Walking the cedar lined avenue towards upper Togakushi Shrine, Nagano Prefecture. Image: Dave Lock

Our love affair with Japan began nine years ago when my husband, Dave, and I spent a month honeymooning in Tokyo and snowboarding the mountains of Hakuba. We returned for a similar length trip with our daughter, Milla, when she was 20 months old, dividing our time between Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Kochi [Shikoku Island] and Nozawa Onsen. Earlier in 2016 we returned from our third trip, this time travelling with our two children, Milla [now aged 7] and Ari [3].

I've received a number queries about these trips and taking kids to Japan, so thought I'd share the places and highlights of our recent adventures, as well as some of the tips we've picked up travelling with younger kids in the country! This post covers our main destinations on this past trip - Tokyo, snow areas Nozawa Onsen and Myoko Kogen, and Gankoyama Treehouse Village - and concludes with our travel tips. Please note: this is a longer blog so if you're not interested in all the destinations just skip ahead! Please feel free to contribute to the conversation or sing out with questions in the comments section below!

Summertime and the livin' is easy

Hello and happy festive season! I hope this post finds you well - no doubt also feeling the after-effects of December's indulgences and hopefully enjoying some much-deserved down-time! The Australian summer holidays are in full swing and we are savouring a few weeks at home with no real plans beyond casual catch-ups and plenty of beach and outdoor play. We were treated to a weekend on the river to commence the school holidays, and whilst it meant turning down several subsequent social invitations, it was a great way to escape the pre-Christmas hustle and spend some quality time in nature with friends and the kids. Floating in the river, jetty jumping, stand-up paddle boarding, boat rides and basking in the sun certainly set a laid-back tone which we've fortunately carried through the latter part of December.

special announcement time!

Hiya! Some special news on nature // street today!

I'm super excited to share that I'm working in collaboration with Brighton Primary School and their Outdoor Education Specialist, Simon Hutchinson, to put on the... 

Brighton Primary School Nature Play Adventure Day! 

The event will form part of Nature Play SA's inaugural Nature Play Week*, and will see the school open their new nature play areas for an unstructured and creative play session suitable for toddlers and primary schoolers. The day will also feature mud exploration and junk yard adventure spaces so we're recommending people deck the kids in their olds and get ready for a play experience like no other!

Geed up on geocaching!

"Geocaching is the world-wide treasure hunt that's happening right now, all around you. 
There are 2,482, 791 active geocaches and over 6 million geocachers world wide"

Geocaching - The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site

I first came across geocaching on Nature Play SA's list of 51 Things To Do Before You're 12 where "find a geocache in your neighbourhood" features at number six. It stood out as the only activity on the list I'd not heard of, and the description "global GPS treasure hunt you can do with most phones" piqued my curiosity. I started to see references to the activity about the place but still wasn't actually sure what was involved when a free 'come and try' geocaching event at our local wetland was advertised. Bingo, just the incentive required to get our treasure hunter on!

Weekend Wildness

"We need the tonic of wildness"

                                                                                                    Henry David Thoreau

Winter's concluding month has been characterised by multiple bouts of illness for our family, and for the past week and a half we've been caring for one especially miserable toddler. The side effects of this run of illness have included a strong case of cabin fever and sleep deprivation for all, as well as a sudden drop-off in our family outdoor adventures [the cumulative impact of which may have just elevated us - ok, me - to borderline crazy status]. 

the vacant block

Weeds, open space and two generous mounds of illegally dumped rubble dominate the large vacant block at the end of the street. For over eight years now we've passed through the land, making our way to and from the local shops and beach; transitioning from newly engaged couple to young family. A constant in the backdrop of daily life, the block is generally overlooked or regarded as a dilapidated neighbourhood eyesore.

Rethinking the reli-bash agenda

Alright, confession time: for the past three years my parents have lived next to an expansive recreation park aaaand... I only stepped foot in there a few months ago. 

hang. head. shame. 

The too-hard basket is overflowing with potential reasons slash excuses: a[nother] sick pregnancy, an unwell infant, the mombie haze, and a tendency for our reli-bashes* to occur within a ten metre radius of the dining room table. Hmm. It still doesn't quite add up, but oh well - this one will just have to be put down to a case of c'est la vie.

The good news is visits to Grandma and Pops' place have taken on an extra dimension since realising the park lies before us. Walks now feature as a key agenda item: the gumboots are gleefully put on, spare clothes packed, the dog runs in wild circles of anticipation, and off we venture. We descend down a dirt track and then find ourselves able to select from numerous walking trails, any of which will have us follow and traverse small creeklines lined with towering River Red Gums and South Australian Blue Gums.