More Tokyo

Today, Russ had Fulbright orientation for much of the day. Then, the Fulbright office treated us to a great lunch: sushi to start, a nabe for the second course (nabe is a stew-like dish that is cooked over a burner at your table; it takes many forms, but ours had a little beef, tofu, noodles and greens), then a seasonal bento that contained tempura among other things, and finally, a delicious small pudding that had a bit of red bean paste. Delicious!

In the afternoon, we visited the National Children's Castle, which was built at the height of the Japanese economy in the 1980s. Here, you can see Laurea at the rooftop and at the music floor. Other areas include: a well child check-up area, a pool, gymnasium, video library, indoor play structure, baby play areas, Japanese traditional craft room, parenting classes, etc. etc. All very reasonable for about 500 yen (a little less than 5 dollars) -- cheaper than the Hands On Museum!

The weather has been very nice - sunny and in the upper 60s. A nice change from Ann Arbor!