It’s been a very busy month, mainly because — if you hadn’t already heard — I have signed for the third and final book in the Sanctuary series! The story is called Salvation, and along with Sanctuary and Containment it wraps up Kenzie’s story. I’ve been writing like crazy the last few months, and I’m now in the editing stages. I’m super proud of Kenzie and her friends and all they’ve been through, and I hope that you will be, too!
Of course, Salvation won’t be out until next NEXT summer (2020), so before you read that, you’ll want to get your hands on first Sanctuary, out now, and then Containment, which will be available August 6, 2019! Yes, that’s a shameless plug. It’s my author website. You have to expect some of those.
What’s that? You’re just here to see pictures of Japan? Okay, fine. Then here we go!
Kidzania
Lots of you know that in addition to being an author, I’m also a teacher, both at home and in Japan (currently at the Canadian International School). One of the best things about teaching in Tokyo is all the cool places to take field trips, and none are cooler than Kidzania. We don’t have many of these places in North America (and NONE in Canada) and we SHOULD! The basic idea is that it’s a miniature town where kids are in charge. They get jobs, earn money, open bank accounts, go shopping… the possibilities are endless, and my fourth graders had the time of their lives exploring.
I Like to Shop
Japan is full of cool things, and I continue to buy most of them.
These are all toys you can purchase in Japanese vending machines for a couple bucks. They come in a little plastic capsule and get much stranger than this. Obviously, I am most fascinated by the animals, although I snuck the random popcorn poppers in there. They come in a ton of varieties and are HIGHLY addictive.
Are you familiar with Gudetama? He is a Hello Kitty character, a very lazy egg. And if he’s your favorite anime character and you’ve always wanted to messily devour him, well, here’s your chance. I didn’t buy this one, though. It was a little too disturbing. I’m not sure what’s up with those eggs.
A Trip to the Past
I was also able to check out the Edo Museum in Tokyo. This place is really cool, even if you’re not typically into museums. It reminded me a bit of the Western Development Museum back in Saskatoon. You’re not likely to go to Saskatoon. I mean, most people don’t. But if you do, that’s a cool museum to visit.
The Edo Museum is a trip through Tokyo’s past. There are lots of meticulous tiny displays as well as huge recreations of street life from Edo Tokyo through the second world war, and many interactive things to do as well (have you ever wondered how heavy two buckets of dung would be? Well, now I know firsthand!)
Parts of the museum are rather sobering, too. There’s an interactive map that shows how much of Tokyo burned in the air raids of 1945. As you watch, sections of the city light up with each subsequent bombing, until almost the entire city is red. In fact, far more people died in the Tokyo bombings than in the horrific destruction of Hiroshima.
This isn’t a war museum, though, and though it does have that area, most of it is just a fun exploration of Tokyo’s past.
That’s all for this month! If you want to see extra pics and get all the best news in your inbox, subscribe to my newsletter (you can also check out the current one here). Just a reminder that Containment will be available soon and you can click here to learn more about that, or here to learn about my current book, Sanctuary. And as always, if you liked this post, please share!