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  • Golden Week is here, a series of national holidays in Japan when hotels, parks and tourist destinations pack out with people wanting a great vacation experience.

  • But spring time weather is hit and miss in Japan, which makes planning a fun experience all the more tricky.

  • We have some ideas for new experiences, but will they pan out or not?

  • It's time to launch into Golden Week Life in Japan style. Here we go!

  • [Life in Japan Theme Song]

  • Freezing! So what is it that we do right before Golden Week?

  • Costco run before the holidays start, so we don't have to deal with Costco during the holidays.

  • An extended vacation means kids will be at home, so we'd better be prepared to feed them all.

  • Our fridge and freezers are near empty, so today's trip needs to not only cover Golden Week, but the rest of May as well.

  • Do that over Golden Week. Let's try it!

  • We got the meat train going on here today, look at that! Dude.

  • Sushi! We're getting it!

  • We're ready for another round of the pandemic, just in case.

  • Feeding a family of six means stocking up on food,

  • and although the grocery bills get bigger, the price of eating per person actually goes down.

  • That's the economics of scale for you

  • I haven't been to Costco for a long time. It's been a long time, hasn't it?

  • So, biggest purchase in a long time, huh? Biggest purchase.

  • ¥65,000, almost ¥66,000 (around $500) My goodness.

  • But we have Costco points, so we only paid ¥56,000 (~$400). Yeah, that was nice.

  • And with that, we were stocked up, ready for a hearty Golden Week.

  • So on our last Costco video, people wondered where do we put everything when we get home.

  • It's a challenge! It's like a puzzle.

  • It's a puzzle and you like your puzzles.

  • Is this our first Golden Week meal?

  • Wow! We're chowing on the sushi, huh?

  • I am! You are, wow!

  • I guess so.

  • This is the good student Sarah, getting at her homework early in the break.

  • So it's all done, and then you can just enjoy yourself after that, huh?

  • Yeah. Nice.

  • One of the first things on our list of things to do for Golden Week was to visit a park we've heard a lot about,

  • but never have actually visited together as a family.

  • We were all ready to go on the first day, but the weather did not cooperate.

  • All of our fun would have to be done indoors.

  • It's Golden Week, but it's rainy today, so what is Sarah doing? Switch.

  • SwitchMinecraft.

  • If you jump up and just do nothing with your hands, then your hands just go wild.

  • Is that so?

  • These discoveries we're making, huh?

  • Amazing Dude.

  • Look at my hands. I see them.

  • What is going on with the kids?!

  • All done?

  • I think they miss school. Oh, do you miss school, Joshua?

  • Yep. Kind of.

  • Oh! Kind of? Oh, wow.

  • The next day was a completely different story

  • It's just beautiful through here.

  • It rained all day yesterday, which means I'm getting wet walking through here,

  • But I just love coming down here.

  • We got ourselves quite a bit of water.

  • What are we doing today guys? Kodomo no Kuni.

  • Long time no see!

  • You guys came here for when? 5th grade.

  • Let's look at the map here. Wow, this place is huge, guys!

  • This is where we danced. It's ginormous!

  • Right here! Oh, you danced there?

  • Right here. Yea, it's down there.

  • What a pretty day.

  • My hat might fall off! Oh no!

  • Oh your hat! I'll save it, I'll save it.

  • Oh! Look behind you.

  • Oh, I think we found our next spot.

  • Becca, you got to see this — a butterfly in here!

  • I'm trying to climb up right now.

  • There's the butterfly. OK, bye bye.

  • Hi! Hi hi

  • I can see myself in the mirror.

  • OK bye. Bye.

  • The sun is hitting it and just drying up, wow.

  • This is why it's only until 12 years old, we can not fit in here hardly.

  • I hear a voice but I don't see anybody.

  • Hello! Hi!

  • Are you having fun? Yea.

  • It's wet. I agree, it is wet.

  • Making our way up, up and away.

  • Here we go.

  • Oh sweet. I see it. There's a big bridge.

  • They have my sport here that I love to do in the States: disc golf.

  • How are you even going to get it in?

  • Well you have to throw it into those chains.

  • And it's just like golf, but you use discs like frisbees to throw it.

  • Yea, that was in America.

  • Go and check that America video again.

  • Yea, that's right!

  • Here we go, across the big bridge.

  • It moves up and down a little bit, doesn't it?

