Bomber, Jack, Fonzie, Maiko & Toby

January was GOOD!!

2012-01-31T14:35:00.004+09:00

It's now the last day of January, 2012. Where did all the days go? Oh yeah, Toby probably spent 20 of the 31 days in the mountains. He could share MANY pictures, but chose these 5....for now.
The above was taken on the way from Ukishima to the top of Teshio-dake on January 21st. The skier in the picture is Toby's friend, Tim, and the two of them climbed to the top of Asahidake a few weeks earlier on another beautiful day.

Below is another picture of Tim nearing the summit of Mt. Teshio. It took us 5 hours to climb as we took a longer, scenic route to the top. We reached the top just before sunrise so we had some spectacular views all day long.

While Toby did visit many other mountains and ski areas in January, most of his time was spent on the local beauty known as Asahidake. See pictures below from this last Saturday....

The above was taken during a run. Toby goes to Asahidake, and other mountains, these days for 3 reasons. One is for the amazing skiing. Another is for the exercise he gets from climbing and all the effort it takes to get back to the tram after a run down the powder snow. The last reason is for the amazing beauty of being in the outdoors. Asahidake rarely disappoints on ALL THREE of the above. The above picture is an example of the latter. The below is an example of the good skiing.

We hope you all had a GREAT January, as well. Toby, pictured below looking out over the valley from near the top of Asahidake, is looking forward to another mountain filled February. It's his season and; therefore, there isn't much free time for much of anything else. That's okay, though, for similar to gasoline for the car, the mountains are what fuel Toby. Bring on February!! Full speed ahead!!

A HAPPY (and busy) NEW YEAR!!!

2012-01-25T14:48:00.005+09:00

Hello Everyone!! Wow....it has been a long time since we posted something here! Needless to say, we've been busy. In December, school/work was hectic and there were many bonenkai's ("forget -the-year parties"). Toby had joined many clubs this last year so he had more bonenkai's than normal. The winter started with a lot of snow in December, too, so Toby was skiing during any free time he had. And then Maiko and Toby (pictured above) went to Niseko for New Year's. The above was taken at the Annupuri Ski Resort around 11:45pm, 15 minutes before the countdown, where Toby and Maiko participated in a torch parade on skis down the mountain. This was our 3rd time to do this and we had a blast doing it again this year!

After a countdown to 2012 and a few drinks to celebrate, we got a few hours sleep before waking up early to be on the "First Run" at the Annupuri Ski Resort gondola. On our 2nd run of the morning (which started at 7am), we watched the first sunrise of 2012 from the gondola (see below picture). The mountain is Yotei-zan or "EzoFuji" (The Mt. Fuji of "Ezo" or Hokkaido as the local Ainu call this island).

After returning to Square One on January 2nd, we celebrated Maiko's birthday (see above picture) and then we had a few guests up from Tokyo to entertain. On a non-ski day, we all went to Otokoyama Sake Brewery (see picture below), as well as many other local sights.

The day before our friends from Tokyo left, our old friend, Ben Logsdon, arrived for a visit from Boston. We were able to hang out with Ben for about 10 days and Toby & Ben spent many of those days up on Asahidake (see picture below).

It was a great winter vacation and we enjoyed the visits from both Tokyo and USA. After short weekend to ourselves in mid-January, school started again and we have been a different type of busy as we find the rhythm again of our daily schedules. One thing we need to get back on a regular schedule with is blog posting and we'll do our best to get the next one to you really soon!

We hope this finds you well and your 2012 starting out on a wonderful note.

Th End of an EPIC Road Trip

2011-11-29T15:51:00.007+09:00

On August 8th, we had basically two goals and that was to go to Powell's Bookstore in Portland, a favorite destination for Maiko and Toby's, as well as get back to Seattle in time to have dinner with Allen. On the way up to Portland from Bill's place in Eugene, we started texting with another old friend of Toby's who was going to be in Portland about the same time we were. Therefore, we were lucky to be able to spend an hour or so at Powell's catching up with Shelby and her beautiful girls, Amanda and Natalie. It was a very fast reunion, but we sure do treasure it. Thank you Shelb's for making the effort to drop over and see us. Below is a picture of Shelby and her girls that Toby stole off her Facebook page.

After loading up on books at Powell's, Toby and Maiko made the last segment of the road trip to Seattle in just a couple hours. It was raining in the morning when we left Eugene, but by the time we hit Washington, the skies had cleared so we were able to finish this amazing road trip into Seattle with the top down. Many thanks go to Toby's late Mom for buying this beautiful car and many more thanks to Toby's Dad for keeping it all this time and then letting us borrow it the last couple weeks!

Another Reunion

2011-11-28T15:59:00.002+09:00

After departing Lodi on August 7th, Maiko and Toby drove the long stretch (510 miles / 820 kilometers)on Interstate 5 to Eugene, Oregon. We were on the tail end of our road trip now and this was a day to cover some ground as we try to get back to Seattle in 2 days.

Why did we choose Eugene as our destination? Because Toby and Maiko have some good friends there named Bill, Casey, Kiley and Natalie. Bill and Toby were fraternity brothers and even roommates for one semester when he finished up his school days at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon.

Bill didn't disappoint as he had a gorgeous dinner ready for us with some more Rogue beer to wash it down with afterwards! It was a wonderful evening spent outside in the backyard with their family and beautiful black lab, Henry Pistachio. Many thanks to The McCurry's for a wonderful last evening of our epic road trip! The next stop was back in Seattle.

Above is a picture of Toby and Bill outside their house as we got ready to drive the last segment from Eugene to Seattle. Below is Kiley and Natalie trying to take the car before we could get out the driveway. What's up with kids always trying to steal our car. ;) (wink)

Stuck in Lodi Agaiiiiiiiiin!

2011-11-24T13:47:00.003+09:00

After traveling through the beautiful Yosemite National Park (previous post), we headed to Lodi, California. Lodi is most famous for the song by Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR). We went to Lodi to see Toby's good friend from college, Andy Petersen.

Above is a picture of Toby and Andy together again for the first time in 20 years.
Below is a picture taken that evening when we went out on the town with Andy and his lovely wife, Susan.

They have 4 children. Two, Jack & Annie, are of the furry kind and are getting their bellies rubbed above by Maiko. The other two, Luke & Katie, are pictured below as they attempt to take The Mustang for a spin!

We really enjoyed our brief stay in Lodi. After receiving a hearty breakfast in the morning of the 8th, we hit the road for Eugene, Oregon. It was going to be the longest drive (distance anyway) of the trip as we just drove straight up Interstate 5. On our next post, we'll show pictures of more good friends we were able to enjoy a great evening with there. Stay tuned.

YOSEMITE

2011-11-22T15:25:00.005+09:00

Back to our summer vacation recap:

On Saturday, August 6th, we drove to the amazing Yosemite National Park from Cousin Holly & Dan's place. The below picture was the place where Maiko first understood the magnitude of the place we were driving into. We both had to sit down and take it all in.

Click on the images to enlarge. クリックすると拡大できます

After spending about an hour or so on the ridge looking down and across the valley, we got back in the car and drove down. Below is a picture of us driving past the famous El Capitan where many people rock climb this 1,000 meter face.

Traffic was TERRIBLE down there so we parked the car and spent a few hours on foot walking around the valley before grabbing some lunch (and a beer) at The Ahwahnee Hotel. Below is a picture of Maiko walking past this beautiful hotel after lunch.

We very easily could have spent a very, very long time down there in that beautiful place, but we had places to go and more people to see so we headed back out another exit towards Lodi, California where we were going to visit with Toby's friend, Andy, and his family (next post). Above is a picture of Maiko in The Mustang on the way out of the park and below is a picture of the two of us on that first viewpoint earlier in the day.

Click on the images to enlarge. クリックすると拡大できます

東川町　１１月　広報　ニュースレター

2011-11-10T09:17:00.004+09:00

Toby was interviewed again, but this time for the, closer to home, Higashikawa Public Relations Newsletter that comes out each month and is delivered to every home in town. Yikes!! Toby is going to have to "walk the line" and stay out of trouble for sure now. Ha ha ha

Click on the images to enlarge and read (sorry, only Japanese at this time). クリックすると拡大できます

Click on the images to enlarge and read (sorry, only Japanese at this time). クリックすると拡大できます

Halloween & Celebrating 10 Years!

2011-11-07T15:34:00.003+09:00

It's been a busy couple weeks with both Toby and Maiko's work. However, they both took a break on Halloween to celebrate their 10 year anniversary of meeting (October 31, 2001 @ Safeco Field in Seattle, WA) with a costume party in ASahikawa! Above is a picture of both Olive Oil (Maiko) and Popeye (Toby) before they won a prize for best dressed. ;) That made Toby feel better as he shaved his goatee (beard) for the party. Fortunately, it's already growing back and should be full just in time for the upcoming winter!

Okay....the next post will take us back to our summer vacation as we still have a couple weeks left of stories and pictures to share with you.

Cats, Cousins, Cats, Dog & Cats....

2011-10-25T10:28:00.003+09:00

It was a long and hot day of driving from San Diego through The Mojave Desert (see previous post). However, when we finally pulled up to cousin Dan & Holly's beautiful mountain home in Oakhurst, we were greeted by the first cat, Max, who seemed to know exactly what we had been through (below, lower left of picture).

We had a great evening & morning of hanging with Dan, Holly and 2nd cousin Taylor. Above is a picture of Maiko chilling on the deck with two more of their 5 cats (Maiko was in heaven). Lloyd (on railing in above picture and also in below picture) was the smartest of the bunch and impressed us with his water drinking skills. He would dip his paw into the glass, get it wet and then lick the water off his paw. Genius!!!

Dan & Holly's house is a beautiful house in a very quite and serene place in the mountains near Yosemite National Park. Above is a picture from the back and below is a picture down the path towards the pool from the same location as the above picture. Yes, that is yet another cat of theirs that is a little more shy than the others. By the way, we enjoyed watching the stars from the chairs down at the pool the night before. It was really cool as Dan showed us how the iPad app' for stargazing worked. Good times and great memories!!

It was another super quick visit, but we treasured it and look forward to doing it again someday. Before hitting the road and going to check out Yosemite, we took a group photo where Max joined us again to say farewell. He's either waving bye-bye with his paw or trying to do the peace sign. We can't tell and he didn't tell us. ;)

Next up: The AMAZING Yosemite National Park!!!

The Long & WINDy Road

2011-10-24T08:52:00.005+09:00

Driving from San Diego to Oakhurst, just outside Yosemite National Park, was a long, hot day! Although we tried to leave early enough to avoid traffic congestion, we still got stuck in Los Angeles in the heat of the day. And just when we thought we had escaped LA to the north, we saw a traffic warning sign saying that there was more congestion on "The Grapevine". While driving in The Mustang was a great way to see and enjoy all the amazing sights on this epic road trip, we didn't avoid scares along the way due to it being an older car.

The first was a hubcap falling off on The 101 just north of San Francisco. On that incident, the hubcap bounced down the road about 100 meters and then over a road barrier to another road below. By the time Toby realized what had happened and walked back to where it should have been, another driver was picking up the hubcap and was about to drive off with it. Toby then yelled at the top of his lungs and they guy heard something, looked up towards The 101 and saw him waving his arms and saying, "That's my hubcap" while pointing at his chest. The guy got the picture, opened up the car and met Toby halfway up the hill to return the expensive car part (especially when it's just one). The guy said, "It's a good one and I was gonna keep it." Whew, that was a close call.

Anyway, the second scare happened after we got through the Los Angeles traffic in 100F weather with the car barely not overheating. When we saw the traffic warning for The Grapevine with warnings that it might be two hour delays, we decided to take the long way around for it would keep the car cool. Otherwise, if we got to a place where we were going up a pass in similar heat as LA and then having it "stop and go" traffic, the odds of overheating were very high. So....we went through The Mojave Desert. After hitting the small town of Mojave and then heading west again, we passed over the Tehachapi Pass and through one of the largest wind farms of the world, the Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC). See pictures below.

It was both eerie and exciting to drive through these wind farms. According to this Wikipedia article on AWEC, this particular project will reduce up to 52 million metric tons of CO2 or the equivalent of almost 1/2 million cars off the road. Wow!! It's also pretty cool to read this article about company, Google, being it's biggest supporter/investor. Go Google, Go Wind, Go Earth!!

In our next post, we'll arrive in Oakhurst and visit with a few cousins, 5 cats and one dog while stargazing and enjoying some more good Mexican food.

San Diego Part II

2011-10-20T11:04:00.004+09:00

After a great visit with The Gorman's and Aunt Inez, we headed up to "Aunt Carolyn's" place. Carolyn is/was Toby's mom's best friend growing and became close to Toby when he went to school at San Diego State University from 1988~1990. Aunt C' and Uncle Bill were lifelines for Toby, especially those first few months as the 18 year old boy was getting used to living away from home for the first time in his life.

