Happy Halloween

This weekend we decided to get in the Halloween spirit, so we hosted a costume party at our apartment for a few friends.  The party was complete with pirates, disco dancers, pinatas, rednecks, Mickey and Minnie mouse, and even Amelia Earhart.  A good time was had by all.  Hope you enjoy some of our decorations (including a full 3 lbs of spiderwebs, 24 cupcakes, and pigs-in-a-blanket).

Back in the Saddle

   We are back for another post after taking a few weeks off.  One important lesson learned over the past month is not to eat raw chicken in Japan... even if the old lady next to you is eating it.  In short, I went to a chicken restaurant and inadvertently ordered the "raw" option.  Not wanting to make a big scene by sending it back, I decided to eat it, as many other people around me had also ordered the same thing and it did have soy sauce on it.  In my defense the menu said it was "seasoned chicken."  Needless to say, two weeks and a few Cipro tablets later I'm about ten pounds lighter but back to normal.

   In other news... we went exploring last weekend and came across a small fenced in park with a bunch of people hanging out.  Being curious, we decided to take a look.  See the pictures below, but we were not expecting "take your rabbit to the park day."  Sometimes you think this country is weird, then you see a rabbit dressed in a sailor outfit on a leash and all doubt is removed.

   We also took a stroll around the emperor's palace this weekend.  The weather was overcast, which made for good touring weather.  It was actually pretty neat to see such a huge green space in the middle of this bustling city.  The picture below is the imperial palace moat with the Japanese congressional building (called the Diet) in the background.  It's shaped like a pyramid.  We also got a pretty good picture of a statue that some people here made of Tom Cruise from The Last Samurai...