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.