Who wants ice cream?

Ahna visits Japan!

It's been a long while since I posted, no good excuses really. We've been enjoying the recent change from winter to almost spring, plum blossoms and sun are a nice change from frickin freezing cold! February 20th marked 1 year in Japan for us! We had to work, so we didn't really celebrate. It's crazy how time has flown and soon we'll be packing up for another great adventure before returning to Oregon. More details to come on that later...
We had our last visitor- Ahna! come visit last week! We packed in lots of fun and sightseeing in 5 days.. here's just a few pics from her visit;

In Kyoto-


At the monkey park in Arashiyama, Kyoto


Bamboo forest fun!




Shibi gets a ride


Nara- Todaiji- big buddha


Headed to the Shittennoji market with the Obaasans :)


In Kurama- before it started to snow and before we soaked in the onsen (hot spring)


Karaoke!


Bowling!


Gotta try takoyaki if you're in Osaka... aka octopus balls.


Osaka-jo


Ume-plum blossoms at Osaka-jo


Meeting new 77yr.old friends...


plum blossoms


Goodtimes! See you soon Ahni!

New Year Update

It's been a while since we last updated the blog, so here are some photos of 2010 so far...

Relaxing Day

We enjoyed a full day in Koh Lanta, Thailand. Our day: Elephant ride
through the jungle, amazing Thai food, swimming in the ocean, reading
books, Morgan took a nap, more amazing Thai food, sunset, drinks,
bonfire on the beach, and more... Good day!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

We had our last day of classes today!!! Yeah! Next stop Thailand and warm warm beaches..... ahhhh almost there!
Here is my CO class- 11-12 year olds.... Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!




See you next year!
Love, Morgan and Jeff

New High Speed Camera

Check out these two test videos from my new Casio EX FC-100 digital camera. They were shot near our place using 210 frames per second high speed video. More to follow soon!!

Electronics from the Future

I love being able to see all the new electronics in Japan before they
are available in the US. Here's a pic of the new Nintendo DSi LL
(XL). They make the regular sized ones look so small.

My mom visits!

My mom was here October 30th-Nov. 9th! We had an action packed schedule and I took off 3 days so we could go-go-go! First stop: Dotomburi bridge- classic Osaka scene with bright lights and hoards of people, with sushi dinner!



Next day: We were lucky that the Uchidas were also intown! Jeff had to work and I had a workshop to attend, so my mom hung out with them at the Castle and then Aquarium.


Day 3: Went to see Himeji Castle and get a personal tour by our friend Etsuko. The tour was great and really interesting! Now that I've spent a lot of time at Osaka-Jo (Osaka Castle) seeing Himeji was a treat! It's still in it's original form and it is really impressive. You can get the feel of the old times (as much as possible), unlike when you are at Osaka-Jo.


View of the Women's Quarters from the 5th floor.


If anyone needs a great guide let us know! I highly recommend Etsuko's tour and we'll be going back for more in the spring!


Day 4: I took my mom to Kobe while Jeff worked, these are out of order, but first we went to Oji Zoo where I saw my first Pandas! Then we went up to Mt. Rokko, where it was beautiful but freezing!! After dark we came down and went to Kobe's Chinatown. It wasn't as lively as normal, but we got some street food and enjoyed before we came home.






Day 5: Arashiyama, Kyoto. We spent the only time in Kyoto in Arashiyama, the leaves were just starting to change. We walked along the river, ate a yummy lunch, and checked out Tennruji Temple before going to a Kirtan at a Temple. It was an awesome day!






Day 6 & 7: Hiroshima and Miyajima. Again, out of order. We got into Hiroshima- a 1.5 hour shinkansen ride south of Osaka and headed to the Atomic bomb dome and the Peace park and Museum. It was sobering yet peaceful and I came out of it with a renewed energy for Peace. For dinner we tried Hiroshimayaki with much success! Oishii! We spent the night in a nice little guesthouse/hostel and then the next day we headed to Miyajima- by ferry. It's a World Heritage Site with a nice calming presence, perfect for after seeing Hiroshima. There are deer and temples/shrines galore. We took the ropeway-cablecar up to get a view of the islands...




Memorial that looks on to the A-bomb site, in the middle is the flame that won't be put out until there are no more nuclear weapons left on earth.






Day 8: My mom and I went to Hamamatsu, where this really cool Mosaic Culture exibit was being held. These are my favorite out of the 80 some sculptures...




Please see the album with lot's more pics from my mom's trip here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=122517&id=521124043&l=8c685cc6c6

Arigato!

Gomenesai!

Sorry- We've been slackin quite a bit lately! Life has been really comfortable lately, it's been 9 months to the day now and we thoroughly enjoy living in Japan. We are used to the work schedule and have been enjoying the not-summer days. It's gotten colder lately, which means the fall leaves are peaking! But before we get to fall, we better catch up on some pre-fall happenings!

Just some pics from an hour spent walking around our neighborhood in October... Sumiyoshi Ku.. you can see the whole album here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117457&id=521124043&l=8697f839fb

More Halloween pics!

Here are the photos from my Halloween classes, I hope you enjoy!