Easter Break - A week at home and a week in Japan!

Easter Break!!!!

The boys got 2 weeks off of school for the Easter holiday so we planned a week in Japan.  Well it wasn't really planned as well as it should have been but we booked tickets and had a general idea what & where for the week.  But before that we had a long week of the boys being home.  Monday was Shaun's birthday and we have been telling him for a while that when he turns 5 the training wheels of his bike comes off so that is what we did...me & my great helper Lino.  Shaun actually didn't do so bad with the trainers off but he was nervous by the end of the night.  So proud of him.  As a tradition we do birthday dinner which he wanted pancakes and french fries.  He said that all weekend which was weird and not what I was expecting but we were going to do it until I reminded him about pizza and he quickly changed his mind.  I think he is so use to me saying we can't have pizza that he forgot that for birthday dinner you can have whatever you want.  So we went to the pizza place near the condo and he devoured his pizza!  Lino too!  The pizza wasn't big but I got them garlic bread too thinking that would be enough but it wasn't.  They wanted another pizza but it was to much money for a small pizza so we went to Burger King after and Lino got a cheese burger and fries that he ate in 2 sec flat and Shaun got chicken nuggets and french fries that he ate fairly quickly too.  They both asked for more food after that but we had to say enough is enough.  Man when they say growing boys I really get it now.  Some days they are serious eating machines!  Anyway happy 5th birthday to my crazy baby boy.  

The rest of the week the boys were out and about with their friends.  One day we went to Labrador park and I was planning an afternoon in the park with picnic lunch but it turned out to be a super wet day in the park.  We had our lunch but were stuck under the shelter for almost 30min.  When the rain finally started to slow down I thought we would leave but the boys wanted to go to the playground...so that is what they did.  These kids are nuts.  They played in the rain in the playground for another 30min or more...not even caring that they were soaking wet and sandy!!!!  When the rain finally stopped then they said they were cold and wanted to go ... lets just say it wasn't an enjoyable trip home but they didn't complain to much because I reminded them of their choice...not mine.  Another day we went to Adventure Cove which they were shocked that we were going because mommy never goes to the water park without daddy.  But we went and it wasn't crowded or big so it was actually nice.  We were only there for a few hours so I was able to manage it.  Before we left Lino got to go snorkeling all by his self!!!!  They have a little fresh water tank that you can go in a little loop around and snorkel.  Shaun had just got in trouble before we went there so he couldn't go which I was partially happy about because he wouldn't have been able to do it and I get a little panicy myself.  I thought Lino wouldn't be able to do it either because he has never gone snorkeling before and he has only used the snorkel gear maybe 2 or 3 times when playing with friends int he pool.  As always, he surprised me and was able to do it like a champ!!!  No problems at all!  He was putting 1/2 of the people who were attempting to do it to shame because he just got his gear on and went for it.  So cool...that kids is amazing...sometimes its the good kind of amazing!  Outside of that we had a relaxing week.  We finally decided on a place to have Shaun's bday party and sent out a note to the class but we only got one RSVP.  I feel so bad for Shaun because he has been so excited to have a birthday party but it looks like the other kids already have parties to go to.  I'm lucky he is small so I don't think he will mind to much if there isn't a big crowd.

Friday was hangover recovery day. Lino and Shaun spent most of the day outside with their friends. When mike & I finally had enough sleep we started getting ready for our flight. Unfortunately the cheapest flight out was a he midnight flight connecting through Bangkok. We made the boys go to sleep on the first flight which turned out to be a disaster because when we got to Bangkok we had to get off the plane, go through security check again and get back onto the same plane. Apparently it was an “international” connection...it was stupid and the boys were supper cranky because of it.  So I was fussing at Mike the whole time we were transfer no that he can’t book flights like this again because it’s not worth the fee dollars we save to be on such a horrible flight. And he was insistent that this was the only option or that it was the cheapest by far so of course that meant that I had to check to see if that was true or not...of course it wasn’t. The flight that we were on was indeed the cheapest flight but if we spent about $30 more per ticket we could have got a direct flight out that morning and had a full extra day in Japan. No one would have been cranky because it was a morning flight, it was direct which is always best, it was on a good airline (not Malaysian air which we are not allowed to use) and it wasn’t that much more so it seems to me all factors considered it would have been a good option. So after a while of trying to convince Mike he finally gave in and agreed to my terms to never book such ridiculous flights again unless that is the only option!!! We will not sacrifice sanity for $120.

