Halloween Costuming

This year for Halloween I have not one but two costumes. That's a 200% increase over last year. Why you may ask do I need two costumes? That's because neither of them are for actual Halloween. They are both for work. One costume is for the previously mentioned Scary Stories in the Attic and the other is for an as yet unmentioned awesome program called Teen Book Fest. You might also ask why I couldn't just wear the same costume to both programs? Well the programs just called for different types of costuming.

Costume 1: Zombie (aka undead summer reader). Scary Stories in the the Attic calls for a scary costume. I discovered that I'm not very good at being undead. To really pull it off you need to stay in character. I kept smiling. Zombies don't smile.

Costume 2: Steampunk girl. The Teen Book Fest has snagged an awesome feature author, Scott Westerfeld. You may know his Uglies series. His most recent work is in the Steampunk sub-genre of Sci-fi. If you are unfamiliar with Steampunk, let me tell you a little about it. Steampunk sets its stories in historical Victorian England but mixes in technology that did not exist at that time but which is operated usually by steam power and kerosene which did exist. A Steampunk costume works much the same way. It takes elements of Victorian clothing along with modern clothes and mixes them. I will probably not be any better at being a Steampunk girl since I should probably speak with a Cockney accent.

Incidentally if you want to read some Steampunk books check out the library's booklist.

Funny Things on TV

I haven't watched much TV lately so I'm sure I've missed out on a bunch of great stuff, but here are a few funny things I've seen recently.

Sprint "Epic" commercials. This is my favorite of the series.



Remember when South Africa had that Octopus predict who was going to win the World Cup? Well Late Night with Jimmy Fallon took it one (and cuter) step further.




What have been some your favorite recent TV moments?

Maybe I'm Just a Realist Now

So yesterday we got our first snow in the valley. It won't stick around for long and I know that this is typical weather for Utah, but still in the back of my head, there was a voice screaming, “It’s too soon!” I haven't even started wearing jackets yet regularly and now I have to jump straight to coats?!?

I used to love the snow. Winter was my favorite season. There was something magical about the whole season. I don’t know if it was the connection with the holidays that made it so exiting, or getting out of school for Winter break, or that hush the world gets when it’s covered in snow, but that honeymoon definitely ended a few years back. Now I just get cold. I especially hate getting in my car in the morning and it not heating up until I’m almost to work. Although, it doesn’t bother me to drive in snow like many people I know.

I still get excited when I wake up in the morning and the world has been covered in a blanket of the fluffy white stuff, but that only lasts for a few minutes. Most likely because what I would really love to do is stay at home curled up with a mug of hot chocolate, but in reality I have to trudge to work.

It’s hard for me to admit that I don’t love Winter anymore. It made me unique because there weren’t all that many of us. I still really, really want to love it, but at this moment in time, I just don’t.

The Haunted Library Attic

Every year for the past 5 or 6 years, the library has hosted scary stories or a scary movie on the unfinished 4th floor (or Attic). I think the original idea came about because back before the building was renovated into what is today the library, it sat empty for many years. It was a very creepy place with broken windows and a large barbed fence around the whole block. I remember there were always stories about ghosts and devil worshipping. Not a fun place to walk past after dark.

Anyways, some people still ask about those stories and wonder if the old building was haunted then are the ghosts still around. If they are then they most certainly would be hanging out in the attic. So why not open it up once a year at Halloween time and listen to a frightful tale in the dark (possibly haunted) Library Attic?

Here's the best part. My friend and co-worker, KK, spends several days decorating the place. She does an AMAZING job. This year she's going for a mad scientist's laboratory. Here are some pictures.

I love the monument for Dewey as in Melvil Dewey.

Sorry the pictures aren't super great. I wanted some with the lights out but we didn't have a tripod to take a longer exposure shot.

The Book Trailer

The other day I was watching a TV show online and it had a commercial for a teen novel, The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. At first I wasn't sure what I was watching because it looked like a video game's animated characters. When I finally realized what it was, I got pretty excited (being a librarian and all). I think I've only seen one or two others in the past 2-3 years.

For the uninitiated, a book trailer is similar to a movie trailer (preview, teaser), which is a video advertisement for the book. The similarities pretty much end there.

