Celebrating A "Super" Man

After a Blitzkrieg of Japan posts, I have had "blogger-burn-out". A condition in which the users fingers refuse to type and brain is unable to reflect on events that warrant a post. My affliction coincided with Father's Day this year, and so Bill did not get the (semi) public praise he deserves. Nonetheless, he did get an awful lot of "private" praise, from the boys and I. Bill earned his Father's Day celebration this year by being a single parent for 10 days while I gallivanted over to Asia. He deserved some BIG time recognition this year. All the while, protesting, asking us not to get any gifts. Please! As if! The boys and I had the best time walking downtown to the bike store to find just the right biking goodie (turned out to be a very cool biking jersey). We then walked back to Deseret Book to pick up Bill's favorite mint brownies I had presence of mind enough before my trip to pre-order. (A minor miracle!)
The biggest surprise of the day,however, came from William. The boys and I made our cards for Bill (as we usually do). Every year the boys get the same direction to try to write a thoughtful note. It usually looks like this "You're the best, Dad. Love, __________(add child name here)" This year, it brought tears to Bill and I. (Although, I am pretty sure I am the "some people" he disparagingly refers to in the note :).

Here is what Bill's day looked like: Off the hook from church to enjoy a morning bike ride for as long as he wants. Brunch of breakfast burritos prepared by wifey and children. Relaxing watching sports (most likely soccer). More food prepared. Brownie eating and relaxing again. Dinner BBQ. Hang out with wife and children and sleep.

Was it enough to really give him all the kuddos he deserves for being the man he is: A perfect example of what it means to be a man to his boys and the best husband ever? Hardly, but we hope he enjoyed himself regardless of our inadequecy to give him all he deserves.

Two P.Y.T.s hit the Tokyo Tower

Our last day full day in Japan. Also the much feared drive back to Tokyo. We had Nana program our destination address into the GPS for us and prayed for the best as we took off amidst giant smiles and waves (I think they were glad to be rid of us so they could finally be alone) from Nana and David. We made it out of town and onto the highway (not a freeway, because their roads are anything but free. You take a ticket when you get on and you pay the toll according to how far you have travelled when you get off. We spent over $90.00 each way. Ouch.) What that money buys you is an amazingly well taken care of road, and the most fabulous rest-stops every 10-15 miles or so, with clean bathrooms, mini-grocery stores, restaurants, grassy areas for kids and dogs as well as gas stations. It was a traveler's heaven. (At least for me, the girl with the tiny bladder.) We drove through some of the most amazing landscapes I have ever witnessed. It was dark the first time around, so we were all excited to see some of the Japanese country side during the day. At one point we had the ocean to our left and mountains on our right. Not any mountains, mind you, but rather amazing mountains, covered in green, angular and sharply pointed, stacked on top of each other in layers like phillo dough. It was lightly misting and the fog swirled around the base of the mountains. Nothing I have ever seen before compares to what that looked like. Amazing. Then every so often you would see a home in the traditional Japanese architectural style tucked in between the folds of the mountains to really make it look like a living postcard.

The signage on the road is hysterical. My camera was packed away in the very back of the car in my backpack, and I could kick myself now for not leaving it out, just to get the signs. All of the be aware of animals that may be on the road signs had cartoon like drawings of whatever animal whose habitat the highway invaded. My favorite: A bunny with a panda/raccoon looking creature combo. There were pictures of cars with parachutes coming out of the back of them pointed down hill. My assumption was it was to signal for slow down hill ahead. There were some of cars blowing out exhaust from the back going uphill, But the most puzzling had to be the sign that had a car whose back half looked like paint was flying off of it disintegrating the rear half of the car. Yeah, no idea!

We followed the GPS like champions all the way into the parking garage it directed us into in Shinjuku. Problem: The GPS had the wrong parking garage by about a mile. We parked the car and went to ask for directions. We found a cop who spoke a little bit of English, who called the rental car place and said, in Japanese, "I have two white girls who need to know how to find you." (We know the word for "white girls" and "two" and figured out the rest from there.) He drew us a map, we followed and found the rental car return place. The whole thing was a relief to be done with, and a miracle we made it without any deaths or dents.

We dropped off the car, and then put my mom on the train that would reunite her with Jar-Jar. We stowed our luggage in a locker and headed out to see Tokyo for the last time. We still had not made it to the Tokyo Tower, so that was on our agenda. We didn't have my handy-dandy guide book to direct us there, and didn't want to spend the time or the money to go back to the apartment to get it, so we asked around for directions, and made it there in no time.


