Mashing bananas. I usually use a potato masher, but don't have one in Japan.
Went for a long walk all the way to Fukuyama Station with Yuri (the house is two stops away from the main station, so that's quite a hike on foot). Saw a tea shop and found out that hoĢjicha soft cream is a thing. Yuri opted for more traditional matcha. It came with a complementary cup of tea.
Gratuitous train shot. Just because.
Yuri made me a tiny bouquet when we were out walking.
I now study tea catalogs with energy and enthusiasm comparable to how i used to study the Sears Christmas catalog as a small child.
Sometimes the kids can share a dessert without fighting.
Emily holding a Guinea pig at the zoo.
We went to Kobe Animal Kingdom
Meet Balaeniceps rex, the shoebill stork. The photo does not do this creature justice. They are large. And the way they move conveys a very strong sense of power and non-concern for people. They also have this gaze... i felt intimidated and unsettled. It was like looking back into time and being stared down by a carnivorous dinosaur. It is easy to understand in a visceral way why the scientific communities have recently started referring to the large reptiles that went extinct 65 million years ago as "non-avian dinosaurs" instead of just "dinosaurs"... dinosaurs are still alive and well after all this time, and they live among us.
Red panda.
Feeding fish.
Pelicans
Camels ahead.