• Most book trailers are created by amateur fans (some are created by publishers)
• Because most book trailers are created by fans they tend to be a little cheesy
• Book trailers are meant more to get people to read than to make money
• Book trailers are being created for old and new books
• Most book trailers are for teen books

While doing a little research on the topic I discovered there is actually some criteria for what is and isn't a book trailer. For example, did you know that book trailers cannot contain author readings or excerpts from the book?

Anyways, I hope I continue to see book trailers on TV. It's such a great way to promote books to the masses.

Here are a few of my favorite book trailers. I also added the Clockwork Angel trailer.

Starting Over Once Again

About 4 years ago, I started exercising regularly which has mostly been jogging. I never liked to run when I was younger, but I actually quite like it now.

• You can do it alone or with someone
• You don't need any skills or equipment
• You can run indoors and outside
• Even when I'm not running I now have really low cholesterol and blood pressure
• Sometimes I get those endorphin highs after running that are pretty great

So you would think by now that I could run a marathon, but alas no such luck. Here is the problem with running. The minute you stop, you go quickly down hill in endurance. I've never stopped for more than a month or so and yet circumstances (and by this I mean laziness mostly) seem to get in the way every 3-4 months and make me stop. Thus, I have never, except once, built up enough endurance to run (without stopping and walking) more than 5 miles or so. Perhaps if I could ever do better than this I might not fall so quickly.

After my travels, I will now have to start over ONCE AGAIN. Hopefully I can make it through the holidays without stopping.

Wish me luck.

Thriller by Odyssey Dance Theater

Went to see Thriller by the Odyssey Dance Studio tonight in SLC. It of course started at the same time that the U of U football game was ending. We got redirected by the traffic police and ended up driving all over campus before we made it back to the correct street. This made us about 20 minutes late. I really hate being late.

Odyssey Dance Theater has been performing Thriller at Halloween time for over a decade, but this is the first time I've seen it. Thriller is a mix of scary and comedy with emphasis on the comedy. There were definitely some goods parts to the show, but overall I didn't love it. My favorite numbers were Dem Bones where dancers had black costumes with white skeletons that glowed in the black light making it look like skeletons were really dancing. I also enjoyed the river dance number where the girls were getting picked off by a sniper. And if there are any So You Think You Can Dance fans out there then you would appreciate Gev from season 4 performing in Ghost Busters.

I'll give it a plus for it's quirkiness.

Oh Yeah, You Definitely Do

Today a patron came up to the desk and asked if the library needed a Google list of elevator repair men. I answered, "Do we?" As in are you asking if the library needs the list or are you asking how you can get a list for yourself.

His response to my question was, "Oh yeah, you definitely do." I almost laughed out loud because he said it in this low gravelly voice like mmhmm, oh yeah baby, you need that list.

I then stuttered through a response about how the library already employs an elevator repair company not exactly sure what he was really asking for. Apparently our elevators are too loud and he thinks we need some parts.

Working with the public can be so interesting at times.

I'm Nothing if Not Polite

In all my travels I have never been able to learn much of the language. This is always to my shame because I feel like an ignorant American who assumes everyone will know English. Even though, in my experience, this has always been true, I still feel bad about it.

I do always try to learn a few phrases of the native language, but I am usually so afraid of messing up that I resort to one or two word comments to get by.

The most important of these is "Thank you."

Below are the languages I can now fluently say thank you in. However, keep in mind, there are many ways to say thank you (formal/informal) and so you can still mess this up.

Czech - Děkuji [Dye-koo-yi]
Polish - Dziękuję [Jen-KOO-yeh]
Hungarian - Köszönöm [KER-ser-nerm]
German - Danke schön [DAHNK-uh shoon]
Spanish - Gracias
Greek - Ευχαριστώ [Efharisto]
Turkish - teşekkür ederim [teh-SHEH-keur eh-deh-rim]
Japanese - ありがとうございます [ari-gato go-zai-mas]

After thank you, the next most important thing to know is "excuse me" or "sorry" because you will find yourself saying sorry in English whenever you bump into someone or want to get someone's attention. For the Western world "pardon" works well pronounced with a French accent, but it didn't help me much in Japan.

