EVERYTHING IS BACK TO NORMAL NOW

SO... WE HAVE BEEN HOME FOR THREE DAYS NOW AND I THOUGHT I HAD ALREADY FILLED IN THE REST OF OUR TRIP BUT I GUESS I HADN'T. SO HERE IS THE SKINNY ON OUR TRIP TO TOKYO....


WHEN WE ARRIVED IN TOKYO LAST SUNDAY WE WERE SO PLEASANTLY SURPRISED AT HOW NICE EVERYTHING ALREADY WAS. SPRING HAD ALREADY SPRUNG DOWN THERE AND IT WAS SO NICE. THE WEATHER WAS GREAT EVERYDAY BUT ONE!! CAN YOU BELIEVE OUR LUCK?? I THINK RAIN HAD BEEN IN THE FORECAST FOR A FEW OF THE DAYS OF OUR TRIP BUT IT ONLY RAINED A LITTLE OFF AND ON ONE DAY OF THE TRIP.

WE GOT IN ON THE 29TH AND WE TOOK A AIRPORT BUS TO THE OTHER AIRPORT IN TOKYO TO MEET THE HALEYS. WE GOT THERE JUST IN TIME BECAUSE THEIR FLIGHT WAS EARLY. AFTER THEY GOT OUT OF IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS WE HOPPED ON ANOTHER BUS, BUT THIS ONE TOOK US TO OUR HOTEL. WE STAYED AT THE NEW SANNO HOTEL. IT IS RUN BY THE NAVY. IT IS A REALLY REALLY AWESOME HOTEL AND IT IS SUPER CHEAP!!!!! AFTER WE CHECKED IN WE GRABBED A BITE TO EAT AT ONE OF THE HOTEL'S RESTAURANTS. 

THEN WE HEADED TO THE SUBWAY TO HOP ON A TRAIN TO THE GINZA. THE GINZA AREA IS WHERE ALL THE BIG BUILDINGS ARE THAT YOU SEE LITE UP IN PHOTOS OF TOKYO. THERE ARE LOTS OF HIGH END STORES IN THE AREA AND IT IS FUN TO WALK UP AND DOWN THE STREETS.

 WE WENT WHEN IT WAS DARK ON SUNDAY NIGHT SO WE COULD SEE IT ALL LITE UP. IT WAS REALLY COOL. AFTER WALKING AROUND THERE FOR A LITTLE WHILE WE HEADED BACK TO THE HOTEL AND WE TURNED IN.

ON MONDAY WE WOKE UP AND WENT TO BREAKFAST. THEN WE STOPPED AT THE CONCIERGE DESK AND ASKED ABOUT TOURS AND STUFF THAT WE WANTED TO GO SEE. WE ENDED UP SIGNING UP FOR TWO TOURS. AND SHE GAVE US DIRECTIONS TO PLACES WE COULD GO DO AND SEE ON OUR OWN ON THE DAYS WE WEREN'T ON TOURS. SO WE DECIDED TO SPEND MONDAY BY GOING OVER TO THIS PLACE CALLED THE ORIENTAL BAZAAR. IT IS A HUGE SOUVENIR SHOP. BUT IT HAS SOME ANTIQUES AND OTHER THINGS THAT I HADN'T SEEN BEFORE. IT WAS FIVE FLOORS OF SHOPPING!! I BOUGHT A TEAPOT, A REALLY NEAT TRINKET JAR, A SAKI SET AND A LITTLE LACQUERED BOX. AFTER THE BAZAAR WE WALKED AROUND THE AREA. 

IT WAS REALLY BUSY. THE SIDEWALKS FULL OF PEOPLE. THEN WE WENT TO THE ALLEY WHERE ALL OF THE HARAJUKU TEENAGERS HANG OUT. THERE WEREN'T MANY OUT THOUGH BECAUSE THE STREET WAS PACKED AND THERE WASN'T ANY ROOM TO 'HANG OUT' . AFTER WE FINALLY GOT THROUGH THE CROWD WE HEADED BACK TO OUR HOTEL TO DROP OF OUR LOOT 

THEN WE WENT OUT LOOKING FOR THE SAPPORO BEER MUSEUM. 

IT WAS A SHORT WALK FROM OUR HOTEL AND EVERYONE REALLY LIKED IT. DAVE, SANDY, AND SEAN DID THE BEER TASTING FIRST THEN WE WENT THROUGH THE MUSEUM SORT FAST BECAUSE IT WAS ABOUT TO CLOSE. WE WENT BACK TO OUR HOTEL AFTER WARDS AND GRABBED DINNER THEN HIT THE HAY EARLY.



