Cherry Blossom Adventures

On Monday I got on the bus from Tokyo heading towards Shizuoka to spend a couple of nights with Nay!

I had a fantastic time down there and it was great to finally see where in Japan Nay lives and to meet Milo her puppy.

I didn`t take many photos of my time down there- except of the beach and Milo! The original photos are all at my flickr page.

On Monday when I arrived (on time by the way, no traffic!) we headed back to Nay`s place while I marveled at all the tea bushes lining all of the hills- honestly they looked like little hedges and I had no idea how they got them to grow on the side of the hills like that or in the strange shaped little gardens. We took Milo for a walk (she was very excited to meet me and so the walk was to try and calm her down a little!) and caught up on all the goss. It was so nice to be in the country and be surrounded by green areas. We walked along a little creek near Nay`s house and I noticed that Shizuoka, along with tea, seems to have a lot of persimon. It is funny though, all the perssimon trees had already lost their leaves so they were naked except for the orange fruit.

Nay`s husband, Naoki, has no overtime on Monday`s (although it was a public holiday though, he did have work) so he was home super early (by my standards!) and we all sat down to enjoy some homemade pizza, Mama Mia the movie and then a game of scrabble. Nay won in the end with a very high scoring word right near the end of the game.

Tuesday we got up reasonably early to head to the Lalaport which was about 90 minutes from Nay`s place. We had no troubles finding it because Naoki had set up the navi for us the night before and we made it in record time- it was nice to be able to wonder around the shops before we went to see My Sister`s Keeper. Nay & I both enjoy Jodi Piccolt`s books and both agreed the movie was really good, even if it was a little different to the book (movies always are though, arn`t they!)- it had been AGES since I went to the cinema and I really really enjoyed it. I want to try and see another movie or two before Goma-chan makes his appearance. Once during the movie the baby was going nuts so I grabbed Nay`s hand so she could have a feel (she likes to know when Goma-chan is moving! Naoki also had a go while I was in Shizuoka) but of course he stopped soon after she touched. Nay`s hands are like fire though- the cinema was quite hot and I had to move her hand in the end because it felt like a heater. Honestly, those hands would be awesome in winter. My hands and feet always seem to be cold no matter the season so I was impressed.

It took us a little while to get home on Tuesday afternoon because we had a bit of a trouble finding route 1 and ended up doing a circle up a mountain through the bush. Well I guess it was more rainforest than bush- but still, it was lovely to see. I think Nay got a bit stressed out though as I certainly would of too if I had been the one driving. We made it home eventually though and Milo was very happy to see us so we took her for a quick walk so that she could calm down a little before we started to prepare dinner. Which was potato and chicken bake at my request since Nay had posted pictures and the recipe on her blog a couple of months back- it tastes as good as it looked and while it took awhile to make in the oven it was soooooooooooo yummy! I am definitely going to try and recreate something similar. YUM!

On Wednesday we slept in then headed to the beach down the road. Literally a five minute drive. So jealous of Nay`s proximity to the beach. We had a bit of a wander along with Milo and I took some photos- last time Milo hated it apparently but this time she seemed to like it more. Of course she didn`t really go close to any actual water though! We watched another DVD at home before Nay drove me to the bus stop- we knew there would be delays since they were doing road works all along the Tomei highway and I was using a Tomei highway bus. The bus was just over an hour late picking me up but the roadworks seemed to get worse after that and in the end the trip took me more than 6 hours instead of less than 3 & a half. It was not too bad though and thank god the bus had a toilet as I am well and truly into the third trimester now meaning I need to pee what seems to be every 30 seconds.

I am so glad I went down to Shizuoka for a short trip- my last before Goma-chan arrives. Thanks to Nay, Naoki & Milo for been such wonderful hosts!

Milo was so cute- she would get a bit psycho, as puppies tend to do, when she would see me for the first time or when I woke up etc but overall I couldn`t believe how well behaved she was for a puppy. Honestly, Abbey in Australia was still a psycho puppy when I left and she was already a year old (my father said she has mellowed somewhat now though). It was so nice to be around a puppy again though and I loved all the kisses and cuddles I got from Milo. Watching her play fetch was funny too!