The Tokyo Tower is an Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice tower that is painted white and international orange to comply with air safety regulations (thank you, Wikipedia.) Just as the Eiffel Tower is often used in popular culture to immediately locate a scene in Paris, Tokyo Tower is often used in the same way for Tokyo. It is used in anime and manga and kaiju (read: Godzilla) movies. Really a tourist must see.




At the base was an aquarium and my most favorite part: A Michael Jackson memorabilia museum. The line was lengthy and the cost was pricey. Oh, those funny Japanese. They loved that talented, yet wack-a-doodle, dude. They were playing Michael Jackson music in the front of the tower for a Michael Jackson dance party. (No one, except me, was dancing.)






Also in front of the tower was a lady and her performing monkey. I had hoped to see a monkey (in the wild) on this trip, but since this was our last moment in the city, the one tied to a string would have to do for my monkey sighting. The thing was adorable, but pitiful leashed and forced to perform. Sad really.








On our way to the Tower, we found a gorgeous shrine. We had a fun taking a leisurely look around the grounds. Enjoying the tiny little statues covered in kitsch. It is a perfect analogy to Japan. Totally serious + Totally kitsch all rolled up into one odd culture. The statues had crocheted hats and bibs and then had plastic windmills stuck in front of them. It was quite a scene.




We explored our way around the neighborhood, before deciding we should probably eat before heading back to the apartment. We also knew from our late almost-to-Yokohama night, that the last bus would leave the station at 10 p.m. and we should be back well before then, just in case. Nothing sounded good to us (two picky chics) until we stumbled on an Indian restaurant. At first glance it looked closed and we were devastated, until a closer look revealed that it was indeed open. We ate our best meal to date (maybe ever in my life) and headed back to the apartment.


When we arrived home, we had a note from my mom saying she and Lynn were staying at the Uchida's family home. (As if we had not put out this sweet family enough this trip!) Without any distractions, Lisa and I slept well and then got up early to clean the apartment. We were packed and oh so ready to head to the airport. We made it to our gate and I found out that I could upgrade for free to business class if I flew threw Seattle, instead of the direct flight to Salt Lake. It only came in two hours later and would have made that long flight much more enjoyable, but adding on two hours until I could see my Bill and the boys again sounded like way too long, and Lisa and I flew home together (several rows apart since no one would trade us seats on the overbooked flight.) The sweetest sight was seeing Bill and the boys waiting on the other side of the customs door. I was so thrilled to see them. We have decided that no matter how cool a trip is, it just isn't worth being apart again for. Even thrilling Tokyo couldn't hold a candle to my wonderful (self-chosen) family!

Receptions: Double the Fun

Day 2 of the wedding festivities. After an interesting hodge-podge of japanese and american breakfast favorites at the hotel, we headed off to the first of two wedding receptions for David and Nana. The first reception was for family only and was planned by Nana's older brother. This fact amused and amazed Lisa and I to no end. We could not imagine any one of our three brothers being willing to, much less capable of planning a beautiful reception to honor our marriages. It was an interesting blend of many different countries and cultures. It was held at an Irish Tea House, where we were served a beautiful 7 course meal of french cuisine, while listening to a lovely performance of an Italian opera aria while hanging out on the west coast of Japan. Who would guess? David had asked my mom and Lisa to sing at this reception, but late in the game. No one had any time to pick out a song and practice. The morning of, my mom decided she didn't feel well enough to participate. Lisa did not want to let David down, and picked a Celtic love song she had recently performed at a vocal recital. It was lovely, albeit acapella with no time to set up any music. My mom was also scheduled to play piano. That was also not communicated by David very well and without any time to practice and being in a bad place physically and mentally, it was not as smooth as it could have been. The meal was incredible. Nana had requested, very kindly and with late notice, two vegetarian meals for Lisa and I (the Japanese really didn't get the whole Vegan thing, I was so grateful there just wasn't any meat. I have really lost the taste for it!)





At the end of the meal, Nana and David cut a beautiful cake and then personally served it to all their guests to thank them for coming.










They also handed out a giant bag full of gifts. Two beautiful tea cups in a wooden case, a box of cle-
mentines, a perfectly packaged mango. (Who packages a mango? The Japanese. As they should at nearly $10 a mango!) And a box of shortbread cookies. They also stood at the door as each guest left handing out more parting gifts.





