Little Ichikawa Zoo

On Sunday we went with my wife's family in Funabashi to a little Zoo in Ichikawa. Just like Mother Farm, my daughter was able to hold some animals in the petting area. Here is a picture of her holding a baby chick. There were also goats and pot belly pigs roaming around in the petting area. At one point when my daughter was returning a guinea pig to the pen, a big pig crossed her path. She didn't scream but her eyes got really big and she backed away pretty quick.

We had once visited a petting zoo back in Michigan that had some pigs. When my daughter went towards one of them it let out a big "SNORT" and freaked her out. Ever since then I think that the pigs make her nervous.

She also got to ride on a small Shinkansen "Bullet Train" around the park. I was able to get a video where she says Hi to me while passing by. Take a look at it in with this link here. (Shinkansen Video) It is the last two pictures at the bottom.

The Zoo also had quite a few Japanese monkeys that were quite active while we were there. You can see those in the Picassa Album to the right of the web page.

We had a great time again.

Trip to a Capsule Hotel

On Friday I attended a meeting in Nagoya and went out drinking with the sales staff there. Knowing that I would not make the last train back to Tokyo that night, I decided to stay at a capsule hotel. I stayed at the Wellbe Hotel at Nagoya station right next to the Meitetsu department store.

Here is the link to the Wellbe Hotel in Nagoya.

I had my last couple of beers with the Kacho at a bar near the station and made my way across the street to the fourth floor above a McDonald's. Right away you take off your shoes and lock them in a special shoe locker that you get a key for when you check in at the front desk. They give you a wrist strap with your main locker key attached to that.

I then went to my locker, took off my clothes and took the small towel from there to the big ofuro room. I washed up and soaked in the bath for a while and then headed out to find some pretty nice pajamas waiting outside. From there I headed back to my locker took, took out my contacts and went to find my capsule.

The capsule was actually larger than I had thought it would be. It had a little TV and an earphone so that you would not disturb your other bunk mates. I had thought it might be pretty noisy with all the drunkards coming from the bars to sleep there but the whole place was completely silent. Don't get me wrong, the place had allot of guests. It's just that everyone adhered to the keep quiet rule. That was surprisingly nice.

The bed was a pretty thin mattress and not the easiest place to sleep but I did manage to get a few hours of sleep.

The next morning I woke up, took another shower and bath, charged my phone, and watched TV. After about an hour I left the hotel refreshed and ready for the trip back to Tokyo.

All in all I think that this was a good experience. I would definitely do this again if I was to miss the last train coming back home. At 4500 yen for a one night stay it beats a 20,000 yen plus taxi ride back home.

Kamagaya Park and My Daughter's Bento

This past Sunday we had a picnic at Kamagaya Park located right along the Hokuso Line Railway. This is the railway I take to and from work each day. We had a good time eating the bento lunch that my wife made in the morning. They also had some cool electric cars that the kids could ride for 50yen. In the middle of the park they had a real Japanese Zero. It was colored yellow. I don't think they were that color during the war. It certainly would have made an easy target.

Also, at the park I had a chance to watch a game of older guys playing baseball. It was Funabashi vs. Ichikawa. I was able to watch untill the 6th inning. One thing I realized in Japan, they are very, very serious about their baseball. In the USA we have softball leagues that are basically excuses for drinking beer. In Japan they play for real. This is fast pitch baseball with the uniforms and everything. It was allot of fun to watch.

On Tuesday this week my wife took a picture of the bento lunch that she makes for my daughter. You can see the little Hello Kitty fish sausage and the bunny made out of rice. It has carrots for eyes and dried seaweed for a mouth and nose. My wife recently heard from the mother of one of my daughter's friends that since she was getting a cute bento lunch each day, she was now having to do the same for her daughter.

Thus we have begun the "Cute Bento War". Now my daughter's friend comes to school with her Little Mermaid lunch box. I hope my wife can pull it together and come out on top.

Kobayashi Daimonshita Clean Day

Every three months or so in our neighborhood we have a "Clean Day". On the day before our head of the neighborhood council goes around the town with a bullhorn and reminds everyone that clean day is near. On Sunday morning at 9am the residences of Kobayashi Daimonshita gather at the little park and head around to pick up all of the garbage.

Last year I headed into the bamboo forest next to our neighborhood to find some ripe 10 year old chemical waste that someone had decided to dump there. I was down there for so long that my neighbors came looking for me to tell me that Clean Day only lasts until 9:30am. As a result, I could not finish what I started.

This year I headed back into the bamboo forest to find the remaining pestilence still there ripened for the taking. I ended up having the most garbage of anyone in the neighborhood.

For inspiration, I wore my Thomas Equipment Hat. Thomas Equipment is a full service construction supply store located in Monclova, Ohio, USA. Their phone number is (419) 866-4929. Please speak with Tommy Sr. or Junior for all of your construction needs.

Also this weekend we bought a little pool for my daughter. Unfortunately, we have been having a test of wills at our house that has resulted in us throwing out the pool. I don't know if this will work but hopefully she will have learned a lesson.

We also had a little BBQ party at our house with our new grill. The little Webber Smokey Joe that my dad gave us years back has served us well but we had to let him go because the grill had rusted out and it would have cost us just as much as a new Smokey Joe to get a replacement grill top sent from the USA. The new grill has detachable legs for portability and movable grill tops to keep you from burning your food to a crisp.

Golden Week Part IV

Yesterday the our my sister in law's family drove in from Nagoya with their daughter (3) and their son (2). All of the kids have been having a great time.

Today we took another trip to Kashiwa no Ha Park in Kashiwa. Again, the kids were able to play until they dropped from exhaustion on the way home. My daughter was asleep 10 minutes into the drive home.

For dinner, since all of the kids fell asleep in the car, we stopped at the grocery store and stocked up on goodies that kids seem to like here. The menu included fried chicken, croquettes, fried chicken, gyoza (pot stickers), macaroni salad, and BEER (For the uncles).

Here is a link to the rest of the pictures: Family Visit and 2nd Trip to Kashiwa no Ha

Golden Week Part III

On Thursday we took a quick trip to the Naritasan Shinshoji Temple with some friends from work.

Until yesterday I didn't realize how big this place was. Unfortunately, many of the buildings are being restored and are covered in scaffolding right now. Hopefully, in the next few months we will be able to go back and be able to see the temples in there full glory.

Also, We found this globe dated from the mid 1800's inside the temple grounds. It is very neat to see how Japan saw the rest of the world at that time. In the Picassa photos you can see a detail of the eastern half of the USA. You can see Chicago and Atlanta labeled prominently on the map.

For now, we'll have to settle for seeing them online. Here is a link to the Naritasan website

I did, however get some good pictures of the smaller stuff around the temple. I like the picture of the dog above. It reminds me of my Mom's Boston Terrier, Shooter, when he gets mad.

Here is a link to the rest of the pictures. Naritasan Shinshoji Temple Trip Pictures