A Rabbit On A Leash

 This rabbit, named rabbi, was soooo cute and friendly! She was brought in by one of the students at the school that I work at for show and tell. She was very mellow and very good with kids! She tolerated being pet by so many little hands like a champ.

I just thought it was funny that the rabbit didn't mind being on a leash! I have never seen a rabbit being walked, but apparently it is possible. Too cute!

Girls In The Japanese Lolita Fashion*

 Here you can see their outfits. We (my friend who is in this picture on the right) aren't really sure what they were dressed up as, but I'm sure it is some kind of anime that we don't know of. They looked cute though!

Here I am with them. I couldn't bring myself to do the peace sign when I was taking the photo. lol They were really nice and took a picture with their own camera too. Maybe they wanted to show their friends, "hey look, we took a picture with some foreigners!" I wanted to show my friends "hey look at their costumes!". I can only assume that they wanted a picture for about the same reason as I did. Oh yeah, we were waiting in line for the ATM at the 7 eleven in Sakae when we took this picture.

* I was informed that this post title was incorrect. That I shouldn't call this a costume or that they are "dressed up" since it is a type of fashion in Japan, so I have changed the title of this post. Hopefully, it is an appropriate title. (^-^) If not, the comment box is available!

Kuma Cafe

 I went to a Kuma (bear) cafe with a couple co-workers from work. They said that the cafe was covered with bear stuffed animals and they weren't kidding. They even had a slide show of bear cubs of all types going! The desserts here looked really good! I only tried their Royal Milk Tea which was pretty good, but my co-workers were saying that they were really good.

I would have tried these desserts except I didn't want to give my cold to them. It's bad enough they have to be in close proximity to me.......it was very tempting though! Maybe when I am feeling better I will go back and devour one of their cakes at this cafe.

Possibly The Smallest Train Station In Japan

 I never use this train station. I just happened to use this train station because I had to go to an ATM that was in between Sato's station and this one. I pass through this train station twice a day going to and from work, but I never noticed how SMALL this train station is! There is barely enough room for 2 people to pass by each other when entering or leaving the station.

 Even the platform is really short. You are supposed to stand behind the yellow markings, but it you don't stand a little bit on the yellow markings are are leaning against the wall! At this time I was the sole person at this station on either side.

 See platform and then hello train tracks! No pushing or you really will be on the train tracks.

See no one on the other side.  I didn't have to wait long for the train, but this train station is pretty depressing. This train station can bring anyone down.... This is the Hyo-tan Yama Station for those of you who want to take a look at this tiny station! You can probably just walk in and out without purchasing a ticket. The way the machines and entrances are designed allows for people to just walk in and out. Although, when you get off at another station you will have to pay at the window to get out without a ticket.

Nagoya Cup

 This is a cup that Starbucks made and is selling in Nagoya. It's really cool! I don't drink a lot of coffee, but I kind of want one! I mean look at it! Don't you want one?

This is the back side of the cup. The front says Nagoya with the fish that you saw above. It has a temple on it too! It's awesome and, is probably, one of many good souvenirs from Nagoya!

Mameya Nori Nori Restaurant

The sign outside the restaurant. We had to take off our shoes at the front door and the wait staff are walking around barefoot. That's the first time I have ever seen that!

 The restaurant's sake collection. The couple next to Sato and I were practically trying every single one, or at least they were drinking enough to have tried every one of them twice!

 Some more of their sake collection their dish collection.

 The other side of the restaurant had more tables close to the window. At the end of the bar was the water fountain that continuously trickled water....very calming. It would have been more calming if the lady next to us wasn't smoking up a storm throughout our meal, but still calming.

 The standard dish and chopsticks with a little coaster for our drink.

 The bar was made out of this one piece of wood....maybe I should just say it was made out of one tree. It was a thick bar with the natural grain of the wood visible.

 Our menu and an ashtray. (Yes, the lady next to us had the same type of ashtray)

 The complimentary appetizer. Just a little something to tide us over until our food started arriving.

 This restaurant is known for their house made tofu. This is one of their tofu sets and it was really good! The tofu had a lot of flavor and I wouldn't mind going again and just having this!

 The sushi chef at work! This guy was busy for the rest of the night!

 Gingko nuts, this one tasted a little different from the ones we had at another restaurant, but they were still good. The other ones were a little bigger.

 Our shabu-shabu nabe with soy milk instead of the traditional water or dashi. This was the first time I ever had this and it was really good! I think I may like it better this way! I will definitely be asking Sato to take me here again!

 The vegetable set for the shabu-shabu.

 The pork came with the set too, but I didn't eat this. Although, Sato was eating it like it was the best pork he has ever tasted so I'm thinking it was pretty good. Plus, he ordered another set and ate it all himself since I couldn't eat anymore....when I say another set I mean the pork and vegetable all over again.

 Here is a view of the shabu-shabu with the vegetables in it and Sato bringing the meat into the nabe.

 Here is a view of the vegetables. I dipped them in a ponsu sauce (soy based with a citrus flavor). I took this photo when it was still steaming, so it's not blurry just steaming. lol

 The sashimi set.......so good! They were thick pieces, too!

 For dessert we went to our favorite cafe. Cafe Vincennes! They have the best cakes, coffee and tea. I had the Cafe ole (probably spelling that wrong in English, but that's how it's pronounced in Japanese, take it or leave). It was coffee and milk and it was really good. You can see the cake that I had for dessert next to it and then Sato's eclair in the background.

 Here is a close up of Sato's eclair. he was a little disappointed, not because it wasn't good, but because it had whipped cream inside instead of a cream custard.

Here is a shot of my cake from the other side. I had to show this side, because this was the only side that had the green color on top. This cake had peaches and pears inside with whipped cream and the oh so delicious cake......ok, I'm getting hungry again!