Entries by TATIANA

Welcome to a small tour of the Tokyo subway! I managed to navigate on the subway on my own although it took some time to understand it. And yes it can be confusing but it is manageable. First of all, it is CLEAN. No graffiti. No trash. No destroyed seats. Nobody is loud. Nobody has their feet up on the seats. So people CAN actually behave normal on the subway?
Japan is a civilized country, the subway is just one of the many signs of that. I very much appreciated the Tokyo subway. It is amazing.

Tokyo subway guide.

You get a card (Suica card) that you add money to, you use this card to get through the gates. Entering and exiting. 

Exiting a gate.

The subway cars can get very crowded. You are not supposed to talk on the phone while riding. Put your phone on silence, use the texting function to communicate. Do not listen to music and do not talk loudly with somebody else. Be mindful of others. People on the subwat want to unwind and relax before and after work, listening to somebody else's drama is not relaxing. I totally agree with all of that. Exiting the platform can feel slightly claustrophobic due to the crowds, just relax and go with the flow. Pay attention to what side to stand on the escalators, walk the stairs. 
Some cars are designated for women only during morning rush hour. It should be like that everywhere.

This is cute. Don't rush, the trains run frequently.

While riding you get useful information about the weather and other things.

Me having fun riding the subway in Tokyo. 

Tokyo Station subway entry.

A club I have been working at for some time now closed down the other day. Riverside Corral. We (the dancers) all knew that the club was approaching its end, it was going on 30 years (in October of this year) and the rumor was that the closing would happen sometime this summer because the lot the club sits on got sold. Well, it happened earlier. 
Mike, the owner sadly suddenly passed away. And that was it. We did not even get to have the planned goodbye party due to some unfortunate circumstances.
Some of us dancers gathered last night in Sellwood Park to talk and remember. I will miss this club, I made some great friends there and I had fun times and so many laughs. One of the better stages I have danced at with good lights. A very comfortable dressing room where I would just relax, read and write. Everything was just right.
It was a special place for many people, Riverside Corral will be missed by many. It is so strange that I won't be there tomorrow night. It is over. 
Thank You for all the memories and Thank You Mike for everything. I hope that you are together with Richard and Brian now. ❤️

I went to the library today and loaned some books. My plan is to read more. I have not been reading like I used to. I rarely buy books because I do not have a bookshelf right now. I have two stacks/piles of books at my place, one in the bedroom and one in the livingroom. Until I get a bookshelf I will hold off on buying books, so for now the library is an excellent source for reading material. I got three books today, looking forward to some relaxing reading time preferably in my litle backyard.

It has been so nice outside. I want to do frequent hikes and enjoy this weather. I also have much more Japan stuff to share. Soon! Happy Saturday!

Although I have been living in Portland for years, I had not been to Multnomah Falls until today. Located in the Pacific Columbia Gorge it is the most visited natural recreation location in the Pacific Northwest. The falls are spectacular.

A friend was in town for a few days, so a perfect time to go see some sights.

There is a bridge, the Benson Footbridge that you can stand on if you so wish, (not me, I thought it was scary plus I am scared of heights so I hurried across) it takes you to a trail that leads to the top.

"The waterfall formed around 15,000 years ago at the end of a hanging valley, and was created by the Missoula floods. 
According to the creation story from the Multnomah tribe (from whom the falls take their name), the waterfall was formed after a young woman sacrificed herself to the Great Spirit to save Multnomah village from a plague by jumping from the cliff, and the Multnomah peoples were saved. After her death, water began to flow from above the cliff, creating the waterfall." That is according to Wikipedia. Not a super happy story....poor girl.

Eleven switchbacks later and you can watch the waterfalls from above. The hike is not hard, one mile one way. So I recommend that you go for it but please do not torture your dog/s and drag them up there as well. Like seriously.

We did a sightseeing tour on an open-air trolley, it was fun and relaxing.

There are more waterfalls to see and many hikes to do so I am planning on going back soon. I need to explore this beautiful area, I live here after all!

Well.....I am back home in Portland since a few days now. Everything is blooming here so it is gorgeous outside and warm. One of my flights was delayed for several hours, I wish I could had spent those hours in Tokyo instead of at the concrete airport in Honolulu. I left Japan out of Haneda Terminal 3 and that airport is NICE. 
I have worked twice since I got back, finally unpacked the last bag and put it away today and my sleep or lack thereof has been all over the place. I might be back to feeling normal tomorrow.
So I made Brazilian Lemonade twice and it is super frothy, tangy, sweet and yummy. Limes, sweet and condensed milk, sugar, water and ice. The recipe can be altered of course. You should try making this too. You will need a blender.

I also planted this little tree in Gabriel Park that I got on Christmas. It spent almost five months in my back yard but it now lives in the forest with other trees, I hope it will do well there. Five months......went by so fast. Two weeks in Japan went by so fast that when I arrived  back at the airport in Portland it felt like I had never been away. Travel to me sometimes feels unreal, I feel like I was never even gone. It is a weird feeling. I still have several more blog posts to put up about my time in Japan.
I miss it.

I had to go to see the tallest tower in Tokyo and the third tallest structure in the world, the Tokyo Skytree. You can take an elevator up to the top and get an amazing view of the city, I stayed on the ground though. There is an aquarium on the 4th floor, Sumida Aquarium that looks like it is worth a visit as well. The aquarium closes at 20.00 (that is 8 pm) so make sure you get there in time. The admission to the Skytree observation decks also closes at a certain time, keep that in mind if you are planning a visit here.