Baby Gemma

On April 15, baby Gemma joined us...here's some very telling pictures about how things are going.

Love to all.

Baseball and Sumo

It's been awhile since our last post - but now we have some more material...

But now we have some new material. Guy and Amy Torres from Denver visited us for some baseball in Tokyo Dome.








And, then we went to Sumo with Jessica's Dad.








An action packed week of sporting events.
More manly posts to follow.

Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2008

When Anna and I arrived at the Tokyo Dome this morning for the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival we weren't sure we were in the right place. It looked like the Australian TAB with lots of loitering old men betting on horses. Then we spotted a swarm of middle-aged Japanese women and we followed them to the right place. The fair was huge! As our friend Jo, a Kiwi, commented "there are more women here than the whole of New Zealand!" While I was drawn to the more abstract, contemporary quilts, I was in awe of the incredible detail and craftsmanship on display across all styles. For a more complete picture of the show click here for images from Moving Hands.

Six of One, Half-Dozen of the Other

This is just one example of Japanese meticulousness... each egg in a dozen is labeled with a use-by date! Before carefully placing your eggs in a shopping bag with other groceries, the check-out person (always exceptionally polite and efficient) wraps the container with styrofoam padding and inserts it in an individual plastic bag sealed with a sticker!

Girls' Day Out

Saskia and I visited the Oedo Antiques Fair today, a market that takes place twice a month at Tokyo International Forum. It's definitely worth a visit for people traveling to Tokyo even briefly. Our favourite find was a vendor selling antique kimonos and quilts for dolls, as pictured above. Saskia also enjoyed rifling through colourful baskets of silk kimono fabric, a fortunate diversion from the delicate antique ceramics on display! Afterwards, we walked to the Muji flagship store, often described as Japan's version of Target in the US, but much, much better! They sell affordable homeware, clothes, etc., with a distinctly Japanese minimalist style. Its also a good place to grab a quick lunch in the area.

Powder in Hakuba - Snowshoeing and Skiing

Welcome to the Japanese Alps - they compare very favorably to Colorado and are only about 4 hours from TKY. It's a great year snow-wise with several meters already - more of a problem than a boon at this point say the local business owners.

Jessica, Saskia and I did two days of snowshoeing and had some dinners (feasts). Saskia wouldn't know snowshoeing from the back of her eyelids as she slept the entire time. I also got in a day of skiing which was great.

Super Kawai!

This is just an excuse to post some recent cute (kawai) pictures of our little gem!

Weaving through Kichijoji

A couple years ago mum and I took a weaving class at Habu Textiles in New York with an instructor from Kyoto through an English translator. We made a scarf in two hours (see pics) with a very simple Japanese table-loom produced by a company called Avril. After a lot of internet-searching I finally found Avril's website and tracked down their store in Tokyo. I visited the store Saturday afternoon and it turns out they offer weaving classes on this loom in addition to classes in felt-making, knitting, and spinning. I'm excited to start some new projects - they also sell gorgeous yarns!


In the process of finding Avril I also discovered a great Tokyo neighborhood called Kichijoji. Avril is located just off of Nakamichi Dori, a pedestrian-only street with some interesting specialty shops. A surprising find was A-materials, a store selling vintage American fabrics. There was something very Japanese about the selection and the way the fabrics were presented. Another gem was Kanal, a boutique selling beautifully made clothing with a curious mix of Japanese- and Victorian-inspired designs. For fabric-lovers, there's also a glossy new Marimekko store on Inokashira Dori, parallel to Nakamichi Dori.

Closed for the Holidays - Only the Subway is Open

Hoping to take advantage of the holidays to see some Tokyo sites we headed out into the city. Unfortunately no one else had the same idea because they knew all the shops and museums would be closed. Oh well - we had a great tour of the Tokyo subway system en route to the Edo Museum of Tokyo Japan. Thanks to this subway conductor for helping us find our way.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! As you can tell by the post date, we are publishing this after Christmas. We didn't even start this blog until the 30th, so this is really to say thanks for the cards and gifts - especially since sending packages overseas takes extra effort. It seems like all the packages have made their way safely now - thanks very much! Hope Santa brought you everything you wanted like he did for us!

New Pad

Welcome home - at least to home away from home. We are quite happy with the living arrangements here in TKY. Jessica and I are living in a house for the first time since we have been together. And the neighborhood is so quiet but only 10 minutes away from the crazy commercial area of Shibuya. Guest room is quite ample so we hope to see you all soon for nice long visit.

Arrival - first posting

Hello from Tokyo. We've arrived smiling but the trip has turned our hair white. We arrived on October 29th but only after 42 hours of total travel time. New York to Tokyo is only about 15 hours without a typhoon to contend with.