One Month Anniversary!

We celebrated by eating at McDonalds. Upon entering the building we were directed to go below for the restaurant – the steps were steep and long. Once we got down, we had to decide what we were going to eat. They attempted to hurry us, but we said we needed to look at the pictures! One employee was especially helpful and we ordered what we thought was a burger with fries and Coke. The fries and Coke were great – the sandwich was good, but it wasn’t beef – probably pork. Interesting, since we also got the sandwich with the bacon on it!! We were not disappointed, just surprised.

Japan uses Yen for their money. There are no other denominations. One Yen is approximately 1 cent. So, when you spend 100 Yen, you have spent $1. We love their 100 Yen stores – there are 2 nearby that we frequent often. We’ll be bringing some unique trophies home that we purchased there. When I go grocery shopping, I often carry a 10,000 yen note. Everything is cash based (& costs more…).

On our way to church, we pass a zoo. Note the animals that they have – rabbits, deer, squirrels, etc. People line up and pay to go to this zoo. 

When we expressed surprise, a fellow missionary explained it this way:

“I took a friend from Australia to a zoo in the U.S. He was shocked that we had kangaroos, when they are almost a nuisance in Australia!”

So you see, it’s all in what animals you have in your backyard vs. what is common in other countries!!

Organized!

Everything seems quite orderly here in Tokyo. On the sidewalk there are footprints so you know which side of the walk to stay on (note the dog prints, too!) and where to stand when the red light in the shape of a standing man is lit. The green light is a man shown walking.

In the store there are footprints so you know the “in” versus the “out” for checkout. A homeowner didn’t want anyone using his space, so he posted a sign!

At road intersections, the pavement has sparkles/glitter added so you know you are passing through an intersection.

There are vending machines on every block – usually 2, sometimes 3. Mostly they sell drinks – many we have never heard of but assume are non-alcoholic; some machines sell tobacco.

Emperor, Elegance & Eternal Values

Today was a historic day in Japan. The emperor abdicated in favor of his son. He’s been married 60 years and Emperor for 30. I guess he just wanted some private time!

We have been touched by the Emperor. His son’s doctor donated the china set that we have in a cabinet in our apartment. So, we can serve you in top dog style!!!

All week here is called “Golden Week”. Several national holidays happen during this week, so they combine them, kids get out of school, many work places are closed and they celebrate! Just walk the streets…

Because of schools being closed, we decided to host a 5-day Bible club. Since we need translators, we’ve had to take it one day at a time; also, the weather has been nasty, so 2 of the 3 days so far have been in our apartment. There haven’t been many kids come, but we’ve had someone every day! There’s a park next door where we hope to finish the week (provided we have translators).