Back In The U.S. of A.

Above, I think I'm ready to face L.A.'s traffic again. Photo by Studio Nanairo.

The trip to Japan is over and I am back in the wilds of the San Fernando Valley. I am tired! But pleased at how much fun the trip was. Having girlfriend Denise Santos and her son Aiden along added to the trip's enjoyment.

I just finished unpacking and there's lots of stuff to sort and put away.

It looks like I may have brought back some milder weather to Los Angeles. When we left, it was around 100­­° in the city.

There were a couple of SNAFUs. First, my luggage didn't arrive with me on the flight. The fine folks at the TSA had something to do with that. Singapore Airlines, although not at fault, gave me ¥12000 to buy some essentials at the airport.

The second was our fault. Denise had to return to L.A. on Saturday, but we got to the airport ten minutes late for her to board. A measly ten minutes! She had to stay an extra day in Japan.

But, overall, the trip went well and I can start working on the updated edition of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

Regarding the photo at top, since the check-out time at the hotel (the Hotel Sunroute Asakusa) is 11:00, I had to kill some time before heading to Narita International Airport. So, I decided to have my own photo-shoot at the same place where Denise had hers. That was a fun two hours! A friend said I looked more like a Jedi Master than Japanese.

For you guys who have wives or "significant others", I highly recommend having her (or him, depending upon your, uh, preference) do a photo session and have one done of yourself  while in Japan. The studio we went to is near Nakamise Street in Asakusa and it is the Studio Nanairo. Their website: www.nana-iro.tokyo.

Here's one of Denise's:

Photo by Studio Nanairo.