Our First Guests This Year!

With the arrival of 2025, the extremely cold winter is finally coming to an end, and our first homestay guest of the year has arrived! It's a mother from Hyogo Prefecture and her son who just turned five.

When we went to pick them up at the station and saw them coming through the ticket gate, the boy confidently gave John a big hug! We were surprised at how well he spoke English! 😆

The plan was for a 2-night, 3-day stay, but since the forecast predicted rain on the second day, we headed straight to the park from the station on the first day. Our destination was Namikimichi Central Park, where we have visited often with our guests! However, the activities vary each time depending on the guests who go together. This time, since the child couldn't ride a bicycle yet, we ended up walking to see the moving dinosaur attraction. Along the way, at the small park and on the path, John ran around with the little boy. Such energy! 😮

The little boy ran ahead of us and the moving dinosaur caught the boy off guard, so he turned around and ran away from the dinosaur!

After trying out the long slide and playing for a while, we got hungry and enjoyed a buffet lunch at the Kuromame no Yakata! He seemed to love fried chicken and ate a lot. The mother was also pleased with the delicious local vegetables.

To cater to his love for dinosaurs, we visited another dinosaur park in Sannan-cho. We took some pictures with the huge monuments in the park and ran around again... (I'm sure he will sleep well tonight! 😂)

After that, we went grocery shopping for the meals while they stay and finally arrived home. 🚗😊

Once we caught our breath and they settled in their room, we played some English games and prepared dinner together. It seemed to be his first time trying brown rice, but he had no problem eating it. I'm glad he liked it!

Before we knew it, the first day had passed, and it was the morning of the second day. The weather forecast was accurate, and it was raining from the morning. Since there was another little boy in our neighborhood, I thought they might be able to play together. So I contacted his mother, and she invited us to their house.

After playing together for a while, the neighbors suggested we go out for ramen. It was also our first time to go that particular ramen restaurant. Since we arrived after the lunch rush, we were the only ones in the restaurant, and we had a lively and enjoyable meal. And it was delicious! Thank you for taking us! 🙏

After returning home, the guest boy got really hooked on a certain board game, and we played it so many times! On that rainy afternoon, we also took out LEGO and magnetic toys to play indoors, but he seemed to love that board game the most. We made and ate John's specialty, beer bread (a simple bread made with beer yeast). It was delicious!

In the blink of an eye, the 2-night, 3-day stay was over. The following day, the boy expressed his wish to go to Heso Park in Nishiwaki city. Before noon, we gave them a ride to the station and stopped at a nearby convenience store on the way for them to grab some food. Then they headed out from the unmanned Tamba Oyama station. Although we were a little concerned about the weather, we heard that they had a great time.

Thank you for coming!  Come again soon! 🥰