Congratulations Kaori!

Yesterday Kaori graduated from Willowbrook international school. Beforehand she said she was a little scared but she performed admirably. She did a great job singing, receiving her diploma and posing for the camera. We are so proud of her. On to kindergarten!



This is my Father's Day present, a bike for me to use for triathlons. It's name is Ao, pronounced like the "ou" sound in ouch. Ao in Japanese means blue. Ow in English is what I say after I crash. Nice double entendre don't you think?

Oshima!

For pictures click here. They are of all my teammates who did the race so you won't recognize people in a lot of the pictures.

We had great weather on Saturday. Warm enough for the spectators but not too warm for the competitors. It didn't seem to help the ocean though because that water was cold! First of all, I'll get to the question that you are all wondering. Yes, I did hurl after the swim. I don't know why. I felt fine running up the beach. Then we had to head up a long concrete ramp and it just hit me. I stopped once and dry heaved a little and then again a little later to empty my stomach. Not pleasant. But really, the swim went very well. I could see the fish and rocks and scuba divers at the bottom of the ocean.

Next I'd have to say the bike went well because I beat my goal time but after I think about it a bit I'm wondering if it really did. We did four laps of a 10k route but halfway through the first lap I went in the ditch and flew over the handlebars and then the bike flew back over me. I smacked my head hard; good thing helmets are mandatory. I was left bruised and bloody but able to continue. The handlebars on the bike were bent down and to the right, good thing we were going in clockwise loops. After that I dropped some gels I was going to take and lost my water bottle. Maybe it wasn't so good.

Finally to the run, which is supposed to be my best part. Unfortunately it was the only one that I didn't beat my goal time. I think after emptying my stomach and misplacing an energy gel (it was hiding in my bag) I just ran out of gas. Still I beat my goal of 2:45 by 90 seconds. I guess that means I'll be back. I mean, fix a few of those little things and just think how much faster I could go.

In the end we all had a great time. Cole and Kaori say they are excited to do some kids triathlons with me and I think Robyn just might have a new job (unpaid) as team photographer. We even enjoyed the traditional Japanese dinner and breakfast. Well, maybe not the kids so much.

Ready, set, Go!

Robyn has finally returned home after a week of working in Minnesota and she brought her friend Kathleen with her who stayed with us for a couple nights which was a nice change of pace and we were able to take her to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant but what she neglected to bring with her was some nice weather because I'm definitely getting sick of all this rain we've been having. How's that for an opening sentence? Pretty much sums up all that has been happening.

I must add that my first triathlon is this Saturday. I think the worst part will be the swim which is in the ocean. A couple weeks ago I did an ocean swim with some friends just to see what it was all about and to try out my new wetsuit. Most of it seemed to go pretty well except that as soon as I got done swimming I had to hurl. That is not a good sign. Seasick? Maybe but it wasn't so wavy. Drinking too much saltwater? Wetsuit compressing my stomach? (I tell you what, those things are tight!) Probably all of it played a part. I just hope it doesn't happen during the triathlon because, and I'm just guessing here, I'm pretty sure that would slow me down. Maybe all these typhoons we've been having give us a reprieve for the weekend too.

Kyoto

Kyoto is home to a few hundred shrines and temples and we managed to visit a handful of them during our weekend visit. First was the Fushini Inari Shrine, pictured left. I read that there were over 5,000 of the orange gates, some big and some small. They are donated to the shrine by families and companies. It offers a nice walk through the gate lined trail that winds through a forest and up the hills surrounding the city. This was one of my favorite shrines.



Next was the Kiyomizu Temple. This is a very popular temple that is situated in the hills overlooking Kyoto. It's central building is built somewhat on stilts on the hillside. Several other buildings and paths are also located in the hills and it has a kind of a waterfall fountain that is used for cleansing. Great views of the beautiful mountains.

The next temple we visited was the Ginkakuji, or Silver pavilion. This was quite a contrast to the Golden pavilion as seen below. Mostly it is a garden of sand sculpted to hint of Mt. Fuji (see left) or groomed to look like water. It is a peaceful reflective place.

The Kinkakuji or Golden pavilion, was a very impressive building, set beside a reflecting pond. It is a very popular tourist attraction so the crowds were thick with picture takers. Still the gold flecked paint on the building shone brightly in the morning sun and made for a striking vista.

Finally we visited Nijo Castle. As we toured the main building the wooden floor squeaked beneath our feet. This was by design so any spies sneaking around the castle could be caught by the guards. Four hundred year old paintings lined the walls where pictures were forbidden and the odor of feet was tangible. Not because of anything from the castle but because everybody was required to take their shoes off and shuffle about in stocking feet. Outside, the castle had notable walls, gardens and ponds.