There Should Be a Committee or Something

One of my favorite things about traveling is getting to experience a different culture and a different way of living, but inevitably what comes with that is comparing it to your own way of living and judging whether it is better or worse instead of just appreciating it for what it is. However, there are some things or ways of doing things that are just better in certain countries. For example, chocolate. Why can't America take a page from any European country's book and learn to make really good chocolate or for me specifically, chocolate croissants? First, you can hardly even find chocolate croissants in Utah, and second they in no way compare to those I have had in various European countries.

But here's one for America. Hair dryers (blow dryers). The technology exists. It's not like Greece needs to invent anything from scratch. So why do they have these strange tube things that don't actually blow any air, but do make your hand really hot?

In Japan, they have excellent Subway systems. There is a marked spot on the pavement to show where the doors will open. People line up by these marks in two lines, then separate the lines to make an opening when the train arrives so people getting off can easily exit. They then proceed onto the train in an orderly fashion. Why can't we do that here?

So here is what I have decided. There needs to be some way to share these kinds of things across borders. For example, we could form an international committee of average travelers and ask them what they like and don't like about their own country and other countries and then find a way of marketing these things so we can all enjoy the best the world has to offer.

I'm not talking about changing people's cultures here, just the little conveniences that make life easier or more enjoyable.

Yeah, sometimes my ideas are pretty brilliant.

Japan Day 9

 Osaka Castle. Built high on a hill top so it can be seen for miles, but like almost every building in Japan it has been destroyed multiple times. Osaka Castle was actually raized in 1615 in a huge battle between two Shoguns.

 The Floating Garden Observatory. Not sure why they added the word garden to the title since there was no garden. There was, however, an awesome view of the city. This observatory was unique because the building has a hole in the middle (like a donut). You can look down through the center of the hole or on the outside for amazing views of Osaka City. The top part, where you can see people is outside and the middle part where the mirror windows are is an indoor observatory. It was pretty cool.

 The Floating Garden Observatory caters to young lovers. They even have a special place set aside for couples.

 Here is the "Lumi Deck". We were here during the day so there were no young lovers.

 We went to the Osaka Acquarium and it was so cool. They had river otters, and sea lions, and sharks, oh my! This is a Cabybara from the Amazon. They are the largest rodent in the world or as I like to think of them R.O.U.S (Rodents of Unusual Size). They apparently love the water and swim qute well.

 The Whale Shark! There are only a few in captivity. He swam right by us. He was HUGE!

 Japanese Spider Crab. These guys were about 2 feet tall.

Beautiful Sunset on Osaka Bay. The round dome on the left is the Maritime Museum.

We also experienced the under ground shopping malls of Osaka (some of the largest in the world). They go on and on forever under the city. Basically you go down into the subway and then never emerge again. They usually connect three or four subway stations together. I`m not sure I like shopping under ground.

It`s been a great trip, but I am definitely looking forward to my own bed and soft pillows again. See you soon.

Japan Day 8 (with pictures)

Kofukuji Temple in Nara. I`m not exactly sure why there was this crazy long line to get into the temple, but man was it long.

 Just when I started to feel like if you`ve seen one temple/shrine then you`ve seen them all, Nara goes and adds deer into the mix. The main historic sites in Nara are set in a woodland park with free roaming deer that will eat special "deer cookies" right out of your hand. The deer were everywhere. I`m surprised they weren`t inside the temples as well.

 Todaji Temple is one of the most famous Budhist Temples in Japan. It not only houses the largest statue of Buddha in Japan but it is also the largest wooden building in the world.  As you can see there was some kind of celebration or ceremony going on.

 Here is the Bronze Buddha statue. The picture doesn`t do justice to how big it is. I was holding my camera above my head so I could get the whole statue in the shot. I think it`s about 50 feet tall.

 Here is my map of Nara after a friendly deer got a little too friendly with me and decided to eat my map for lunch. Fortunately we weren`t going to the areas the deer riped off and ate.

In Japan they like to show you picures of the food you will be eating, but what I can`t figure out is why they show you pictures of the meat before it is cooked. Like that is appetizing or something.

Japan Day 8

No pictures today because I didn`t know I`d be able to add them. When I asked about the computers at our hotel in Osaka, I was told there was free wireless but I had to rent a computer. Then when I went to the Business center, there is no wireless but all the computers are free to use. Very confusing. Which is pretty much par for the course in Osaka. There are far fewer English language signs and the translations are much worse. This is the most confused I have been in Japan.

