TFiJ34: Trekking the Northern Japanese Alps, Day 1
Last year young Luke climbed his first mountain, Mt. Tateyama, here in Toyama Prefecture. This year’s trekking trip was more ambitious- 3 days, 2 nights in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture. What an amazing trip! This episode, the first in a series of three, tells the story of our 1st day, one that featured a climb up the largest field of year-round snow in Japan, the “Daisekkei”. With this video I’m aiming to not only tell a family story, but also to introduce what it’s like to trek in this beautiful part of our world. Hope you like it!
TFiJ30: Luke goes on a field trip
Summer vacation has finally arrived, and I’m back in Toyama for a nice long two-month break. I can hardly believe this- I’ve never had such a long break before in my working life. One of my plans is to get caught up on my video editing. I’ve got lots of great footage from family events during the past 4 months. To get things started, here is a nice little documentary-style clip about Luke going on a biology field trip the other day.
Luke is in the midst of 2nd grade, and for his science class, everyone split into groups and walked (with the help of parent volunteer chaperones) to various nature spots around the school to search for bugs. The day of the event (July 21st) wa/tmp/TFiJ30poster.jpgs very warm and humid, but the sky was filled with heavy clouds. Rainy season is not quite finished, so instead of the set plan, they decided to walk Luke’s group to the park in front of our house! This meant that I had to basically walk home, then walk back again in order to get the car to return home again. Since I had my video camera, however, I took it as a chance to capture some scenes of our neighborhood, to show you what Toyama looks like in the heart of summer. You can also see the route Luke walks each day to school (no school buses here!).
In the end, the weather held out just long enough. On the walk back the heavens opened up and it was dogs and cats everywhere! The only person without an umbrella or rain coat was me- ha! I got totally soaked, but it was no problem- my camera is waterproof, and the water felt very refreshing.
I hope you like this clip. If you have any comments, feel free to leave one below! I’ll also be posting this on my Facebook page, so you can see and comment on it there.
TFiJ29: Fountain Fun
Wow! It’s been a dog’s age since my last blog post. Well, you know the routine- life is busy, blah blah blah. Good news- summer break is in two weeks, and then I’ll be off for two solid months! Wooo hooo! I’ll be making up for lost time then, what with all the good material I have for video clips. We’ve really been enjoying our weekends since I started this new job at Togaku. Time is precious, and for the most part we’ve been making good use of it. So look for a flurry of fun clips in the coming months as I strive to get caught up.
To get things started, here is an example of what I’m talking about, a clip entitled “Fountain Fun.” Here in Toyama it’s starting to get real hot and humid. On the way back from Luke’s soccer game this past Saturday (June 27th, 2009), Luke spotted a fountain in a park as we drove past. There were many children playing there. He immediately said, “papa, let’s go!”, and I spun the car quickly around. We were totally unprepared, but it didn’t matter- Luke had no qualms about going in his skivvies, like most of the other kids. We had such a great time. Later that day, I took Luke and Max to another park, one near our home, one with a really big fountain designed for kids to play in. Again, total blast!
TFiJ27: Luke’s swim meet
Luke participated in the annual Toyama City Junior Swim Meet on February 11th, a national holiday in Japan*. This was his 2nd time of swiming in this meet. It’s a big race at the big Toyama Citizen’s Pool, with all of the local swim clubs sending their best swimmers.
Luke, as the youngest member of the Yatsuo SC, swam in three events: 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke, and the 100m individual medly. He and his mama had been training for months for this race, but just two days before, Luke came down with a wicked temperature of 39.3 (that’s 103 for those of you in Fahrenheight countries). Ouch! We took him to the doctor, he got some good medicine, stayed home from school for a day, then felt much better.
On the morning of the race, he was super excited to go, and even though his temperature was still a bit above normal, he was genki and rarin’ to swim. Fortunately his three events weren’t until the afternoon, so he could sleep in and take it easy during the morning hours.
