For some history on this subject, please see my earlier posts about our Japanese adoption experience:

• A Japan Adoption
• Here she is – Our Japan Adoption
• Japan Adoption Agencies
• Bonding with an Adopted Child
• Traveling to Japan to Pick up Our Adopted Daughter

Today, our not so little Japanese daughter is nearly 2 and half years old. She is in the 100% category for weight for her age and 75% in height. So much for a petite Japanese girl! She is a very active and bubbly child and has recently been talking up a storm; and sometimes we even can understand her! (Our little alien has turned into a true little human) When I look back to the time when we first brought her home from Japan; she was such a stoic little baby, our adopted daughter has really blossomed. She has truly been a blessing to our family. So, on to some details.

For those considering a Japanese adoption, please understand that I don’t have some kind of inside track on how get it done today as the Japanese adoption landscape has changed a lot in the last two years. As of this writing, I know that the two most active Japanese adoption agencies (International Family and Agency to Rescue Children) have nearly stopped doing adoptions. As I understand, the primary reason is because of the advanced age of their principals. In an earlier post, I wrote about a California based contact for Agency to Rescue Children…I while back I received an email from this person saying that the Agency to Rescue Children is no longer accepting applications. That is the last I know about it. As for International Family (the agency we used), I know that they are still in business, but don’t seem to be placing many children anymore. I really don’t know their current status. Since we brought our daughter home two years ago, I know of a handful of babies who have been adopted out of Japan, but after that, the path seems to have dried up. If anyone can add any factual information, please add your comments here to share with others.

For those who are new adopted parents (not just of Japanese adoptions), my comment is this; HANG IN THERE, it’s totally worth it! Having trouble bonding? Stick to it and your baby will meet you half way. As we have one birth child and one adopted child, I can say that today we love both children exactly the same even though it may not have started out that way. Our son was actually the first to really take to the baby (and visa versa) but I suppose they could just relate to each other on a level only children understand. Yes, it wasn’t easy and it wasn’t anything like bonding to a birth child (unless maybe if you’re adopting an newborn infant). We’ve started telling our adopted daughter that we chose her to join our family and that she was special because she was born in Japan. Of course she doesn’t understand any of this, but we don’t want to hide her adopted status from her. After all, it is something that really does make her a special child, and certainly no less loved.

In April 2008, we took our adopted daughter back to the homeland (Japan) for a visit to the clinic where she was born. A good way to connect with her roots. Here she is at a hot spring in Hakone Japan.

At 2 years and 4 months, she’s growing up fast!

For those interested in the adoption process, I can only say, oh my God, what a long process! We brought our daughter home in October of 2006 and our adoption was finally finalized in court in November of 2007. To top it off, we have yet to finish some immigration issues with the Federal government and get her a US Passport – blah, blah, blah. All the while, our adoption attorney’s time clock was ticking away. It got to be a LOT more expensive than we ever imagined. HOWEVER, let me stress that this was only our particular experience due to our circumstances. I know from other parents that it’s not always this slow (and pricey).

So where are we today? Well as I write this post, my daughter has done the nightly migration from her bedroom to our bedroom, and she has taken her rightful place in my bed right where I’m supposed to sleep. I will soon carry her down to her room, only to have her migrate back to my bed about an hour after that… Sounds like a pretty normal child doesn’t it?

Or, maybe you’ve seen this sticker…

In Hawaii (and in SoCal I hear), it seems that “cool” young dudes in the import car hot-rod scene think these Japanese stickers are da bomb! Maybe I’m an old fut, cause I don’t get it and I’m seeing more and more of these Japanese stickers on cars all the time. I’ve tried to pull along side one of these guys to ask him why he has this sticker on his car…of course he couldn’t hear me over the loud exhaust and hip-hop music blaring from his car.