After the first reception we headed back to the hotel for about an hour break before the next reception started. I had spotted the back of a giant buddha from our hotel window and wanted to see it up close. Lisa needed a break of silence so Kurtis and I headed out to find it. We did without any problem and it was another hidden gem. We explored the shrine which had the actual shrine in the middle and a circular hallway of paintings on wood of all kinds of gory scenes. The descriptions were in Japanese only, so I have no idea exactly what story they were depicting, but they were fabulous, none the less.

After the quick Buddha detour, we started off for the second reception. This was a party that both Nana's brother and Nana's ward had planned. Because of those two details (the only two details known to us.), I figured it would be a "ward-house special" type of reception. You know what I mean, in a ward house gym with a receiving line and a piece of cake. No dancing, no real socializing. We Utah mormons are famous for our deadly boring wedding receptions! I was so wrong. The ward had rented out a nice hall in a building and had decorated it to the hilt in a pink passion theme. (Not my taste, but also much better than I had imagined.) Apparently, 1/3 of Nana's ward is from Brazil and they know how to throw a decent party. The food was plentiful and interesting-- blending meat and salads from Brazil with sushi and rice from Japan. The ward had asked several missionaries from the area to translate for David's English speaking family. The ratio worked out to be about 1 missionary translator per person, but the missionaries were so grateful for a break from the normal everyday ho-hum activities they mostly just visited with us and each other. It was also evident from spending time with them that Japanese is a lot harder to learn than David made it look. They all were still struggling with the language and really could only translate about 1/2 of what was going on. It was still most welcome after sitting and smiling blankly for 4 hours at the first reception, which had been completely in Japanese.

The program at the second reception was hilarious. There were several kids from the ward that we affectionately called "street urchins". They would run around David and Nana and the hall like wild animals. They wouldn't leave poor David and Nana alone. (At one point I was sure David was going to swat them away with his hands). Members of the ward also reenacted David and Nana's courtship as well as providing a musical number that included Japanese beat boxing. They had David and Nana play the newlywed game for almost an entire hour. At the very end of the reception, David and Nana presented their parents with giant bouquets of flowers to say thank you for raising them. It was a sweet touch.

With both receptions behind them, David and Nana could not wait to get some alone time back at the hotel. The rest of us were also grateful to be in our quiet hotel rooms, resting up for the journey in our rental car back to Tokyo. Luckily for everyone, David and Nana would not be joining us in the car. They would take a train to Kyoto to start their well-deserved honeymoon. Kurtis had a flight out of Tokyo Sunday and opted to take the train back so he would be at the airport in time for his flight. This would leave only Lisa, my Mom and I to try to use the Japanese GPS (all in Kanji and spoken japanese) to try and find our way back to Shinjuku to the car return in the basement of the train station. We were all a bit nervous for that, but were grateful to have a good nights sleep before tackling that adventure.

Japanese Wedding

The moment we came for... David and Nana's wedding. They were married in the Tokyo temple Friday morning. My mom, and David left very early that morning to get to the temple on time (still not sure if that actually happened.) That left Kurtis, Lisa and I to take Lynn. (Kurtis is David's best friend from high school and Lynn is my mom's severely ADHD husband.) That made for an interesting journey. Lynn had been to the temple the day before, but asked if we were there yet at the Shinjuku train station. He asked again after we transferred from the JR train line to the subway station and again as we excited the subway station. Of course, he would ask and then not wait for an answer before moving on to saying something random. He would spin around as he took in where we were. (Later in the trip, David decided Lynn was Jar-Jar Binks from Star Wars-- the most annoying movie character ever created. The fitting quote from the movie is Jar-Jar: "Mes a speaks" Qui-gon Gin: "The ability to speak does not make you intelligent. Now get out of here." Which is exactly what we wished would happen to Lynn after several days of close quarters!) We stopped for lunch about a block from the temple and after spotting the Moroni on the top of the temple, Lynn was so excited *he* had found it, he took off like a bullet and ran inside (Where David had requested he not go!)

After waiting for several minutes in the waiting room, a vision appeared in the form of my brother, the missionary. Scott, uh, I mean Elder Romney, appeared with his companion. It was so strange to see him with a tag on and no Wolverine chops. I was excited to see him, but didn't think I would be as emotional as I was. I think missing my own family so much and realizing how much I missed Scott when I saw him combined into the formation of actual tears. Lisa teared up as well, something neither one of us do in normal, public situations. I think also not really having had any time to get used to the idea of my "inactive" brother suddenly serving a mission added to my confused feelings. I am still not sure what happened that put him in Japan on a mission. (Although, I think a certain girl he loves may have influenced the decision.)

