Tokyo 東京

We did it!!  We finally took the plunge and made the trip to Tokyo . . . with all three kids!!!! (forgive my overuse of intense punctuation, but for those of you who have made this trip, you'd probably add a few exclamation marks of your own).  There's really just too much to tell in one post, so y'all are gonna be blessed with several brief posts highlighting our trip.  This being the first of several.  I promise to make them all boring, dull otherwise harmful to your cranium.

As you can imagine, this whole trip, nay the whole IDEA of this trip was an adventure of sorts.  First of all, we had to decide on a mode of transportation.  As it turns out, there are several ways to get from Misawa to Tokyo. 

1) bus - 12 hours

2) car - 8-10 hours plus tolls plus gas

3) train - 3 hours

4) plane - 1 hour in air plus check-in, security checks and lost luggage

5) hitchhike - 4-6 weeks

We chose option 3 -- Shinkansen (bullet train).  Quick and easy, with plenty of room for stretching and walking around.  No seatbelts either.  You'd think at 200mph they'd consider optional belts.  Not here.

Just arrived at Tokyo station.  That's the Shinkansen in the background.  I like elevators.

We stayed at the New Sanno (Military hotel in the heart of Tokyo).  Very fancy, yet military priced.  Here's the kids' bed.  No, they didn't share the one bed, there were two twin beds.  Very high off the floor though.  Halfway through the first night Alex decided to sleep on the floor, although I don't think it was a conscious decision.  So we moved the mattress to the floor every night and then replaced it on the box-springs before the maids arrived the next morning.  (evil laugh -- heh, heh, heh)

We took over the restaurant at the hotel.   Every morning we ordered the breakfast buffet and usually there were only a couple other tables occupied so every 10 seconds (literally) one of the wait staff would walk by our table (do you need more water, are you done with that plate, why is your son lying on the floor, you know this is the fifth time I've picked up your fork).   Actually, you couldn't ask for better service.  We had a lot of fun talking with them.  None of them were American and most were not Japanese so it was interesting to hear their stories about what brought them to Tokyo.

Outside the New Sanno hotel. The kids loved this fountain because it lit up at night with different colors.  Alex was the photographer for this photo (see his thumb).

I should add here that the main reason we went to Tokyo was so Lyana and I could go to the LDS temple there.  It happened to be just up the street from the hotel (10-minute walk).  On the way up to the temple was this little (and I mean little, what you see in the picture was the whole of it) Shinto shrine, so I had Katya pose in front of it for a quick picture.

This is Alex and Katya at the front gate of the LDS temple.   

Alex and Katya, but mostly Alex, loved the trains.  Usually he would find the only available seat to jump onto (kicking the person next to him in the process) and kneel while staring out the window.  They also liked being in the front car so they could watch out the window through the conductor's cab as we traveled through the tunnels under Tokyo.  One odd observation I made while riding the trains was that most of the time we were the only ones making noise.  I couldn't believe how quiet everyone was on the train.  Never once did I hear a cell phone ring or a passenger (besides my own children) speak loudly.

Lyana fell in love with this little bakery near the hotel.  We'd walk by it every time we headed to the subway. 

Tokyo is actually a metropolis made up of a lot of cities and districts, one of which is actually Tokyo.  This picture is in the Roppongi district.  It was cold and rainy this night, but we didn't care.  That's Tokyo Tower in the background (future post on that one).  We were planning to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe until we saw the menu and the 2300 Yen burgers (that's like $25).  I'll never pay that much for a hamburger unless I get the whole cow.  So we walked a little further and found Wolfgang Puck.  Had the whole restaurant to ourselves.

When we left on Saturday, there was no snow on the ground.  Rare for Misawa.  When we returned on Wednesday, we had a hard time finding our van, even though it was the only vehicle in the parking lot.  Fortunately we parked at the church (across from the train station) and there was a snow shovel nearby.

30 minutes later . . .  Note there's still over a foot of snow on top of the car topper (I couldn't quite reach it).

More to come.