On the comeback trail………

Things are looking up here in Bloggerville. No post for the past two days as the S.O. and I went to observe our ritual “go to Tokyo and celebrate making each other miserable for another year” visit.  We stayed at a hotel in Tokyo, had a very nice dinner at one of those small out of the way restaurants that Shinjuku is famous for, and  looked at all the Christmas lights in Roppongi hills and the new development of Midtown. (Which by the way is built on the former site of the Defense Agency….).

My son is out of the hospital and he must be on the mend-he asked me for money. He seemed rather annoyed when I pointed out that his mother gets plenty of it from me, he should go ask her. Then again, as I pointed out earlier maybe she is too busy paying legal fees.

My Mom is doing OK and she sounded OK on the phone. My sister says she is doing about as well as can be expected and she is driving her nuts-so that too is a good sign.

While the S.O. and I were out and about, we decided the  second morning to take in the sights and sounds of Ginza. That is always fun-Ginza is a girl watchers paradise, even in winter. Maybe even more so in winter because it appears to me that it must be an unwritten rule for Japanese women that if they are going to be shopping in the stores there, they have to dress for the occasion. Whatever, seeing girl after girl in a short skirt and long boots sure got my attention!

I bought the S.O. a hat on Sunday. She was trying it on in a store-and she looked good in it. Very girlish, and very cute- if I do say so my self.  When coupled with the pants and jacket she was wearing, it made for a most attractive combination.  Jumpability factor was quite high-maybe even a 9.0 across the board-except the Russian judge gave a very low score for some reason.  However we had things to see first before we could attend to what was important to me.

Follow me to see the sights!

First stop out of the hotel was to pay our respects to Natasha-the mascot of the guards at the New Sanno hotel. Natasha sleeps in the guard shack and roams the parking garage and the grounds. Since we last saw her, it would seem she has gotten fat:

The guards do take care of her though,  so she has a life better than most cats in Tokyo I think.

Then it was off to see the sights. First I got dragged to the Tokyo International Forum for its monthly antique fair which by some incredible coincidence just happened to be this weekend. Funny how that happens.  I came away 8000 yen poorer-but I did get a real cool book about the war in the deal. Its all in Japanese but the pictures are really neat. Especially the ones taken in occupied Jakarta and Hong Kong. Worth a 1000 yen. ( But just try to tell that to the S.O.!).

Then with the approach of darkness it was off to Shinjuku and Takashimaya Times Square. It’s were the first Krispy Kreme in Japan is. We had visions of going and having a donut (or two) but when we saw the line-to get in the line– we thought better of it.

We looked at the lights instead:

Went to Roppongi Hills to see their lights. And to see Tokyo Tower:

 

It looked better in person!

Then back to rest up for the morrow:

The coming of the new day had us setting out for Ginza. Enroute we stumbled across the crowd at Yuracho station-waiting to buy lottery tickets for the Shin Nen Jumbo 3 billion Yen lottery. According to the S.O. this particular spot is famous for selling winning lottery tickets:

The line was 40 minutes from this point-and there was another line to get into this one!

Suffice it to say we did not buy any tickets. Now mind you, one could go right around the corner to another kiosk and buy tickets for the exact same lottery, and not have to wait in line. Nonetheless people qued up at Yurakcho station. Never underestimate the power of superstition.

All in all a pretty good day. Which is good, because I think the new year is going to bring big changes-and those are never needed. However its Christmas-so for at least a few days, we can suspend that reality and savor the joy of the moment. Those moments are far too brief and they never last-so you have to grab them while you can.

Ja ne!