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Tomorrow I am off to Shizuoka to spend a couple of days with Nay (and Naoki & Milo of course!)- of course because I am pedantic I am already packed and ready to go! I have not been to Shizuoka to visit with Nay before- I have been to her house in Australia many times (well her mum`s house!) and Nay has been to my place in Funabashi twice (and once when I was still at the in-laws) so it is certainly well due that I visit her in Shizuoka. I am excited about it for two reasons- one of course is that I will get to see Nay & Naoki and meet Milo and two, this will be my last trip before Goma-chan arrives and my last trip by myself for the foreseeable future so it is kind of one of those milestones that needs to be crossed off.

My bus leaves at 9am tomorrow morning and I will be back in Tokyo/Chiba on Wednesday night. Thank god the bus has a toilet since I am starting to feel like I need to live in one with the amount of times I need to pee. I have my most comfty maternity pants ready to put on tomorrow morning and my ipod charged and journal and books ready to go in my handbag.

Last night Shun painted my toenails for me- I can get the nailpolish off but can not stay in the crouched over position long enough to paint them without Goma-chan kicking and hurting me- not that I blame him. I am a little claustrophobic myself and I am sure he is feeling a little like he has no room- more so when I bend over and try to paint my toenails. Shun was not impressed with having to do it but I traded him a smoke on the veranda in exchange (he is supposed to quit smoking by the time the baby arrives- he is doing really badly. For the month of October we made a deal that he would not smoke at home except for the last one before bed until the 15th of the month and then none at home after that. Not that he ever smokes inside, it is always on the veranda but he is still supposed to quit by the start of December.) – so yeah he got to have a cigarette in exchange for painting my toenails. If he hadn`t done it, Nay would of in Shizuoka I am sure. I told him he will need to do it at least once more before the baby comes and he said he can probably handle that….Oh and he did a pretty good job- no better than I would of done.

Yesterday we went out for lunch to try the local yakiniku place which is always PACKED. It is also absurdly expensive for dinner so we knew we were never going to get to go there for dinner anytime soon but they do have nice little lunch sets which are not too badly priced- 1580yen for a plate of “karubi” beef (probably about 300g or 400g), rice, salad, soup (I had spicy Korean soup, i forget the name but it had egg and pork in it too with vegies and kimichi, Shun had the wakame soup), side dishes (kimichi and moyashi bean sprouts with seasame oil and soy sauce), dessert (little tiny piece of chocolate cake with chestnut flavoured icing) and hot green tea. It was REALLY yummy! I can tell why it is always constantly packed with people (we went at almost 2pm and still needed to wait 15 minutes for a table) and there is often even cars lined up outside waiting for a park. Shun was happy he could try it and we both agreed that for a special occasion we would go back for dinner…

I have some stuff going on back home in Australia that is getting me down a little bit. I am hoping that by the end of this week I will know more about what is going on there and what, if anything, I can do from here. I am getting too close to the end of my pregnancy to make a trip back to Australia (just checked and Jetstar allows me to travel internationally up until the end of my 36th week with a letter from the doctor stating the pregnancy is normal. Qantas seems to have similar rules. Good to know) and even if I needed to fly back I am not sure where we would find the extra cash. It is sometimes really hard to be far away from family…

I am 31 weeks pregnant today and it is hard to believe that sometime in the next 8-10 weeks or so we will be welcoming Goma-chan into the world. We have a couple of favourite front-runner names picked out but until I see his face I can not make a decision. At least the kanji for them is also decided though. Hopefully one of the names we have picked out will suit him…

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Well this is the last post for awhile from Australian soil. Our flight leaves in 7 and a half hours and apart from our computers we are done with the packing. Both our suitcases are over the 20kg limit not to mention I have my suitcase, two hula hoops, and a bag filled with toiletries cos I just couldn`t fit it into the suitcase. My suitcase alone weight 28kg and I can just imagine us having to pay the excess at the airport which will suck. I am contemplating taking out about 4kg or 5kg and asking mum to send it via post? We already sent over 100kg to Japan last week via a shipping company…Can you tell we have too much stuff? (30% or so might be tupperware…. Another 30% is definitely books- LOL)

We have to fly to Sydney first from Brisbane and then change to a flight heading to Japan- it is going to be a long night. I can not sleep on airplanes- Shun can sleep anywhere and will probably be asleep before the plane from Sydney even takes off- unless there is one of those tv`s where you can watch unlimted movies and play games because then he won`t sleep at all as that will keep him busy the whole time.

