This weekend has been very relaxing. Friday night Kan had a dinner with work so a lady whose fiance was with Kan came over to our apartment and we made Japanese curry together and hung out. Saturday it was a family day and we did not do much. We relaxed and I watched Midnight Madness on the Sling! WHOO HOO! GO CATS! They sure did look good in the dunk contest. Kan's friend came and took us to Shibuya. So you know in all the movies of Tokyo that you see there is this major intersection where it seems like thousands of people are crossing? This is Shibuya. I had wanted to go there but not by myself with Miyako because of all the people, so we went on Saturday. It is everything and more that you see in the movies. Swarms and swarms of people. I am glad I saw it but do not think it will be a place I frequent. I did cross the major intersection with Miyako in her stroller. I think she had sensory overload from all of the people and bright lights.
Today we had a lovely time meeting with the Dutch missionaries I mentioned earlier. It was so refreshing as Japan can be a dark place spiritually. They are strategically working to bring the Gospel to Tokyo and have great support through Redeemer Pres in New York City. Kan really enjoyed talking with them as well and we simply had a wonderful time.
This afternoon Kan's friends took us to Odaiba. There are two big shopping malls here with lots of places outside to walk around. One of the malls reminded Kan and I of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Tokyo has more shopping than any other place I have been to. I enjoyed the kid store and got several Hello Kitty gifts to bring home for my friends and their little girls! The Japanese are wonderful hosts. One of Kan's co-workers with a car rented a car seat for the month we are here so he could take us sightseeing on the weekends. So thoughtful. Overall it was a wonderful weekend. And how about those CATS? Pulling out the win at Auburn. That was great news to wake up to this morning.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Date Night with Miyako
The sun was bright today and Miyako and I finally made it to the zoo! After taking the train and walking we made it to the entrance after 30 minutes and found it OPEN! The only problem was my little priss pooh was getting tired. And there was a sign at the door "No Giant Panda." What a bummer because I really thought I would have seen a Panda at the Tokyo Ueno zoo. We walked around and saw lions, tigers and birds oh my. There were tons of bird exhibits. Another bummer was after my first picture of Miyako my memory card became full so I did not get any more pictures, and they had a fake panda I wanted to get a picture of with Miyako in front of it. Oh well. I did buy her a stuffed panda and after a short little 20 minute walk through (not a terribly huge zoo and I had an unhappy baby) we left the zoo and took the metro back home for the afternoon nap.
Tonight Miyako and I had a date night since Kan was out late with work. We went to the mall and walked around. I was going to eat in the food court and share a pizza with her (her first by the way) until I saw that Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company was open. The restaurant was connected to the mall and overlooked the Tokyo Bay. Since we were eating at 5, we saw the bay at a beautiful time of day. The sun was starting to go down and the lights were coming alive off the buildings and bridge. I did not get my picture, due to my memory card not getting fixed yet, but I will forever remember it in my mind. Miyako had a kids cheese pizza, and loved it by the way, and I had some popcorn shrimp.
I had never been to a Bubba Gump restaurant before, but as you can imagine they play lots of country music. Now, I am not a huge fan of country. The best time I have had with country music was two years ago at the post Vandy/UK game celebration when my girlfriends and I hit the bars in Nashville. We joked that we were the only ones in the bars singing along without knowing the words considering our choice of music is Black Eyed Peas and Beyonce. So, sitting in Bubba Gump's with an almost one year old leaves little room for conversation and you are forced to listen to country music. I found the songs quite interesting. I was thinking about my friends at home and missing them a little bit when a Dolly Parton song came on about Jesus meeting you where you are at and how you are not lonely with him. What a sweet reminder God used to brighten my spirits and remind me I am not alone because I have Him.
We ended our date with a chocolate strawberry crepe - for mama naturally - but I did let Miyako have a bite or two of the dough part of the crepe. Tomorrow we are having lunch with a Japanese lady and her 11 month old son. She is married to an American so I am anxious to see if our kids look alike. :) My connection with her came from the Dutch missionaries. I am looking forward to getting to know her over lunch at Denny's (they are much better here than in the States) and letting our kids play at an indoor playland. Until tomorrow...
