Tokyo: Japan Trip Part 1

We made it back to Japan! Lady Hiva and I have been to Japan when we lived in the Philippines, it was a transit stop on our way to the United States. But the two Muggles had never been. We had wanted to go for Cherry Blossoms in March, but the tickets were SO expensive. We found some better priced tickets for June. 

We started and ended our trip in Tokyo. The first thing we all noticed was how clean and quiet the city is. Although it is a large city full of varying shades of earth toned concrete buildings, it is so orderly and quiet. What a welcome reprieve for us! We spent our days exploring and eating...and eating some more! 

Having blue sky was something we all loved. In fact, being cloudless (and pollution less) made it so bright we had to wear our sunglasses as we drove to the resort! 

Staying with tradition, we went into every grocery store and mini-mart that we passed. We all especially loved 7-11 because similar to the 7-11s at home in Hawaii, they have some amazing foods to try. We never left without two bags of different treats--both savory and sweet to sample. Most we loved, a few we didn't. 

We set out to explore the city. First up was the Hokusai museum. Koala Bear has been learning about artists in school and her two favorite artists happen to be Japanese. Her favorite art piece is "The Wave" from the series "Views of Mount Fuji" by Katsushika Hokusai. She asked for a Lego version of it when we were in Hong Kong for her birthday. We made this our first stop. 

On the way we found a food place to eat. We always know a place is good when the locals will stand in line for the food. It was a small hole-in-the-wall place in an alley way. But we stood in line and we were so glad we did. The food was AMAZING! We actually went back there at the end of our trip to eat again (something we never do because there is always other places to try) but it was closed for their "summer vacation" haha

We were able to do quite a bit of walking. We all loved being outside. Even with the city being so big, the traffic was not bad and we could safely walk without fear of being run over by crazy drivers! 

One thing I realized on this trip was how international our children are becoming. Lucky Dragon was so excited to see the Sustainable Development Goals posted from the UN as we walking passed a random building. He was excited to talk about how he learned about the STGs and wanted a photo with the STG he chose for his capstone project. 

The process to make these pieces of art was amazing. So many layers and detail to create the finished product. 

Although we are all fond of the Wave, we found that there were other Hokusai paintings we loved just as much or even more. His colors vibrant and style are so uniquely his. He truly did influence so many artists who came after him. 

It just happens that the Sumo district is the same as the Hokusai district--Sumida. Lady Hiva was so happy to see a sumo wrestler riding past us on his bike! I have never seen her star struck before. But she said she used to watch sumo with her mum when she was younger. 

These two were so happy to be outside and wanted to play in every park they found. We loved just being in the clean air and talking. 

No pictures. No Shouting. No Littering. No Photos. (seems like some good rules for life. 

We were unable to see the Sakura blossom season, but we were there for Hydrangea season. Lady Hiva was in love! This flower is one we had cultivated in our garden in Utah. In Japan there were hydrangeas everywhere. They were all different colors and sizes. 

Hollywood actress out for a stroll. 

Apparently, spirits help children cross the street in Japan. At least that is what this sign looks like to me. I took a photo of it, hoping that 

Lady Hiva and I both loved that they used whatever space they had to garden. So in between all the concrete there was some green. 

Another bucketlist place to stop was for knives. Any of you that have spent time in our home know that Lady Hiva and I both love to cook. We have our knives--meaning I have my knives, she has hers. We do not use each others...and we are particular about other people using our knives. Lady likes a chef's knife. I have always liked the Japanese Santoku knife. We bought knives in Switzerland while we were there, but we were so excited to get some Japanese knives.

With a recommendation from a friend we bought knives from a family owned store. It was a much better experience than the touristy places that over price their knives. This family has been in business for over 150 years. They make the knives right in the store. I wanted a thicker handle because my hand does not close well...So they made a special knife just for me. 

They sharpened the knives until they were able to cut a paper without even bending it at all! 

They engraved our names in Japanese characters for us. 

When we were walking what should have been a short walk was always longer because we stopped at nearly every food vender we passed!  

Washing our hands before going into the temple. 

We all did a horoscope/omen. Apparently, all of us except Lucky Dragon are either going to die or facing emanate calamity. 

We ate SO MUCH ice cream! We found we loved the Hokkaido vanilla flavor the best. 

We went into a few Don Quixote stores. They are multi-layer stores packed full of all kinds of things. Think Wal-mart meets Dollar Tree...

We walked down the "plastic food street." It ended up being more a kitchen ware street but a few stores sold model food. It was fun to see. 

It was fun to try ramen houses. This one Lady Hiva liked because she could order and eat without talking to anyone. You order from a vending machine, then sit in your cubicle and they deliver and you eat. If you need anything you place a placard in front of you with your request. No talking required. 

We were able to meet up with some classmates in India that have now moved back to Japan. It was fun to see the kids meet up with their friends again. 

We saw Mount Fuji from the train as we headed to Kyoto. 

Japanese society make everything easier. It is all about the small details. Like toothpicks having mint on the ends to clear teeth and freshen your breath. There are vending machines for EVERYTHING! Toys, food, insurance, tickets, medicine...you name it, there is a vending machine. 

We went to the Japanese version of  "Mood." It is really a street with all KINDS of fabric. Tomato has 5 different stores and there are several other stores around it. We were able to find fabrics we love and brought it home to make some new clothes. 

The Japanese treats were fun to try. Some were familiar from Hawaii--there is such a strong Japanese influence there. Others were unique and exciting to try with what seemed like random flavor combinations. 

We needed an extra suitcase and decided to go to another Don Quixote. We had to laugh because just around the corner was a...less than respectable..area. Here we are trooping our kids down the road!

We went to see Tokyo Tower. It was on Lucky Dragon's bucket list. We thought we were going to just take a photo and go. But we ended up scoring some cheaper tickets to go up to the viewing deck. It was cool to get another perspective of Tokyo. 

This champ and I decided to avoid the WAY crowded elevator --I already do not like elevators, but cram 40 other people in with me, I go into hyper-claustrophic mode. So we did the stairs. All 600 of them..it actually ended up being 752 due to some construction and 4 levels of gift shop they make you wander through to exit!

She made it look easy. 

One area of the city we had burgers. They were so juicy and delicious. This was the one time on the trip we did not have Japanese food. 

In the taxis we loved that all the seats were covered by doilies. They also all had this video screen with a creepy bunny. It became a family joke to see the creepy bunny. We did not know what it was saying, but we all could act out the scenes by the end of the trip.  

On our way to our hotel. Taking the train system. We loved how orderly the lines are, how quiet the trains are (there were signs to even make sure your headphones are not "leaking noise"), and most of all, they come on time! 

Tokyo was such an amazing city. There is so much to offer. We saw so many parts of it, but feel we just scratched the surface. We loved the food. We loved how clean it was--although it was so odd how there were no rubbish bins anywhere. We would come home with pocket of rubbish because there was no where to throw it. People were so kind--the whole trip. They were willing to help even if we did not speak the same language. Who knows what people did without google translate. Being about to speak into a phone and have it translate (somewhat correctly) or to take a photo of a sign and get instructions was paramount to our experience.