Above: A picture of Aunt Carolyn (middle with glasses) and her "California Chick" friends (Judy & Sharon on the left, Helen on the right) who were also really good friend's of Toby's mom in high school or college. This picture was taken just outside a great mexican place in Old Towne San Diego where we went to dinner on August 4th.

Below: After dinner, we strolled through Old Towne and picked up a few omiyage (souviniers) for back home. I had taught Maiko the meaning of, "mi casa es su casa" ("my home is your home") before, but she LOVED the, "mi casa es no su casa" one and almost forced me to buy it. ;) Can you figure out the meaning of that one?

After a great evening with Carolyn and mom's friends, we got some sleep and then got up early for a stroll on the boulevard down at Mission Beach (above and below). We had the same peeps from the night before, as well as a few other hip ladies join us. It was great exercise and beautiful down there early in the morning.

Then....the craziest thing happened. Coming the other way down the boulevard was Toby's football coach from Linfield College in Oregon. Toby couldn't believe his eyes as he said, "Coach Langesdorf?!?" and he responded, "Toby Weymiller?!?!". We took a picture (below) to remember this crazy small world moment. By the way, he was in San Diego helping with the San Diego Charger's pro football team, but was leaving that day for Oregon. Wow...

After finishing the nice walk, we stopped at a nice little cafe for breakfast on the beach!! It was a fantastic finish to our stay in San Diego. Oh, after breakfast, we walked out on the pier and while watching the early morning surfers do there thing, we saw 2 dolphins cruise south. They were going to fast for us to get a picture, but they left a impression in our brains and we picked up a dolphin magnet from the gift shop to put on our fridge to remember the moment by. That was crazy, too, for we were just talking about how cool it would be if we saw dolphins!! Thanks for providing the great memories, Aunt Carolyn & San Diego!!

Next up: Heading back north where we visit The Roger's and Yosemite National Park!

San Diego Family Visiting Part I

2011-10-17T12:29:00.002+09:00

I realized I have too many pictures to share from our brief stay in San Diego so I'm breaking them up into two posts. Here's Part I.

Above: After staying over at Alex & Miki's in Irvine (see previous post), we backtracked briefly up to Orange to visit Toby's brother, Tommy, who was killed in a car/bicycle accident (Tommy was on a bicycle) in 1968 at the very young age of 4 1/2. This was 16 months before Toby was born and while all of Toby's brothers witnessed this trajic accident, Toby thinks of Tommy often when he rides his bike. Toby lost a good friend, Grace, a few years back in a bicycle accident, as well. On a side note, Toby has ridden in "The Ride of Silence" a few times in honor of Tommy & Grace and looks forward to doing more in the future.

After visiting Tommy, we headed to Aunt Jeanne's (above with Maiko & Toby) place in Chula Vista (just south of San Diego) to meet some family members before going out to brunch with the whole gang (below).

From left to right: Maiko, Toby, Aunt Inez, Cousin Tap, Aunt Jeanne, Cousin Linda, Kristin and 2nd Cousin Timmy.

After a great brunch, we headed back to Aunt Jeanne's and talked for a couple hours. It was great to just sit around Aunt Jeanne's big round table and talk about everything. We took a few more pictures (above and below) before leaving and the one below is extra special for Kristin will soon be joining the family officially as Timmy just proposed to her on the top of Mt. Kilamanjaro, the highest mountain on the African Contenent, a few weeks ago. Maiko and Toby are secretly (err...not so secret now that we posted it here. ha ha) hoping they get married in Hawaii as we might be able to get there for it! ;)

SoCal

2011-10-14T13:32:00.004+09:00

After an AMAZING couple days in Northern California and The Bay Area, we hit the road again on August 3rd (Maiko & Toby's 9th year wedding anniversary) and rolled down 101 towards our next destination.

After some early morning fog, the skies cleared and we enjoyed a nice drive before filling our bellies on some In & Out Burger (a must do in Southern California) for lunch.

After lunch, we continued down the coast and were welcomed to the Los Angeles area with 100F (38C) degree weather and horrible traffic (see below).

The light at the end of the massive congestion in Los Angeles was the beers with our good friends, Alex & Miki (see two pictures below).

Above: Toby & Miki Bay
Below: Maiko & Dr. Alex Bay

After polishing off our first beer, the pizza's arrived at the pizza join in San Clemente and we enjoyed some good pies, good beers, a nice sunset and a wonderful time catching up with good friends.

Alex & Toby (below) go way back to Hachinohe, Japan. These two dudes worked together there and have many fond memories (& crazy stories) from those 15 months. They have gone in different directions, but always have Japan as common ground. Toby attended Alex's wedding in 1996 (1997?) and, as a tribute to their friendship, wore a goatee for the occasion. Toby liked the look and has had the goatee every since. Alex (& Miki) also attended Maiko & Toby's wedding on Orcas Island (Washington State) in 2002 and was a HUGE help in translating for Maiko's family during the ceremony.

Good friends with good beer!! It was a great reunion in Southern California!!

Next up: San Diego (the U-turn point of the road trip), catching up with relatives, a great early morning walk, a surprise encounter and much more.

Amazing Visit in Los Gatos, California

2011-10-11T14:59:00.002+09:00

Now....back to our Summer Vacation Road Trip!!

After our short visit in San Francisco & Palo Alto with The William's, we drove about an hour south to Los Gatos, California.
View Larger Map

This time, we were to stay with cousins, Tiffany & Sean (pictured below).

After spening a few hours on the deck catching up over beers and champagne, Sean cooked us a fabulous dinner (above) and then we moved to the living room area for dessert (below).

Tiff and Sean just recently moved into this incredible house way up in the hills of Los Gatos. They claim they were just "lucky" with the timing of everything as they were able to lowball the bank on this house that was being forclosed upon (bad financial times in The USA). Both Tiff and Sean have good/stable employment so it looks like they will be able to enjoy these diggs for a very, very long time. Almost every room of this house has an amazing view. Below is Maiko's favorite as it's the master bathroom. What a view to have a soak to, eh?

On August 3rd, we awoke on our 9th wedding anniversary to amazing sunrise above the clouds. The below picture was taken from the pillows of one of Tiff & Sean's guest rooms. What an unbelievable way to start our 10th year together. Wow....

After enjoying the above sunrise and having a nice breakfast with Tiff & Sean, we hit the road and continued south down the 101 towards Los Angeles. In our next post, we'll share some pic's from our next visit with good friends and a brother in Orange County.

１０月４日はワールド・アニマル・デイです

2011-10-04T15:32:00.002+09:00

FROM http://jears.org

Candle Light Vigil from October 4th to the 10th
From October 4th to the 10th, join us in having a Candle Light Vigil for the animals of Tohoku; a somber, reflective and visible memoriam. We are asking people around the world to burn a candle to remember those animals still living, and those that have passed. Go to your Japanese or other embassy or consulate, your city hall, park, school, train station or shopping center, - wherever people pass ...by. Bring your candle. Hold a sign. Sit quietly. Explain to people who ask. You need not be in Japan. Wherever you are, wherever you can, burn a candle for the animals of Tohoku. For October 4th to the 10th, change your FB icon to a burning candle image. And if you care to, paste and share the message above, or write your own.

http://jears.org/ja/ から

１０月４日はワールド・アニマル・デイです。東北の動物たちのためにキャンドルを灯しませんか。その熱は私の情熱となりその蝋のしずくは私の涙となりその光は私を導くことでしょうしばしの沈思の時間を死んでしまった動物、もがいている動物、いまだに家に帰るのを待ちわびている動物たちに -------------------------------------------- １０月４日から１０日まで、私たちの「東北の動物たちに捧げるキャンドル・ナイト」に参加しませんか？厳粛かつ思慮深いメモリアムです。死んでしまった動物、いまだに残されている動物たちのために、世界中でキャンドルを灯しませんか？それぞれの国の大使館、領事館、市庁舎、公園、学校、駅、ショッピングセンター・・・人が集まる場所ならどこでも、サインをかかげ、静かに座り、自分たちのキャンドルを持ち寄って、灯しましょう。興味をもった人には説明してあげてください。日本にいる必要はありません。世界中どこでも、できる場所で、東北の動物たちのためにキャンドルを灯してください。また、１０月４日から１０日までの間、Facebookのアイコンを蝋燭が灯っている写真に変えませんか？この活動に同意してくださる方は、このメッセージをシェアしたり、ご自分でも発信してくだされば幸いです。

Stanford & San Fran' - Summer Vacation Recap Continued

2011-10-02T10:20:00.005+09:00

On August 1st, after cruising The Redwoods of Northern California, we flew down 101 through beautiful wine country and then crossed The Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco. However, we were late for dinner at The William's (our adopted cousins - Kelly is the daughter of Toby's "Aunt Carolyn" who is his mom's best friend) so we kept going south to Palo Alto and Stanford University's campus.
Above: Maiko, Kelly and Ken on the deck of their beautiful home on Stanford's campus. Ken is the head groundskeeper for Stanford's golf course and their house is right next to the school's equestrian team's horse stables. A very cool location and the house was over 100 years old. Kelly and Ken's children, Matt and Michelle, were also home so it was a wonderful couple days of catching up.
The next day, we did a walking tour with Kelly of Stanford's beautiful campus (see above picture and two pictures below).

We also headed into San Francisco for a quick and beautiful tour of many of the highlights. As we came down the hill into San Francisco, we could see Alcatraz in the bay (below).

After arriving into the center of San Francisco, we made sure Maiko experienced Lombard Street properly. Maiko and Kelly are in the red Toyota Prius in the picture below. Toby had jumped out of the car at the top and ran down the stairs on the left side of the picture to snap this. After jumping back in the car at the bottom, Kelly said, "Let's do it again so you can experience it, Toby."
Too fun!!

After Lombard Street, we parked the car and did another walking tour of San Francisco that included Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradelli Square (picture above) and a trolley ride. Before riding the trolley; however, we made sure we read all the "Safety Tips" first (see picture below).

San Francisco & Stanford were amazing and we were so blessed with beautiful weather during our short visit there. Many, many thanks to our wonderful guide, Kelly, and gracious hosts, Kelly, Ken, Matt & Michelle, for letting us intrude into their lives. These two days were a big highlight of our trip home!!

マリナーズとアスレチックスが東京で2012シーズン開幕戦

2011-09-30T09:18:00.007+09:00

We interrupt the blog postings of our summer vacation trip to share the announcement that The Mariner's will be opening their 2012 season in Japan!! Yeah!! See these links for more information:

日本語：ここでクリーク

English: Official Mariner's announcement.

By the way, Toby has contacted The Mariner's Baseball Club to see if they need any assistance while in Tokyo. With his experience, both in Japan and with the club on 2001, it seems like it would be a natural fit for him and the team. Fingers crossed that he gets a call or email asking for his help. Regardless, Maiko and Toby are already planning a trip to Tokyo in late March to see Ichiro and the 2012 M's. Anybody else want to join us?

For nostalgia purposes, here are a few scanned pictures from Toby's 2001 season with The Mariner's.
From left to right: Toby & Chichiro (Ichiro's father), Adam (Toby's friend), Ichiro and Toby, Toby & Ichiro's parents.

Toby was able to assist Ichiro's family, including his older brother, Kazuhiro, quite a few times when they visited Safeco Field that season. It was both a pleasure and honor to assist them and be called on as someone they trusted. Good times!!

Big Tree Hugging!!

2011-09-29T10:21:00.004+09:00

After hugging some HUGE redwood trees and driving down(doesn't The Mustang look like a toy car in the picture below?) through Avenue of the Giants, we continued south down Highway 101 to San Francisco.

We drove through another tree (above) before driving over The Golden Gate Bridge (below) going into San Francisco. It was a glorious day with amazing blue sky weather.

On our next post, we'll share our experiences from San Francisco and Stanford University where we visited and stay with our "cousins".

Day 3 - Morning

2011-09-28T13:42:00.003+09:00

We woke up to a beautiful morning on the beach at our Crescent City Hotel. When we opened up the curtains, the above was our view.

We picked up a few cups of coffee from the lobby and sat down to enjoy the sound and sights of Northern California nature. We had no idea what the rest of the day was going to bring us in this department, though.

A few miles down from Crescent City, we stopped by the "Trees of Mystery" and took a picture in front of Paul & Babe.

A few more miles down the road, we saw a sign for the first big redwood tree that were able to "drive thru". The '66 'stang was barely able to squeeze through, but it did. This picture may become our new year's card picture this year!

After driving through the tree with big smiles on our faces, we stopped to say "good day" to the emu's. Notice Maiko's hands in this picture for she just tried to feed this guy some grass and he nearly bit off her hand.

The next post will bring more amazing redwood tree pictures, as well as our arrival into San Francisco later in the day.

Many Beaches and Sea Lions Before California

2011-09-26T14:24:00.003+09:00

Day 2 continued.

