My birthday and the beach

• Left: At midnight on my birthday Hiroko had a mini party for me, complete with presents and sparkling juice. The only thing she didn't have was actual birthday candles, so she and Yota brought out the scented candles from the bathroom...
• Right: I was soooo excited for the presents!

• Left: Laura, me and Taka at the Mexican restaurant where we went after I finished work on my birthday. This place isn't near as embarrassing as restaurants in America when you have your birthday--they don't sing to you. (Phew!) They did take our photo and make a really nice card with it that everybody could sign, and the also gave me some of the best vanilla ice cream I've ever eaten.
• Right: Melba and Ferdie, the other two party-goers. Ferdie and I used to work together every Saturday.

• Left: A couple of weeks ago, Hiroko asked me to take a walk with her. We walked over the bridge (seen below) into Kanagawa prefecture and then along the river. In the center of this picture is the place along the riverside where I sometimes go and sit at night to watch the planes take off from Haneda airport. I live somewhere in that clump of buildings, but more to the left of what is shown in the photo.
  
• Right: After an hour of walking we arrived at...a beach! It was tiny, but also empty. Just me and Hiroko and 2 or 3 retired guys. In the distance is the airport.

• Left: Another view of the beach. Someday I should try to come back and have a picnic.
• Right: On the way back we saw some after-school baseball practice. Ahhh, the joys of living in Tokyo. There's so little land that they have to practice under the bridge...

More photos from September

• Left: Another picture from Nick's visit. On the train on his way to my house from the airport, he made friends with some pretty cool people from Singapore who work for NWAirlines. We ended up meeting for drinks in Shibuya later that night. Lots of fun!
• Right: Yes...but is there a Sumo Queen? (This is supposed to be a "No Smoking" sign. I found it in Harajuku.)

• Left: Nick wanted to have a beer one night so we went to the grocery store and this is what we found. I don't usually drink beer at all, so I hadn't noticed the tiny-sized cans before. The one in the center is the same size as your average soda can. The mini one was mine!
• Right: They may have been "Taco's chips" before, but they're definitely mine now...