Yes, we truly did meet the President today - Sunday, May 10; Mother's Day. We even shook hands with him as he made his way around the room surrounded by military and security guards.
Okay, okay, no, it wasn't President Obama. It was President S. R. Nathan the President of Singapore. Still, it was an honor to meet the president of the country where we spent 10 years of our lives between 1991-2002 (I know,that's 11 years, but we had a bit of "time out" for 18 months in Malaysia).
I must say, he's a very sprightly gentleman considering he will soon be 85 years old!
Well, the first cases of H1N1, otherwise known as swine flu, hit Japan this past week. Three people returning from a school trip to Canada were confirmed as ill. They got to go to the hospital. But, the 49 people who were sitting around them on the plane were sent to a hotel out by Narita airport where they will be "guests" of the (?) government (?) for the next 10 days. Seems there were a few more (Americans) who "got away," but were later located in Kyoto and tested; all negative results. Kinda makes you wonder why those 49 people weren't just tested rather than stuck in hotel quarantine?
If you're flying into Japan from one of the countries that have confirmed cases , and you have to make a connecting flight on to another country, better leave a LOT of time to catch your connecting flight and even then you stand a good chance of missing it since the on-plane inspections can take anywhere from 1 to 5 hours, depending on how many people are on the flight. Yep, that's right - 'on-plane' - you're not getting off that plane folks till the good medical teams of Narita come through & do a thermal scan looking for "hotties" and we don't mean "sweet young thangs" as the C&W singers say!
Ever wonder what the REAL story behind this swine flu is? Could it be.....
Say, did you know that Japan has its own Baseball Hall of Fame? Sure does! The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was opened in 1959 right next to Korakuen Stadium, which gave way to the Tokyo Dome, home of the Giants, in 1988 and the museum moved to the present site within the Dome. Its purpose is to contribute to the development of baseball in Japan through dedication of Japanese baseball's greatest players, executives, and umpires by giving them status as Hall of Famers. There is also an exhibition and collection of baseball memorabilia. It's open from 10:00-18:00 March to September and 10:00-17:00 October to February. If you're a baseball fan, next time you're in Tokyo hop on the subway or train to Suidobashi Station or Korakuen Station, and give it a visit. Maps below to guide you.
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