Toilet Park-Third time is a charm

Here we go!!   Let’s see how much I can remember about a road trip I took with the kids 2 1/2 months ago (and how fast can I type it).  Go!!

Went back to Toilet Park (can’t remember the Japanese name for the life of me, but it’s on my two previous Toilet Park posts).  Always wanted to go in the water (see the big wading pool down there in the picture?) but either too cold or no spare clothes in the car.  This time, getting wet!!

The day was a bit gloomy in Misawa, but decided to go anyway.  After all, it’s over an hour drive and chance was good that the sun would come out (mostly just crossed my fingers, cuz who wants to play in the water on a cold, gray September day).

As you can see, we did it.  As soon as we got to the park, we headed straight for the water.  In my mind I was thinking “I hope we’re allowed to do this,” because I didn’t see any signs and no one else was around, except for a lone worker at the top of the steps who just stared at us.  I fully expected him to come bounding down the stairs with his hands forming an ‘X’ and screaming “No water!! No water!!,” but that didn’t happen.

We played in the water for well over 30 minutes (eventually others showed up, but no one else ventured into the pool). 

I “encouraged” the kids to walk through the waterfall a few times. 

Eventually the clouds came back and we decided (I decided) it was time to go inside.  Changed clothes in the restroom nearby and went in.

Here’s Mark and Alex in the pretend onsen.  Note: real onsens require less clothing and do not have toy cars to play with.

Alex the sushi chef.  Note: plastic sushi is not edible.  Neither is most real sushi, but that’s just because I don’t like seaweed, wasabi and raw fish.

Alex and Mark taking after their dad.  Yes, I used to work for Baskin Robbins back in college.  I can make a mean ice cream cone.

Here’s Mark and his very good friend Becca.  Why is it so much more fun to pretend to wash dishes than to do it for real at home?

This is a picture of the Toilet Park building.  That’s it.  Now scroll down to the next picture.

Oh, now I remember.  I took these pictures because I wanted to remember the countryside all around it, like the rolling hills, furrowed fields, and groves of trees.

This is why we keep going back there.  No, not the funny orange plastic riding toy thing (though that’s fun too), the joy on the kids’ faces.  Not much better in life than that.

Hopefully we’ll be able to make one more trip to Toilet Park before we leave Misawa.  It’s one of our favorite places to go.

Rob