Cherry Blossoms Close Up

Today we were supposed to go to a Hanami party but its cold and overcast with rain threatening so we will try again tomorrow! But in the meantime some pics of the cherry trees in full bloom.

Friends

Last week at Pet Love Dog Cafe we met some friends we hadn't seen in a while, Rin(Kai-ken) and Nala(Beagle). Rin's mum took some really cute pictures of all the girls together and emailed them to me. Thanks to Rin's Mum for these great photos. Today we went back there to see if we could meet up with them again and as luck would have it they were there. Nala reminds me a lot of Dixie when she wa around the same age. We had a nice afternoon playing together.

Dog Run Day Part Two

After lunch we set off for the next dog run, Venus Port in Odaiba. We just had to take a photo of the sign pointing the way to the dog run!




This dog run was part of a huge shopping complex. It was long and thin and right beside a main road but Jazz and Dixie had fun meeting new friends and playing with their new toy. The whole first floor of this complex is dog friendly. Jazz and Dixie stopped at the "Dog Bar" for a nice cool drink of water! We had a fun city dog run day.

Dog Run Day

Last week I posted a pic of Dixie in a magazine which had an article on Tokyo city dog runs. Shin took a day off work and hired a car and we set out to check out a few of those dog runs. Our first stop was Ilio, a newly opened dog run by Tokyo Bay.

It was smaller than we expected but no one was there so Jazz and Dixie basically had the run of the place. Jazz found a little squeaky toy which she was very fond of so Dad bought her one in the pet shop near by!! Jazz was not very good at sharing it though! After playing around we walked along the waterfront walkway, then tried lunch at "Bubba Gump Shrimp".

Another Glorious Spring Day!

Today the cherry trees over in the park are in full bloom and the weather is great so we decided to go over and have a picnic lunch. It was a bit too crowded directly beneath the trees to sit with two girls who have great noses for food!! So we opted for a spot in the sun on the grass between the flower beds. Jazz and Dixie got lots of attention from the many people out and about in the park today. Stay tuned for more pics from our party on Saturday. Rain is still forcast but we have our fingers and paws crossed.

Cherry Blossom Countdown!

Today is really warming up after a rainy weekend! 21 degrees and clear blue sky - just the perfect weather for a nice long walk. We went to check out the place where we will be having this Saturday's cherry blossom viewing party (postponed from Saturday just past). Some of the trees already have a few opened blossoms on them but the trees are not in full bloom yet. I guess after the warm day today more and more of them will open up. Anyway here is a sneak preview to the upcoming 'Hanami' season. 'Hanami' means 'flower viewing' and is usually celebrated by having a picnic by day/night under the the cherry trees in full bloom. Every man and his dog comes out for that one weekend, some people camp over night to get the best spots and at the end of it all there are mountains of trash left behind!! The flowers are certainly beautiful but the trash is not!!

It's Raining It's Pouring, the Beagles are Snoring!!

As today's title suggests it a grey and rainy day. Jazz simply refuses to step foot outside on rainy days! And as Dixie likes to do whatever Jazz is doing she doesn't want to go out either! We had plans for a fun filled doggy day today. First we were going to meet our DWB friend Fei at a local adoption day event and later in the afternoon wanted to take Jazz and Dixie to a dog Inc Puppy Only (plus Jazz) event. Jazz and Dixie are unaware of all these plans and in true beagle fashion are snoring on the couch!!

A Wonderful Warm Spring Day

Today was a very fine spring day with a temp of 16 degrees and as I got off work early today I thought we'd take a nice long walk around the park to enjoy the warm sunshine. The cherry blossoms are just starting to come out. We are supposed to be having a cherry blossom viewing party tomorrow but Im not sure the trees will be ready for us. In addition rain is forcast for the weekend!!
Anyway I took the camera along on our walk and snapped these pics of the girls in the park.

Chindonya - Old Style Japanese Advertising

This afternoon on my way home from work I came across this band of very colourful people known as "Chindonya". Chindonya are elaborately costumed Japanese street musicians that advertise for shops and other establishments. The performers were used to advertise the opening of new stores and other venues, or to promote special events as for example sales. I really had to stop and take a few photos of these people who were advertising for a TV station.

Froggie Doggies

Our friend Zim from AO4 recently posted about "Froggie Doggies" after a question we asked him about Siberians. Both Jazz and Dixie lie this way but as yet I haven't managed to snap a picture of Dixie in "Superman/Froggie Doggie" pose. Here a couple of Jazz and maybe at some later date I can post some of Dixie too. (Excuse the toes in the last pic!)

Dixie's Moment of Fame

Dixie is a star! Well not really - but she did appear in a local free dog magazine in an article about her school, Dog Inc. Jazz too has appeared in a few magazines and on a TV segment. Can you spot Dixie?
Dixie is also on this month's topic page of her school which can be seen by clicking on the Dog Inc. link on the right.

Sun Lizards Part 2!

Jazz and Dixie found the sunny spot at school today and made the most of it. Dog Inc has been taking some really cute pics of the girls together . Today was no exception.

Sun Lizards!

Spring is now well and truely here and with it comes a change in the position of the early morning sun! During the winter months the sun is low and doesn't shine in through the balcony doors. This morning Jazz introduced Dixie to the sunny spot by the sliding glass doors in front of the heater. She is really a comfort creature! Shin snapped these pics before he went off to work.

Poor Poor Dixie!

This morning we tried to sleep in as much as Dixie would let us! Jazz is quite happy to have breakfast and then come back to bed but not Dixie. Anyway we were all up and hungry so we went down the road to an American style dinner that has started serving breakfast! They have a covered in outside deck so we all sat out there and had pancakes and cooked breakfast and hot coffee. After breakfast the girls and I walked around the block to the park and dog run. When I let the girls in a Shiba Inu ran at them snarling, biting and barking. Jazz was trying to protect Dixie and I was struggling in vain to pick up both of them. The owner of the Shiba refused to put his dog a lead until I used very strong words with him. Anyway what started as a wonderful Saturday morning ended in a trip to the vet for Dixie with a torn ear. The Shiba had bitten right through Dixie's little ear! The vet gave us some antibiotics and some cream to put on the wound for the next four days.