Or maybe they don’t know the true meaning behind these stickers from Japan… (I’ll bet Japanese visitors in Hawaii look and laugh at these guys.) So what are these stickers? Well the first sticker, the green and yellow one, is used in Japan to designate a young, new driver. This sticker is known as “Shoshinsha” 初心者マーク（しょしんしゃマーク）or sometimes by “Wakaba” 若葉マーク（わかばマーク）. In Japan, this is one of those things that you certainly DON’T WANT to have on your car. Think of it as the Japanese equivalent to driving around with a big “STUDENT DRIVER” sign plastered on your car. Very cool dude!

A badge of honor – Only the smokin’ hot cars in Japan have these “new driver” stickers on them!

The brown and yellow sticker has a different meaning. In Japan, if you’re a senior citizen, you put this “Koreisha” 高齢者マーク sticker on your car as a way of telling other drivers, “I’m old, don’t bother me!”

So if anyone can tell me where they are getting these Japanese stickers, and WHY they’re putting them on their souped up import cars, please explain it to this old fut. There MUST be a good reason why these stickers are cool. Hey, maybe I need one of these brown and yellow Koreisha stickers for my car!

Jasmine Trias or Jordan Segundo of American Idol fame come to mind, but that would be incorrect. Keali’i Rachel, Jake Shimabukuro and Iz (r.i.p) are talented and well known beyond Hawaii, but they would also be incorrect.

Correct answers: 1) Yuna Ito, 2) Shen Brown, 3) Angela Aki, 4) Melody Ishikawa

Never heard of them? Join the club. The reason is that all have left Hawaii and have reached a level of fame, not in the US mainland, but in Japan. How good are they? Let me introduce a bunch of music vidoes and you can judge for yourself. Even if you don’t have time to watch the whole video, please take a moment to play at least a little of each one; you’re in for a real treat. When you’re done, please ask yourself, why don’t more people (in Hawaii at least) know who they are?

Yuna Ito
A 2001 graduate from McKinley High School in Honolulu, Yuna Ito is one of Japan’s hottest stars today. Her January 16, 2008 single with Celine Dion is climbing the Japanese music charts. But the proof is in the music. Please enjoy the following music videos.

Here’s another Yuna Ito video filmed in Hawaii called “Mahaloha.” The man appearing the video is Micro of the group Def Tech (read on about Def Tech).

Shen Brown of Def Tech
Shenan Brown out of Iolani School is part of group that is bringing Jawaiian music to Japan. Def Tech’s music marries English, Japanese, Hawaiian and Reggae together in a unique blend that deserves to be heard. Shen’s partner is Micro, who sang with Yuna Ito in the “Mahaloha” music video. The following video is live recording of Def Tech’s hit called “My Way.” Pay attention to the English lyrics and you’ll notice there’s a refreshingly positive message in Def Tech’s music.

Here’s a professionally produced music video of Def Tech’s single “Catch the Wave.” Hawaii visitor industry people: note the strong Hawaiian influence seen in living rooms all over Japan.

Angela Aki
Angela Aki is a singer/songwriter/piano player who was born in Japan but graduated from Iolani School (go Raiders!). Angela, who is happa (her father is Japanese and mother is American) has made forays into the US music scene but made it big in Japan in 2006 with the release of her platinum selling album “Home” which peaked at number 2 in the Japanese music charts. Here’s the music video of the album’s title track, “Home.”

Sadly, the following song has no music video, but it was included here because it was a great example of Angela Aki’s English voice. This song, “Surrender” is from her album entitled “Today,” which was released in September 2007.

melody.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Melody Ishikawa (aka ‘melody.’) has established herself as star in the J-pop music scene with a string of hits dating back to 2004. Here’s a music video of her breakthrough single titled “Realize.”

In April 2007, Melody was picked to host an NHK Japan produced, English language music TV show entitled “J-Melo” (seen on NGN in Hawaii). J-Melo is shown worldwide and is intended to share Japanese music with a world audience. Here’s a clip from the TV show where Melody interviews a Japanese/African-American singer, Crystal Kay (watch through the video to hear some Crystal Kay’s R&B J-pop music).

