Costco!

And FINALLY, our cupboards are stocked. Yesterday we made the much anticipated trip to Costco Tokyo, where promise of North American goods in ample, staggering quantities awaited; we found (but exercised buying restraint) everything from Costco cake-muffins, croissants and bagels to Kirkland cheddar cheese blocks, raisin bran, vodka, wine and flats of root beer. It was, as Costco always is, MEGA. And, the best part? THEY DELIVER. We walked in empty-handed and walked out empty-handed (though minus a pretty packet of yen) - fabulous. The second best part about it was the jumbo-sized sushi trays, with rows and rows and rows of tuna, salmon and not-sure-what-else sashimi and sushi. YUM. There were no samples of the sushi-goods, but we did graze the croissant, rotisserie chicken, beef, pizza and strawberry sampler stations, and then a la piggins, ate pizza and drank orange-fizzy for lunch. And the third best thing about it was that it only took us 30 minutes to get there on the subway, rail and then bus lines... hurray. And so, now we are stocked. I actually have options for breakfast tomorrow - eeek!

When we first arrived I joined a few meetup groups (but oops, haven't gone to any yet), and was group-emailed by a writer's group about a children's book workshop thingy that's happening tomorrow out in Yokohama. The Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children's Book Authors and Illustrators is running the event, and it looks like it will be a neat little get-together. I will have to skip the post-workshop dinner, as Steve's team is having a sort of open the season party (I think that's the reason); season starts in three weeks (December 5th in Hiroshima), and I'm sure everyone is happy to have finally have some matches after logging soooo many hours of training.

I went out for lunch with a friend today, and she took me to the CUTEST little cafe in her neighborhood of Shimokitizawa. In a very sparsely decorated white-walled, wood-tabled salle, we ate soup and salad, and home-made english muffins. YUM. With coffee and tea. We had a great time wandering around and checking out the eclectic shops afterwards, and I'm excited to go back to explore the area a bit more. (And eat and drink coffee - lots of amazing looking cafes!) And for now, c'est tout - it's dinner time!

a hearty slice of pizza - we were hungry after the long Costco shop...

sushi and more sushi - AMAZING!


Yes that's a Louis Vuitton bag and yes you can buy it at Costco... interesting match-up!

We caught the final match of the day at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym: Grand Champions Cup volleyball tourney is in full swing (paa-ha) - we watched Thailand take on the home team. The place was PACKED!