Above: After our visit to Rogue Ales, we continued South down the beautiful coast of Oregon and visited many beaches and even walked up to an amazing old and historical lighthouse (see behind Maiko in above picture).
A few more miles down the road from the lighthouse, we came up on the famous Sea Lion Caves where we are able to view hundreds of Sea Lions sunbathing on the rocks of the Pacific Ocean (above and below)
After driving all the way down the Oregon Coast and seeing so many amazing beaches (like the one above), we arrived at the border of California (below).

In the next post, we'll continue our recap of our summer vacation with Day 3 of our trip which included HUGE redwood trees and a beautiful drive into San Francisco.

Newport, Oregon - Beaches & Beer

2011-09-22T10:08:00.004+09:00

View Larger Map

On Day 2 of our road trip, we woke up to a misty morning in Newport, Oregon. From our hotel, we walked two blocks to the beach and while taking a walk, the weather cleared. It was a great way to start the day. See pictures below.

After doing a fair bit of beach combing, we checked out of the hotel and headed to Rogue Ales for some brunch and beer tasting.

These lights (above) were created from the original kegs used in the beginning of Rogue's beer making adventure.

Above & Below are taking at the bar inside Rogue Ale's where we did some tasting of some very nice beer and had some appetizers like the tasty artichoke dip (above).

We eventually had to get going so, after taking a few pictures inside and outside the brewery, we hit the road.

The next post will be of more beaches and some sea lions we saw on the way to our next stop in Crescent City, California.

Epic Road Trip Begins

2011-09-18T10:46:00.002+09:00

On July 30th, Maiko & I headed South on our west coast road trip to visit family, friends and see a few beautiful places that we've either only seen once or have never seen before. We will remember and treasure this trip forever.

Our plan on this first day was to drive from Seattle to Portland, West to Tillamook on the Oregon Coast and then South to Newport.

On the way, we stopped in Vancouver to visit our good friends, Aaron and Brandi Frye who had just adopted their first son, Adrian (see picture below). The adoption happened at the very last minute (although they were on a waiting list for 18 months) so instead of staying with The Frye Guy's in Forest Grove, we drove through and stayed in Newport, Oregon.

On the way to Newport, we made a quick stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory for some cheese to go and an ice cream cone. Ahhh.....Tillamook Ice Cream. Sooooooo good!!!
After arriving at our hotel in Newport, we found a somewhat famous restaurant and ordered up some clam chowder and fish and chips (pictured above). More goodness! Day One of our road trip ends with a full belly.

The Building of Square One

2011-09-13T10:37:00.002+09:00

Before going to The USA in July, we had another photo book made, as well. you can see this book here:

The Building of Square One by Toby, Maiko, Bomber & many other helping paws. | Make Your Own Book

A Dream, A Mountain, A Happening

2011-09-12T15:35:00.001+09:00

To see more pictures and read details of our climb up Mt. Rainier, check out the online version of the photo book I had made.

A Dream, A Mountain, A Happening by Toby Weymiller | Make Your Own Book

Getting a Seattle Fix in One Day

2011-09-02T10:14:00.004+09:00

We'll come back to The (epic) Rainier climb later. And, yes, we have our reasons. ;) (wink)

On July 29th, the day after Toby & Toby's Dad descended Mt. Rainier, we spent a day in Seattle getting our "fix" (note: Maiko arrived on July 27th, slept 17 hours to recover and then met up with Toby and his family on the 28th). We did some shopping, some sightseeing in West Seattle (the old stomping grounds), had lunch at Lee's, our favorite restaurant over there, went to Pyramid for a pre-game gathering with friends and family and then watched a Mariner's game. Need images to go with this? See below.

Mt. Rainier - Sneak Peek

2011-08-29T15:52:00.002+09:00

More to come soon....with descriptions, but here's a teaser. Enjoy.

Miles & Miles of Fun

2011-08-27T05:21:00.011+09:00

After coming out of the mountains with the brother's, I (Toby here again) headed to my hometown of Federal Way for 2 days of catching up with childhood and high school friends. My host for the weekend was childhood neighbor and great friend, Miles Harris, who just so happened to move back into the old 'hood recently. On Friday night, no pictures were taken (possibly the only event of the trip where pictures weren't taken) as friends from the old neighborhood gathered for some drinks and laughter around a bonfire in Mile's backyard. It was an amazing evening and very fun for to catch up with old friends.
On Saturday, after watching a few innings of my nephew's, Ben Weymiller (link is from 5 years ago when Ben literally "rocked" the world of fundraising), baseball game up at Decatur High School (a baseball field that my Dad, myself and many other helping hands help build back in the late 80's), Miles & I hopped in his boat and headed over to Tide's Tavern for lunch. Above is a picture of Miles, myself and Mt. Rainier in the background. Below is a picture of the amazing Tide's Tavern in Gig Harbor where you can just moor a boat on their docks before going in (or not - you can order from and eat in the comfort of your own boat if you desire). A really cool treat and fun trip on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Above: Another special surprise was fellow Decatur graduate and wrestler, Joel Young, pulling up to the docks with his family for lunch at The Tide's, as well. Joel came over, enjoyed a brew with us and stayed just long enough for the flirty waitress to take our picture together.
Below: On the way back to Federal Way, Miles and I did a toast to The Mountain as I was getting a little nervous about The Climb that was to start in no less than two days (we actually drove up to Paradise, the base of the climb, the day after this picture was taken).

After an interesting (and entertaining) trailering of Mile's boat (as Miles said, "It was Rookie Hour out there!" with all the other people trying to get their boats in/out of the water - Miles, of course, was as smooth and fast as anyone I've ever seen), we washed the boat and then headed into Tacoma to hook up with a bunch of friends from the Decatur Daze.

The above picture, as well as the two below were taken by another great friend from high school, Leonard Riley. Thanks for bringing out all the big guns (not the ones above your elbow) to take pictures with. You captured the event well in your Facebook album. Thank you VERY much!!
It was a fantastic finish to a great day. Many thanks to Miles, Parkway Tavern and all the other friends who joined us that evening. It was a great evening filled with a ton of laughter and good times!!
Oh wait....the funniest part of the evening came when Sean Nadeau, another long time friend from youth soccer and school, brought me out a mug of beer that was in the shape of a woman's breast....complete with nipple to drink out of. Well, to thank my host for such an amazing two days, I thought it was only appropriate that I share my nipple with him. Thanks, Miles!! That was a very, very fun couple days. Oh....and the breakfast the morning after was awesome, as well. Kudos to the cook!!! See you next time!!

4 Bro Mojo Live & Unplugged @ Rimrock

2011-08-26T09:12:00.004+09:00

Toby here. I really can't say (can't remember?) all that happened during those 3 days and 2 nights that I spent with my 3 bro's up at Rimrock Lake last month, but I can tell you that it was one of the best memories of not only the trip, but my life. On the first day, we met in Buckley and drove up together with the boat in tow. After some fun shopping for food and filling up the rig and boat with gas, we were off. The only electronic devices that were used over the next 48 hours plus were a few cameras and it was AWESOME!! Above and below were a couple goofy photo's we took after arriving up at the viewpoint (a short walk from Pete & Dad's cabin) where some of Mom's ashes were spread a few years back.

On Day 2 of the "retreat", we loaded up the boat and went to newly named, "4 Bro Peak" which is that rock cliff above Goofy Paul's head in the above picture. Below is a picture of the 4 of us on aformentioned peak after a fun 1.5 hour scramble up the hillside.

Above was a picture of us that last evening and then the below was taken as we drove away from the cabin. It was truly an amazing trip with my 3 favorite people. I love you guys! Thank you so much for making the time for this to happen. The memories will last forever....or at least until we do it again!!

The First Weekend (+ Monday)

2011-08-25T14:23:00.011+09:00

Addendum to yesterday's post: Toby forgot about the 300+ pictures he took on his iPhone so we'll be going through almost 1,100 pictures and videos to share here & elsewhere.

After 21 hours of traveling, Toby arrived at his brother Allen's place in the early afternoon of Friday, July 15th. After a hug and a quick chat, he got horizontal and took a two hour nap before hopping on a bus to Tacoma with Allen to visit with the people he misses most, his bro's and Dad. Above is a picture of the 5 of them at this reunion. It's also here that Toby's American micro beer binge started and didn't end until he as at the airport ready to fly back to Japan over a month later.

After catching up with his bro's on Friday, Toby headed to Gig Harbor with his Dad to spend the weekend catching up, talking about the upcoming climb and possibly go for a training hike/climb. On Saturday, the weather was typical Northwest weather (rain) so Toby and his Dad went to the local YMCA and worked out before heading into Seattle to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the record 116 win 2001 Mariner season. The 2001 season was also special for Toby as he worked at Safeco Field and had a destiny like experience on October 31st when he met Maiko for the first time. Another great part of working at Safeco Field that season was Toby spending quality time with his parents who had season tickets to all the Mariner games. With Toby clocking out at game time every day (all 81 home games during the season, the playoffs AND the 2001 All Star Game), Toby was able to go hang with his Mom & Dad more often than not and they truly got caught up after Toby's many years away from home pre-2001. Therefore, it truly was a magical season and so it seemed only natural that Toby and Toby's Dad go celebrate the 10 year anniversary with The M's. Below is a picture Toby took with his iPhone of many of the players and coaches from that team giving the most important person on that team (in Toby's opinion) a big hug. Who? Check the name on the big screen in center field. ;)

On Sunday, the weather broke and Toby and his Dad were able to go on a great training hike at Granite Mountain. While the lower part of the mountain was dirt and beautiful fauna, the last few hundred vertical feet were covered with snow. This was actually a blessing for Toby's dad needed to get more practice on snow and he received some great tips from our lead guide for the upcoming Rainier climb, Gary Talcott. The pictures above and below are Gary and Toby's Dad heading up towards the fire watch tower on Granite Mountain.
Below is a picture of Toby's Dad talking with a few of the volunteer rangers inside the fire watch tower on Granite Mountain. It was great to get a glimpse of how the operations work there and the views from up there were amazing.
After descending Granite Mountain, Toby drove to Oregon to catch up with Kevin Liburdy at his cabin in Zig Zag (near Mt. Hood). You may remember Kevin from his visit to Square One in February, 2010 with Toby's nephew, Ben (click here to view the blog post where a there's a picture of Kevin and Ben). After Kevin's visit to Square One, Toby and Kevin became closer friends than before and it was a good chance for them to catch up and Toby needed to do some shopping down in Portland anyway. Above and below are pictures taken outside Kevin's mountain cabin. Needless to say, it was a very peaceful evening and morning.

And.....the beer binge continued with Kevin providing some VERY good beer at the cabin. The following morning was rough, but Toby started his new daily habit of "hair of the dog" with a Ninkasi IPA and personal pizza for brunch in Portland.

Next up: The 4 Bro's unplugged in the mountains for 2 days. An unforgettable experience and memory.

Picture Number One

2011-08-24T16:16:00.002+09:00

Toby uploaded over 750 pictures and videos from his camera today. It'll take a few days (weeks?) to go through them all and pick which ones to publish here (and elsewhere) to share. In the meantime, we'll pick one/day to share with you all. The above is the very first picture on the memory cards and is from Toby and Toby's Dad's training climb (for Mt. Rainier) on Granite Mountain in Washington. A good day, a good climb and a good sign of good times to come. Stay tuned for many, many more pictures from our trip.

USA Summer 2011

2011-08-22T11:22:00.006+09:00

Maiko & Toby visited The U.S. of A. this summer. Toby took about 5 weeks vacation and Maiko was able to go over for 2 weeks. Here are a few pictures taken from Toby's iPhone. Many, many, MANY more pictures will be coming in the upcoming days.

Above: We were very lucky to have the car, a 1966 Ford Mustang convertible, that Toby's mom used to drive while we were there. This is a picture of Toby driving some friends around near Seattle a few weeks back.

Below: Toby and Toby's dad climbed Mt. Rainier in late July. Bad weather prevented them from starting when they wanted, but they were still able to get above 12,300 feet (3,750 meters). Here is a panorama picture from their campsite at 10,000 feet (click to enlarge)

Above: After descending from Mt. Rainier, Maiko & Toby joined relatives (Dad, Allen, Nancy) and friends (Ronna, Greg, Melanie & Michael) at Pyramid Beer Garden before attending a Mariner's game across the street at Safeco Field (where Maiko & Toby met 10 years ago on October 31st this year).

Below: The day after attending the M's game (mentioned above), Maiko & Toby hit the road and drove The 'Stang down the beautiful and historic Highway 101 to Southern California where they visited friends, relatives and very big trees along the way. Stay tuned for many more pictures from this amazing road trip.

Above: Maiko & Toby spent a day in San Francisco and, of course, had to go for a ride on the trolly. We had beautiful weather the entire time we were in California which was actually quite unusual for this time of year in San Francisco.

Below: After doing a U-Turn in San Diego where we visited more friends and family, we headed up to Yosemite National Park. Here, Maiko is taking in the unbelievable view from the rim of the park.

Above & Below: While we saw and visited many beautiful places, the highlights for us were the times spent with friends and family. Above is a picture of Maiko and Alex Bay at a pizza/beer place in San Clemente, California. Below is a picture of Toby and his 3 Bro's at Rimrock Lake in Washington.

