I would pay a lot to be able to get this back home. Honey yuzu.
At a Halloween event with other kids. Yuri in an Elsa dress, Emily in an Anna one.
Emily really likes Thomas.
With Anpanman. In Japan, he's at about the same level of popularity and familiarity as Snoopy the Dog and Winnie the Pooh are in the US--not quite as high as Mickey Mouse, but pretty close.
Bounce house.
Touring a new house. This is the ofuro. Really wish we had these at home. The part of the room outside of the tub acts as the shower (and it is OK to spray water anywhere).
Modern houses are built with lots of metal structure, for stability in earthquakes. And even come with insulation! That's kind of a big deal; my mother-in-law's house is only 30 years old but isn't really insulated. So until surprisingly recently, Japanese home construction was surprisingly primitive. New houses often maintain the classic Japanese exterior look, but inside the walls are much more advanced.
Another typical supper.
Emily found an ad for the Pixel movie that was released in September. She agreed with the consensus of most reviewers, though required fewer words to express herself just as eloquently. (No, we did not see the movie.)
10th anniversary of the shrimp burger deserves a special label.
Need to repair your UFO?
Some Americans believe that the Earth has been visited by extraterrestrials. Not to be outdone, Japan takes it to the next level and builds filling stations for UFOs... just in case one happens to land.
I enjoy the creative English found in unexpected places. Such as this tissue box cover.
Huh. Japan has pill bugs too. I'd say it looks similar to what we have at home, but i must confess to not having studied them in detail since i was a child and so would not be surprised if there are some obvious differences.
Emily likes looking at books.
Wearing mom's boots.
Need a Big American? Well, there's a Big American Shop.
Mos Burger: fast food, at similar quality level as Culvers back home.
Time to carve the pumpkin!
Of course we're saving the seeds.
Yuri doesn't mind the goopy innards.
Yuri did a good job of separating seeds from slime.
Finished jack-o-lantern.
Yuri drew this, the original that the jack-o-lantern face was based on.