Life needs more than work and school to move it forward
it needs activities that recharge your internal batteries.
I'm going to go check on the ladies and see what they're up to here...
I bet they're having a grand ol' time.
[laughter]
It's girl night without the kids...
It's a bunch of laughter and food.
It fills our tanks emotionally and physically.
[Life in Japan Theme Song]
Welcome to my party!
What is happening in here?!
All the mommies are hiding.
Good for you guys!
We're eating pizza...
And I'm the only one eating!
So this is what mommies get to eat, huh?
Oh yea, Açai is out there. Brownies, pizza...
Acai, alright.
I'm about ready for some more Açai.
It's Amazon Açai Oh my goodness, that's the real deal right there.
Is it good? It's good stuff.
Acai, Acai, Acai!!
Knock Knock...
Whoa!! Look at this girls! What a change!
It looks awesome in here!
Guess what? I got something that might get you out of bed...
Acai!!
Do you want to see what it is Sarah? Let's go upstairs!
OK guys... Why does it have Pizza Hut?
Something special
It's not what is on the outside
It's what's on the inside that counts...
A-ÇA-I!!! With banana?
Oh, it's so stinking' good.
Girls, how is it? Let me see your mouth Becca!
What about you Joshua?
For me it tastes like tomatoes.
Tomatoes?!
What?
It tastes way different than tomatoes, doesn't it?
100 times better.
We don’t live to work, we work to live,
and life is much more than just trying to get by every day.
Everyone has difficult challenges in their life, that’s part of being human.
But it’s so important to find something that propels your life forward,
something you can look forward to,
something that helps you de-stress and recharge your batteries.
For me, a walk in nature early in the morning does just the trick.
So calm, so peaceful.
A prayer walk through the woods like this, and I’m already in a much better frame of mind.
Finding these activities or hobbies can take a lot of searching,
but for some, like my good friend Josiah,
it is something intense and calming at the same time.
Josiah, how many people you know do this sport here?
Here, there's one other guy, but we're trying to inspire a few more.
Well maybe this video will help, we'll see.
Yea yea, this one guy, you know, he was inspired by seeing me out here
And I feel very honored
And hopefully we'll bring a few more
So if you want to wing foil this is a great place.
So the trick is to fill it up facing the wind, huh?
That's right, absolutely.
Otherwise... You've got problems.
What do you call this part right here?
This is the leading edge.
This is the board, right there.
We got our mast, fuselage, front wing, rear wing.
And this guy is ready to go already! Look at him!
Yeah, it's excited.
Wing foiling is a relatively new sport, but it’s quickly becoming popular around the world,
including here in Japan where the conditions are great for this sport.
The wing catches the wind and propels you forward.
As you pick up speed, the foil underneath the water pushes the board up off the water
and allows you to cruise over the water with very little resistance.
Eventually you can try some pretty radical tricks too.
Josiah is going to see if he can get a good jump today and land it.
Looks like he has some company out there today.
It's a great day if you need the wind for your sport.
The critical turn — got it.
If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.
Landed it!
That was cool!
Got it!
It looks like a lot of fun and a lot of work.
Well my hobbies are all way too expensive...
I have video, I have music,
I have a big family, I like to travel,
So I'm not sure I can get in to this,
But how about you? Does this look interesting? Does this look fun?
Comment below.
For those who prefer a much less intense hobby, there is always painting.
Recently our family tried it all together for the first time.
Wait, we're going to write on this?
What are we going to do? We're going to paint!
You're going to paint!
Then if everyone uses the same colors, they'll all kind of match
And we can do a collage.
Joshua's committed.
He put pink on first, wow Dude.
For my rainbow!
For a rainbow, awesome!
Whoops! Now use purple.
Oh, that's actually great.
Hmm, what can I draw?
Are you good at painting, mommy? I never saw you do it before.
I used to paint. Awesome.
Dude, Joshua's just cranking it out! Way to go, Dude!
No! There's not the color that I wanted.
Sarah hasn't even started painting yet and Joshua's over halfway finished, I think.
Oh Momma chan!
Wow! Bob Ross'n it here.
That's right.
Oh, Becca's getting hers moving.
You decided Anna what you're going to do?
Yes. The theme is light and fun?
I changed my mind. I really wanted to make an umbrella, so I made this the umbrella.
Actually, I just changed my mind to an umbrella.
Sarah, it looks like she's working on a nice sunset picture, huh?
Is that what it is? Nice!
Momma's like going pro over here!
Mommy, she's like "Bob Rob"
Bob Ross!
Oh cool Dude! That's very lively.
Anna's is like Avant-garde
A fun design, huh? Fun and light!
Fun and light. Whimsical! Yes! Just as I said.
Look at Sarah progressing nicely.
Girls, are you impressed with Mommy? I'm so impressed.
I never knew she painted. I never saw her paint before.
Weeeeeeee, Weeeeeeee
Rebecca's is a pretty golden...is it going to be a fall scene, Rebecca?