The following video chronicles Luke’s races. I hope you enjoy watching our boy fly! He didn’t set any best times, but as usual he was best in his age group and even managed to swim faster than kids a year or two older than him.
We’re really proud of Luke’s fighting spirit and energy. He didn’t wimp out even though he has ample excuse to. If he keeps up his training, his swimming future is very bright.
Shinobu is doing a fantastic job coaching him. He’s learning a lot a advanced techniques for someone so young. Basically, she focuses on building up his fundamentals and has put him on a fast track competition-wise in order to build up his confidence and experience. He is ALWAYS the youngest swimmer in the race, so he always finishes 1st. He has become used to standing on top of the award stand and expects it to happen everytime. This will help him a lot in the coming years!
We really hope Luke can enjoy this unique situation he’s in and strive to be his best. Watching his confidence grow from his efforts and accomplishments is a real joy to behold.
*Okay, quiz time: February 11th is what holiday in Japan? Leave your answer in a comment below.
A Talandis film festival
Wow, its been over two months since my last blog post! Suffice it to say I’ve been busy! I hope to make up for it over the winter break, however. To get things started, I’d like to share three videos with you, episodes 21, 22, and 23 of our family video podcast. Consider this my Christmas present to you!
TFiJ21-Family trip to Universal Studios Japan
Here are some highlights from our family trip to Universal Studios Japan this past summer.
This trip came about because we had to get Max’s US passport (and renew Luke’s), and the only place we could do that was at the USA consulate in Osaka. They have a new rule stating that the person applying for the passport must appear in person, so that meant we all had to go. So if we have to go to Osaka, why not make a family vacation of it? Thus the idea to visit USJ was born…
Long story short- we had a great time, but it was just too hot hot hot! Wow, was it hot! This made things difficult. Another problem was that I insisted we travel there by train. I thought it would be much easier than driving, but boy was I wrong! Max was noisy and figidy the entire way, and it was a total struggle on the cramped train. And it was hot hot hot! You can imagine.
Oh well. Check out the video for all the good parts of our journey.
TFiJ22-Luke’s 7th birthday photo shoot
It has become a family tradition to take our kids to a pro photographer on the day of their birthdays. Here are some scenes from Luke’s 7th photo shoot, again held at Studio Alice in downtown Toyama City. This place does a great job to make it fun for kids and families, as you can see from the clip.
TFiJ23-The Grape Adventure
Here’s a really mellow clip about a fun family outing we made back in September to a local Toyama winery. Wine growing is not big around here (brewing sake is), but they do make pretty good wine at this place. It was a national holiday (Fall Equinox Day), and the weather was great. We had a chance to catch some rays in the beautiful countryside. The grapes were a pain to eat, but it was still fun. The kids had a nice time. I enjoyed the wine tasting! The wine was pretty good- the grape varietals were unfamiliar to me, but the red and white versions had a nice taste. I can see us going back here someday!
So there you have it! Nothing for two months, then a deluge! I miss you all as usual, and I hope you all have a great Christmas and holiday season. I’ll aim to get at least one more video out before New Years.
TFiJ20: Luke & papa do a triathlon
On a hot hot HOT day in July (Saturday the 13th, to be exact), Luke and papa participated in the annual Yatsuo Triathlon. This was my 2nd time, having previously done it in 1999. Of course it was Luke’s first time. I did the “athletes” course, which consisted of a 750 meter swim in the pool (where Shinobu works), followed by a 16km bike ride on a hilly course, and finishing with a 5km run. Luke did the kid’s course: 100m swim, 2km bike, 1km run.
Oh, did I mention it was a VERY HOT & HUMID DAY?
