Japanese Sake Kit Kats

日本酒キットカット went on sale today! I searched locally and Yokohama before going up to Tokyo to find them. Nine mini packs came in the sake shaped box I got and three in the normal Kit Kat packaging. These contain .8% alcohol. The sake smell is stronger than the taste in my opinion. Good, not my favorite and with a strong aftertaste. I felt it in my throat too. Bottoms up!

Sublime Gold KitKats - Yup, Gold

Organized very well but I wouldn't expect anything less.

I love KitKats…discovering the plethora of flavors here in Japan has been so much fun for me. When we lived here from 2008-2010 I had quite the collection and was happy to come back and continue hunting for them. They haven’t released one or two flavors each month like they used to, but it’s still exciting to find the new ones.

Wonder if this would work in my living room?

Last month I read an article about gold KitKats coming out at the end of December. They were to release 500 hand done gold leaf covered chocolate bars throughout the country. I didn’t know details, couldn’t find specifics and patiently waited. That day came….today.

I woke up early with one of my daughters and we hopped on an early morning train up to Tokyo. I had a plan, sort of. I knew the station and the store, but didn’t know exactly where to go after that. I read signs and double checked the station map to figure it out. We arrived around 9 am and got in line; the store opened at 10. I knew this store had 80 on hand and once gone, they’d be gone forever…until showing up on eBay for far more than ¥2016 ($16ish USD) retail price. It's a nod to the new year. There was a very long standby line of at least 50 people by the time we got up to the counter at 10:10 am. 

We got our tickets guaranteeing one per until noon. We stayed in line because nothing else, except for convenience stores in the station, were open. The hour went by quickly between people watching, playing Words with Friends and emailing my husband pictures of us. The gentleman above let my daughter hold the sign for a hilarious photo too!

I didn’t think we’d be lucky enough to get one, never mind two, but had to at least try. Glad we did...and will be taking a nap this afternoon :) 

Kit Kat Easter Fun Run in Tokyo

Have any plans for Sunday at 9 am?

Participants have to apply by March 31st and are chosen via lottery. They're encouraged to dress up as the Easter Bunny and will get a bag of the Easter Kit Kats after the run/walk.

Sydney's Job as a Model for Combi Mini

Sydney's modeling debut is finally in print! Back in September a modeling agency called and asked her to audition for Combi Mini...it's a clothing company here in Japan. They've gotten calls before, but either didn't get selected, we weren't available, or in Keanna's case, she had lost a tooth (or two, or three, or four). American kids attached to the bases here get called for stuff like this, so it's nothing out of the ordinary to those of us living here. The pictures from the shoot were taken on September 15th of last year. I was allowed to take pictures and video while it was going on, but couldn't post them anywhere until after the catalog came out. My friend, Sarah, was visiting from Hawaii so she came along too! Her husband served on board USS Los Angeles (SSN 688) with Bob.

She got a new hair style with each outfit...so about six or seven. I took some video of the shoot too, and it was so fun! She had her own "pit crew" that made adjustments to her clothes, hair and makeup; they also had staff there to entertain the kids (balloons, stuffed animals, etc) and keep them happy. It was amazing, truly amazing, and everyone was so kind to us! We were fed breakfast and lunch and were there from 8:45 am until about 1 pm.

If you'd like to see her pictures in the online catalog click here. About halfway down you'll see four catalog covers, click the one on the far right, Ribbon Casket (the cover is light yellow). A new window will open up and all you'll need to do is hit the arrow on the right to advance pages.

-Sydney is on the second page (with the map) above "Hollywood" and you can click to zoom in.
-On page 4, "Have a Fantastic Trip" she's on the left, and on the following she's sitting on the airplane.
-Page 7 she's standing in front of the Eiffel Tower holding the lunch box.
-Page 10 her "mom" is giving her bunny ears. This girl was 17 and European...Poland I believe. She was very nice and Sydney loved her.
-Page 11, top of the page, she's the second kid from the left.
-Page 21, picture on the top.
-Page 27, boxing gloves and holding the bus. They were throwing a balloon around for her to punch.

