It has taken me a long time to get this post up. Brian and Kristina’s flight was approaching Tokyo on March 11 when the earthquake happened. We were still able to have a fun week with them.
Brian and Kristina finally got to Tokyo early Saturday morning after spending the night on the floor of the Nagoya train station. I was so excited to see them! After some pancakes and a shower they were ready to go. I wasn’t so sure about riding the subway, but id din’t say anything. We went to Ueno for lunch and then walked around the park for awhile. The museums were closed. Kristina played on the swings while we watched.
Next, we went to Shibuya so Brian could see the statue of Hatchiko and then we just wandered around a bit.
Monday we went to Meiji Shrine, Harajuku and Omotesando.
Pondering?
Kris and I at Meiji
At most shrines they have wooden plaques that you can purchase and write a prayer or message on. This one in Spanish made us laugh. Jose is hopeful that when he gets back to Spain Teresa will have dumped Pablo and will be his girlfriend. Not usually the kind of hope expressed here.
Kristina and Brian at Takeshita Street
Trying on the wares
Yummy Crepes
We saw this plastic food display at a restaurant. This platter of food was actually on their menu. It was huge!
We saw this interesting guy in Omotesando.
Monday night we made a cake and celebrated Rick and Brian’s joint birthday a little early.
Tuesday morning we were up early and on the shinkansen to Kyoto. It takes just over two hours to get there. We walked to our traditional Japanese style hotel, the Ryokan Shimizu and dropped our bags. We went to Nijo castle, Kinkakuji and Ryoanji.
Nijo jo
Meditating at Ryoanji
The Zen Garden at Ryoanji
Fire buckets
Well
Kinkakuji
Brian chose Shabu Shabu for dinner. We had a great meal and a view of the city.
Wednesday we got on the train with our first stop being Nara. We walked through the deer park on our way to see the big Buddha.
Deer Park
Beware!
Love Japanese Translations
Pagoda at Horyuji
Horyuji has some of the oldest wooden structures in the world.
So cold my little Babushka
For the Birthday dinner, Brian and Rick have the same birthdate, Brian chose okonomiyaki.
Waiting
Okonomiyaki
After Okonmiyaki we went to visit a temple whose grounds were lit up in the evening. The bamboo was amazing.
The next morning our first stop was Sanjusangendo Temple that houses 1,000 staures of Buddha. We were only allowed to take photos on the grounds.
Then we walked to my favorite place in Kyoto, Kiomizu Temple. It is on the side of the mountain with views over the city.
Shopping
What would a visit to Kyoto be without seeing some geishas? These girls were involved in a photo shoot.
We loved having Brian and Kristina with us!
Mom-you took my fatty picture off this blog post?! Were you worried you were not supposed to make any announcements? Did someone say something?! It is not my favorite picture cause it makes me look a lot bigger than I am and was at the time, but it is funny, and if you wanted it up there, you can put it back.