We’re heading down the ocean coast for a weekend getaway in an old Japanese home near Atami.
We’ve heard there’s cherry and plum blossoms in bloom, and we want to see if it’s true.
But first we have to find our way to the home which we’ve heard is hard to get to.
It says one minute...
Is that it?
That looks like it — it is!
I'm not sure... no, that's it right there.
Is that the little house up there? Yep, that's it!
That's the little house! Look, that right up there!
[Life in Japan Theme Song]
I'm going to go look real quick and see if I can go straight up it...
Here it is, ok.
I'm going to climb up this because I want to see if I can turn around up here or not
Or if I have to back up this in the car
Oh man!
OK, that's where you can park right there
And up there is the house...
Oh, I think I'm going to have to back up this thing.
So guys, guess what we're going to do?
Back in. We're going to back in.
No no no! Can I walk up?
Wait, are we going to go down the mountain? No, we're going up the driveway.
Can we do this, Nate?!
It's scary. Scary, scary, scary, Mommy, save me!
I don't know if our car can make it! Yes it can.
This is officially my scariest experience ever!
Ever?! In the whole wide world!
Daddy's going up the mountain backwards!
Well maybe I could let you guys out so that... No!!!
I can't say words right now I'm so scared...
I think he can make it, but I'm scared that he can't.
Oh you can do it, don't go back forward, Daddy. They have the driveway kind of angled
Yeah. And it's a matter of learning the angle — just like our driveway.
Our driveway you have to find the angle too. Good job Dada, but I'm still scared we're going to get out of this place.
No, getting out is going to be easy.
We did it! We did it! Alright.
It's like a staircase up there.
A staircase up that way?
These are big! I can't open it.
You can't open it? I can open it.
Wait..
Oh my! Oh! That's your new office, Daddy!
Very cool! I'm going to go upstairs first.
There's the TV!
You found the fun room, huh?!
There's a dining room, next to the kitchen!
And oh!!
Look at this!
We'll have to figure out how to turn on all the heaters here.
Now I want to go and look upstairs. Is there rooms upstairs?
There's only two.
Well, maybe some of you will sleep up here... I want to sleep downstairs.
I want to sleep in this room though... Uh, I don't think this room is for sleeping.
Why? Oh, look at that view!
That's a high view Oh my goodness!
Oh man, this is scary if you fall down.
Fall! No, you have to plan on not falling.
Oh kids, can I see your room?
Drumroll?
Who's going to open the door? Anna!
Anna, open the door!
[Faint mumbling from inside] Oh, you open the door. You go in now.
Ah! Anna's in the massage chair!
Oh, look the futons are already for tonight
And Anna is busy on vacation. Yes I am.
So Ruth found this place online, it was cheap.
But the nice thing is that you get the whole house and that's good for our family
And you have to bring your own sheets and towels, so that's a little bit more work.
Are we having ramen? My favorite!
In this Japanese getaway house?
Yes we are. It's good.
It's good?
And here are the ladies, getting their ramen on — Nate, your ramen's getting cold...
My ramen's getting cold?! I gotta get it. Gotta get it.
If you know me, you know I like to get up and read my Bible. Oh my goodness, what a place to do that here today.
Look at this room here! Oh my goodness! You got the sunrise over there
The ocean out that way — oh man, this is nice.
You got the little personal heaters here, because it is cold. It is cold.
OK, we're loading up the car and we're going off on an excursion
We're going to see Mount Omoru... Omori? Something like that.
Omuro
Maybe some sakura, some plum blossoms, some fun parks and scenic places along the way
Our first stop will be Mt Omuro, a volcano that erupted a long time ago and created a lava path that went to the ocean.
Nowadays you can take a chairlift to the top and walk around the crater as you enjoy the commanding views of the area.
Since Omuro on the way to the Cherry blossoms in Kawazu, we’re going to stop and see it.
OK let's go stand in line. We're going to go up!
Oh boy, I hope it's not too cold up on the top.
It could be chilly! It's chilly already.
Here go the girls! Alright girls!
We go up the mountain.
Here it comes — watch how they do it Joshua, and sit down.