After a long flight of me not sleeping much but the boys seems to get a good snooze in we made it to Tokyo!!! We had a plan made for the day and even before we could leave the airport it was all changed. It took us over 3hrs to get our of the airport because the line for the JR rail ticket exchange office was 1.5hrs long.


Mike ended up dealing with the train passes while I got food for the boys and coffee for us...that took me almost 1.5hrs!  The boys found the 'cool' toilets with all of the strange buttons and of course they had to try it out.  On of these buttons apparently sprayed water into Shaun's face!  I wasn't there because I was in line getting coffee.  I thought it was safe to send them to the toilet without me but I guess I was wrong.  When they came and told me what happen I couldn't understand how he could get sprayed with water and I was half way throwing up in my mouth thinking about what kind of water was sprayed onto his face but when I got to the toilet I kind of figured it out.  Well I didn't figure it out at all but I could see where the idea to push a button and see what happens came from.  Man, if you just want to flush the toilet you need  a freaking instruction manual...no wonder he got sprayed in the face. 

I can only pray that it was clean water.  So funny and so not funny all at the same time.  While Mike was in line he made a friend, this is so not Mike it’s scary, but it was good that he did because the guy he met (who also lives in Singapore) told us that the Sukura blossoms in Tokyo were already starting to fall off so if we were going to see them we needed to go today before they all fall off. Well that was the original plan about a week ago but the day before that plan changed and we were going to head straight to Kyoto instead so that Mike could have a day trip to Hiroshima but if the blossoms were falling already and that was half the reason we went we had to change the plans. It wasn’t that big of a deal to change the schedule so we went to the city instead.  

So from the airport we took the bullet train to Tokyo...man it was so fast and so cool. The boys were super impressed! Our first stop was Uneo Park.  I read about the flower viewing in the parks but once we arrived we really got a feel for it.  Hanami is what they call it and it is very popular during the Sukura flowering season.  There were people all over the park on their blue tarps drinking and eating with friends and family.  It looked like people stay out there for the whole day...they just gather a bunch of food and drinks, find a spot, throw out their tarp, take off their shoes (they treat it like going into the home) and enjoy the beautiful day under the Sukura trees.  If we ever lived in Japan we would be doing this for sure!  So even though the park was pretty busy we were able to weave our way around and get a few tasty snacks before we made it to the lake.  The boys immediately saw the boats and wanted to go on.  I initially thought this was the place where people que up for hours to take a boat ride so I was exited to go on when we saw the line was pretty short.  I think we only waited about 30min for a regular boat which wasn't bad because the swan boat line was at least 45min long or longer.  Lino was the driver of my boat and Shaun the driver of Mike's boat...lets just say there is a reason they don't give kids licenses to drive!  We had a great time though and got a few cute pics on the water.  The cherry blossoms were definitely falling off because the lake was partially covered with the fallen blossoms so I am glad we did this first.  After a quick stroll in the park we headed for one more place to view the cherry blossoms, Chidorigafuchi.  No one wanted to go to the second place but I had to go because it was on my top 5 places to go for cherry blossoms so we had to go before they were gone. 

Chidorigafuchi is the place where people line up for hours to get onto a boat but we didn't see any boats when in the area that we were in which was good because if we did the boys would have wanted to take another ride.  I'm glad we made it here because the blossoms were much better here and the view as so cute.  Well enough of the flowers...I know they are special because of the limited time they last but really they are just little pink/red/white flowers and there are only so many that you can take a picture of before you forget where you were when you took the picture.  Needless to say we started to head for Kyoto after that...





