Friday, December 31, 2010

Tokyo Mori Art Museum and Star Show 12/28/2010 Bier

AFN radio has a little blurb for 'Outside the Gate.' The Japanese lady who does it says (to my ear), "Owsahdahgate," in about half a milisecond. So, I often tell people about events in the area I've heard of, and tell them I heard it from 'Owsahdahgate.' They usually laugh.
So, when I heard about a 3-D star show, I was interested. We took the train up to Tokyo to Roppongi. Where I immediately got turned around. For some unexplainable reason, the Japanese don't put North at the top of their maps. So, you print out the map, head out, get the right exit from the subway, and have no clue where you are. I finally asked a man where Mori Art Museum was, and he pointed at the tallest skyscraper in the area with Mori on it. We were by then far enough away that we had perspective to see it. When you're closer to it, you can't see it. So, we back-tracked and got there. We thought this sculpture on the plaza was nice.
William wanted a picture with Academy Hills. They work on education in International Business, and introducing the latest technologies. Maybe William is looking toward his future?
There was no flash photography inside. But, the museum is on the 52nd floor. We paid ¥1800 per adult, and ¥800 for William for entrance. But that got us up, in the star exhibit, and the art museum, as well.
Okay, so I took my camera out, and leaned it on the railing, and took a pic. Basically, the first room was a model of Tokyo, and it had the sky animated throughout the day and night. This, obviously, was night, but you can see which stars there were.
This poster shows the second room. You are on a platform, and walk 'through' the constellations. The ones you knew would brighten for awhile. Kind of interesting. The information said it was accurate for all the latest known stars in the universe.
One of the rooms was a video that had you going through space at such a clip (the speedo was to the right bottom) that you flew faster than the speed of light, but you got such a cool perspective, it was neat. And then you flew back to earth, and at the center, Japan. It's all how you look at the globe now, isn't it? One room was just the stars going by. It needed to be a round room. The last room was the souvenir store. :)

Then we went to the art exhibit. It was really cool. The Japanese artist had done some really interesting pieces, and we enjoyed looking at them. I think I enjoyed the infinity room (mirrored ceiling and floor) with animated sides (think a room with video screens) that had water falling. That was a funky experience!
Then we walked around the observation deck on a beautifully clear day in Tokyo. We've been looking at the Mori Tower from the Tokyo Tower and The New Sanno hotel before. So today, we found the landmarks around Tokyo that we've been to!
William wanted to take a picture of us.
Then we got a picture of him.
We got an gelato break in. It was so GOOD!
Double click on this pic and see the wavy building. How cool is that? It's in the middle of the picture, near the Heliport.
On the way there, Tim spotted a German restaurant. Maybe it was the giant beer mug. William had spotted the Burger King. William loves Burger King and lobbied hard. Tim won.
It's all about the beer!
And the food (this was William's).
And Tim and I both had schnitzel. A very good day!
Tokyo is fun this time of year, because a lot of people go to visit grandma. So Shibuya, Ginza and Roppongi aren't as crowded. Kinda nice!

Citizen of the Month... again! 11/1/10

William, ready to go in to 'be on TV.' The Citizen of the Month is voted on by classmates. It is someone who has shown good citizenship and helps others. You can only get this award once per year. William got one last year, as well. So, it felt a little bit like that Forrest Gump movie. Got an award... again.
They assemble the kids in the library/multi-purpose room, then march them in to be on closed caption TV.
Again, the kid gets to say their grade and teacher.
William is fiddling with his tooth (for those of you who read the blog from Disney World, you know we hardly got a picture of him without his hand on his tooth).
They get to choose a pencil, and get their certificate, plus a cut pass, to go to the head of the line at lunch.
Then, everyone claps. You'll notice the noise making clapper to the left. I will stay after my kid gets theirs. The last 2 kids hardly get much at all, as everyone has gone back to their classes by then. And for those of you who actually look at some of these pictures, the guy in the aqua shirt and tie is the same one who took his pic with William at the last 5K.
I am so glad William is learning to be a good citizen. Good citizens pay their taxes, and that's needed, as our nation's debt grows.