I have to remember to request aisle seats when we get to Brisbane airport- all of our tickets and transfers will be issues then. I bet I will forget. (Just told Shun to remind me, chances are he will forget too)

I got the professional wedding photos on CD yesterday- I promise to go through them and upload some to flickr (and facebook) sometime in the next week…They turned out awesome- We were really happy. We have not seen them all yet but she did show us a mock-up of the album also and it looked great. I am so excited to sit down and look at them all properly. The album won`t be done for a couple of weeks so mum will need to send it to us.

I shoudln`t be offline for more than 48 hours or so since we will be staying at Shun`s parents place and my wireless works there if I plug in the router….so hopefully I will be updating sooner rather than later. We have a bit of a crowd coming out the airport this afternoon (not really!)- Mum, Dad, my brother Paul and his gf Gemma are all seeing us off from the domestic airport. Because we have to go to Sydney they can come all the way to the gate with us- I think there will be tears (maybe me, definitely mum and Gemma)

Well so long Australia, I am sure I will be back some time soon!

ps: Will try to get back into Macro Monday once I get back to Japan

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Last night Sarah & I were chatting on Skype and we were discussing places, in particular prefectures, we had been to in Japan- I think I may have had her on numbers (maybe? Correct me if I am wrong Sarah!). I realized though, that despite the small size of the country I have not really been to many places…Sarah definitely had me on the geography of Japan though- I am hopeless with geography in general (odd since I am really good at reading maps?- go figure) – I even said to her “Don`t think I have been to Hyogo, where is it” and she replied “Hyogo is where Kobe is, so you have been there when you visited me” – see, that is how bad my geography is!!!

Japan has 47 prefectures, which I guess for those Americans and Australians out there are kind of like states. Although considering the size of Japan vs Australia and 47 prefectures vs 8 states and territories it is obvious that prefectures in Japan are quite small!

Here is a map-

Now of those 47 prefectures I have only been to only 16 of them, I think (I class “going to” as more than driving through or stopping for a toilet break while driving through/shinkansenning it past- but you do not have to have stayed the night)- They are from top to bottom Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Niigata, Nagano, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Hiroshima & Okinawa. I am not sure how many Shun has gone to before- but I think it might even be less than me…as he has never been to Hyogo, Hiroshima or Fukushima I think but I may be wrong (he may have been to others I am not aware of though- after all he has lived there for pretty much 28 years straight!). Three of the prefture trips were for snow trips- Fukushima, Nagano, & Niigata. Having lived in Tokyo, I have been to Kanagawa, Chiba & Saitama quite a lot. Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima when I was an exchange student and Osaka and Kyoto again a couple of other times. Nara/Hyogo with Sarah last year and Shizuoka when I was on exchange and went for a day trip to go fishing. Okinawa was a couple of years back with Shun and Nikko is in Tochigi and I went a couple of years back. Ibaraki was when I was on exchange and I went back to a friend`s hometown (Yes, there was a lot of Natto)

It does not seem like that many though- especially considering there are several other prefctures close by that would be within “day trip” range…or at the very least an overnight stay.

So, while making it to EVERY prefecture might be a little ambitious my hope is to visit at least another five over the next five  years! I do not really have to many preferences but I would love to see Nagasaki (and Hakone, but turns out that is in Kanagawa prefecture!), Fukuoka, Gunma (Well it is close!), Aichi & Hokkaido…I am sure there are plenty of other nice prefectures to check out also and I certainly have blog friends all over so maybe I will be coming to crash on your sofa sometime soon!

Those of you in Japan (or who have visited) which prefectures have you been to and what could you recommend?