Again, Toby has hundreds more pictures on his camera that he'll be sharing with you all very soon. Until then, we hope you all are having a wonderful summer season, as well.

Much About Undo Lately

2011-07-04T14:27:00.005+09:00

Undo = Exercise in Japanese so when I (Toby) say it's been, "Much About Undo Lately", I'm not kidding. That and getting ready for the trip to America which is T minus 10 days for me now. Yikes!! Anyway, this is just a quick update as I realized I hadn't posted anything recently.

Above is a picture of me at the top of Asahidake after completing the first annual Sea to Summit in 2:40:54 (see this link for all the final times). It was the top "single" time and the second best time overall. I look forward to more people participating next year and defending the title. I KNOW I'll have to do much better if I want to keep it.

The above is my good friend and neighbor, Taro, right before we began our "Safety Rider" volunteering of the Furano Earth Ride 2011. Taro rode with a faster group that ended up doing 115 kilometers while Nicole Matsuyama, myself and a few others rode at a different pace over the course of 85km.
Taro then took the above picture of our BBQ at Square One after finishing the ride. Family joined us, too, while we enjoyed a quiet evening before fireworks from Hanakagura Onsen (4km away that we could see clearly from our deck).

This past weekend was spent either on Tokachi-dake where I took Maiko for some hiking, in the garden planting one of the six trees we received from Higashikawa town OR at the town sports day for adults and children alike. The above and below pictures were from the latter. The above picture was of the 30kilo (70 pounds) rice carry relay. I ended up carrying this bundle of rice 75 meters. The below was of the finale tug of war. The adults took the whole day very seriously, BUT also consumption of draft beer starting at 9am (wow!!). Anyway, it was a GREAT community bonding experience and I'm already looking forward to next year.

We hope this finds you all well and enjoying the summer wherever you are. We will try to post some more frequent updates, especially after our super fun (& busy) trip to America in a few weeks. Oh....by the way, Happy Birthday USA! I just rememebered it's July 4th!! ;)

Summer?

2011-06-08T13:51:00.003+09:00

June has arrived and it is appearing that it brought Summer with it.

(above) We've put all the screens on the windows and are starting to keep them open on a regular basis. Here, Bomber and Fonzie are enjoying some early morning bird watching out the open window.

(Above)Toby is training hard for his Sea To Summit event coming up. This last weekend, Toby rode with Nicole Matsuyama and Chuck Olbery up to Tokachidake Onsen (十勝岳温泉) or Ryounkaku (which is the highest drivable point in Hokkaido. At 1,280meters, it was a long hard climb to get up there, but very much worth it.

(Above & Below) The cats are getting lazier and are seen sleeping more and more these days. Yes....it appears that summer is indeed here!

From Nakaton With Love

2011-06-01T12:52:00.002+09:00

On our recent trip to Northern Hokkaido, we stayed with Jared & Satomi in Nakatonbetsu. Satomi sent us a few pictures she took from our visit. I'll share them with you all here. Enjoy

On Toby's Mind

2011-05-31T09:46:00.005+09:00

On June 19th, Toby is participating in the first (annual?) Sea to Summit at Asahidake. See this link as well as the above/below pictures/graphs.

Click on images to enlarge. クリックすると拡大できます

Honma-san, our neighbor, is loaning us his kayak (that is from Seattle by the way) for the first section. Toby has been riding his bicycle like a crazy man with 4 climbs of Asahidake already under his belt, as well as many other high climbs in his 1,200km's ridden this cycling season so far. As for climbing/hiking, Toby did a bit of backcountry skiing this winter and will increase the amount of hiking over the next few weeks/months, especially as he prepares for....

....Mt. Rainier (above).

Toby and his dad will be starting the climb of the 4,392 meter (14,411 feet) Mt. Rainier on July 24th from Paradise which is at an elevation of 1,600 meters or 5,400 feet. Toby is picking up his training for Mt. Rainier, too, with stair climbs such as the one pictured below on Tohma-yama.

As for the cats, they are still just relaxing and taking advantage of more daylight by sleeping more near the big windows. Below, they are protecting their new (to us anyway) chair and ottoman that we purchased recently. We believe they use this furniture more than we do....

Spring is in the air!

2011-05-20T15:57:00.002+09:00

The Sakura has been blooming all week in Higashikawa (above & below)

Toby took the above picture on a beautiful Higashikawa morning earlier this week.

The boys (above) are loving it up as usual....

当麻町　インタビュー

2011-05-12T09:29:00.000+09:00

Toby was recently interviewed, along with 3 other relief/rescue workers who went to Tohoku recently, by the mayor of Tohma for the town's monthly newsletter. See below & click on the images to enlarge and read (sorry, only Japanese at this time). クリックすると拡大できます

Golden Week 3~1~3~1~2 Dance

2011-05-08T16:14:00.006+09:00

This year, Golden Week was spaced in a way that we had 3 days off, 1 day of work, 3 days off again, another day of work and then ended with a normal weekend. Today, May 8th, is the last day of that 3~1~3~1~2 dance so we'll give a quick re-cap with a couple pictures and then give some more detailed information about a few places we visited later on in the upcoming week.
First of all, we spent the first 3 days working on the yard, garden and areas around Square One. We worked very hard in anticipation of spending the latter part of GW (Golden Week) relaxing. We had some ambitious goals for those 3 days, but accomplished all of them and then some. Above is a picture of the big stones we finally got placed where we wanted them to be. More pictures to come.
(Above) In the evenings, we hung out with Bomber, Jack (pictured above) and Fonzie. The Fonz has some digestive system issues and we are getting them checked out. Until we know exactly what's going on and his bowel movements get a little more solid, he is living separately in the senmen/utility room. We visit him many times during the day.
When GW Part II (the second 3 day dance step) hit, we hopped in the car and headed north. The first destination was Shimokawa where we easily spent 2 hours hanging out at カフェモレーナ (above) before continuing on to Nakatonbetsu to spend a wonderful afternoon, evening and morning with our good friends, Jared & Satomi (below).

After leaving Nakaton', we drove south along the NE coast to Lake Saroma and spent a very enjoyable afternoon and evening at an onsen (hot spring) resort hotel right on the lake (above picture is from our hotel room). The next morning, we went for an long walk around the area and visited 1,000 year old Ainu, native Hokkaidoites, ruins (see below).
Our last stop before returning to Square One was Cafe Suiba in Koshimizu-cho. This cafe has been on our radar for two years as Hiro (Asano-san) & Aya took skills they learned at our straw bale workshop and helped "Nepal" and Maru build an extension to their amazing cafe. More to come in a future post about this cool & funky place (one picture below for a teaser).
And as for these last two days, we spent it mostly relaxing with a few small projects around the house. Today being Mother's Day, Maiko and the kids did some hanging out (see below).

国際災害支援団日本 (IDRO)

2011-05-02T15:11:00.004+09:00

Last week, I went to a Hokkaido International Business Association (HIBA) meeting and did a presentation about my experience in Tohoku. At the meeting, Phred with Ezo Beer introduced me to another organization, IDRO, that is doing GREAT relief work down in Tohoku. One story really grabbed my attention from IDRO's website and I'll share it here:

A buoyant woman (Mrs. S) told us her story as we stood in front of her house on the hill, some twenty plus meters above sea level:

“We were at home when the earthquake struck. From the scale we knew there would be a tsunami. My husband, who is a fisherman, went immediately to the village port and set out to sea in his boat, for to stay at port would most certainly mean loss of the craft. I went to my bedridden mother’s house one tier down the hill. I wanted to get her out of the house but could not get her wheel chair out because of the earthquake damage. So I decided to stay. I sat on the bed with her. The water came quickly, and I did not know what to do. Soon the bed was floating and we rose up to the ceiling. I clung with all my strength to the bed, and then the cold ocean swallowed me. I was sure to be dead, then suddenly the water receded. I was alive! I reached for my mother, but she was cold. Now with everything topsy-turvy I could not get out of the house, and the water was still high in the room. So I climbed out through a window groping to get to the roof. But I had no strength and could not, so I went hand over hand along the gutter, then from tree to pole, anything I could grab until I reached the hillside. I did not want to leave my mother, but I had survived. When I climbed the hill I found many other villagers there, and we took shelter in the only remaining house”.

At this point I had to ask, how fast did the water come up? And where did it come too, could you see it coming up from the harbor? At this she caught me completely off guard and answered “The first two waves did not come in from the harbor, they came from the harbor on the other side of the peninsula, washing entirely over the center”. Dumbfounded by this I looked back behind us, and she added “The village that was on the other side is completely gone, much of the debris you see on this side came from there, on that side nothing at all remains…” Looking back up the hill I asked, how high did the water come, and she took us inside the house, where the water line was clearly visible just below the ceiling. Making this wave close to 25 meters tall, the same height as a 7-story building!

The above/below pictures were taken from IDRO's website. For more information on what IDRO (International Disaster Relief Organization Japan) is doing in Tohoku, PLEASE go to their website by clicking here.

"A Day" in Fukushima & Petition Link

2011-05-01T08:14:00.005+09:00

These two pictures (above/below) were taken by Axel Lieber, a volunteer who went to Fukushima for a day recently and posted a very well done summary of his experience in both words and pictures on his blog. Please click here to see the full story. It truly is a great re-cap of what the situation was down in Fukushima and why JEARS is so anxious to get back into the zone after it has become officially closed off. See this video for a another good summary of what's happening in/near the exclusion zone. To "Help Pets Left Behind. Entry to Exclusion Zone Petition to Prime Minister's Office", please follow this link. Thank you.

2011-05-01T08:13:00.001+09:00

12 Days in Tohoku - Part 3

2011-04-27T09:45:00.000+09:00

Super woman!!

I believe this experience happened on the same day as my "Not Just a Bottle of Tea" story in my first part of "12 Days in Tohoku".

Susan Roberts from Japan Cat Network (JCN) and I (Toby) were driving around Kashima town (near Minami Soma in Fukushima) looking for clues and information about the cow we were looking for. We then came upon the above older woman (early 70's maybe) walking her dog*(seen behind her in the picture). We stopped the car and, first, asked her about the cow. She gave us her version of what is happening with the cows in the area and we added that to the other information we were getting. We then asked her about the dog and she mentioned it was hers and she was taking it for a walk. We then started talking about the other wild dogs in the area. She mentioned that many are from the evacuation centers where owners couldn't feed them anymore so they set them free to fend for themselves. She said it was breaking her heart so she was going to as many evacuation centers as possible and giving them food, walking their dogs for them and looking for other options of what they could do with their dogs than just let them into the wild where they will, more than likely, die. We gave her many fliers about JEARS and that we are able to assist both dogs that are running stray, as well as pets that are still at the evacuation centers and need temporary shelter (no matter how long it may take) until the owners can get back to some kind of "normal" life and care for their pets again. She said she'd distribute them for us to the local evacuation centers.

She then told us about a dog tied up nearby at a house that she was concerned about so we went there (and that is where we took the above picture). The dog was healthy, happy to see us and had new food in it's dish so the woman above, as well as us, were relieved to see that someone was taking care of it.

We left food for her dog and for her to take to the evacuation centers. We said that we'd be visiting them soon, as well. We thanked her for all she was doing and parted with tears in our eyes. Women like this and couples like The Sato's, are the real heroes here. Even when their worlds are turned upside down, they are still out there doing something for the animals that need assistance. As I said in a previous post, this woman reminded me a lot of my own mother and how I believe she would've been doing the exact same thing if put into the same situation. The only bad thing about all this is that hugging isn't a cultural thing in Japan because I just wanted to walk up to this woman and give her a HUGE hug!! Instead, I bowed deeply, expressed my appreciation with tears in my eyes and reemphasized that JEARS is here to help if needed.

*Note: You're probably noticing that I was approaching people that had animals to ask questions. It's very, very difficult to explain and I'll try in a subsequent post (I think I'm just about ready to talk about my experience in Yamada-shi), but talking to just anybody in these disaster struck areas is/was very difficult. However, we felt we could approach people with animals for we were confident they would understand why we were there and what we were trying to do. We could also offer these people with animals food or pet snacks as we usually had a lot of stock inside the vehicle. It's not that others wouldn't understand, but most had.....other things on their mind and we really didn't want to upset their lives any more than they already had been. Again, this is very hard to explain so I'll try again soon.

Interview for Higashikawa

2011-04-23T16:31:00.002+09:00

click here and it will take you to the interview (and more professional grade pictures of Square One). As Maiko said today, "We cannot do anything bad anymore." Ha ha...

12 Days in Tohoku - Part Two

2011-04-19T13:34:00.003+09:00

Taking a step back:

On Friday, March 11: Toby, and most of the rest of the world, watched in shock as entire communities were uprooted by the unprecedented tsunami's. With the large TV at work being right near Toby's desk, he felt the same as he felt back on the 11th morning of September a decade ago. While the feelings from that tragic day in 2001 changed as knowledge of who/what was the cause, the "live" feelings of so much death happening before his eyes was very similar.

