Megan

Kit had fun playing in the backyard.



Megan came over and the two had fun racing.






Kit and Brian found many creative ways to do high-fives.
Kit wanted to go home with Megan and was very upset when she couldn't.

Cup Cakes & Recycling

Kit helping to make cup cakes.



Kit was interested in the recycling center where we dropped off our plastic bottles.

Easter and Sophia's Birthday

Kit had a lot of fun making Easter eggs with her friends.

Sophia's birthday party and Easter egg hunt.

While I was in Japan Michelle came down for the weekend. Tuk and Michelle made these amazing dishes.

We walked over to Brian, Maria and Megan's house. Brian took this nice photo of Kit.

Easter and Thai New Year

Girls in their Easter dresses
It is also Thai New Years today.
Kit making an offering.

Kit with Sandy.
This year there was a wonderfully artistic dance performed by two girls acting as puppets.
The puppet master arrives.
They dance.
The puppets come alive and dance together
Sandy with her friends.
Kit with the puppet girls.

Baseball and returning home

Undetered by the 12-1 loss the other day, I am going to another Bay Stars baseball game tonight.

I often walk by this little cafe shop and it is closed.

Tonight it was open. I got a vegetable stew to take to the game. It is a simple stew that I love and this is perhaps the best I've had. Since the stew is small, I need something to go with it.

As I seek things I often see something that reminds me of what someone else would like, so I get it thinking of them. Notice the ice packs to keep it cool.
Tonight's bento is for Brian!

B, look at this great kani bento (king crab).

The yell leader for my section asks us to count how many beers the gaijin named Daniel had this evening...
One beer from a Yebisu beer girl
A second beer from an Asahi beer girl.

Asahi is my favorite Japanese beer. It was the 'official' beer for NEC when I was working there.
A third beer from the same Asahi beer girl.

By the way, women were taking pictures of the beer guys.

Afterwards I stopped by a sushi shop since I couldn't leave Japan without having good seafood. Ordered a grilled fish with miso.
And a small plate of tuna sashimi (toro and maguro versions)
On my last evening in Japan I always head to the bar on the top floor of the hotel to enjoy the view.
A scoop of ice cream and a drink are good uses for the vouchers I accumulate for staying the entire week.
Saturday morning I walked through the Meiji shrine in Harajuku. I love the huge wooden torii (gates) outside the traditional Shinto shrine.

Hand washing ceremony.

On Saturday I went to Kiddyland's flagship store in Harajuku. They now have a Snoopy Town shop on the third floor but I'm here mainly for Hello Kitty.
I wanted to get this for Kit but she already has plenty of dolls so I got her some Hello Kitty hair clips and other small things to enjoy.

Now this felt odd as I've never taken a photo in a public restroom yet I wanted to show the hidden luxurious restroom I've known about for many years at Japan's busy Shinagawa station.

Too many choices. How can I pick just one ice cream mochi? The rum raisin was sweeter than I expected. I should stick to the chocolate and the coffee versions.

Fuji-san

This morning was relatively clear so I could see Mount Fuji from Yokohama for the first time.
The sports arena, which hosted the soccer worldcup final game in 2002, is very close to the hotel.
Downtown Yokohama.

Baseball

On the way to the Yokohama Bay Stars baseball game I picked up a bento box from Kiyoken, a Yokohama company. Everything in Japan comes nicely wrapped.

Yokohama has a huge China town so many foods here are Chinese. This is shumai bento. It has pork dumplings, pickles and rice.

OK class, how many beers did Daniel have at the game?

Let's count the Yebisu beer girls to find out...

One...

Two...

Two. Daniel had two beers at the game. The Bay Stars are off to a terrible start this season, now 0-5 after loosing 12-1 tonight.