The first was Brazil Day at Yoyogi Park. We went fairly early in the day and enjoyed seeing all sorts of food that I haven't seen in a while: "spitinhos" of beef, a maracuja caipirinha, graviola juice...
There was a stage with performances all day - and true to the Brazilian experience, it was running significantly behind schedule. There were also people performing capoeira, which was a lot of fun to watch.
This was my first time to Yoyogi Park, and I discovered that no park is complete without a mural of a giant whale flying over a city.
At the end of the month, I went to Tokyo City Keiba racetrack for the Twinkle (i.e. nighttime) races. That particular night was the Santa Anita Trophy Races, which include the (U.S.) Ambassador's Cup race. (I may be mixed up on the "trophy" and "cup" thing, but you get the point.)
About 100 Embassy personnel and their families were invited to spend the evening in one of the fancy boxes (big room plus balcony with food and drinks and comfortable seating) and watch the races.
Possibly my favorite moment of the night was when I watched a race, and as the horses passed the finish line in front of me, I noticed that the second place horse had no jockey. Apparently, the jockey fell off at the very beginning of the race. Bummer for him, but the horse was very happy to run the entire race without the extra weight. Too bad he was disqualified. Hope they gave him a treat with his dinner that night.
Later, our DCM presented the award to the winner of the Ambassador's Cup race.
There was a stage with performances all day - and true to the Brazilian experience, it was running significantly behind schedule. There were also people performing capoeira, which was a lot of fun to watch.
What I can not figure out is why there were sombreros with "Brazil" written on them.
At the end of the month, I went to Tokyo City Keiba racetrack for the Twinkle (i.e. nighttime) races. That particular night was the Santa Anita Trophy Races, which include the (U.S.) Ambassador's Cup race. (I may be mixed up on the "trophy" and "cup" thing, but you get the point.) 
About 100 Embassy personnel and their families were invited to spend the evening in one of the fancy boxes (big room plus balcony with food and drinks and comfortable seating) and watch the races. Possibly my favorite moment of the night was when I watched a race, and as the horses passed the finish line in front of me, I noticed that the second place horse had no jockey. Apparently, the jockey fell off at the very beginning of the race. Bummer for him, but the horse was very happy to run the entire race without the extra weight. Too bad he was disqualified. Hope they gave him a treat with his dinner that night.
Later, our DCM presented the award to the winner of the Ambassador's Cup race.
A lot of people placed bets on the races, but I didn't. I figured I'd just lose if I did, and I would be much happier just cheering on the pretty horses. So I had a great time!
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