On Saturday, March 12: Toby & Maiko stocked up on food (human and cat), discussed the possibilites of how they could potentially be affected, updated their own disaster kits and stayed calm as they watched, read and learned about all the destruction in Tohoku.

On Sunday, March 13: Toby joined JEARS as a volunteer and began what would become a very busy 3 weeks (1 week being constantly on the computer and 2 weeks being constantly behind the wheel).

On Sunday, March 20th: Toby got on the ferry mentioned in this blog post on the same day.

NOTE: one thing that Toby did NOT do after March 11th is take the time to get a much needed haircut and/or shave. Hence the clearly mountain man look in the picture below with fellow rescue volunteer, Ron Presley from Kinship Circle (KC), and Susan Roberts from Japan Cat Network (JCN).

Stay tuned for "12 Days in Tohoku - Part 3" to come in the next day or two. Toby is going to tell you about an amazing woman in Minami-Soma who reminds him so much of his mom by the way she reacted in this tragedy.

12 Days in Tohoku

2011-04-16T10:15:00.011+09:00

Not Just a Bottle of Tea.

How do I summarize 12 days that rocked my world? How can I explain the air and aura of the many ocean side communities that were wiped out by tsunami's so large that nobody imagined, even in their worst nightmares, would come? How can I explain the pain that grew in my chest the longer I was being exposed to such emotional hardships while trying to remain strong and not showing my personal emotions outwardly (to the people who were trying to remain strong)? How can I even talk about any of this when I'm one of the lucky ones who wasn't even affected?

So many people have lost homes, businesses, livelihoods, family members, treasured personal items and so much more. I have lost nothing. However, I've gained.......so much more respect for this country and the people that live here. I guess I can talk about that.

See the below picture? What do you see? It's my desk at work and I want you to take notice of the bottle in the middle of the picture. It just looks like a regular PET bottle of tea, right? Think again....

I don't remember which day it was now (maybe day 8 or 9), but we were in Fukushima Prefecture again, about 25 kilometers away from the Nuclear Power Plant. At that time, the evacuation perimiter from the power plant was 20km. Now, it's 30. I keep thinking about that as I remember people I met and talked to in that 10km buffer zone that are now being semi-forced to leave their homes and, sometimes, their animals behind. One person gave me this bottle of tea. Yes, gave ME this bottle of tea!! Why?!? Let me explain.

I didn't get the name of the couple I'm going to talk about, but will call them Mr. and Mrs. Sato for this story. The Sato's WERE (before the above mentioned evacuation zone expanded) one of the lucky ones whose house was still standing in Minami-Soma Town. I was with a group of 2 other volunteers and we were actually looking for a cow that we had seen the day before in the "neighborhood" that had only a handful of houses still standing after the tsunami had destroyed most of their neighbors residences. Driving through the neighborhood while the other volunteers were on foot, I was dodging fallen trees, turned over cars and other debris covering the small road in-between houses still standing and houses destroyed. At one corner, I noticed a man outside trying to sweep up a little of debris in the road out in front of his house. I heard a dog barking nearby and saw it was coming from outside the house he was in front of. I parked the van and walked over to talk to him.

I said konnichi-wa (hello), bowed and then explained what I was doing in his neighborhood. I showed him a flier that we had made which listed our organization and the contact members of the founders of the coalition. I explained we were looking for a cow and he gave me the latest news he had. I then asked him if he had enough dog food for his dog. He mentioned that he was running low and that there were 3 other dogs inside and more coming. I asked why and he said that many of his neighbors have their pets at the evacuation centers and are being asked to have them taken elsewhere. Since his house, and the large barn like storage building, was still intact, they were asking The Sato's to "temporarily" keep their animals until they can move out of the evacuation centers......whenever that may be. I bowed, said how generous that is of him and he waived it off like it was nothing and that they would do the same for him. I then told him that I had many bags of dog and cat food that were donated by international organizations in the van. I told him that I'd like to give him food for all the dogs and cats that he is and will be providing shelter for. I saw a twinkle in his eye and his face light up. He bowed deeply and said that would be a very big help. I then drove the car over and as I started to unload the vehicle, Mrs. Sato came out of the house and he explained to her what we were doing. She bowed deeply, said thank you in the most honorific way possible and then asked how many volunteers were with me that day. I mentioned three and, before I could say anything, she disappeared into the house. As I gave Mr. Sato the last bit of pet food, she came back out and gave me three bottles of tea to take for our group. I started to argue, but gave up quickly because I remembered that this is how it works here. It doesn't matter if their lives have been turned upside down because of an earthquake, tsunami AND radiation threats.

As I drove away from the deeply bowing Sato's, I started to shake my head in awe. Here I am, the lucky one from Hokkaido. The lucky one who can drive about an hour and easily get a bottle of tea. The lucky one who can take a ferry back to Hokkaido and be in a place where everyone around me is "business as usual". The lucky one who isn't about to be asked by his government to evacuate his house and the animals he's sheltering to somewhere another 5+ kilometers away.

The culture of this country is one where you give something back if you are able. They felt that the tea was such a small thing compared to the many bags of pet food we were giving them. I saw it differently as stores with supplies were very far away and this tea may become a very important commodity in the upcoming days and weeks. I saw that I had, basically, everything still and their lives were turned upside down. Why should they feel the need to give me ANYTHING....even a bottle of tea. However, to argue or to not accept this tea would've been bad manners on my part. It was a difficult pill to swallow, but I did.....reluctantly.

Now, this bottle of tea sits on my desk at work as a reminder. I am thinking about all the Sato's out there and hoping they continue to stay strong through these very difficult times. While it's been over a month now since the devastating earthquake and tsunami's, the rebuilding has only started. And the radiation threats and problems in Fukushima are continuing and will continue for many weeks and months to come. Please keep these wonderful people in your prayers and thoughts.

Here's.......Fonzie!!

2011-04-15T11:31:00.003+09:00

Fonzie (aka The Fonz or Fonzarelli) was adopted from Isabella's shelther in Niigata (Animal Friends Niigata)in order to make room for more rescue cats (and dogs....and birds, chickens, cows, etc) that JEARSwas bringing in from the disaster zones.

The Fonz is a Maine Coon and while "Happy Days" are here now, his past isn't so great. He was originally part of 27 abandoned Maine Coons that a breeder basically left to die. An animal shelter saved them and then Isabella took in 12 to try to find them new, loving homes. When Toby visited a room at Animal Friends Niigata (AFN), where many cats were roaming around, Fonzarelli came over and basically requested Toby take him home. Isabella later asked Toby which cat he chose and he answered that he didn't choose. The Fonz chose him.
When we first introduced The Fonz to the other cats, Bomber wouldn't look (see above) and avoided all contact (with everybody) for a day. Jack kept his distance and kept trying to find ways to get outside (see below) and away from this large cat that makes him number 3 in size.

However, after about 10 days of getting to know each other, everyone seems to be getting along now (see below). Fonzie is about 3 1/2 years old and is; therefore, right in-between Bomber and Jack in age. He's a real people person and loves to hug. He has some stomach issues lingering from his past and we are working with the best method to feed all three. However, life is good at Square One where felines now out number humans by a 3:2 margin. Are we officially cat crazy people now?

Many Updates A Coming....

2011-04-11T16:07:00.003+09:00

Toby has been busy. Busy volunteering, busy recovering from volunteering and busy trying to get back into some kind of "normal" routine again after experiencing what he did in Tohoku for 12 days. This last weekend, he took his "yama kusuri" and went to the mountains for some soul healing medicine. He got that and much more. Stay tuned and he'll be posting updates in the next few days about his experiences in Tohoku (which he believes he can now discuss without too much emotion), the new addition to the Square One family and also share a little bit from his mountain adventures this last weekend.

We hope this finds you all well and genki.

Fonzie, Jack, Bomber, Maiko & Toby

One Animal Rescue (of many)

2011-04-05T14:10:00.009+09:00

Above is a video of one of the rescues Toby was involved with down in Tohoku as a Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue & Support (JEARS) volunteer. After giving the spaniel a little food, he perked up and even ended up riding on the lap of Susan (Japan Cat Network) all the way from Fukushima to Niigata (see picture below). Once in Niigata, she is placed in the Animal Friends Niigata shelter while JEARS tries to find her owner, as well as the owners for all the dogs and cats they are rescuing. For more information about JEARS, in English or 日本語、please go to http://jears.org/

Tsunami Aftermath

2011-03-24T21:18:00.003+09:00

Toby is in Tohoku volunteering for JEARS. On his second day, he went to Fukushima to pick up a dog & cat that were affected by the earthquake and needed to find new homes. After picking them up and visiting the local health center, where he confirmed some information on policy for animals sheltered in emergencies, he headed to the coast. With a few hours of daylight left, they arrived to nothing but death & destruction. He'll share more details and a video when he returns, but here is a picture that sums up what he saw.

Unfortunately, they didn't find any animals at the coast, but they were able to assist many pets who had evacuated to temporary shelters with their owners and were short on food.

Being down there is hard emotionally, as there is just so much to take in, but Toby feels he is contributing a lot to the cause he's there to support.

More to come soon.

Toby to Ｎｉｉｇａｔａ

2011-03-20T11:01:00.003+09:00

Toby is going to catch a ferry to Niigata tonight to join Isabella with Animal Friends Network (AFN), which is one of the 3 main animal welfare groups that make up Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue & Support (JEARS). When possible, he will send photos and updates to Maiko so she can upload here on the blog. Stay tuned.

Three Cheers For JEARS!

2011-03-17T21:59:00.003+09:00

This is the grassroots coalition that Toby has been working with over the last 4 days. For now, he's helping with organizing and leading via the computer and telephone. However, he has received 16 days of "volunteer leave" and may jump on a ferry to get closer to where help is needed. Thank you Ben Logsdon for creating the logo. If you know anyone that is interested in donating to help animals affected by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear scare, please CLICK HERE to go to our Chip In link. At that page, you can donate, but it will take you to a Paypal page in Japanese. If you'd prefer it to be in English, scroll on the blue link in the upper right corner. You can also follow our progress via our Facebook page, "Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue & Support". Thank you.

By the way, we are focusing our efforts on two types of animals. 1) The hundreds of pets that are being left behind by foriegners fleeing the country because of the nuclear threat or because the embassies are asking them to. 2) The thousands of animals that are left abandoned in the disaster zone. Both are going to be taking up a big chunk of our time and energy. However, we have received massive amounts of offers for help and some well known international agencies are on their way in to help.

More messages from Embassies

2011-03-16T13:54:00.002+09:00

The American Embassy in Tokyo has spoken and (click here) to see what they said.

Meanwhile, The UK Embassy is saying the same thing with more numbers and less sugar coating. Click here for their message.

More Reassurance from British Embassy in Tokyo

2011-03-16T08:34:00.002+09:00

The below is from Paul Atkinson who posted this on Facebook where it is starting to go viral:

I have just returned from a conference call held at the British Embassy in Tokyo. The call was concerning the nuclear issue in Japan. The chief spokesman was Sir. John Beddington, Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, and he was joined by a number of qualified nuclear experts based in the UK. Their assessment of the current situation in Japan is as follows:

* In case of a 'reasonable worst case scenario' (defined as total meltdown of one reactor with subsequent radioactive explosion) an exclusion zone of 30 miles (50km) would be the maximum required to avoid affecting peoples' health. Even in a worse situation (loss of two or more reactors) it is unlikely that the damage would be significantly more than that caused by the loss of a single reactor.

* The current 20km exclusion zone is appropriate for the levels of radiation/risk currently experienced, and if the pouring of sea water can be maintained to cool the reactors, the likelihood of a major incident should be avoided. A further large quake with tsunami could lead to the suspension of the current cooling operations, leading to the above scenario.

* The bottom line is that these experts do not see there being a possibility of a health problem for residents in Tokyo. The radiation levels would need to be hundreds of times higher than current to cause the possibility for health issues, and that, in their opinion, is not going to happen (they were talking minimum levels affecting pregnant women and children - for normal adults the levels would need to be much higher still).

* The experts do not consider the wind direction to be material. They say Tokyo is too far away to be materially affected.

* If the pouring of water can be maintained the situation should be much improved after ten days, as the reactors' cores cool down.

* Information being provided by Japanese authorities is being independently monitored by a number of organizations and is deemed to be accurate, as far as measures of radioactivity levels are concerned.

* This is a very different situation from Chernobyl, where the reactor went into meltdown and the encasement, which exploded, was left to burn for weeks without any control. Even with Chernobyl, an exclusion zone of 30 miles would have been adequate to protect human health. The problem was that most people became sick from eating contaminated food, crops, milk and water in the region for years afterward, as no attempt was made to measure radioactivity levels in the food supply at that time or warn people of the dangers. The secrecy over the Chernobyl explosion is in contrast to the very public coverage of the Fukushima crisis.