The week before I practiced each day with Luke. His difficult point was riding a bike, especially with going up hills. Since there were a couple of inclines on the kid’s bike course, Shinobu and I were rather concerned. Using his old kiddy bike, there was no way he could ride up even a slight hill, so a few days before the race we ended up buying him a new bike! “It’s an early birthday present”, we told ourselves. This new bike had 5 speeds, so he was able to go up hills better, but would it be enough? We were worried…
Papa’s race started at 9 am. The swimming was very hectic. Since it was in a pool, each swimmer had to go down and back three times (150m), making sure to duck under the lane divider each length. The start was staggard, but since there was such a difference in ability, it wasn’t long before guys were passing and lapping each other. It was a nightmare ducking under the lane dividers, as there were often several swimmers pushing and shoving for position! I had to take care not to get kicked in the face.
After the swim, I ran outside and down to the bike changing area. I had my spot, and proceeded to change into bike mode. I wasn’t rushing, knowing it would take all I had and more just to survive the entire distance on the HOT HOT HOT day. Luke and Shinobu were cheering me on. When they saw I wasn’t rushing, they started teasing me: “Hurry up, Papa! You’re too slow!!!” they shouted. It was funny.
The bike course was a ride through the foothills of nearby Yamada village. The first part was this VERY LONG incline, and boy was it a killer. After that it got better, and the final bit was going down that long incline. That was fun!
The running course was thankfully flat and simple- just three laps from bridge to bridge on the Ida river, next to the pool. Still, it was HOT HOT HOT, so this part of the race was very difficult. Thankfully they had water stops, so I made sure to douse myself in ice cold water frequently. While cooling me off, this also made my socks and shoes very squishy and heavy! I shuffled along, leaving a trail of watery footsteps behind.
Finally I finished! I was very happy that I could make it. Immediately, however, I climbed up a hill to watch Luke come in on his bike. Shinobu and I cheered him on, as you can see in the video. We were really proud of him! He ended up with a gold medal for his trouble, a prize given to all the kids who finished. He’s only seven years old, and already he’s gaining a lot of great experience, not to mention health and fitness.
In the end we all had a good time despite the heat. We’re looking forward to doing the race again next year.
Here’s the video. Please leave a comment and let us know what you think.
TFiJ19: Sports day 2008
Wow! It’s been over one month since my last blog post! Ouch! Same old story- busy busy busy. My excuse this time is a PhD proposal I’m trying to write over the summer break. Anyway, a lot has happened in the past weeks, so I’ll redouble my efforts at getting you all caught up.
First, lets go back to early May- Luke has just started elementary school, and one of the first big events in the school calendar was soon upon him: Sports Day. What is Sports Day? Well, imagine the Olympics, only held within one school. The student body divides into 3 or 4 teams, each of a different color. They paint this elaborate mural of a team mascot, usually of some ferocious animal. Then, everyone practices practices practices for weeks leading up to the big day. There are “real” sports like relay sprints, and more game-like events such as chicken fights, an obstacle course, and tossing bean bags into a basket. It’s all rather surreal to my eyes. I managed to capture a bit of this experience and have edited together in a rather cheeky way. I hope you like it!
I have some more video projects nearing completion, so I hope it won’t be another month before I can post them! I also want to get you all caught up with family news, so I’ll be posting about that soon.
TFiJ16: Luke enters elementary school
Hey! At long last, here is the video I promised that covers Luke’s entrance ceremony into elementary school. This took place on April 7th, 2008, and it was a big deal, as all these ceremonies are here. Parents came all dressed to the T, including many women who dolled themselves up with expensive haircuts and kimonos.
The ceremony was supposed to start at 9:30 am, but as you can guess, were were “late” again, like we were for Luke’s recent kindergarten graduation. Actually, we were half and hour “early”, but somehow managed to be the last ones to arrive! Oh well. 15 years in this country and you’d think I’d get the timing down one of these days…
I had my camera in hand, of course, and was able to take some good video. I hope you enjoy this little clip. I tried to keep all of the interesting parts (cultural things) and cut out the boring ones (overly long speeches).
Anyway, I’d appreciate a quick comment below if you can see it. I really like getting comments on our videos. It’s a fun way to stay in touch. For example, do you have any questions about Japanese customs after watching this? Or any observations on how they do things over here? I’d be very interested to know what you think. Finally, feel free to share this clip with anyone you think would be interested.
