Japan has one of the shortest summer breaks in the world, so when it’s here, you’ve gotta make the most of it.
What's up people of my heart? Matsuri time.
Eat some shaved ice!
But I guarantee you, summer here is like no where else in the world.
Look at mine! What did you get, Sarah?
I got melon.
Oh that looks good, I want to try some, Becca!
How is it? It's like a drink! I put too much on.
Oh my! Look at the line for the Yakisoba.
This summer break has been great, and it all leads up to a grand finale like no other.
[Life in Japan Theme Song]
Well guys!
This is our very own Tama River, how about that?
This is the Tama? This is the Tama River.
Sarah chan!
Whoa, awesome!
Here she goes!
Whoa!
Watch and learn!
Yeah! Whoa!
Look at these guys!
Where is the end of this?
What are you working on? Crocheting.
Crocheting? What are you croucheting now?
A lizard. A lizard!
What will the lizard's name be?
Eggy. Eggy?
Oh nice.
Oh, it looks like you've got part of it done already, huh?
I got the body done, now I just got to do the head, the legs and the spiky part.
Mommy will help me on the spiky part because I don't know how to do it.
Nice.
Next time I think I'm going to do a kangaroo or a unicorn.
Oh.
After that, I'll be thinking. I would like you to do a unicorn.
I want to see you make a unicorn.
Let me see...
Bad cards.
You do have some bad tiles. Joshua's got some challenging tiles, huh?
Oh, and I can't. Did you go Josh—Becca—Anna?
Oh yea, I did.
Summer break this year sure came with some surprises too, not least of which was something Ruth got in the mail.
Ah, I've been waiting for this bag!
It's a Gaston Luga bag.
Gaston Luga. Luga.
Luga! Luga!
It's a Swedish brand.
Look at it! This is the mini messenger!
Oh, it's beautiful!
I'm going to Shibuya tonight, and I am going to use this bag.
Changing up the way things look can sure be a nice, whether it’s a bag, room or even a hairstyle.
Whoa, whoa! What happened while I was gone?
Uh, we cleaned up our room.
You cleaned up your room? Or I should say I cleaned up our room.
Yeah. Whoa.
Nice. I even did Joshua's bed.
Yeah. Joshua got a haircut. Big time, huh?
It's so comfy!
Mmmm, oh let us just get, oh yeah!
Feel right here!
It's a toy. It's a baby toy.
The heat means that when you get some clouds, it’s a great time to go out and play outside,
and boy have we had some clouds this summer — and it hasn’t been just clouds either.
Heading out the park, huh guys?
Going to enjoy — look it! Just a crazy-cloud day.
This summer we’ve had our share of tropic storms move through, bringing hot and humid weather with it.
You never knew when you were going to get — clear skies or torrential downpours.
I found myself often filming the wild weather, and it wasn’t just me.
Whoa!
Becca, my daughter, is at it, getting the timelapse of the epic sunset.
Oh my goodness!
I stepped in water! Anna, it's wet right there.
Oh my! I almost dropped my phone.
And it wasn’t just the girls who got inspired — Ruth showed us all how to bake something special.
Guess what I just did? What did you do?
My first reel. Your first reel?!
Easy Banana — chocolate chip banana cake.
This must be the real thing right here. We get to eat it!
Hey, did you guys hear? What?
There's supposed to be fireworks tonight, did you hear that?
Yea, Sophie told us.
I know but, it's like... look! It's raining right now outside. That's not a good sign for fireworks.
Well this has been the story all week, hasn't it?
But that's good because it gets cold then.
Yeah, that is nice, it cools off some, doesn't it?
With a good dousing of rain just before the fireworks show, our expectations for the show even happening were low.
What are we doing out here? Trying to see some fireworks.
We're going to see if they shoot a test shot for the fireworks, right?
And maybe we can see it from here.
We unfortunately did not see a test shot. We saw something better.
Breaking news: fireworks are everywhere!
Fireworks!
Is that the ending?
It's a cool way to watch them, isn't it Becca? Mmm hmm.
It might be the ending. No!
Not yet.
It was certainly not the ending, as the fireworks show went on for nearly an hour.
Being able to see it from our building was certainly one of this summer’s highlights, but it was not the grand finale of our summer.
That would come later still.
The next morning, it would be us creating a special surprise for a certain birthday girl.
Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday.
Find the hearts. Let's search.
10 of them.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 , 9...
Ten is hard.
It's on a corner. Oh, 10?
Yep.
Sarah chan!
Each kid made a presentation of their own card.
These are all the flowers?
Aww, so pretty.
Some used it as an opportunity to drop a hint.
If we move, let's try to get a house that we can get a puppy.
My goodness.
But after the cards were presented and lunch came, it was time for momma chan to chose where we would go.
Where would she chose?
Here comes the momma chan on her birthday.
Oh yea, looking good!
Karazushi, Momma's choice today. That's right.
It’s not only this channel that wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Momma chan, it’s the whole family,
so we like to celebrate her!
I'm across from the sushi champion.
Oh, you're already getting going? Wait, we didn't pray.
I know, we need to pray and bless Momma chan.
Ruth’s birthday choice can look very different, depending on whether we’re here, in America or in Brazil.
Joshua's determined to hammer the salmon down.
Dude! Sushi pro.
Is that your favorite here?
That and tempura.
Oh yeah!
And it wouldn’t be an authentic trip to Kurazushi without a prize.
What did we get Sarah? We finally won something, but what was it?
I can open it.
No, I will. Watch your cup, please.
And it wouldn’t be a prize if it wasn’t nearly impossible to open.
Ready? I'm going to see first!
But perhaps one of the most inescapable facts of summer break in Japan is homework,
and as break comes to an end, it’s crunch time.
Whoa Dude! Working on the summer break homework?
Wow, way to go.
Soon Ruth’s sister Debbie brought over a surprise of her own, one that I got excited about.
Ah! Look at this! A little cheese and crackers
A cheese board! It looks freakin good! For Ruth's birthday!
And with Summer break coming to an end, the kids wanted to get in their last wishes.
What's going on Sarah?
Are you guys having a campout inside?!
I got my own fan, I've got my own water bottle.
And I got my bed.
And the girls over here, huh? Yea.
We have all the space for a home campout here, how fun!
Yea, barely enough space! Barely!
As the next morning dawned, it was as if the the schools were calling the kids back again.
While they weren’t exactly excited about that, they were excited about what that meant.
Three and a Two, and a Three, Two, One...
Sarah... OK
Dear Jesus, thank you for this wonderful day, thank you for this wonderful food.
Please bless this food and please help us have a wonderful time shopping in Jesus name, amen.
Amen. Shopping!
Oh yeah!
These are the last couple days of freedom before school starts back up again.
Next time on Life in Japan
Back to school shopping is underway and Ruth show us what all goes into the unique world of Japanese school supplies.
Ok Momma chan... Yes?
Did we get everything that we needed to get?
Well! And more.
All of the supplies that they need for school are intense.
And then in two weeks Ruth is going to check off a bucket list item: climb Mount Fuji.
We're ready to go!
Here we go!
There it is! Just the tip!
Barely.
But will the weather hold out for them, or destroy their hopes.
It's going to for sure rain on us! Yea.
Like those clouds and those clouds. I'm sure that's just like a vroom of rain.
It’s the grand finale of this epic summer, so don’t forget to subscribe to see more of Life in Japan.