Next on the agenda

Well, I think we got most of the activity of the past month posted. There's nothing like a deadline to increase the motivation to get caught up. The date is near for our journey back to Texas. We'll arrive at DFW on July 11, spend a few days in Denton, then head to Smith Point. We look forward to seeing everyone again. You have an open invitation to meet us there!

Love,

V, T, M, and JB

BTW - The video below looks awkward, but just hit the play button and it works. :)

Allen's visit

Tokyo Tower

We were lucky to have such a clear day, as it is the middle of rainy season, and we could even see Mt. Fuji in the distance!

Jackson and Madeleine

"Look down" window

Views from the top

Viewing from the cafe

Japanese school girls

Maddie and Jack squeezed into one of the kiddie rides

Sagamidai Shogakko

We took Dave, Joan, and Jack on an outing to visit Maddie at school. (Thanks, Joan, for taking all the great photos!)

Here is Maddie working outside with her teacher and class on tidying up the school grounds.

We've always found this fascinating - it's the school's self-defense security system for intruders. And here is Maddie's Japanese teacher demonstrating its use on Troy:

Maddie's classroom. I'm pointing out her Kanji work sample below:

Maddie's desk

Maddie reading from her journal with Shea sensei

Students heading to the pool for swimming practice

At recess the students have their choice of playing on stilts or unicycle!

Company

We hosted our dear friends' visit to Japan in June in celebration of their 25th wedding anniversary. We enjoyed showing Dave, Joan, and Jack around and reveled in their company and especially in Jack's enthusiasm. We were on the go for 2 weeks, and it was hard to choose which to post from the hundreds of photos taken. All had a great (yet exhausting) time. Here are a few photos:

Jack's first onigiri (seaweed-wrapped rice treat) on the train.

Samarai Jack at Odawara Castle

Dave and Joan enjoying the irises and hydrangea

Jack and Maddie in the plastic food store in the restaurant supply district in Tokyo

A street festival in Tokyo

Hydrangea on the greenbelt near our home

Our picnic at the Sagamihara park (and more hydrangea)

Troy ruining the romantic anniversary pic (don't worry, we took another)

Sushi-go-round!

McDonalds and our favorite - Shaka-shaka Chicken

And that was only the first three days...

Breakin' the Law, Breakin' the Law

A new experience to add to our list of Japanese adventures - traffic ticket! Troy only commited a minor infraction - changing lanes crossing the solid yellow line - now we know you're not allowed to do that. However, the policeman was so polite, and it was worth the price of the ticket (Y6000) to get these priceless photos. The nice policeman was happy to pose for a photo, and even offered to let me take one of him in front of his motorcycle. His parting words: "safety drive!" with a big smile on his face.

If you look closely (click to enlarge), you can see Dave and Joan's smiling faces in the car.

New Digs - Kraatz Palace

It's been a while since our last posting, but we have been so busy. We moved to our new place on June 1st, and hustled to get everything in order so we could host a visit by our wonderful friends, Joan, Dave, and Jack, from Austin. Our new Kraatz Palace is a penthouse apartment overlooking the city. We have the 4th floor with 3 bedrooms and the whole top (5th) floor which includes living areas, a roomy kitchen, and the best feature: a large roof-top garden area. We also love the traditional Japanese-style tatami (straw floor) room. Here are some pictures:

Tatami Room

Mountian view from the roof-top garden

Joan and Jelly Bean enjoying morning coffee

Lobby entrance and our parking area downstairs