Yoyogi Koen

Yoyogi Park.

The autumn season is here and although the foliage has nothing on Vermont (or the rest of New England, for that matter) we decided to check out one of the largest parks in Tokyo to see how the colours were coming along. Turns out, it's too early. We still had a good time, however. Weather was great, Miki got to run around silly in the park and Ericka and I got to explore some interesting side streets. We even found a great organic restaurant for lunch in some out of the way neighborhood that offered quiet patio dining. Before jumping back on the train to head home, we strolled thru a famous shrine complex called Meiji Jingu. Late afternoon soon, very peaceful, it was a great way to cap our family Sunday afternoon.

Halloween Party

Last Sunday the girls attended a neighborhood Halloween Party.

Undokai - Sports Festival

As is quite common here in Japan, almost all schools (preschool thru University) have a day devoted to Undokai or sports festival. Actually, for most schools, it's about a 2 week process leading up to the actual event. My school held it's festival on the same day that Miki had her event, unfortunately. However, I was able to scoot away on a colleague's bike for about an hour to check it out and of course Ericka took lots of photos.

During my brief attendance, lo and behold, an event scheduled just for the papas happened to coincide with my visit. All the papas were organized in teams according to the kids' homerooms and we had a tug-of-war tournament. Let me tell you, it was no kiddie business. These fellow dads were serious. In fact the next day I woke up with muscles that hadn't been that sore...ever. My team came in second.

I should point out to you that the school you see in these photos is not Miki's school. Her school does not have a sports field of its own so they "rent" a field from an elementary school just down the road.

Sami is 1!

Happy Birthday, Sam.

Ericka organized a birthday celebration for Sami's first birthday last week. Mostly friends and little ones who live in our apartment complex but also a "live" appearance by Nana via Skype. Grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids and she even managed to bake coconut cupcakes for all. It was fun and our apartment was crowded.

Miki & Minnie

This past September contained a multi-day holiday oddity not normally seen in the Japanese working calendar: a 5-day weekend that has earned the title, Silver Week.

We took advantage both of the time off and the discount accommodation rates at various resorts offered to the employees of my school and ventured to Tokyo Disneyland.

We got an early start, 2 hours door-to-door, checked our overnight bags into a coin locker and hit the Disney circuit. The weather was stellar and because it was towards the end of the Silver Week holiday, crowds were at a minimum. We strolled around for a few hours and took a few rides on the first day and then hopped a shuttle to our hotel, The Palms Terrace. The restaurant, to our surprise, was closed but luckily there was a well-stocked convenient store in the hotel. Besides, Miki was way beyond the borders of her no nap day and was ready for bed. So, while the girls splashed around in the bath, I went down to fetch a few beers and some decent convenient store food. Voi la! Dinner is served.

We ate a buffet breakfast in the hotel restaurant the next morning before checking out and heading back to Disney for one more day of fun.

Cirque du Soleil has a permanent show here and that, of course, is on the itinerary next time. Perhaps later this year...