* The Head of the British School asked if the school should remain closed. The answer was there is no need to close the school due to fears of radiation. There may well be other reasons - structural damage or possible new quakes - but the radiation fear is not supported by scientific measures, even for children.

* Regarding Iodine supplementation, the experts said this was only necessary for those who had inhaled quantities of radiation (those in the exclusion zone or workers on the site) or through consumption of contaminated food/water supplies. Long term consumption of iodine is, in any case, not healthy.

The discussion was surprisingly frank and to the point. The conclusion of the experts is that the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami, as well as the subsequent aftershocks, was much more of an issue than the fear of radiation sickness from the nuclear plants.

Let's hope the experts are right!

Good Reads Regarding Nuclear Reactors

2011-03-15T15:37:00.004+09:00

Here are two things you can read to be better informed on what's going on than what the international media is dramatizing:

Link One: Why I am not worried about Japan’s nuclear reactors.

Link Two: Japan Does Not Face Another Chernobyl (Wall Street Journal)

Link Three: Directly from The MIT Nuclear Science & Engineering website There are updates at the bottom of the article.

Where To Donate!

2011-03-14T12:19:00.005+09:00

Here's a link to Google Crisis Response where there is an option to donate directly to the Japanese Red Cross (Click here).

To have your donation go directly to the rescue and aid of animals, click here to be taken to where HEART-Tokushima, Animal Friends Niigata and Japan Cat Network have combined forces to focus information, rescue and support for animals in crisis due to the March 11 Earthquake and Tsunami in northern Japan. NOTE: When you get to the Paypal page, it's in Japanese. If you'd like it in English, go to the blue link in the upper right corner and scroll it down to English.

The Problem is NOT the nuclear power plant

2011-03-13T17:01:00.007+09:00

Above: I am being asked, as a non-native living in Japan, to inform my home country about the real problem here in Japan. It is apparently* NOT the nuclear power plant, although that is a serious problem. In 1979, there was an incident in Pennsylvania known as The Three Mile Island accident. That accident (click here) was apparently a "Level 7" emergency. At the nuclear reactor here in Fukushima, we are apparently at a "Level 4" emergency level. Therefore, the government here in Japan is asking (yellow box in the lower left corner of the image above) us to inform our home country that while it is a danger, the reactor has not exploded and there is not going to be a massive fallout around the world causing massive death and disease. They are not ruling out a chance of an increased chance of obtaining a disease here because of some of the radiation that is released, but the problem is NOT as dire as the international media is making it out to be.

Therefore, we need to keep our focus on the main problem here and that is the aftermath of the massive tsunami's. The news here is reporting that the total fatality toll could be more than 10,000 people with over 31,000 taking refuge in evacuation shelters around the country. Because the nuclear reactor is out of commission, millions of people are without power. The NE area of the main island of Honshu, where the brunt of the tsunami's hit, can still be very cold at this time of year. Consequently, you have to imagine the problems that this area of the country is having right now without power, without a home to go home to and with little fresh water available. Food and other aid is getting to them, but it is gradual and it is not bottomless. Please help in whatever way that you can. As more opportunities rise on how you can indeed help, whether through donations or whatever, I will let you know. However, I'm guessing the local red cross and other similar organizations will have ideas and suggestions on how you can help Japan at this traumatic time.

*I am not an expert here. I am only a messenger. I have been watching the news pretty much non-stop since this accident started. It is not dramatized here, but filled with facts and figures. And I truly believe that they are doing everything they possibly can to rescue, aid and protect the people who have been affected and could possible be in danger from the nuclear power plant.

We are OK! Let's help the animals!

2011-03-13T07:49:00.013+09:00

Just a quick update. If you have a TV or a computer, you know about the horrific disaster on the NE coast of Honshu, the main island of Japan. We won't talk about that here, but just say that we are ok. We are almost too protected from tsunami's and potential radiation from that nuclear reactor. See two pictures below for a quick understanding of where we are located in comparison to the tsunami's that are hammering the coastlines (highlighted in image below). I've also made some hasty references to where the epicenter of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake was, as well as where the Fukushima nuclear reactors are located.
Above: Square One is in the middle of Hokkaido, the northernmost island.
Click on any image to enlarge. クリックすると拡大できます
Below: Here is a zoomed in map of Hokkaido and you can see how we are surrounded by mountains.

Now, our taxes are hard at work with thousands of self defense force personnel being deployed to the disaster zone. People are asking what we can do. At this point, I have only one answer to that and that is to help the animals for they will need extra support. I am part of a group called Angels With Fur Japan and recently joined a newly formed group called, "Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support".

**HEART-Tokushima, Animal Friends Niigata and Japan Cat Network have combined forces to focus information, rescue and support for animals in crisis due to the March 11 Earthquake and Tsunami in northern Japan.**

If you wish to join me in helping save and protect the animals that are affected by this unprecedented disaster, please go to this "Chip In" link and donate whatever you can.

You can also stay up to date by watching Cat Galaxy: An Internet TV and Radio station, that is covering the news on animals since the event in Japan on Friday, March 11, 2011.

Interview

2011-03-07T13:36:00.001+09:00

Click here for recent interview of Toby for the international and English speaking people in/around Asahikawa.

10,000 Words

2011-03-07T09:03:00.004+09:00

1 picture = 1,000 words. 10 pictures = 10,000 words. It's been a good month!!

英語で、一つの写真　＝　１千言葉。　　だから。。。。。

Good Friends, Great Food & Powder Snow

2011-02-07T15:41:00.005+09:00

It's been another busy few weeks with many friends visiting and helping us enjoy the beauty of Hokkaido. Above is a picture of Toby's friends, Jason & Tom, coming out from a backcountry ski near Niseko. Below is another picture near Niseko of EzoFuji (aka Yotei-zan or "The Fuji of Hokkaido").

When we've seen the sun, we've had some beautiful moments. Above is taken by Toby & Maiko on the way to work one morning. Below is taken by Toby while skiing down Asahidake a week ago at sunset.

And then we went on a road trip.....
....to Hakkoda in Aomori. Amazing powder and good friends. FUN!!!

Delish food is being consumed every day....

....and Toby is showing his face at work from time to time.

And Jack is just hanging out on the heated floor of Square One. All is good with everyone around here. How are things with you? Next update will be sooner (or later) than last time. It all depends on what Mother Nature delivers....

Busy January

2011-01-13T12:32:00.002+09:00

So far, in 2011, everyone is healthy and everyone is busy. Above: Toby going for a hike and ski during a rare bluebird day on Asahidake.

Maiko cooking up unbelievable tasty dishes for friends and family.
Friends visiting from far away places like Toronto, Canada.
Good times with international friends at a local Izakaya. Counterclockwise from Canada Carey (talking on the crab phone), Australia Jonnie, Latvia Una, America Toby (taking photo) & Japan Maiko.
And lots of soaking in ofuro's or hot springs.

If we can judge the year by the first two weeks, 2011 is going to be a GREAT year!!

Happy Holidays From Square One

2011-01-03T12:10:00.002+09:00

The snow has started to fall...
The turkey was cooked, as well as a bunch of other good food....

The family came...

We had some good family time...

And the mountains paid us a visit, too.

Happy Holidays everyone. 明けましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願いします。May you have a wonderful 2011!!!

Smooth Movin'

2010-12-22T21:05:00.002+09:00

There are often very descriptive pictures in Japan. The below is one of these examples. The product is a supplement for Bomber to help pass hairballs through the system instead of coughing them up or having them get stuck and, ultimately, have to get surgically removed. Pictures 1~3 were expected, but the cat whistlin' dixie after having a movement in picture number 4 made the sale.

ALL Good!!

2010-12-19T17:26:00.002+09:00

Bomber turned a BIG corner yesterday and is doing much, much better!! We had a check-up with the vet and while he had lost a lot of weight, everything else seemed to be okay. The doc' said he could take the bandage off and roam freely. He received a shot of medicine (most vitamins and nutrients because of his weight loss and lack of eating) and we went home. Upon returning to Square One, Bomber has become a happy cat again and is eating, playing and full of energy again. Yeah!! Welcome Back, Bomber!!!

Today, Toby made his first visit to his local playground that many know as Asahidake. There was 30cm (1 foot) of fresh snow in the parking lot and over 40cm at the top of the mountain. The below picture was taken on Toby's 7th and last run of untracked white goodness. Yes.....it is ALL good right now!!

Bomber is Home!

2010-12-15T09:22:00.001+09:00

The test scores came back on the high range of normal, but lower than expected by all. That meant Bomber could come home to Square One. He spent the first night cuddled between Maiko & Toby with his head on the pillows. As Maiko said this morning, it's good to have the family back together.

Our Sick Baby

2010-12-11T18:24:00.003+09:00

We apologize for the long gap in posts. We've been busy and we've been sick. However, Bomber has gotten the worst of it.

Shortly after that last post, Bomber started to vomit way to frequently and often right after eating. Over the last 7~10 days, we've spent a lot time at local animal hospitals and online with many different cat groups to discuss the health issues he was having. In the end, he needed surgery to remove a long, 3~4 inch hairball from his duodenom (the tube that connects his stomach to his intestines). This hairball was laying in just a way over the edge of the duodenom and stomach that it couldn't flow smoothly down the digestive tract. It then prevented insulin from supplementing the digestive system and he became pancreatic. The above picture was taken shortly after surgery on Thursday evening. The below four pictures were taken a few hours ago when we went to visit him. It's obvious he loves us for he just perks right up when we show up to visit.
Bomber will stay in the animal hospital for at least 3~4 more days. We are awaiting results back from the lab on how bad of shape his pancreas is in. Assuming we get a good lab result and Bomber begins to eat normally (he is being tube fed right now), he should be able to come home to Square One sometime in the latter part of next week. Fingers crossed.

We are visiting Bomber everyday and we are studying up on how to change his (and Jack's) diet going forward. Please keep Bomber in your thoughs and send some good feline love his way. I'm sure he'd appreciate it.

A Week In Pictures

2010-11-25T14:33:00.004+09:00

Last week, we had our house sign installed. It won't be hard to find The Weymiller's now. ;)

We have had some amazing weather lately. Above is a photo of a full moon taken from the comfort of our local onsen (hot spring) which is only 10 minutes from Square One. Below is a picture of our yama's (mountains) from Aoki's rice paddy across the road.

Just yesterday, Toby reached his goal of 4,000km's on the bike this season. There was a beautiful sunset as he raced the sun and darkness home from Aibetsu. Now, he is going to hang up the bike and get the skis waxed and ready for a big season on the snow.

Square One Concert

2010-11-18T19:36:00.009+09:00

Last Saturday, November 13th, we hosted our first (of many to come) house concerts at Square One. Toby & Maiko's friends, Jared Boasen & Satomi, came down fron Nakatonbetsu-cho (the real deep & north "inaka" of Hokkaido) for Toby's birthday weekend. Jared played a 45 minute set of songs that included 3 Tom Petty songs and a handful of Japanese songs. We had 18 people present for this first concert and it was the perfect number and mix. Everyone seemed to have a great time with the only negative being the amount of pumpkin pie that was leftover. However, why Toby ordered 3 pies is a question we will never know the answer to. Since we had a homemade cheesecake (Taro Imaisan's wife) and homemade apple pie (Jared again - Yes, he can play the guitar, sing AND cook. Sorry, ladies, he's taken), we had plenty of dessert for everyone and about an army more.

Below is a video/audio clip of a song Jared rocked at Square One last weekend. We apologize in advance for the mediocre quality of the video. The audio still sounds pretty good and you can get a good idea of what the atmosphere was like. By the way, the acoustics in our straw bale home were just as we expected...VERY, VERY nice!! With just one word, we'll describe the whole concert as, "AWESOME". Please come and join us for another one in the future. We look forward to it!!

The Calm Before The Storms?

2010-11-13T08:40:00.002+09:00

Toby has been busy the last couple weeks with work related stuff so not much to report from Square One. The weather is changing, though, and the above is a frosty morning approach to the front door. As you can see, we have laid down sleeepers (RR Ties) with naturally colored rocks to lead you toward it. Next spring, we will then plant some green and red ground cover in-between the sleepers and on the sides of the rocks. We like the idea of color and natural materials leading you toward our natural house. :)

Above is a picture taken by Toby yesterday, November 12th. It is from Aoki's rice field (across the street) and taken with Toby's iPhone as he was getting ready to do some early morning work on the yard.

Below: Yes, Toby has been working whenever he can find a free moment (and cooperating weather) on a section of the yard that will be planted with flowers and sun-loving vegetables (possibly a "salsa garden"). In the below picture, you can see how we are working on a path that will not be straight, but take you through the garden and towards the back of the house. As the plan is in Toby & Maiko's head, it's probably hard for you to imagine what it will look like, but there will be many trees, flowering bushes, flowers, rocks (you can see some of these, eh?)and green grass. Oh...and you can see the monoki (garden shed) towards the back of the house. Unfortunately, we had to move this last week as we didn't allow for enough "green zone" on the street side of the shed. An easy mistake as we thought we only needed 1 meter of green zone there, but actually needed 2 meters. The town hall introduced us to a local builder who moved it for very cheap, tho, so all is well that ends well.

