The Adventures of Blu-Blu (or Blu-Blu's Blog)

[blu-blus-blog]

Where has blu-blu been?

Goodness, it's been a while!

Blu-Blu and I ended up in still another hotel -- for a total of four over the course of the three weeks. 

The fourth hotel was a little further away (not walking distance like the other three had been), so we took the subway in the morning and evening back to the hotel. Sometimes the subway is so packed, there isn't even enough room for someone to stand!

This was obviously not one of those time :)

In order to help people understand the use of the automated toll collection machines, the nice people from the Tokyo subway provided the following instructions. I'm not sure what it says exactly, but I think the meaning is pretty clear!

Going fast almost never works out. That's what Blu-Blu and I say, anyway.

We are heading back to the US on Friday (Halloween). We can't wait to get home to see everyone!

[blu-blus-blog]

A Midweek Update from Tokyo

Believe it or not, we had to move again today...that' makes three hotels in the. space of 11 days. That has to be some kind of record. We're not exactly sure why there don't seem to be any hotel rooms in Tokyo, but many people Blu-Blu and I know are in the same situation. 

We started at the New Otani, and then moved to the b Hotel (in Akasask--cool name, I know, especially when you say it fast :) The b Hotel was nice, and not too far from the office (about a 10m walk), but it was small. There wasn't really a closet--just a bar with some hangers!

The entire room was basically two (twin) beds...

But now were in the Okura Hotel. The Okura Hotel is famous, and is less than a block from the office where Blu-Blu and I work. Maybe next time, we'll just ask to stay here for the whole trip! There was a beautifully folded paper crane and turtle (called 'origami'), but I forgot to take a picture...we'll send that up later today.

Bye-bye from Blu-Blu

[blu-blus-blog]

First Weekend in Tokyo

Where does the time go!

Blu-Blu and I had a big weekend here in Tokyo. We had to move hotels…this is Blu-Blu looking out our window at the peaceful garden. 

  The new hotel room (called the ‘b Hotel’ ) is a little smaller, or at least the bed is, but the hotel is nice, and in a quiet neighborhood. This hotel does not have a fitness center, so we have been running outside. Our run on Sunday went around a palace! We made another post of that.

Blu-blu and I found a nice Italian place for lunch on Saturday, and took a nap. People in Japan work very hard during the week, and so we were both tired (Blu-Blu goes to work with me everyday, so he was tired, too). Here’s were Blu-Blu and I work…

  These are two of my colleagues (and the little imp himself on the computer) where we were working yesterday. We use the TV in the background there to share a computer screen for meetings. There are a lot of meeting areas like that in the office.

Blu-blu's new Japanese phrase for today is 'Arigato.' That means thank you, which is good for Blu-blu to know because the Japanese people are very polite. 

Blu-Blu wants to talk about money tomorrow...so we will

[blu-blus-blog]

Where Blu-Blu and I ran on Sunday, the 19th of October, 2014

[blu-blus-blog]

Arriving in Japan

It was a 10 hour flight from Los Angeles, CA to Tokyo's Narita airport (after a brief flight from San Diego, CA to Los Angeles, CA). When Blu-Blu and I went to Australia recently, we were fortunate enough to sit in Business Class. That's good because Blu-Blu likes to stretch out.

  Yeah: that's a pretty nice ride. Beside being a lot of room, they give you a lot of stuff (toothbrush, blindfold, earplugs, and socks!). It's not a bad way to travel if you're going to spend 15.5 hours in the air.

The significant part of this flight for Blu-Blu and I is that it was on a Boeing 787 'Dreamliner.' Blu-Blu and I have flown on the 707, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and now the 787--in other words all of the Boeing passenger jets. That's important because Blu-Blu really likes planes. 

After we arrived, Blu-Blu and I snapped this photo while we were getting our luggage.

The new phrase for us to day is 'konichiwa' which means good afternoon. Blu-Blu heard that somewhere before, but he couldn't place it...

Tomorrow, we'll show you where Blu-Blu is staying!

[blu-blus-blog]

1st Post

Let me introduce you to Blu-Blu (yes--he was featured on my iPhone lock-screen for a period of time...)

Blu-Blu has been my (silent) constant travel companion for the last three years. In that time he has been across the Unites States, Mexico and Canada, and has been to India and Australia, as well. Blu-Blu no longer wants to be silent.

So...we will be letting you know about Blu-Blu's adventures during his current trip to Japan--where he is, and what he is doing. There is so much to tell! Japan is a very different place that Blu-Blu's home in San Diego, and he has been learning a lot. For example, he learned to count to ten in Japanese: ichi, ni, san, yo, go, roku, nana, hachi, kyuu and jyuu. He also learned about the Yen (Japan's currency) and how much a Yen is worth in terms of US dollars (which Blu-Blue is more used to). 

That's all for now...but stay tuned for the Adventures of Blu-Blu