It isn't a class or a club. These are just kids from the neighborhood and they've found something fascinating. After a bit of inquiry, I find out they are all finding tadpoles. The spring tradition for children worldwide is alive in Japan, too.
When I was a kid, we didn't search for tadpoles. We caught newts. I still have vivid memories of tying little pieces of cheese with a long string in order to pull them up and touch them. We never brought them home, only looked closely at them to see their neat eyes and feet. And, of course, we would tease each other about the poisonous newts that only the other person had.
My son quickly joined in the fun of catching tadpoles. He scored a large plastic bottle from one of the park moms. Once he had caught several, he quickly began begging to take them home. He wanted to watch them transform into frogs. Knowing this was a right of passage, I agreed. Suddenly, visions of my favorite Japanese children's movie, Totoro, came to mind, as there is a scene with the main characters checking out the tadpoles in the stream.
After I had a short talk with my son, agreeing that we would return the amphibians after they became frogs, I notified my son of my approval for 5 tadpoles to live in our home. He was super excited. He held them as he rode home on the back of my bike from the park. Once inside, he fed them a couple grains of rice and a piece of mizuna (a green leafy vegetable often used for salad).
The next day, I went to the store to and bought a small fish bowl. They now live on our dining room, in what I affectionately call "temporary housing." My son loves to watch the little swimmers, as do we all.
Today, with his best friend from America in town, we headed back to the park for a walk. Soon, my son was showing his friend how to catch the tadpoles and his mom and I were having to explain why we couldn't take these tadpoles back with us. I rolled my eyes and quietly sighed. Why had I started this? Once you say yes, they always expect a yes.
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