A special treat

There's something about birthdays that make you want to be with family and close friends. At least for me that is. And since I come from a big family, I admit I felt a bit homesick on my birthday.

Mihoko had prepared a delicious Japanese lunch for me at her home. For dinner, Markus, Rodney and I went to a Yakiniku Barbeque Restaurant called Gyu Kaku, close to home. Following dinner, we took a long bike ride around our area. We ended the day having some yummy desserts back at home.


Mihoko's lunch (photo on right) consisted of a cold noodle dish with cut strips of cucumber, ham, crab and egg in soy based sauce. The side dish is called nato, which is fermented soy beans - known to be very good for your health. Mihoko knows that nato is not one of my favourite Japanese foods. In fact, I've tried it a few times and it just never seemed to agree with my taste buds. However, in this dish, she disguised it with ocra and other spices and I actually enjoyed it very much.



Markus just loves bike rides! He rings the bell on the handlebars to signal people out of the way.
Sometimes he'll even say "Sumimasen", which means "Excuse me". Rodney and I get a kick out of it everytime.















The day after, which was Saturday, Rodney had made plans to spend an afternoon at a new park, which I thought was a perfect plan for the nice weather. Well, as we drove to our destination and turned a final street corner, we pulled into the Tokyo Four Seasons Hotel. My first thought was maybe Rodney had made lunch reservations at the hotel restaurant. To my surprise, my wonderful husband had made me a reservation for a spa retreat package, which included a full-body massage and aromatherapy. The hotel itself was as elaborate and gorgeous as you would imagine a Four Seasons Hotel would be.



Antioxidising ingredients and vitamins in the aromatherapy oils help provide conditioning and rejuvenating effects. I was given the option to select 1 of 4 treatment oils - spring, summer, autumn or winter blends. I selected the spring scent, which had notes of sakura flower, mandarin, geranium, orange blossom and cherry oils.

I loved the rich zen atmosphere throughout the spa facility. The visual appeal made the experience even more revitalizing.

I left feeling pampered, extremely relaxed and rejuvinated after the wonderful treatment I received. Overall, it was a great weekend and most importantly I didn't feel a day older!

It was a happy birthday indeed. I was in the company of the two most important people in my life.

Has it been year already?!

Well it's official, we've been in Japan for a whole year, to date. Unbelievable how time flies!

Recently, Rodney and I have enjoyed looking back at our previous blog posts to see all we've done since we arrived (Refer to slide strip on side bar). It's especially incredible to see how much Markus has grown since last April 14. He was such a little squirt who could barely communicate. Wow, what a big difference a year can make! We've done several activities and seen some pretty impressive places. There were also some frightening experiences including a couple of hospital emergency visits. Once I sliced the tip of my left index finger while chopping onions. Follow up visits continued for over two weeks thereafter, which was well worth it now that my finger is completely healed.

The second ER visit was for an allergic reaction that Markus had after eating a cookie with cashew nuts. That evening, we were actually transported by ambulance. Prior to leaving for the hospital, Markus was freaked right out by the sight of the paramedics . To him, they were complete strangers who wore blue uniforms and hardhats invading his space. It was in an intense situation for us all. Thank God both incidents were not life threatening. In addition, I've also had surgery done in Tokyo. Under the circumstances, we were fortunate to have good care and good communication. Thanks Mihoko and Keiko for all your invaluable help with our medical traumas. You have been my angels and I am forever in debt of you both.

We've had the time of our lives in our adventures including the Mt. Fuji climb; the summer vacation to Okinawa; visits to Kyoto, Nikko, Kamakura, Hakone, and the ski trips, to name only a few. Not to mention the many attractions within Tokyo that we frequent each time visitors arrive. In short, it's been a productive year thus far and we consider ourselves blessed with this wonderful opportunity to live in Japan.

To think, if we hadn't decided on taking Rodney's offer of extension at work, we'd be home by now. Of course we have no regrets and look forward to the next six months with total excitement as our Japan adventures continue.

We're especially excited to welcome to our next visitors from our hometown, my sister Liza and her best friend, Loredana. They arrive next Friday, April 20. I can't wait!