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Have you ever been to one of those owl cafes in Tokyo? They look fun. I actually wanted to take my brother and my sister in law to one but she was too scared to give it a try. She’s afraid the owl might do something crazy. I tried to convince her but it wasn’t going to happen.

I’ve always loved comics and when I was a kid, I used to watch Batman The animated series and Spiderman all the time. Last year they released a new TV show called Gotham. It’s about a young Bruce Wayne before he became Batman. You can see what training he goes through and how his arch enemies like Penguin and The Riddler became the psychotic villains they are now. They haven’t introduced the Joker yet, but I’m guessing they’re saving him for a later season.

I read this really interesting article about the top tourist destination in Japan. Hokkaido’s Hakodate stands out as the nation’s most attractive tourist destination for the second year in a row, according to a recent survey done by a private think tank. The survey was based on 29,046 valid responses collected from Japanese people in their 20s to 60s across the nation. The survey, now in its 10th year, scored and ranked the tourist appeal of prefectures and municipalities by asking people to evaluate 77 criteria, including attractiveness, recognizability, ease of information access and people’s willingness to visit. Tourists also reported enjoying the historical buildings, beautiful landscapes and gourmet cuisine in Hakodate. Do you agree with this article? What would you call the best tourist site in Japan? http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/10/05/national/survey-ranks-hakodate-as-japans-top-tourist-site-for-second-year-in-a-row/#.VhMYn-yqpHy

One thing I miss about home is the fall colours. No matter where you go in Canada, you can see them and they are absolutely beautiful. When I have the time, I make a point to stop by some of the local parks in Japan and check them out just because it brings back so many great memories. What’s your favourite season? Are you looking forward to the fall this year? www.jabble.jp

B: How was Hawaii? A: I loved it. I want to live there. B: What did you like about it? A: The island was so green, the water was so blue and the people were so nice. B: Sounds great. Did you go swimming? A: Yeah, I went to the beach every day. Luckily, it wasn’t so crowded. B: How was the weather? A: It was great! It was hot and sunny every day. B: Good to hear. What did you do at night? A: At night I went out to eat, went to great bars and one night, I saw a Hula show. I’d never seen dancing like that before. It was so beautiful. B: Sounds great!

I Am Robot And Proud is the name Toronto native Shaw-Han Liem works under to create his unique brand of hypnotic, beguiling electronic pop music. Shaw-Han has enjoyed a two-fold musical life as both an electronic composer/performer and an in-demand live keyboardist. After spending a decade studying with the Royal Conservatory classical piano program, he combined his love for music and computers under the name "I Am Robot And Proud" in 2000 while completing a degree in Computer Science. http://www.robotandproud.com/

Before I moved to Japan 5 years ago, my friend and I had watched all of Death Note in one night. We just couldn’t stop watching it. The characters and the plot were great and it really kept you intrigued until the very end. I’m a big fan of the character L. He treated the hunt for the killer like a chess game and his quirky mannerisms kept you wondering what he was going to do next. Check out the new TV show. It’s pretty good in my opinion.

Tanabata is an Asian festival that is based on the Chinese legend of two lovers, Orihime and Hikoboshi who can only meet once a year on July 7th when the Milky way appears. It’s a festival and a day that are custom-made for romance. One of the most famous Japanese Tanabata customs is the decoration of bamboo branches with ornaments and colourful strips of paper. Have you ever written a wish on one of them?

Thank you, Kaori for your time and help. A: Hey, did you just come back from Toronto? B: Yeah, it was great. It was also really surprising for me. I went there thinking there wouldn’t be any other Asian people, but I was completely wrong. In fact, I didn’t stand out at all. But the craziest thing was that I sometimes couldn’t even hear English on the streets. A: Wow! That’s hard to imagine. B: Yeah, right? But the trip was amazing. I lived not too far from this park called High Park, which was right next to Little Poland. I loved it there. The cafes and bakeries were a 2-minute walk from my place. It made it so easy to pop in and grab something to eat. A: That does sound nice. Actually, if I can take the time off work, I’m considering doing a working holiday next year. Maybe I should think about Toronto as an option. B: You really should! You won’t regret it.

A: Nice couch! B: Thanks. I couldn’t have found it if it hadn’t been for you. That place you told me about was amazing. They really gave me what I wanted. They asked me a few questions and then showed me some models that I might be interested in. They were really professional and nice. A: I felt the same way. I’m thinking about going back there again. I’m looking for some chairs that match my dining room table. B: What’s your budget? A: Ideally, I want to spend somewhere between 25,000 and 40,000 yen. B: That’s a good amount. I think you’ll find something for sure.