We finished
Tonight Miyako and I had a date night since Kan was out late with work. We went to the mall and walked around. I was going to eat in the food court and share a pizza with her (her first by the way) until I saw that Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company was open. The restaurant was connected to the mall and overlooked the Tokyo Bay. Since we were eating at 5, we saw the bay at a beautiful time of day. The sun was starting to go down and the lights were coming alive off the buildings and bridge. I did not get my picture, due to my memory card not getting fixed yet, but I will forever remember it in my mind. Miyako had a kids cheese pizza, and loved it by the way, and I had some popcorn shrimp.
I had never been to a Bubba Gump restaurant before, but as you can imagine they play lots of country music. Now, I am not a huge fan of country. The best time I have had with country music was two years ago at the post Vandy/UK game celebration when my girlfriends and I hit the bars in Nashville. We joked that we were the only ones in the bars singing along without knowing the words considering our choice of music is Black Eyed Peas and Beyonce. So, sitting in Bubba Gump's with an almost one year old leaves little room for conversation and you are forced to listen to country music. I found the songs quite interesting. I was thinking about my friends at home and missing them a little bit when a Dolly Parton song came on about Jesus meeting you where you are at and how you are not lonely with him. What a sweet reminder God used to brighten my spirits and remind me I am not alone because I have Him.
We ended our date with a chocolate strawberry crepe - for mama naturally - but I did let Miyako have a bite or two of the dough part of the crepe. Tomorrow we are having lunch with a Japanese lady and her 11 month old son. She is married to an American so I am anxious to see if our kids look alike. :) My connection with her came from the Dutch missionaries. I am looking forward to getting to know her over lunch at Denny's (they are much better here than in the States) and letting our kids play at an indoor playland. Until tomorrow...
We finished
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
A Quiet Day
Today was a quiet day for Miyako and I. Mama did not feel like sightseeing so we went to the indoor play area. I am not sure how to describe it. It is about 4 rooms with toys for different ages of kids along including a lunch room, nap room and changing table area. The workers were so excited to see Miyako-chan. Today it was not very crowded, only about 4 kids there while we were there. I met a lady who is Japanese and is married to an Australian. Her little boy was born exactly one week after Miyako. I enjoyed talking with her, in English of course. She comes to the play area about twice a week and had been there for 2.5 hours when she left. I told Kan I guess women enjoy these play areas because there is lots of room and lots of different toys for their kids to play with. Most apartments are small and do not have a lot of space for a lot of toys. Miyako and I stayed for a hour before we headed home for her afternoon nap.
Miyako ate homemade spaghetti for the first time tonight, leftovers from last night. I have been hesitant in giving her big people food but felt like I needed to expand and give her more variety. It makes me nervous because I am afraid she will choke. I guess it is the first time mom worries in me. She loved the spaghetti and peas for dinner.
Kan has a late night tonight so dinner was on my own. I picked up a kotsudon from the supermarket - this is one of my favorite dishes here - it is egg, onion, and fried pork in this brown sauce over rice, of course. It is really delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it while I watched the local morning news in Lexington on our computer. Let me just say I am not missing the weather you are having back home. Tomorrow in Tokyo it is going to be sunny and a high of 64 (and one of my friends here said that it is starting to get cold here:). We are going back to the zoo tomorrow in hopes of it being open! Pictures will come next post.
Miyako ate homemade spaghetti for the first time tonight, leftovers from last night. I have been hesitant in giving her big people food but felt like I needed to expand and give her more variety. It makes me nervous because I am afraid she will choke. I guess it is the first time mom worries in me. She loved the spaghetti and peas for dinner.
