The holidays this year were unlike any other for us. Being married, living outside Canada, no family gatherings, and so on really made for strange feelings. Tyler and Misty's visit added a familiar twang to everything, though, and even though we were in non-stop travel mode, it was a good, relaxing time.
An added bonus was that we connected with the excellent Solheim's! We met up in Tokyo with Tara and Krista, and they showed us around. In good Tokyo fashion, we ate Hawaiian burgers and Thai food, and saw the possibly craziest department store on the planet.
And as another added bonus, this was the weather we had for pretty much the entire holiday. Ueno station in Tokyo is massive, and there's a really lively shopping street nearby.
As a further added bonus, Kelly Krupski (yes, THE Kelly Krupski) arrived in Japan, and we got to go meet her at the airport (an adventure all in itself), and hang out with her in Tokyo for a little while. It was great to see another familiar friend in this strange land, Mandy was very impressed.
The park in Harajuku is full of people. People performing 'cosplays' (which, to our slight disappointment, consisted of strangely dressed kids standing around text messaging, and posing for photos), people practicing their craft (we saw a man with a bullwhip whipping the air repeatedly. Tara and Krista said he does it for hours on end, daily), and rivers of people watching all the action. 
Sittin' on a low chain, chewin' on a, sushi roll... (any Mississippi Gary fans out there?)We watched for a while on the famous Harajuku bridge, and then, after meeting up with Krista and Tara again, we went for burgers.
And now you know, some more of the story.
2 comments:
Rod, you're probably familiar with the novel "Shogun" by James Clavell. A good deal of the action takes place in Osaka Castle. I kinda envy you your trip there for that reason. Have a noodle dish for me at one of those street vendors will you? Man, I would love to be able to do that. There's just so much to see and do, how're you gonna be able to fit it all in?
Love UD
One weekend at a time, my friend. the time's flying, and we're working so regularly (which, by the way, we're very thankful for), some weekends we feel like sleeping in and then watching movies. but we have seen quite a bit, and we will see more too. this weekend we're going to nagano to snowboard.
if you don't have the expectation that you will see everything, then what you do see becomes more special, and what you don't, less regrettable.
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