what the hell is a humburg? and why does daddy have one?

the saitama aquarium

happy father's day to all the dads out there!
yesterday rose and i went on a father's day date to the saitama aquarium. it's about a half hours drive away and it's dedicated to the fresh water fish that can be found in the rivers and lakes throughout the area.
the most important thing is that most of the fish make rose smile. the rest make her jump into your arms squealing, 'scary, scary!!'
one of her most favorite things that she did there was feed the carp and catfish in the ponds surrounding the outside of the aquarium.
it was the best i could ever have asked...
except, maybe, for a rod and some bait to catch those fish! haha!!

serious business

i took this photo a little while ago, but i think it illustrates the diligence of the japanese. even working at noodle restaurant they have their morning meetings. out in front of the restaurant no less! in almost all businesses these types of meetings are a must in japan.
it reminds me of the summer that i worked part-time at walmart and how there was morning everyday there too. that mostly consisted of the manager hootin' and a hollerin' about the customers with a big half hearted cheer from the rest of us at the end...
anyway, for me morning meetings are a drag anywhere im the world!

the flood!

whoa. what a drive to work today. the thunder was rumbling and the rain was coming down in fat drops. june is the rainy season in japan and do i hate it...

huh?

hey! this guy has the same first name as me!

watch out!

seen on a bathroom door in akihabara...

daddy-daughter days

japan is coming off the golden week. it's a string of national holidays that most japanese companies lump together with official company off days to basically give everybody here the week off. the name golden week is a play on the japanese term for prime time tv, which is known as golden time here.
for me it was a great chance for some daddy-daughter time with rose. nao's company only gave her the national holidays off, so most of the week it was just the 2 of us.
on wednesday we went to the ueno zoo in tokyo, which is famous for its panda, only to greeted by the news that the panda had died that day! it was ok though rose more interested in the lions and elephants. the best was her reactions to the animals she didn't know because at first she would be like, i don't like this!, but when i said let's go, she'd say, no! i like this! afterwards we headed to tgi friday's for some good old american food.

most other days we spent around the house or at the park. the 3 of us went up to the mountains for the weekend to relax in the hot spring. it was certainly a golden time!