Weeks 11-12: The REAL Lalaport playplace, Japanese car show, and Tokyo Water Science Museum

It's been a crazy two weeks!

First of all, last week we had our first typhoon come through: Typhoon Lan! We were prepared with our disaster kits, and we were getting all kinds of emergency alerts and it rained pretty hard, but in our area we never got anything more than heavy rain and just enough wind to knock people's bikes over on their front porches. We have read that most of the damage was caused to fishing boats and crops. People who live around here say we usually get at least five typhoons a year. So I guess we will be seeing more of them!

After being so let down about the "really cool playplace" that turned out to be a dud last week, I researched again online and found our mistake -- we'd gone to the wrong floor of the mall! So we decided to go again, and finally found the right playplace! It wasn't free like some people were saying, but it was definitely super fun for Jordan! Enjoy the video below.


This week we went with a friend (whose toddler son is just about Jordan's age and is his new best friend) to a pumpkin patch at the nearby Atsugi Naval Air Facility Base. Jordan had fun picking out a pumpkin... and hugging it. He likes to hug everything lately.

Jordan loves hugging his pumpkin.

This week we decided to go to Tokyo and go to the Tokyo Water Science Museum, which we heard was a fun free place to take kids. On our way there, we saw a bunch of Jehovah's Witnesses at the train station who were handing out pamphlets. Notable because a vast majority of Japanese consider themselves part of the Shinto religion. There isn't much representation from other religions here, like there is in America.

Also right off the train station, we saw a car show for cars with tricked-out audio systems. So we stopped and looked for a while and then headed to the Water Science Museum. Here is the video of the car show and Water Science Museum (minus the Jehovah's Witnesses because it probably would have been awkward to film them passing out their pamphlets)!


That's about it for now! Stay tuned for next week!

Week 10: "American" Burger Joint and Mall Playplace

Hey friends!

We finally had most of our stuff delivered! We have received 3 out of 4 crates. Downside is, a lot of the stuff we actually have is useless without the 4th crate. For example, we have our box springs, but no mattress, and no bed frame. We have our bookcase and all our books, but none of the shelves that go in it. We have our computer and printer and computer chair, but no computer desk.

So it's been interesting because we now have useless items floating around our house, making it pretty messy around here. We do have a bed and a few furniture items that we've "checked out", so we at least have a bed to sleep in. We should get our last crate on Thursday, though!

This week we had heard about a playplace in a local mall that was supposed to be super fun. So we headed out there and ate at an "American" burger place in the mall, and went to do the playplace. Watch the video below to see what adventures awaited us!

 See you guys next week!

Weeks 8-9: New House!

Hello everyone!

Sorry we missed last week! We had a sick kiddo (standard cold type stuff) and couldn't go out anywhere, because people in Japan are very health-conscious, and we couldn't get said toddler to keep a surgical mask on (surprise!). We even took him in a stroller to a Japanese grocery store to browse for a few minutes and he coughed (granted, a wet-sounding cough) and we got several shocked looks from shoppers around us. So we decided to not risk taking him anywhere else in public until he got better. So no excursion for last week. Sad.

BUT! This week we moved into our new house! FINALLY! Below is a video tour! We got a little bit of our household stuff a few days later, so right now the house looks a little bit more filled up than it did in the video, but you can see what the house looks like! We are so excited!


This weekend we planned on going to go to a "bunny and otter cafe". Basically a petting zoo for rabbits and otters, but indoors. In a cafe that served only drinks. We were excited about it, but when we arrived at the cafe (in Tokyo, an hour and a half from home), they asked whether we had reservations (we didn't) and then told us that the next available slot was in an hour. Apparently they only let a certain number of people into the cafe at a time. It was already getting late in the day, as we didn't leave till the afternoon because had errands to do in the morning. So we decided to skip the bunny/otter cafe for the day and just eat dinner and head home.

We ate at a "Denny's", which, besides the sign, bore little to no resemblance to the American version. Everything was painted lime green and white, for starters. There were pancakes on the breakfast menu (breakfast menu NOT served all day), and a dessert-y stack of pancakes with a cute powdered sugar animal on them on the dessert menu, and a few dishes included eggs or bacon, but other than that, I saw no typical American "Denny's" foods. The Japanese usually eat the same types of things for breakfast as they do for lunches and dinners. Like rice, ramen, chicken and pork, vegetables, etc. So stuff like that is mostly what was on the menu.

I ended up having a "hamburger steak" with rice and curry. Christian also ordered a rice and curry dish, and we shared a dish called "grilled cheese, spinach, and tomato" which was just that -- spinach, tomato, and cheese, all cooked up together (not on a sandwich). Because my curry was stronger than I prefer, the "grilled cheese, spinach, and tomato" was actually the best thing I had there... pretty yummy. Jordan had a "kid's meal" which appeared to be a flat piece of meatloaf, some scrambled eggs, a ball of rice, and a flat tater tot cut in the shape of a happy face, along with some Jello. He seemed to like it all pretty well, especially the Jello.

Anyway, we'll definitely keep the bunny and otter cafe on the "future excursions" list and we'll make reservations next time (we really need to learn to do that when we plan on going somewhere).

See you guys next week! We've got some awesome ideas!