Kokochi

It sure is raining!

Click to see video.

So we knew a big typhoon was coming and we were bracing for it. But during the day, Barak monitored the typhoon's progress and declared it was losing steam. By dinner he proudly pointed out the window that the sky was clearing and that the typhoon was gone.

But by the end of dinner, we noticed a blanket of rain outside. We must have experienced the eye of the storm that provided only temporary relief, we thought. We crammed into a taxi for what would have been our 10 minute walk home, and I'm thankful we did so. It was like driving through a car wash. Ben and I peered out the window not wanting to leave the taxi. The driver asked us, "will you be OK?" as we jumped out into the torrential showers. When we finally got to our hotel lobby - soaked - Barak insisted on pointing out that there was no wind, and since it was only rain, it's not a typhoon. Um, needless to say, I wasn't convinced. It sure felt like typhoon rain to me!

However, I must confess that as we ran from the taxi to the hotel, we noted a small waterfall in a side street. Know what we did? We all stopped, got our cell phones out and took pictures. That is why we were soaked!

*Update: Michael gives another persepective, especially his Update #2!

If you're gonna create a mascot, may as well have fun!

While living in Tokyo, I hadn't paid too much attention to the Roppongi Hills mascot zoo...probably because they received so much hype that it seemed like a silly "brand" craze to me at the time. But today, walking around with 6A colleagues, I appreciated how wacky and hilarious they are. There are several characters that all look huggable yet bizarre, and each has a quote that just makes you laugh as you try and imagine someone actually composing it. By the way, Shacho means company president...

Curry udon & after dinner strolling (in the rain) カレーうどんと夕食後の雨の中の散歩

Ben and Michael arrived today and we all went to have curry udon. I've never liked it before since it can be heavy, but this place is really good. They've raised the level of Japanese curry in my mind. And - get this - they add tempura bananas. I swear it works! And my my; check out their mission statement...(sorry it got cut off).

Then we decided to roam around Roppongi Hills, and then got sucked into a nearby electronic shop where we drooled over the cell phones and cameras. By the time we got out, it was raining really hard. Yep, the typhoon is arriving!

今日ベンとマイケルが到着したのでみんなでカレーうどんを食べました。普通なら私は全然好まないがここではほんとうに美味しい。その上にてんぷらバナナも。今まで知らなかったコンビだが、中々のものです。

その後Roppongi Hillsと近くのカメラ・携帯ショップへ行きました。日本の携帯欲しい！とにかくアメリカは遅れているので寂しい。お店をでたら雨が結構激しくなってやっぱり台風が来るんだね。

Press Conference 記者会見

We are working, afterall.　一応仕事してます。

The inside of Six Apart's Tokyo office シックス アパート東京オフィスの中

Kuri-chan, one of Six Apart's Japanese engineers, came to visit SF a while ago and stayed with Dav and I. We promptly took him to the Odeon Bar during Dr. Hal's night, and Kuri-chan got his question answered. He blogged about it here, showing a picture of me going up to translate his question since he wrote in Japanese. It was a fun night, but I had no idea it inspired him so much. I burst out laughing when I walked in the office this morning to find a "Ask Dr. Kuri" wall space with a bunch of sticky note questions! Fabulous!!

And of course, there are various other things on the wall that, um, er, show how much we eat, breathe, and live for blogging! The office unfortunately has no windows, but Ueno-san pasted one onto the wall last time I visited. I was glad to see it still there providing a glorious view of the outside...even though it's rainy today :)

東京のシックス　アパートでエンジニアを務めてるくりちゃんがこの間サンフランシスコへ遊びに来ました。その時デイブと私は彼をオデオン　バーへ連れて行きました。ちょうどDr. Halという質問ゲームをやっていてくりちゃんの質問が選ばれました。彼はそれをブログしました。面白かったけど、どれほどくりちゃんに印象を与えたのか知らなくて、今日、オフィスに入って�Ask Dr. Kuri" の質問ポスターを見つけて大笑いしました。さすが、、、

それ以外にシックス　アパートに適したブログ会社ならでの，まー、他の壁飾りがありました。

このオフィスは残念ながら窓がありません。前回来た時に上野さんが窓のイメージのポスターを貼りました。まだ立派にあります。今日の雨が嘘のように思わせる素敵な窓です。

Sushi dinner お寿司

When I go home, I get to be spoiled by my parents, and per my request, we went to our neighborhood sushi place. Yum! Then we went to our local public bath and soaked ourselves. I'm ready for bed now. Bliss.

東京の家へ帰ると親に甘えられる。私のリクエストで今晩お寿司をご馳走してもらいました。美味しかった！その後近くの銭湯へ行きゆっくり浸りました。幸せ。

Landed! 到着

Yep, back in Tokyo for another business trip. Lovely weather...although news is that a gigantic typhoon is heading this way and will be here by Wednesday! This is my third time coming here for business this year and it's awfully comforting to know I can live in SF yet get to visit Tokyo this frequently. I'm beginning to feel in my soul that Tokyo really isn't so far away. How lucky!

Here are random pictures from Roppongi on my way home to see my parents. I must say, my parents look great!

そう、またまた出張のために東京に帰ってきました！とても良い天気ですが、巨大な台風が水曜日に来るそうです！今回が今年で３回目の出張である。サンフランシスコに住んでいながら、これほど定期的に帰られることは心から嬉しい。少しずつ東京はそんなに遠くないなーと感じられるようになりました。

写真は六本木から両親へ会いに行く時のです。両親は元気でかわいいでしょう？

Gettin on a plane now

I will let you know where I am landing when I get there...I love where I am going but will miss my Dav and kitties!

Goldfish in my shoes 靴の中の金魚

Sorry for another shoe post, but boy did I find some cool boots! Even the cats were curious, though Wakame quickly turned to stretching for another nap when she found they weren't edible. I don't need to say much more than yep, those are little (plastic) goldfish in the heels with water and some decorative greens!!

　

また靴に関してすみませんがとてもクールなブーツを見つけました！私の猫ちゃん達まで興味心身でした。まあーワカメちゃんは食べられないからすぐに昼寝のためのストレッチングをしたけどね。ご覧の通りヒールの中に金魚がいます。本物ではないけど、ちゃんと水と植物が入っている！

What a ride! 気持ち良かった！

Click to see video.

Here is a video of us taking off and post touch down shots.

出発からのビデオと着陸後の写真です。