Kan has a late night tonight so dinner was on my own. I picked up a kotsudon from the supermarket - this is one of my favorite dishes here - it is egg, onion, and fried pork in this brown sauce over rice, of course. It is really delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it while I watched the local morning news in Lexington on our computer. Let me just say I am not missing the weather you are having back home. Tomorrow in Tokyo it is going to be sunny and a high of 64 (and one of my friends here said that it is starting to get cold here:). We are going back to the zoo tomorrow in hopes of it being open! Pictures will come next post.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Kyoto
This past weekend was a national holiday in Japan. Since Kan was off work on Monday we made the trip to Kyoto to see his parents and let them meet Miyako for the first time. We took the shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Kyoto and saw some beautiful countryside along the way. We were in Kyoto by lunch time on Saturday (a 2.5 hour train trip would have taken 6 hours in the car) and Miyako got to meet her ojiichan (grandpa) and mommychan (grandma).
Of course they were smitten with Miyako - who wouldn't be right? I was worried that she would not warm up very well since she had never met them before, but after a couple of hours playing and interacting, she did just fine with her Japanese grandparents. We did not do any sightseeing while in Kyoto. We basically just spent time in their home, eating and chatting and letting them get to know Miyako. Oh, I did forget her sippy cup and had to buy one at the local department store for $11. Yes, I could not believe I spent $11 on a plastic sippy cup, but I did not have any other options.
Sunday Mommychan took Miyako shopping and bought her some lovely dresses. Kan's mom is also a wonderful cook and we ate some lovely dinners, both in their presentation and taste. The national holiday was a field day event for elementary age children. Nobody works on this day and parents go to watch their children in the field day event. It turns out that Kan's parents' house is across the street from a school so all day long on Sunday we heard through the loud speaker an announcer calling the events and then kid music playing. It really was all day long! Thankfully Miyako still took a good afternoon nap.
We came back on Monday to lovely weather here in Tokyo. Supposedly it is going to be nice all week! Today Miyako and I ventured to Ueno park. This park has the zoo and several museums including the National Museum of Tokyo. It was a HUGE park and I found where all of the homeless people in Tokyo lived. Up until this point I had not seen a homeless person here and was surprised considering we are in one of the largest cities, if not the largest city, in the world. Well, walking through the park, we saw lots of homeless people and it was quite sad. It was also sad to come upon the zoo and see it was closed today. My friend from Nagoya told me some museums close the Tuesday after a national holiday so I guess this is the policy of the Ueno Zoo. We will try again tomorrow. The National Museum was also closed but the Art Museum was open. I decided to venture in and try it. Turns out you do not pay one price for all of the exhibits, but you pay individually for each exhibit. So, I decided to pick one and since we are in Japan I did the Japanese paintings for 700 yen, a little more than $7. The man who I paid for my ticket was an artist and had some paintings in the exhibit. He proudly walked me to his paintings of Italy. Miyako did great as we skipped her morning nap to venture out. And of course, she made lots of friends on the metro ride to and from the zoo.
A highlight today was my Skype call with my friend out in Arizona! So fun! I love Skype and we decided even when I am home we will Skype so she can see little Miyako.
Here's to tomorrow...let's hope the zoo is open!
Of course they were smitten with Miyako - who wouldn't be right? I was worried that she would not warm up very well since she had never met them before, but after a couple of hours playing and interacting, she did just fine with her Japanese grandparents. We did not do any sightseeing while in Kyoto. We basically just spent time in their home, eating and chatting and letting them get to know Miyako. Oh, I did forget her sippy cup and had to buy one at the local department store for $11. Yes, I could not believe I spent $11 on a plastic sippy cup, but I did not have any other options.
Sunday Mommychan took Miyako shopping and bought her some lovely dresses. Kan's mom is also a wonderful cook and we ate some lovely dinners, both in their presentation and taste. The national holiday was a field day event for elementary age children. Nobody works on this day and parents go to watch their children in the field day event. It turns out that Kan's parents' house is across the street from a school so all day long on Sunday we heard through the loud speaker an announcer calling the events and then kid music playing. It really was all day long! Thankfully Miyako still took a good afternoon nap.
