A big race ahead. TOUR DE CHIBA, originally uploaded by docfranxusc.

okay, so we need to catch up. ONE YEAR in Japan. it's crazy how time flies. As we enter the fall and the air gets chilly again (okay, SO not ready for that again), we have been once again, going at full speed.

September FLEW by - with new people arriving at the hospital, and good friends leaving. Justin has been doing personal training at a crazy pace (sometimes getting to the gym at 0430 for some REALLY motivated clients - that's TOO early, even for me!)....and coaching swimming...and doing boy scouts...and running membership for the Oakleaf spouse club and pretty much being the favorite husband of mine . It's a big job.

After a busted girls trip to Bali for me, i diverted my trip to Okinawa - and had a great time catching up with my friends from JAX who live there, doing a little shopping and seeing the sights. Justin was on a trip to Taipei (already planned) for a Boy Scout thing....we both had a great time (although it would havebeen nicer to be together!).

We spent my 30th in tokyo at the New Sanno hotel...had an EXCELLENT Japanese feast the night before and then my friend Sara and I went to Zed, Cirque de Soleil - here in Tokyo. Freakin' AWESOME. Would recommend it again and again. THen we went out to a fantastic garlic italian place near the hotel that night....good friends, good food, good times! Good Way to ring in the 30s.

holy smokes, i'm old.

Anyway, we aren't going anywhere exciting any time in the next few months but have little excursions around town. Work is really busy for me so i spend the "spare" weekends doing catch up and working on projects sometimes and Justin if off doing Boy SCout stuff quite a bit.

after a year here, we've learned several things:
we love the food.
We love the structure (mostly) and the extreme politenes and accomodation of the Japanese - their entire culture believes in customer service and this is something Americans should really consider.
We love the nuances we are always discovering.
We love the public transport, although it is still fun to drive.
We love the travel.
we love the sake.

We have also learned this: it's WAY expensive to shop here, so we generally don't (except for veggies). People stop on the side of the road randomly, so this is a little dangerous too. We still can't speak very well (our fault entirely) and this definitely makes us feel more like foreigners. We are still often the only blonds wherever we're going. We still can't identify all the food.

But ce la vie...we have more planned for this year. Might be travelling to Sapporo, Australia, or Thailand (or all three). have races to do. More time w/ friends. POssibly a job for Justin. Possibly an acupuncture course for me. All very cool.

More to come.