The boys got in trouble on the train to Kyoto because they were making so much noise and disturbing the other passengers. After the conductor told them to quiet it down they eventually went to sleep. We arrived late in Kyoto and had hopes of finding a cool place to eat dinner but everyone I mean everyone was so cranky and it was so late that we ended up just eating at some crappy dinner...Mike and I couldn't even stomach ordering food because it goes against our vacation rule (must eat local food) so the boys got something and we headed to our hotel.  Up late the next morning (tried to let everyone recover from the long day) to go to the market & see Fushimi Inari which was pretty cool. It took longer to get going than normal because everything is in Japanese.  The 'original plan' was to get up around 9 and go to Nara for the morning because that required at least 2-3hrs there but because we slept in there wasn't enough time so on to plan B.   Plan B didn't have any pre-planning so we had to read the map, in Japanese script which was not easy.  In addition no one was in a good mood because we were all still exhausted and hungry from the previous day so it was impossible to follow the foreign maps. 

I ended up going into a hardware store to ask for directions which was more difficult than I thought it would be but we got the information we needed. While we were waiting at the bus stop the guy from the hardware store comes running down the street towards us to give us corrected directions for the bus...wow!!!! That’s dedication...I’m not sure many people who do that but apparently he double checked the map and realized there was a better way to get to the market so he wanted to make sure we got there fine.

How can you translate a million thanks into Japanese???? So kind! So we made it to the market and had lots of yummy food then to Fushimi which was amazing...I’ve never seen shrines like this and I’m not big on visiting temples so it was all new for me. I spent a lot of time trying to explain to the boys (Lino mostly) the difference between our religion and others. He was interested for the first 5 min and I think I got most of the important parts in during that time but after that he was in to something else. 

He didn’t understand why we couldn’t write on wood planks and ring the bells and dip our hands in the water and stuff. Truth be told I didn’t know either, which is what I said, and I told him I know they worship their god differently and if we don’t understand it we should respect it enough not to attempt it until we do understand. He agreed to this and I went on a bit more but like I said I’m sure most of it didn’t stick but he didn’t ask to do it again so I think he got the main point. Somehow during our walk Shaun convinced us to go on a detour which we did not have enough time for but we did anyway, Lino nearly got killed from jumping all over the place on the little trail so I had to threaten his life to finally get him to calm down a little. Finally we left and we realized we spent way to much time on both sights but it was to late then so we just headed to Ōsaka where the boys become instantly famous...not really but a few girls sitting next to them ended up taking pictures with them. I will never get the point of taking a picture with someone/a kid that you don’t even know. Just to say you have a picture with a cute/unique looking kid??? Who knew...

In Osaka we were pretty luck and also completely unlucky. The 2 places I wanted to see we saw which was great since we only had a couple of hours there. In addition one of the restaurants, highly recommended for Okonomiyaki (we called it a pancake) that I wanted to check out we just under the floating sky garden so we got lucky. Lucky and unlucky at the same time because the wait time was over 2hrs which we were not doing with the boys. The next places we wanted to go to was a dinner place that I saw had good Kobe Beef. We never decided exactly if we were going or not or what time so we didn’t make a reservation...we thought it would be ok but it was not. They didn’t have any open seats due to reservations...that really sucked. The good news was the restaurant was close to another thing we wanted to see so at least we didn’t have to cross the city to get to it. So we decided to get something to eat near there and just stopped at the first place we saw. It was all good until Mike said it was a Korean BBQ place then I was ready to go.

We debated leaving for a while but didn’t have the guts to drag the boys to another place so we compromise and said we would get something small for them and we would try another Oknonomiyaki place that was close by and highly rated. After the boys food out and we had a little sample we realized the place or be beef whichever wasn’t as bad as we thought it might be. 