For more info about any of these Japan/Hawaii stars, check out these Wikipedia articles for Yuna Ito, Shen Brown (Def Tech), Angela Aki and Melody. Of course if you want to hear more of their music, YouTube.com has a wealth of content from each artist.

I would certainly love to hear your feedback about these artists with Hawaii ties. Do you think any of these performers could have popular commercial appeal outside of Japan? I’m taking a poll…so let me know what you think.

Talk about parallel parking! Or maybe you use a forklift and lower your car in this space. Good thing this guy sold his F-150 extended cab!

Can you imagine parking here everyday?

Consider this is Japan, the steering wheel is on the RIGHT HAND SIDE of the car! This guy parks his car and has to climb out of the passenger side. I hope he’s skinny!

While it is true that most Japanese people own small cars, it’s also true that like in America, big cars make more of a statement. Americans like big trucks and SUVs, but Japanese people seem to like vans. If you think Toyota, you think of the Sienna van; Honda, the Odyssey, Nissan, the Quest. But in Japan, all the big automakers have a line up a vans that don’t get exported to the States. Here’s a couple of Nissan bad boys that would might even make American men want to drive a van.

No Soccer-mom Nissan Quest here!

I ran into this little message printed on the side of a car. In this case the grammar used is not too bad. But the content…well… Now, before you think this was just one person’s idea (the car owner) of poetry, let me assure you that this message was factory OEM stuff. You may need to click on this photo to clearly read it.

Can you hear them? Can you hear the carib screaming?

For those looking for some background here, please see my earlier posts on Sumo in Hawaii, a Sumo Primer, and Who to watch in the Hawaii Grand Sumo Tournament.

Following is a NHK news clip (in English) that nicely sets up Hakuho winning the Natsu Basho (May tournament) and practically ensuring Yokozuna promotion.

Hakuho’s promotion came on the heals of a perfect 15-0 performance during the May tournament. After also winning the March tournament, his promotion pretty much set in stone upon the completion of this tournament. On the final day, Hakuho manhandled Yokozuna Asashoryu in a way that made him look befitting of the rank. Asashoryu finished with a disappointing 11-4 record. Following is an NHK clip of that final match, in English of course.

In other developments Ozeki (Champion) Tochiazuma retired from sumo during the Natsu Basho after it was announced that he had a brain injury which would make continuing his sumo career dangerous. This sets the stage where the Hawaii Grand Sumo Tournament will feature two Yokozuna (Asashoryu and Hakuho), and now only three wrestlers with the 2nd highest Ozeki rank, Chiyotaikai, Kaio and Kotooshyu. Sekiwake (Jr. Champion) Kotomitsuki finished the May tournament with a strong record and will be seeking Ozeki promotion in July. Look for Kotomitsuki to be highly motivated when he comes to Hawaii.

As always, check out http://www.sumohawaii.com for more tickets and information about the June 9 & 10, 2007 Hawaii Grand Sumo Tournament.

First a disclaimer. As of this writing, the Combi Zeus-Turn (or simply, Zeus) car seat is a Japanese product that is, to my knowledge, not currently exported nor certified for use in the US. In preparing this writeup I do not claim to be a car seat safety expert. These comments and observations are strictly my opinions based on my use of the product over a 4 year period. There are probably very few native English speaking people who have used this car seat to even write a review. Car seat designs change, so I don’t know if the latest Combi Zeus is of the exact same design as this 2003 model. The seat could certainly have evolved since I purchased mine.

For all you child safety advocates out there, I understand your passion and professionalism, but please don’t jump all over me about this. I’m just a regular person who loves his children just as much as the next guy. In my opinion, child safety in a car is a combination of many things; a good car seat properly installed, the child properly restrained in the seat, the car seat position in your car, the type of car you drive, and your personal driving habits. So, is a kid riding in a Honda Odyssey with a $50 hand-me-down car seat better or worse off than the kid in the $200 Britax with the road raging parent driving a prone-to-roll-over SUV with under inflated tires? I am not one to pass judgment. I’ve already been scolded by one “safety patrol” person that the photo of my daughter in the Combi (in the earlier post) showed her in a forward facing position. My response: did you notice that the van was parked, the doors were open, and I was standing outside taking her picture? Come on, we weren’t moving! Before I closed the doors and drove off, I flipped her rear facing…with a Combi Zeus, you can do that (and I realize that some people will say that’s a bad thing).