Below: One of the hardest things about the dirt/ground around Square One is the fact it is so "hard". While digging into it, we keep hitting rock after rock after rock. We started sifting them for awhile, but it was just too time consuming. We have been taking out the bigger ones and throwing them in this mini "rock garden" area. We hope to put a Japanese Maple (momiji) or two in this area, as well.

Below: Toby had to work 9 straight days that ended yesterday. Below was his reward, although he came home from work and put in an hour of garden work before opening this can of "Sapporo Classic" beer. A weekend of fun with friends, family and neighbors is here. Stay tuned for a post soon on the first house concert at Square One that we are having tonight!! We are very excited!!

Boo!

2010-11-04T13:52:00.004+09:00

Maiko & Toby met on Halloween 9 years ago so they are going to try to make a tradition of going to (or hosting) Halloween parties going forward. Last Saturday, we went to the local international bar, The Den, in Asahikawa for some scary good times!! As one person suggested, "Toby!! You should have worn a mask!!" Ha ha....

Toby then went on a trip with his fellow teachers on Sunday evening. When he came back on Monday and tried to unpack, Bomber sent him a message that he wants to go next time (see picture above).

And, finally, we are doing a lot of work on the yard to try to get the "Lasagna Garden" (see "Last Sunday" post below) down before the snow starts to stick. As you can see above, Jack & Bomber are supervising from inside Square One.

Where is Square One?

2010-11-03T08:31:00.002+09:00

If you are ever wondering where Square One is, check out this Google Map. Feel free to Zoom Out to get a better idea of where we are in compared to the other places in Hokkaido or Japan.

View Higashikawa Property in a larger map

As you can see by the map, we have "civilization" on one side of us (West) and an abundance of nature on the other side of us (East). At night we can hear the river rapids from the local Chubetsu River (South) and on clear days, we can clearly see The Taisetsuzan Mountains in largest National Park of Japan of the same name (20km East). There is a cycling road alongside the river where we can either go West into town or East into the mountains. There is a bus stop two blocks (North) of us that is the last bus stop on this side of town. Within a kilometer of Square One, we have a supermarket (local food sold there), sushi shop, post office, ramen shop, izakaya, bank, town hall, cake shop, bicycle shop, convenience store, a couple bakeries, many cafe's, a handful of local vege stands and a few coffee shops. Currently, we have two vehicles, but will be able to easily cut down to one if/when Toby stops teaching in Tohma (hard to bicycle those 20km in the winter). We'll also be cut down to zero cars once we both stop needing vehicles for commuting.

In short, life is good in this neighborhood!! Being on the edge of town is purr-fect (as Bomber and Jack would say) since we can enjoy the beauty & proximity of nature while being able to live sustainably near all the amenities of town.

I RESCUED A HUMAN TODAY

2010-11-02T10:56:00.001+09:00

Toby moderates a Listserve for animal lovers in Japan called, "Angels With Fur". Yesterday, he received the below poem/story from an AWF blog reader in Hawaii and it's just too darn good not to share with you all. Please enjoy and we dare you not to shed a tear or two!

I RESCUED A HUMAN TODAY Janine Allen

I rescued a human today.
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering
apprehensively into the kennels.
I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her. I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.
As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident
I had in the back of my cage.
I didn't want her to know that I hadn't
been walked today. Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy
and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.
As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about
my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make
a difference in someone's life.
She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me.
I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.
Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.
A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.
Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side.
I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.
I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors.
So many more to be saved. At least I could save one.
I rescued a human today.

A Seattle Legend

2010-10-28T14:14:00.014+09:00

Today, I (Toby) was reminded of just how awesome my good friend, Gabriel Scheer, is. Renowned photographer, Chase Jarvis, is the most recent person to jump on the Gabriel bandwagon. Check out his little tribute to the soon to be (if not already) legend of Seattle.

How do I know Gabriel? A few years back, I was working for a car-sharing company called Flexcar (now known as Zipcar) and Gabriel joined our team. Gabriel became a friend right away and we ended up spending a lot of time outside of the office riding bikes, drinking beers, listening to live music and doing projects together like making beer or remodeling his floor. I've always told Gabriel that I will enthusiastically be his campaign manager if he ever chose to run for a city office. He sometimes brushed those comments off by saying that he hasn't done anything yet. Yeah, right. If you have a few moments, take a look at Seattle Greendrinks that Gabriel founded or check out his new company, Re-Vision Labs, where he is truly making a dent in this big, bad world while building a more sustainable planet one community at a time.
And, finally, I've always told Gabriel that he planted the seed for us to build Square One with straw bales. Gabriel once told me about straw bale building and loaned me a few books on the subject. They sat on our West Seattle condominium table for a few weeks until a morning I couldn't sleep and one of those books found its way into my hands. On that special morning, I brewed a pot of coffee, sat down on the sofa and dug into, "The Beauty of Straw Bale Homes", by Bill & Athena Steen. 3 cups of coffee and 120 pages later, my mind was set. Of course, I had to sell Maiko on the idea and after she participated in a straw bale workshop with me in Eastern Washington, she was 100% in, as well.

Now, Gabriel is traveling around Europe on a Marshall Fellowship learning more on how he is going to help us save our planet. We hope he is enjoying his trip and hope that their next trip abroad will be to Square One.

Props also need to be sent out to the other two members of Gabriel's team and that is Jill (below) and Willa Kai (top picture). We miss you guys!!

p.s. We are always reminded of Jill & Gabriel when we look at the big clock in Square One. J & G gave us this clock from a school that was demolished in Colorado. Thanks for sharing your "time" with us, guys!! We looking forward to sharing more soon!!!

Last Sunday

2010-10-27T09:37:00.002+09:00

Last weekend, we had a friend, "Chris", visit us. We had a nice weekend of good food, good convesations, good organic wine and a wonderful Sunday filled with local nature. Here are a few pictures Chris has shared with us from our Sunday together. Above: Maiko & Toby outside Shibuya-san's "Cafe Good Life". Aptly named....
Above: Maiko & Toby walking down the path between Tenninkyou Onsen and Hagoromo Waterfall.
Above: Maiko & Toby & Hagoromo-taki.
Above: M, T & HT again. Hagoromo Waterfall is the highest waterfall in Hokkaido at 270meters and is listed in the "100 Best Waterfalls in Japan" (whatever that means). The best thing about HT for us is that it's only a 25 minute drive (or 1.5 hour bike ride) from Square One.

Above: We stopped on the way back to bag some leaves for the garden. A friend of ours shared a gardening book called "Lasagna Gardening" and we are getting all our lasagna layers together to put down before the winter snows stay for good. We probably have 3 weeks to a month to get our newspapers, horse manure (nearby "Horse Company" is giving us their crap for free), straw (Aoki-san's rice field across the street), compost, grass clippings (from neighbors), leaves (they are coming down now) and wood ash (will probably get from local furniture builder). Chris thought it was funny and took quite a few pictures of us getting these leaves from a nearby park.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow.....

2010-10-26T09:48:00.004+09:00

As you can see, it snowed this morning at Square One. More white stuff is expected tonight, but it is supposed to warm up this weekend so it'll probably be gone soon. In other words, it's just a little teaser before the snows come for good in about a month or so....

Autumn Changes

2010-10-18T15:27:00.002+09:00

Every year, Autumn brings changes. Changes in temperature (thank goodness), changes in daylight (getting dark too early), changes in clothing (this forced us to organize the closet finally), changes in scenery (golden rice fields get harvested) and changes in Mother Nature's dress color (the "fall colors" are truly amazing here). 2010 is no different, but it has been unique for us in our first Autumn in Square One. We sometimes remember the Autumn of last and how much of a blur it was during the house build. It's nice to take things much, much, MUCH slower this time around and truly enjoy all the changes that happen during this wonderful season. Here are a few pictures that tell stories about what we've been doing lately. Above: Maiko & Toby went to the "21st Century Forest" in HigashiAsahikawa the other week and enjoyed a wonderful picnic out at this little gazebo on this pond.
Above: Toby had his knee surgery a month ago (Sept 17th) and was back on the bike within 2 weeks. He has been riding to/from school, as well as other rides to get ready for the season that comes after Autumn. By the way, his doctor has already given him the green light to go skiing.
Above: After 2 months of getting adjusted to his new home and "staff" (dogs have owners, cats have staff), Jack has finally warmed up to us. Here he is hanging out with Maiko in the living room of Square One.
Above: A big change is about to happen tomorrow. Toby is trading his Mitsubishi Delica Spacegear in for a Subaru Legacy. The Delica gave us 2 GREAT years and was a huge help in the house build with all the materials transporting, people transporting and more. As a little farewell tribute, we took it offroad up to Asahikawa-Toge (pictured above) where we then did a short 750m hike to an amazing viewpoint.
Above: Maiko & The Taisetsu Mountains from above mentioned viewpoint.

How is your Autumn going and all the changes in/around your life?

Happy Times

2010-09-28T14:14:00.002+09:00

Title: Asahi-Yama Toby showed the above picture to his good friend, Lara, and she said Jack was like a Sunrise (Asahi) coming over Bomber The Mountain (Yama). We love that analogy!!

The above & below pictures are just happy and relaxing photo's of Maiko & Toby hanging with Jack & Bomber. Life is good in Square One. How are things where you are?

初冠雪!!!

2010-09-25T20:39:00.003+09:00

初冠雪 (hatsukansetsu - the first snowfall of the year/season) has hit The Taisetsuzan/Daisetsuzan Mountain Range big time this week. The skies cleared this afternoon for Toby to take a few pictures of Asahidake while Aoki-san was harvesting the rice fields next to Square One.

Cats, Closet & Scopes

2010-09-15T14:54:00.002+09:00

As you can see by the above two pictures, Bomber & Jack are getting along great. And Jack is enjoying all the little nooks and crannies of Square One, including the big circular window below.

We've also finally completed the shelving system in the master bedroom closet (see above) and Toby reached his goal of 3,250km (2,020 miles) yesterday. He is now preparing to check into the knee clinic tomorrow. He hopes that all the pre-surgery cycling will help speed up the recovery time. Fingers & paws crossed.

Bicycling Fool

2010-09-09T14:50:00.002+09:00

Toby has been "cycling baka" (a bicycling fool). Yes, much more than in recent years. He set a goal for 3,250km (2,000miles) before his knee surgery date next Friday, September 17th, and is getting close. Just this morning, he was out the door shortly after 6:00am because it was a beautiful day and he didn't want to waste it. After climbing up these two steep hills (above & below), he had some relatively downhill and flat areas to ride before hitting a 13% grade hill between HigashikawaToyota & Tohma.
Today, he is just under 3,000km with only a week before he checks into the knee clinic. He is looking to do some big rides over there weekend. A Queen song comes to mind.....

Square One

2010-09-08T14:43:00.008+09:00

As promised, here are some GREAT pictures of inside Square One that Ryan Libre, friend and professional photographer, took this last week. Please see link in yesterday's post for Ryan's home page or you can also go to the Document Arts Asia page for some cool stuff that he, with a handful of other artists, is doing around Asia. Click on any image to enlarge. クリックすると拡大できます

Ryan's Visit

2010-09-07T15:52:00.003+09:00

Ryan Libre, a friend and professional photographer, is visiting Square One this week and took some nice pictures. Here are few pictures he took of us enjoying our lovely home with a friend. Won't you come visit, as well?
Click on any image to enlarge. クリックすると拡大できます

For more of Ryan's pictures and/or sneak peeks at some of his amazing adventures on this wonderful planet, check out his website.

Jack & Bomber

2010-09-06T14:52:00.001+09:00

Life is good for these two felines at Square One!!

Local Nature Pictures

2010-09-02T19:43:00.002+09:00

Above: A sunset (and moon rise) from Square One.

Below: The garden behind Zen Cafe & Gallery near Square One (about a 5 minute walk away).

Below: The Chubetsu River (that runs past Square One and up into Taisetsuzan/Daisetsuzan National Park)

Above: Sunset near Square One on Toby's bicycle ride home from work (filtered with "Best Cam" app on his iPhone)

Below: Same sunset as above w/out filter (yes, this was taken with his iPhone.....as well as ALL of the pictures in this post!!)

Garden Shed (Monoki) & Happy Cats

2010-08-25T15:58:00.002+09:00

Just a couple quick pics for an update. Above & Below: You can see Maiko putting the finishing touches on the monoki (garden shed) that we put in the back corner of our lot. We'll be using this shed to store "stuff" and also to have the compost bins (see below) set up next to it. If you recognize the compost bins from somewhere, it's because they were used as troughs during the plaster phase of the house build last year. We thought of using them for planters, but they just didn't fit in to any of the visions of the garden/lanscape. It's looking nice next to the shed, tho.

