Rice Fields of Japan

Rice Fields of Japan -

Most of the rice fields around our region have been harvested now and the beautiful, flowing green fields heavy with rice are cut down. When they were green and heavy with rice, they reminded me of the wheat fields of Eastern Washington that turn golden before harvest.

There are many rice fields in our region and most are small plots of tiered land inaccessible to large machinery. Because of the tiered fields and smaller plots, they use smaller machinery than you would see in the US where huge fields are harvested by massive machines. We observed two methods of harvesting this fall, the old way where the stocks are cut and hung upside down in the fields to dry and the more modern way with a small machine that looks like a miniature Zamboni. The harvesting machine cuts the stocks at the ground, separating the rice from the chaff and gathers the rice into large bags. 

Beautiful tiered rice fields of our region - photo by Stephanie

This time of year when the rice has been harvested, the air frequently smells of smoke as the farmers are burning the chaff from the rice. We had a discussion with the kids this weekend about what a threshing floor would have been like in the Bible since we have witnessed several farmers threshing their rice, bagging it and generating large piles for distribution.

Rice fields ready for harvest - photo by Stephanie

I am going to miss the beautiful, flowing green fields and the bent stalks heavy with golden rice. Being this close to the production of food makes you appreciate the process when you dump cups of rice into your rice cooker. Something about watching your food grow, ripen and then enjoying it that is very satisfying.

A bountiful crop of rice, ready for harvest - photo by Stephanie

Harvested rice drying in the field

Rice drying the old fashioned way

Visit with Mitsuki and Momo -

Saturday evening we attended Hope Chapel English with Mitsuki and later met up with Momo at the Ikoma train station. They stayed the night with us Saturday and got to see our Japanese home for the first time. They spent most of Sunday with our family, playing badminton in our back yard, eating the yummy cheesecake Mitsuki brought, eating cream stew and visiting a local park with the kids.

Mitsuki and Stephanie with pumpkin cheesecake 

Mitsuki, Momo, Stephanie and Alex at our favorite Koi feeding spot

We had a great time with these girls and cannot wait to see them again at the Hope Chapel Thanksgiving Dinner in a couple of weeks. We practiced our Japanese phrases and they helped us understand a few of the electronic appliances in our house.

One last group picture before we sent then back home

They also went with us to the store and helped me purchase dehumidifiers for our closets. Yes, here in Japan you need to dehumidify your house or you are likely to have your clothes mold. I learned this first hand last month when I opened my coat closet to find two of our jackets with mold on them. Thankfully I caught it before it was too bad and a good washing seems to have taken care of the issue before it destroyed our winter coats.

Dehumidifier for your cloths closet

I was grateful for their help since there are countless types of these dehumidifiers available. They explained to me some products were not only to dehumidify your closet but had bug repellent as well as varying scents. There were about 25 options to chose from I kid you not.

Thank you for sharing in our many adventures and for your prayers. Please continue to pray for open hearts as we interact with neighbors and invite students to various outreach activities.

In Christ,

K. Chadduck

Care Package from the States

Care Package from the States –

Thanks to Auntie Beth, we received a much anticipated and well stocked care package of our favorite items. Hard to explain how much you miss your favorite cereal, coffee, pencils, pens and apparently for some, candy corn. Auntie Beth was kind enough to stock a box full of our favorite items and send them to us with notes of love and birthday wishes. We are oh so blessed and rationing our items to make them last as long as possible. Thank you SO MUCH Auntie Beth. You have no idea what a treat it is to eat an “Idaho Potato” candy bar and my students thought it was great to receive something from the US as their prize for the Word of the Week. We love you and really appreciate all the love and kindness you boxed up and sent us. What a blessing, like hugs and kisses from aunt Beth is a box.

Care package from Auntie Beth in the states.

Japanese Trash –

So I know this may sound like an odd blog topic but I have been thinking about this for a while and trash is a really big deal in Japan. I thought some of you may find it interesting to know just how Japan handles trash in our region.

