Shonan Sunsets

Shonan is great!

I was first introduced to this area by a former student of mine who was studying in San Diego. I came to visit him in 1999 stayed with him a few weeks, moved to Yokohama and Saitama (Soka City) for a short time but came back to live here ever since then.
The first time I came to Japan was in 1994, the year that the professional J- league started. At that time, the country was going crazy over it. There were too many Jleague campaigns to count and it seemed like every restaurant was palying "Ole, Ole, Ole, we are the Champs!" I didn't really care much for soccer coming from the USA but it was a bizarre experience. I'll never forget it. I even learned the names of the most famous players including Ramos and King Kazu, and some of the team names, especially the Flugels, who are now part of the Marinos.
Anyway, I lived near Tama Plaza and Odakyu Samamihara stations at that time then moved back to the USA in 1995.
I returned to Japan after living in Boston years, and Brazil , and settled back here, in Shonan. First I lived in Zengyo for a few years then after buying my school, realized Tsujido was a much more comfortable city to live in and moved here with my family.
The climate is favorable here compared to other parts of Japan and we also have Terrace Mall since1994 (the same year my son was born) which is an airy shopping mall, with really nice shops and restaurants, with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. If you haven't been before, please consider visiting or living here. The sunsets can't be beat, either!

Park in the (hot, 2013 summer ) park!

Every Summer in Japan gets hotter and more humid but we live near the sea and one of the best parks in Japan so that helps to cope with the situation.The park is so great it has a water park (with a huge water slide), jogging courses (of course!), a cycling kid's beginner's course, (park in the park!) multiple grass fields, a soccer ground, a small pond and stream, a forest walk, a gabezzo overlooking Mt. Fuji, a mini car above ground ride, a train car for chillaxing in after a long walk, and other various forms of transport you can see us using above. There's even a JMA weather observation tower!


Above : the best way to chill out on a sweltering day, on DaDa's head

Halloween

Leo's st Halloween costume. He was born on Novemeber 25 so it's actually his second Halloween.



Woody is holding Leo the Jack-o'-lantern! He was a good Jack o Lantern and I was a good Woody. Toy Story is a pretty good movie and brought to us by Steve Jobs and Pixar so I enjoyed wearing this costume.

【018】Tokyo Disneyland Hotel

We stayed at the new, gorgeous Tokyo Disneyland Hotel for my wife's Bday on July 28. The price was expensive but we could swim at the nice pool and enter the park one hour early, and for dinner we went to the restaurant Chef Mickey where many characters walked around greetting the customers.