The campaign on the website has some pictures of her too...they can be seen here, and I've included a video I took with my little camera, so if you get this in your email you'll need to click here to see it.

I Saw "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" Tonight!

It was an advanced screening in Japan...and I had a ticket from the fan meeting two weeks ago. Click here to see pictures and read about the fan meeting along with how I got a ticket. The ticket I bought for ¥10,000 included the fan meeting and the advanced screening of the movie at Shinjuku Piccadilly Theater in Tokyo tonight, the 17th at 7 pm JST.

It opens in the U.S. on Friday the 20th, in Japan on the 28th and comes to the base theater on the 28th too. I'm exhausted and am going to bed but wanted to post a few pictures first...details will come tomorrow. If you want to know more right now you can click here to see Twilight Singapore's site. They have a little blurb about it and I emailed them from my cell phone while we were waiting to get in. It's long passed my bedtime, oyasuminasai!

It's Buu Buu, Not Oink Oink!

In Japan pigs don't say "Oink," they say "Buu!" It sounds like "boo" and then "u" which rhymes with to. The Hiragana says "Buu" on each foot.

I emailed my friend Mayumi and asked her about it and here's what she had to say:
Those letters are Hiragana. 『ぶ』 ( Bu ) and 『う』 ( U ). 『ぶう』 is the "sound" we would say
if we wanted to put a word explaining about pigs. Your other three toes have a pig on each, so, I guess they put the word.

I bought these toe socks in the Shibuya Ward of Tokyo and they've become a big hit with the girls. Every time I wear them they don't stop with the "This Little Piggy" nursery rhyme.

This little piggy went to the market,
This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy had roast beef, This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy cried "Wee! Wee! Wee!" all the way home.

My friend Laurel teaches English to Japanese kids at a school nearby. She said they play this out once a week and the kids get excited yelling "Buta!" Buta is the Japanese word for pig, and that's how they ask her to do it. Instead of a piggy buying roast beef, in her version it buys pizza. At the end she'll chase them around during the "Wee! Wee! Wee!" part and they climb under the tables trying to hide from her!

Part Two - I Was at the Fan Meeting with Robert Pattinson & Chris Weitz in Japan Last Night

To read part one of my recap click here and to see the 71 pictures I took click here. Five videos are posted below.

They had a translator for Rob and Chris and the audience too. I would say, from what I saw, at least 95% of the 550-600 member audience was Japanese. Understandably so, don’t get me wrong, but I was surprised there weren’t that many foreigners there. Like I said in my last post, we tried to get tickets when they first went on sale, so when they became available again I don’t think the word got out.

Chris introduced himself and said hi and promised to keep it short. Rob asked, “Genki?” and that means “How are you?” A lot of girls in the audience responded with “Genki desu,” which means “I’m good.”

They immediately moved into the question & answer period but only had time for two questions. A little disappointing, but this was scheduled for an hour. The first question was about their favorite thing to film in “New Moon.” Rob’s answer was “Anything with the Volvo in it,” and Chris’ answer was “Anything with Rob in it.” –See video #2-

The second question, asked in English (very impressive!) was “Would you lie to protect someone you love?” Rob said he would and compared it to his character. He put more thought into this answer so that was refreshing. After that they said they ran out of time for questions and immediately moved on to the drawing for the Los Angeles premiere on November 16^th.

Rob and Chris each selected three tickets which were seat numbers. -See video #3-

Rob and Chris were directed to the balcony portion of the stage…if you want to call it that, where each girl had 15 seconds to plead their case of why they deserved the trip. I took a lot of snapshots at this point and didn't get it on video. A few of them cried, a few laughed, and with all the emotions from the finalists the audience got just as emotional. The translator for the audience explained each girl’s answer and then Rob and Chris were told to choose the winner based on their reasons.