When we first arrived in Japan within two weeks we went to the Government office signed up for healthcare, registered as residents and signed up for trash service. While at the government building we were given a large book detailing the trash pickup schedule, what type of trash is picked up which day, and our orange recycling bin. The book is pretty intimidating not to mention I cannot read a word of it.

Japanese trash manual

They require residents to purchase designated plastic bags with their city name printed on the bags. These bags are readily available at any local grocery or Fred Meyer type store. They are not particularly expensive and come in 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 liter bags.

Clearly says Heguri right?

The first week we were here we generated quite a lot of trash as we were setting up house and purchasing many boxed items. You need to understand trash is sorted into PET, plastic, tray, burnable, cardboard, bin and special trash. We have about 3-4 different sorting bins for the various types of trash we accumulate each week. Burnable trash is collected twice a week just down the street in a large green mesh covered bin with a lid to keep the critters out. Pet is collected a couple times a month while plastic is collected every Monday and special trash like broken small appliances, worn out rugs, shoes and sun shades collected once a month on our block.

So, we gathered our burnable trash, took it out to the collective receptacle just down the street and were glad to have it out of the house. When we returned from work, it was gone. Easy enough we thought, mission accomplished. We followed the schedule and put our burnable trash out again on the following Monday. This time when I got home I was met by a neighbor who tried to explain to me we were not following trash protocol and he had graciously corrected our error last Monday. By the time Bob came home shortly after I did, I was able to explain the gist of what my neighbor had been trying to explain in Japanese.

Japanese annual trash calendar for our region

We inadvertently purchased Ikoma trash bags at the local hardware store and were happily putting our trash out every Monday in a trash bag clearly marked “Ikoma”. Well, we do not live in Ikoma, we live in Heguri and we did not have the proper Heguri trash bags. Our neighbor had been gracious enough the previous week to transfer our trash into a Heguri bag but after we made the mistake again, he let us know and was kind enough to give us the correct trash bag so we could see what we needed to purchase.

Simple enough mistake but each city has their own trash bags and by purchasing the correct trash bags they are able to maintain the service for those in the region. We profusely thanked our neighbor, took the bag and soon after purchased the correct trash bags for our region. We had no idea we needed a specific trash bag and for that matter, had no idea we had purchased the incorrect bags. So many new experiences and so many things to learn. Thank goodness our neighbors are gracious and kind enough not assume the worst and lend a hand to help us out.

Pilgrim’s Progress –

We just started reading “Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan in my 11^th & 12^th grade English class and I am really excited to be reading this book. It is one of the all-time bestselling books only second to the Bible and has an amazing history. I was reviewing many English classics when I found “Pilgrim’s Progress” listed as the number one classical book on many literature review sights.

I personally have heard about this book for many years since becoming a Christian but have never read it myself. I am committed to read whatever novel I assign to my students so I am looking forward to reading this novel with them. This book is a difficult read and the vernacular is like that of “Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn”, both by Mark Twain but once you have read it for a while the language is easier to follow.

Literary review blogs claim many readers have come to Christ after reading this book. It is written as an allegory much like "Narnia" by C.S. Lewis and the imagery is amazing with many conversations in the book quoting scripture. If you are looking for a good book to pick up and read this fall as the nights grow long and you are huddled inside with your coffee and a blanket, maybe you should pick up a copy of Pilgrim’s Progress. There are many versions and some may be easier for younger readers than others.

"Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan

Thank you for your faithful prayers and for following our adventure. We are blessed to be here and grateful for the friendships and opportunities God is bringing our way. May we all be intentional, living on mission each day in order to bring as many as possible to salvation in Jesus Christ. 

In Him,

K.Chadduck

Road Trip to the Beach

Futsal at Canadian Academy -

Last Friday the KCS elementary futsal team made a one day road trip to Kobe to play in a tournament hosted by Canadian Academy. I guess last year was the first year KCS participated in the tournament and this year they were much improved. They played three games winning two and had a great time. Thanks to Noah for coaching the team and for working with the kids.