  • And it's a long ways down too.

  • Whoa! OK, I can't look down, it's so scary.

  • I'm glad we remembered to take our sleds because last time we went to Yamanakako we forgot our sleds.

  • Yea, and they sure help on these slides, don't they?

  • Uh huh, so your butt doesn't hurt. Wow, this one looks cool, guys.

  • And look, there's like pictures on the roller slide.

  • Yeah, you're right, aren't there?

  • I'm excited! You're excited?! I can see.

  • I'm too excited. You're so excited too?

  • I remember going to the longest roller slide in Japan... Yes...

  • That was a great video, huh? That was a lot of fun.

  • It was long but it was slow.

  • Some parts of it were mega fast though. This one doesn't look like it's very fast, does it?

  • It's almost our turn, guys!

  • It's almost our turn! It's almost our turn! It's almost our turn! I know it! I know it! I know it!

  • Happy face.

  • Oh she's going!

  • My heart is beating like so much right now!

  • Alright Dude!

  • OK? Adeus, Amigo.

  • Oh there goes Anna! I didn't even see you!

  • I hear somebody coming down fast! And look!

  • Joshua!

  • Come Sarah

  • And last but not least, Rebecca chan!

  • Is that hard? Yes!

  • You practically stopped!

  • What do they call this? The toilet bowl?

  • Flush the toilet. Oh no!

  • Alright guys.

  • Somebody save Sarah! Save Sarah!

  • This is a cool place for the picture.

  • Becca, I think I got the awesome moment when your hat went flying off in slow motion.

  • I want to see it. Well we'll have to see it later.

  • Ok, let's go see what there is to eat. OK.

  • Whose jacket? Joshua.

  • Let's tie it around your waste. Don't forget your camera.

  • Beautiful Sony B cam, in the grass enjoying a nice Spring day.

  • With Sarah! With Sarah.

  • Oh you're so cute!

  • Sarah's always been a fan of the camera, huh? Yea.

  • Even when I was a baby.

  • Take good care of the little baby.

  • Lunchtime, who's going to pray today? Momma will.

  • OK, Momma chan.

  • Dear Jesus, thank you for this day, thank you for this food and the fun time we're having.

  • We pray you'll bless this food and bless the rest of our time, in Jesus' name, Amen.

  • Amen! Alright, hot dogs, digging in, digging in! Here we go.

  • Oh Anna, Yakisoba, sophisticated.

  • And Sarah, chowing into Daddy's fries!

  • Where is Joshua? Oh there he is! We're helping Mommy go uphill.

  • You're helping Mommy? After lunch everyone's like "Oh no, hills, no!"

  • There's fish, do you see them? They're very interested!

  • Awesome

  • Go, go.

  • The Momma chan's turn.

  • Daddy chan's turn.

  • They're getting ready for the Amazon!

  • Having fun Joshua?

  • Whoa, Sarah and Joshua have the ride, huh?

  • The girls are sweating, they're taking off their jackets!

  • They're doing great. It's harder than it looks though, I think.

  • I want to try touching a leaf.

  • OK push towards Mommy now.

  • Becca, you're flipping the wrongthere! No, wrong way

  • Anna's side has to be over here.

  • Oh know! I'm trying to do that right now.

  • You guys have to work together.

  • Whoa- how was it guys? Anna, hard work? Fun.

  • Was it cool? Yeah.

  • You push so hard and sometimes it gets stuck in the dirt so you have to pull it out.

  • And your arms get so sore. Yea!

  • Sometimes it gets stuck but you have to pull it but it's so hard and you're like "oh!"

  • At least nobody fell in, that was good, huh?

  • Yeah.

  • If they fall in, it's only one meter so we need to jump in and get wet and save them.

  • Oh but still, that's not how you want to remember your time here.

  • That could be a pretty good memory.

  • I saved a kid's life! Yeah.

  • Look at those leaves! The leaves?

  • Look at the shadows! Oh my goodness, they're huge!

  • And look at the shadow. The shadow?

  • It's so cute, like a flower.

  • No joke. Becca, you're stepping on it! Ahhh!

  • Daddy, slow mo! Slow mo? Hang on.

  • You guys look like you're so far in the air.

  • I'm the queen of the giraffes. [Singing] I'm the queen of the giraffes!

  • Look at that, a bamboo forest. That's kind of cool, huh? One of my friends in my class...

