More Dog Inc Days

This week and last Jazz and Dixie really enjoyed their days at Dog Inc. Prior to last week they had been absent from school for three weeks so they are making up for missed time! Today Dixie met another little beagle and had fun dancing with her!

Day 2 of Takayama Trip

We stayed in a dog friendly Ryokan(Japanese Inn) on the Saturday night of our little trip. The rooms had pet friendly tatami mats and the dogs were allowed anywhere in the inn, including in the private dinning room!! It was a good thing that we were dining alone as Jazz and Dixie's table manners leave a lot to be desired! There was a very convenient hook which we could tie them to so that they were just out of reach on the low dinning table. The meal was arranged so wonderfully on the table it was a shame to mess up all that hard work! After dinner the girls fooled around with toys in the room before going to bed early. The next day we were up early for a walk in -5。C temp!! We all froze our little toes off! Its the coldest we have been this winter, maybe ever! After a breakfast similar to dinner with all the lovely little dishes we set off for Jazz and Dixie's favourite dog run, Dog Field. However being winter all the lush green grass was gone. The girls still ran around like crazy in the cold with views of a snow covered Mt Fuji in the background. We had a wonderful weekend away.

More Pics from Day 1

After the museum we headed off into the old town of Takayama for a stroll along the old streets, but not before we took a photo for our DWB friends, AO4. The cat was huge!!!!!! But here in Japan that cat is actually for good fortune.

Day 1 Cont.

It was while at Hida Folk Village that Dixie got her first taste of snow (literally). She took to it quite well and could pretend to be like all her DWB friends who have been frollicking around in the white stuff for most of winter.

Day 1 of Trip to Takayama

On Saturday morning we all set off early for a five hour trip to Takayama. Takayama is a city in the mountainous Hida region of Gifu Prefecture which has retained a traditional touch like few other Japanese cities, especially in its beautifully preserved old town. On the way there we had great views of a snow covered Mt Fuji and the Southern Japanese Alps. We visited the Hida Folk Village, an open air museum exhibiting over 30 typical farmhouses and other traditional buildings from the Hida region. Surprising they allowed dogs, so Jazz and Dixie could walk the paths with us checking out all the old Japanese houses.

Chupa Chups For Pups

Jazz and Dixie have discovered "Dog Chops" the doggie version of "Chupa Chups" and they love them!! Unfortunately they don't last long as both girls are "crunchers" as I was when I was a child!

A Close Encounter of the Cat kind!

While walking in the park today the girls sniffed out a stray cat. They could smell it well before they could see it. It took them a while to realise they had to look up! Both are curious but Jazz is scared and Dixie carefree. A couple of days ago a very friendly cat came up to Dixie and kissed her on the nose. After that Jazz went in for a closer look but I think the cat sensed her fear and hissed and raised a paw to strike Jazz.

When is it our turn?

Jazz and Dixie don't like it when I'm on the computer doing stuff for work. They sit on the back of the sofa, push down the lid of the laptop or try to stare me out with looks like this! I guess they think they should be blogging and chatting with friends not having to wait till I'm finished!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

On such a grey and rainy day we decided we needed some cheering up so we walked over to Three Dogs Bakery to buy some doggies cakes for Valentine's Day. Of course all the heart shaped cakes were sold out so we settled for cute little parfait cakes. We could barely wait to get home to taste them!! First Jazz and then Dixie sniffed them out - mmm they smell so good!
Mum was pretty cruel to put them just out of our reach to snap a few pics first. Then came the moment of truth - the tasting!! They were delicious. We finished them in no time!

Look everyone, I'm practicing my pawstands!

While walking in the park Jazz particularly likes to jump on benches, brick fences or any other elevated objects. She is very curious and likes to get a better view of the world from up high. The shutter release was a little slow on this one and instead of snapping Jazz and Dixie walking on a bench it turned out looking like Jazz was doing a handstand (I mean pawstand!).

Mum, can we play at the park??

On our morning walk today mum let us go into the childrens' playground for a bit of a nose around as there were no children playing there. We checked out everything and mum snapped a few pics of us having fun.

Pretend Snow

We have been reading the blogs of some of our DWB friends and have seen all the snow photos. We haven't had snow this year so we were feeling a bit left out. While walking in the park yesterday the wind was blowing the plum blossom petals around in what looked like a flurry of snow. You can see the light dusting on the ground in the photos. We can pretend its snow!

Fellows Hamburger Stand

Today we bundled up against the cold wind and walked over to a local Dog O.K. hamburger shop. We have been a few times with Jazz but today was Dixie's first visit. The outside wood deck has been closed in and is now heated so it was pleasant to sit in there for lunch with the girls. My hamburger came with two free homemade dog cookies and a big bowl of fresh water. Jazz and Dixie felt right at home and loved the cookies.

Setsubun 2007

Yesterday I took the children in my class to a local Setsubun festival. Setsubun ("seasonal division") is a festival held on February 3 or 4, one day before the start of spring according to the Japanese lunar calendar. On this day people practice a ceremony called Mamemaki (bean-throwing) at temples, shrines and at home to expel demons (symbol of misfortune) and invite fortune. When throwing the beans, you are supposed to shout "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" ("Demons out, happiness in"). Afterwards you should pick up and eat the number of beans, which corresponds to your age. I brought some of the beans home for the girls, Jazz ate 3 and Dixie ate 1 according to their dog years as I don't think I should give Jazz 30 odd beans and Dixie 13!!!