Last week I ended up with two unexpected free days. We had planned to go as a family to Nagano to enjoy the fall colors and be together. \u00a0We do live under the same roof and try to eat meals together most evenings here in Tokyo, but between work, school, sports, friends and the digital age in which we live, we don’t always connect as well as we would like. Our neat plan however required a last minute revision due to the final middle school volleyball tournament, so Tim and Sky spent some father\/son time together in Nagano, \u00a0and I stayed here with Sam and Lilla. Even in Tokyo fall has come, and leaves need to be raked on the street out front of my house every few days. (Frequently sweeping the stretch of road in front of one’s house is a time honored, unwritten rule in Japan, as is pulling the weeds that push up through cracks in the pavement.)<\/p>\n