Chris said it isn’t fair and he couldn’t decide, so they pulled out “The Red String Machine.” This was totally planned as you’ll see in the video. The six girls had one end and Rob and Chris had one. They all had to pull to see who was holding their string. The one with Rob won the trip to Los Angeles (and could choose a guest) and a “Twilight” necklace that Rob put on her. The one with Chris’ string won a “special prize from the director.” Chris jokingly fessed up that the trip to L.A. would be much better. She won a Bella and Edward Barbie Doll along with a red robe that was worn on set. Once they brought the robe out it was obvious that it was from the scenes in Italy. –See video #4-

The other four girls didn't walk away empty handed. They each got a hug from Rob and Chris and one of the red robes that were worn in Volterra, Italy on St. Marcus Day. The girl hugging Rob in this picture is the one I refer to later on...she let me try it on!

They showed us three clips from the movie, but all were ones I had seen online before. Staff walked around making sure no one was recording anything. As soon as the clips started the room got quiet and we could hear everything. I remember watching something on TV where they showed a clip and the audience just kept screaming. Everyone sat in their seats too and didn't stand. We were asked to do that in the beginning, but I wasn't sure if everyone would actually follow the directions.

Rob and Chris said goodbye and thank you and Chris asked that we go see the film so he could get another job. That got a laugh from the crowd and after the translation and applause and waving they left the stage. -See video #5-

About a minute later they popped out of a balcony on the left side of the room, but I was sitting too close to it and couldn’t see them.

On our way out we were given a gift bag with four 5"x7” promotional pictures (nothing that hasn’t already been online or in magazines) and a “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” poster; we joked that it’s our swag. We went out into the lobby and chatted for a few minutes, took some pictures and I was pinching myself making sure I still wasn't dreaming. One of the girls that won a robe was letting people try it on, so I asked her, “Daijoubu desu ka?” “Is it okay?” She didn’t mind one bit, so I put it on and Mel snapped a picture. This was the neatest thing as far as I was concerned, and I emailed the picture to my husband, Bob, who asked if I dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween. He knew darn well I didn't, don't worry.

We had a great time, met two women from Sydney, Australia who won a trip here from a radio contest and got to meet Azlina and Nurul from Twilighters Malaysia too. The day flew by for me…from when I left my house to when I got back was a difference of 12 ½ hours, but it was worth it. I’ve never done anything like this before and probably won’t ever again. Unless of course Bob gets stationed in Japan again and we’re here for “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn!”

To see all 71 pictures I took click here. You do not have to log in or create one, just hit "View Album" under the picture.

On November 17^th at 7 pm (that’s Nov 17 at 5 am EST) I’ll be in the Shinjuku Piccadilly Theater in Tokyo watching “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” The ticket we bought for ¥10,000 included the fan meeting AND the showing next Tuesday. So we’ll be second in the world to see it…only behind the Los Angeles premiere on the 16^th which will be early morning on the 17^th for us here in Japan. Be sure to check back for a recap of how it goes!

I Was at the Fan Meeting with Robert Pattinson & Chris Weitz in Japan Last Night

Part two can be found here.

For Christmas last year my friend, Shari in Virginia sent me Twilight. She talked about the series all the time, and she finally managed to suck me in. I read Twilight in a few days and was immediately on the hunt for the next three books. The NEX (Navy Exchange, the store on base) didn’t have them, so I ordered them from Amazon.com. The books couldn’t get here fast enough, so my friend, Melissa, let me borrow New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. The day before finishing Breaking Dawn the three books arrived from Amazon.com. Within 11 days I had read the four books and then proceeded to Midnight Sun.

By this time “Twilight” was out all over the United States, but it wasn’t opening in Japan until April 4^th and the base didn’t end up showing it until January.

So Shari, thank you for sucking me in. I wouldn’t be writing this if it wasn’t for you!

After seeing the movie I got caught up in the madness. I wouldn’t say it was obsessive, but I’d look at fan sites every couple of days. One of my favorites was Twilight Singapore, and we got in touch with each other after I had found a “Twilight” magazine. I scanned the pages and emailed them to Shari and TS ended up posting them on their site. From that point on we emailed back and forth. They came up to Tokyo for the “Twilight” premiere in February, and the ironic thing is that Bob, Keanna, Sydney and I were on vacation in Singapore!