In all Kyoto was a fun place to visit although different than we expected. It is a modern city dotted with many, many historical, noteworthy locales.

May's Going's On (is that right?)

Sorry the blog has become a little stale the last couple weeks. I'll try to do better. School year is winding down now, picnics, field trips etc are filling up the calendar. Last week Cole went to the Tama Zoo with his class and Kaori's school had Sports Day. That involved the teachers putting on games for the students (and parents). The kids got stamps and once they filled up their card, a gold medal. The parents got nothin'. Then on Saturday night Robyn and I went out with parents from Cole's class and his teacher to thank him for his efforts for the year. Next week Kaori will be on an outing to Children's Castle here in Tokyo and then conferences the week after that. Cole will be having portfolio sharing day where Robyn and I'll be going out to his school so he can show us the work he's done this year. I'm sure there's more but I can't remember it all.

Big earthquake just off the coast last week. I felt the first shock at about 1 AM as it woke me up and just kept shaking and rattling the apartment. About 45 minutes later the second wave came through and Robyn and I both woke up. She said "That was a big one" but of course I had to tell her the first one was bigger. It registered 6.8, pretty big indeed. No damage though, just loss of sleep.

This weekend we are going to try to go to Kyoto. Shouldn't be a problem, just if we can make all the arrangements in the next few days. We'll go on the Shinkansen, the high speed train. Kyoto has many old temples and castles and is close to Osaka. Robyn has wanted to visit there since we've moved. Finally.

Next month we are going to Oshima, an island just south of Tokyo. We'll have to take a jet boat to get there. I've been wanting to visit one of the southern islands. Actually I'll be doing my very first triathlon on the island. Probably going to be nerve wracking until that is over and then fun.

Adventures in the Emergency Room

Friday night we were heading to the store to get birthday party supplies because, well, we were having a birthday party. Above the local grocery store is where are the good party supplies lie so that is where we were going. Kaori energetically ran off to lead the way however just before she got to the stairs she tripped. Nightmares all over again because Cole did the exact same thing when he was 1 or 2 years old. Fortunately, at that time he had his head turned so when he fell against the first step he just got a bruise (albeit nasty and long lasting) on the cheek. Kaori fell directly mouth first into the first step. Lots of bleeding and crying ensued.

We took a taxi to the nearest hospital but the doctor on site said they had no facilities to do plastic surgery. What? Plastic surgery? Maybe that would be useful down the road but right now we just want to get our girl stitched up. No, they couldn't/wouldn't do it. They gave us a phone number to call to find a more suitable hospital. Well, in talking to us they knew our Japanese was verrrry limited and indicated that the hotline was Japanese only. That didn't exactly fit. I asked if he would call for us. Luckily he did. A few minutes later we were back in a taxi headed to another hospital where evidently they did have "plastic surgery" capabilities. Turns out plastic surgery just means stitches(?). Near as I can tell that is what it means because that is what they did. Kaori also had to have a dentist push her teeth back into place and bond them there. Shots in your mouth are a bad deal. Shots in your little girl's mouth are even worse. By about 100 times.

Today the swelling has gone down and the coloration is good. Kaori looks much better. She has been such a trooper throughout this whole thing. She doesn't like taking her medicine but still does. Time heals all wounds.

All Set

The kids are all farmed out to friends for playdates next week. All my travel arrangements have been made. Robyn is all set to takeover the household until I get back. All systems are go. Well, not really. I'm woefully undertrained for this marathon. Good thing I'm only planning to run it for fun and not to race it. Imagine that, running 26.2 miles for fun. For all my U.S. and Canada readers (I'm sure there are so many) you can watch the marathon live online at www.wcsn.com. Since I'm expecting even less face time there than in the Japanese movie I'm going to be in, it might be a little boring for you.

Until next week!

Minor Musings from an Expat

Australia and New Zealand have stopped using pennies. I for one think this is a good move. I think they are too expensive for what they are worth and would much rather that prices got rounded to the nearest nickel (or even dime). At the end of the day I think retailers and consumers alike would come out even and even if I lost a couple pennies with each transaction I wouldn't mind.

The U.S. is moving to an all digital television network next February. I'm sure electronics companies and retailers are thrilled by this news because all analog TV's will have to be replaced by digital ones or have a converter attached. I don't especially mind this happening, I guess it's progress. I suppose it's a good thing that our TV went belly up last year.

These countries have not have not officially adopted the International System of Units (metric system) as their primary or sole system of measurement: Liberia, Myanmar and the United States. To me it seems like the U.S. should join the bandwagon and convert to the metric system. What is holding it back? I think either laziness and/or arrogance. Neither of which are good qualities. I mean really, every other meaningful country in the world uses it, why should Americans/American companies and those working with them have to go through a system of conversions in order to function. I think a cold turkey move to the metric system is the only way to go.

