• Covid cases are through the roof in Tokyo. We've hit over 1,000 cases per day in Kanagawa.. Tokyo and surrounding prefectures have entered into a proper state of emergency (ineffective since we've been in one or quasi-in-one since December). And yet the Olympics carries on. 
• We rebuilt the terrace fencing outside our sliding glass door and added some snap together flooring. It feels a lot more homey and it should make it easier to pop outside being able to step on something besides little rocks.
  

  

• We looked at vacuum cleaners. There’s nothing broken with our current Panasonic, it’s just heavy , corded (which is never quite long enough and gets caught on everything), and one of those with hose, so you’re constantly carrying the vacuum and the wand (which means it’s hard to move things out of the way). I think we’ve settled on a Dyson as it’s got a replaceable battery. I've started getting ads on Twitter for them, so in another week I should get a discount. 🤞🏻

• The Olympics started this week. I'm not actively trying to watch them ( mostly as I don't care about the Olympics in general, but also because I think holding them without herd immunity and with un-vaccinated athletes in a pandemic is incredibly selfish and irresponsible). Problem is: they're on every channel all the time. And I must admit I enjoyed watching the mountain bike race.
• But because of the Olympics some holidays moved around making this week a 4-day weekend. Unfortunately they didn't move the holidays until a few months into the year, so all calendars are printed with the wrong dates for the holidays.
• We took a short train ride to Odawara to visit our prefecture's natural history museum. The stars of the museum are a bunch of dinosaur fossils all put on display. Because of the pandemic you can only enter with a reservation and it was great. Outside was a blue skies and 33 degrees and hot. Inside was cool and dark and just a few families. A great escape from the heat.
  
  Leo's reaction when first seeing the dinosaurs was great – "Wooow...sugoi~". I’m pleased he expressed himself in English before Japanese. I was afraid he might be afraid of towering dinos but thankfully that wasn't the case.
• We got to ride the Odakyu Hakone Touzan Line, which is marked by the red trains, which Leo thoroughly enjoyed.
  

  

  
  
  On the way there and back we also saw some 3-car One-man trains on the Gotenba line.I love the white face combined with the silver body. Wikepedia tells me, the Gotenba line, which connects Kozu and Namazu in Shizouka, used to be the Tokaido line, until they could route through the Hakone moutains in 1934. At which point it got renamed to the Gotenba line and the Tokaido.
  
  

  

  
  
  
• I got a haircut. First time in the longest time and well overdue. I always like the result of getting a haircut, but hate the process, so I avoid them for as long as possible, pandemic or not. Thankfully the place I go to now gives us a card and they write down our preference on the card, so I never have to remember how to describe how to cut my hair, which is an issue even in English.

I have a strong opinion on the subject, hosting your own services is a fantastic way to learn new skills or perfect them, but it's also important for freedom.