Skip ahead to mid October and I find out from Twilighter’s Square that “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” press tour was coming to Tokyo. I did the Google Translate thing to find out as much info as I could in English, and emailed my friend Mayumi to see if she would mind translating for me. PIA (the Japanese version of Ticketmaster) was selling them online, over the phone and at their store locations beginning at 10 am on the 18th. They had 400 tickets available, first come, first serve. I searched online and found a PIA location in Yokohama, about 35 mins north of where we live. Three days before they went on sale I went up to make sure I could find the place, try to ask questions and see exactly what I had to do. The woman looked on her computer for a few minutes then made a phone call. She told me “no information,” then something else in Japanese, and I understood enough to know that she was telling me to come back on Saturday to see if there was any more information. She gave me a number to call, but it was always busy. Not sure what I would have done anyway because it said “Japanese only” on the card.

Sunday morning came around, I hired a babysitter and my friend, Laurel, and I headed back up to Yokohama at 7 am. Our goal was to buy four tickets; two for ourselves and two other Navy wives/”Twilight” fan friends, Dacia and Mel. Doors opened at 10, so when I got there and saw no one in line at the door to the mall (PIA’s inside) we were very excited. Our hearts were pounding because the time was getting closer and not too many people lined up behind us. We thought we actually had a chance! Long story short, we run up the escalator, down the hall and manage to be one of the first ones in line. It’s our turn and as we’re walking up to the counter, not even three minutes after 10 am, the woman behind the counter says “Twilight-o? Gomen nasai,” and then she bowed. That was it, they were sold out that quickly because she said “I’m sorry.” The tickets for ¥10,000 (about $110 USD) are for the fan meeting on the 3rd and the "Twilight Saga: New Moon" premiere on November 17th here in Tokyo. It doesn't officially open until the 28th, and it will be the morning of the 17th in the U.S., so we will be seeing it first! Laurel and I were disappointed, but we knew our chances were slim because we couldn’t order them online or over the phone since both were Japanese only.

I posted on TS that I had a failed attempt at a ticket and was so disappointed! But last Friday Maria from TS emailed me saying they got a lead that more tickets were available. I checked out the website, called Mel and Laurel (Dacia was on vacation) and told them the news. My heart was racing and all I wanted to do was figure out how to buy a ticket! Sydney and I walked Keanna to school and my phone was ringing as we walked through the door. It was Laurel telling me she figured it out and had a confirmation number. I screamed so loud I'm surprised my neighbors weren't woken up! I ordered my ticket, Mel ordered hers and Laurel ordered one for Dacia. This was it, we were going! Now all we needed to do was find child care!

Everything worked out and we left our house at 9 am yesterday. We arrived at Shinagawa station at 9:50 and figured out where we had to go…Shinagawa Inner City Hall. We had tickets but not assigned seats, and we knew they were being assigned at 1 pm, first come, first serve. They had a line already started but we were put in a different line since we had what was considered “Foreigner Tickets.” Well lucky us because we were first in that line! After posting on TS about getting a ticket someone else had commented that they were also going…well it’s a small world because they were behind us in line! We ended up meeting Azlina and Nurul from Twilighters Malaysia. We all chatted and took pictures together. Laurel is from Washington State and went to visit there over the summer. She was able to make it to Forks, WA and was showing Azlina and Nurul pictures. We waited for a few hours and brought our iPods to help pass the time.

At 1 pm exactly we were called to the table to get our pass and seating assignment. The seats for foreigners had already been set aside, so we weren’t sure where they were going to be. We could see a map with sections A, B & C and 10 rows making up each section. So B9, my row, was the 19^th row. None of the good seats were in our batch of passes and understandably so, the PIA tickets were purchased first and they had the right to the better seats. I was happy just to be there, believe me! None of us would be there if it weren’t for Twilight Singapore and for that we were, and still are very appreciative!!!

After we got our passes we wanted to grab a bite to eat. There’s an Outback Steakhouse right across from where we were, but FYI they’re not open for lunch. We ended up cutting through Shinagawa station and walking up a hill to another one…on the way we went by a TGI Fridays. We drank, ate, laughed, drank some more and talked for nearly three hours…we had plenty of time because the doors didn’t open until 6 pm. From there we walked back the way we came and stopped for coffee at a Starbucks inside Shinagawa Station.