Miura Sushi 11/22/10

I think one of the things I love the most about Japanese class, are our field trips. This time, we went to Miura sushi. This is a REAL sushi place! No salmon. That's an American addition. Only fresh, and seasonal fish. It is really fresh. No egg sushi, no California roll, just sushi.
We ordered a set plate. However, you can order it a la carte. The only problem is, they have something on the menu that I object to: whale meat.
There it is. I did not order any!
Look at these clam necks. Wow!
I ate my first (and maybe only) sea anenome. It looks like the consistency of bird poop. It starts out to be a little together, then woomp, it liquefies in your mouth. It wasn't too bad. I've heard that if you're going to try it, to go get the freshest out there. If it isn't so fresh, it'll make you puke. If you start out liking the fresh, then it will still be nummy to you even if it isn't so fresh.

This is the ultimate 3 shot. I forgot my camera this day. Dang! I am doing it with my cell phone. I would recommend fresh sushi to everyone who comes.

Blooming New Years

The camelia bush in front of our house is in full bloom, as are the geraniums!
The crab apple in the back corner of our place is going gang busters. It's so cold!
This is our neighbors place. All the paper whites and the like are blooming now.
We'll see how they fare when it gets to 20 degrees.

Freedom

Every mother knows that when their kid can pour their own cereal and their own milk consistently and neatly, that freedom has happened! Next, getting him to set his own alarm clock....

Sushi by William

I told William he could write this blog about our favorite sushi place:This is the sushi place near our house.It sells tako;tuna and squid.The tako there is asome.The tuna is very sweet.
It even sells beer!
All you do to order is do it then 1 muinet the later it comes to you easy right.The pepole there are really nice.

Christmas Toys and Babysitters

This is William's regular babysitter, Erin. Here she is, modeling!
We went out to see Tron Legacy, and came back to see this.
Apparently the babysitter and William raced all his cars on the track to determine which was fastest.
This is the four-lane track he got for Christmas.
Okay, so I know this is too fast to see properly, so let's break it down:
These are spring loaded, and slam back in order of the cars through them.
And then you look on the other side and see...
...which one was fastest. Click on the cars or paper pic to figure out which car was fastest!

Christmas Overkill

Our Christmas started at 6:30 with one very excited boy! William was pretty happy, too...
Santa did NOT bring him 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-it-Yourself kit.' Instead, he got this mass cool Lego train with 7 speeds on a remote control.
In the debris are gifts from friends, and clothes. Why do people send clothes?
Maybe 'cause they're cool! We'll see how many times he wears this one, as he didn't wear his outfit for Halloween much. Why they didn't make this hat square, I don't know. Sponge bob Arch pants just doesn't seem correct.
This is the debris field. William got several Sponge Bobs and Tom and Jerry's. I hope he doesn't get any ideas...
Tim got Grand Tourismo 5. He loves it.
At this writing, they're at level 17. That's some serious time committed, but they both love playing it!
The Kahns and Rogers came for dinner. Rodney had duty, so we sent home leftovers for him. It was a nice dinner. Although I used a paper tablecloth I purchased at Target. Did I get to brag that I got to go home and shop at Target?!? Woot!
Barb and Ken Kahn PCS out soon, as does my best friend here, Calandra Rogers.
I am sooooooooooooooooooo sad. I am bracing myself to not have that full support. She's an amazing woman, and used her time here to get a masters degree. Well spent! The Navy will now move them to Maine for a year, part of which her husband will be in San Diego for training. Then, they'll move with the ship to Hawaii. Why they just don't send her direct to Hawaii, and let her and the kids get on with life? Ah, the life of the military families. Every time I felt bad here, I knew Calandra was doing it without her husband barely being here, as his ship was out most of the time.
William and Tim building the Lego train. Life is good. William hugged me several times and thanked me for making it the best Christmas ever! I'd prefer cookies.