I have to give the kids a lot of credit. When I announced that we were heading off to visit Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and embalmed remains, I expected cries of protest. They merely shrugged and set off. We queued up, surrendered our big cameras, and snapped only two forbidden photos with the iPhone while …

Continue reading Let’s Go See an Embalmed Communist Leader and a Notorious Prison! Or, Our Last Day in Vietnam

After our wonderful visit to Siem Reap, we boarded a 90 minute flight and landed in Hanoi for the second country of our vacation. We spent the night in Hanoi's Old Quarter, then met our van the next morning for the three hour drive to Halong Bay. Most foreign visitors to Hanoi take some kind …

Continue reading Vietnam: Halong Bay and First Thoughts of Hanoi

Based on the raves of many Yokohama families' visits to Cambodia, the four of us set out for a short visit to see it for ourselves. I didn't know much about Cambodia before going--I had a piecemeal knowledge of Angkor Wat, the Vietnam/American War, Pol Pot and the Killing Fields. While part of me simply wants …

Continue reading Three Days in Cambodia

At least once a week I pop into Daiso, the ubiquitous chain of 100 yen stores. Christmas decorations are at a peak right now, and here's a glimpse of what's for sale..... Santa suits for the whole family! Note that the women's version costs 500 yen and the men's is only 400 yen, even though …

Continue reading ‘Tis the Season: Christmas Trappings from the 100 Yen Store

I was supposed to go on a great sounding hike today: exploring the trails around Hakone, taking a dip at a mountain hot spring, enjoying views of Mount Fuji and autumn colors. Unfortunately a steady rainfall canceled the trip the night before. Since I had already cleared the day of activities, I decided to head …

Continue reading Coffee Portraiture and Shrines: A Rainy Day in Tokyo

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday around 4:30PM I hear music on the street. It's the produce man! His truck of fruits, vegetables, and eggs rolls up and sets up shop steps from our front door. https://youtu.be/S26IRqF_vSY After raising the canvas flaps on the sides of his truck, he starts selling. I buy from him every …

Continue reading Coming to a Corner Near You: The Thrice-Weekly, Musical Produce Truck

When I started this blog I assumed that I would regularly write about certain themes. Like food. Shopping. Local adventures. And I have come back to those topics more than once. What I did not expect to write about at all--let alone three times--is poop. And yet here we are. Earlier this year we visited …

Continue reading Blog Post Number Three about Number Two: or, Let’s Keeping a Good Life with Taking a Good S**t!

This weekend was a holiday both in the U.S. (Columbus Day) and Japan. Mark and Cy intended to go camping, but a rainy forecast for Saturday thwarted those plans. So Mark decided to set up a consolation campfire in our driveway on Monday evening--a fine plan, especially considering the beautiful weather. So while I stepped …

Continue reading Adventures in Driveway Campfires; Or, Sirens? What Sirens?

First of all, I AM FINE!!!! It wasn't an Emergency Room visit or anything. So lately I have had a sore muscle that has not responded to physical therapy. I saw a physical therapist (PT) here in Japan, and my PT in Washington while I was back in the U.S. this summer. I asked my …

Continue reading Let’s Go to the Hospital: Adventures in Japanese Health Care

This morning Mark and I awoke at 3AM, ready leave at 3:40 to pick up our friend Jamie before driving to Gotemba to meet the rest of the Fuji-san group. The biblical/monsoonal rain from the evening before persisted all night; the forecast predicted that the rain would end around 7AM, a little later than our …

Continue reading Alas, no Fuji-san This Year….