Finally 5 pm came around and we headed back to Shinagawa Inner City Hall. People were lined up but there was no rush to get in…we just wanted to get inside to warm up! We met back up with Azlina and Nurul and chatted some more. While Laurel was in Forks this summer she bought some goodies and brought them with her yesterday. She ended up giving Azlina and Nurul a keychain from Forks and they were so appreciative! I promised Twilight Singapore that I’d email them from my phone and send pictures when I could, and they posted updates on their site; click here, here and here to see them.

As we walked through the doors we were handed a balloon, and straight ahead was the Volvo, the XC60. It wasn’t the same one from the movie because if you notice the steering wheel is on the right. We made our way into the hall, found our seats and waited about 20 minutes until Rob and Chris came out. Here's a video I took of their entrance.

I will post the second half tomorrow along with about 65 more pictures and four more videos!
*Update: part two can be seen here.

*I was just informed that RobsessedPattinson has my five videos posted from YouTube here.*

Robert Pattinson & Chris Weitz in Tokyo Promoting "Twilight Saga: New Moon"

And I got a ticket and was able to go! A recap, videos and lots of pictures will be posted later today, but in the mean time here are two pictures from last night. We had such a good time and I have Twilight Singapore to thank! I'll get into details later, but they gave me a second chance at a ticket and I truly appreciate it.

Happy Halloween from Tokyo

Happy Halloween a little early! Since Bob's still out to sea, the girls and I ventured up to The New Sanno Hotel yesterday in Tokyo for their annual costume contest. We went last year, click here to see pictures, and wanted to go again this year since it was so much fun. Keanna and Sydney both won prizes last year, so I was also anxious to see if we could again; I made their costumes last year and did again this year. Another bonus last year was that Jon Voight was standing in the lobby shaking hands with military members and their families. He picked up Sydney and was swinging her around...she loved him! I was hoping he'd be back since the Tokyo Film Festival was going on through the weekend, but alas, no such luck.

Anyway, getting back to it, I made their costumes again this year; Keanna's wearing a spaghetti and meatballs costume and Sydney's costume is a bubble bath. People asked me where I got the idea for Keanna's costume. It came from the Food Network television show, "Ace of Cakes," but it's known at our house as "The Cake Makin' Show." It airs on AFN (Armed Forces Network) and in one episode they made a cake for a family like likes to travel. I don't remember the exact details since it was from a while ago, but they made a cake of spaghetti & meatballs and placed it on top of the northern hemisphere of the globe. At that moment it clicked and ideas started popping into my head. Big time thanks to Charm City Cakes in Baltimore for the inspiration!

We enjoyed the Sunday brunch and kept our fingers crossed when it came time for the costume contest. When we were getting our ticket and walking in two of the women, at the exact same time said, "It's the popcorn girl!" Keanna proudly said, "I was popcorn last year, this year I'm spaghetti and meatballs with bread and cheese." It was flattering!

Last year they had about 55-60 kids compete and this year over 95 were dressed up! Keanna & Sydney's numbers were 48 and 49, right smack in the middle, so I had a couple of minutes to get them dressed and ready before being called.

Each of the four judge chose two winners. The prizes included a children's digital camera, two tickets to Disneyland Tokyo, an iPod Shuffle and a Nintendo Wii. They didn't have first, second and third place winners, they just announced the judge, where he/she was from, and what prize they were giving for their choice. When the judge from FOX TV Japan was announced she said her prize was a Nintendo Wii. Keanna immediately perked and when she heard her name she jumped with excitement, headed to the stage and collected her prize. To FOX TV, on behalf of Keanna and myself, domo arigato gozaimasu for your generosity.

After the contest ended they had trick-or-treating in some areas of the hotel. We walked around the lobby and to the shops, salon and pool on the second floor. The girls were constantly stopped asking for pictures and they didn't think anything of it! Some people even asked me to take pictures of them with the girls using their cameras. A Japanese woman who's English was nearly perfect asked if she could take pictures of Sydney's costume. She took at least 10 pictures from all sides and angles and asked if I minded her attempting it next year.