We came back on Monday to lovely weather here in Tokyo. Supposedly it is going to be nice all week! Today Miyako and I ventured to Ueno park. This park has the zoo and several museums including the National Museum of Tokyo. It was a HUGE park and I found where all of the homeless people in Tokyo lived. Up until this point I had not seen a homeless person here and was surprised considering we are in one of the largest cities, if not the largest city, in the world. Well, walking through the park, we saw lots of homeless people and it was quite sad. It was also sad to come upon the zoo and see it was closed today. My friend from Nagoya told me some museums close the Tuesday after a national holiday so I guess this is the policy of the Ueno Zoo. We will try again tomorrow. The National Museum was also closed but the Art Museum was open. I decided to venture in and try it. Turns out you do not pay one price for all of the exhibits, but you pay individually for each exhibit. So, I decided to pick one and since we are in Japan I did the Japanese paintings for 700 yen, a little more than $7. The man who I paid for my ticket was an artist and had some paintings in the exhibit. He proudly walked me to his paintings of Italy. Miyako did great as we skipped her morning nap to venture out. And of course, she made lots of friends on the metro ride to and from the zoo.
A highlight today was my Skype call with my friend out in Arizona! So fun! I love Skype and we decided even when I am home we will Skype so she can see little Miyako.
Here's to tomorrow...let's hope the zoo is open!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A Visitor from Nagoya
As you can tell from my lack of posting this week, we have been busy!! So much fun to be had the last couple of days. Wednesday I went with a Dutch lady to a Western grocery store. They had everything from Campbell's soups to salsa and cheddar cheese. I was hoping to find Gerber baby food but no such luck. I did splurge and get Miyako some goldfish and myself some cheese and wheat bread. However, the prices were outrageous. A box of Betty Crocker brownie mix was $8. A Sam's size bag of m and m's was $22. I am not kidding. More than gocking at the types of food in the store, I was gocking at the ridiculous prices.
Wednesday afternoon our friend Darlene arrived from Nagoya. We met Darlene through Kan's American family and she has been in Japan for 9 years now. What a blessing her visit was to me and Miyako. On Wednesday night Darlene and I went to eat at a restaurant near our house. We had okonomiyaki. It is a pancake like dish with egg, cabbage, a meat of some kind (we chose pork) and ginger. Typically you cook your own dish at your table, but since we were gaijin (foreigners) and the only people at the restaurant they cooked it for us at our table. It was delicious. I even ate mine with the fish flakes they put on top and enjoyed it. We also set up a Skype call with Kan's American mom. The crazy thing is his sister and brother-in-law were also online. So, we were skyping with Momma Di on one computer and Kim and Tom on the other computer. It was a lot of fun and Darlene enjoyed being able to catch up with Dianne.
Thursday there was supposed to be a typhoon so we thought we would be housebound. Instead, it rained in the morning and by noon Darlene, Miyako and I were out and about. We went to Asakusa which is considered the Old Town of Tokyo. It is well known for the Asakusa Kannon temple (also called Senso-ji) which is the oldest temple in Tokyo. The Buddhist goddess of mercy sits at this temple and is protected by the god of wind and fire (I think). This area also housed a Shinto shrine called Asakusa Jinja which was built in 1649. The main gate to the temple was hard to miss with the gigantic red lantern (called Kaminarimon). We enjoyed walking around the area and feeling like tourists with all of the other foreigners. After this we took Darlene to Ginza, the big shopping center with Prada, Tiffany, etc that I referenced earlier. It was nice to walk around on a beautiful day and really get to look at everything.
For dinner Thursday night we ventured to Roppongi, another area known for foreigners. Once I got there, I understood why. We saw Outback Steakhouse, Hard Rock Cafe, and TGI Friday's within blocks of each other. Our mission though was a Mexican restaurant we found on a side street. It was delicious. It did not come with free chips and salsa which is probably a good thing because you did not overeat, but the chicken burrito, Mexican rice and refried beans tasted just like Rincon from home. After dinner we stumbled across a Coldstone Ice cream and inevitably had to stop for dessert. The area we were in is called Roppongi Hills. I read in my tour book that it gets an estimated 100,000 visitors each week day and up to 300,000 people come here on the weekend days. Amazing. Being in Roppongi felt like what you see of Tokyo in the movies - lots of people, hustle and bustle, and lots and lots of lights.