Bonus question: Can you find Luke in this picture?
Finally, as always, if you’d like to see a higher quality QuickTime version of this clip, just click here.
TFiJ15: Luke graduates from kindergarten
Hey! Long time no post. Life is finally getting back to normal for me, with the New Zealand trip gradually receding to the back of my conscious mind. I still have some more videos to edit and a DVD to produce, but that’s about it. The school year begins in a couple of weeks, and my mind is filled with the annual rites of spring.
One of those rites is graduation ceremonies. As you may know, the Japanese school year begins in April and ends the following March. We had our thing at TCFL last week, and this week, on Tuesday, Luke had his kindergarten graduation ceremony. That’s right, no typo- Luke, a six year old boy, graduated from kindergarten! They hold these ceremonies after every level of school, and boy, what a production it was! So, without further ado, check out this little nugget of Japanese culture:
UPDATE: Hey! I’ve just reposted this clip over at Blip.tv
so you can now see a much bigger and better version! No more YouTube for me! Yay!!!
For a higher quality viewing experience, click here to watch a QuickTime version of this clip.
UPDATE: (4/9/08) Oh! I’ve just discovered Adobe Photoshop Express, and I’m totally geeking out about this new web-based photo application. Here is a test album. Can you see the photos of Luke’s graduation?
TFiJ14: Luke learns snowboarding
Wow, we sure had a busy weekend! Luke went snowboarding with mama on Saturday, with papa on Sunday, and then had his first official big swim race yesterday (February 11th is a national holiday here). I took some video on Sunday, and wow! Luke was AMAZING! You have to see him go, especially when compared with three weeks ago, when he started snowboarding for the first time on a ski slope. The kid is a star, and is a natural at sports! With his mama’s tireless and excellent instruction, he has picked up the basics of snowboarding WAY FASTER than I did! And he’s only SIX YEARS OLD! Check this video out- the story of Luke learning to snowboard. It’s a dream come true to be zooming down a mountain with my son!!! I can’t express how amazing it feels. I’m really excited for the future. We’re going to have a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy watching our amazing little boy zoom as much as this doting parent has!
Again, to see this video in higher quality, click on this link to a QuickTime version of it.
TFiJ12: 1st time skiing 2008
Hey all, long time no post. I’m back with another video podcast episode, this one focusing on our first time skiing this season. Our little adventure took place during the annual new year holidays, which lasts for three full days. New Years is the biggest holiday of the year around these parts, the time of year when everyone gets together to watch TV, go shopping, and if the weather is good, head out to the mountains for some skiing. 
This clip sees our family head out to a sports shop to get Luke some new skis, as he has already outgrown the stuff we got for him two years ago. After that we headed home and tried out his new gear with our Wii Fit, this amazing balance board gizmo that allows for some amazing balance-related gaming. Finally, on January 3rd, we managed to head out to Ushidake, a small family ski area only 25 minutes drive from our house. It was Shinobu’s first time out in two years, since last year she couldn’t go due to her pregnancy. It was a cloudy day, and the snow wasn’t great, but we had a blast. Luke took a while to get the hang of it, but soon he was zooming down the mountain. How cool is it to fly down a mountain with your children? Totally way awesome cool.
As usual, I to see a high quality QuickTime version of this clip, click here.
TFiJ08: Luke practices soccer
Every Monday evening, we take Luke to soccer practice at the Yatsuo Sports Arena (where Shinobu used to work). This video clip chronicles a typical session- the kids do basic ball handling drills, then play a short game. Luke seems to enjoy running around and kicking the ball very much, as you can see. The practices are led by a former pro-soccer player from Toyama, Hasegawa Taiki. He’s a nice guy, and Luke gets on with him very well.