Aussies- what states/territories haven`t you been to! Sadly I have only been to three- Queensland, NSW & Victoria- Slack I know! I have never been to any American states but I think my brother has been to about 5 on his recent trip there last year…

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Several weeks back Shun & I went up the Sunshine Coast with mum (and in the end Dad too!) to babysit my Auntie`s doggy, Ziggy while they were away for a wedding. It was a lovely weekend and on the way back to Brisbane we got to stop off at Montville and Maleny!!! It was our much anticipated trip the country- some would say “That is not the country” but for city dwellers like Shun & myself it seemed pretty country to me.

It was a beautiful beautiful place and while the weather wasn`t the best I think it added to the charm.
Here are some pics from the trip plus more can be found here on flickr.

View from Montville at lunch time!

The magpie in Montville while we were eating lunch!

A tractor- That is how I KNEW it was the country!

Montville and Maleny had a lot of crafty shops!! So Shun was trying out the merchandise!

Cow!

Shun & I after lunch in Montville!

Glass House Mountains shot on the way home to Brisbane.

Day before country trip- Shun & I after lunch at Mooloolaba!

Ziggy the dog- our babysitting charge!

It was a lovely weekend!!! Plus we got to cross going to the country off my 101 list!!!

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We booked our honeymoon! SQUEEL!!! So excited.

We tossed up whether we would have one or not as we were a bit worried about it cutting into our savings but in the end we thought, what the hell, it will be the last trip we will take for awhile.

So five days after the wedding we are heading to hamilton island and staying here

And we will visit here (White Haven Beach)

And go snorkelling (and Shun will dive) here

I have never been this far north before- The furtherest I have gone in my own state (of Queensland) is Hervey Bay. Seeing the Great Barrier Reef & enjoying 5 days relaxing on beaches as gorgeous as those you see above is going to be bliss. We are both so excited.

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Finally getting around to doing the Melbourne catch-up post- listening to Christmas Carols to get myself in the Christmassy mood!

Friday afternoon, Shun & I headed out to Brissie airport so that we could get to Melbourne. We left steamy Brisbane and arrived in cold, wet Melbourne 2 hours later.

I love Melbourne, don`t get me wrong, I could totally live there if it wasn`t for the crazy weather. Who has heard of of 16 degrees in December! Despite the weather, we had a fantastic, wonderful time. It was so great to see James (and his little brother Dean- who is not so little since he is the same age as me) as well as Gen & Alice some other friends I made on exchange several years back.

As usual I took 100s of photos of the weekend, but restrained myself and choose only 44 to add to flickr and if you are more of “like to see all in one shot” type of person then check out the album here.

James & Dean met us at the airport- we flew Qantas down (and JetStar back, leaving from the shed in Avalon…I mean airport!) and it was hard to believe it had been six month since I had been on an airplane. We headed to there place right away. James had only arrived Friday morning so he was a bit tired but we stayed up catching up, chatting etc and the boys even had a bit of a go on the WII. We crashed, but not before making plans for the next day…

Up bright and early the next morning, missing the train though by just a minute. I am used to trains coming every half hour or so here in the Brisbane `burbs (and Melbourne) but James could not believe the next train wasn`t for 22 minutes! I guess I have readjusted to Australian living because waiting that long for a train actually seemed fairly reasonable to me.

First stop after arriving in Melbourne city centre- a coffee/hot chocolate break. At a place you could make your own HOT CHOCOLATE. And it was divine. And Shun, well he liked the fact that while we had to sit outside and he was freezing that unlike in Brisbane you can smoke in cafes in Melbourne if you sit outside.

After some shopping and wandering around, we met up with Gen, another friend of ours who we studied with in Japan. He lives in Melbourne and works in a lawfirm. He took us into Melbourne Central and then do the DFO.

We also went to Lygon Street for lunch. Italian, yummy!

The casino awaited us so we headed there for a look around, dinner & some game playing in the arcade (none of us are big gamblers!)- Shun, while the oldest, was the only one asked for ID. And the guy quizzed him on his date of birth asking “What year were you born?” to which Shun replied “Japan”…. It is okay, I rescued him although I really hate to step in now as I really want Shun to learn from his own mistakes and be independent. He is doing so well though not just with his English but with living life here in general. He will go to the supermarket to pick up groceries, ringing me to see what we need and he is working with Dad most days and driving all around Brisbane….sometimes all by himself (in a manual truck I might add!)- The photo above is of James, me & Gen, outside the Casino in front of the city. It was about 7:30pm and still that light out! It was amazing, I had forgotten what daylight savings was like….stayling light until 9pm.

