I'm inundated by the details of our upcoming move. I have to make lists of all the things I need to do each day. Even then, I forget things. You would think for all the times we've moved that it would get easier. It doesn't. This time it seems especially difficult because we both enjoy living in Tokyo so much. We're trying hard to be positive and look forward to our new life in England, but we can't help feeling sad over leaving Japan.

We had a nice weekend, the first in a long time when we both spent the entire weekend together. Usually Brad's off playing golf or I'm attending a DigitalEve event. On Saturday, we spent the day with Heather and Graham, the English couple in our building with whom we've become friends. We had good weather and spent the morning strolling through Kasai Rinkai Koen, one of Tokyo's many parks. Then we had lunch along Tokyo Bay at TY Harbor, an American-style restaurant with its own microbrewery. It felt just like being in the States, not quite the experience I wanted to seek out during our last days in Tokyo, but the company was good. On Sunday we went to a Wisteria Festival at Kameido Shrine. (It's the same shrine I went to with my sister JoAnn when she came to visit in January 2002 -- at that time there was a Bullfinch Festival going on.) The shrine is rather unusual compared to others I've seen. There is a large pond in front of the shrine traversed by a number of bridges. In addition there is an incredible network of trellises filled with wisteria, all in full bloom over the weekend. Needless to say the shrine was packed with festival-goers. I certainly won't miss being caught in these pressing crowds of people.