We took a few photos of family and friends outside. This was a bit awkward. Nana had asked David to ask me if I would photograph the wedding. David didn't pass that info along to me until I was in Japan. I only brought our crappy little point and shoot camera because I already had more weight to pack around everyday than I could handle. I was glad I was not the one who had to break the news to Nana that David had forgotten (poor David!) I did the best I could, as did a dozen or so other people with crappy point and shoots. The outside photos were fine, it wasn't until we went inside that it was obvious the point and shoot just wouldn't do the trick. The inside photos were of everyone in attendance. Nana's family made it from Toyame as well as David's friends from his mission the Menzawas and the Uchitas. There was even more family drama when we reminded my mom of David's request that Lynn not be at the temple and she decided to ignore it. (Did I mention she did the same thing to me on my wedding day with her previous husband. She said it was "easier" that way.)

After taking pictures everyone headed around the corner to an Indian restaurant that Nana had booked for a wedding luncheon. The food was great. We all introduced ourselves and there were more embarrasing public displays of emotion. The whole day was overwhelming. The family drama came to a head and the Uchitas graciously offered to take Lynn to their country home to hang out with non-English speaking Mr. Uchita, so it was perfect, so that David could enjoy his two receptions without that added stress. We said goodbye to Scott and headed back to the Shinjuku to pick up our luggage we had stored in lockers there and the rental car. Lisa had agreed to drive to Toyame (on the opposite coast, just slightly north and far west of Tokyo). David said it was an 8 hour car ride, Nana said six, with Lisa at the wheel it was more like 4-5 hours. Thank goodness, for we were packed in like sardines with luggage and six people in a station wagon sized vehicle. We made it out of Shinjuku (one of the busiest downtown areas in Tokyo) with only one near death experience behind us. (Remember they drive on the left hand side of the road, so the first turn out into traffic went a bit awry, but was quickly remedied.)

We arrived at the hotel in Toyame in one piece, and exhausted both physically and emotionally and Lisa and I crashed hard on our western-style hotel beds, glad to have that particular day in our rear-view mirror.

Tea Ceremony and Yokohama

With Nana and David and my Mom tied up taking paper work all over Tokyo to make their marriage legal, that left Lisa and I to explore on our own again. We wanted to see a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony, while Kurtis wanted to see the Meji-shrine he had not seen in Harajuku yet. This really left Lisa and I to our own devices.




With some very basic directions from Lisa's phone, we headed out in search of the New Otani Hotel Tea Ceremony. We made our way to the right neighborhood just fine, we struggled momentarily finding the hotel in the labyrinth of subway exits. However, we found a map and managed to get out the correct exit and find the hotel. Then the real work began, finding the tea ceremony within this massive hotel complex. We asked the front desk staff who directed us outside into the gardens. We wandered around the gardens for a few minutes before figuring out it just wasn't there. We wandered back inside and proceeded to ask at least 5 other staff members before finally finding the tiny little doorway that housed our tea ceremony.


I had decided before leaving home, that I was still skipping the green tea on this trip. However, I really wanted to participate in a traditional tea ceremony. Lisa and I hatched a plan, that I would feign drinking the tea until the lady left the room at which point Lisa and I would switch cups and she would have mine as well. This would have been a perfect plan, except for the fact that our cups were totally different and the woman would not leave the room. Finally, as Lisa finished her tea, the woman removed Lisa's cup (Doh!) and walked it out of the room. This took all of 5-10 seconds, in which time, Lisa grabbed my cup and managed to guzzle at least 2/3 of my tea, leaving me just a couple of swallows. With both of us trying hard not to burst into a fit of giggles at our deception gone wrong, I finished off the last little bit of the tea in an effort to save ourselves a scene over a tiny bit of green tea. We enjoyed ourselves while we witnessed the ceremony of a Japan of the past.


We were starving from our journey and tea hunt and decided to treat ourselves to a lovely soup and salad lunch in the hotel. The only time Lisa and I felt lost in Japan was when ordering food and trying to pay in a restaurant. This proved to be the most challenging part of having a major language barrier. We tried to watch for clues on how to order and pay from other patrons, but it was time consuming a bit exhausting. After lunch we headed back out to the gardens we had a quick walk through earlier to take some photos and take in the sites.





