Iron Clad Deals with the Devil

Impending mayhem!!

Tonight we're off to dinner with almost 30 people, 12 of which are children. I think we may be slightly masochistic! But hey, it will be fun. The restaurtant is Chinese, with pretty rude staff (anyone who goes there seems to think it's because they're Chinese, so have a completely different style to the usually overly polite Japanese restaurants), but it's in the style of a Japanese drinking bar.

I love Japan for their drinking bars!

You can sit around on cushions on the floor, drink large tankards of beer while eating little plates of lots of different dishes.

It's almost impossible to go and have a beer without eating in Japan - there aren't any pubs (well, there are, but over in the ex-pat section of Tokyo, not where we are, which is very Japanese!).

We had a problem the other week when some friends were here from Australia. It was so hot and we just wanted to go and have a beer. We had a choice: either buy one from a convenience store and just walk around drinking it, or go to a drinking bar (like a yakitori bar - they vary a lot in what kind of food you can get). So, feeling a litte guilty that we just weren't that hungry, we made up for it by racking up a massive drink tab - I think they were particully pleased when we moved from beer to sho chu from Kyushu. Our heads weren't so pleased the next day...ugh.

Anyway, here's a couple of pics of life in Japan...ciao for now!!


(Pics: Ellie & Ben dressed up for hanabi / Ben dressed up for the fireworks (hanabi) / Saori and Junko enjoying Yuciko's homemade ume shu - YUM!!)

Goodbye to our best Tokyoites!

As Max, Wakana & Jade fly off to an Australian late summer, we are still nursing our heads and licking our wounds after a series of send-offs leave us incapacitated.

But boy, was it worth it!

Here are all the pics - enjoy! We did!!

Willie : )

More

Hi everyone!

Well, we've had a very busy Christmas and New Year period, with family streaming over to Japan from Australia, and a few friends too!

We went to the zoo and saw pandas, plus we went on lots of trains and planes when we went skiing in Hokkaido for five whole days! I ahve never seen that much snow. It was poweder, so I couldn't really make a snow man form it, but I went sliding down the hill on a crocodile toboggin with my Mummy : ) It was so fast!!!
Snow in Nishi Kasai!!

So, I hope you all stick to your New Years resolutions (to come and see me in Japan, I have no doubt, is one of them), and that you have lots of toys to play with from Christmas.

Lots of Love,
Ben
xxx

Merry Christmas...I got a shovel car...

Shovel car, shovel car, bulldozer, bulldozer...

Here's my first bike ride in the park...love you all, Ben xxx

Just out for a walk...I've got some big shoes to fill.

Hi everyone,

Sorry it has been a while since my Mummy let me at the computer - I believe she may be a control freak...something about the last time I rubbed peanut butter into the keyboard.

Anyway, so here's some new pics of me.

Love, Ben : )

A Must See

What can I say? I'm a fan...

The Chinese Backstreet Boys