A solar eclipse

Monday was the solar eclipse. It has never happened where I am, anytime it has occured, and this year, I was so lucky as it passed over Tokyo and the southern part of Japan. I worried all night about getting up in time, and then, at 7am, headed out with my Panda themed solar filters (only in Japan can they be cute!) to see this amazing phenomenon. It was pretty cloudy, but I was lucky enough to get a photo of it! Pretty eerie as the world went black!

My lovely Expat life

After shopping in Ginza, we tried to get everything into many many bags (I think I ended up with 6!) and then headed over to Shinagawa to meet the Nobles. Daddy and Jack used to work together years ago, and maybe 4 years ago, Jack and Jeanne took a expat job in Tokyo, and have looked after me since I've been here. They are sadly, so sadly, heading back in June to the UK for good. I haven't seen then so much since I have been here, but it will be quite scary knowing that they aren't there if I need them. Or just want a little. We had a lovely lunch at TY Brewery, overlooking the harbour. It was so nice, especially in the sun. And the place was full of expats, and their families. It reminded me of my life back in the UK, because we have been expats for years. And what my life is like whenever I am in Tokyo. We finished up and walked along the river to the station, where I said goodbye to them. There were lots of tears. And Jeanne is like my Mummy and gave me lots of hugs. I never thought it would be that hard. Or that sad. Because it never is long enough with my family.

What I do best - Shopping in Ginza

On Sunday, Daddy and I spent the entire morning in Ginza. We started out in the Softbank store. On the 2nd floor, they had a Beetle bug. And not any bug, but one decorated like a dog, complete with a tail, and when the top isnt down, they have cool straw looking hat! I thought a) it was amazing that it was on the 2nd floor, and b) it was the cutest beetle bug ever!We spent time in Forever 21, Zara, and Addidas, I really didn't get very far down the street, because I found too many cute things! And Daddy was so lovely, and just waited while I tried on everything! I am so lucky to have a Daddy like him. It was so kind of him to take me shopping. I had forgotten how much I loved Ginza!

The Alice cafe

After filling ourselves with lots and lots of steak and baked potatoes and bloomin onion, we headed back to Ginza to try and find the Alice in Wonderfland Cafe. I had seen the photos origionally when Dan and Toni went there in the summer, and a lot of friends have been going to a lot of cool theme cafes.Basically, all the waitresses are dressed like Alice, there are giant teacups, cool card themes, and a Cheshire cat room. Even the food is all Alice and Wonderland themed. We ended up getting amazing cool little cocktails (with special magic sparkles!) and deserts that look like the Catipillar! It was so much fun, I loved it!

Cosmos at The Outback

After our shopping in Ginza, which was so fun (having realised I miss serious shopping trips like that) we met up with my friend Alain who is living in Tokyo. It was nice to get to go to a "home" restuarant, considering that usually, the prices are about 4-6 times more expensive! But we had Cosmos, and steaks, and baked potatoes and a Bloomin Onion. It was too much food, and very rich, but so worth it just for the steak. Real steak!

An afternoon in Venice

The main entrance way to Disney is an exact replica (almost I hear) of some hotels and the Grand Canal in Venice. It was such a lovely sunny day, and we decided to go and sit and watch the gondolas go by. It was a lovely mock up of Venice, not dirty, or smelly, and lovely colours. The buildings were so detailed, and instead of just store fronts, they actually are stores and some hotels and restaurants. The colours were all pinks and yellows and pretty creams. I think it would be pretty cool to stay in the hotel actually in the park. From the windows you could overlook the entire park! What a cool thing to wake up to! We got some yummy gelato and sat under and umbrella and because of the sun, it was just perfect. It was easy to imagine that we were actually in Italy! After, we had exhausted all the rides, and food, so we decided to call it at day (at about 3pm) and head into Ginza for some shopping!

The most amazing place

At the very top of the castle, hidden away in a little random turret, was the most amazing place. I never expected to see such a random, cool place in the middle of Disney Sea! I walked into this amazing solar system room. I wasn't sure why it was there, but it was so cool. You could rotate each of the planets one at a time, with a set rotation period and axis spin too. What I liked the best was the amazing music and atmosphere in the room. There was beautiful classical music, which kind of reminded me of the Da Vinci Code. And along the walls, there were pencil drawings which looked like they are straight from Da Vinci's notebook. I spent a lot of time wandering around, taking photos and just sitting and listening to the music. I think it is one of those places that just makes me happy. I wish I could have spent time just sitting there, or I wish it was closer, and I could come there to think.