We had more good fortune watching a couple take engagement photos in traditional dress over a beautiful koi pond. We tried to inconspicuously take photos of the happy couple (which I am sure we failed at being two Gaijin in a garden full of Japanese).











We relaxed and took our time taking in the beautiful scenery and relaxing company before heading back to Akihabara to spend a bit more time perusing the electronics, since we had only made it one store the day before.








Akihabara is also home to the Maids Cafe. It is the Japanese version of Hooters. Girls dressed like maids hand out flyers every 25 feet or so. Apparently this appeals to the many business men in the area.








After Akihabara we raced to Shibuya to meet the rest of the crowd. We found our party who had been lingerie shopping for Nana in the area with no success. Lisa and I had seen some pretty things in a store up the street and made a lame excuse to hold up the group while the 4 of us ran to the store. Once reunited we headed off in the direction of Yokohama to appease my Mom's desire to go. She had been there before when she picked up David from his mission with Scott. She kept raving about the view and how beautiful it was and how we would all love it so. Hesitantly we all braced ourselves for the 2 hour ride out to Yokohama where we entered the building with the fast elevator for the view. We stopped by the Pokemon center where I bought a few more things I couldn't resist for the boys and snapped a million pictures to bring home to them so they could see all the Pokemon wares.

After the Pokemon center we all rode up to the top of the building to take in the views. The views were lovely. We were up quite high and had a good ariel view of the Yokohama/Tokyo area. But taking a 2 hour train ride to get there is kind of like driving to Las Vegas from St. George to take a quick ride up the Stratosphere tower to take in the view and then turn around and drive back to St. George. I am not quite sure why my Mom was so into it, but it seemed to be very important to her to share with us, so we all complied.



During the 2 hour ride home, my Mom said she was not sure what David knew for his wedding night. Her relationship with David is strained at best, and she didn't want to make it more awkward than it already is so she didn't want to broach the "talk" with him. Lisa was willing, but would have offered more information than any of us wanted, so that left me to have the very unenviable "talk" with him. Can I just say that I gave him several opportunities to say "I'm good!" and end the conversation. It took much longer to get to that point than I thought. If having the sex talk with his sister wasn't enough to make him never want to have sex, EVER, I don't know what is. It was benign as could be, but still not fun. It is really a conversation that in a "normal" family would have happened many, many years prior and would have involved parental input, not sibling. Ewwww.... That is a memory that can not be soon enough burned from my mind.