TUESDAY WE GOT UP EARLY TO CATCH THE TOUR BUS TO MT. FUJI AND THE HAKONE AREA. OUR GUIDE 'MICKEY' WAS A REAL HOOT. SHE KEPT CRACKING JOKED THAT HAD US ALL CHUCKLING. WE WENT UP TO MT. FUJI FIRST. IT WAS RAINY THOUGH SO WE COULDN'T SEE THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN. LEAVING A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED WE WENT TO A REALLY GREAT LUNCH AT HAKONE LAKE HOTEL. I AM SURE IF IT WASN'T RAINY THE VIEW FROM THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN REALLY WONDERFUL. BUT THE FOOD WAS GOOD ANYHOW. AFTER LUNCH THE BUS TOOK US TO THE LAKE TO BOARD A PIRATE SHIP!! 

WE TOOK A TEN MINUTE CRUISE ACROSS THE LAKE AND IT WAS REALLY AWESOME. WE GOT LOTS OF GREAT PICTURES OF THE MOUNTAINS AROUND THE LAKE. THE BUS PICKED US UP AND TOOK UP TO GET ON SKY GONDOLAS!! 

IT WAS ABOUT TEN MINUTES TO GET UP TO THE TOP. THEN WE WENT TO THE VALLEY OF HELL. IT IS WHERE SULFUR GAS SEEPS OUT OF THE GROUND. IT WASN'T TOO SMELLY THANKFULLY. BUT IT REALLY WAS A SIGHT TO SEE. THE PUFFS COMING UP FROM THE GROUND AND IT WAS DEAD LOOKING EVERYWHERE. SO NOW WE CAN SAY WE HAVE VISITED HELL ON EARTH EH?. HEHE AFTER HELL WE STOPPED AT A REALLY GREAT SHRINE ON THE WAY BACK TO TOKYO.

ON WEDNESDAY WE WERE GLAD TO TAKE IT EASY. AFTER OUR FULL LONG DAY ON TUESDAY WE WERE READY FOR A SLOWER PACE. WE ATE BREAKFAST AND TOOK THE SUBWAY TO THE GINZA AREA AGAIN. SEAN ENDED UP FALLING FOR A DIGITAL CAMERA AT THE SONY BUILDING AND SPENT THE REST OF THE DAY SELLING THE IDEA TO SANDY. BUT WE DRAGGED THE BOYS AWAY FROM THE SONY BUILDING TO SEE A KABUKI PLAY. IT IS A VERY TRADITIONAL TYPE OF JAPANESE THEATER. THE PLAY THAT WE WATCHED WAS FIRST PERFORMED IN 1853. ALL THE CHARACTERS ARE PLAYED BY MEN. IT WAS IN JAPANESE SO WE JUST SORT OF FALLOWED ALONG WITH WHAT WE KNEW ABOUT THE STORY. IT WAS GOOD TO EXPERIENCE. BUT I DON'T THINK DAVE ENJOYED IT VERY MUCH.

THURSDAY WE WERE UP EARLY AGAIN TO GO ON ANOTHER TOUR. THIS TIME WE WENT ON A TOKYO TOUR. WE WENT TO TOKYO TOWER, THE MEIJI SHRINE, AND THE IMPERIAL PALACE EAST GARDEN IN THE MORNING. THE MEIJI SHRINE WAS REALLY NEAT. WE GOT LOTS OF PHOTOS OF THE CITY FROM THE OBSERVATION DECK OF TOKYO TOWER. BUT WE WERE NEARLY POWER WALKING THROUGH THE EAST GARDEN. THERE WAS LOTS OF TRAFFIC BECAUSE SOME JAPANESE PEOPLE WERE PROTESTING THEIR CONSTITUTION SO TRAFFIC WAS SO CONGESTED. SO BY THE TIME WE GOT TO THE GARDEN WE WERE RUNNING BEHIND SO WE HAD TO HURRY THROUGH. THE GARDEN WAS STILL NICE BUT I THINK IF DAVE AND I EVER GO BACK TO TOKYO I WOULD LIKE TO WALK THROUGH IT AGAIN... MAYBE ABOUT HALF THE SPEED NEXT TIME. HEHE. 

