We have recently found an enjoyable walk from our apartment to the Iidabashi area. There you can find the Tokyo Dome (home of the Giants) and these smaller baseball players in the mini stadium next door.

Posted on March 4th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: baseball, kids. Comments: None

One of our guidebooks mentioned a place in Shibuya that sounded interesting. So a few days after New Years we made our way to the Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Hall. Most things were aimed at younger kids (probably best for 5 – 9 year olds), but we still had a good time. The place is large by Tokyo standards with about six floors of activities. And it’s all free.

Today’s picture is of the taiko group which performed in front of the entrance.

We found out later that these free, children’s halls exist all over the place. Ryan and Ellie visited one near Meguro with some friends and have played ping pong at the one just a few minutes down the street in Takadanobaba.

Posted on February 5th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: kids, shibuya, taiko. Comments: 2

Christmas Eve in Phuket featured an excellent sunset. We looked for a place to eat on the beach but couldn’t find anything that would satisfy us all. We ended up going down an alley just to the north of McDonald’s and eating at a place called S&G Restaurant. The food was really good, the prices were cheap, and the staff was friendly. I ordered a creamy curry which was the best curry I have ever had.

This is the main drag (Thawiwong Road) by the beach. Eat at one of these places if you want to pay more for lesser quality food.

You can eat really inexpensively by eating at one of these stalls. This one is in Phuket’s night life center on Bangla Road.

Posted on January 16th, 2010 under Thailand. Tags: clouds, food, kids, skywatch, sunset. Comments: 2

I walk through Kansenen Park at least a couple times a week on my way to Waseda University. The college students haven’t discovered it as this oasis is always empty or nearly so. The colors have changed now that we have reached December so it is more beautiful than ever. These photos may make it look like the place was deserted, but there were actually about a dozen kindergarteners playing “hide and seek” so the place was a bit noisy (in a good way).

I happened to be leaving at the same time as the kids. They all bowed to the park at the exit and said “また来るね” (which means something along the lines of, “we will visit you again”) which was my sentiment as well.

Posted on December 9th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: japanese maple, kids, 甘泉園公園. Comments: 1