We received an letter from the IRS yesterday announcing an economic stimulus payment to up to 130 million households. Households will be eligible for up to $600 or $1,200 if couples file together and another $300 for children. Let's say $1,000 for 100 million households and that is $100 billion. That's a lot of cha-ching. I'm not an economist so I have no answers but I do have questions, like will enough of that get spent to stimulate the economy out of recession? If all of it is spent would that even be enough? Since people weren't expecting to receive this anyway, is there a better use for the money? Like it could be used to pay off a portion of the national debt for example. I don't know and I don't know.

Just a few items that are filling my head on this day.

Sydney and the Cherry Blossoms

Actually the cherry blossoms are blooming here in Tokyo. I figured I better mention them now because they'll be gone in a few days time. When I was out running at 7AM today, people were already out at the parks, on the riverbanks and in the cemeteries claiming the prime spots under the cherry trees. Yes, that's correct, in the cemeteries. Actually only Aoyama cemetery is where I know people have cherry blossom viewing parties but it wouldn't surprise me if it happened at others. It is a chance to get outside and enjoy a bite and a drink with friends. It is raining now so I wonder how that is working out for them.

We had a great time in Sydney in spite of the cost of things. I think it is now Robyn's favorite city. Our hotel was right by Sydney harbour and so we took the ferries from the wharf there and went all over. We were basically situated right between the harbour bridge and the Sydney opera house. I must say the opera house is more impressive in person than in photos. There is a path that goes along the waterfront and around the opera house that Robyn and I walked and ran on in the mornings.

The first day there was some hoopla festival at nearby Darling Harbour so we went to watch musicians, acrobats, street performers etc. there. The next day we took the ferry across the harbour to Manly. Although you might think it was named after me, you'd be incorrect. Anyway there is a beach and little shopping area there. The kids played at the beach a little but that afternoon we swam at Bondi beach, Australia's most famous. The water was way too cold though. On Wednesday we took in the zoo and the Imax theater. The zoo was fun, it is nice and big and has great views of Sydney harbor. We went to the top of the Sydney tower to get a view of the city on Thursday and then went back to Darling Harbour to see the aquarium. We were go, go, go all the time and the kids were troopers about walking so much.

I'm not sure which city is more expensive, Tokyo or Sydney. We couldn't even have a casual breakfast in Sydney without the bill ballooning up to $50 or $60. Our first eating establishment was, any guesses? Yes, it was Krispy Kreme. Unfortunately they were selling donuts for $2.30 apiece. Good thing we didn't have any more than 19 dozen of those. Actually just a half dozen. We couldn't afford any more. Maybe it was just because we were in the prime restaurant/real estate area. If you are planning a visit, bring an extra suitcase full of cash.

Here are our pictures.

Baseball Game at the Tokyo Dome

We went to the Boston Red Sox vs. Hanshin Tigers baseball game yesterday and had a lot of fun. Boston won 6-5 and hit a couple home runs. You can see we were all decked out in the proper colors.

Today we are off for Sydney. I'll let you know how that goes in a week or so.

And the winner is...

Sydney. Yes we are headed to Sydney for 4-5 days next week. From what I've seen it is as expensive as, or moreso than Tokyo. We couldn't find a hotel room for less than $200 per night. Also, most all the hotels limit rooms to three people; meaning a family of four like ours is required to get two rooms. Is that not crazy? Luckily one hotel that originally was going to require us to have two rooms is letting us stay in just one.

On the other hand there seems to be a lot of things for us to do. This weekend is some sort of Darling Harbour Hoopla festival, then there's the aquarium, zoo, IMAX theatre, ferry boats and more and more. We are looking forward to it; should be fun. When we are there I'll have to see which way water goes down the drain. Did I say that about when I went to Africa too? I can't remember.

Spring Break!

Okay, so it's not exactly spring break yet but it is coming up in a few weeks. So we are planning on a trip but not quite sure where we want to go yet. Of course it does depend on how full some flights are but currently here are our options:

Australia: Kind of a long flight to Sydney, about nine hours but it is in the same time zone as Tokyo so It wouldn't be a huge adjustment. We could fly at night and sleep on the plane and be ready to go the next day. It is definitely easier to get to Australia from Japan than the U.S. so if we are going to make a family trip there, this is the time to do it. Haven't really looked at activities there yet but many of our friends here have been to Australia and highly recommend it.

Bali or Phuket: Both of these are resort areas, Bali in Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand and are also highly recommended by friends. Much closer to Japan than the long flight to Australia and only an hour or so time difference. These two places are also ones I'm sure we wouldn't visit from the U.S. so we must get there from Japan. Beach, sand, ocean in a tropical climate; sounds pretty good doesn't it? The shorter flight makes this a potential for a long weekend trip too.

So, what do you think?