A magnitude-6 earthquake (Japanese scale) hit Chiba on Saturday, July 23, but there were few injuries and not much damage. Drew, Piko and I ran out the front door and watched utility poles, cement walls and everything else sway. Pat and Lauren were in Nagano for a traditional dance workshop.

We hadn't been doing much traveling within Japan for quite a while so we were thinking about a short summer or fall trip. Especially, we haven't traveled very far here with the kids. When Kiki said she was coming over for a visit, it was one more incentive, so Pat got to work planning an excursion. We decided on Nikko because it isn't too far away, is very nice — loaded with cultural and natural beauty — and it's been quite a while since we were there last.

Pat's sister Kiki (aka Donna) emailed us that she had some free time and frequent flier miles, so she was going to pay us a visit. She came at a good time because there were both kids' birthdays, the Yotsukaido Furusato Omatsuri (summer festival), and other fun things in store.

On Saturday, August 9, Lauren and Drew participated in the Shorinji Kempo Zenkoku Taikai held at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. Both had been practicing daily, trying to be at their best for the national meet. We knew that the experience would be great no matter what their scores were, and that, even if they didn't receive a medal, the improvements achieved by the intensive practices alone would make the whole thing worthwhile. As it turned out, Drew did get a medal, and Lauren and her partner Sakiko-chan only missed getting one by one point.