Before we made it to Osaka, we took a side trip from Kyoto to Nara. Nara is the city where the first permanent imperial city was built way back in the 700s and before it was moved to Kyoto. They are actually celebrating their 1300 anniversary this year. There were lots of various celebrations going on through the area (Buddhist monk rituals, folk dancing and singing, etc.) and tons and tons of people.

In Kyoto we were told by our English tour guide that 39 million people visit Kyoto a year but only 700,000 of them are foreigners. Those Japanese really like to travel.

So tomorrow is our last full day in Japan and then we start the long, long, very, very long journey back to the U.S. It starts with a 4 1/2 train trip from Osaka to the Tokyo airport, which isn`t really even near Tokyo. I will try to blog tomorrow, but then you probably won`t hear from me for a while or maybe you will since to me it will be long but really I will be making up time. For example, our flight arrives in Seattle 2 hours earlier than when we left Tokyo. Crazy!

Japan Day 7

Today we took an English guided tour of several of the many many sites to see in Kyoto. There are 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites just in Kyoto!

We saw loads of ancient shrines and temples and their beautiful gardens.

Nishi-Honganji Shinto Temple. We were allowed to take photos inside which is pretty rare. Our guide told us that most Japanese practice Shinto and Budhist religions at the same time. For example, you would have a Buddhist baptism but a Shinto wedding.

Beautiful garden is Nijo Castle. Nijo castle was built by the same Shogun that built all the shrines in Nikko (where we started our Japan trip). Nijo castle is also home to the famous Nightingale Floor. Specially designed to sing (squeaky boards) when someone walks across the floor, thus no one sould sneak up on the Shogun.

Exterior of Nijo Castle. It is very different from a European style castle with their thick stone walls. There was still a moat and thick outer walls, but most of the protection came from having skilled Samurai warriors at your beck and call.

The Golden Pavilion. Built by a different Shogun in the 1390s. The original structure burned down (as did almost every historical site, usually numerous times). This was a pretty amazing site.

Heian Shrine. Kyoto`s most famous shrine.  This is actually one of the dragon towers to help guard against evil spirits.

Beautiful garden at the Heian Shrine. Apparently it was used in the film Memoirs of a Geisha.

Another part of the garden at the Heian Shrine.

We saw not one, but three weddings at the Heian shrine. Apparently it is a popular place to get married and not wonder with the beautiful garden and vermillion colored shrine.

Kiyomizu temple gate and 3 story pagoda. This was a crazy busy place. I think it is one of the most famous sites in all of Japan.

There is a sacred spring where depending on which fountain you drink from you will have a long life, find true love, or have good business prospects. My sis and I missed out on this because the line to drink from the spring was out of control.

View from the temple. Note all the people and the city of Kyoto below.

Japan Day 6

Ｗｅ　ｔｏｏｋ　ｔｈｅ　ｂｕｌｌｅｔ　ｔｒａｉｎ　ｆｒｏｍ　Ｈａｋｏｎｅ　ｔｏ　Ｋｙｏｔｏ　ｔｏｄａｙ．　Ｍａｎ　ｔｈｏｓｅ　ｔｈｉｎｇｓ　ａｒｅ　ｆａｓｔ．　Ａ　ｃｏｕｐｌｅ　ｔｒａｉｎｓ　ｆｌｅｗ　ｂｙ　ｕｓ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｐｌａｔｆｏｒｍ　ｗｈｉｌｅ　ｗｅ　ｗｅｒｅ　ｗａｉｔｉｎｇ　ａｎｄ　ｉｔ　ｉｓ　ＣＲＡＺＹ．

Ｔｈｅ　ｒｉｄｅ　ｉｓ　ｖｅｒｙ　ｓｍｏｏｔｈ．　Ｔｈｅｙ　ｈａｖｅ　ｒｅｓｔｒｏｏｍｓ　ａｎｄ　ｓｅｌｌ　ｓｎａｃｋｓ　ａｎｄ　ｂｅｖｅｒａｇｅｓ．　Ｉｔ　ｉｓ　ｑｕｉｔｅ　ａ　ｎｉｃｅ　ｗａｙ　ｔｏ　ｔｒａｖｅｌ．