 The beef was so tasty and the boys were eating it up so you know it was good. We had to order a second plate for them (and a little for us too of course). After dinner we tried to go to the pancake place but there was another long line and we just couldn’t do it. Instead we ended up at a ramen place on the corner that you have to order at the vending machine. We were a little leery at first but there was a big enough crowd around that it was worth the ¥650.

There were only 2 options so we got one bowl to share...it was amazing!!!! So fresh and rich and simple and yummy.  Even Lino said it was some of the best ramen he’s had! Next a quick pic in front of the running man in Dotonbori before heading back to the train station. On the way to the running man we stopped to get the boys crepes and we met a few Americans who were giving us the run down of places to eat at. One was some food truck behind the crepe truck that sold a puff pastry with ice cream inside...a must try so Mike took one for the team to try it out. It was pretty tasty!!! Overall Ōsaka was 50% success.

Monday was more touring of Kyoto. First to ramen at Ichiran which was so cool...again we had to order at the vending machine but there were a few more options at this place. Then we take our vending receipts to our little private booth and record the information onto an order form. Seems strange but I guess that is how they make sure the right mix goes to the right person. Yet another amazing ramen place!!!! I guess it’s no surprise but it was so good for us...you can even get a box set to make your own ramen at home. We might have to get a few boxes before we leave (we found out later that it was a chain that is very popular).

Next stop the bamboo garden...what a cool little area. We didn’t have a lot of time but took a few minutes to enjoy the sights. The cherry blossoms are really nice here and combined with be rest of the scenery it was cool.

 The walk to the forest wasn’t long but of course took longer because of the boys. There were a lot of people dressed up as Geshias (not sure what the male name is) and we saw a place that had Komodo rentals so I guess it’s a popular enough thing. The bamboo forest was amazing...Shaun kept asking where were the bamboo so maybe it’s wasn’t that amazing??? The was a world heritage site inside the garden but the boys were not interested in shrines so we skipped it. Instead we got bamboo and Sukura ice cream that was really strange but tasty. The boys had been so bad the whole time there that we just got one for us and not them.  You have to get creative with the punishments! 

We ended up getting lucky and found a train that went directly from the bamboo forest to our hotel stop which was pretty sweet. We picked up our luggage and were heading to our new hotel and the owner was kind enough to drive us to the station...so kind and so not necessary.
 
What amazingly kind people here!!!! Our next hotel was a traditional Ryokan style where we had an awesome room with a bamboo tub that was steaming hot on our arrival! The boys thought the room was so cool and so did we! We had dinner at the hotel and got nice robes to wear. The boys looked so cute. It took us a while to find this place because all of the other places like this hotel were all booked so we felt lucky to find it. The dinner was a traditional Kaiseki (Japanese Traditional cuisine) dinning experience. Description from the hotel: “Kaiseki began as a simple a meal served before a tea ceremony, since Kyoto is a mecca for Sado, or tea ceremony. Kaiseki has also evolved into an elaborate display of many types of seasonal foods,Tempura ,Sushi each served in their own separate dish. The course of a kaiseki is cooked among 8 to 12 dishes.” We were exited to try the food and I must say I was 95% disappointed...the boys food was cold like they prepared it 10 min before our scheduled reservation time and sat it near a heating lamp (not under). The sushi was not that fresh and a few times I thought I was going to throw up it was so bad. It was just weird textures and I wasn’t expecting that. We stuffed it down and ran out of here as soon as we could.  The boys at least looked cool in their little outfits.

I wanted to go see the Sukura’s at night at the temple. I’m glad we went at night because we got to see Kyoto at night which was beautiful. The bad part is that I can’t figure out how to get my camera to take good night pictures so I spent a lot of time trying to get good pictures only to be completely disappointed. In the end I had to use my phone because the pictures were much better. Even though a large part of the temple was under construction it was still so magical looking at night with all of the lights and the lit up Sukura trees. I wanted to go to the shopping district after but everyone was tired so we skipped it. We had to get up early the next day for more traveling so I let it go. Kyoto was about 65% successful...I really wanted to go to Nara and to Gion district for shopping/Geshia’s but we just didn’t have the time or energy.

