Paul and his family visited us and Japan the last two weeks. It was good to have them here and to be able to share our part of the world with them. They were able to mix their traveling with visits with us.Here they are at Koganei Koen, a beautiful park that is located in the community where we live.

The sumo tournament is such a fun event to attend. The excitement level among the Japanese would be the equivalent of a Kentucky / Louisville basketball game going to the wire. A neat event that Michele especially enjoyed. This one was in Nagoya; they alternate wrestling sites with other cities and a month for rest periods.

The baseball games in Japan are also quite lively. The atmosphere reminds me of a college football game because there is constant chanting, clapping, and cheering.

Martin and I participated in a lottery for our seat selection. The seats that were assigned to us were on the first row, down the third base line. A good night with the family; and great seats.


At the Tokyo Dome, where the baseball game was played, there is also an amusement park. Claire wanted "Pop" to ride this "mini" roller coaster with her. Clarie really had fun; Martin still has a stiff neck!

This is not a Coke commercial. We were at the train station waiting for a shinkansen. It was just one of those fun "family" moments!

Claire is standing in front of the bronze statue "Hachiko", located at Shibuya station.This loyal dog would accompany his master to the train station everyday, then return in the afternoon to meet him. One day the man died while at work. Hachiko kept returning to the station waiting for his master to return. He did this for nine years until he himself died.This is a very popular meeting place for the Japanese.