Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Hey---I know it's been a while. I wanted to post a little note that I'll be away in October for a visit to the States. I will be back, though, with more Japanese fun stuff to share!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Down the street from Hello Kitty's house!


Sarah, Ali (with Kaitlyn), and me in front of Sanrio Puroland

Entrance to boat ride

Main hall

Start of boat ride

Restroom sign

Our new car. Well, okay, my new car.

Alenya taking a Kitty nap

I was very jealous of Alenya's dessert.

Yes, Zach drank from a cup with Sanrio characters on it.

Hello Kitty water

Hello Kitty's house!

Bricks on her house

Her front entrance

Hello Kitty's living room

Family portraits

Wood stove

Shopping!

More shopping!

Time to say good night

Howdy! Hey, guess where I went on Saturday?! Hello Kitty's home----Sanrio Puroland! We finally made it there after talking about it for a while now. We went with friends from Zach's office and had a great time. Ali and Kevin brought their two girls, Alenya and Kaitlyn, and Sarah and Darrel joined us as well. The guys were great sports about the whole thing, and Zach and Kevin did a lot of the planning. The girls just enjoyed the day and soaked in the Land of Hello Kitty to their hearts' content. The biggest attractions at this theme park are the theatrical shows, but since we don't know very much Japanese and the lines were long, we chose to check out some of the other sights. One of my favorite highlights was the boat ride around the park, which was similar to Disney's It's a Small World ride, but with Sanrio characters. Unfortunately my photos on that ride didn't turn out so well, but I got photos of lots of other things.

Of course a visit to this marvelous place was not complete without a stop at Hello Kitty's house and a personal visit with her. And the shopping was incredible! Anything and everything you can think of has been Hello Kittyfied. I was pretty good, but I couldn't resist getting a red Hello Kitty watch that I saw in the display case. (Some who know me also know that I have a thing about watches. It's okay guys, really.)

So, all in all, it was a great Saturday and one I will never forget. And Zach probably won't forget it either. Thank you, dear husband!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

I realized today that I let my one-year anniversary in Japan go by without any kind of "yippee" on my blog, so "Yippee!" Can you believe it's been a year? A year full of fun adventures, lots of crazy and cool Japanese stuff, new friends, and a new husband! We still have another year to go here in Japan, and I can't wait to see what other neat things are around the corner. And I look forward to sharing them with you.