Tokyo Days

Tokyo was our first stop on our world tour, so we spent time both getting used to the time change, but also trying to get used to the travelling life. Highlights included, in no particular order:

1) Our neighborhood (Omotesando). We lived in a little alley off a main shopping area and the kids loved getting to know the neighborhood there. We even let them take off for an hour on our last morning, just wandering the streets (and apparently getting free chocolate from the shopkeepers!)

2) Vending machines. They are everywhere, but almost never with food...always drinks, both hot and cold. Brian and I have foregone  our Starbucks habit for a Boss habit....cheaper, and always within about 20 feet of wherever we are.

3) The Food.... I could do many posts just about the food, but our favorites were the ramen (note: don't order 5 bowls for 5 people....way too much food!), the sushi boat restaurant, and our morning breakfasts of bento and onigiri from Family Mart (the 24/7 minimart with locations everywhere).

4) Dinner with the Sekiguchis.  On our first real night in Tokyo, our friend Heather (minus her husband Shuhei who was in the US last week) and son Kaito hosted us for dinner in their apartment in Setagaya. While we were sad to miss Shuhei, we enjoyed getting the chance to have a traditional Japanese dinner of gyoza and okonomiyake with Heather and Kaito.  They were fantastic hosts, and made our first night in Tokyo perfect!

5) Shibuya Crossing. We aren't sure if it is actually the world's busiest crossing, but it sure was fun to cross the streets there (many times). For those who haven't seen videos of it, cars come from many different directions, but all have red lights at the same time, so hundreds of people cross the street each time. Especially fun to watch from the Starbucks above Shibuya at night.

6) The super cute panda at the Tokyo Zoo. We would have spent more time ogling over this ridiculously cute animal, but the security guard allowed approximately 5 seconds of viewing per person before insisting that we keep moving.