From there we said goodbye to Gen (who went to hunt down his gf Alice) promising to see each other the next day at Alice`s place for Chinese Hot Pot.

A short taxi ride later we had arrived at the Regent Theatre ready to see Wicked. Getting into the mood with a few “ozmopolitans” the green cocktails you see below. They were so yummy too, I was surprised! Wicked was amazing…I would see it again (and again and again)- nothing beats live theatre. Shun & James also loved it which made me so happy. It made me realize how many shows I have missed out on that I wish I could see. I left feeling a little sorry for the wicked witches and also with a desire to hire out Wizard of Oz to refresh my memory.

The Christmas spirit was alive and well in Melbourne, with this delightfully lit up tree near the theatre & St Paul`s Cathederal.

Unlike most cities in Australia, Melbourne still has a fantastic tram system in place. This one zoomed past in the rain at night after the show. If there is one thing (actually, okay there are a lot of things I wish I could of had time to do) I wish we could of done more of, it was ride trams. Especially the old kind!!

Sunday morning came around all too quickly and we were up and had left the house by 8:15am, to be sure we would not miss the only train that hour! Our winery tour bus picked us up in front of St Paul`s Cathederal (I didn`t get to go inside, as the couple of times we were close by it seemed they were having services inside)

First glass of wine- 10:3oam (we actually drank pretty much all day and all night, but in little amounts)

Wine storage in the Yarra Valley

The grapes are agrowing! We learn about different pallates and the different smells and flavours of the wine. I now know why people sniff and swirl- which I am sure will come in handy in my future life!

The three of us happy on love & quite possibly wine.

While it rained in the morning by the time we got to the Yarra Valley it had cleared a little and we were allowed to have a bit of a rain free day! The clouds were always there looming through but lucky they did not burst.

After the full-day wine tour we headed out to Alice` house as she was cooking Chinese Hot Pot. I had not see Alice and Gen since January when they visited Japan. I had never visted them in their own stomping grounds of Melbourne though. It was so lovely to see them both and I was so excited to hear they will be coming up to Brisbane for the wedding (I think Gen is more excited than we are if that is possible- it will be the first wedding he goes to where he actually knows the people getting married!)

I had thought Monday we might wake up a little worse for wear but after a bit of a sleep in, a pack-up and a bacon sandwich we were off again. This time to St Kilda before heading into the city.

While freezing pretty much the whole time we were in Melbourne it was a lovely lovely time. So great to see James & the others and I was so happy to be able to show Melbourne to Shumpei. It definitely was not enough time to do all we wanted to do, but definitely next time. I have a list already of all the things I want to do next time.

I think Shun loved Melbourne just as much I do (and James does)- although like me, the weather complexed him a little!

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…and Jamesy & Melbourne…

Am so excited!

James ( one of my best friends in the entire world- him, Cat & I studied together at Seikei) will be in Melbourne, his home town, for 10 days from the 11th of December and Shun & I have just booked tickets to go down on the 12th until the 15th.

Plus, I booked tickets for the three of us to go see Wicked (Hence the wizard reference!), which has been getting rave reviews all over the world. My brother & his gf Gem saw it when they were in New York earlier this year and said it was brilliant!

James` brother still lives down in Melbourne in the family house so we will all stay there which I believe is not very far from the city.

Things I definitely want to try and do in Melbourne

- Catch up with James and talk and talk and talk- I won`t have seen him in more than six months!

- Wine tasting in the Yarra Valley

- Catch up with Gen & Alice (Other old friends from studying in Japan who are in Melbourne also!)

- Take Shun on a tram

- Take Shun to the casino (It is amazing inside & out- I especially love the fountain!)

- Go to St Kilda

- Go to the markets (not sure which ones yet though?!)

- See Wicked (definitely happening!)

What else should I do? I am thinking I might try to do a little bit of Chrissy shopping while I am down there for mum & Gem (Have finished most of the rest of it!) as well as a bit of shopping for myself perhaps!

