Even though everything else is still brown and dormant, these bright blossoms declare the approach of Spring,

梅の開花が知らせています

and with Spring comes Sakura and warmer weather.

他の花も もうすぐ芽吹きます

For the Reutter family it also means that three of our kids are getting ready to graduate one phase of life and move on to the next.

桜の開花も近いはず

Time marches on and waits for no one, and ready or not, it's a time of transition once again.

春の訪れは ライター家の子供の 進級の時でもあります

Here he comes, all ready for school, huh?

時が流れ 新しいステージがやってきます

There's just a little bit of youchien (kindergarten) left, oh my goodness.

幼稚園の準備は？

Our E-bike days are almost over.

卒園までもう少しだね

At least the lugging kids around. That's right.

ママチャリ送迎も卒業だね

See you guys later, have a good day at school! Bye!

- 送り迎えも卒業 - そうね

[Life in Japan Theme Song]

行ってらっしゃい！

The dramatic presentation is one of the last things in the kindergarten school year before graduation.

バーイ！

Not only is this Joshua's last year in kindergarten,

いよいよ 幼稚園最後の発表会です！

but it will be the first time since we've moved to Japan 8 years ago that we won't have a child at our local kindergarten.

ジョシュアだけでなく

You can feel a bit nostalgic when you think about it,

来日以来 我が家の子供達は全員 この幼稚園に通いました

because we're very thankful for our local kindergarten and all the good friends we've made here.

幼稚園で沢山の人達に 良くしてもらったので 感慨深いです

Joshua, pull your [pant] leg down. Do you have your pants inside-out?!

ジョシュア！ ズボンが裏返しよ！

What a boy!

元気だな！

The kindergarten has been vert patient with us as we learn the Japanese language and customs and do our best to communicate.

幼稚園の皆さんは 日本に不慣れな私達に良くしてくれました

Having all of our kids in Japanese kindergarten has prepared them well for the Japanese public schools afterwards,

幼稚園での学びのお陰で 子供達は日本の小学校に進学できました

and I pray for a smooth transition for Joshua as well.

次はジョシュアの番です

Hey Dude!

ジョシュア！

Oh Joshua! He can reach it now.

ジョシュア！手が届いたね！

You can reach it, you know what that means?!

背が高くなったね

What's it mean when you can reach it?

どういう意味かな？

That means I'm almost elementary age.

もう小学生！

But it's not just Joshua who has a big transition soon

ジョシュアの卒園だけではありません

What are we waiting for here?

何しているの？

Becca and Anna are putting on their kimonos—we want to go look! Oh!

ベッカとアナが着物を試着してる！

Oh my goodness! Oh wow!

すごい！

I'm so tall. You are.

- 背が高くなった - そうだね！

I'm almost as tall as you...and of course mommy. You look older already.

- パパと同じくらいかも - 大きくなったね！

OK, stand there, I'm going to do a sneak peak!

試し撮りよ！

No, stand nice and cute!

普通に笑って！

One of Momma chan's favorite things to do in the late winter is to get out and see the plum blossoms,

ママちゃんは 冬の終わりに咲く梅が好きです

and this year they have been especially slow to bloom, maybe because it's been so cold.

今年は厳冬だったので 開花が遅いです

What did you get there, Sarah? A dunguri (acorn)

- サラ それは？ - どんぐり

Oh, sure enough.

そうだね

Cold! The wind makes it cold.

寒い！

But each time we visit more and more are in bloom. We are ready for Spring!

冷たい風ね

Can I [use the stick]... No

確実に芽吹いています 春も間近です！

Ahhh, why?

- 貸して - ダメ

What are you guys going to do? Go in the water!

なんで？

Go in the water. Go in the water?!

- 何するの？ - 水に入る！

What do you think Sarah? Is it cold?

- 水に入る！ - 本当に？！

Freezing. It's freezing?!

サラ 冷たい？

But before winter is done, there's one thing we still want to squeeze in.

- すごく - 冷たい？

This year has been a record year for snowfall up in the mountains, and a number of my friends and I love to ski.

冬が終わる前に やり残した事があります

Each year we all take a day off work and leave early in the morning for a 3-hour car ride up to a ski resort.

友達とスキーに行きます 今年の雪は良質だそうです

We weren't able to do it last year, so we don't want to miss it again this year!

毎年 片道3時間かけて 日帰りスキーに行きます

To drive into the mountains, you need to be prepared with proper snow chains for your car.

去年は行けなかったので 楽しみです！

Oh I don't know if I can do it though... You can!

雪山に入る前に スノーチェーンを装着します

Beautiful technique

- 上手くいくかな - 出来る！

Alright Dude, that was fast!

すごい腕前！

We got the chains on, and now we're ready to roll. Let's go!

- OK - いいね！速い！

Yoshi, do they put the blue, do they spray paint it on the sides so you know where the wall is?

チェーンを装着したので 出発します！

Yeah, what about that blue mark...

ヨシ あの青いペイントは 壁の位置かな？

I think so you can see the wall, ne.

壁の位置かな

Welcome to Gala!

ガーラへようこそ！

Masaki, did you bring your helmet from home?

登ります！

We're going to go up now. Let's do it.

カメラ持参とは さすがだな！

You impress me with bringing your cameras on trips, man.

