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view from the back of obaachan's 

even their car was burnt out 

next door, completely burnt out 

north side of obaachan's 

Fire at Obaachan's

Thought I would never write again Lisa didn't you...

Last Friday at 3am, we got a call from obaachan (my m-in-law) that the house next door was ablaze, and hers was looking increasingly likely to be next. Tadasu rushed out there, luckily it got put out before he arrived, and they saved her house except for the north wall upstairs, where a hole was burnt though and the gutters melted etc. The view of her back garden does not really illustrate the fact that previously there was a house blocking that view.

On second thoughts maybe I should rename my blog Disasters and doom... so far that is all I seem to have written about.

Typhoon 22 Ma-On

This exceptionally strong typhoon 22 looks even scarier than you think. And tonight it passed right over us.　I had to drive down to the pool and pick up the kids from swimming, and Tsurumaki Dori had turned into a flowing river. It was completely awash! I couldn't see much at all through the incredible force of the rain on the windscreen and I was a nervous wreck by the time I got to the pool. But coming home was even worse because the river had become knee deep as the poor motorbike rider who hopped off to cross the road found out!! We took a different route home after that, and in no time, the whole typhoon was gone, rain had stopped and the sky is clearing. Tomorrow will be perfect for the pool swim comp and Monday will be Undokai for Oscar. All very exciting!

Typhoon

Rain. Rain. Rain. Like a tap turned on full. No wind yet, but tomorrow it will come. This typhoon is supposed to be a direct hit. I will wait to see in the morning. No sports day, it is postponed till Monday. Rescued the lime tree into our genkan so the typhoon doesn't claim our new limes as its own. The figs will have to fend for themselves. Last typhoon the fig tree was half uprooted, but being the hardy species it is, some string and a few well-placed rocks saved the day, and we have 15 figs waiting to ripen. Unless the typhoon decides otherwise.

Earthquake

It was BIG. The house jolted and shook, really shook. It went on and on, not helped by me dashing from room to room checking kids. 5.8 on the Japanese scale. Just seeing those numbers makes me worry!! But everyone was fine, and the earth eventually settled back down for a while. Apparently the thriving community of little black jumping spiders we have here in our house is a signal of impending earthquakes. So what do they do after the quake, all run away outside??? Come to think of it, the one that thinks my computer screen is his private playground hasn't appeared today.

Shopping with 6 kids is really lots of fun!

Unexpected visitors from Oz visit Tokyo for 29 hours. Kids hang out, cultures cross, sharing, laughing and lots of running away from the youngest...mainly because there were 5 biggies to catch him, what a game! Quote from oldest re youngest: "He is Trouble with a capital T!" Behind them, rows and rows of 100 yen trinket machines, with character goods, toys and cards from Yugi-oh, Ultraman, Pretty Cure, Kamen Rider, Gundam etc etc

The guy who ate 15 plates of sushi 

Asking directions from a wary policeman 

Shuppatsu shinko! (Let's GO!)

Seriously funny, this train driver on the Ikegami line shouted this out as he departed from each station. He also did this slightly bizarre checking routine: checked the monitors (with pointed finger) to be sure everyone was on board, checked the time on the clock on the station platform (with pointed finger) and then checked his own watch with slow motion pointed finger to be sure it all was all in sync, then pointed as above and shouted out as we departed. He also shouted out every time we approached a green signal light, saying (with pointed finger) "Green light!"...wonder what would have happened if it was red...

Sweeeeeeeeet kaki: persimmons 

more rice 

rice harvest 

Takumi no sato:

Naeba, Gunma prefecture. Our family made a quick trip here last weekend. We didn't go to the part of Gunma with the erupting volcano! (Asamayama) But we went to my favourite art and craft village where you can sample traditional crafts and enjoy some of the local harvest at the market. At this time of year the rice is harvested, sweet potatoes (satsuma imo), chestnuts (kuri) and pumpkins (kabocha) are in full supply, and nashi, grapes and apples are starting to come into season. Minori no aki is indeed the bountiful autumn. Our earlier visit to Takumi no sato in August saw the stalls full of summer produce like nasu (eggplant), piman (small green capsicums,) peaches and watermelon. It is always such a contrast to the bustle of Tokyo life to head off into the mountains. The traffic was horrendous to get there, a 2 hour traffic jam before we had even left Tokyo...hard to imagine when the tranquility of the inaka seems so all pervasive.

Tokyo life: a journey: start here

Another blog, to soak up my never spare time, to show you something of living in Tokyo ...with three kids. Some of one culture and much of another; a foreign language yet I mostly stick to my own; the vitality, zest and colour of foreignness for me, yet home for our family.