Tuesday was up early to race to the train station to make our trains. Mike was going to Hiroshima for the day and I took the boys to Kamakura for the day. I didn’t think the boys would appreciate Hiroshima and Mike really wanted to go so this was the best option.It should have been an easy day because I only wanted to see 2-3 things in Kamakura but it ended up being a lot more stressful. We were able to navigate the trains pretty well. We napped on the first train and I had an alarm set but slept through it and thank God I woke up 1 stop before our stop so we made it to Kamakura no problem. I wasn’t sure which stop to get off on so I got nervous. It turned out I could have got off on either stop so it was fine. We got tickets to take the train to the Great Buddha statue and when we got off the train I realized we had forgot the boys book bag at some point.

Lino swore up and down it was on the last train we got off on and I couldn’t remember so I too his word for it. We had to try and do charades with the train attendants to explain that we left our bag on the train. Eventually they understand and made a call to check. They said it would be a while so we went on to see the Buddha and walk around. I must say the boys were fairly reasonable at this point which was good and I got to take my picture and walk around a bit before heading back to the station. They didn’t find the bag so I figured we must have left it on the JR train into Kamakura. I wasn’t sure how likely it would be to get it back and it had the boys change of clothes and food in it so it kind of threw me off. There was nothing major in it so if it was lost it wasn’t a big deal but for some reason because I had it in my head the boys would have a snack and change before we went to the next place it just messed me up completely. When we got to the main station I asked one guy about the bag and he gave me a number to call. I told him I didn’t have a way to call and asked if he could call for me but he said he couldn’t because of his English (at least that is what I took for his explanation). So I gave up for a while and we started towards the next place. We were all hungry but I didn’t want to stop at a restaurant because it would have taken to much time so eventually after Shaun complained to me non-stop about how hungry he was and how he wanted to eat “good food” I found this steamed bun place what had huge buns and we had that for a snack. The next shrine area was nice but not worth the trek for us. I think I got in trouble for taking a picture of one of the guys beating the drums in a ceremony but I didn’t know I wasn’t suppose to take pictures...oops. While we were there a lady stopped to take of picture for us and I told her I wasn’t haven’t the greatest day and didn’t want a picture to remember it by. Apparently she was at the first station when we lost the bag and over heard my conversations and she said they are very good about trying to locate missing items so try at a police station or another ticket office so that is what I did when we got back to the train station and the guy at the ticket counter was checking some system on the computer and found our bag! Wow...crazy!!! The guy was trying to tell me where to go to get it and I obviously got the message wrong because I ended up at the lost and found at the station and everyone there was running around like little ants trying to figure out what I needed and how to help me. The guy at the ticket station ended up running over to us and re-explaining that I needed to take the next train to the last station to get the bag...oh...so simple...why didn’t he say that the first time???? He was a little annoyed I could tell but I told him about 5x how thankful I was for his help...I don’t think he was impressed with me. Anyway, we got the bag and after all that I just skipped the last place that was on my list and we headed to Tokyo. Kamakura 90% success but 50% fail due to lost bag so overall 40% success.


Mike had a great trip to Hiroshima...

The first monument was of a girl who survived the bombing but then died 10yrs later from radiation. 

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park - The flame has burned continuously since it was lit in 1964, and will remain lit until all nuclear bombs on the planet are destroyed and the planet is free from the threat of nuclear annihilation

The peace clock that shows how many days it has been since the nuclear bomb hit Hiroshima (top number) and the number of days since the world's last nuclear test has occurred (bottom number).  The bottom number gets reset every time there is any nuclear test or activity. The tree is the only standing tree in the area that survived the bombing...it has no leaves but is still alive and 'growing' although very slowly.

 Mike got to try the Okonomiyaki and lets just say he was not a fan...thanks for taking one for the team!

