Harajuku

Yesterday we ventured out to one of the nicer shopping areas in Tokyo, Omotesando. A good friend of mine showed me a great gyoza place there a few years ago. And my son wanted to get gyoza for lunch. My daughter was going to meet up with a friend she met over the summer who happened to be in Tokyo.

Next to Omotesando is Harajuku. It is mostly known for being a teenager hangout, and for the place where Japanese women dress up like baby dolls. I don't understand why, but in a land where everyone is pressured to conform, I guess some people need a way to express themselves.



- Posted from my iPad

What a difference a day makes

With a long layover in JFK, we decided to head into Manhattan and get lunch. We debated what kind of food to get since we would be leaving for Japan in a few hours, and this would be our last "American" meal. So of course we decided on French food.

Many years ago when I worked in NY, a friend stumbled on La Bonne Soup. It is a cozy French Bistro located on 55th street between 5th and 6th. They have wonderful French Onion Soup. But, their Croque-monsieur is even better.

After our lunch, we got back to JFK and got on our 13 hour flight. We left Monday evening and arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday (a day later). Walking out of the airport, we were hit with a wall of heat and humidity that made it difficult to breathe. And that was at 11pm at night. It got worse the next day.

With a heat index of 104 degrees, the whole "it will be great to walk everywhere and take public transportation" idea seemed a little crazy. But, the temperature is supposed to go down next week. And at least we have air conditioning in our apartment.

We did visit the American School yesterday and walked past this nice temple with a perfectly manicured tree. I love the attention to detail.



- Posted from my iPad

Tokyo here we come

I like the image of a mother cat carrying her kitten which is the logo for the friendly guys at Yamato Transport.

The movers from Yamato arrived this AM and packed up our things.  Our biggest concern was not to take too much stuff.  And it was liberating to decide what things you need and what we are content to leave behind.  

We are moving from our 1740s farmhouse in Massachusetts to a 3 bedroom apartment in the center of Tokyo.  Our house is great for what it is.  But, I have to admit, it will be nice in the winter to have some carpet under foot. 

I fly out with 2 of my kids on Monday.  And my wife will come as soon as she gets our oldest daughter settled into her dorm at college.

Turtle trouble

I decided to go fly fishing this morning. It will be the last time I fish in Mass before moving to Tokyo. I started off the morning catching a nice rainbow. It was about 12-13" with beautiful color. I took this picture and then unhooked him. I'm a "catch and release" person. So I did what I always do. I let the fish go back in the river. I should mention that I was standing in the river in slow moving water almost waist deep.

I assumed the fish would swim away, but immediately there was a splash to my left about a foot or two away from my side. I thought that was strange since fish usually swim quickly away. I looked down and saw the biggest turtle I have ever seen - with the rainbow in it's mouth. It was a snapping turtle that must have been 2 1/2 feet long. I tried to take a picture of it.

The fish is on the left side of the picture. You can barely see that the turtle has it in its mouth.



In this picture, you can see more of the turtle's shell.




Needless to say, I was pretty uncomfortable with a giant snapping turtle right next to me. I'm glad I fed it a trout. Otherwise, I'm thinking that my leg could have looked a lot like lunch.

- Posted from my iPad

Summer

Hydrangea always makes me think of summer. This plant is in my front yard, and for years it wouldn't bloom. A friend of mine suggested that I cut it back all the way. I wasn't sure about that approach because I know that hydrangea bloom on prior year's growth. But I took a chance and cut it to the ground. Sure enough it grew back in year one. And now it has blooms all over.


- Posted from my iPhone

Time to dust off the blog

We are moving Tokyo.

And in a breathtaking act of procrastination I'm writing in this old blog instead of taking care of the myriad of details associated with the move.

I spent a long time today trying to figure out where to go to get our gaijin (foreigner) registration cards when we arrive in Japan. Every website I could find gave specific information about how important it is to get these cards. You can't get a bank account or a cell phone plan without them. But, I couldn't find a single website that tells you where to actually go to get the cards.

So, if we end up in some kind of immigration jail cell, you'll know it was because we ended up wandering aimlessly around Tokyo.

Sayanoyu

I had a free day on Saturday as I waited for my flight back from Japan. During the week, I asked around the office for some ideas of things to do.

A friend of mine came up with a great suggestion. He told me that there was an Onsen (hot springs) only 30 minutes from the office. It is called Sayanoyu.

I had to take a train and subway to get there, but I did arrive in about 40 minutes. I really liked it. There were several kinds of pools. Here is my quick summary:

• Cold Pool: Think temperature of a mountain spring fed by snow melt...
• Indoor Hot Pool: Think temperature of simmering water
• Sauna: 68deg C which was 154deg F. I couldn't breathe in that room and left fairly quickly
• Jaccuzi Pool: Just what it sounds like
• Jaccuzi Pool with cold headrest: Jaccuzi with metal round headrests that are very cold. I liked the combination.
• Outdoor Hot Pool: Simmering water with a view of the garden
• Medicine Pool: Once I got past the murky water, I liked it.
• Tea Cups: Small tubs just big enough for one person to sit in.
• Hobbit Hole: This was my favorite. It was a room that you get to by going through two hobbit size doors. Inside there was a basin of salt that you rub on yourself. The room was dark with only a small window. It had two chimneys pouring out steam. The salt and the steam had the fragrance of Old Bay Seasoning. That is the seasoning you use in Maryland when you are steaming crab. I sat in the room for a while thinking about steamed crabs and smelling the salts. Then, I started to feel like a steamed crab and decided to go out into the sunlight again.
  

I really liked this place. It was well worth the trip. Below is a picture I took of their garden.