Settling, eating and exploring

Greetings from rainy Tokyo!  I keep hoping that the rain will usher in Fall weather, but so far no such luck.  The other morning, I was lying in bed, listening to the rain and wondering what shoes I could wear for the walk to work, when it occurred to me that maybe it was time to buy rain boots.  So my first pair of rain boots in probably 30 years is now zooming across the ocean to me.

Besides the occasional rain, the last few weeks have involved settling, eating and exploring. 

Settling: I moved into my permanent housing last weekend!  I’m very happy to be here.  It’s a good space, and I am looking forward to decorating it.  Slipcovers for the sofa, chair and ottoman have been ordered (to protect them from the kitty and because they are not attractive).  Shower curtains for both bathrooms are also on the way.  I’ve already put much of the welcome kit down in my storage unit and dragged furniture all over the apartment.  I receive my stuff on Wednesday afternoon (WOOHOO!), at which point settling in will begin in earnest.

Eating: We’ve been doing a bunch of lunches, receptions and dinners so that my boss and I (who both arrived last month) can meet contacts.  And then there are the regular work receptions.  In one month, I’ve been to more receptions than I think I went to during my entire tour in Brazil.  Since I don’t have most of my kitchen stuff yet, it’s kind of nice to not have to cook hardly at all, and I appreciate the opportunity to visit a bunch of restaurants.  However, I’ll be lucky to not gain 20 pounds by the end of this!  Thankfully (for my weight and my feet), I hear that October will be a slow month before all of the pre-New Year’s and New Year’s receptions start.  The goal is to start exercising again and eat healthy for the month of October.  I should probably also invest in some salts for soaking my feet… 

Takahata Fudo temple

Takahata Fudo temple

Exploring: Last weekend I went with some colleagues and their families to a shrine sale (aka: flea market) at Takahata Fudo temple, which is about an hour away.  Because it was raining off and on, there weren’t a ton of vendors, but I still managed to buy an obi and a scroll for my office (which is in serious need of decorating) and take a lot of pictures of the lovely grounds. 

Takahata Fudo temple

An hour after returning home, I heard the drum from the festival at the shrine next door and quickly forgot about aching feet, grabbed my camera, and headed back out the door.  It was my first Japanese festival (of which I hear there are a ton).  It was a lot of fun.  There was food and drinks and games for the kids and people in their kimonos dancing around the drum (like Japanese line dancing). 

I was going to do some more exploring this weekend, but then I saw that it was going to rain – which cuts down on my picture-taking – so I decided to putter around the house.  My goal is to get everything put away before the majority of my worldly belongings arrive this week.

Happy Fall!