Cherry Blossoms and Easter

I went for a nice bike ride to NakaMeguro, with my friend Mary, to see the Cherry Blossoms (Sakura). The blossoms (according to Mary) were at about 75%, and they were gorgeous. Full, white and beautiful. We went late morning, and by the time we actually got down the NakaMeguro, it was busy with people, walking, biking and taking a LOT of photos. I am told at night, the lanterns you see in the pictures are lit up, and there are food stands galore (I even saw a Churro food stand, which I haven't seen anywhere else except amusement parks!). Afterward, we met another friend, Valerie, at an Italian restaurant in Shimo-Kitazawa. The food was great and the company was even better! Sakura season only lasts about a week or so, and by
this past Tuesday, the petals were all falling- it was like snow and was very pretty.



We also had a few other things happen this week:

1. We discovered we have COCKROACHES!!! We had them when we first got here, and they gave us a spray, which seemed to work (they were tiny little baby cockroaches...small and disgusting!). They came back about a month ago, and they called the Bug man, who came and set up "traps". It seemed they were all gone, but lo and behold, this past weekend, I killed FIVE of them....the bug man came back yesterday and set some more traps..but I am about to lose it..they are small and gross, and in my kitchen- NOT OK with me. It seems that we are the only apartment that is having the issues, so that is even more concerning...hopefully, this time the traps will get rid of our issue for good...

2. We booked a trip to Beijing, China. It is on our list of "places to see" while we are living over here. We thought if we didn't get going, knocking off some of our "to see" list, we weren't going to be able to get it all in. So, we are using Frequent Flyer miles for our plane tickets, and are utilizing a travel agent out of Connecticut, that specializes in Asia, and has set up many vacations for expat families from Tokyo. We have an English speaking guide (named Oliver Ann, who we are told, speaks of himself in the 3rd person- Oliver Ann will be taking you here...Oliver Ann will be driving you there...!), that will bring us to all the places we want to see, including setting up meals, driving us around, airport transport, etc. We are told that gaijin (foreign) kids get a lot of attention in China, and that unlike Japan, where they are mostly hands off and do a lot of smiling and observing, the Chinese people are very touchy feely, and often times, it is bothersome...another reason we have our guide! So, we are heading there next Wednesday, the 16th, for 4 days, and will get to see: The Summer Olympic sites (Birdsnest, Watercube), the Great Wall (the #1 site we want to see!), the Forbidden City, Old Peking (Hotung area) by Rickshaw, the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, and Beijing Zoo to see the Giant Pandas. My dad was a bit worried, since China isn't necessarily friendly with the U.S., and made me promise not to say anything bad about the government while we are there....I for sure won't say anything about the $130/person special visa we had to get just to get into the country...U.S. Citizens pay $130, everyone else in the world pays $30!! So, it is costing us $600 just to enter China....but, what can you do, right?


My beautiful Girls in their Easter Dresses

3. Easter- we had a really great Easter this year- it felt so normal, and the girls didn't know any different. I had my mom ship me candy from the states- $35 worth of Easter stuff cost me $80 to ship!! I looked at buying candy here, but it was ridiculously expensive (think double digit $'s for a bag of Hershey kiss type expensive), so I thought if I am going to spend the $ either way, I mise well get the stuff the girls (and Scott and I) like.


Hanami parties pop up everywhere!


Family Photo at Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

We had a neighborhood Easter Egg hunt at Kumaba park- organized by two ladies from our Uehara area. The park's Cherry Trees were in FULL bloom, and the setting was just gorgeous. That being said, there were a lot of people with their picnic mats out, just eating under the trees, so it was a pretty busy location. Sunday found us at Church, watching the Final Four (came on here at 8am- we taped it and watched it when we got home from church), having a Family Easter Egg hunt (Murphy Family tradition- my mom also packed a bunch of stuffed animal shaped eggs, and we hid them around the house. I think this is the part of the day that the girls loved the most- Thanks Mom!), and eating a fairly decent Turkey dinner. :) I say fairly, as my recipes had to be altered a bit as I couldn't find the exact groceries that I needed (and I admit- I didn't feel like running around Tokyo like a chicken with my head cut off). For instance, had to use smashed tator tots, full fat sour cream, and red cheddar cheese for the Cheesy Potatoes- I don't recommend it. They turned out OK, and Scott raved about how good they were...but Maya and Hanna wouldn't touch them with a 10ft pole! :( Again- what can you do, right? It overall, was a really good day, food alterations and all.

My washer and dryer are still not "decided" upon- and I was told today,(after the 9th measuring of my laundry room), that they are thinking about what to do still, and "hopefully" they will figure it out before we come home for the summer...soooooo slow. At least now, one of the options is giving me TWO washers and TWO dryers!! Yahoo....maybe I can make commission doing other peoples laundry...hmmm....