Ｗｅ　ｇｏｔ　ｔｏ　ｔｏｕｒ　ｔｈｅ　Ｉｍｐｅｒｉａｌ　Ｐａｌａｃｅ　ｔｏｄａｙ．　Ｙｏｕ　ｈａｖｅ　ｔｏ　ｍａｋｅ　ｓｐｅｃｉａｌ　ｒｅｓｅｒｖａｔｉｏｎｓ　ｔｏ　ｄｏ　ｓｏ．

Ｅｖｅｎ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｏｕｒ　ｔｈｏｕｇｈ，　ｙｏｕ　ａｒｅ　ｓｔｉｌｌ　ｎｏｔ　ａｌｌｏｗｅｄ　ｉｎｓｉｄｅ　ａｎｙ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｂｕｉｌｄｉｎｇｓ．

Ｔｈｉｓ　ｉｓ　ｌｏｏｋｉｎｇ　ｔｈｒｏｕｇｈ　ｏｎｅ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｖｅｒｍｉｌｌｉｏｎ　ｇａｔｅｓ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　ｂｕｉｌｄｉｎｇ　ｗｈｅｒｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｅｍｐｅｒｏｒｓ　ａｒｅ　ｃｒｏｗｎｅｄ．

Ｔｈｅ　ｅｍｐｅｒｏｒ　ｎｏ　ｌｏｎｇｅｒ　ｌｉｖｅｓ　ｉｎ　Ｋｙｏｔｏ　ｂｕｔ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｈａｖｅ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｈｉｓ　ｐｒｉｖａｔｅ　ｇａｒｄｅｎ．

Ｔｈｉｓ　ｉｓ　ｏｕｒ　ｈｏｔｅｌ　ｒｏｏｍ　ｉｎ　Ｋｙｏｔｏ．　Ａ　ｔｒａｄｉｔｉｏｎａｌ　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　Ｒｙｏｋａｎ　（ｈｏｔｅｌ）．　Ｔｈｅｙ　ｂｒｉｎｇ　ｏｕｔ　ｙｏｕｒ　ｆｕｔｏｎｓ　ｗｈｉｌｅ　ｙｏｕ　ｇｏ　ｔｏ　ｄｉｎｎｅｒ．

Ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　Ｇｉｏｎ　Ｄｉｓｔｒｉｃｔ　（ａｒｅａ　ｗｈｅｒｅ　Ｇｅｉｓｈａｓ　ｓｔｉｌｌ　ｗｏｒｋ　ｔｏｄａｙ），　ｗｅ　ｓａｗ　ａ　ｐｅｒｆｏｒｍａｎｃｅ　ｏｆ　ａ　ｖａｒｉｅｔｙ　ｏｆ　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ａｒｔ　ｆｏｒｍｓ．　Ｔｈｉｓ　ｉｓ　Ｋｙｏｍａｉ，　ａ　ｔｒａｄｉｔｉｏｎａｌ　ｄａｎｃｅ　ｉｎｖｅｎｔｅｄ　ｉｎ　Ｋｙｏｔｏ　ｔｈａｔ　ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｂｅ　ｐｅｒｆｏｒｍｅｄ　ａｔ　ｃｏｕｒｔ．

Japan Day 5 (with pictures)

Ｆｉｒｓｔ，　Ｉ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｗａｎｔ　ｔｏ　ｓａｙ　ｈｏｗ　ｍｕｃｈ　Ｉ　ｌｏｖｅ　ｔｈａｔ　Ｊａｐａｎ　ｈａｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｉｎｔｅｒｎｅｔ　ｉｎ　ｅｖｅｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｍａｌｌｅｓｔ　of　hotels.　It　is, however,　difficult　to　type　on　a　keyboard　that　has　Kanji　letters　on　it.　I　keep　accidentally　hitting　some random key and turning on the Kanji.　Ｎｏｔ　ｓｕｒｅ　ｗｈａｔ　ｉｓ　ｇｏｉｎｇ　ｏｎ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｔｈｅ　ｆｏｎｔｓ　ｈｅｒｅ　ｅｉｔｈｅｒ．

Ｓｏ　ｈｅｒｅ　ａｒｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｐｉｃｔｕｒｅｓ　ｏｆ　Ｈａｋｏｎｅ．

