Oct 22nd

i was thinking about my brother the other day remembering how when he was traveling in Europe and mentioned something about just wanting a bowl of cheerios..and thinking..come on...theres so much great food out there..well...i was thinking the same thing the other day after i started feeling queezy about any thing else that might possibly have something without some type of fish in it...i had something with scallops in it the other day and believe i have developed my dad's allergy to shellfish...now i dont want anything with fish in it ...


which is not easy to do in Japan...especially when people barely speak english.







we stayed at a real nice hotel last weekend a few hours north

of here with a big buffet breakfast included...and all i wanted was three bowls of cornflakes..and I usually love to try new foods..
thankfully we have this apt and have found a few good grocery stores..mostly i make pancakes and french toast for breakfasts...rice and soup of local vegetables,etc. for lunch..then go out for dinners with Drew...we've been out for Italian and Indian meals which were a nice change..from Sushi..and there’s still lots to see..but I’ll be glad to be back home when the time comes..

So far we have covered quite a bit of he city by subway...Lily and I...
this weekend we may be going to Disney,Tokyo..then maybe one more trip for our last weekend before we come back to the states..

You can check out where we were last weekend on the blog.





Kusatsu Onsen Resorts Its a series of hot springs that run thru the middle of the town..then gets filtered thruout the whole resort area...There's also a pretty famous ski lodge just north of there too called..Mt Shirane which is actually a volcano.,.and a park we walked to called Saino Kawara . This is where the water gushes from countless springs creating a river of hot water!!!!People had built up river rocks around several of the little springs forming little pools that you could walk up to and stick you hands or feet into...some were actually too hot to touch...

you could even boil eggs in some of them.

amazing...we took the full soak back at our hotel which was filled and refills constantly from the main Yubatke River that runs thru the middle of the town..Kusatsu...

Nikko Shrine

this was a shrine we saw in a town one hour north of Tokyo

Himacho Park

this park was about ten minutes from our place..along the Sumida river

Around town

i have lots of other pictures and Drew is working on showing me how to resize them and put them out on my own blogsite..we are all homesick and yearning to get out of the city.The upper peninsula is quite a nice and beautiful place...this place seems to be built up with tourism everywhere you go....i am sick of shopping and feeling like i have to spend money every time i walk out the door....Lily misses her all her friends and especially her puppy Sam..there are lots of tiny dogs here in the city..most everybody puts some kind of outfit on their dog and often they are riding in bike baskets or in a little carry bag....yes, there are alot of bicycles..people ride them everywhere sometimes with one or even two kids..while holding umbrellas in the rain (which is often) and there are even resteraunt delivery guys riding bikes with trays of covered bowls of food..
We found out on our tour the other day that they dont start teaching english in school until middle school..so the chances of Lily meeting someone her age are slim...although not impossible...we see kids but they are all very shy....also, i have not yet found an internet cafe yet so my time on the computer is limited to when Drew gets home from work...or weekends...so on that note...hope all is well...write more later..



This is a picture of Lily on a foot massage path in a local park.







Building art...











Sidwalk art...




Dinner at the apt











Lily on our balcony

Here are some Pictures

This is a quite a manhole cover... what attention to detail!




I thought this was a cool picture on the side of a random building. Art is very appreciated in Japan.

Oct 6 - Getting by in Tokyo

We have now been here almost two weeks. Lily and i have been finding new things to do each day. We found a nice park nearby..some good french bakeries, and some other little shops for things we need to have on hand at the apt...rice, fruits, eggs,tea....we even found a Japanese dollar store(i mean "yen") ..the apt actually only had two plates, cups, bowls and silverware...so i found something nice i could buy just one of so we could all eat at the same time.We've been having breakfast together at the apt...lunch too..then mostly out for dinners...sushi, noodles, some rice based dish..We also found the starbucks nearby to be nice because they are always playing american music.and..in english..and the same people behind the counter most days, maybe just a little younger than us...friendly.
as far as sightseeing, last weekend we went to Ginza district and visited the fish market. Besides fish, they sold all different kinds of pickled and dried foods , sweets,dishware, teas, and cooking supplies. Lily was a little intimidated by the sight of all the dead fish and the smell, but Drew and I were amazed at how little it smelled because of how fresh it was.We had sushi there, it was excellent.When Lily has sushi ,she just has rice and cucumber or rice and egg..and miso soup..Drew and i usually have at least 3 or four kinds of fish which, to me, ..because its so fresh, i can only tell the difference from the color and its texture..which is good...
Friday ,Lily and i went to the zoo at Ueno Park..which i thought was like Central Park,NYC...... surrounded by museums, theaters, and music halls. I think it was a great relief for Lily to finally be around more kids than adults, as there were lots of school groups at the zoo..
Then today, we went on a boat ride along the Sumidawa( River) or (Gawa) , which runs along a good length of Tokyo...fed by the ocean.I am starting to recognize certain common words on a map like those in parentheses above.On the Japanese maps, the words park, or garden, or river are written with its name as one word;example: Sumidagawa.This is just one of the cultural barriers i'm working thru in trying to understand the Tokyo maps.
The boat ride ended at a garden/ park ( koen).Originally owned by the Imperial family of the 4th Tokugawa Shogun.It is called the Hamarikyu gardens(teien).Inside are a series of ponds, pathways, trees, shrubs and a teahouse called the Nakajima-no-ochaya,(ochaya being teahouse), which was originally built in 1707.Here we stopped to rest with a cup of matcha green tea and a little sweet cake.
Next home to rest up for the big bus tour up north and OUT OFF THE CITY!!!!