While at the tournament, Bob and Stephanie were able to catch up and spend some time with three more MFWI students. A great time was had by all and we hope to see the Yuki’s and Ai again soon.

Yuki's and Ai at the Canadian Academy

Birthday Celebrations -

Friday my English class surprised me with a birthday party and Oreo cheesecake. What a fun group of kids and thoughtful too. (See the photos of our party on FB) After the futsal tournament, my family took me out for dinner at Coco’s. Thank you to everyone for the wonderful cards, Facebook wishes and delicious treats. I had a great birthday and really feel blessed to have some many thoughtful and caring friends and family.

My birthday dinner at Coco's

Atashika Beach –

Our family took a long road trip to Kumano and spent time together on a couple of beaches in this region. Stephanie has been aching to get to the ocean since we arrived in Japan and we took advantage of a long weekend to take a road trip. The water was warm and our family spent the day beach combing, swimming and having lunch with strangers.

Alex on the beach

Yep, apparently Bob started a conversation with a group of guys fishing on the beach and they invited our family to have crab miso soup with them. We ended up spending about 3-4 hours hanging out with this group of civil engineers from Osaka who were about our age and on their annual camping trip to Atashika.

Catching Moss crab at the ocean

They had crab traps, vegetables, tofu and miso soup cooking in a pot on the beach. They showed us their traps and after seeing what the crabs looked like Stephanie and Alex took off along the beach and caught two more with their bare hands. The group of guys were amazed since they had purchased bait and set traps and here our kids just went and caught two more crabs. We were thankful to contribute something to the meal and they were surprised to have additional crabs for lunch.

Crab miso soup for lumch!

Alex tried his first crab and we really enjoyed their company as we shared a meal together. A couple of the guys had been to California for work and one studied at USC so they knew some English.  What an experience it was and after the meal a couple of families on the beach joined the kids as they explored the rocks along the side of the ocean.

What a day at the beach

In the pot you go little crab!

Alex and Stephanie's contribution to the meal

A haircut and Sweet Potatoes –

We seem to be meeting people pretty quickly as we were invited by the local crosswalk guard/barber in our neighborhood to attend a festival of sorts on Monday. We have befriended the crosswalk guard near our house who has in turn brought us corn, persimmons off of his trees and recently cut Alex’s hair. We have had some laughable attempts at conversation since he does not speak much English and we do not speak much Japanese yet.

Alex went to the crossing guard’s barber shop and got his haircut last week. He said it was an amazing experience! Got his hair washed like three times, a shave with a straight edge (I am not sure what he was shaving) and the back of his neck trimmed with a straight edge as well. He said it was a little unnerving but definitely an amazing experience. When I picked Alex up our neighbor kept trying to give me products from his shop.

He then gave us an invitation to a local sweet potato harvest and party in our neighborhood on Monday. He told us to take the sheet to another neighbor who lives close to us that is bilingual. Turns out he invited us to a neighborhood block party if you will, where they dig sweet potatoes and cook them in an open fire. My family smelled of smoke upon their return but seemed to enjoy the outing and met more people in our neighborhood. It amazes me how much we are able to communicate in spite of not speaking the same language. Never a dull moment and we always seem to find an adventure.

Sweet potato harvest and fire

Straight from the fire, sweet potatoes for lunch

I continue to be blessed and amazed by the people God is bringing across our path. We are grateful for this experience and are trying to drink in every encounter to the fullest. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. Please continue to pray for the hearts and minds of those we meet that they will come to know the Lord and we will bring glory to God through out interactions.

In Christ,

The Chadducks

Sports Day

Spirt Day -

We participated in our first Sports Day this past week and had a great time. It is much like field day in the US however, the festivities go most of the week and culminate with a huge sports competition. Sporting events consist of running events, tug of war, piggy back rides, a relay race and each team performing a written/choreographed cheer for students and spectators.