Imperial Palace and Akihabara

Drizzling rain and gray skies greeted me this morning. It was ok, because it seemed to match my mood for the first half of the day. Several days of family drama and being in the middle of it without any reprieve had taken it's toll on me. I felt melancholy as the day began. I didn't want to miss any of the sights of this trip, so I decided to stay quiet and keep to myself to regain my center. (This is where having Bill there would have been really nice. He always helps me keep that centered mind set in the middle of a storm.) We all got a late start on this day. We planned on staying together in the big group, and that meant keeping a much different pace than we had been. It required much patience. The plan was to hit the Imperial Palace and sight see until it was time to pick up Nana at the train station that evening. The Imperial Palace was surrounded by an immense moat. It was also guarded by some serious looking Japanese guards. Both of those factors kept us from viewing it up close and personal. We viewed it from across the moat, and from behind the metal guard rails, meant to keep the riff-raf (IE: tourists) out. Still the area surrounding the palace grounds was stunning. We walked through the gardens that run along side the palace. Immaculately manicured Bonsai trees lined the outer grounds. The contrast of the Bonsai against the modern Tokyo skyline served as a poignant reminder of the contrasts within the Japanese culture itself. In this country, century-old traditions seem to crashingly collide into the new, modern ways of life and all the technology that goes along with it. Technology is such an integral part of both the Japanese people and their economy that no Tokyo visit would be complete without a visit to Akihabara (arguably the epicenter of all things electronic). People on the trains and on the streets retreat into a virtual world of music on ipods, games on their Nintendo DS, or surfing the net on their mobile phones. When I say people, I mean everyone! No one was seen with out some kind of electronic device attached to their person. (Except me, whose old iphone's technology was entirely too archaic to work on Japan's advanced cellular systems.) After our voyage to Japan's past at the Imperial Palace, we took off to Akihabara for a look at our electronic future. Neon lights and giant signs greeted us straight out of the train station. Beckoning us to spend our money on any variety of gadgets and gizmos that only Bill would know how to work. The presentation of their wares was overwhelming and struck me as bit "junky" looking. It was just a hodgepodge of colorful shiny metal all displayed together with large price tags marking their spots. Being technologically challenged (that is what I have Bill for), I made a B-line for the store displaying t-shirts and stuffed animals and miniature figurines. William had given me a lengthy shopping list and up until this point, I had only found the Pokemon items he requested. However, I (actually really William and Romney) hit the jackpot at this store. They had an entire Domo section as well as an entire My Neighbor Totoro section. BINGO! I finished off the shopping for the boys (or so I thought until I hit the Pokemon center the next day.) and had fun looking around the store with Lisa and my mom. Dinner that night was, again, in a train station on the way home. This time, though, in the spirit of Akihabara, we added a new technological component to our Noodle Shop dinning-- the vending machine. The way this shop worked was, you had the menu displayed on the vending machine. You would make your selection, pay and then receive a tiny ticket that you took to your table that was retrieved by a server, who then brought the selection to the table. Since Lisa and I wanted our sans meat, we had to talk to the server (by us, I mean David, who at this point was our only Japanese speaker in the group) anyway to get the order correct, since that had not been a choice on the machine. The whole system seemed to make what I thought was a pretty easy thing to do (order basic noodles) and turned it into an unnecessarily complicated proposition. But what do I know? Technology makes all things easier, right? After a whole 30 minutes in Akihabara, we had to run back to meet Nana at the train station. It was fun to see Nana again. It had been a year since we last saw her in person. Her English was much improved (which thrilled her to hear). She is still kind, adorable and sweet. A wonderful choice made by David. Since it was time consuming and expensive to go back into town from the apartment, we spent the rest of the night in Tada-Koen. We headed to the Uchita's home and hung out for about an hour watching the family go about their lives. It was fun to watch the little 9 year old, who had been our origami instructor on Sunday, do her homework. She was working on practicing her handwriting. She would draw her Kanji characters over and over into a notebook, careful to get them just perfect. Since we had skipped Karaoke the night before, we decided this would be a good night to try it out. Reiko Uchida drove us and helped us get in to the "members only" Karaoke club. The price included food and drinks and all the Karaoke you can pack into 2 hours. I have never done Karaoke (and would have kept my Karaoke virginity had I not been in Japan.) We removed our shoes and were led to a private room that fit all 10 of us. We were given several books the size of our local yellow pages to pick our songs from. We ordered food from a separate TV with a remote and started picking out our tunes. Everyone had to participate, it was mandatory, so there was no escaping for me. I picked out a song that seemed fitting for the occasion: Alpahville's "Big in Japan" (circa 1984! Freak, I am old!) We had a two hour sing along session, before realizing we were really done with the whole Karaoke gig. Karaoke was also my first (and last) encounter with Japanese bathroom slippers. They provide special slippers to be worn in the restrooms (remember we left our shoes at the front door and that is just gross in a restroom!) Speaking of something else that is gross-- I posted the video of my Karaoke deflowering below. (Only because I know that there are only like 4 people other than myself who read this blog and all of them have seen me make a fool of myself before. So, this will be nothing new.)

Asakusa

Another day of sightseeing without the big group. We knew it would be a great day. Lisa, Kurtis and I left early to head to Asakusa while David and the others went suit shopping. Our first stop was the Asakusa temple and the Senso-ji shrine. According to my guide book, this is supposedly the most sacred spot in all of Tokyo--proof of the peaceful co-existence of the both the Shinto and Buddhist religions. Since both the temple and the shrine are pretty much on the same piece of property.


Thundergate marks the entrance to the Senso-ji open air market. The market runs the length of the street down to the shrine. For this being a sacred spot, there is an awful lot of commercialism happening on this street. All geared to the many tourists combing this area. Just a lot of souvenir junk for sale. It was a total blast to look through.






I bought the boys a couple of plastic Samurai swords I knew they would love. (The problem with that idea, was it was still early in the day and they didn't quite fit in the backpack. About half way through my day, I was seriously contemplating just throwing them away to be done with the things. When I returned home and gave them to them along with the Karate Kid headbands and the toe split socks, I was most grateful I had toughed it out.)




















