Beautiful day in Onjuku, Chiba. 2 weeks ago. Lots of interesting things happening on the beach, as always!

Odaiba

on the yakatabune boat, docked in Odaiba bay. Fuji TV building in the background.

Yukata

Scene from a Tokyo street...

Yakatabune

It's summer, time to wear some traditional yukatas. This photo was taken before we boarded the cruise boat, with colleagues & friends Sanae, Rachel, Yasu & Tamami. It's hot, so don't forget your fan!

colorful underwear....

Boys... in case the colorful underwear from American Apparel was no longer enough, here is a nice solution to your plain underwear... whose birthday is coming up next?

Cafe de Pou

Sans commentaire...

Teeth

Walking through the streets of Tokyo is a daily amazement. Never leave home without your camera and always keep your eyes open, or you could miss the TEETH. This photo was taken about 5 minutes away from my flat and i had never paid attention before. We went out for a walk on Sunday after the heavy rains stopped - we had a typhoon sweep through Tokyo on Saturday. By the time it hit us, it felt more like a tropical rain than a real typhoon. Anyway, just to explain the grey sky on this photo. The next photo was taken just around the corner for this place... Strange thing it was, Cafe de Pou... see next photo for yourself...

Mia Made Me Cry

Hello Mia, and everyone. This is my first blog entry ever. But after what Mia did to me this morning I feel like I need to share.

Last night I found a bunch of old cd's sitting behind a stack of books on my shelves. Most of them were crap. But among them I found the first cd Mia burned for me. It's a collection of some of her favorite French music. I was so happy to find it. I had been looking for it for some time now.

I took the cd with me this morning to play in the car on the way to yoga. I had forgotten what was on it. I forgot that the first song on the cd would reduce me to tears the moment it started to play. I couldn't believe that I was crying. It was bizarre! So i just started to laugh at myself as well. I cried and laughed all the way to yoga this morning. I'm still not sure why. Maybe I cried for friends that I missed. Maybe I cried because I was overwhelmed with gratefulness for the memories that it evoked. I felt in some way that I had a Proustian moment. Like that little madeliene soaked in tea, the music brought to the surface comforting memories.

SO, there you have it Mia. You made me cry.
: )

Thank you so much for all the lovely memories. Also, thanks for the music. They're still among my favorites.

Duckies

Get your ducks in tow, time to sail home! Taking duckies in for the night in Hakone lake. Very nice end to a great day.

Forest Construction

Excuse us for the construction work... in the middle of the forest. We couldn't quite find where the construction was, but well, we excused them anyway!

Hakone hike

Hakone -14 kilometer hike near Mount Fuji. Beautiful landscape, wonderful company.

77 + 9

I ran into Carlos (77) and Go (9) on my way to Yoyogi park for a picnic with Hiroko, Karsten and Sorano. That's what happens when you live in the same neighborhood as your friends - can't sneak out! They were on their way to Sunday soba. Very nice and lazy Sunday in Tokyo today. Miette by the way originates from Carlos.

Summer has finally arrived in Tokyo: sunny days and warm temperatures. Time to take out shorts and T-shirst, skimpy dresses, flip flops and sandals. Yay!

Bubbles in the park

Hiroko making bubbles for Sorano.... While Karsten takes photos.

A walk in the park

Sunny day in Yoyogi Park today. Some people walk their dogs, others their ferret, and some walk with crystal balls on their head...

Souvenir, souvenir...

I am only starting now my photo album for our trip to Sri Lanka. Just have to scan all the pics we took... Fortunately, I still have the agenda where I wrote what we visited day after day. Very helpful!

View from the office...

...but I don't get to look up from my computer screen and see this very often. Tokyo Tower to the right: they say it is taller than la Tour Eiffel, but I think they are cheating!

Crepes!