MOST OF US ATE LUNCH IN THE GINZA AND THEN WENT BACK TO CATCH THE AFTERNOON TOUR. FOR THE SECOND PART OF THE TOUR WE STOPPED AT A PEARL GALLERY. I DIDN'T THINK THIS WOULD BE INTERESTING AT ALL BUT IT ENDED UP BEING REALLY COOL. THEY EXPLAINED HOW CULTURED PEARLS ARE CREATED AND THEY EVEN DEMONSTRATED THEM IMPLANTING THE CLAMS. IT WAS COOL!!! AFTER THE PEARLS WE WENT TO BOARD A CRUISE BOAT TO TAKE US UP THE SUMIDA RIVER. IT WAS A NICE RIDE ALONG THE RIVER WITH LOTS OF SIGHTS TO SEE.

 AFTER THE CRUISE DROPPED US OFF UPSTREAM WE WENT TO THE ASAKUSA KANNON TEMPLE. IT IS A HUGE BUDDHIST TEMPLE. 

IT WAS REALLY AMAZING BUT IT WAS HARD JUST TO WALK UP THE ALLEYS OF THE SHOPPING AREA THERE BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE. BUT WE STILL GOT TO TAKE IN THE AWESOME SITE. AT THE END OF THE TOUR THEY DROVE US BY A STREET FULL OF WAX FOOD STORES!! THE RESTAURANTS ALL OVER JAPAN HAVE WAX FOOD MODELS ON DISPLAY AND THIS STREET IS WHERE THEY GET THEM FROM!!! ISN'T THAT ODD?? WELL AFTER THAT WE DROVE THROUGH THE ELECTRONICS DISTRICT. THEN WE HEADED BACK TO THE HOTEL.

FRIDAY WAS PRETTY LAID BACK. WE WERE PLANNING TO STOP AT A BASEBALL STADIUM TO GRAB A TEE SHIRT AND THEN HEAD TO A MUSEUM AREA... BUT WE GOT TO THE STADIUM AND ENDED UP BUYING TICKETS FOR THE GAME. THE ONLY TICKETS AVAILABLE WERE STANDING ONLY BUT WE FIGURED IT WOULD STILL BE REALLY GREAT. SO WE BOUGHT TICKETS... THEN WAITED FOR A LITTLE WHILE TO BE LET IN TO GET A PRIME SPOT TO WATCH THE GAME. 

BUT ONCE WE GOT OUR SPOT WE STILL HAD 3 HOURS TO STAND THERE WAITING FOR THE GAME. IT WAS REALLY COOL TO WATCH THE TEAMS WARM UP BUT BY THE TIME THE GAME STARTED WE WERE TIRED OF STANDING. AND ONCE THE STANDING AREA WAS FILLED UP THE AREA GOT HOT AND FUNKY. WE ENJOYED FOUR INNINGS OF THE GAME THEN LEFT. 

IT WAS FUN TO SEE A JAPANESE BASEBALL GAME THOUGH. THE FANS WENT CRAZY AND WERE ALWAYS SINGING A CHANT!! WE WERE GLAD WE GOT TO SEE IT. BUT WE HEADED BACK TO THE HOTEL TO PACK OUR BAGS.

SATURDAY WE CHECKED OUT AND SAID GOOD-BYE TO SEAN AND SANDY AND WE FLEW HOME TO MISAWA. THANKFULLY WHEN WE GOT HOME THE WEATHER WAS AWESOME!!! IN THE SIXTIES AND SUNNY. WE STOPPED ON OUR WAY HOME AT THE KENNEL TO PICK WENDY UP. SHE WAS SO EXCITED TO SEE US. WE TOOK HER HOME AND THEN WE RAN TO GET SOME GROCERIES AND SOME FREE FLOWERS AT THE BASE'S SPRING FLING.
SO!! NOW YOU KNOW. WE HAD A REALLY GREAT TIME. I HAVE POSTED THE PHOTOS ALREADY SO CHECK THEM OUT IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY. TOKYO WAS SO COOL. IF YOU EVER GET A CHANCE TO GO.. DO IT!!! ALL OF THE JAPANESE PEOPLE ARE SO KIND AND THOUGHTFUL. I GUESS SINCE DAVE AND I HAVE BEEN SEEING MORE AND MORE MY THOUGHTS ON LIVING IN JAPAN HAVE CHANGED A LOT. I STILL HAVE MY MOMENTS WHERE I FEEL LIKE COMPLAINING.... BUT EVERY SINCE I QUIT MY JOB THE DAY TO DAY HAS DRASTICALLY CHANGED FOR THE BETTER. THANKFULLY!!!!