Ravings from Tokyo

Back from visit with MIL. It went pretty well all things considered, but I need a couple days of recovery. We did a lot of yard work so that the property does not look unlived in or vulnerable. I pulled a huge bag of weeds in her small but artful backyard and Hub trimmed a lot of the lower branches off the tall shrubbery near the front of the house to deny would be burglars a hiding place. MIL's gardener would probably have a total fit, but there is more to be considered than aesthetics at this point. As much as I love green, I do remember that it provided cover to a couple of fellers that broke into a first floor apartment that we used to inhabit in Shinjuku.
The news reported that the research whaling ship Nisshin Maru was in port and giving tours, so after dropping MIL off at the home we went to check it out. Alas, the line to get on board was too long considering the time of our train reservations back to Fukuoka, so we satisfied ourselves with landlubbing pictures.