What is the Combi Zeus
The Combi Zeus is a very different kind of car seat. It is a 360 degree swiveling clam shell seat on a large stationary base. It can go rear facing for infants, and forward facing for toddlers (and side facing to ease your lower back pain when loading your child). The 2003 Japanese model we own is only secured by standard shoulder seat belts — there are no LATCH straps. (See the Combi Zeus-Turn Japanese website…note, no English here.)

Click on these thumbnails for larger images:

The last image above has writing all in Japanese. But you should get the point. According to Combi, the car seat should be used rear facing with a child up to 9 to 10 kg (19.84 to 22.04 US pounds), after that Combi is recommending to switch the child forward facing up until 18 kg (39.68 US pounds). I believe the most commonly held recommendation these days is to have the child sit rear facing for as long as possible, so a 22 pound rear facing limit may not be enough for some. My daughter just turned 12 months as of this writing and weighed in at exactly 22 pounds, so I’ll be following the manufacturers guidelines and start facing her forward.

Buying the Combi Zeus
We bought our car seat in Japan from Akachan Honpo (like a Babies R Us in Japan), and much to our surprise, they would only sell it to us after they checked the make and model of our car to see if the seat was compatible. Not only that but we were supposed to show proof of ownership of the car as well! After explaining that we were American visitors and could not easily show them our car registration, they agreed to sell us the seat on our good word that we were telling the truth about our car . It was a while ago, but I believe we paid around $300 for it (not including the price of travel to Japan).

Installing the Combi Zeus
Even if you don’t read Japanese, the car seat installation was fairly straightforward. They even included a video on the proper installation of the product. Still, I found my Combi Zeus to be really hard to get a good firm installation without using another device to augment the belt system (read on). See the following pictures and captions for a first hand tour of some of these points.

Here are simple to follow directions on how to install the car seat belt through the Combi Zeus.

The first photo above shows the actual belt path. The second photo shows the final belt clip open, the third photo shows it closed. The forth photo shows the adjustable rebound bar.

A word about the belt clip (I don’t know what else to call it) in the second and third picture above. I don’t like that thing very much. While it is made of sturdy plastic, basically the same material as the car seat itself, it seems like a weak point in terms of safety. It does lock down with a positive snap, but I’ve always wondered what would happen if it pops open. From an installation point of view, I found that locking belt clip made the seat very hard to install because it was hard to pull the slack out of the seat belt to get a good firm lock. Even with another person pushing down on the seat, once that clip was locked down, it was very hard to pull the slack out of the belt.

I found a solution for that by using a Mighty Tite seat belt ratchet. This device installs near the anchor point of the seat belt, and makes tightening down a car seat very easy by simply ratcheting the slack out of the belt. I’ve heard most car seat safety experts frown upon the use of the product, but I’ve found it to be the best way to get the fit I want out of this Combi car seat. Again, I’m no safety pro, but come on, this thing is a basic ratchet. It is the same industrial-age technology that has been securing cargo in flat bed trucks and planes every day for decades. Still, from a purists point of view, I would agree that it is another possible point of failure.

The Mighty Tite installed.

Using the Combi Zeus – Making it turn
This is the feature that makes this seat unique, and it’s what everyone stops me in parking lots about. I’ll try my best to give a step by step in the following pictures.

In this picture, you’re looking at the bottom front of the seat locked in forward facing position.

In this picture, the yellow dial ring is the safety lock. With the seat locked into forward facing, this ring must be turned before the seat can be unlocked from forward facing.