I was so thankful to have Darlene with us as I did not see many elevators on the metro system so she helped me carry Miyako in the stroller up and down stairs. I do not know what I will do next week when I try to go to the zoo. I am praying for divine appointments with elevators or else I might get a little discouraged.
After breakfast today at a restaurant across the street from us called Jonathan's (no it is not like the fancy Jonathan's in Lexington but it did have pancakes!) Darlene went back to Nagoya. Miyako and I ventured to her indoor play area after lunch and the workers were so happy to see us back. The lady I met last time was there again today and I enjoyed talking to her while our kids played. Miyako likes having all of the different toys to play with and watching the other kids. Let me just brag a little bit too on Miyako. She is a big hit here. Everywhere we go, people smile at her and she smiles back. One man on the train was making funny faces at her and she just laughed. She is a big hit and people keep saying "kawaii" which means "cute." I think she is a little star over here and people have been so nice to her. It is fun to watch.
We are heading to Kyoto tomorrow for Miyako to meet her Japanese grandparents for the first time. It is a holiday on Monday so we will be back in Tokyo Monday evening. I will update the blog once we get back.
Wednesday afternoon our friend Darlene arrived from Nagoya. We met Darlene through Kan's American family and she has been in Japan for 9 years now. What a blessing her visit was to me and Miyako. On Wednesday night Darlene and I went to eat at a restaurant near our house. We had okonomiyaki. It is a pancake like dish with egg, cabbage, a meat of some kind (we chose pork) and ginger. Typically you cook your own dish at your table, but since we were gaijin (foreigners) and the only people at the restaurant they cooked it for us at our table. It was delicious. I even ate mine with the fish flakes they put on top and enjoyed it. We also set up a Skype call with Kan's American mom. The crazy thing is his sister and brother-in-law were also online. So, we were skyping with Momma Di on one computer and Kim and Tom on the other computer. It was a lot of fun and Darlene enjoyed being able to catch up with Dianne.
Thursday there was supposed to be a typhoon so we thought we would be housebound. Instead, it rained in the morning and by noon Darlene, Miyako and I were out and about. We went to Asakusa which is considered the Old Town of Tokyo. It is well known for the Asakusa Kannon temple (also called Senso-ji) which is the oldest temple in Tokyo. The Buddhist goddess of mercy sits at this temple and is protected by the god of wind and fire (I think). This area also housed a Shinto shrine called Asakusa Jinja which was built in 1649. The main gate to the temple was hard to miss with the gigantic red lantern (called Kaminarimon). We enjoyed walking around the area and feeling like tourists with all of the other foreigners. After this we took Darlene to Ginza, the big shopping center with Prada, Tiffany, etc that I referenced earlier. It was nice to walk around on a beautiful day and really get to look at everything.
For dinner Thursday night we ventured to Roppongi, another area known for foreigners. Once I got there, I understood why. We saw Outback Steakhouse, Hard Rock Cafe, and TGI Friday's within blocks of each other. Our mission though was a Mexican restaurant we found on a side street. It was delicious. It did not come with free chips and salsa which is probably a good thing because you did not overeat, but the chicken burrito, Mexican rice and refried beans tasted just like Rincon from home. After dinner we stumbled across a Coldstone Ice cream and inevitably had to stop for dessert. The area we were in is called Roppongi Hills. I read in my tour book that it gets an estimated 100,000 visitors each week day and up to 300,000 people come here on the weekend days. Amazing. Being in Roppongi felt like what you see of Tokyo in the movies - lots of people, hustle and bustle, and lots and lots of lights.
I was so thankful to have Darlene with us as I did not see many elevators on the metro system so she helped me carry Miyako in the stroller up and down stairs. I do not know what I will do next week when I try to go to the zoo. I am praying for divine appointments with elevators or else I might get a little discouraged.
