November highlights

Some of the highlights of the last month:

Halloween on the Embassy housing compound is CRAZY. Tons and tons of kids (and adults) dressed up in costumes and ran all over the place trick or treating. I had about 7 bags of candy. My apartment isn’t the most accessible (I’m on the 6th floor of one of the towers), but I lasted less than an hour. Those people with more accessible apartments were totally mobbed.

On November 9th, my colleagues in the Agricultural Trade Office organized a really interesting sake seminar and tasting at the DCM’s residence. It was probably the only time in my life that I will ever get to try super premium and premium sakes. Very tasty!

Veteran’s Day was spent wandering around Ginza, checking out stores with really fancy, handmade chocolates (YUM!), going to afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason, and seeing this interesting storefront:

Not sure why the gorilla is climbing the wall, especially in a chic neighborhood like Ginza, but it's Tokyo, and I'm learning not to question such things. I also went by the Tokyo Dome, where I saw this huge rollercoaster and ferris wheel. Notice that it goes through the building. SCARY!

A few days later, I went to the grand re-opening of the Hard Rock Café here in Tokyo. A colleague was one of the VIPs who smashed a guitar to mark the opening. We got to hang out in the VIP room, drink champagne and eat tasty food. The big “these are not my people” moment: when I met a man who was in Tokyo scouting locations for a steak restaurant. Apparently, he currently lives in New York, Beverly Hills and Hawaii – but he spends most of his time in New York right now. Ah. Yes, of course. 

A couple days later, the Embassy had a trivia night. You’ll all be happy to know that The Farmers Almaniacs tied for 3rd place with zero points. Almost everybody bid all of their points on the last Final Jeopardy-style round and lost. But even when we all had points, we didn’t put up too poor of a showing. Next time!

The next day, I took my first drive out of town! I went to the Five Lakes region of Japan, at the base of Mt. Fuji. It was a beautiful day, and the leaves and the mountain were gorgeous. 

We visited a few shrines, drove to two of the lakes, and took a funicular up the side of a nearby mountain for more spectacular views. We also had lunch at a tiny, but yummy, ramen place. 

And then it was Thanksgiving and a four-day weekend, thanks to Friday being Japan’s Labor Thanksgiving day! An Embassy colleague kindly invited me over for a lovely Thanksgiving dinner. On Friday, I drove up to Yokota AB to stock up on Christmas baking supplies at the commissary. I got my Christmas shopping done, gifts wrapped and boxes packed. If I can just survive this week – when I’ll go down to Kagoshima to give a very, very long presentation (EEK!) – I’ll be ready to begin the Christmas season!