Pink Bicycle

Guess whose lovely pink bicycle is parked in front of my building there? :o))

It was the only color they had and it would have taken 1 week to get it painted black. I am not Mick Jagger - I don't want everything painted black. You can laugh all you want (I can hear it from here) but my bike has 6 speeds and a very useful shopping basket. I've taken it out about twice since I bought it 10 days ago and have so far only scratched 1 parked car (just the mirror), crushed 1 flower pot (that will teach people to leave all sorts of potted plants outside on the street) and bumped into 1 parked bicycle. Not bad. Haven't injured myself... yet. By the time any of you come visit me, in the next decade, I will be semi-pro in shopping bike riding - I only say semi- / i'm not a show off!!

Useful acronyms for bloggers...

Again Sabine writing!

Just thought it might be useful for everyone to know about common acronyms that are used on the forums and blogs... in case you don't know them already.

BRB: be right back
BTW: by the way
DD: dear daughter
DH: dear hubby
DS: dear son
IMHO: in my honest opinion
ISO: in search of
JMO: just my opinion
KWIM: know what I mean
MIL: mother in law
ROFL: rolling on floor laughing
SIL: sister in law
TFL: thanks for looking
TFS: thanks for sharing
TTYL: talk to you later
VBG: very big grin
WTG: way to go!

A Hello! from France...

Hi there!

As most of you, I received an invitation from Mia today to subscribe to her brand new blog.
How surprising from Mia, lol.
I was very happy to have news from her so I rushed here to see what's happening in Mia's life! She also invited to join as a blogger on her blog, so here I am, blogging and blogging!

After wondering whether I should write in French (my mother tongue) or in English (sorry for my bad English!), I decided that English would rather be the most popular language for all her readers... Sorry but mine is not that good! I am trying to practise and perfect everyday on my own blog, so please, excuse me if I make some mistakes ;)

For those who don't know me (!), I am her French friend Sabine and I live in Paris. Mia said "Put some photos on my blog!", so here is a self-portrait... As digiscrapbooking is a hobby, you will often see that kind of pics on my posts.

Can't wait to see who will be the next one to post!

Cheers,
Sabine (aka Sabdesbois)

Full Moon

Full moon this past weekend - seen from here...

FIT for Charity!

4,000 bankers in Tokyo ran 5- and 10-kilometers or walked 5-km around the Imperial Palace last Saturday morning (May 26) for charity.... we were among them.

Many of you didn't think I would make it, well, mauvaises langues, i finished the 5 kilometer run, albeit in a very un-impressive 35 minutes. Hey, it was very hot that Saturday morning at the Imperial Palace. I can't remember whether this photo with Julien was taken before or after we rehydrated with a few cold beers... probably after, given our smiles!

I am now kind of considering signing up for the Tokyo Marathon on Feb. 17, 2008, most likely either the 10-kilometer run or the half marathon (22 km). Anyone want to join?

TheFlyingPig.com

This is a very important web site to know in Tokyo. It's the online shop of Cosco - you don't need to be a Cosco member to order and they deliver. most importantly, the site is in English and it is much cheaper than local stores. Just make sure you have enough space to store everything as it comes in bulk - I think I have enough toilet paper, detergent, cleaning products and toothpaste for the next 12 months.... check it out!

PS. No, I don't know where the name came from...

Yokoso!

Dear Friends,

Voila, so I have decided to join the crowds of millions of bloggers and am creating this Tokyo Miette blog to keep you updated on what's happening in Tokyo.

I would also love to hear from all of you and stay up-dated with what's happening with your lives. I have lost touch with too many of you recently and am hoping to create a little community of friends and family, from Tokyo to Paris, London, Lake Forest and The OC, New York, Atlanta, Hong Kong, Madrid, Mexico, New Delhi, Morocco etc. etc.

So welcome (yokoso in Japanese) to our new cyber community!

Lots of love,
Mia


PS. this is my first-ever blog, so to all the computer geeks out there, please let me know how i can improve it!