It’s amazing to see my little boy running around! Seems like only a short while ago he was barely able to crawl. When I watch him run and laugh, I get that strong “boy, time sure does fly” kind of feelings. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little clip. It’s another little slice-of-life story from our daily lives here in Japan.
If you have QuickTime installed and would like to see a higher quality version of this clip, please click here.
iPod Kids
Hey, get a load of this great new photo of Max and Luke. Cool, eh? Shinobu and I have submitted this picture to a local photo contest. We like it a lot- Max is wearing an iPod jumper that we bought online from iPopMyBaby. Luke is kissing her, like he always does. Cute, eh? He he he… or are you gagging with a spoon and rolling your eyes?
Anyway, I thought this photo would bring a smile to your face. I’ll let you all know if it wins anything! (I’m rooting for 3rd prize, a new iPod Shuffle!)
TFiJ03: Luke’s first swim race
For this podcast, we go back in time a bit, back to March 11th of this year to be precise. That day, while Shinobu was resting in the hospital after delivering Max, Luke took part in his first ever swim competition. The event was the first annual Yatsuo-community swim meet, a for-fun competition designed to encourage and promote swimming as a form of physical exercise. The event was held at our local pool, where Shinobu is working now, by the way.
Young and old gathered to swim in various non-serious events for the joy of it. So, while some races had real good swimmers from local teams, others consisted of ojii-chan & obaa-chan (grandpa and grandma) slugging it out.
Luke took part in the 25 meter kick-board race. For his age group (5 or 6 year olds), there were only 6 participants, of which Luke was the only boy. We got to the pool early so he could warm up. Members of the local Yatsuo elementary school swim team (which Shinobu used to coach before her heart attack two years ago) were on hand to help him out. They took Luke in like a mascot, giving him pointers on how to do a jump start. It was so fun to watch- Luke was having a great time hanging out with the older kids. For the first time ever Luke managed to jump off a starting block- an unforgettable moment I captured on tape!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video. Let me know what you think by clicking on the “Comments” link below. Also, if you have QuickTime 7 installed and wish to view a higher quality version of this clip, just click here.
TFiJ02: Luke’s 6th Birthday
Hey everyone! Sunday, July 29th was a very special day around these parts: Luke’s 6th birthday! We had a really nice day, and I’d like to share some of the highlights with you for our 2nd podcast episode.
Be began our day leisurely, by hanging out and relaxing at home. In the afternoon we took Luke to our local Toys-R-Us for present shopping. He had a virtual blank check, as mama and papa were in a generous mood! After having fun looking around, he settled on buying a new Wii computer game called “Super Mario Party 8.”
After shopping, we headed over to a studio for his annual photo shoot. We have this tradition in our family- each year, on his birthday, Luke gets his picture taken professionally. We had a blast adding to our collection this year. With numerous costumes to choose from, Luke chose the traditional Japan look this year- a “hakama“, a type of kimono worn usually by men. Our little samurai ended up looking very cool!
Finally, to top the day off, we met some of our friends (former members of Shinobu’s swim team) at Il Chianti, a great Italian restaurant in Toyama City. A fun time was had by all.
I hope you enjoy this little video! Let me know what you think by leaving a comment. As always, if you’d like a higher quality QuickTime version of this video, just click here. (You may need to wait a bit for the file to download)
Hello! My name is Gerald Talandis Jr, and I'm the webmaster of this blog. I'm using it as a tool for staying in touch with family in friends around the world. I've been in Japan since 1993 and currently teach English at 
This is my wife, Shinobu. She's originally from 
Luke was born on July 29th, 2001. He is now an elementary school student and loves sports, like his mama. Each week, Luke swims, plays soccer, and goes to a gymnastics class. He is also studying English and dreams of visiting the USA someday and becoming an Olympic swimmer, like his hero Michael Phelps.
Our daughter Max was born on March 7th, 2007. She is currently attending nursery school and is learning to walk, talk, and eat by herself without making a mess. She is growing by leaps and bounds, and loves Micky Mouse, Hello Kitty, and Anpanman.