Sydney didn't win, and that's okay. On the drive up there we talked about how it wasn't important...which it isn't. Don't get me wrong, I'm competitive and was hopeful, but my parents raised me to believe that it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game...right Dad?! Keanna, Sydney and I all worked together to make their costumes. They did everything but use the glue gun, and it was a huge help to me. We had fun, talked and sang while we worked on the floor in the living room for the four or five days it took.

Hope you have a Spooktacular Halloween and leave a comment sharing what you, your children or loved one is dressing up as this year!

Suica & the Narita Express Train Fare Discount

Here's a great tip that we can thank Bob for discovering in March when coming back from a work trip to South Korea. When he landed at Narita Airport in Tokyo (NRT) he had a few hours to wait until the Narita Shuttle (a shuttle bus to/from the airport to the Yokosuka Naval Base) was scheduled to leave. He decided to take the train instead of waiting, and when he got to the station (in the basement of the airport) he saw a sign advertising a special for foreigners to Japan.

This is a big FYI for anyone stationed at Yokosuka, Atsugi, Zama, etc. We can use it since we hold our U.S. passports, and so can anyone visiting us from home. We can sign up our family members for the Narita Shuttle at PSD, but since it's space available and they're at the lowest priority, having a back-up plan for transportation is a must.

It's called the Suica & N'EX package, and for ¥3500 (about $35 depending on the yen rate) lets you save ¥1610 (about $16.10 depending on the yen rate). This is cheaper and will come in very handy if you plan on taking the trains in and around Tokyo.

It consists of:
-a one way trip from Narita Airport to Tokyo, Yokohama, Yokosuka, etc by Narita Express

-a Suica card worth ¥2000 (¥500 refundable deposit plus ¥1500 worth of train fares)

Suica is a prepaid card that we use instead of having to buy a ticket at every train station, and there are machines at every station where we can recharge the card when the balance gets low. Until this offer Narita Express ticket (N'EX) cost ¥3110 for a one-way trip from the airport to the Tokyo area. I've heard that the money on the card doesn't expire for 10 years, so you can keep your card and use it if you visit again, or give it to someone. I use my Suica card to pay at convenience stores and at vending machines too, so it comes in handy for more than just the train. The one I have is green and gray with the penguin on it, but I've since started using/recharging the one Bob got...the one I'm holding in the picture above. It's a special edition card and is much prettier than the one I had!

The Suica & NEX package is only available at Narita Airport and only for travelers who hold a non-Japanese passport; the Narita Express train leaves once per hour. All the info, including price charts, FAQs and more can be found at this website.

Naki-sumo...Cry, Baby, Cry

Naki-sumo or Nakizumo, not sure which is correct because I've seen both spellings. I've heard about this from my friend, Julie and Japanese sensei has talked about it but yesterday I got to see it with my own eyes. I took a lot more pictures and posted them here in my Shutterly album, and included a video at the bottom of this post.

Naki Sumo has been a tradition on this stage for the last 18 years; yesterday was the 19th. It's a prayer for the good health of children at Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, and if you want your infant to participate it'll only cost ¥10,000, or about $100 USD. The babies were all born in 2008 and are held by college-aged sumo wrestlers. Believe it or not they have a match to see who will cry first. If both babies cry at the same time, then the one that cries loudest wins.

The sumo wrestlers hold the babies, hold them up in the air, etc to try to get them to cry, and to see how loud they'll cry. If they don't start with just the sumo, one of the four men sitting in the corners will come up with masks or the big glasses with fake nose and mustache. A Japanese proverb says that 'crying babies grow fast' and believe that the louder an infant cries then more gods have blessed it. More information about it can be found here if you're interested in learning more about it. The official website is here, and I've already done the "Google Translate" thing, so it's in English.

