Family Reunion Second Day

After breakfast the second morning we set out early to another nearby dairy farm so as beat the crowds lining up for icecreams. At 10am in the morning we were able to secure a delicious soft serve ice cream each. Jazz and Dixie also enjoyed a taste. Jazz and Dixie enjoyed running around like crazy with me in tow through the lush green grass. As last time Jazz freaked out when she saw the cows. She is so curious but can't bring herself to go near them and starts to spin around in circles!

Shin and I both nearly lost our whole icecreams to Jazz whose favourite food in the whole world is icecream!

It was safe to hand my icecream over to Dixie who just licked her share nicely.

Jazz's uncle Gonta and aunty Momo.

Momo, Milk and Cookie all waiting patiently for their icecream.


Jazz and Beat

For lunch we went to a soba noodle cafe with outdoor seating just perfect for our doggy companions. We were joined by two more beagles here, Piero and his new sister, Veronique.

Jazz eyeing the soba noodles

Jazz and Dixie sharing a soba noodle.

Piero

Piero's little sister Veronique and Bel

Jazz and Dixie looking not too pleased with all the posing for photos.

After lunch we drove to a near by lake and walked all around it with all 13 beagles! There were many "how cute" comments and many people asking if they were family etc. The beagles enjoyed all the attention and the good smells around the lake. After that we drove up into the mountains hoping to catch a glimpse of a still snow covered Mt Fuji but it was too cloudy! We stopped in a a souvenir place and bought some fresh milk for the girls. Then we headed down the mountain and back to the pension were after dinner we celebrated Dixie's 3rd Birthday and Poki and his sister Cookie's 2nd Birthday.

Trying to get a group shot with Dixie not really cooperating!
View across the lake to the mountains in the distance.

A beagle walk along the board walk.

Family Reunion First Day

Wow already a week has gone by and I am just now posting the pics from Jazz and Dixie's family reunion. Last Sunday we set out to early as we knew there would be a lot of holiday traffic. Surprisingly we made good time and arrived in time to have lunch with Beat (Jazz's brother), Momo and Poki, Bel, Momo and Milk and Cookie. After lunch we visited a local farm hoping to have an icecream made from farm fresh milk. Well everyone else had the same idea so we decided not to wait in the long long line but went to buy some other farm produce. After that we went for coffee at a cafe by a local lake before heading on to the pension we were staying at. They have a dog run out the back so Jazz and Dixie could play with some of their beagle relatives in there. We all rested before dinner in the pension dining room complete with all the beagles!

Momo, Beat and Poki

Momo, Bel, Dixie, Jazz, Momo, Beat and Poki.
Jazz and her brother Beat.

Poki and Beat at lake side cafe

Happy Birthday Dixie!

We just got back from a great weekend away for our Beagle Family Reunion and I have many photos to sort through before writing about what a great time we had and all the things we did. But I just had to do this post quickly as it is a very special day today - our little Dixie turned 3 today! We celebrated her birthday at the restaurant in our pension with 11 other beagles, a black lab and a papillion. Beat, Jazz's brother's mum ordered a cake for Dixie, her youngest beagle, Poki and his sister Cookie. We sang happy birthday and then the cake was cut and shared amongst all the guests. Being beagles the cake was gone in seconds!

Heiwa no Mori Park

Yesterday it poured with rain all day so we couldn't really take Jazz and Dixie anywhere. We decided we would take them to a pet shop and then Costco but everyone else in Tokyo had the same idea and the line to get into the car park at Costco was too long to wait in. This morning we decided to try again and this time there wasn't a line up. After getting a few things we headed to Heiwa no mori Park as it was close by and one our way home. We have never been there before and found that it was in fact a lovely green park that joined onto a water front park and man made beach. The dogs were not allowed on the beach but we enjoyed a walk in the lush, cool clover and had an icecream so the girls were very happy. Next weekend is a long weekend and we are going on a reunion trip to meet up with Jazz' litter brother, Beat and many other beagles some of which are related to both Jazz and Dixie. I am really looking forward to the break.