  • One of my friends in my class, they're right next to me, he loves snakes.

  • He even has a pet snake. He has a pet snake?!

  • What?! OK, I'm out of here.

  • Break it up smaller.

  • Put it... get it in your finger like this...

  • I want to! It's so scary!

  • It does look like a lion. That little brown one?

  • He's like "Sarah, do you have something I could eat?" No.

  • This guy, he's likehe thinks I'm going to give him something.

  • What does a rabbit say?

  • I don't know, but Aunt Beth has a scar from a rabbit bite.

  • Why? It bit her arm.

  • Oh Becca, this one is all open.

  • Whoa, isn't that cool? [gasping]

  • It's going to poop on us!

  • He's going to poop on us? I don't think so, but he got way up there, didn't he?

  • Whoa!

  • It's right over you Mommy, you might move.

  • Don't get leaked on!

  • You don't want him to hit us.

  • That's a girl? No, those are boys.

  • Can I try that? Well, I don't think he wants to be pet, he's running away.

  • What's it feel like Becca? They're not soft.

  • They're not soft?

  • They're not. They're prickly.

  • OK, No going until we're all in.

  • Here we go, shut the door,

  • Now open the other and watch where you walk.

  • Look at that one! How pretty! It looks fake.

  • Look, they blend in with the tree! Daddy!

  • This is what Honey Bear had as a pet...

  • Honey Bear?

  • In Berenstein Bears, that's the bird that Honey Bear got.

  • Oh, was it? Yeah, it was blue, remember?

  • Becca, do it right.

  • Those are all their little houses.

  • Guys how was that? Was that cool? Yeah.

  • The best one yet? Yeah.

  • Yes! I want to touch it!

  • Pet? You can't really pet those birds.

  • Oh look, it's the cutest little bird yet,

  • A little Sarah-bird-hatchling.

  • Aww, a little Anna-cluckster.

  • You look so weird!

  • You know what, I think it's time for a water break. What do you guys think?

  • No, I want ice cream!

  • Uh! We're getting a drink. We needed that drink, huh Dude?

  • Yep. You and Daddy share the same drink usually, right?

  • Oh yea, huh?

  • That's one of our favorites, isn't it? Yea.

  • And what are the girls drinking over here? Mitsuya Cider.

  • Mitsuya Cider, they do like their Mitsuya Cider.

  • It is a busy day here but it's been fun.

  • Ah, there's a bee, ah!

  • Becca is there a bee on me?

  • What do you want?

  • What did you get Sarah? Ah, Chocolate Mint.

  • OK, don't touch. Oh wow.

  • Oh! I got my ice cream, it's good. How's yours Joshua?

  • Good. Good? And Anna Cakes?

  • Good. Good, you got Double Chocolate it looks like.

  • Yum.

  • Kodomo no Kuni was a lot of fun, but you don't always have to go somewhere to have a good time.

  • Some of the best memories are made sharing special moments together.

  • You got a new massive gun? Yea.

  • And you guys are filling these up?

  • That thing is crazy!

  • I'm kind of scared of Sarah over here, she keeps squirting...

  • Go like that, and then twist it.

  • Wow, that's like a two-person job. I know.

  • And you twist it until you can't twist it anymore.

  • Yep, OK you can't twist it anymore. Yea, you can't.

  • See, look!

  • Holy cow! That is massive!

  • Mine is the tiniest. Don don don don! That's yours?

  • That little unicorn thing?

  • But I have the biggest tank.

  • You have to use that to your advantage then.

  • Hey!!

  • 3, 2, 1 go!

  • Are you retreating? This is what you get!

  • Hey Joshua, I have a big present for you. What?

  • The present is this!

  • It seems like it's a pretty even match actually!

  • The girlfriend makes a mean Yakisoba.

  • What's Sarah-ski up to?

  • How you going to play Minecraft like that?!

  • I'm looking. Oh, are you? Oh OK.

  • Oh Daddy's Yakisoba has some yummy veggies in it too!

  • And so our Golden Week is off to a golden start, and there's still a lot of it left.

  • Please comment about what your Golden Week is like

  • and don't forget, one of the best ways to show your appreciation for our videos is subscribing to our channel

  • We'll see you next time on Life in Japan. Bye bye.

Golden Week is here, a series of national holidays in Japan when hotels, parks and tourist destinations pack out with people wanting a great vacation experience.

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