One of our goals was to visit the Senri Newtown Baptist Church that we attended while we lived in Osaka. So, on Sunday morning, we rode the train to Kita Senri and hiked the couple of miles, mostly uphill, to the new location of the church. It had grown significantly since we were there. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the new church building. The service was similar to what we had been used to, with a translator providing the sermon play-by-play and color via headset. Except, it wasn't Nakano-san, for she had moved a year after we did, but one of her pupils instead.
We hiked from the church to Osaka International School, where the girls attended and made life-long memories, and several stories. Since it was Sunday, no one was there. Amanda and Wade stand outside the front door. After looking around, we started walking back through the old path we used to take to the school towards our old apartment.
From our apartment it was a 40 minute walk to the Osaka International School. Part of the walk wound through a little rural patch with a small primitive farm, a bamboo forest, several reservoirs, and past this Chinese style house. Rich Japanese do not flaunt their wealth in the same way rich Americans do. But we could tell the owners of the house (when we were living there) were wealthy, including the expensive cars in the driveway, and the unusually large yard. Since our time living there however, it had apparently been sold and appeared to have been converted into a funeral home. Most of the rest of the area was in the process of complete change, and a new neighborhood of homes was under construction.
Amanda shows how she navigated the gates that keep motorcycles from going through the path. Bicycles can be lifted over the gates, but motorcycles cannot.
Japanese McDonalds was a treat. It has a different taste.
Our favorite (at the time) Japanese hamburger joint was Dom Dom. The Dom Dom was replaced in less than a year by McDonalds at Kita Senri. In the background, you can see the Peacock grocery store where I did most of the shopping during our term in Japan. Many great hours of mangled Japanese, pantomimes, bad food choices and searching for the elusive pepperoni.
SIL#2 rests after filling meal of McTeriyaki burgers.
Of all the place in Kita Senri, this location has perhaps more stories. We were all fond of the great donuts that the store sold, but it is likely that Amy was its most solid patron. She has endured a lot of teasing about her spending her lunch money and her bus money on Mr. Donut. Amy participated in all their sales promotions and brought home several small promotional towels that they gave out to their best customers. She gave me one, and I keep it in my closet as a prized possession and treasured memory.
Oh, those darn paparazzi. They follow Frances around everywhere.
From this pedestrian bridge I once fished out a stolen bicycle and walked it to the police box to turn in. I think they initially thought I had stolen it. Our church translator, Mrs. Nakano obtained a pink bicycle from another church lady and gave it to me. I rode that bike all over the area, exploring, going to the school, carrying groceries, and running errands until about a month before we left, when it was stolen from the bike rack at the apartment.
Here is the curbside of the apartment where we lived.
The small playground isn't as well maintained as it was 13 years prior.
Our apartment from the end of the building.
The younguns in a bamboo grove near our old home on the path to Osaka's Expo park.
We hiked from the church to Osaka International School, where the girls attended and made life-long memories, and several stories. Since it was Sunday, no one was there. Amanda and Wade stand outside the front door. After looking around, we started walking back through the old path we used to take to the school towards our old apartment.
From our apartment it was a 40 minute walk to the Osaka International School. Part of the walk wound through a little rural patch with a small primitive farm, a bamboo forest, several reservoirs, and past this Chinese style house. Rich Japanese do not flaunt their wealth in the same way rich Americans do. But we could tell the owners of the house (when we were living there) were wealthy, including the expensive cars in the driveway, and the unusually large yard. Since our time living there however, it had apparently been sold and appeared to have been converted into a funeral home. Most of the rest of the area was in the process of complete change, and a new neighborhood of homes was under construction.
Amanda shows how she navigated the gates that keep motorcycles from going through the path. Bicycles can be lifted over the gates, but motorcycles cannot.
Japanese McDonalds was a treat. It has a different taste.
Our favorite (at the time) Japanese hamburger joint was Dom Dom. The Dom Dom was replaced in less than a year by McDonalds at Kita Senri. In the background, you can see the Peacock grocery store where I did most of the shopping during our term in Japan. Many great hours of mangled Japanese, pantomimes, bad food choices and searching for the elusive pepperoni.
SIL#2 rests after filling meal of McTeriyaki burgers.
Of all the place in Kita Senri, this location has perhaps more stories. We were all fond of the great donuts that the store sold, but it is likely that Amy was its most solid patron. She has endured a lot of teasing about her spending her lunch money and her bus money on Mr. Donut. Amy participated in all their sales promotions and brought home several small promotional towels that they gave out to their best customers. She gave me one, and I keep it in my closet as a prized possession and treasured memory.
Oh, those darn paparazzi. They follow Frances around everywhere.
From this pedestrian bridge I once fished out a stolen bicycle and walked it to the police box to turn in. I think they initially thought I had stolen it. Our church translator, Mrs. Nakano obtained a pink bicycle from another church lady and gave it to me. I rode that bike all over the area, exploring, going to the school, carrying groceries, and running errands until about a month before we left, when it was stolen from the bike rack at the apartment.
Here is the curbside of the apartment where we lived.
Our apartment from the end of the building.
The younguns in a bamboo grove near our old home on the path to Osaka's Expo park.
1 comment:
Wow, this post really brought tears to my eyes. Ive attended OIS from ecp to 9th grade. I was really homesick and decided to look up ois and stumbled upon this post..
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