Mom Came to Japan

Above: Mom and me under some Sakura trees while cherry-blossom viewing at the park near my house


Well, it's been some time between updates and I appologize to everyone who has been waiting to read. Anyways, my MOM came to visit me for two weeks and we had an AWSOME time! I was really happy to see her, but there are lots of people I miss from back in Windsor too and for everyone who can't come visit me I hope my mom can fill you in on my life here better than my blog does.

My mom stayed at my place in Gunma, but because Gunma has basically nothing cool to see or do (that's not true either as my mom found out) we also stayed in Tokyo for a couple days to see the sights and I think my mom fell in love with the city of Tokyo as much as I did when I arrived.

During her time here, she volunteered at the international kindergarten I was working at, saw many different sides of Tokyo including Shibuya crossing, Asakusa, Ebisu, Harakjuku, and so on, and even ventured for a hike up Akagi mountain here in Gunma. Aside from that, when she was stuck in the house while I had to work, she was brave and went exploring by herself and found her own favorite place near here - the local grocery store.

Akemi-san was also very kind and showed my mom around the beautiful city of Yokohama (part of Tokyo) and they really had a great time together too I think.
It was great to see my mom, but also felt kind of strange to have her close by after being over here on my own for the past 4 and a half months. Anyways, I miss her every time I go to the grocery store (kind of inside joke). I got a tone of pictures, so I'll upload some of them below...


above: Mom and Akemi in Yokohama - My mom was very lucky because the Sakura trees were blossoming just when she arrived and it only lasts for about a week in terms of full bloom, so the timing couldn't of been better.


My mom had the chance to visit Yokohama, a very beautiful and modern city in the Tokyo area.


We made a point one night of venturing out to Tokyo Tower, which is pretty much a must-see. My mom and me both ate some cheap 7-11 Bento food for dinner afterwards to escape the high prices of the area's restaurants, but it was a memorable night anyways.


We also visited Harajuku (where the free hugs picture above was taken) and saw the great emperial garden/forest there. Here my mom stands under a giant Tori gate.


We got really lucky when in Asakusa one day and happened to see a young Maiko (apprentice geisha), she was so beautiful!!!


My mom was also a hit at the school I was teaching at! They don't have many clowns in Japan so she was a special treat!