OK
Here it comes! Here it comes! Oh man!
Here we go!
Look at that over there! Mount Fuji behind us.
Whoa there's Momma and Sarah. How is it, guys?
Fun, but scary to look back.
Scary to look back?!
Wow, look behind us though, that's pretty awesome, huh?
Yeah, it's kind of scary.
Kind of scary but fun? Yeah, because the noise.
Be quiet. Do you hear it? Yeah, I hear it.
Yeah, that's so scary!
I feel like I could almost touch my feet on the ground.
Oh - oh! I got it! I got it! I got it!
You ready?!
Whoa guys, look at this! What a view!
Whoa! And there's Fuji san over there.
That's where the volcano came out of?
There used to be a top to this volcano, but it blew off in the explosion.
Are you guys being so careful?!
No, Becca's making everybody be so careful. Becca,kibishi (strict)
What do you think up here Sarah? Uh, scary.
Do it feel like you're at the top of the world?
Yea! But Becca makes sure that all of us are safe.
Guys! Joshua! Don't run.
Becca's such a big sister.
Oh my goodness guys, look, we've got a little bit of a climb now.
Here they come! Up the incline!
Momma chan and Joshua! Here comes Joshua! Alright Dude
There's snow on those mountains up there!
You see this coast right here? We're going to go down that a little more 'cause there's Sakura down there.
So Becca - what do you think?
Well I'm not scared but I'm scared for them. Oh, are you?
What a big sister!
Don't run Joshua!
On top of the world, Dude!
Momma chan and Sarah almost here! We're almost at the top!
Where all those houses are — that's all the lava flow. When the lava erupted, that's where it went.
Echo!! Yeah, I heard it. Are you going to do it?
Waaaaaah!!
That sounds like someone screaming for help, maybe that's not good.
OK, no more yelling!
And w'eve made it back to the chairlift, we can go back down.
Well that's cool.
Did you find a magnet? Oh yep, we did, look.
Oh! We already got a souvenir!
OK, heading back down!
Are we ready, Daddy?
Now we're going down — look at that view though, huh Dude? Oh my goodness!
Where's Mt Fuji? There it is!
Guys look at Mt Fuji over there! On the left.
Next stop - do you know what the next stop is? Yea, the climbing place?
Sakura! I hope it's good, I don't know, we'll find out.
It was another 45 minutes of driving down the beautiful Izu Peninsula coast,
and along the way we saw some promising signs of Sakura, the cherry-blossoms, although we feared that we might be still a bit too early.
This is pretty!
Oh there you go! Sarah start dancing!
That fruit looks good!
So Momma chan, the weather? In the shade it's cold but in the sun it's nice.
The Sakura was definitely beautiful, but only a few trees had bloomed,
so we got a bite to eat and continued on our loop back towards Atami,
climbing up the famous Izu Skyline drive, a highway that snakes along the uppermost parts of the ridge that makes up the Izu peninsula.
We were headed for Himenosawa Park, a huge hilly green space known for its great obstacle course,
and the Izu Skyline drive took us straight there.
What a view of Mt Fuji from here, huh?
Yeah, I know but they did a lot of work to make this whole road
They did a lot of work to make this whole road, you're right.
I don't know how they did this!
This is quite the climb already, oh my!
Easy peasy. Whoa, easy peasy are you sure?
One at a time, guys.
Sarah did it. There goes Becca.
Oh! It's so uphill, huh Dude? Yea.
Oh it's a bridge guys! Be careful, it's wobbly.
Wobbly bridge.
Oh it's like hiking. Mommy, over there is number 7.
Sarah is doing the hiking wall, wow! The climbing wall - go Sarah go!
Whoa! Wobbly wobbly wobbly chair.
Wobbly wobbly wobbly?!
Look what the kids just did. Up the big obstacle climb!
OK!
Oh you gotta pull it up. Go, do your best, pull, and then let go!
Go for it Joshua, that probably weights as much as you do, Dude!
Oh yeah.
Yes! Sarah chan, getting it!
Oh, did we find the next one? Is it a balance beam?
Mommy's going to do it, guys! Momma chan!
Alright!
I did it from the beginning to the end with some help!
