It’s taken me a long time to update my blog since our "trip" to Japan. It was so amazing and full that I don’t know if I have adequate words to express just how fantastic a time we’ve had. SO where do I begin…?  It started with a stop in Florida. Well, really it was vacation in Florida or do we call it a field trip…I’m not sure.

I had heard about Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens while we lived in Florida but had never thought to visit there, so as vacation time fell just as we should have been getting to Japan I thought it only appropriate to continue our cultural adventure while we were away and experience “The Essence of Japan“ in the sunshine state.

We started our day with a stroll through the most exquisite gardens. It is actually a series of six diverse gardens, each inspired by a different historical period and type of Japanese garden. We saw bridges statues, monuments, fountains, ponds, and pools of combed stones as we wound our way through the lush and tranquil paradise.

There was a Bonsai exhibit with over 50 trees some us much as 400 years old. And of course a koi pond with basking turtles and the largest gold fish we’d ever seen!

Off the garden path we took off our shoes and put on little paper slippers to browse the museum. There we saw exhibits displaying fine arts and objects of everyday use representing Japan’s culture.

By this time we had worked up quite an appetite and needed a little break to take it all in, so we headed for the open air terrace and Japanese café. We ate sushi, coconut crusted shrimp, tofu, and rice. All that practice using chop sticks in China really paid off.

Inside Grandma found matching kimonos for the girls and just couldn’t resist buying them. I picked up a list of Japanese symbols and their meanings and the kiddies practiced water painting them on slate.

Next was an origami demonstration where we saw some amazing creations out of the folding of only one sheet of paper. R got to model an origami hat.

Then D and R participated in an Origami class.

They each made 3 different creations. D chose land and R chose water.

We were all pretty pooped at the end of the day and I realized as we left the museum that we just covered 2 weeks of our pre-planned unit study in one fell swoop. Phew, I need a nap…Sayanara!

* For more information about Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

visit their site at:

http://www.morikami.org/index.php