撮影係が一人はいるだろ？

Common man! Somebody's gotta make it happen. Someone's gotta do it, man.

ユーチューバーがいたら その人がカメラ係だね

When you got a YouTube channel you got to... Pay the price!

いいね！

You gotta work that thing!

吹雪の山頂までは あっという間でした

Alright- yea!

滑るぞ！

It wasn't long before we were up on the mountain in the middle of all that snow!

吹雪だ！

Alright, it's time to ski in the snowstorm!

行こう！

Let's go! You won't be able to see much.

ほとんど見えない

Cheese!

チーズ！

This right here is like more of the mountain than we've seen all day.

これぞ雪山って感じだね

I think I'm going to get a little video too.

僕も撮ろう

Oh, there goes Yoshi. He's halfway down already!

ヨシがもう下ってる！

Oh, disappeared beyond the horizon.

見えなくなった

Ben- you've got the skills, man! What up?

ベン！上手に滑るね！

You're the real deal. I'm just trying to do me, you know what I'm saying.

- すごいな！ - 頑張ったからね

Just trying to get sponsored out here. Ha ha!

スポンサー見つかるかな

[Yoshi] You want some chocolate? Oh man!!

- チョコいる？ - おぉ！

Yoshi, my new best friend! Wow!

ヨシ 僕の親友！

Well, this has been the weather all day: snowy, cloudy. Hardly be able to see, it should be awesome for YouTube.

一日中 雪と曇り空 動画にはもってこいです

Alright!

いいね！

Oh wow What's up?

いいね！

All good? It's great.

ランチタイム！

Alright. Let's finish?

隔離と… 何も無し！

Alright. Let's finish?

ランチの後も滑りましたが 最後にもう一つ寄り道です

Lunchtime!

温泉に来ました！

Quarantined... not quarantined. Quarantined... not quarantined.

- 冬の温泉！ - 今日の温泉はここ

After lunch and a lot more skiing, it was time to head back down the mountain, but our day was not done.

スキーの後の温泉

Here we go- onsen time! Oh man.

山頂が見える！

Onsen in the winter. This is where it's at!

すごい積雪です！

After a day of skiing—look! You can actually see the top of the mountain kind of.

日帰りスキーを終えて 家に帰ると 子供達は勉強していました

Look at all this snow, look at how tall it is here. My goodness.

この字体を見て 傾斜しているでしょ？

One day trips are fun and memorable, but back at home it was business as usual, with the girls working on their English.

こう？

See how the letters are — look— they're not up and down, they're kind of slanted...

筆記体の勉強？ 英語の書道みたいだね

Oh this way? Yea.

日本語の書道は得意だよね

Oh, you guys going to learn cursive writing? It's like calligraphy in English.

止めるよ

That's cool. And you girls are so good at it in Japanese. OK, unpause.

"しっかり座って 書きましょう"

[Teacher] You shouldn't write in a really relaxed form, your back should be straight, probably up against the back rim of your chair...

ジョシュアは小学校の準備です

Joshua also has work to do to get ready for elementary school.

忙しそうだね ジョシュアは何をしてるの？

The little Reutter kids are busy up here. What are you working on Joshua?

ひらがな

My hiragana [Japanese characters] Your hiragana?!

- サラは？ - 紙粘土

What's Sarah working on? A play dough that turns hard.

紙粘土？ 何を作るの？

A play dough that turns hard? So what are you going to make? Have you decide yet?

犬だよ

It's a dog. It's going to be a dog?

1・2・3 の順だね

Start on the 1, 2, 3. What sound does that make?

「か」

"Ka" "Ka" that's right, good job.

ママたっての希望で 梅の咲き具合を見に もう一度公園に来ました

Even though we had already visited a couple of times,

子供は梅より 水遊びがしたいようです

Momma chan wanted the family to come out at least one more time to see the plum blossoms had finally bloomed or not,

ルイーザ 水はどう？

but the kids first requested that we stop and play in the water.

すごく寒い！

Hey Luisa, how's the water?! So fun!

パパの靴は濡れてないよ

Super cold. Super cold? It looks cold!

暗くて見えない

Yep, I have my shoes on, but I'm not getting them wet...

撮るよ

See? It's so dark, like the camera, I can't see a thing.

見えない！

Well, it's filming!

助けて！

Yea, I can't see a thing!

サラ！どこから来たの？

Save me! Ow.

向こう？

Sarah! Where'd you come from? Huh? There.

ジョシュア！

Over there?

厳しい冬も終わります

Wow Dude!

例年より遅い梅の満開が 冬の終わりを告げます

They say patience pays off, and in this case it's true

心が春の希望で満たされます もうすぐ春本番です

because even though it was way later than normal, the plum blossoms were finally in full bloom.

写真撮りたい！

Walking through the gardens the hope of Spring filled our hearts and the knowledge that warmer, greener days are ahead.

自撮りしましょう

I want to take a picture, take a picture!

並んで！

Let's just do one, a selfie of us or something.

ご視聴ありがとうございます！

OK guys, line up. You ready?

また次回 お会いしましょう！

Thanks for watching. You can show your support by subscribing to our channel.

Until next time, we'll see you on Life in Japan. Bye bye.