Sarubobos are not supposed to have a face, but this one did. What is a sarubobo you ask? I had to ask our waitress in Takayama the same question as we saw them all over the place. Her answer was pretty similar to what you will find on wiki.

Posted on August 26th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: ellie, ryan, takayama. Comments: None

There are plenty of reasons to visit Inokashira Park near Kichijoji. The reason that took us out there a week ago was the Ghibli Museum.

I saw my first Miyazaki (宮崎駿) movie way back in 1989. He was virtually unknown outside of Japan at that point, but I was in Japan. In fact, I was living in the setting of his current movie at the time, My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ), on the edge of Tokorozawa in Saitama Prefecture.

Ellie and Ryan also became big fans, as well as most of the rest of the world, so we have been wanting to check out the museum for a while. Tickets aren’t easy to come by if you want to go on a weekend. With Ryan and Ellie in school on weekdays we finally landed some Saturday tickets by purchasing them within a day of their going on sale more than a month in advance.

Shown above is a picture from the top of the museum. This is one of the robots from Laputa: Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ).

Posted on May 15th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: anime, ellie, ghibli, inokashira, museums, ryan. Comments: 1

The only things you can count on in Japan are surprises. Ellie had her 12th birthday party a couple Saturdays ago at Yoyogi Park. It wasn’t a surprise party. Ellie invited 8 friends (from 6 different countries), and the party went off as planned.

Near the end a Japanese guy came up to the group and asked me if I spoke Japanese. He explained that he runs a website, n-a-u.jp, which is sort of like itunes, and would like to know if the girls would be willing to have their photos on the website for free t-shirts. Of course the aspiring models were willing.

Posted on May 2nd, 2010 under Japan. Tags: ellie, harajuku, people. Comments: 1

For over a year (back in the late 1980s) the Bandit Roller Coaster (バンデットローラーコースター) at Yomiuri Land (よみうりランド) was the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster. Many are now faster and/or taller, but this is still a great ride. Ryan (on the right) and Ellie (in the black and white) rode it about seven times last Sunday.

There is a sign saying that you can now see Tokyo’s Sky Tree from it on a clear day. Spot the Sky Tree and you are supposed to have good luck. I don’t see it in the above picture, but I still feel lucky.

Posted on April 28th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: amusement parks, ellie, ryan, Tokyo. Comments: None

We recently inherited a couple of bikes (自転車) from a foreign couple who were leaving Tokyo. I’m not sure how we got along without them for our first seven months here as they have quickly become indispensable.

If you would like two used bikes (for free), or a partially used yamanote line commuter pass, in August let me know.

Posted on April 7th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: bikes, cherry blossoms, ellie, sakura, Tokyo. Comments: 1