I have not been to Melbourne in over six years so it will be great to go back!!! I need some other “must see`s and do`s!” so suggestions welcome!

It will be another six months before I see James because he won`t be back in Australia until our wedding in May (He is Shun`s best man!) !

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Well the photos finally uploaded to flickr after much effort and waiting on my part I might add. We did have a lovely weekend down on the Gold Coast though (Coolangatta) and it is just so nice to be able to spend time with my dad (and Shun of course) especially considering how is health was only 4 months ago.

We actually stayed down the coast because for Father`s Day I gave dad two tickets to see Toni Childs in concert at Twin Towns just over the border in New South Wales. In the end he asked me if I would go with him so I booked a place down the caost for us to stay the night as part of his birthday present (Fathers Day 1st Sunday of September and his Birthday is today, the 20th). While we only had two tickets we thought staying down there was the best idea and it meant Shun could come with us even though I couldn`t get another ticket to the concert.

There was fruit juice and smoothie places EVERYWHERE! We went for a walk along the main street in Coolangatta before we could check in checking out the smoothie bars, the beach, the new resteraunts and hotels that had popped up since we had last been down there and of course I checked out my favourite all-time second hand book place (I was good and only bout 8 second hand novels!!!!)

At dusk we hung around the pool.

And luckily we had booked into the seafood place downstairs for dinner. Honestly, if you are ever staying down at Coolangatta and like seafood you should definitely book a table at Fisherman`s Cove. We went a couple of time when I was younger (We used to stay at Calypso , the hotel above, over Christmas, Summer holidays) and it has always been good. Check out the bug dinner….Dad & Shun certainly enjoyed it (I had ginger chillie prawns which were also bellisimo!)

The concert was awesome. Toni Childs ( I am not sure if any of you have heard of her? but her most famous songs were Zimbabwe and Many Rivers to Cross) had the most powerful voice I have ever heard and she danced around the stage barefoot and I honestly think that so many people in the audiance were just in awe of her talent. I have to say that the girl before her Jess McAvoy was also quite good- her voice was not quite as powerful but she was an excellent entertainer and a brilliant guitar player. I quite liked her and have since downloaded a couple of songs from Itunes!!!

Despite been out quite late the night before we were up early the next morning (early for me on a weekend at least- just after 8am). Dad had already been for 2 walks along the beach by the time we got up not to mention almost completed the Sunday paper crosswords (he got up at 4:30am which is the time he pretty much wakes up every day…sometimes on Sundays he sleeps in an extra hour though).

We checked out, ate a lovely local breakfast and had a quick walk along the beach before heading to Currumbin Bird Sanctuary which we had decided to stop at on the way home.

I haven`t been to Currumbin Bird Sancturary since I was a baby. It has been so long in fact, that I do not remember. It wasn`t really like how I imagined and surprisingly we saw no lorrikeets which the sanctuary is famous for (we were there the wrong time) but we did see the wild bird show and reptiles, feed the kangaroos and emus and saw a crocodile which was so big that we actually thought it might have been fake (and therefore dead).

Do you see the last picture of the emu? See the black tuffs of hair on the side of its face- that is its ears. Does anybody else find that weird??

Anyway, we had a great weekend and if definitely goes to show that a weekend away can make the world of difference in attitudes. It was so nice to get so much fresh air, sunshine and conversation in on one weekend. I hope Shun & I or Shun, Dad & I can take another weekend away together soon. In fact I think a weekend away to Melbourne in November may be in order…

Today is the last day of Septemer, and I have successfully posted everyday so yay!

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In about an hour I am off down the coast for the weekend with Shumpei & my dad. Dad`s birthday is on Tuesday (as is my friend James`!!! Happy Birthday) and for father`s day earlier in the week I bought him some tickets to see Toni Childs on the Gold Coast at Twin Towns. He asked me to go with him so I booked accomodation for his birthday and now we are off down the coast for a little mini weekend holiday!

We will be staying here…. which is just across the road from the beach. And well, tomorrow it is supposed to hit 30 degrees so might even have a dip.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend- I will try to come back tomorrow with some photos.

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