After breakfast today at a restaurant across the street from us called Jonathan's (no it is not like the fancy Jonathan's in Lexington but it did have pancakes!) Darlene went back to Nagoya. Miyako and I ventured to her indoor play area after lunch and the workers were so happy to see us back. The lady I met last time was there again today and I enjoyed talking to her while our kids played. Miyako likes having all of the different toys to play with and watching the other kids. Let me just brag a little bit too on Miyako. She is a big hit here. Everywhere we go, people smile at her and she smiles back. One man on the train was making funny faces at her and she just laughed. She is a big hit and people keep saying "kawaii" which means "cute." I think she is a little star over here and people have been so nice to her. It is fun to watch.
We are heading to Kyoto tomorrow for Miyako to meet her Japanese grandparents for the first time. It is a holiday on Monday so we will be back in Tokyo Monday evening. I will update the blog once we get back.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Indoor Playland for Miyako
Well, it is rainy and gloomy yet again in Tokyo so I decided to put Miyako in the baby biorn and venture out to try and find this free indoor play area for kids. I finally found it. It is a good thing I did not find it yesterday because they are not open on Mondays anyways! A lady saw me having trouble with the front desk because of my poor Japanese and she helped me fill out the paperwork. I was able to get a card for Miyako-chan so we can go back there any time on our visit here. The lady who helped me was very nice and we chatted for quite awhile. She gave me her phone number and we hope to get together again while I am here. She has a 7 month old little girl. The room was pretty cool. It was divided into play stations for different ages (up to 3 years old). It also had a dining area, changing area, and naptime area. There were lots of moms there with little ones and it looked like a nice social area for moms. I hope to go back while I am here. Miyako seemed to like it once she realized it was not the church nursery and I was staying with her. The only bummer is I did not take any pictures. I did not want to look rude or inconsiderate.
I forgot to mention something cultural from yesterday. Kan got a tear in his suit so we needed to find a tailor to fix it. First we walked to this one place and he said it would take him more than a week, but he recommended another tailor down the street. Well, we found this tailor only his wife said they have been out of business for 20 years due to her husband's death. She recommended a third and final place inside a mall who is going to fix it in a week. Yes, we could have just gone with the first guy. Oh well. The interesting thing Kan told me is that it is very normal for people to stay where they are for a long time in Japan. This woman has been a widow for 20 years yet she still lives in the same spot and people assume they are still open for business. He said it is normal for businesses to not change much over time.
Well, I must say I was very proud of myself for finding this indoor play area. I felt like I accomplished a huge task today. And Miyako is sleeping soundly from being worn out! Tomorrow is a big day. Our friend Darlene who is a missionary in Japan is coming to stay with us for three days. I am super excited to have her here. I have never met her before but she is friends with Kan and his American family. It will be fun to have someone to walk around the city with. I am also meeting with the Dutch missionary whom I had tea with last week to go to a Western grocery store. I am hoping to find some gerber baby food and some sort of greens to feed Miyako like frozen peas or green beans. I cannot find those at my local grocery. Until tomorrow....
I forgot to mention something cultural from yesterday. Kan got a tear in his suit so we needed to find a tailor to fix it. First we walked to this one place and he said it would take him more than a week, but he recommended another tailor down the street. Well, we found this tailor only his wife said they have been out of business for 20 years due to her husband's death. She recommended a third and final place inside a mall who is going to fix it in a week. Yes, we could have just gone with the first guy. Oh well. The interesting thing Kan told me is that it is very normal for people to stay where they are for a long time in Japan. This woman has been a widow for 20 years yet she still lives in the same spot and people assume they are still open for business. He said it is normal for businesses to not change much over time.
Well, I must say I was very proud of myself for finding this indoor play area. I felt like I accomplished a huge task today. And Miyako is sleeping soundly from being worn out! Tomorrow is a big day. Our friend Darlene who is a missionary in Japan is coming to stay with us for three days. I am super excited to have her here. I have never met her before but she is friends with Kan and his American family. It will be fun to have someone to walk around the city with. I am also meeting with the Dutch missionary whom I had tea with last week to go to a Western grocery store. I am hoping to find some gerber baby food and some sort of greens to feed Miyako like frozen peas or green beans. I cannot find those at my local grocery. Until tomorrow....