Prime Land Dog Run

Its been another busy week as I am rewriting our cirriculum at school and I had a friends wedding to attend on Sunday. We did however manage to get out to enjoy this great sping weather with the girls on Saturday. Shin found a new dog run about 55km out of Tokyo. It was made up of three small dog runs and a pool area. Jazz and Dixie were the only two in the main run but the neighbouring dog run was playing host to a Newfoundland meet with 11 big black pups! I thought Dixie would freak out especially when all the neighbours were barking but Jazz and Dixie remained very quiet and stuck right by me when we were near the fence. We didn't use the pool area as you had to pay extra and Jazz and Dixie would not have stepped one foot in the water! We played around with the ball for a while until I cleverly threw it over the fence and down into some farmers garden! It was non retrievable much to Jazz's disappointment. After that the girls didn't run about much so I used the opportunity to get some close ups and posing shots. It is very easy to take pictures of Jazz but a little more tricky with the ever moving Dixie!

A Fantastic Weekend!

Today we went in search of a small pond for my turtles. The first pet shop we went to didn't sell them so we headed off to another pet shop near Senzoku Pond. They didn't sell them either but we did end up buying new harnesses for the girls. Then we started to walk to the pond and found that they were still having a Hanami Matsuri (Spring Cherry Blossom Festival) and had all the usual festival food vendors set up all around the pond. We stopped and ate yakitori (skewered BBQ chicken) and yakisoba (noodles with cabbage, shrimp, ginger and seeweed) for lunch. The girls were very happy with the things they scored from the lunch table! While walking around Jazz and Dixie caught sight of the turtles and koi in the pond and were very curious! A typical festival game here is catching goldfish with a small scoop and being able to keep the fish you catch - well Jazz and Dixie thought they would really like a turn at that game. The woman in charge didn't look so happy when Dixie jumped up for a closer look! We didn't end up finding a pond for my turtles but we certainly had a nice time at Senzoku Pond. In the days before Shin and the girls I used to live near this oasis in the surburbs and walked around the pond every morning before going to work. Its a little far to walk there from where we live now so it was nice to drop in by car today.

On Saturday the weather was fantastic so we decided to head down towards the Shonan Peninsula to Dog Garden Resort in Fujisawa. The "resort" has a cafe terrace, dog run with fake grass and swimming pool and a pet shop. It was quite funny to see Jazz and Dixie jump up and into the pool as it was empty. Obviously they could smell there wasn't any water in it or they certainly would not have jumped right in. It was quite hot and Jazz and Dixie were not to interested in playing in the dog run so we went upstairs to the cafe terrace for lunch in the shade of a huge palm tree! After that we went for a walk along the beach before heading back to Tokyo.

Happy Hanami

This weekend all around Tokyo people are out enjoying picnics under the cherry trees in various parks around the city. Many of them are so crowded that picnic mats cover all the ground side by side and many people flock to the best spots. Having Jazz and Dixie and not being lovers of such crowds we decided to opt for a less popular park to do our cherry blossom viewing (Hanami). Rinkai park near Oimachi has a very nice grass area and lots of cherry trees with low branches to sit under and not so many people as other parks Ive been to in previous years. Its raining now so I wonder how long the blossoms will last - such short lived beauty. This park also has a dog run that Jazz and Dixie had a bit of a run around in. When we got home we went to meet up with beagle friend, Nala and some of the staff who used to work at Pet Love Cafe in the dog run near our house.

A Reunion With An Old Friend!

Three years ago, in a time before Dixie, one of Jazz's best friends at Dog Inc left for London with her family. Jazz and Daisy loved to play crazy games together - in those days they were both younger and crazier. Daisy has returned from London and is back at Dog Inc. Both Jazz and ' Crazy Daisy' as she was affectionately know have calmed down a lot, they still like each other but don't play as they once used to.

Jazz and Daisy's last day at Dog Inc before Daisy left for London, February 2006

Three years on: Jazz, Dixie and Daisy, with staff dogs Soldier and Ingo at Dog Inc this week.