Rhianna, Shinachan and John's Blog: Golden Week in Tokyo

We're in the middle of our Golden Week Holiday in Japan. Golden Week is a string of holidays right at the beginning of May, and one of the extended holidays that Japanese people take every year (along with New Year). It's almost impossible to actually go anywhere, however, because the entire nation is trying to get out of Tokyo (I read today that more than 10% of the population of Japan actually lives in Tokyo) and out to their hometowns, and that means terrible congestion on the roads and trains. Every year, television stations broadcast the incredible amounts of times it takes to get from here to there on the expressways, and it makes me glad we dont have to go anywhere. So...we dont! For our Golden Week, which included last Tuesday, this weekend and Monday and Tuesday, we are doing almost nothing. That's nice, though, because these relaxing days come at a very good time.

We're all doing fine. Rhianna has become even more active, and loves to stand and now can walk several steps on her own before sitting down to get to crawling at high speed to her next destination. It's pretty funny to watch her stand, though, because she seems extremely satisfied to get up and stand for several minutes at a time, and then sit back down on the ground. She also loves to watch Sesame Street videos. We purchased several at the local Babys R Us, and she cant get enough of them. I had a business trip to Los Angeles last week, and as a souvenir for Rhianna I had to make sure that I brought back some dolls she would be sure to love--Grover, The Count, Ernie, and Elmo (who I dont believe was a character when I was growing up).

Shinako's online business is going extremely well, and she really loves doing it. Her company's homepage is really amazing, and she updates it frequently, so please check it out. As usual, Rhianna is her main model, so Shinako takes lots of pictures of Rhianna wearing the websites fashions. I'll include a few modelling shots in this blog. This is the month of Rhianna's first birthday! We're excited for that, and can't believe it's here. It has been an incredible past year with tons of new developments and changes (for all of us). Can't wait to see what happens during Rhianna's second year of life! More soon!

Saturday Afternoon at the Nihonbashi Starbucks

Rhianna and Dad in Nihonbashi

Greetings from the Burger Queen!