When we got to Tokyo Mike had set us up with pretty good train directions and the hotel was only a 5min walk from the station but it took us over 1hr to find it!!!! I was getting so frustrated and the boys were getting so cranky we almost got a taxi but I knew I was close so just pushed through. At one point I stopped to ask directions at a police station and the guy said it was 20min away and I thought to get a taxi then but still refused. I finally found some free Wi-Fi and was able to map directions and eventually found it. What an experience. It took us so long to find it that Mike was only about 1hr behind us in getting there. We had to go and get him from the train station too because it wasn’t so straightforward the directions. For dinner we ended up at a place called Kobe 511 and it was amazing!!!!! So so good...such tasty ways to prepare beef. We were so focused on sushi that we almost forgot how good the beef was suppose to be here.

Before bed we made a plan to go attempt to see Mt Fuji on Wednesday because the forecast for the rest of the week wasn’t going to be cold and gray so less chance to see it.  So it was another early morning for us and back on the trustee JR line heading to Odawara. We didn’t have an exact plan but a general one and it showed. We wasted some time at the Odawara station just looking around. Then when we got on the Hakone line we got off on the first station and didn’t know what to do because we didn’t have a map or anything. We ended up waiting about 30min for the next train then we got off when all the other non-Japanese looking people got off...and we finally got a map! So now we had an idea of a couple things to do but we didn’t plan to spend a bunch of time out but now we were already vested so we just went for it. We ended up taking the cable car route and once we calculated the time it would take to do it and get back to the train station then to Tokyo we knew we wouldn’t be able to make our reservations for the Robot Show.

 
So Mike called the booking company to see if we could change the date (even though the ticket said no change or refund for missed show)...we had to try. They said they would check with the show and get back to us. Well we didn’t know if we would be able to change or not and like I said we were already vested so we just went for it. The line to get onto the cable car was ridiculous!!!! We must have stayed in line for over 45min before we got on. The boys were going nuts the whole time because that’s what they do so they were completely getting on our nerves!

The whole process could have been really enjoyable if they weren’t at each other’s throat the whole time and if we weren’t in such a time crunch. Actually we could have spent a day or so out in Hakone just seeing the sights but we didn’t have time for that today. And apparently we were to late in the day to have a clear view of Mt Fuji too because it was too cloudy to see anything really when we were on the ropeway. The boys got a kick out of the ride anyway so that was good at least and we found a slightly quicker way back to the station, via bus, so we were hopeful that we might make the show...or be a few minutes late. We did all that we could to make it to the show at the start time (tickets said arrive at least 30min early to confirm seats/booking) and when I tried to talk to the girl to give her our sad story about “missing the train” and just a general statement about us having kids...I was hoping she would let us in but that wasn’t happening. It was very difficult to understand what she was saying in the first place and I couldn’t tell if it was because of the difference in language or if there was something else wrong with the girl.

I told her we missed a train and that is why we were late and that we didn’t mind being late going in but she kept saying no can’t go already started. I asked if we could use our ticket for the next show and she said it was sold out but we could wait to see if there were any cancellations. I asked if we could use our ticket or would we have to buy new ones and she got completely lost. I wake about seeing the same show the next day or Friday instead and she either didn’t understand or I wasn’t clear because she went back to something about wait for cancellation. I asked her if I could talk to someone else because I didn’t understand her and she was like “what do you need me to understand”. I didn’t want to be mean but I wanted to say “I need you to understand that I bought a ticket to see a show that I am 20min late to but I don’t mind being late I still want to see the show so get out of the way because you are annoying me!!!” But I didn’t say that...I just asked again about the ticket exchange and I didn’t get an answer that I could translate into a reasonable response to my question. At some point one another staff member saw me struggling to communicate my issue with the girl and stepped in to tell me that no I can’t exchange the ticket and that my ticket was cheaper than the regular priced one because I got it through a ticket agent and that all the tickets were sold out until the 24tg of April. Oh and that if I wanted to buy new tickets (it would cost us about $250) we could wait to see if there is a cancellation and then we could buy new tickets for that show...ummm thanks girlfriend but no that’s too much money for this crazy show. So I got a picture of the boys in the photo booth and we headed on to see something else since we were in the area. So we headed over to Shinjuku Park to see the flowers and Shrine but by the time we got there the park was closed!!! I didn’t even think to check if the park closes and if so what time...what an epic double fail! The only good news was that while we were waiting in the crazy line for the cable cars Mike made us reservations for dinner so we at least had that set for the night. We had a little time so we walked half way there and took the subway the rest of the way. The are we were in was super busy, Shinjuku district is apparently know for fashion and is very popular with the younger crowd...this is what we thought Japan would be like. 

