Happy Halloween

It has been another busy week for me as I'm sure it was for you. Today I was riding my bike around and saw these characters outside a rock concert in Central Tokyo. They look like they are dressed for Halloween but this is normal Sunday attire for them. You can see similarly dressed kids over at Harajuku on Sunday - remind me to take you there on Sunday when you visit. Megan asked that I post a picture of my bike so I have done that too. By the way, if you ever want me take a picture of something just let me know. It could be my apartment, or the train I ride in, or anything. Sometimes I struggle a bit for something to write about.

The weather is cooler now - cold if it is rainy. No earthquakes to speak of this week. Today was perfect sweater weather. Next week I am going to fly to Doha for a few weeks. I'll write from there too. Until then....

My Bike

Corvette Z06 - They don't come any hotter than this...

Dai Hon Zan Sojiji

In back of the temple

Dai Hon Zan Sojiji is a training temple for Zen Buddhist priests in Tsurumi where I work. The temple is visible from the train station up on the hill and and dates from around 1300. There are a lot of other buildings here as well.

Nezu Shrine

This last week or so has been bad for natural disasters in Japan. If you check the news sources you will find that there was a bad earthquake yesterday (I felt two of them in my apartment and could see the curtains sway a bit) and a typhoon a while back. There were a number of deaths and really it has been bad. As I think I've said before, my apartment and the place I work are designed for earthquakes. The trains are designed to shut down if an earthquake is detected but it still can be bad. When the typhoon went through it shut the trains down and I got stuck (ate dinner at the rail station) until it passed through.



Today I went for a walk in an old area of Tokyo near Ueno. There are a lot of old buildings and stores from a 100 years ago or more (must have seen an earthquake and a typhoon or two). Fortunately there was a festival going on at the Nezu shrine. Nezu shrine is about 1,900 years old and this was the first time I had seen it. The women in the picture are participating in some way. I don't know what the festival was about but there were loads of people. One interesting thing about it was that they were having a kind of neighborhood garage sale beside it. The same sort of stuff you would see in the United States - baby clothes and things outgrown. And there were lots of tents set up as usual where they were selling food and drink.



There were a number of art museums in the area and I also walked through the University of Tokyo campus. The University of Tokyo looks very European, and of course has a very good reputation. That's about it for this week.

USC Vs. ASU Football Game

Here are Megan and David at the USC football stadium during halftime. USC beat ASU 45 to 7.

USC Thornton Symphony in Concert

The orchestra, about ready to play. That is David playing the dark colored bass just to the left of the curtain on the right side of the stage. It was a very nice performance. The program was:

• Overture to La gazza ladra: Gioacchino Rossini
• Pavane: Gabriel Faure
• My Bells: Bill Evans
• Blackbird: John Lennon and Paul McCartney
• Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, op. 47: Dimitri Shastokovich
  

The Shelly Berg Trio played Jazz with the orchestra on Pavane, My Bells, and Blackbird. Of the pieces, I liked the Rossini Overture and Blackbird the best.

This last week I went back to Houston and then out to Los Angeles. It was great to see so many family members - and I didn't go into work one day!

Robot Flagman

I have seen this fellow around Tokyo before but this is the first time I've taken his picture. Here he is in Hamamatsucho waving cars away from danger with his right arm (there is a flashlight wand in it) while pointing the way with his left. There is another workman watching him and standing ready in case he fails in his duties. So far, he seems pretty reliable as far as I can tell.

There have been over 20 Typhoons this year and another one is rolling in tonight. So tomorrow will be messy.

See you soon.

Kabuki Scene at Edo-Tokyo Museum

Today I went to the Edo-Tokyo Museum which is very nice. It is in Ryogoku where the Sumo matches and training stables are. It is very much worth a visit if you like museums. It covers the period from the beginning of the Shogunate when Tokyo was called Edo right up through World War II. It includes displays and artifacts on everyday life, art, and major historical events. There are full sized replica buildings in it and lots of interesting things - including the civil engineering features that made a city of 1 million people possible 400 years ago.

Lone Star Beer

Photo displayed in the Beer Museum at Yebisu Garden. They know good beer and good people here when they see them.