Well awesome! Let's see what we're going to find next.
It's going to be number 11 on the blue course.
Go on. It's break time?
Uh huh.
Oh guys, I don't think I was prepared for this mentally! Everybody's freezing.
Oh, they have called for a rest, Ruth!
I don't get much of one because whenever I catch up... They're already ready to go!
Oh please be water!
This says an obstacle course when you look it up on a map
But it is much more than that, it is an all-out hike, my goodness.
No hand-swinging, you just have to go under it.
Like this... Go Anna go!
Oh, you used your hands!
What about Becca? Oh Becca, good job!
It's going to be speed... Becca be careful, it's a bar!
Yeah, don't, don't... yea, that's hard.
Yeah. Oh Joshua just goes right under, no problem.
It's harder than it looks, huh?
Oh guys, this is a small victory!
[Singing Psalm 91] We will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies in the day...
Here's number 12! Easy peasy!
Easy peasy? You haven't seen what Anna got to yet.
Way to go Anna! Go for the next one.
I would be surprised if he could do it.
Use my strategy!
No problem for me!
That's hard, huh Sarah?
Should mommy try it? Yea!
I did it!
Whoa Dude.
You did awesome Dude- you made it to the second one! Way to go.
Whoa, we got everybody on this — well just about everybody.
Momma chan, way to go! Valiant effort. I was very lopsided.
Well you guys did a great job.
We were getting desperate for water, but we saw a sign that brought us some hope.
Oh Joshua, what did you find?! A fairy fountain?
A fairy fountain?! Like in Zelda?
Can I drink some more after her? Yes.
We found a shortcut that goes directly down the hill
Because it would take like 1 or 2 kilometers all the way around it
And we're like "we don't have time for this or the energy" so we're just going straight down the hill towards the car.
So we did all of this, all the way around here and that's where we got the drink, right there.
And then we decided that instead of going all the way around and going back, we're going to take this shortcut right back down.
How cool is this hiking stick?!
That's not a hiking stick, that's like a hiking rod!
We are back to civilization!
Look! There's a vending machine down there.
The ladies are almost already there! Let's go guys!
Oh, we are buying drinks, yes drinks!
We were all up on that hill.
Do you see that hill that we just came up, Becca?! That's crazy!
Just a couple minutes down the hill was Atami’s famous Plum Gardens, and we wanted to make it there before closing time.
Momma's going to get some of her famous photos. 1, 2, 3 - a little bit closer
More like in front of it almost.
Yeah, 1, 2, 3 Now it's me.
So we literally made it here like 10 minutes before they close, but we got a discounted rate because we're staying here in Atami.
It was a little early for the sakura, the Sakura was not ready, but this plum garden is looking nice.
Smile so cute.
Wow, you smiled.
Can I take pictures now?
Look! Can I see?
Aw, aw, aw, aw
Ha! Are you posing, Dude?
You're not supposed to bonk into the branches! Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness.
Yes, I did it! Look at that.
Oh nice.
Becca, come! Oh, that's awesome!
Oh my goodness, yes!
Wait!
Joshua's poses — you should see the photo I have of him.
Joshua changes his poses!
Oh my goodness!
Some nice person just took our picture... Yea!
Oh, will that be the thumbnail maybe?
Joshua's in the branches. Joshua's in the branches?! Joshua, Dude!
Mommy look! Oh my. Let's go guys.
Aw, I want to go to the beach.
3, 2, 1 Ah, it flew that way.
3, 2, 1
Ah, what a beautiful place for the pictures. Ah, and sisterly love!
Do you want Daddy to take it?
I got a good one. Got a good one.
My third try! Third try, Sarah, let's see.
Ah, that one went, good job. There it goes!
OK, that's a good picture too.
This way
Please, I want a back-ride please!
Joshua... Are you done, Dude?
Are you done? Are you tired? Yep.
Was it a big day? I can't walk anymore.
It was a big epic day again, huh? I can't walk anymore.
Alright, boy here we go! Alright guys. Let's go.
Oh my goodness. Careful Sarah!
You kind of scare me, Sarah.
