Hiroyama Koen (Park)

I emailed Julie this morning, and she immediately wrote back saying, "Call me when you really wake up." It was about 8:45 am and she knows we're not morning people. I called her and said, "Good Morning, Sunshine!" Anyway, she asked if we wanted to go see the monkeys, and of course the girls and I were up for it. She and her son, Noah, have been quite a few times, and this morning we tagged along.

The view is beautiful, and we were just above Zushi Beach. We had so much fun and the girls are already asking to go back. We saw the monkey feeding, the girls and Noah were dancing on the table (anyone have a dollar bill?!) and a little boy and his dad were catching bugs and showed us the cicada they got. Julie asked the father (and in Japanese too....I ought to see if she's available as a translator when shopping or eating out!) what they're commonly known as. He said "semi" which sounds like "say-me." And let me tell you, those suckers are loud and I can hear them even with the windows closed, and especially in the mornings!

They had a small playground which the kids loved, and mine didn't want to leave. But on the way there Julie spotted a store called Off House; a second hand store. We were anxious to get there and scope it out. Neat store, and they even had a Hello Kitty toaster!

And thanks to Julie for letting me "borrow" the first picture!