In this picture, my finger is pulling up the release latch. This latch serves several functions. If you want to swivel the seat, you must first turn the yellow safety lock (previous photo), then pull up this latch and push the seat up and back. This will unlock the seat from forward facing and allow it to turn. If you want to simply adjust the reclining angle of the forward facing seat (like for a sleeping child), just lift this latch and push the seat forward or back (without turning the safety lock). In rear facing position, this latch is the only release to make the seat turn.

Now that the seat has been unlocked from forward facing, you can turn the seat. Above, is the rear of the seat. Note the two “rails” that extend down the back below seat cover. These rails are what lock into place and secure the seat in forward facing. The length of the rail is the amount of recline that the seat can do in the forward facing position.

Here the seat in nearly fully turned into the rear facing position. Your rear facing child’s feet will be resting here on the seat base. Note the two slots on the back of the seat base – these slots have bolts which are what lock the rails (in the previous picture) into forward facing.

The child’s harness is a 5 point design with a puzzle type buckle. The two sides first must be fitted together, then pushed into the snap. Note the middle photo, the red colored dot below the big red release button show that the buckle is not fully locked. In the final photo, the dot is now green indicating a solid snap.

I know some might be wondering if a child can turn the seat by him/herself. In my experience no. I think a child sitting in the seat would have to be from the planet Krypton to operate the seat by himself to make it swivel. An infant seated in the rear facing position will not have the strength, or physical dexterity to reach down to their feet and with one hand pull and hold the release latch, then simultaneously with their other hand, turn the seat. A larger child sitting forward facing, might possibly have long enough arms to reach and operate the release latch, but he wouldn’t be able to reach the safety lock that must be released before the seat can turn. Seriously, I don’t see how it would be humanly possible for a kid to make the seat swivel while seated. And, after four years of use, neither of my children have even attempted to turn the seat.

Conclusions – The good and bad
The upside:

1. Loading your child in the car is SOOO much easier because the seat will turn to face the door opening. Don’t under estimate this feature, this alone is a huge draw. As parents, we love our Zeus.
2. It’s convertible so you can use this seat for newborns up until 3 or 4 years depending on the size of your child.
3. Durable construction and high quality materials used throughout. Compared to other car seats we’ve used, our Combi seat has sustained a lot of wear and tear over 4 years and still looks and feels new.
4. In forward facing mode, the car seat can be easily reclined to make a more comfortable position for a sleeping toddler.
5. Child comfort. Our daughter can’t talk yet, but our son told us that the Combi is more comfortable than our other car seats. He was sad to give it up for his baby sister.

The downside:

1. In general, all car seats can be pretty hard enough to install (correctly). Our Combi Zeus was very hard to install correctly without the Mighty Tite.
2. Size and weight. This is a big and heavy car seat and it certainly won’t fit into all cars.
3. The rear facing weight limit is pretty low.
4. It is certainly possible to misuse this seat by failing to lock the seat into forward or rear facing positions before driving. Sadly, no child safety product can prevent parental stupidity.
5. As far as I know, it is not a US certified product. If you’re really into the “safety patrol” thing, lack of US certification means you probably shouldn’t buy it. On the other hand, Japanese child safety laws and regulations are not exactly “third world” either, so the seat did pass certification over there. I have many Japanese friends and I can tell you that they love their kids too.
6. Or if you’re of the camp that believes that more complicated things means more points of failure, then the Combi Zeus is not for you.
7. If you really think this seat is cool and want to get one, I believe you still have to go to Japan. The air ticket alone will make this car seat really expensive .

We’ve now been to Japan now three times with our 4 year old son (the last time was to pick up our adopted daughter) and we’ve learned something from the experience that might be worthwhile sharing.

First, let me say that while Japanese people have a soft spot for kids, Japan is not a really kid friendly country from an American’s point of view. Specifically, I’m talking about the big cities, Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, etc… So, should you avoid travel to Japan if you have young children? I wouldn’t say that. But you should try to understand the differences between how everyday Japanese families (with children) live versus how we in America live.