A: Hey Kelly, what are you going to do this weekend? B: I’m not sure, I might go to that Jamaican festival at Yoyogi Park but I can’t stand crowds. A: I was thinking about going there as well but I’ve been spending a lot of money recently so I might not go. B: I totally agree. Are you interested in renting a movie instead? A: Sounds good. What do you have in mind? B: They just did a Japanese remake of the Clint Eastwood classic, ‘Unforgiven’. It got rave reviews from a lot of critics. Do you want to rent it? A:Sounds good. I’ll bring some snacks for the movie.

A: How was your holiday? B: It was great. I went to The Shimanto River in Kochi. Have you ever been there? It’s beautiful. A: I’ve never been there but from what I’ve heard, it’s famous for people jumping off the bridges into the river. Is it true? B: I’ve heard the same thing but when I was there it looked like the water was too shallow to jump into. I didn’t want to risk it. The water might’ve been too low from the water drought. A: I think so. From what the news said, Kochi has reached record temperature highs this summer. B: I heard the same thing. Luckily, we left that area right before it happened.

I never drink wine. Ok, not never, but almost never. It tastes good, I like it and all, but a lot of times I have a bad reaction to it. There’s a chemical in red wine called tannins. I’m not really sure what they are but they are a kind of impurity that some people have a bad reaction to. Unfortunately I’m one of those people. It’s like an allergy. But, once in a while I break my “no wine” rule and have a glass. This Valentine’s day I took my wife and son out for dinner and had a glass of wine and my son had some grape juice. Honestly, I should have had the grape juice.

Coming in to work the other day I saw the Tokyo Marathon going past. It was really cool to see the runners going by and all the support they get from bystanders. They start in Shinjuku and go very near the school so every year I see them out there. Back in 2012 I did the Tokyo Marathon and every year when I see them part of me wishes I was out there with them but I’ll never do it again. I just can’t stand the cold and never want to be out there in a cold race again. Maybe it’s time to start looking for a summer time marathon.

I never thought I wanted to have kids but it’s turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. My wife and I were getting a little older and thought it was about time to have one and once our son came along we were ecstatic. It’s just so much fun. I don’t go out and have the wild nights I used to but I’m a lot happier now. It’s definitely not easy but it’s fun a lot of the time like throwing a ball around or wrestling or just making trains out of blocks. It’s awesome.

My son will be two soon and he's learning to talk and to read a lot.

These days I hardly go out at all. Maybe once a month at best. We’ve been making a strong push to pay off our taxes and insurance and a lot of other bills. Most of my friends go out three even four times a week but I just can’t do it. I sort of miss going to cafes and exploring the city a bit. Sitting in a cafe and working on some illustration project or just reading used to be a bit of fun. Hopefully next fall I’ll be all caught up on my bills.

Have you ever seen Big? It’s one of my favorite movies but I haven’t seen it for a while. It’s still a really popular movie even though it’s a little older. It came out in nineteen eighty something and it was one of Tom Hanks' first big successes. It’s basically about a kid who wishes he was big. He gets his wish and gets to see what the world is like for grownups. It also helps the grownups around him remember what it was like to be a kid. In one scene Tom Hanks and his boss dance on a giant piano in FAO Schwartz, the toy store in New York. That scene was so popular that even today they still have a giant piano set up for shoppers to dance on.

I turned away from my son for about thirty seconds when there was a strange smell like plastic in the room. Looking around I saw his toy train sitting in front of the kerosene heater and its face melting! It wasn’t so bad because I caught it in time but it’s face melted in this horrible way. It kind of looks sad. And my son looks at me and says “ouch” whenever he plays with it now. He feels sorry for melting Thomas the Tank Engine.

I don’t think Shinjuku is a particularly beautiful area of town; not in comparison to Omotesando, Daikanyama, or even Jiyugaoka. But once in a while, when the weather and the light are right you can get a good view of some of the buildings. I guess it also depends on where you go in Shinjuku. Kabukicho is kind of dirty but Shinjuku park is amazing and the area near the police department where all the tallest buildings are is pretty nice.

I love a good Christmas ham. I’m not sure why going to KFC for Christmas chicken has become so popular in Japan but I’m guessing it was a marketing push by KFC. Anyway, the great thing is how cheap big hams are to buy in the States, only about twenty dollars for one and they last for days. So next time I go to Costco I’m going to get a nice sized oven or crockpot and some ham and cook up. I just hope it’s not too expensive.

Snacks were great back home. I got some great Sam Adams and I got some cheese, olives, pickles and nuts to snack on. You can get Sam Adams in Japan but only the regular kind and it’s more expensive since it’s an import. In the states there are a lot of seasonal releases and they are so good. I love the winter lager.