Ｈａｋｏｎｅ　ｉｓ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｍｏｕｎｔａｉｎｏｕｓ　ｎａｔｉｏｎａｌ　ｐａｒｋ　ａｒｅａ　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｙｏｕ　ｃａｎ　ｔｏｕｒ　ｉｎ　ａ　ｇｉａｎｔ　ｌｏｏｐ　ｗｈｅｒｅ　ｔｏ　ｔａｋｅ　an　old　train　that switchbacks up the mountain, a cable car (funicular) that goes straight up the mountain, a  switchbacks up the mountain, a cable car (funicular) that goes straight up the mountain, a tram, and finally  up　the　mountain,　a　cable　car　(funicular)　that　goes　straight　up　the　mountain,　a　tram,　and　finally　ａ　ｂoat　ａｎｄ　ｎｏｔ　ｊｕｓｔ　ａｎｙ　ｂｏａｔ　ｂｕｔ　ｏｎｅ　ｄｅｓｉｇｎｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｌｏｏｋ　ｌｉｋｅ　ａ　ｐｉｒａｔｅ　ｓｈｉｐ！

Ｏｐｅｎ　Ａｉｒ　Ｓｃｕｌｐｔｕｒｅ　Ｍｕｓｅｕｍ

Ｔｈｉｓ　ｉｓ　ｏｎｅ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｂｅｓｔ　ｍｕｓｅｕｍｓ　Ｉ‘ｖｅ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｔｏ．　Ｔｈｅ　ｓｃｕｌｐｔｕｒｅｓ　ｗｅｒｅ　ｏｕｔｄｏｏｒｓ　ｉｎ　ａ　ｂｅａｕｔｉｆｕｌ　ｐａｒｋ．　Ｔｈｅｙ　ｗｅｒｅ　ｆｕｎ　ａｎｄ　ｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔｉｎｇ．　Ｉ　ｌｏｖｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｃｕｌｐｔｕｒｅ　ａｂｏｖｅ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｔｈｅ　ｇｕｙ　ｌａｙｉｎｇ　ｆｌａｔ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｇｒａｓｓ．

Ｂｅａｕｔｉｆｕｌ　ｌｏｏｋ　ｏｕｔ　ｔｏｗｅｒ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　Ｓｃｕｌｐｔｕｒｅ　ｍｕｓｅｕｍ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｓｔａｉｎｅｄ　ｇｌａｓｓ　ｗａｌｌｓ．

Ｇｉａｎｔ　Ｊｉｎｇａ　ｐｌａｙｇｒｏｕｎｄ　ｆｏｒ　ｔｈｅ　ｋｉｄｓ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｃｕｌｐｔｕｒｅ　ｍｕｓｅｕｍ．

Ｏｕｒ　ｔｒａｍ　ｒｉｄｅ．　Ｉｔ　ｓｔａｒｔｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｇｅｔ　ａ　ｌｉｔｔｌｅ　ｍｉｓｔｙ．

Ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅｎ　ｉｔ　ｇｏｔ　ｒｅａｌｌｙ　ｆｏｇｇｙ！

Ｐｉｒａｔｅ　ｓｈｉｐ　ｗｉｔｈ　ａｌｌ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｃｈｏｏｌ　ｋｉｄｓ．　Ｎｏｔｉｃｅ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ｃｕｔｅ　ｒｅｄ　ａｎｄ　ｙｅｌｌｏｗ　ｈａｔｓ．

Ｐｉｒａｔｅ　ｓｈｉｐ　ａｈｏｙ！

Ｉｎ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｂｅａｕｔｉｆｕｌ　ｓｈｏｔ　ｏｆ　ｌａｋｅ　Ａｓｈｔｉ　ｄｏ　ｙｏｕ　ｎｏｔｉｃｅ　ａｎｙｔｈｉｎｇ　ｍｉｓｓｉｎｇ？　Ｍｔ．　Ｆｕｊｉ　ｉｓ　ｓｕｐｐｏｓｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｂｅ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｂａｃｋｇｒｏｕｎｄ，　ｂｕｔ　ｓａｄｌｙ　ｉｔ　ｗａｓ　ｔｏｏ　ｆｏｇｇｙ　ｔｏ　ｓｅｅ．

Japan Day 5

No pictures today because I am just blogging from my iPod. There is free wireless internet but you have to pay to use their computers. So I have no place to plug in my camera.