A Fun Filled Weekend
So, you will have to forgive me. I spent most of my evening fighting facebook to upload pictures to my Japan 2009 album. When it got around to writing my blog entry, I was too tired to fight with the blog too. So, I know my pictures look a little funny, but right now I am beyond caring and just want to give you a glimpse into our world. Please forgive me. Next time I post pictures on the blog I will do it on a different day that I post on facebook. Too many places to keep up with pictures. Anyways, the pictures above are a hodge podge of sorts of our trip so far. There are a few pics of our apartment and the view from our balcony; Kan and Miyako playing with her new "baaaaa" as she calls it; our sushi feast from Saturday night with Kan's co-worker and his fiance; walking around the city on a rainey Saturday; and Miyako in her cute little high chair we bought for her here. Enjoy the pics. Now on to my entry...
Our first full weekend in Japan was filled with lots of fun. We woke up on Saturday to bright blue skies and debated on whether or not to go to Disneyland Tokyo. However, after comparing Disney prices ($130 for our family) to zoo prices ($30 for our family) we decided to venture to the zoo and save Disneyland for when our kids can enjoy it more and we can stay longer than 3 hours before nap time or temper tantrum hits. We were ready to set out, walked out of our building, and the rain started. Again! So, we got the rain gear on which means Mama gets to wear Miyako in the backpack and use an umbrella to keep her dry, and headed to the Ginza shopping district to visit an ATM and walk around.
I had heard about the Ginza area but had never been. Let me tell you, I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman only Kan is not Richard Gere with unlimited spending. On one corner I was looking at Tiffany, Cartier, Gucci, and Prada. It was amazing how many super nice stores were in such a small concentrated area, and even more amazing how many people were actually shopping at these stores and spending money. Kan said he saw/heard lots of Koreans and Chinese and not many Japanese. Japan's economy has not done well in the past 20 years or so and as a result the Ginza area is more for tourists now. We took a break at Starbuck's to get out of the rain and spent about $11 on two frappaccino's. After Starbuck's we headed towards another area of town that Kan used to stay at on business trips and walked around and had lunch at one of his favorite restaurants. Saturday evening Kan's co-worker and his fiance brought us dinner...fresh sushi that we made in our kitchen. We had salmon, tuna, teriyaki chicken (for me), and tuna fish salad. It was all yummy and the presentation was pretty (see picture).
Sunday we were up and at em pretty early because we had to watch the UT/AU game on Sling. Needless to say, the outcome was not the greatest but we did cheer on the Vols. Kan's co-workers came to pick us up at noon and we drove to Yokohama for the day. Thankfully, it was sunny and about 80 degrees outside. We walked, and walked, and took a ferry and walked some more. It was a beautiful part of Japan and not as concentrated as Tokyo. We got to go up in a huge tower and get a gorgeous view of all of Tokyo which was fun, but by the time we got home, Kan and I were beat. You can imagine how tired little Miyako was without getting an afternoon nap. She fell asleep on our drive back and easily went to bed once we got home.
Today was a bummer of a day because the rain came back. I went to find this indoor play area that is for children up to two years old and is free. I walked all around the building and could not find it. Turns out I was in the right building but wrong entrance. It is only one stop from us so I guess I will try it again tomorrow. I enjoyed cooking one of Kan's favorite noodle dishes for dinner tonight although to be honest, I was not a huge fan of it. It was a little too much of a fishy flavor for me, but I am glad he liked it.
Tomorrow I do not have any big plans...trying to see what the weather does. If it is nice I will venture out to the zoo. If it is rainy again, I will try to find this indoor play area for a second time. I love public transportation and walking everywhere. It does provide great exercise. At the same time, I would love it even more if the weather was nice and sunny.
One funny thing I have found...if I speak just a little bit of Japanese to a stranger, they think I am fluent and start speaking non-stop to me of which I can pick up about 2 words out of every 20. It is quite funny and I remember people doing this to me when I lived in Belarus. It brought back funny memories. So much of my time here has reminded me of when I lived in Belarus, only this time I am married and have a child living overseas and not a single girl running around Eastern Europe. Well, my bed is calling me. Let's hope I have a little more energy next time I post. Good night all.
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