Travel Topic; Getting Around in Japan
In America we all drive cars. You put your kids in the car. The most walking you do is to where you park your car. Kids stuff? No problem, put it in the car. Shopping bags? Put them in the car too. Got too much stuff? Get a bigger car. In Japan’s large cities, everyday people get around by walking, biking, trains, buses and taxis. Got kids? They walk. Kid stuff? You carry it. Shopping bags? You carry those too. Got too much stuff? You leave it behind.

While it’s true that most Japanese families probably own one car, they don’t use them like we Americans do. And if think you’re going to go to Japan and rent a car…you need to get real with your inner self.

Tip number one – Get in shape before you go!
If you have children of walking age, prepare them for A LOT OF WALKING! Parents, get ready to hear A LOT OF COMPLAINTS about the walking. Japan’s rail system (especially in the big cites) is world class, but you still got to do a lot of walking to and from the stations. So, before going to Japan you and your kids should get in shape by taking long walks everyday. To make it even more real, you should each take along a backpack full of books to simulate the various things that you will need to carry with you on your vacation (for example: camera, dictionary, maps, kids stuff…maybe a jacket, stuff that you buy).

Tip number two – Bring a small, light stroller!
If your kid is still in a stroller you’ll need to bring it. But keep in mind that Japan is not stroller friendly with all the stairs and hoards of people. Elevators are still not too common at the train stations (although this is changing fast). You will find that you’ll be frequently toting your child AND your stroller, so bring a light stroller with a carry strap. (Ever wonder why Japanese stroller makers, Combi and Aprica, produce smaller and lighter strollers than US designs? Leave your SUV-sized American stroller at home!) You’re better off with a strap-on carrier if your baby is old enough to hold his/her head up. Don’t have one? Buy one in Japan. You will be astounded with the wide variety of carriers they have, and after you’ve spent time there with a baby you’ll understand why.

Tip number three – What to do about car seats?
I’m not sure what car seat laws are in Japan, but I know that the times we did ride in the car, we didn’t have any protection for our kids! Yikes! Still, it is simply not practical to bring a car seat to Japan as you would when traveling within the US. Japanese taxis will pick you up even though you don’t have your kid in a car seat. But, I don’t think a taxi will pick you if you’re standing on the side of the road holding a baby and a car seat…he’s not going to want to wait for you to install it. Your choice is sometimes the lesser of two evils: risk the car ride, or have your child CRUSHED alive in a subway train…tough choice.

One more thing about Japanese car seats. During our first trip to Japan with our son we bought a Combi Zeus car seat from Akachan Honpo and lugged that big sucker home. It was one of the best baby products we ever bought. This model is not exported to the US, but we love it. It goes rear facing and forward facing – but the main thing is that it swivels 360 degrees which makes loading and unloading your child less back breaking. Now our adopted daughter uses it.

Little thumb-suckers are easier to get in and out of the car with our cool Combi car seat. Note the thick steel rod that extends from the front of the car seat to the floor board for extra safety.

Tip number four – On the trains, avoid the rush hour!
Japan is a highly structured society. One of the ways they keep the peace is by staggering peoples’ work/school days. For example, most office workers are at work by 9am, schools start a little later, and then retail stores open for shopping after that. It keeps the different groups of people (office workers, students and housewives) off the transportation network at the same time. But, because the largest of these three groups are the office workers, this means the trains are insanely packed between 7am and 9am – you’ve seen the pictures of station attendants shoving people in so the doors can close, that’s what I’m talking about. Riding a train with a small child at this time is so dangerous it’s simply suicidal. Japanese families just don’t do it. As a side tip, if you do get caught on a crowed train with your child, stand close to the door and put your child between your legs. And whatever you do, don’t get pushed from that spot. If you need to make a fast exit you’ll be able to without getting separated from your child.

A final thought related to getting around in Japan with kids. If you have children old enough to wander away from you, make sure you have some form of identification and phone number tattooed (joking) on to their bodies. If you can get this information written in Japanese so much the better, but, most people can read an English ID. Rent a cell phone so you can be reached in an emergency. Tokyo is one of the most densely populated cities in the world; can you imagine what you would do if your child got lost?

I’ll continue this subject in a later post…