Is there a bear in there?
August 2023
As I stood in the kitchen, laboring over the heat of the gas stove, I heard the kids outside. It was happy, excited noises and so far, no arguing or fighting. I poked my head out the kitchen door to see what they were up to. It was Friday and they had found tents in Okasan’s small storage shed and they had pitched them, made a fire and cooked on it. They had used scrap wood to make benches, I'm not sure if they were for sitting on or to use as tables. They were having such a great time and were so occupied by it all that I just let them go. But what a mess they made! Our yard looked like a refugee camp! Late that afternoon I heard thunder and told the kids they'd better pack everything up as the tents didn't have flies to keep them waterproof. Impressively they worked quickly without me hassling them. Perhaps because Yumi was helping them. They just about had it all packed up and down came the rain, so heavy and windy!! Bob stubbornly had to finish his task and packed up his tent in the downpour. He felt proud of himself so I didn’t break the news to him that he’d need to re-pitch it again when the weather cleared in order to dry it out!
Well, they were all so keen to camp again so we let them pitch tents again on Saturday afternoon and they slept in them that night. There was much excitement. Missy got the pink tent. Bob got the best tent (of course!) and the cousins shared the third tent. Pillows and bedding were dragged outside into the tents. My kids just love ‘setting up house’! Bob had a camping stretcher bed, his bed lamp, fan and a chair to boot. I made him return the electrical items since our outside extension cord had some cuts in it. (And for Pete's Sake, it's ONE night!!)
Well dinner was eaten, showers had and all were kids bouncing with excitement. BUT all of them were stalling and DID NOT want to go outside without someone else being there first! I felt like I was saying, “Bedtime!” and “Just go to bed!” for half an hour or more!! Finally my kids ventured outside. I pointed out that they would be closer to me in the tent that was situated 2m outside my bedroom window, then in their own bedroom in the house!
It was thankfully late enough that the mozzies were all gone. My kids fussed about and the cousins finally came outside too. Not two minutes later there was a fuss of alarm in the cousin's tent and a shout, “Bob! Come help us! Bobbbb!” (All in Japanese, since they don’t speak English). He was there in a flash and shrieks and shouts went up in the tent and followed Bob out as he rescued a stick insect (!!!!) out of the tent and placed it over in a tree! Words of gratitude were spoken as calm settled over the camp.
There had been talk after dinner about setting an alarm. My children thought 6am or 7am. The eldest cousin was suggesting such an unearthly hour like 4am or 5am. I then interrupted and told them there's no need for an alarm. They were camping just metres from the chook pen. Our rooster will most certainly wake them up! Not to mention the sunlight at 4am! (Yes, there’s no Daylight Saving in Japan. In the summer, the sun rises so early, that by 7am, it looks like it’s 10am since the sun is so high in the sky!!)
Sure enough, very early the next morning I heard the first stirrings. Murmurs. A tent zipper. The patter of feet on the bare earth running past my bedroom. The front door slamming shut. The floor creaking outside the bathroom and then the bathroom door closing. I cringed as I looked at my watch. Not quite 5am. My body felt tired all over and wasn't ready to be up yet. But the movement in the camp was growing and when one wakes everyone wakes. I heard the voices of my children so knew they were awake. I just let them be until I heard the word “fire”. Oh no, I do NOT want them to light a fire right outside my bedroom and have smoke billowing in through my windows! That word also sent jolts through Shujin who also instantly woke up and retaliated against the idea. Suddenly we had two stubborn parents and one very stubborn child arguing about lighting a camp fire at 5:30am! I was trying to negotiate it being moved away from the tents and the house. Shujin was trying to negotiate it not even happening without a parent. Child wanted his fire next to his tent and to make it on his own. Honestly! It was waaaaaaaay too early in the morning for this!
It took some time, but we finally came to a peaceful agreement which involved Shujin getting out of bed to supervise the camp fire, which was on the other side of the yard, away from the house and the tents. (Thanks babe!) Shujin mixed up a pancake batter and also found some corn cobs. The aromas of camp fire cooking awakened my stomach and pulled me out of bed. It was a delicious breakfast. Bob asked what time it was. 7am. “7am?! Is that all? It feels much later than that!”
“Yeah” I replied, “like 1 or 2pm and it’s now siesta time.” If only…!
You'd think that with such a start to the day we'd be sleepy-heads and lazing around for the rest of it, but, no. The day had only just begun and many hours were available to be filled with adventure!! Shujin packed a picnic (thanks Babe!) and off we went!
Our car was buzzing with excitement, anticipating the exploration that lay ahead of us. We drove passed the town, passed our favourite swimming hole at the river, passed our next favourite swimming hole and on into the forrest. The road followed the river and we went up, up, up stream, into what almost felt like uncharted territory! The sealed road was now behind and we were on a dirt track. Dirt roads in Japan aren’t very uncommon. This really was wilderness!
The air was nice and cool under the shade of the trees as we scampered out of the car, down to the river’s edge. A pleasant relief from the stinking hot temperatures we’d been living in. Too hot for Yumi it seemed, she had heat stroke and chose to stay at home in bed. The cicada’s hum was a pleasant sound of summer and thankfully not deafening. We ate our picnic lunch by the river under the protection of the trees. The river gurgled by, enticing the children in, which was in opposition to my commands of telling them to sit and eat! Despite not being able to sit still, the children managed to finish their lunch. We were going to leave our picnic bag and camp chairs by the river but Shujin remembered there could be monkeys and they'll take stuff! I'd completely forgotten about monkeys being a problem, I'd only thought of the bears!
The weather was hot but the water was cold. There were patchy clouds and it seemed the perfect day for exploring. The river had large rocks and boulders in it and we jumped from one to another, making our way up stream. We hadn't gone far when the kids found the first small swimming hole. The water was crystal clear. They jumped in and acted like ducks in a pond. I wanted to get in but didn't want to be cold afterwards so I endured the heat. We continued on and the next swimming hole had a sloping rock that the kids used as a slippery slide. They had a great old time shining that rock with their bums!
The scenery was amazing. The forest trees had soft, gentle leaves and a fairly open undergrowth. The forest floor was carpeted with dead leaves. The trees came right to the river's edge creating a canopy on both sides. On both sides of the river the mountain came down pretty steep. The river was rocky, and mostly shallow so we didn't have to wade through any deep water.
At one corner it was quite shadowy and there were large boulders covered with bright green moss. The moss was so thick and soft. I was standing in a calendar photo! I took it all in and enjoyed the beauty. Turning to the side, I noticed a small cave close by and stared into, wondering how deep it went. My eyes started to adjust to the darkness as my imagination remembered there were bears in Japan... Everyone else had continued on, and suddenly, everything seemed very quiet. I was too curious however, and held my ground, my eyes still gazing into the dim cave. Could there be a bear in there???
To be continued…