A big Thank You to Tokyo

Well, it is almost time to bid a fond farewell to Saitama and Tokyo. Our two years here have been unforgettable, and I leave this urban paradise 99.9% convinced that Tokyo, in fact, just might be the coolest city on this planet.

With school finishing up and moving preparations yet to start, I honestly can't say when the next blog entry will be. If I don't send you anything in the next couple of months, you can BET that from the end of May this site will be flooded with entries on everything from the color of the falling cherry blossoms, to the color of my newborn son's poop.

Till then, Kotomi, Max and I leave you with this shot of Tokyo Tower we took from Roppongi Hills. Arigatou Tokyo!

The 50 Minute Ice Cream

Kotomi and I waited in line for 50 minutes at the Cold Stone Creamery in Roppongi Hills yesterday. The gimmick is that they "prepare" your ice cream desert on a slab of super-cold stone before serving it to you. I was led to believe that this meant them dumping a bunch of sweetened cream onto a rock and then stirring it till you had something that looked cold and creamy and good. Turns out all they did was scoop out some gelato(sp?) and mashed it up with some toppings for a rather small 6 dollar treat. It was good, mind you, but I could get my mommy to mash my food for me and NOT pay the premium, Roppongi Hills shop price.

Sumo Fun - Part 1

Kotomi and I were lucky enough to be invited to a Sumo Pep Rally/Dinner at our local Chanko Nabe Restaurant. We dined and chatted with Sumo wrestlers from the Dewanoumi Beya (a particular school or stable of wrestlers) and in the end the evening's proceeds went to help out the Big Boys as they prepared for their March tournament in Osaka. Good luck, Guys!!!

P.S. A big thank you to the Hasegawa Family at Hasegawa Chanko for inviting us.

Sumo Fun - Part 2

Remeber this Bad Boy? Kotomi and I enjoyed his company at dinner in December of 2004. Dewaotori continues to be the darling of the Dewanoumi Beya (stable) and is poised to crack into the Juryou division (lowest level of the top class of wrestlers) this year. Good luck, we are cheering for ya!!

Sumo Fun - Part 3

Scott receives the venerable "Fun Juice" of the Sumo Gods.

Sumo Fun - Part 4

Kotomi and Mongolian up-and-comer Dewahikari.

Baby Update - Week 26

Back from the hospital today and thought it was time for another update. Things are still good. Max weighed in at a hefty 1300 grams (which is about the size he should be at 30 weeks !) In other baby news, Kotomi and I hit up the Babies 'R' Us last week. Picked up some very stylish attire for our dashing son (I got him a camoflage sleeper, how cool is that?). Max continues to kick, but so far he hasn't been too demanding of his Mom. For Valentine's Day Kotomi bought him some delicious truffles which could only be enjoyed by Max through his Mom's totally selfless act of chewing and digesting the chocolate for him. I tell ya, there is NOTHING she won't do for her family! And finally, Takara Kaley Orange decided to completely surprise her Mom and Dad and make her debut a few weeks early. Although I am not the definitive authority on West Coast Baby news, I have heard that Mom, Dad and Daughter are doing good. A very big Congratulations to Jenn and Tom and wee Takara!

My Trip to Kawauchi

So last week I had this Observation Lesson at my new school. Lots of Big Wigs from the School Board came to watch Karube Sensei and I work the "Perfect Lesson" for our third graders. Part of the lesson had us reading this story I made for the occasion. The purpose of the book was really to have the kids read along with me and shout out the words that are represented as pictures (transportation for this lesson), but being the Attention Jezebel that I am, I used this time to announce to the kids that Kotomi and I were pregnant... and that I was carrying the baby... some of my kids thought I was telling the truth... I am a monster to abuse their trust like that. Anyhoo, I am now using the wonders of modern technology to publish, free of charge, my very FIRST piece of fiction: a present to my son. Enjoy!

Scott

My Trip to Kawauchi - Part 1

Well, a nice beginning so far. Establishment of plot, character and atmoshpere. The hooded albino and secret message hidden in the painting are still a few pages away though...

My Trip to Kawauchi - Part 2

Oh dear, trouble is certainly brewing for our young Protagonist. The kanji at the bottom is Sapporo, and YES, I do realize that to fall asleep on your train and end up in Sapporo you have to either a) buy an even more expensive ticket for a train that takes you in the wrong direction, or b) sleepwalk OFF your original train in Hachinohe, transfer onto a local train (asleep) to Aomori city, then transfer again (asleep) onto another train bound for Hokkaido. Luckily for me, none of my students ever had to take a train to Aomori before.

My Trip to Kawauchi - Part 3

Oh GOD!! I can't read anymore! Scott is finished... DOOMED I say! If the Sapporo weather doesn't kill him, I am POSITIVE he will lose his way, wander into the Sapporo BEER Factory, and then we will NEVER see him again. MERCY!!!

P.S. That's a SUBWAY in the last line.

My Trip to Kawauchi - Part 4

Whew!! For a moment there I thought Scott was really in trouble! Those Kuro Neko men really are this friendly!

My Trip to Kawauchi - Part 5

Will our Hero EVER make it home?! Just so you know, the fish at the bottom is supposed to be a MAGURO or tuna. The town of Oma is famous for the men who haul in these monsters from the Tsugaru Straight (the area of ocean between Honshu and Hokkaido).

My Trip to Kawauchi - Part 6

A tense narrative until the very end! I almost feel like I am RIGHT there with Scott as he makes his pilgrimage!

My Trip to Kawauchi - Part 7

WOW!! What a surprise ending!! I would have never seen that one coming! Harry Potter has nothing on this 7 part epic!