Joshua doesn't seem scared, but maybe he should be.
OK, I think that's enough. That's enough.
Jump down, Joshua.
Whoa, good save, good save!
Here we go... It's open!
A Jonathan's by the beach. Let's go eat dinner everybody.
The pizza has come. The girls are cutting their pizza.
Momma chan has got her food. Soup.
Oh wow, that looks good, honey.
Yes.
Scale of 1 to 10? 10
A ten?!
She said 10! It's so good.
So good? You too, do you like it, Joshua?
Do you know how my toy works?
What about the pizza?
And Daddy's came — a chicken basket with coleslaw and honey mustard.
Oh sorry! What?!
Ah, we're back from our huge day!
And enjoying some ice cream — ice cream — oh!
The little Reutter kids over here enjoying some ice cream. There's stars in here.
Momma's got the ice cream and the heater.
She took my spot! She did?!
Well, Momma Chans can do that.
Alright, we're going to see — who's going to win the mega awesome game?!
Momma Momma chan?
No, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah!
Me me me me! Sarah Sarah Sarah!
We'll see! Alright, boy this is a big Uno game.
I'm not sure Anna's feeling it.
Are you feeling it? You are, alright.
What about you, Sarah? I'm going to win!
The only thing is to not lose.
You don't have to win, but you better not lose. That's right, oh boy.
Guys, this is easy to see your cards so be careful.
Sorry Sarah, I only have this.
Uno!
Mommy has uno, oh boy! Ah, it's green.
Who will win? Oh boy, she's picking.
Uno. Uno for Mommy again!
Will mommy win? No!! Momma chan, oh.
Uno! Oh! Sarah too!?
Hey guys, look what you've done to me!
Reverse!
Reverse, oh it's coming back this way. Draw Four Sarah, ahh!!!
Green. Green?! Uno!! Daddy's Uno.
Good, I can change it.
Oh how cool would it be if Daddy won on the video?!
The truth is these kids beat me all the time in Uno.
That's the truth. That is the truth.
Daddy's up next.
What?! Eh, Draw Four Daddy, awww.
Uno! Yeah! Yeah!
These guys are card sharks. They're brutal.
My goodness.
Go fast, Sarah.
Momma, draw two, I love you.
Draw two. That's how you say "I love you?"
With a draw two!
Now Becca has Uno, oh boy.
I got skipped twice in a row! You sure did.
Hey everyone, Uno!
You deserve this! Ah, draw two Joshua.
Oh, look at that!! Oh my goodness!
Daddy won the Reutter's first mega awesome huge game of Uno!
I get to tickle everybody!
Everybody!
Everybody but Mommy. Not me.
Here comes the sun, huh Dude?
How's it feel out there? Cold.
Did you hear the wind? Oh my goodness, it's windy out, isn't it?
So once you get all warmed up, what do you do?
I'm going to heat you. You're going to heat me up?
OK, come heat me up. Oh!
Bring that warmth up, oh! Mmnnnnn.
Do you get some of Daddy's coldness? Do you feel a little bit of that? No?
Boy, you have morning breath, eh!
Well hey guys, did we get everything back to normal here? Yeah.
Alright, very good!
OK, we've got everything all locked up, all cleaned up
And we're ready to head back home.
It's been a fun couple of days
But it's always good to go home!
So girlfriend there was one more thing the girls wanted to do, what was it?
Go to the beach — in the middle of winter. Go to the beach!
In the middle winter. Beach!
Taking off the shoes and going to play at the beach.
This is what the little Reutter kids really wanted to do. We were too tired last night to do this.
It's winter.
It's winter, we're at the beach.
This would be fun in the summer, but it is not the summer.
It's like sinking sand — it starts to sink every time you walk in the sand.
Like sinking sand?! We can't build any sand castles with that.
No, you can't build sand castles. No.
You're not getting wet, are you?
You get one update and then another kid runs and gives another update.
What's the update?
Is the sand cold? So so.
Joshua's been tagged!
So we had a super fun time here in Atami and some of the Izu peninsula
What was your favorite part, comment below.
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Thanks for watching! And we'll see you next time on Life in Japan!
Bye! Bye!