Japan Part 2 - Tokyo

After a wonderful time in Kobe and surrounding cities, it was time to explore Tokyo. And since we got a taste of it our first night, we were excited to spend more time!!  We made our train in the morning after a sad goodbye, and made it to Tokyo around lunchtime.  We found our airbnb with relative ease and were pleasantly surprised.  We knew that it would be very small...one big room with a separator...two beds and a sectional couch that turned into a bed...quite cozy.  But it was very equipped, clean and super convenient to the train.

After getting our things settled, we were off to find a place for lunch.  Just around the corner, we found a fantastic ramen noodle restaurant that could actually fit us all!!  This was our biggest concern when going to Japan, but this restaurant had an upstairs, and we had missed the lunch hour, so there was plenty of room.  After eating mostly Japanese food for the days with the Marletts, we were confident that eating would not be a problem in Tokyo, and we were right.  The food was fantastic and there were no complaints!!

After eating, we decided it was time to do some exploring.  The Tokyo Tower didn't look too far away, by eyesight or by GPS, so we went off in search of the Tower.  Tokyo has two buildings known for their views, the Tokyo Tower and Sky Tower,  and we thought that we didn't need to do both.  It was such a gorgeous day...clear and perfect 70's weather...that we wanted to take advantage of the day and see one of them.  We only came to Tokyo with one scheduled event, so the rest we were playing by ear...which is sometimes a little scary when we are a party of 7.

Yummy Ramen

Getting to the Tokyo Tower took about 45 minutes.  The kids were great.  We played in a park on our way, and just enjoyed the beautiful weather, clean city and space!!! As we were headed up to the Tower, this woman started running at us with her camera...lo and behold, it was Jackie Welch!!  The Welch family moved to HK from PA when we did...Andy works with Dave and Jackie and I have become tennis partners this last year.  We knew they were visiting Tokyo, as well, but didn't think they would be there the same time we would since they had a different agenda...fitting in Korea, as well.  We laughed so hard that our families "bumped" into each other, yet again, in a city of millions of people. The same thing happened to us in Beijing!! They were headed up to the Tower, so we all went up together...it was such a fun surprise!!!

My friend, Jackie 

View from the top

When we were done with the Tower, we headed back to the airbnb, Andy and Josh went out to get food, while the rest of us got settled, showered and ready for bed. We were exhausted and had no problems falling to sleep.  The next morning we had some high anticipation...we were headed to Denny's for breakfast.  Unfortunately for us, the menu was a little different than we were familiar with...no chocolate chip pancakes or strawberry waffles (or any waffles).  But there was French toast and eggs...and coffee:) Might not have been exactly what we were expecting, but we were grateful for a restaurant that could fit us all together.

The rest of that day was filled with exploring, shopping, and seeking out Japanese pizza, also called okonomiyaki. We started at the Nakamise Market that leads up to the Sensoji Temple. We definitely ran into crowds we were accustomed to in HK.  It was great shopping, and we enjoyed taking back alleys behind the markets to check out the food...which is where we found our okonomiyaki.  This was a great experience for the kids because is is cooked right in front of you and it was delicious!! Once lunch was over, we headed back to our place, cleaned up, then headed back out to meet another of Andy's Gore Associates and his family.  Yagi-san has been a friend and associate for quite awhile, and has been to our home in PA when he has been there on business.  It was great fun to meet his family and enjoy another new Japanese cuisine called Kushiage, which is deep fried vegetable and meats...this may have been my favorite, and I had never even heard of such a thing! Yes, if you haven't figured it out, Japan is known for their food...and we were confirming that with every meal.  We finally got back late, after hitting Electric town on our way home.  The next day was our last in Tokyo...and it was a surprise to the kids.

Fish market

A wee bit cramped in the corner

A stroll through a beautiful park

A night on the town

We woke them up and told them our destination...Disney Sea!  This is one of two Disney parks in Tokyo...the other being just like Magic Kingdom.  But Disney Sea was very unique and was pretty amazing.  We were pretty blown away by many of the attractions and rides, and really had a great day as a family. We even took Sarah on the Tower of Terror...which may have scarred her for life...but we did it as a family.

Ended the day with a gorgeous sunset...

and some new "fans"

We spent all day at the park, had the best weather, and got back tired and happy.  It was a full on day which the kids, and adults, enjoyed thoroughly.  It was a great ending to our week...a trip that won't soon be forgotten.  In fact, I know I am trying to figure out how I can get back!!

