Sunday - Audition and Namba Parks

Shinryu went for a baby-modelling audition today.  About time he starts earning his keep...  j/k   No idea how it went.  It was just a screen test and there were a LOT of babies there from 3 month sot 3 years old, all very cute and adorable.

Then we headed out to Namba Parks for some wandering and a massive Hawaiian burger lunch.  Yum!

Anime Statue in Minami-Ibaraki

So...this exists.  Now I'm all for giant statues from anime or movies or whatever.  Even though I don't recognize this particular character, I think it's awesome.  BUT, having said that, what is the deal with the crotch-nozel?  Seriously?  that didn't come up in ANY of the planning and design meetings for this thing?

Oops.

Scenes from Umeda

Clusters of oddity seen while walking from Umeda to Yodoyabashi the other day.

Shitennoji (again)

Ulala went to put in the paperwork for renewing her driver’s license today and, since the police station where she needed to make the application is near Shitennoji Temple, Shinryu and I took a nice little walkabout while we waited. She was done pretty quickly so she came and met us there, and the three of us wandered around the grounds.  Still no flower blossoms to see, but a nice walk nonetheless.  After the walk, I had to get changed and head to work for a few evening lessons, which felt like a whole other day after the relaxing afternoon. 

And on the way back from Shitennoji we popped into ABC Mart and I picked up the pair of blue suede Vans shoes I’d had my eye on and were now on sale. Nice!  Then we had cappuccinos at Ciao Presso. And Shinryu had fun babbling at strangers and drooling a lot. Life is good.  

Shitennoji

A lovely Wednesday walkabout. We headed over to Shitennoji temple, which is not all that far from us, with Shinryu in the stroller.  The weather was quite warm and we had a nice walk.  Shinryu was asleep most of the way there and awake-alert for part of the time we were there, then dozed off again on the way back.  Took a few pictures, too.  

 Saw this old bug on our walk back.

And we stopped at a cute little cafe that we'd never seen before on the way back.
Here, Mom, these  are for you: Ulala and Shinryu!  ... and creme brûlée.

Saturday Blue Sky Walkabout

Today was National Founding Day here in Japan. So i had the day off. Normally Saturday would be my busiest day of the week. Such is is the EFL private lesson market in Japan. Instead, i had the day off, which was a nice break. During the afternoon, i took Shinryu so Ulala could have a break and go get a much-needed massage. I put Shinryu in the carrier and we set out on walkabout. We wandered Southeast and looped around back towards Korea Town and then back home. It was a beautiful sunny and cool day, perfect for a nice long walk. Here are some of the pictures i took out and about.

VacaDay 2, Electric Boogaloo - New Year's Eve 2011

On this, the final day of 2011, i'd love to say that i sat quietly and reflected on the year and the journey it has been.  Alas, instead i got called into work to cover one lesson (1 hour on the train each way for a 40 minute lesson!) for a teacher who needed an emergency dentist appointment for a filling that fell out, then a brief respite of bookshop perusing (bought yet more kids books - Shinryu better learn to read soon!), and home to find Ulala frazzled and holding a crying baby.  Nothing a walk couldn't help, though, so we strapped Shinryu into the Ergo carrier and i headed out on walkabout.  I had a great time.  That did, in fact, give me the time for reflection and introspection that i had wanted on this final day.  The weather was great and it also gave me a chance to take some pictures and explore a neighborhood adjacent to ours that i had never wandered through before. I wove my way northeast and made a large arc back toward Osaka Castle Park and then headed parallel to Uemachi-suji back toward home.  I'd been walking for about an hour and a half before Ulala called and came to join us.  She had needed a break and was now in a much better mood.  We did some grocery shopping for dinner and chatted about the year behind and the year ahead.  All in all i walked for about 2 and a half hours and Shinryu got a much needed long nap. A lovely last day of the year.

 I won't bore you with my thoughts on 2011 and goals for 2012 just yet.  I'll save those for a future post, when the ideas have had more of a chance to ferment.  For now here are a few of the pics i took on my walk.

Utsubo Cafe Walkabout

We went looking for a particular cafe today right by Utsubo-koen. Unfortunately it was closed so we'll have to come back. But that area is so full of cute little cafes, you can't throw a rock without hitting at least three of them.  But please, no rock throwing. That's just mean.

We stopped at Cafe Bon Sowa (the second to last picture) and had a coffee and a light meal. Ulala had pineapple juice. The decor was excellent and the food creative and tasty. They also have a fridge full of Belgian beers, but i resisted.

Here are just some of the cafes we passed in the area. One day i WILL try all of them...