.
Harvesting and Old Bikes

February 15, 2015 - Today Shai picked a lot of stuff from the farm including broccoli, cauliflower, and an alien hakusai that was almost as tall as him. We also used our old bikes pretty much for the last time today. My mountain bike was my transportation in Nara, Japan, back in the day when I was teaching English for Kansai Juku, and at a coffee shop. Pretty sure this cost the equivalent of about 150 bucks and lasted for over ten years.

Picture - Shai picking an incredibly huge hakusai from the farm.

Picture - Home - Gosh this thing really looks like something from another planet. This was huge and too difficult for Shai to pull out.
Picture - Home - Ah the smaller hakusai was much easier to manage and shai could easily pick this.
Picture - Home - He was very happy to pick some cauliflower.
Picture - Home - He even got to pick his favorite broccoli.
Picture - Home - The old bike an American Eagle was finished now.
Picture - Home - The old three wheel bike was finished now.
Picture - Home - Shai trying to ride the old three wheel bike.
New Haro Mountain Bikes

February 21, 2015 - Actually our mountain bikes were delivered about a week before but we waited to open them until there was a good riding day.

Picture - Getting ready for a ride on the new bikes at the Tanegashima Space Center.

Our Haro mountain bikes were manufactured in the United States and are incredibly cool. These bikes are well built and provide a fantastic ride.

My bike is a 21 speed and Shai has a six speed bike.

This was to be our first ride on the new haro mountain bikes. Hmmmm, what would be an appropriate place?

Yes of course....why not go to the grass area of the Tanegashima Space Center.

Note the replicated rockets in the background. What a great venue for learning to ride a mountain bike.

Picture - Home - This is the package for my mountain bike.
Picture - Home - This package contains a mountain bike for Shai.
Picture - Tanegashima Space Center - Getting ready for a nice ride on the grass area.
Picture - Tanegashima Space Center - Another getting ready picture.
Picture - Tanegashima Space Center - Hey almost forgot to photograph the little guy with his new bike helmet.
Picture - Tanegashima Space Center - Hey Shai wants to practice riding already. No more pictures.
Picture - Tanegashima Space Center - Yup definitely styling with this new haro mountain bike.
Picture - Tanegashima Space Center - Yeah another picture of this cool bike.
Picture - Tanegashima Space Center - Shai really likes his new mountain bike.
Picture - Tanegashima Space Center - Yup looking pretty fantastic.
Picture - Tanegashima Space Center - Bike is in position and the helmet is on now.
Picture - Tanegashima Space Center - Now getting ready to actually being riding. Nice pose.
Picture - Jinanbou Restaurant - We decided to go out for a nice lunch on our mountain bike riding day.
Picture - Maenohama Beach - We continued our mountain bike riding day at the beach.
Picture - Maenohama Beach - Shai showing a bit of attitude with his new mountain bike.
Picture - Maenohama Beach - A wide expanse of soft white sand providing plenty of room for the doggies to run around like crazy.
Picture - Maenohama Beach - Almost seems like a private beach for these guys. This is the typical crowd, even on the weekends.
February 25, 2015 - Facebook Post - REALLY FUN - This is what we affectionately call the upper upper farm. After a month using hand tools the jungle was turned into a usable farm. Decided to make this a space exploration theme since the Tanegashima Space Center is one of the main reasons we decided to move to this island. JAXA and NASA represent the Japanese and American space agencies respectively. Beginning next month these letters will be made of radishes. This farm is really getting a lot of attention these days. The thing which is situated in the background IS NOT A PHALLIC SYMBOL. This is actually a rocket. lol.