Today we were in Hakone National Park which is a beautiful area near Mt. Fuji. Apparently it is a popular destination for school kids because we were almost over run by them. It was so cute because they kept coming up to us and saying, "Hello!" Then at one point some of them got brave and came up to my sister and me and said, "Excuse me. Can I ask you a question? What is your name?" Then they asked us to sign their little books. We figured out that they must have some assignment to speak to a foreigner and the autograph was proof that they had. It was really fun talking to all the school kids in rudimentary English. Although we had to say we were from California because they didn't know Utah.

We took a traditional Japanese hotspring bath today. It was very relaxing. Hakone has a lot of hot springs because of all the former volcanic activity. It is such a beautiful area.

Tomorrow we go to Kyoto. Hopefully that hotel will have internet computers I csn plug my camera into.

Japan Day 4

Another day in Tokyo. This one was better.

We saw the Imperial Palace (from a distance). The emperor still lives there after all.

That is part of the Imperial Palace complex in the distance with Nijubashi bridge in front.

We went to the Harajuku district (of Gwen Stefani fame). Harajuku is where the young kids hang out in their crazy, wild outfits. Although we didn`t see anything too outlandish.

One of the busy streets in Harajuku. They had an H&M store and a Top Shop. Although I didn`t find anything I liked.

Takeshita Dori (street). This is where are the cool stores for the cool kids are.

I spied these in a store. How come we don`t have these back home?

We went to the Meiji Jingu shrine and caught a wedding procession. Tokyo`s most venerable Shinto Shrine.

Not a great picture. The bride is in white with a hood over her.

We attempted to go to a beautiful park, Shinjuku Gyoen, but gave up when we both got bitten by mosquitoes before even making it to the park. Most of the "parks" in Tokyo are instead heavily wooded areas that are completely impassable except for on the path. And make you think that the city really isn`t that humid when compared to the inside of one of these parks.

A lot of the restrautants have plastic relicas of the food you will find inside. They are supposed to entice you in, but they mostly look disgusting to me. I love this one with the tongs "frozen" while pulling up the pasta in the top plate (not sure if you can see this well in the photo).

Also, we saw a sign while on the train the other day for a laundromat that claimed to wash and "dry" your clothes. We laughed over it because why the　ｑｕｏｔａｔｉｏｎｓ? Is "dry" just a figure of speech?

Tomorrow we leave Tokyo to head to Hakone near mount Fuji. Not sure if the internet will be available there. I`m gonna miss out tiny little hotel room.

Japan Day 3

So we hit a few snags today.

Today was our first day spent exploring Tokyo.

First, apparently Monday was a holdiay. We checked all the guide books and online for holidays but missed this one. That`s because when I asked someone about it they said it was an exercise day. I`m not exactly sure what that means other than what it means to us which is that since the holiday was on a Monday and the museums are usually closed on Mondays the museums were then all closed on Tuesday. We, of course, didn`t discover this until it was too late. So we basically spent a lot of time looking for two museums that ended up being closed. If we had known they would be closed today, we could have moved our itinerary around. Oh, well. No vacation is ever perfect.

We haven`t gotten lost exactly yet, but we have had ended up going the long way around a few times. This is to be expected when traveling, but I think I nearly killed my sister off today.

We are pretty good at using the trains and subway now. Tokyo`s system is amazingly elaborate, very organized, but not very intuitive. We did get to experience using the subway during rush hour. I`ve heard it can get really bad.

We haven`t had a chance to put my sister`s basic Japanese skills to use yet. However, I am happy to report that she does understand all the children.

This is my furtive attempt to take a picture of the train station during rush hour. It doesn`t look near as crazy as it actually was.

One great thing about the Japanese transit system are the markings on the ground where the door will stop. Then people line up behind those markings and board the train in an orderly fashion.

Not very busy at 9:00 am but this is a souvenoir street on our way to Sensoji Temple (the oldest in Japan)



Another furtive photo this one of Yodobasha Camera department store in Akihabara, the eletronics capitol of Tokyo. I don`t know how to properly explain the sensory overload of this store. There are flashing lights, and tv monitors, different types music blasting every 10 feet, and signs, signs, and more signs. It was awesome!

On a side note, I saw the missionaries in this store. One of them was from West Valley. I wished them luck.