Yes. Wow.
Um, Daddy told me what to...I was thinking about what to make when Daddy told me a beach
I was thinking about what I should make when Daddy told me a beach so I did it.
Joshua finished, huh?
Can you describe it?
This is an umbrella
And there's rain, so that's why there's an umbrella here.
I'm done. Oh! Anna's done!
Whimsical is a masterpiece, huh?
Ah!! Mr sun is up there, shining away!
Ooohhh, how nice!
Ha! That's a funny Mr Sun.
I always put glasses on the sun.
Are you done? I think so.
Wow! What are we calling it?
What are we calling it?
Sakura. Sakura.
Becca! And Becca has been inspired as well.
With an autumn scene from Yamanakako.
Do you think I should do something right here?
What I would do right here Becca is get a little darker brown, almost black... It looks so good, Sarah!
And do it on one side of each wood. Nice.
It's beautiful. I love it. Becca's adding some shadows for some depth, wow.
Oh, beautiful! Look at that!
Now if you know me, you know that I love hiking a good trail,
and for that Japan is awesome.
I just discovered something I had no idea was here
This map I came across, and look at this huge trail that goes through Tama.
It's called the Tama Yokoyama no Michi
And it looks really cool. I really want to try this sometime.
I noticed these signposts that clearly show you the path,
and the path goes through the Tama hills for over 10 kilometers!
It’s a bigger hike than I’m prepared for today, but I really want to get back here again.
These kinds of hikes really recharge my batteries. How about you?
Let me just say that I'm amazed by what you can find...
I wasn't even looking for this.
This trail goes for several kilometers
And it weaves in and out of the woods, through neighborhoods, different places,
I totally want to check this whole thing out. Oh my goodness!
What a discovery here today.
The funny thing is that my wife is currently shopping at Book Off right now.
She really wanted to go without the kids, even without me
So she could just take lots of time and enjoy herself.
And so I was just running to park nearby and I discovered this.
And now I might even take longer than she does!
Sarah would absolutely freak out! I came up on a snake.
Yes, a snake!
Look at that. He's slowly moving away.
Oh my goodness, that's right. Move away snake!
In these bushes here, amazing.
I guess you just never know what you're going to find on the trail.
That's the first time I've seen a snake I think in Japan just out in the wild
It's not even the wild.
Well, I made it back to the car and got me a little drink.
And I am totally interested in seeing this whole trail, checking it out.
What a special find today.
For sure, some of the best hobbies for everyday life are things you can do at home,
when you have a little bit of free time.
Whoa! How are the rollerblades?
Careful! Whoa, whoa!
Here, let me take the price tag off.
These are the new rollerblades that mommy got at Book Off?
Oh look at that. What a pro.
Becca, that was quite a—whoa! Anna!
You guys are like a comedy team, I tell you what.
And then there's the supervisor, supervising.
Making sure everyone obeys the rules
Hey! Don't go in the weeds.
Sarah, are you trying Anna's old ones?
Yea. Oh my goodness, here she comes.
Becca save me!
The last couple of years have been really hard on the whole world,
and it’s really hard to thrive in life when you are depleted physically, emotionally and spiritually.
It’s more important than ever to get out and find those things that recharge you.
Meet new people, try new things.
There’s life to be discovered.
You may not find exactly what you like at first, but if you keep looking, you will find it.
Alright Sarah, we're going to try some rollerblades. Very cool.
Just like your older sisters.
I want to be like my older sisters.
You want to be like your older sisters? You have some good older sisters.
They're helping Sarah learn.
Oh my goodness Sarah!
Meanwhile Joshua cruises around on his bike.
There can be nothing quite as disheartening as a rainy weekend,
so what do you like to do when it’s rainy outside?
Our family has some go-to favorites.
It is just all kinds of rain today.
And the fisherman's like "Man, too bad!"
Dude! That is a whole lot of rain, isn't it?!
My old drawings are so bad, I have to redo it.
Well, those drawings are so cool though, Anna. I love it.
I was like 10 years old when I drew it. Oh yea?
Sarah, what are you working on?
Um, origami. Origami!
You're following your book? Uh huh.
To figure it out? Uh huh.
Oh very cool. Uh huh.
Joshua accompanies Mommy in the Zumba workout.
But one of Momma chan's fovorite de-stressor of all is baking.
Does it look like Melon Pan? Yeah.
What did you make Momma chan?
I tried Melon Pan (Bread)
Melon Pan! Oh my goodness!
OK Sarah, this is one of your favorites, right?
Taste it, let me see!
What do you think Dude? Is that good? Yea!
The girls do their homework and have Melon "Pyan"
"Pyan?!" "Pyan."
How is it? Can I have a second?
Not now.
Did you put some melon in it? I mean lemon?
Yeah.
And what about Life in Japan?
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and until next time, we’ll see you on Life in Japan. Bye bye.