true love

We found out that a friend of ours lost their baby last month. It's such a heartbreaking thing to hear that a couple has lost their child. Though they didn't get to know their little sweetheart, that child was loved beyond compare. Being so far away, it's difficult to be comforting to friends who are hurting. All we could really do was pray.

Our friend Julia came to visit, and in preparing things to do during her visit, I came across an amazing pathway devoted to children who had passed away. It was near a Buddhist temple that I thought Julia would be interested in visiting. At the temple, you could purchase a pinwheel to place on the path in remembrance of the child. We placed one on the hill with the others, a tribute to a life that never got to be. It was beautiful, with the pinwheels standing out in stark contrast to the snowy hills they were placed on.

It was a small way to pay tribute to true love.

baseball

Another thing I love about Japan is that they share one of my favorite American pastimes: baseball! So when I heard that Tokyo was hosting the MLB baseball exhibition in March, I was extremely excited to look into going! After researching, we found out that the Mariners (my favorite team) will be playing the A's (the team most of my friends support)! Ichiro hasn't played in Japan in several years, so it will be an added bonus to watch the Japanese fans go crazy about this game!

The tickets went on sale February 4, so we were at the Lawson's bright and early to purchase the tickets. I'm sure I've shared this with you before, but you can find just about anything in a vending machine here in Japan. Tickets are no different! Lawson's is the equivalent of a 7-11 back in the states, and the Lawson's vending machines sell the tickets.

Also like most things in Japan, it was an adventure in and of itself to purchase the tickets. We walked into the Lawson's and, with a lot of time, a lot of translating skills, and a fair amount of help from the Lawson's attendant, we successfully bought our tickets!

Finding the correct dates and seats.

Ben translating the katakana.

Getting some much-needed help.

Printout for the tickets - all that work for a little receipt!

Success! Baseball, here we come!