At the end of the market lies the Senso-ji shrine. I had watched a travel video about this place before I left and was very excited to go. The thing I was most excited about doing was getting my fortune. There was a tube of sticks that you would shake up and pick one out. You then would match the kanji on the stick to a coordinating drawer where you would receive your fortune. I got bad fortune #100, which read: "Your happiness in the past was hidden among the clouds, like you lost all your dependence. Going over a mountain with a harp means that you have hidden yourself from the world. If you can't meet a hermit, after climbing up mountains, you will not feel yourself at ease. You will be completely at loss with your empty heart. Your wish will be hard to be realized. The sick person is hopeless. The lost article will not be found. The person you are waiting for will not come. It is bad to build a new house or to remove. It is bad to make a trip. Both marriage and employment are bad." Yes, overall your life will suck. Lucky for me it was neither correct nor taken seriously. I feel bad for anyone coming to the shrine to find out their fate. It would be pretty terrible to know you had to find a hermit after climbing up a mountain to feel at ease with your self.

The shrines all have an area of burning incense. Rumor had it that if you put the smoke from the incense over the part of your body that ails you, it will feel better. I tried it on my back (which was sore from carrying a crazy heavy backpack around for several days.), but it did not prove to be very effective. We washed ourselves in the purification fountain and headed inside to pay our alms. The buildings were gorgeous and interesting and much different than the Christian edifices that I am used to visiting for worship.

After strolling the gardens in the area, we started to ask around for directions to Kappa-
bashi-dori, the street famous as a restaurant wholesale area. I was hoping to pick up some of the fake food they use as advertisement/enticement outside of most every restaurant. We stopped to ask directions from some Japanese people who said no, but pointed at the other obvious tourists (an English man and an Italian man) and told us we should hook up (they did this all non-verbally of course with a series of points and nods). We took them up on their advice and found two gay men who were looking for the same street for the same reason (we had the same guide book you see.) We hung out with them for a while and found the shop fronts we were looking for. The plastic food was exorbitantly expensive (think $6-$10 per piece of tiny sushi), so we all had fun looking around (and leaving it all at the store.)



The boys had a good idea for lunch and invited us along. We took them up on it and after a bit of hunting and direction asking, we found the perfect spot. No one in the joint spoke any English so ordering was a challenge. So was figuring out what to do with the food once we got it at the table. It was a tempanyaki restaurant where the diners are the chefs. I am sure it didn't look right, but it was incredibly delicious. We parted ways with our new friends and headed out to explore Asakusa some more.

We stumbled onto another temple. This one was devoid of any tourists. In fact it was devoid of almost anyone. We must have looked hesitant to enter without the mass of crowds we were used to, because a Japanese lady on her way in beckoned for us to join her. She taught us the prayer to say as we entered and then took off to pay homage to her ancestors in the graveyard outside of the temple. We wandered through the entertainment district and saw the old carnival rides as well as a soccer training area for kids, an arcade, and indoor sports arena and a stand up comics hall. We posed for pictures for each other and for a few Japanese people.



Two blonde girls walking around Tokyo with a tall blonde guy and you know who the bell of the ball was-- the tall blonde guy. Japanese men loved him! They would ask to take pictures of him and with him and could not get enough of poor Kurtis. Every once in a while they would ask Lisa and I to join in the photo, but it mostly felt like a pity shot so our feelings wouldn't be hurt. We found it hilarious and teased poor Kurtis about being the favorite of all the men.
















We were supposed to meet up with David and my Mom and Lynn to go to Yokohama (a place my Mom was dying to take us.) But Lynn decided it was the perfect time to also buy a suit (he doesn't need) and kept everyone an hour longer than they planned, so they were late meeting us at Hachi. Finally on our way, we took off towards Yokohama. A few stops before our station, David announces that we are all getting off early. He decided to go visit a few old friends in an area just shy of Yokohama. The first was an elderly gentleman who ran a Japanese pancake joint. With just a few seats, the man made us the most delicious concoctions. The end of the meal was topped off with a dessert of a slice of watermelon. So good! We called him the Japanese Grandaddy, since he whistled while he cooked and served us watermelon, just like my Grandaddy Romney would.

By the time the pancakes were finished it was much too late to head to Yokohama. My mom was disappointed, but the rest of us were just ready to go home after a long day. It was almost a 2 hour ride from where we were back to the apartment. We made it back to Tada-Koen so late, that we missed the last bus back to Sasame and had to take two taxis back to our place.

