Girl's Day at the Aiji no Ie orphanage

"A" and Doug celebrated Girl's Day at the Aiji no Ie (House of the Precious Children) Orphanage in Tokyo.  "A" was chosen to represent her Kindergarten class there in a day of food, fun, and friendship.

Mendel K. Elementary has a special relationship with the orphanage.  Each classroom sponsors one child from the orphanage, who then comes to the school on special days to visit and spend the day with the class.  "A"'s Aiji no Ie classmate is Karina.  Here is "A" and Karina, two of the cutest little girls in the world.

So "A", Doug, and the other students with their parents met at the school to catch a bus to central Tokyo where the orphanage is located.  Once there, the kids were excited to see their friends and celebrate Girl's Day.  Here is "A" waiting patiently in line to go in.

Once in, "A" got her name tag and her schedule of activities.  Can she look any more excited?

One of the activities was ikebana, or Japanese flower arrangement, which they got to bring home.

Another traditional Japanese activity the children got to do was shodo, Japanese calligraphy.

The girls also made some cards and origami...

Played some japanese games...

And got to dress in traditional Japanese outfits.

After all those activities, it was time to EAT!!!  The ladies were working hard to prepare all the food for the luncheon.  Mmmmm...

Here is the VERY extensive menu, written in both Japanese and English.  That is a lot of food!

It was such a delicious spread of traditional Japanese foods.  A great learning and great tasting experience for the Yokota students and parents!

Along with all that food, the kids also got to choose from boxes of Japanese goodies. Can the day get any better?

In honor of Girl's Day, the traditional ornamental dolls were also on display for the children to see.

 The visit was a wonderful way of celebrating Girl's Day and lovely experience for the kids of both Mendel Elementary and the Aiji no Ie Orphanage. It was such an honor to have "A" be a part of it and we are humbled to have been welcomed into the childrens' home.  If you would like to read more about the unique friendship between Yokota AB and the Aiji Ie Orphanage please click here.