Merry Christmas

Hey All...

A quick post to say Merry Christmas... Happy new year and great Holidays to all those that have them.

Lets all hope for a good end to the year, and a good 2009.

Miss you all. Lots of Love.

Mike

PS... Next Time I see you... should be on my bike. Anywhere in the world! Kiyomi got this FANTASTIC travel bag. Its from a company called Scicon... and means I can now take my bag on a plane where ever I go!

Saw "My Farm"

For those of you who have been to Japan, and visted my In laws you have probably had food from their plot of land. They grow a lot of their own vegetables, and happy share them out with Kiyomi and I. The other week, Kiyomi, myself and a couple of Kiyomi`s friends headed out to the the famous plot of land that is known to us as "My Farm". It was quite a hike, and I think that it mus to Kiyomi`s parents a lot of good carrying things to and from the garden. Its good exercise, and in the end some good healthy food too. The climate here also means that they can grow food there 9-10 months of the year. Right now, spinach was gowing.

I was a bit surprised how small the land was.... I shouldn`t have been knowing that this is Japan. But for such a small piece of land it gives a HUGE amount of food. It was truly amazing.

Anyhow here are some Photos of the place, and the wonderful view that you get there too.

Christmas Shopping

Braved the cold (okay... not so cold) and the hordes to head out to Shibuya to get some christmas gifts. Well actually was unsuccessful in Shibuya, and the streets and shops were surprising empty. Considering that it is a Saturday and that it is close to Christmas, I expected to get caught in a crush. But nope that really wasn`t the case.

In the end I had to head over to check Ginza for a few things, and was successful. But Ginza was packed! I wonder if this has to do with the fact that you can walk aroudn the streets in Ginza as they close them off to cars. It makes it a MUCH easier shopping experience than Shibuya on any given day. I was pretty happy and done with things a little quicker than expected. Here is a picture of the day... was pretty warm... I guess about 15 degress celcius.

Bonenkai Season

Well... it is that time of year again, when everyone in Japan has their "forget the year party". We didn`t have a big one at work, just a couple of small ones with everyone getting together. It was nice though. Did manage to get out and see some friends.

JR (Japan Railways for you non local folk) has released the following poster to remind everyone to be well mannered. Everyone who has been here at this time of year has actually seen this kind of stuff in the past before. Quite funny sometimes... unless you`re near some guys vomit.


Anyhow... from me, and Kiyomi... Happy holidays to all (don`t pass out on the train and be sick either please).