Tamatown, Hachi, and Fast Food

Japanese people responded to us by staring and giggling. Not usually good for the ego, but in this case understood. Early morning walks waiting for the others to wake up were a staple for Lisa and I. It was a nice chance to escape the apartment (which was heavily laden with tension) and explore the neighborhood. We ran into school children on their way to school. The school was 3 stories tall and larger than any elementary school I have ever seen. With their bright yellow hats they looked like little ducklings on their way to class. When they saw two "Gaijin" (outsiders) walking down the street, they would literally stop and stare at us. We had two girls approach us and say "Hi" and then cover their mouths and giggle when we answered back. One can almost imagine the exchange they had with their teacher back at school about the "conversation" they had in English on the way to school.

After passing the school we found the real gem of the neighborhood, a local cemetery complete with shrine. It was the coolest one we saw the entire trip. Their were statues galore. One of a tiny Japanese man with a broom, a scary looking dragon, tiny Buddhas, and many other effigies I have no idea what they were. There was a pretty little garden attached to the graveyard.




















My favorite part of our morning walks-- seeing all the crazy signage posted around the town. There were signs that I have no idea what they were trying to say, as well as others that were plenty clear about poop and animals. The was no shortage of interesting pictures that admonished the Japanese to follow the rules.



















My adventure in Tokyo with sticker shock continued at the grocery store. With every cell in my body begging me for some fresh food, Lisa and I stopped at the grocery store in the basement of the train station. I was excited to get some yummy fruit, that is until I saw the prices. It was $10 for a Mango, $5 for a cantaloupe, and $9 for a small container of cherries. I settled on some apples at $1.50 a piece. Lucky for me later in the trip we were gifted a box of clementines and a beautiful, tasty mango (the best I have ever had.)

After the walk, we accompanied David to the American Embassy to fill out some paperwork to make it possible for him to get married in Japan. Kurtis and Lisa waited outside while David and I went in. It was a high security, glorified DMV, with lots of waiting and taking of numbers. David jumped through his bureaucratic hoops, and then we returned to the apartment to pick up my Mom and Lynn to take them back to Harajuku.





They were all sad they had missed it when we came home telling tales of our adventures. We took a second trip back as a big group. It wasn't the same. My mom and Lynn had a much different pace than the rest of us.







Lynn would get side tracked by something shiny (or a McDonalds-- every McDonalds) and go M.I.A. in the middle of town. We would all then have to go look for him before moving on. His manic energy paired with my mom's lack thereof was an exhausting combination. In every train station, they would be unable to figure out how to get through a gate without holding up half of Tokyo. David was upset Lynn was even in the country (David asked my mom to not bring him to his wedding) and the tension with all of us was thick. Tokyo was much better when it was just Lisa and I (also Kurtis, who was an amazingly fun travel buddy).









While we were hunting for Lynn, I found Tamatown. It was a destination my kids were excited for me to see. It is home to Tamagatchis and my kids love those annoying little buggers.








What I learned at Tamatown: They sell Tamagatchi donuts. Who knew? Not my kids, they were jealous I had been there and they have not. They were a bit less jealous when I told them I did not eat any Tama donuts. I am sure they thought that a great waste of a trip to Japan.

After entering every McDonalds in Harajuku, we headed to the busiest intersection in the world in Shibuya. The mass of pedestrians that cross that intersection at each light cycle was staggering. Shoulder to shoulder spanning the entire width of the street. Millions every day. Mind boggling.


Shibuya station is also home to the statue of Hachiko the dog. My kids had just watched the movie "Hachi" which was based on the true story of this dog who came to the train station, loyally, waiting for his owner to come home even after he passed away. The movie stars Richard Gere and looks like it was set in Connecticut. Based on my Hollywood information of the story, I had no idea that it was a story from Japan. It is also a perfect meeting place in front of that busy train station, one that we often used.






We spent about an hour looking around for a Vegan restaurant that was listed in my guidebook. David asked around the neighborhood where it was supposed to be, and it had been closed for 5 years. Hungry and out of patience, he then took us to the Japanese equivalent to fast food, a chain noodle shop. I spent exactly $1.00 to get a bowl of miso and a plate of corn and lettuce (absolutely the only two edible items on the menu). After that, Lisa and I banned David from picking out any more food for us! It was getting late, and we were all burning out. We looked around for Karaoke, because what would a trip to Japan be without Karaoke? We found several places, but after being together all afternoon, no one was really in the mood to actually go in.





We headed home and watched David watch bad Japanese T.V. That was a show in itself, He thought the comedians were so hilarious. The rest of us just really didn't get it.