Spirit week started with the school being divided into four teams, blue, white, black and yellow. Festivities kicked off Tuesday with pajama day, then historical figure day and career day on Thursday. Each team was awarded points for participation, the goal being to receive the least points possible. 

Friday morning started with chapel, team meetings and final cheer preparations. By 11:30 we were all on our way to a large park nearby for a brown bag picnic lunch, PTA sponsored bake sale, and fierce competition for bragging rights. 

Alex was on the black team, Stephanie the white team and Bob on the blue team. Nothing like putting all family members on different teams to bring out the Chadduck competitive spirit. Each year the coveted Golden Eagle trophy is awarded to the winning team with the least points accumulated throughout the week.

Stephanie representing the white team

Alex representing the black team or should I say Bat Boy?

After all the events, the high school students beating the staff in tug of war and many laughs, the black team was awarded the Golden Eagle and bragging rights for the year. We were told many students attend KCS for years and are never on the winning team so Alex is very fortunate to be on the winning team his first year at KCS. Way to go black team!

While attending Sports Day I learned why Japanese playgrounds do not have grass but instead have a sand/dirt mixture. A parent told me playgrounds are dirt to keep the Mamushi snakes away. (Mamushi is a Japnese pit viper or moccasin found in China, Japan and Korea). We were told by several people who have lived in Japan for many years you rarely see one and many people have never seen one. Their reassurance lead us to believe they are not easy to find and not very common in our region.

Well, we saw one on a walk our first six weeks in Japan and it freaked me out! I had been walking home with the family in the dark on a paved trail in flip flops and as we walked under a street light we saw one on the side of the road! 

I hate snakes and about had a heart attack after thinking I had been walking for half an hour along this dark trail in flip flops and here is a MAMUSHI! Bob still has not heard the end of it since I started down the dark path under protest in my flip flops anyway. If you ask him he will tell you we were in no danger at all and as soon as the snake saw us it took off but it still freaks me out to think I walked all along that grassy trail in the dark in flip flops!

Mamushi, Japanese pit viper or moccasin

Home Stay Student-
This past weekend we had Kazuyo, one of our Mukogawa home stay students visit and stay with us. She and Marina were the very first students we hosted and it was so wonderful to see her again after almost two years. When we said goodbye to them in the states we did not have plans to come to Japan and had no idea we would ever be living in Japan. Our family was so sad to say goodbye not knowing if we would ever see them again.

What a wonderful reunion! She traveled two hours by train to meet us and attended the Clark's monthly International Night and taco bar. We had a fun night of games, worship and a short presentation of the gospel in Japanese which was translated for us English only speakers. It was great to introduce her to many KCS students and staff and get to see our dear friend again.

Kazuyo and the Chadduck Family in front of our home

Fun visit with Kazuyo

Fall has Arrived-

The cooler temperatures at night, ripe persimmons on the tree in the back yard, and kids walking to school in uniforms tell me it is fall. It feels like fall but looks a lot different here since everything is still really green. They are just starting to harvest the rice fields and I am going to miss the beautiful green fields on my walk to work. They remind me so much of the wheat fields around Eastern Washington. I miss Greenbluff a lot with all the wonderful smells and our annual trip to get pumpkins, buy apples and eat at one of the local farms. I can not recall a year we did not take the family there and get pictures in the pumpkin patch. Keeping with tradition, I am looking forward to my October pumpkin spice latte the next time I am near a Starbuck's. 

Persimmon tree in our back yard

Japanese acorn from a nearby playground

Happy Fall to everyone. This is one of my favorite times of the year. May you be blessed with good conversation over warm soups, hot coffee and visits with great friends. We think of home often and are blessed to be in a wonderful group of fellow believers who are so gracious, kind and thoughtful towards our family. God is so good to us. Praise be to God for his faithfulness and loving kindness towards us.

In Chirst,

The Chadducks