From Gokokuji Temple in Tokyo:

Hie Shrine in Tokyo:

In transit to Sensoji (Anne's Snack):

From Senso-ji, in Tokyo:

We broke down and bought three tatami mats for our "living room" yesterday. The blankets that I had duct-taped to the floor (left by the last person that lived here) when I moved in just weren't doing it for us anymore. The tatami mats are wonderful! We kept the blankets underneath so the area is padded. I think it will be so nice to have something so cool and comfortable for the upcoming dreaded Tokyo summer. Looks a little more sophisticated than fuzzy blue blankets with the familiar D.T. silver edging, too. We're slowing becoming grown ups! Well, very slowly, but one step at a time, right?

Anyway, in researching tatami-mat care (how grown up is that!) tonight, I came across this website. The information was very useful, actually; but the design... wow. I know that there are awards out there for bad web design, and I would like to nominate this one. To www.tatami.com.my... please don't sue me.

	The Fuge from our apartment roof Ted Nugent was called "the Nuge." Why shouldn't Fuji-san be called "The Fuge?"
	Anne, sick and cold, trying to enjoy the view. It was a clear day.. this was the first time I had been outside in 3 days.
	The Fuge at sunset... FROM OUR APARTMENT! Soon we realized it was unnecessary to expose ourselves to the unpleasantries of a 6-story high early March roof. Why, you ask? Our windows provide the same view!
	More Fuge from OUR APARTMENT!!!
	One last shot from the apartment.

	Watching the Sunrise From Our Roof Anne had stayed up all night working on her PechaKucha Night presentation. It was Jeff's idea to share some beers and watch the sunrise.
	Oh, I Forgot to Mention... It was about 7 C (45 F) outside and the wind was blowing around 35 mph.
	Though Extreme Bundling Was Done... We were still quite chilly.
	I Was Once Voted Most Hot After An All-Nighter. I think I look like one of Tom Huck's prints.
	Redemptive Photo? Or is it just time to go to bed?
	We Lasted 15 Minutes. It was just too damn cold.

	Sunrise #1 We might have failed at the first sunrise (the day before, after the all-nighter), but Jeff woke up early the next day and took these photos. Anne didn't even stir.
	Sunrise #2
	Sunrise #3

	Our New Tatamis, Photographed by Jeff (Posted and Commented On by Anne)
	This Is Our Apartment, To Those Of You Who Haven't Seen It Before
	Doesn't That Look Comfy? There are many, many layers of blankets underneath the mats.
	Layers! We Love Layers!
	Nice Transition From Floor to Bed
	More Layers! We loved the tatamis so much we slept on them last night. With a few blankets on top of the mats and our HUGE down comforter on top of us, it was the closest to a ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel) this apartment has ever been. No seventeen-course Japanese breakest made for us in the morning, though.

I Had to Beg For These These came from the hyaku-yen store (equivalent of $1 store). Knock-off Gel Gems. We bought the "Love," "Lucky," "Happy Day," "Fight!!!," hearts, circles, and squares packages. Then I arranged them to make a perfectly Japenglish sentence. It reads "I Love Lucky Happy Fight Day!!!" Considering that the packaging on a knife we bought last night reads "Miscellaneous goods that make our life happy and easy. THREE MINUTES HAPPINESS, it creates your happiness," I figured my sentence was pretty mild.