I just got a delayed message that my Dad’s younger brother passed away earlier this week.  I do not yet know all of the details but I am very saddened by this news.  Today I will be praying for my Aunt and his family.

Life is so precious.  Since my mom passed away 10 years ago I have truly understood what it means when people say life is short.  You cannot live waiting for things to happen in the future.  You need to enjoy and cherish each and every day.  You really never know when it can all be taken away.  Tell the people you love that you love them…

You will be missed Uncle Gary.

I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to eat much on this trip…I was wrong!  This morning Noriko and I went to a pastry shop…this place was gorgeous with all of the fresh pastries and smelled SO good.  We brought back breakfast and got ready for our day out with Aki and Kazu.  We left around 9am and drove about one hour to the middle of “pear country” to visit H.C. Andersen Park.  The city where the park is located, Funabashi, is a sister city to a city in Denmark where H.C. Andersen was from.  The buildings were dutch style and in the middle of the park was a wading pool for kids with fountains and playground equipment etc. We spent a couple of hours there relaxing while Kazu and Aki played in the water and cooled off.

After the park we went to the mall and had a BIG buffet lunch.  I ate way too much but the food was excellent.  Of course my favorite pastime is eating so I am really enjoying the different places we are going and food I am getting to experience there.  After lunch we did some shopping…it was a gigantic mall with every store you can imagine.  It was fun to sit and people watch there.  The last stop was the 100 Yen shop (dollar store).  I did find a few souvenirs that I needed to get today so it was productive shopping.

After a long morning and afternoon…we arrived home and Mr. Watanabe prepared dinner for us.  I was not hungry at all but I ate once again!  Noriko’s Dad is an excellent cook…and he goes to a lot of trouble to make dinner for us.  I have not been taking pictures of the food he has been preparing but should have.  Anyway, I am so full and sleepy and it is only 730pm here and I am ready for bed. I am actually feeling guilty like I do not deserve to be here experiencing these things.  I realize how fortunate I am and do not take it for granted.

I think I am finally adjusted to the time change here…about 14 hours ahead of home.  I leave one week from today…it will be here soon enough.  I have a lot of great memories so far.  I am missing my loved ones and my cats!  Noriko’s cat “Panda” finally made friends with me this morning for a few minutes…I felt so honored 🙂

Today I am thankful for never having to go hungry.  I really do not understand why God has blessed me the way he has but I am truly thankful.

I love this song and cannot get it out of my head…

Today was a very relaxing day…I was able to sleep late for the first time since I have been here.  I had cereal for breakfast, took a shower and sat outside with Kazu and read a book while he played in the pool.  Noriko and Aki were gone today and her brother and family came to pick up her dad, Kazu and me for lunch.  We went to a place nearby called Johnathan’s which was basically a Japanese version of Denny’s.  I am glad they had pictures of the food on the menu!  I can communicate with dad for the most part but sometimes it is difficult.  Without Noriko with us, there is no interpreter.  Listening to them all speak in Japanese at the table I started to zone out and I have no idea what the conversation is until I hear my name and then I perk up lol  It feels like being on a different planet here sometimes.  No where near the culture shock as my first visit but it is still so very different.  Anyway, I ordered safely and had pizza 🙂  Her nieces are the cutest little girls ever and I enjoyed watching and listening to them.  I shared an ice cream dessert with Kazu and then started to get a headache/dizzy…I don’t know if it is the heat and humidity here or what but I took a big nap when we returned home.  Then Kazu woke me up for dinner!  I do feel like one of my cats right now…all I do is eat and sleep 🙂  I am getting some needed rest though so I am not complaining.  Dad is a very good cook.  He made baked salmon covered with roasted almonds, sugar snap peas with pork and garlic, rice, and seaweed soup.  Everything was delicious except for the soup!  It was really bland and had the consistency of snot lol…so hopefully I didn’t offend him but I had to pass on the soup.  I have just taken a shower and now ready for bed.  Noriko is off work the rest of the time I am here so I will be busier now.  She planned a trip to Okinawa for just the 2 of us for 3 days and we leave on Saturday.  I will be taking a Japanese flight for the first time and get to go to the beach…very happy about that!  I am extremely spoiled here…I feel so blessed to have such a good friend.

Today I went with Noriko’s dad on an English speaking guided tour of some of the hot spots in the city.  We left around 730am and walked to the bus station…took the bus to the train station and road the train for about 45 minutes to the World Trade Center building in the heart of Tokyo where we found our bus.  The tour guide was Japanese but spoke very clear English.  The first stop was Tokyo Tower.  This tower is supposedly slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  The tour only included going to the main observation deck…not the very top but that was fine with me.  It is amazing to see how many buildings are in this city.  It was definitely an awesome view.  After the tower we went to Meiji Shrine…I THINK I have been there before but need to ask Noriko.  The Shrines and Temples start looking the same to me.  This is the shrine that was dedicated to the first Emperor of Japan.

After the Shrine we drove to a nice hotel for lunch.  They called it BBQ but it was like Hibachi style where they cook the food at your table.  We sat at our table with a really cute/nice couple from San Francisco and a young man from Kyoto who spoke English.  It was fun and the food was GREAT.  After lunch we went to the Emperors palace.  This place is only open to the public 2 days per year on December 23 and January 2.  There honestly was not a lot to see…I had been there once before and did the same thing…walk to the gate and go hmm and you are ready to leave.  But I can say I was there.  Next was a drive through Ginza which is one of the most popular high end shopping districts in the world. We then went to Tokyo bay where we took a boat ride up the Sumida River and ended up in Asakusa.  The highlight in Asakusa is the walk through the Nakamise shops which lead to Senso-ji temple…the largest temple in Tokyo.  I had been to this place during my first visit in 1998 and it was exactly as I remembered.  I will post a picture later.  I would love to go back there and browse through the shops sometime…honestly today it was just too hot and too crowded and we hurried through and went and sat on the air conditioned bus!  After falling asleep on the long train ride home we stopped for Chinese food and I tried some jellyfish for the first time…not exactly good stuff…but hey you only live once 🙂  It seems all I do is eat and sleep here but I guess that is ok!  I do not get to come here that often so I am really trying to enjoy it.

The population of this city is 13.1 million and I believe that is not even including the outer areas where I am right now.  It is the cleanest city I have ever been to.  The crime rate is almost non existent.  There is so much to do and see…it really is an amazing place…despite the high temps and humidity right now.  Tomorrow I plan to take it easy…sleep late and play in the puddle pool with Kazu 🙂

Today I am thankful for air conditioning!!!  The tour guide said several people died here yesterday or were hospitalized due to heat stroke.

My body clock is way off…it is 2am here in Japan and I am wide awake researching “who am i?”.  I know a lot of people are skeptical but the more I read about astrology the more I understand…a lot of it does make sense.  Sharing my sign below…it is for the most part right on.

Aries – The Ram
March 21 – April 19
Aries people are creative, adaptive, and insightful. They can also be strong-willed and spontaneous (sometimes to a fault). Aries people can be driven and are very ambitious often making them over-achievers in anything they set their mind to tackle. Aries are fire signs, and so too is their personality. They may be quick to anger, but don’t take it personally, it’s just their fiery, passionate personalities showing through. Aries signs have excellent sense of humor, and they get along with almost everyone at the party (and they DO know how to party). Aries can be impatient, but we love them anyway because they are devoted friends, lovers and family members – they are loyal to then end and will fight for their causes (usually supporting the underdog).