I used to work in the Time Warner building in Manhattan. It was a really nice new building when I worked there and there was an amazing gym in the basement. CNN is also located in the building so we would get a lot of the newscasters coming through my shop on their way to the gym. We got a lot of celebrities in there too like Madonna, Robert Downy Jr. and Beyonce. Beyonce was amazing.

I had some amazing sweet potatoes while I was in the states. They are so amazing. I always see them on sale in Japan but I don’t see many sweet potato dishes in restaurants or in shops. They are one of the most popular American foods especially in fall and winter. Sweet potato pie is incredible and there are loads of great recipes out there. I think my favorite style is just having them roasted whole.

A while back I came across an old man on a bike wearing a Toronto Blue Jays cap. I regret not talking to him then. Luckily, I saw him again on the street so I decided to say hello. It turns out that he has a daughter in Vancouver. What a nice guy.

I was walking out to do some flyering one day and this double-decker bus came rolling by. I was really surprised to see one of these in Tokyo! It must have cost a fortune to have it shipped over here from London. I’m not much of a car guy but when I see a car that sticks out like this it’s pretty exciting.

HAUNTED AUDIO WEDNESDAYS You never know what's going to be lurking outside of the shadows but you might like it. You can never determine whether you're going to gain from it or just fall into a dirty, deep trap. Isn't that the fun of it all? Not knowing? Not knowing where you are or where you are going to be? I can assure you one thing. This night is something special. From the fog leaving you wondering when the moment is coming and you'll want it. YOU'LL NEED IT. You might be gasping for air or you'll make it through. Just be brave, stand tall and walk slowly, watching your steps. Once you get to the masked mansion, say hello to my friends. They'll be waiting. You can't make it out. It's your fate. You think that's the final draw. Have checked every angle and every crevice? I highly doubt you have.

One of my coworkers and I were talking about music this morning and I mentioned this album by Dust called Hard Attack. They’re not very well known but were active in the early 70’s. Their music is pretty amazing because it sounds a lot like late 60’s rock but you can really hear the foundations of metal in their music. I looked them up and found that some people think of them as one of the very first metal bands.

When I got my bike, one thing I noticed about other riders was that no one seems to wear a bike helmet in Japan. I’ve mentioned this to a few students and they told me that they never wear bike helmets because they don't crash. That's really surprising to me because in the U.S. everyone I know wears a helmet. Even if you’re careful about riding, accidents still happen. You could hit a patch of ice or other drivers could hit you. So even though it looks dorky, I always wear my helmet.

Since I have an apartment it's not easy to do much gardening. We don't have a yard so instead we use a lot of planters. This year we decided to experiment with some tomatoes. We just planted two tomato plants and only got a few tomatoes out of them but they were amazing. I did a taste test of one of my tomatoes along with a tomato from Costco and mine was much better. It was juicy and really flavorful. So we're definitely going to start growing a lot more plants.

My wife and I took our son to Shinagawa aquarium a few weeks ago. I can't say it's the best aquarium I've ever been to and it's definitely not the biggest, but we had a really nice time. While we were there, there were some divers in the water whose job it is to clean the tanks from the inside. One of them saw me standing there with my son and stopped and waved to us. I just thought that looked like a really fun job.

Last week I went to a Belgian beer Festival in Yokohama. They had it in Yamashita park and it was really great. The beer selection was fantastic. They had a lot of different types of beer that I hadn't tried before. Most of them were really good but they were pretty strong so you can’t drink a lot of them. I think I tried about five types. The food was really good too; lots of sausage and sauerkraut and some great Belgian fries. The only bad thing is that it was raining the whole time so there weren't a lot of people there. Hopefully next year the weather will be a bit better.

A lot of my friends have been playing this game "Clash of Clans" for a while. I got the app and checked it out but it really wasn’t my thing. But my friends kept playing, and they kept talking about it, and they kept telling me what a good time they were having. So I gave it a second chance. I guess they must have updated the game because it was a lot better the second time I tried it. Now, I can’t stop playing it, and talking about it and telling all my friends what a good time I’m having with it. It’s funny how things work out that way sometimes.

Over the weekend I was out shopping for plants and spotted this little guy. I don’t know what kind of bug he is but he’s incredibly cute. Actually I used to be terrified of bugs, especially really big ones like this. I didn’t get over it until one of my students, a kid, brought a giant beetle to class and put it on my arm. If he wasn’t scared, and he was a kid, there was no way I could be scared of it either. Since then, I’ve had a great time taking photos of things in nature like bugs.