We're trying to make the most of our weekends before we get bogged down in 'living here' and friends and other time consuming things.

Without wanting to sound like a child's homework, what we did this weekend was...

...Visit Ueno Zoo, cook our first meal in the flat, walk in Korakoen Park and go really, really, really high up on a rollercoaster!

Ueno Zoo is good in parts. The majority of the residents had decent sized enclosures and seemed in OK health (walking round with an amateur zoologist means I can say this with some confidence.) However, we were both saddened and disquieted by the monkey's small empty cages and the polar bears and elephants who were in tiny enclosures.

We have been eating out for three whole weeks. We couldn't remember what we'd packed in the way of pans and crockery, so put off buying any until the boxes arrived. The flat feels like home now we've eaten home cooked food and filled the cupboards with ingredients. And vegetables, lots of lovely vegetables.

Korakoen Park is in some of the pictures. Lovely little bridges, cliche-ed red and yellow trees in the autumn sun, and ducks, egrets and fish. But I'll leave Oli to carp on about them especially since he couldn't resist eating the fish food.

In somewhat of a juxtoposition, right next to the park is 'Tokyo Dome', a sports arena with tacked on leisure facilities. Like the rollercoaster, which we took as the sun set over the city. Fantastic views just before you hurtle down, round, up, down and round again. I love rollercoasters!

The flat looks fantastic, and the surrounding area, quiet and clean. All we have here is cold wet leave everywhere

You seem to be having a great time getting about, are you on bikes yet or ?????

Oliver, if you are going to use japanese words then create a glossary for the rest of us.