Japan Part 1 - Kobe, Kyoto and Hiroshima

Our long awaited trip to Japan finally occurred.  This was the trip that Andy had his heart set on for his family the moment we decided to make Hong Kong our home.  He loves Japan and has spent so much time traveling there that he couldn't wait for the rest of us to experience this amazing country.
And since we waited until our fifth year to do this trip, we got the bonus of visiting great friends, too!!

The Marletts moved to Kobe, Japan in July...which was perfect timing for us...and a great spot to be centrally located:) Kobe is on the same train line as Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima...and we can get there easily by train from Tokyo.  But, while we were excited to see all that Japan had to offer, our main goal the beginning of the week was to spend time with them and see their new life.  We got to Japan on a Friday night, stayed in Tokyo, then left the next morning.  Our room in the Tokyo Hotel was so cool...6 single to double beds all configured in one room, one set being bunk beds.  It was very fun, and we probably would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't been so late...getting to sleep around 2am.  Then we were up by 6am because we had to make a train in order to get tickets on the bullet train to Kobe.

And we're off...

Yes, her head may have gotten stuck for a bit

Walking through Tokyo at midnight

We got lost a couple times

Our cool hotel room that fit us all!!!

The bullet train...a definite favorite!

Mt Fuji from the bullet train

Finally crashed

                   

We finally arrived to Kobe around 1pm, and of course Nicole had an amazing Japanese lunch waiting for us when we got there. Then we were able to visit a beautiful herbal gardens that was located on the side of the mountain behind their house.  We took a fun cable car to get there.  Then it was back to the house where the kids swam, had fabulous Miso soup, and finally made it to bed...exhausted and happy.

Kobe

The next day we got to go to their church...which was just as adventurous getting their as it used to be for us before the car. Then from there we traveled to Okayama by train, enjoyed some sightseeing in Kurashiki, and then had dinner at one of Drew and Andy's associates from Gore.  Onosan has been a friend of Andy's for about a decade, and the two of them dreamed of getting our families together one day.  It was hard to believe that dream was reality.  Onosan, his wife and his parents, in Japanese style, prepared a feast for us that blew us away.  Kobe beef, Japanese pizza, Miso soup, beautiful desserts and on and on and on were served with excellence and pride.  And then the fun began...the kids were given sparklers and small fireworks.  They had a ball, as that night turned into one of our favorites:)

We got home very late, as Okayama is a good hour away from Kobe.  The next day the Marlett kids had sports day, which was only a half day.  This was fun because Drew had off and we all went to watch the end of the festivities.  Then we went to a local Japanese restaurant, and finally made it to Kyoto.  Unfortunately we didn't make it to Kyoto until 5pm, so we booked it to the bamboo forest...something we thought was very unique...spent about an hour there...and then went back to Kobe.  I was a little bummed we couldn't have spent longer in Kyoto...having heard so much about it, but it was so important and wonderful that we got to see where Jack, Megan and Sophie went to school, and it just meant that I will have to go back:) When we got back to Kobe we went to a Sushi-go-round restaurant.  Amazingly enough, we all fit in the restaurant, and even more miraculous, Abby ate sushi for the first time and loved it:)

Sarah's foot did not "mind the gap" and therefore her sneaker fell on the tracks

Ice cream to keep us going

The bamboo forest in Kyoto

One of my faves!

All the Marletts and Puffs at a Sushi-go-round

The next day we decided that in order to be more productive and efficient, we left our youngest two with Nicole to do a museum while the rest of us met Onosan and went to Hiroshima.  Again, I really wanted to go to the museum, but with Onosan taking the day off, we didn't think he wanted to do that so we went to Miyajima Island instead.  It wasn't the best weather, but the island was so unique, had an incredible view, and it was something Andy had talked about from his travels to Japan.  We hiked and took cable cars to the top and ate an authentic lunch on the way down. We had a great time spending those few hours with Onosan, and I think he had fun, too.  Then we got back on the ferry to the local train to catch the bullet train.  Onosan left us, and we continued to Himegi Castle, one of the most famous castles in the world.  This was an amazing tour and we all loved it.  We finally got back on the train and made it back to the Marletts for dinner...it was a FULL day.

Miyajima Island

Himeji Castle

We left for Tokyo on Wednesday morning feeling sad that we wouldnt see the Marletts for quite awhile, but we had incredible memories and felt blessed to have seen their new life and experience Asia with them, as well as seen some amazing parts of Japan we would never forget