Spring Break

Pardon me while I take a little blog break to enjoy touring my family around Tokyo then down to Kyoto. After which, I will take a little vacation of my own in Hong Kong. 

I will be back in early April with lots of stories to tell and pictures to share. 

Happy spring break to you all!!!

Springin, 

Kate

Tokyo St. Patrick's Parade Behind the Scenes

I promise I will cool it on the St. Patrick's Day coverage, but I just had a few more things to say and pictures to share...

The parade went fabulously! I arrived in Tokyo at about 11am, had a quick lunch with Dermot before we walked down to check-in. I changed from my train riding wear into my official queendom outfit and was off to take pictures and make sure my tiara stayed put. We congregated in an elementary school yard, where we got lined up and ready to walk. 

The parade took place on what is essentially "main street" of Tokyo, so the the hours in which the street was allowed to be shut down was very strict. At 2pm on the button, we began processing down the road, waving, and handing out stickers to onlooking kids. The other VIPs and I created a line of sashes and smiles. 

The VIP group consisted of: 

Ambassador John Neary and his wife, Mary

Irish Transport Minister Leo Varadkar, who was flown in for the parade

Chairman of the Irish Network Japan, Howard Barr 

Grand Marshal Dermot Killoran 

Parade Queen Kate Bohan

It was such a great day! I am so thankful to have had soooo many friends there supporting me and enjoying the festivities. Thank you guys so much!

I'll stop talking now and let you look at the pics. ;)

The first few were taken by my friends Taiki and Sayaka with their cameras from the sidelines, essentially what you would have seen if you were there. The last few were from my iphone, a behind the scenes peak if you will. 

Photo by Taiki.

Photo by Taiki.

Photo by Taiki.

Photo by Taiki.

Photo by Sayaka.

Photo by Sayaka.

Photo by Sayaka.

Photo by Sayaka.

Photo by Sayaka.
For the record, they asked me to dance on the table...

Queen's eye view of the pre and post parade madness.

Train travelin.

Bagpipes.

Stickers.

St. Patrick himself.

Met these two lovely ladies Friday night at dinner. They had been flown in for the parade and had both worked with Michael Flatley. I was just a touch starstruck. Deirdre Shannon is the one on the right. 

What we walked out to just prior to the parade beginning. 

Elementary school kids from the earthquake affected region. 

Loved this little girl.
She turned to me, dead serious, and said, "Are you queen forever?"
"Nooo. I wish! Only today and Wednesday."
"Oh..."
But then I tried on her hat and we were BFF. 

Parade route.

After party mayhem.

Queen for a day,

Kate

P.S. The Tokyo parade made the Irish news!

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Oh ya, my mom and good family friend Carol are here! ;) 

More on that later.

Weekend Update

Highlights included...

[1] Dinner at the Ambassador's, an event for which I wore green and buttoned up.

[2] A colorful display at the Harajuku Gap.

[3] Tortoise and the hare building in Shinjuku.

[4] Fancy pants lunch at the Park Hyatt in Shinjuku.

[5] Saturday evening izakaya turned game night.

[6] St. Patrick's Day Parade! 

Finally. 

Was truly a special day, thank you again to all who came to support! xo

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Happy St. Patrick's Day from the cover of today's Japan Times!

xoxo,

Kate

St. Patty's Day Spirit

With the St. Patrick's Day parades approaching, I am preparing the best way I know how: with beer, green clothes and Riverdance.
Also, Mr. Grand Marshal, Dermont, made this super cool video to help get me pumped up for the parade and to honor this lovely title I am currently holding. Thank you Dermont!!

If that video wasn't enough for ya, here are some jokes to get you in the mood. 

And a little river for your dance.

And once again, for the last time, promise, Tokyo and Chiba St. Patrick's Day parade info, here. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!!!

Salinte! 

Kate

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Must Read: 35 Magical Moments Captured with a Camera...Buzzfeed. 

Google Search: Islands of Tokyo.

Tune: Angeles By Elliot Smith.

Accomplishment: Cleaning my desk this morning.

Obsessions: Chocolate milk.

Mom's St. Patrick's Day Excitement

My mom and good family friend, Carol, are flying in this weekend for their first visit to Japan. They will be missing the Tokyo parade, but they will be at the Chiba parade on the 20th decked in green and Guinness in hand. I got this email today from my mom that made me laugh right out loud. 

To: Kate  
From:Mom   
Subject: Your Majesty
My dear queenie, Carol and I are in countdown and looking forward to seeing you. I just wanted to wish you good luck in the parade. I do think your new bangs and tiara will look great together. Picked up the reeses today and Jim is taking us to the airport on Sat. 
Love u, your royal subject mother

Hope everyone is getting ready for St. Patrick's Day!

Caed Mile Failte, 

Kate

P.S. Tokyo/Chiba St. Patrick's Day festivities information here.

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Must Read: North Korean propaganda video...The Sun. 

Google Search: Angela Carter.

Tune: Angeles By Elliot Smith.

Accomplishment: Having an awesome lesson about cultural differences with my 2nd years.

Obsessions: My little scone for White Day from Namiko's 8 year old son.

St. Patrick's Day Parade 2013

For those of you in and around the Tokyo area this St. Patrick's Day, I am thrilled to announce that I will be leading two parades as the Tokyo St. Patrick's Day Parade Queen. 

I am so honored and oh so very excited!

March 9, 2011

Details...

Tokyo Parade

What: Tokyo's St. Patrick's Day Parade! The biggest Irish event held in Asia.

When: Sunday, March 17 from 2-4pm

Where: Omotesando Hills

Why: Because it's St. Patrick's Day, silly!

Who: YOU plus...more than 1,500 participants and 50,000 visitors!

Click HERE to go directly to the website. 

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Chiba Parade

What: Chiba's St. Patrick's Day Parade!

When: Wednesday (National Holiday), March 20 at 2pm 

Where: Kahin Makuhari, Chiba City. Click here to see the parade route.

Why: Because it's St. Patrick's Day, silly!

Who: YOU plus...Chiba locals. 
Oh, and my Mom and Carol who are making the trip from the US. If they're gonna take a plane across the Pacific, your excuse better be pretty good ;)

Click HERE to go directly to the website. 

Feel free to leave questions or comments below. 

Hope to see you all there!

Erin go bragh, 

Kate

P.S. Read about how I earned my title here and here. 

                                                                
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Must Read: Why did we run faster in the '80's?...The Guardian Blog. 

Google Search: The Americans.

Tune: On Your Way By Michael Penn.

Accomplishment: Watching my 3rd years graduate today!

Obsessions: Today's fancy sushi lunch.

iphone phun

as of late, a few of my favorite, random photos...

half-mast for march 11.

pint sized.

sumo bridge decorations. 

"jessica, thoughts on these shoes?"
i bought them in case you were curious.

i made chocolate covered strawberries for my adult class that coincided with valentine's day. 

tokyo irish pub.

3 days spent preparing JETs for life in their home country. 

view from our yokohama hotel.

fun at FUN.

a snip-it from the goodbye assembly for the 3rd years.

keito chan and keima kun.

livin, 

kate

Weekend Update

Highlights included...

[1] Flower shopping with Kim on the warmest Saturday we've had all year. 

I was just plain thrilled to be in shorts and a t-shirt. 

[2] Saturday night fever!

[3] An unedited picture of the Asian Dust as seen from Daikinyama. 

So creepy, not to mention gross. 

[4] A vintage piece of LA in Ebisu.

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Hope you all had a lovely, dust free, weekend! 

xoxo,
Kate