There were four Germans standing to my left and a bunch of Japanese photographers to my right. The four of them live here, and until one of them said that I assumed they were visiting. Anyway, one of them translated what was being said and that was very helpful. She'd translate it into German for her husband and friends and then English for me. Impressive. You'll be able to hear her a little bit in the videos. The older man to my right was very kind and sweet even though we couldn't understand a word the other was saying. He pointed to my telephoto lens and was saying something about it, then when I looked at his I realized we had the same one. We also had the same camera, only different names. Mine is the Canon Digital Rebel and his was the Kiss. I puckered up and did the "smooch" sound and he laughed...so did his buddy next to him. I don't think they were making fun of me though, because he tried repeating "Kiss" and "Rebel;" it was cute and he was really trying.

Once things got started and people were being introduced he got really excited when one man came on stage. He kept saying "Kabuki, kabuki" and people's cameras were clicking a lot more at that point. At the time the only thing I could think of was that this man is an actor in the Kabuki Theater. A statue near by is of a famous Kabuki actor who was famous for being a very strong child. So my guess is that he's the representative since the venue is set up under the watchful eye of the statue.

The judge, the man in purple and gold would yell "Nake, nake, nake," which means "Cry, cry, cry," and is prounced "Nah-kay." In one picture I took you can see him holding his hand up to his year while yelling. He would say it so fast though and I couldn't help but laugh. Some babies were sleeping, some started crying as soon as their mothers handed them off and one even laughed. I'm not sure if I got it on video or not, but either the judge or one of the men with the mask said, "This baby is laughing, not crying." My German friend let me know as soon as the crowd had finished laughing.

If you decide to go next year, try to get there at least an hour early to reserve your spot. Family members are the only ones in seats, and we were standing behind a waist high barricade. There were at least four or five rows of people behind me. It's set up behind the temple, so don't worry when you don't see anything in the main area out front.

I guess kids in Japan can be terrified of both sumo wrestlers and Santa Claus!

"Twilight" Comes to Japan...and My Living Room

I was up in Tokyo last weekend with some friends and our kids and on our way back from Tokyo Tower decided to stop at a book store in Roppongi. I've seen the Twilight book split into two with the picture that lines up, but last Saturday I found New Moon along with the 11 Manga-style books with illustrations; they are not Manga though. I knew they existed, but hadn't found them. So I took about 15 minutes looking for them, and when I couldn't find them I asked at the register, "Twilight wa doko desu ka?" As you'll see, they're split into 11 smaller books, not four thick ones so they fit in bags and/or read on the trains.

Well ask and yee shall find! I bought the first book of 11 for Shari's daughter per her request. Shari sent me the first book for Christmas, and after a couple of days I finished that and within 10 days finished all four...and then Midnight Sun too. I was hooked. Before that I had never heard of the series, Kristen Stewart or Robert Pattinson. Each book has one or two illustrations....Keanna and Sydney were beyond borrowed time so I didn't take pictures of all drawings inside every book. Each book costs ¥1000, so a little more than $10 USD because of the exchange rate. I emailed my friend Mayumi to ask her to translate the covers for me. Mayumi married Dave, another submariner and Bob's roommate during Prototype. I met Dave in winter of 2000 and Mayumi in 2006 right after Sydney was born. Anyway, getting back to it, she was kind enough to take the time and email me back. Domo arigatou gozaimasu Mayumi-san, and Dave for assisting!

We get maybe eight or nine Japanese channels with our cable (not digital), and while flipping through tonight I saw what I assumed was coverage of the premiere in Tokyo from February 28th. I was wrong, it was the "Twilight" trailer! It made me wonder if the movie will be dubbed over or subtitled in Japanese when it opens here on April 4th. It arrived on base for us Americans to see it in January. We were in Singapore on February 28th, otherwise I would have taken the 1-hour train ride up to Tokyo and braved the rain to go to the Japan premiere.

The One I Loved is a Vampire & The Blood that Tastes Sorrow

The Dark Vampire Clan & The Fang that Whispers is Fascinating

The Moon of Wolf & The Fallen Angel that Laments

The Red Mark & A Cold Kiss for Myself

Twilight is the Time for an Evil Demon & A Bride of a Vampire

God of Dawn