The Drought Is Over

'Short and Sweet' Update: As many of you have already heard, our plans are changing pretty significantly in the near future. I don't want to get into details on this blog, because this was/is intended to be a forum for the wonderful, exciting, and surprising experiences I've had in Tokyo. Our reason for moving fits none of these categories. The end result of what has happened, however, does perfectly. Kerwood and I are currently no longer working (a pre-emptive statement: our jobs were not the reason for us leaving) and are taking this opportunity to do some more sightseeing around Tokyo before we leave our apartment on the 30th. After we leave our apartment, we will be travelling around Japan to spend time in Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Hiroshima.

Following this, we will be travelling to the Phillipines, Thailand, and Kauai for a total of four months....We are definitely looking forward to many hours of snorkelling, reading, building sandcastles, and doing some sightseeing as well (of course!). We're also looking forward to returning to Canada in the spring and being able to see friends and family. It's hard living so far away!

So, the dust has settled and I'm ready to tell some more stories of the fabulous things we've been experiencing over the past month. To start, though, I've got a hodge-podge of things....

Since I described what I witnessed on the train one day (see my blog entry on September 26, 2008), I have been privy to some more information. I guess the reason girls/women use this 'tool' is to create a double-eyelid, not to make the eyes look wider as I had hypothesized....The example to the left is quite a friendly looking one compared to the one I saw on the train!

I apologize in advance for the blurry picture....I hurriedly snapped a picture of this in the store before someone saw me. I felt strangely self-conscious about gathering photo-evidence of this intriguing 'beautifying' product.

Bossa Nova Festival Follow-Up: One of the festival concerts we attended was held in a Lexus Showroom (in fact, you can just barely catch a glimpse of the red car in one of the photos)....Just yesterday, I learned that the car is not even on the market. It is the Lexus LF-A, which has been displayed at various motor shows. If it is produced and sold, it will be a limited run with a reasonable price tag of ~$200,000.....Just in case you were wondering or interested in the roadster ;).

Hilarious Advertising: I had to include this billboard ad from Shibuya Station. It was starin' us in the face as we were waiting on the platform. I mean, how can you not giggle at the marketing slogan ? 'Love-jewelry'? Does that sell?


And now, ladies and gentlemen, I need to write about cats....because I miss mine so much and the street cats in Tokyo just are not friendly. There is no way that I can get my cat fix unless I pay money to visit them in Ikebukuro (and that would just put me in the 'crazy cat lady' category).....I refuse.

A lovely photo-op that Kerwood captured as he was walking around our neighbourhood one morning. Isn't it so sweet? It's even sweeter that these two cats still have their tails....most cats have bent or stub tails here.


This picture was taken just as we were leaving Ueno Park one night. This little gaffer pounced in front of my feet (just after I finished lamenting about how much I missed my cat) and I couldn't resist a little cuddle with him. He was quite pleased with the arrangement as well--he settled right in to my hand and started purring away. It was hard to leave him to live the rough life of a stray cat here....

The other photo was taken in Hakone as we were waiting to board a pirate ship....No, I'm not making that up and that's a story for another entry. There was a group of cats who hung around the dock. They were very friendly with one of the ship's captains, however they would not let me get too close to them. As you can see, though, I was trying my best. Hmmm. Having written this entry, and after looking at the pictures, I think I might fit into the 'crazy cat lady' category after all...and, I'm okay with it. It's kind of been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember (and it runs in my family ;)....