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.