Japan

I (Nathan) went to Japan for work. It was tough going, as I didn't know much Japanese at all.




Here is a melon for sale. Nice packaging, but otherwise quite normal, right? Now, take a look at the price tag. 100 yen is approx 100 cents. Have another look at the price tag. Do the sums...



This is a driving range - on the roof of a department store.



And here is one of those famous Japanese toilets. This was only a standard model - it just had a seat warmer, and two water jets.



The most interesting cultural experience of the trip was staying at a Capsule Hotel. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take any photos. Click here for a short description and some photos. Capsule hotels are designed for workers who miss their train home. Rather than taking a taxi, it's cheaper to stay in a (relatively) low cost hotel, where everything is provided for you - disposable razors, shaving cream, deoderant, hair gel, aftershave, ... And to relax, you can soak in a hot spring bath or sauna and get a massage. And to top it off, you can gently drift to sleep to the sound of a dozen men snoring! A few rules, though. Men only, absolutely no tatoos, and no swim suits in the bath.

So how was it? I'm glad I gave it a go, but once is definately enough for me.

Expressions and other games

One of the games we play with owen is "Expressions". There are several versions to this. For example, Owen will make a face, and we have to guess what expression he is showing. Want to have a go? What do you make of the following? Answers at the end of the post.







In addition to this, we also like to play a few other games. Such as:

Nathan: I'm thinking of an animal. It has no arms and no legs, and goes "SSSSSSS". What is it?
Owen: A snake!
Nathan: That's right. Your turn.

Owen: I'm thinking of an animal. It has no arms, no legs, no body and no head. And it goes "SSSSSS". What is it?

As you can see, Owen doesn't always get it.


Owen has an active imagination. Here is Owen having a picnic with his toys.


And here is "teddy". Teddy is very important to Owen - he sleeps with him every night. Unfortunately, a week ago, Teddy was left behind at Chatswood (Jo's parents). To try and avert a disaster, we called Pops, and asked him to pretend to be teddy (with a high voice), and tell Owen that he was staying at Chatswood tonight.


Pops (high voice): Hi Owen. I'm sleeping at Chatswood tonight.
Owen (bright and cheery): Hi Pops!!
Pops (high voice): I'm teddy!
Owen (slightly upset): Where's teddy?
Pops (high voice): I'm sleeping in Chatswood tonight.
Owen (very distressed) I WANT TEDDY!

Can't fool this one!

Disaster was averted when a replacement bear (Steiffi) filled in.

Those expressions? Happy, thinking, surprised and sad. How did you go?