Joshie in 2008

Prince Joshie has had a pretty good 2008 so far. He continues to grow and prosper, turning 4 on St. Paddy’s day (pix here). Among the many highlights of his year so far have been the aforementioned trip to New Zealand, the start of his second year at Kindergarten (Youchien), Spring Sports Day and a Kindy field trip to Denpark (A Denmark themed amusement park/botanical gardens in the heart of heavily industrialized Anjou-shi, possibly the last place anyone on earth would associate with Denmark).

Joshie’s kindergarten Sports day (more pix) had all the traditional kiddie games one would expect from such an event, such as, a papier-mache Demon guiding relay, a melon-shaped bun grabbing race, Stalin-esque mass gymnastics and last but not least, a race with giant carp suspended on hooks. Sounds like a bundle of laughs, huh? He enjoyed it anyway. His field trip to “Denmark” wasn’t that bad either even though the concept sounds bizarre. The park was actually rather pretty (paid for by the guilty factory owners as a sop to the community) and Joshie had a blast. His highlight was the Train powered by recycled cooking oil, not that he knew or cared (even more pix).

The highlight of his highness’ calendar so far this year would have to be meeting Ultraman and Ultraman Mebius. “Ultra who?” I hear you ask. Good question! Ultraman and his numerous allies and protégés is the oldest and most famous of Japan’s myriad live action/rubber suit super heroes. Conceived just after Godzilla first hit screens, Ultraman is the shared ancestor of all such similar shoes of which there are dozens of variations, the most ‘famous’ being “The Mighty Morphing Power Rangers”. Does anybody out there remember them? Other famous Heroes include, the Masked Rider, Go-On-gers and Rescue Force. Ultraman’s legacy is also very evident in a lot of Kids manga and anime. Click for Pix

After all the excitement of the first half of the year Prince Joshua Patrick has decided to take it easy for a while. So this summer vacation he’ll spend some time at home, chillin’ out with Mum and Dad, catching up on the adventures of Ultraman, Bob the Builder and Thomas.