Above & Below: A few "Happy Cat" pictures. Bomber & Toby are having some pillow talk early one morning in the above picture while Jack & Bomber are really starting to enjoy each others company in the picture below!! This picture really makes us smile and we hope it brings a smile to your face, as well.

The Last Day & A Great Hike

2010-08-19T12:53:00.005+09:00

It was August 17th and a "last day" for 3 people. The last day of Hokkaido Trip II for Joan and Rich visiting from Tokyo, as well as the last day of summer vacation for Toby. Mother Nature cooperated and gave them a beautiful day to venture south to the Furano area. The day started with a 5km technical hike up to the Ashibetsudake Yamagoya (mountain hut) followed by Doxon Curry for lunch. After lunch, we parked the van in Rokugo (30 minutes from Furano Station) and Joan/Rich toured the area on mamachari's. One of the highlights of their tour, was the Jam Factory. Toby was eager to go for a long road bike ride so he jumped on his Trek and disappeared for 3 1/2 hours, riding through places as far south as Minami-Furano and Kanayama. When it was said and done, he had a good 90km ride in his belt. The day ended with an awesome BBQ (breaking in the new BBQ from Denmark) on the deck of Square One. Joan added a very nice tomato salad (fresh from neighbors) to Toby's burgers and then topped off the evening with homemade sesame ice cream. Yum! And, of course, Rich provided the barley pops (aka beer) that were well earned. Cheers! Kampai! That was an awesome "last day"!!!

Here are some pictures from the hike in the morning. Click on any of the pictures to enlarge. BTW, this hike is one of Toby's top 3 hikes. We only did the lower part of the hike, but it was still very, very enjoyable.

BEE 2010

2010-08-10T11:32:00.004+09:00

Bicycle For Everyone's Earth (BEE) Japan made their annual trip to the ground of Square One. However, this year's group was able to reap the reward of BEE 2009's work and stay for a night.

Actually, the plan for this year's team was to stay 2 nights at Square One and help put together a storage shed (monoki) on their "rest day" here. However, they made a wrong turn in the mountains below Shimokawa and ended up crossing a fairly big mountain pass and riding into Takinoue instead of Aibetsu. After camping in Takinoue and riding the 126km to Square One (the last 35 with Toby who met them up by Aibetsu), they arrived.

(Above) On the deck of Square One, we enjoyed organic chips and salsa before consuming large quantities of the tofu taco salad that has become a BEE regular since Toby made it for the 2000 team when he was living in Fukagawa. It was Nami's birthday, so we put candles in a watermelon (her favorite), sang happy birthday and drank large quantities of homebrew & chocolate/raspberry port before calling it an evening.

(above): Yesterday, the BEE group help level and lay down the floor of the above mentioned storage shed (monoki) before hitting the road in the afternoon. Toby rode the 45km to Fukagawa and then they carried on for another 50km while Toby doubled back.

It was great to see and support BEE again this year. We hope to continue to help and support such a great effort going forward.

Happy 8th Year Anniversary!!

2010-08-03T21:05:00.004+09:00

8 years ago, Maiko & Toby tied the knot at Victorian Valley Chapel on Orcas Island.
It was a beautiful wedding with a reception on the water.

Below is a picture of the cake we had custom made with a Washington State Ferry passing by the reception in the background.

Above: Maiko & Bomber take a catnap. This is too good a picture not to post today on the blog. ;)

Cats, Canoes & Camping

2010-08-02T09:57:00.003+09:00

(above) Jack & Bomber are getting along well as you can see by them playing on the catwalks of their playground, Square One. However, Jack is still getting used to his new staff, Maiko & Toby. Baby steps.

Above & Below: Toby was invited to go on a canoe and camping trip up the the north of Hokkaido. The rain lately was too much for the rivers and so the canoe trip was cancelled. Instead, a lot of time was spent by the BBQ and beer cooler.

Above: One gentleman brought his shakuhachi or "zen flute" as some call it, for some wonderful post-BBQ entertainment.

Below: While camping, typhoon like weather came through the campground about 3:00am and caused us to break camp quickly. It was a short night of sleep so after getting back to Square One, a catnap with Bomber was high on the priority list.

Jack

2010-07-28T08:37:00.003+09:00

Jack has arrived at Square One. He's scared and Bomber is trying to adjust to having a younger brother in his house, as well. We expected the first few days/weeks to be a little rough so we will just give them both a lot of love and time to adjust. Above: Jack just before entering Square one.
Above & Below: Jack at his foster home before coming to Square One.

Happy Birthday Bomber

2010-07-24T20:46:00.002+09:00

The Birthday Boy!
Mom & Dad celebrating Bomber's birthday with some cat wine, local cakes and a new pen/photo holder.

The local cake shop likes cat's, too?

Ch.Ch.Ch....Changes

2010-07-20T22:29:00.002+09:00

Sorry. No posts recently. We've been in that transition stage we talked about before. Now, we are focusing on the area around Square One. The first step was to lay down the gravel and recycled red bricks. There are many different thoughts on whether this gravel perimeter is needed or not. We chose to do it for many reasons. One is for ease of water drainage. Two is for protection from splash of dirt up onto our beautiful walls. Thirdly, and the least important, is because it is what everyone else does here!! ;) Now, we are going to work on the flowers, garden and landscaping. Once that is all finished, I think the gravel perimeter will be barely even noticeable anyway. However, to add our special touch to this area, we picked up a bunch of recycled red bricks from Shibuya-san at Cafe Good Life. He has piles of bricks on his property and he said we could have as many as we like. Toby filled up his van last weekend with all sorts of odd shapes and sizes, made a straight line with string and laid them down around the house. We like the rustic and "home-made" touch that these recycled and odd shapes of red bricks add to the perimeter of Square One. What do you think?

Meanwhile, Bomber is hanging out inside Square One and staying cool during these hot summer days. We are trying to prepare him for his (soon-to-be) brother that is coming to live with him in 7 days but we aren't sure if he is truly comprehending this. If you'd like to get a glimpse at Jack (Bauer)who will come and create feline madness with Bomber at Square One, please check out this link.

Transition Time

2010-07-09T10:31:00.002+09:00

Yesterday, we finished the front entrance and steps (see above)!! This completes the house build phase(for now anyway- we have some projects to do, but they'll wait a year or two) and takes us to the landscaping and gardening phase. However, before we can start getting dirt under our fingernails, we will have to go through a short transition phase (a week or two) where we'll get the building materials off the property, as well as all the blue tarps/sheets and etc.

As you can see below, Bomber is already studying up on gardening. He has told us that he would like us to grow some catnip. Whatever Bomber wants......Bomber gets! We'll grow him some catnip!! :)

The Bowls, The Bowls, The Bowls

2010-07-08T14:44:00.003+09:00

About a year ago, we went to a pottery festival in Ebetsu City (near Sapporo) and met Hisae, a potter from Noboribetsu (see link). Over the next couple months, we were able to communicate by email and telephone to get two custom bowls made for two sinks. The one above is in the 2nd floor toilet room whereas the one below is in our senmen (utility/laundry/Maiko's chill) room. As you can see, Bomber loves these custom bowls, as well!!

The Porch is Almost Done!!

2010-07-07T14:57:00.002+09:00

We are very close to finishing the front porch and steps!! Yeah!!! In the next day or two, we'll be able to clean up all the blue tarps around the house and begin working on the landscaping. In other words, the outside of the house will be "finished" for now. Someday, we'll do something with that back deck (rotenburo or...?) and maybe do a few other upgrades, but we are just going to enjoy it for now.

A Busy (& Hot) Weekend

2010-07-05T13:12:00.005+09:00

The weekend started with Bomber hanging out in the loft where he waited for us to watch the "Doyoubi no nyanko" ("Saturday Cat" special) TV program.
Toby then spent the rest of the morning outside in the heat helping Noda-san with the final plaster on the foundation/stem wall. As you can see above, we were able to have a different color than gray by adding some natural sand and dirt into the mix with cement.
Toby was introduced to a cycling group last week and joined them on their Sunday ride. Toby was expecting a 50km +/- ride and it ended up being a 103km morning. It was the first time Toby has ridden in a group (or with anyone else for that matter) in 3~4 years and, although tired, he really enjoyed it!! He is already looking forward to the ride next Sunday morning.
After returning from the bike ride around noon, Toby re-fueled with a nice lunch with Maiko before going outside and helping Noda-san finish up the foundation plastering. Now, all that is left are the porch steps and the cement deck on the 1st floor.
At 4:30, we went and participated in a (new) neighbor's Mochi Maki which is one part of a house blessing series where the owners of the house throw out small bags of mochi (rice cakes) to neighborhood children.....and adults, like us, who fail to believe they aren't children anymore. Some of the mochi bags have 5 yen coins in them and we scored about a dozen of these!!
After the mochi maki, Maiko & Toby went to an American's house in Asahikawa to celebrate The 4th of July with a BBQ. Good times, but we were pretty tired by this stage. The only one who wasn't tired was Bomber and so he played a little air guitar (see above picture) to entertain Toby & Maiko.

Life is Funny!!

2010-07-02T14:34:00.002+09:00

It is!! Let me explain... The above picture is of the South corner of Square One, as well as a bit of the SW wall, big 2nd floor window on that wall and the deck. This is the side most exposed to the weather element, WIND, that we've feared the most since building the house. You can also see the window/door that opens on that big window that has been...err...interesting for us. We didn't know what the windows were going to look like exactly when we ordered them and when this one showed up, we looked at it and said, "What?". Granted, this window was originally planned to be at least one bale height above the 2nd floor. When we decided to put this window flush with the floor, we still didn't know what the windows were going to look like. Consequently, when the window showed up, we thought we had just created a "death door" of sorts that people could just walk out and fall to their doom. We created a few safety bars on the inside of this window and we also have a screen on it during the summer that will surely prevent people from even thinking about going out that window/door. In short, when people have asked what we would do different with the house going forward, we've always mentioned this window/door.

However, now that the heat of summer has arrived, this window/door on this corner of the house is providing a great source of comfort. The wind is still coming from this direction and it flows right through this door (when open, of course) and cools down the entire 2nd floor quite quickly. And if you are lucky enough to be sitting on the big sofa in the living room, you have the cool breeze even blowing your hair back a little. It's made us laugh a bit for we've always had different thoughts when thinking about the wind coming from this direction and that particular window/door. Now, we are singing a bit of a different tune.....

Surprise

2010-07-01T08:34:00.002+09:00

Yesterday, we came home to see that our log builder, Sakai-san, had dropped off this "door-stopper" on our front porch. Earlier this year, on a super windy day, we realized we needed a door-stopper to protect the door from flying open and crashing into the wall and metal flashing. We were looking at a few options, but weren't going to get it until we put the finishing touches on the porch and steps. By the way, we are hoping to finish the porch and steps in the next few days...

Recent Pictures of Square One

2010-06-30T13:35:00.001+09:00

We took some pictures of Square One last week after our first really big rain(it was really coming down like "cats and dogs" that day) of the season. Click on any image to enlarge. クリックすると拡大できます

These last two pictures (above and below) are the sides of Square One that were on the receiving end of the wind-driven rain. With the high quantity of water and strong winds, this was the first big test of our "new" walls and they held up wonderfully. As you can see in the pictures (above and below), there was some dark shading in areas. This is because the (tosa) lime has only had a few weeks to dry. With time, 6~12 months, the plaster will become harder, stronger and whiter. Eventually it will get to the point where there will be little/no discoloration and the water will just wash down the walls. We will post pictures every few weeks so you can join us in watching the walls change color. You'll have to come visit to feel hard hard/strong it is becoming!! :)

The Lucky & The Unlucky Ones

2010-06-29T14:58:00.002+09:00

Bomber is a lucky cat to have been adopted by Maiko & Toby. And now Bomber has his own house with natural catwalks, big windowsills and amazing decks to talk to birds from. What a lucky, lucky cat!!
However, there are many cats and kittens out there that are not as lucky (YET!!) and they need homes. Toby is helping out an organization called, "Angels With Fur" that is based in Japan. This group helped Bomber out with his move from Seattle to Japan 3 years ago! Now, Toby is hoping to help many unwanted "angels" find homes. For example, Christopher here (see below) is looking for a new home. At only 7 weeks of age, Christopher was taken to Animal Control to be destroyed, along with his three siblings, one of whom didn't survive. On May 28, Japan Cat Network (JCN) was able to intervene, thanks to a new partnership program in which we help to rescue surrendered kittens. Christopher and his sisters, Carrie and Caylee, were suffering from diarrhea and malnutrition, but have since made a full recovery. Christopher is an outgoing playful kitten, who enjoys attention and being cuddled. He has all the makings of a strong leader, and loves wrestling with his sisters. He is currently staying in a foster home in Gifu, and can also be available for adoption in other locations. JCN regularly brings kittens and cats to the Kanto area for adoption and fostering. Feel free to contact us if you are interested in meeting available candidates. If you'd like to join the "Angels With Fur" mailing list, please follow the directions at this link.