The streets were super crowded with people and they have an amazing crossing system that lets you cross the main roads diagonally!!!!  Isn't that efficient and so cool.  All traffic stops on all 4 or 5 or how ever many ways and people cross diagonally.  Its written on the road even, diagonal arrows showing you can do a double cross...sometimes its the simple things that are just so cool.  I don't think this is the same rule all over Tokyo but it is in this district.  So apparently there are 3 restaurants branches of the same name but different menus and we ended up at the one that didn’t have our reservation and didn’t have Kobe beef. Mike said we should just stay there because we were there but when I told him they didn’t have Kobe beef and the other place was only just down the road so he agreed to go to the other place. I’m not sure if it was worth it or not but the food was pretty good, not as good at the previous dinner but still good and the boys really enjoyed it. Actually Shaun is now really excited about cooking his own food and has been requesting it pretty much every night...more than requesting more like demanding. And Lino is actually eating straight meat which he rarely does so it must be good. Overall a pretty good meal.

After that we went to Tokyo Tower because they had a special night event for spring/Cherry blossom season it also helps to knock off another sight in one day. We didn’t go to the top, that was way to over priced, but the main deck was were the special night event was anyway. It was really pretty up there and the lights and music made it even more cool.

I was happy we went...but by the time we left I was ready to kill the boys! They had been at each other all day and I had enough. I had Mike take off his belt and I had to walk around with it in my hand until we got to the hotel. Before we got to the hotel I got an email from the booking agent that said they were able to rebook us for Friday at the robot show so Mike & I gave each other a high five!!!! The boys wanted to know what we were so excited about and I didn’t want to tell them yet that we were able to reschedule the show so instead I told them that we finally found another family to take them. They were so confused so I elaborated more. I didn’t actually think hey would believe me but Lino was seriously believing me. Shaun just kept saying we couldn’t do that and that I was joking. Mike joined in and neither one of us were smiling so eventually they started to listen. And it was amazing, between just pulling the belt out as a threat and telling them we found them a new family to go to their behavior improved two fold! Bed time was so much easier and everything. At one point they both were in tears about going to a new family and I was starting to think I went to far but I told them all the things that they do and say (never listen, always being rude to us & other adults, fighting with each other all the time, constantly saying they don’t like us, Lino specifically saying he hates us when he gets in trouble) makes us think they are not happy wit us so we looked for a family that would take them and maybe they would be happier with a new family. They both said they didn’t want a new family and that they would be better but we’ve heard that all before. Lino was the saddest I’ve ever seen him. I know it’s cruel but maybe it will help with their behavior...in just at a loss. So as sad as they were they went to sleep very easy and Mike & I were able to plan out our next 2 days. I’m on a mission to make the last 3 days in Japan more successful than they have been. We decided to take a trip out to Niigata because Mike saw somewhere that it is the sake & sushi capital...we will see.

Thursday day trip to Niigata...well I must say it was a high success rate if you base it on what we planned to do vs what we did. We didn’t get to go to one brewery otherwise we did everything as planned. Got to Niigata had ramen at a little place that had very simple but delicious ramen. Next was to the #3 place for sushi. It was a little complicated to find but the sushi was pretty darn amazing. Neither places did they speak English but we managed to order food that we enjoyed eating. We were surprised with how relatively cheap the sushi was compared to the high quality (for us at least). 

Next stop was Sake tasting...unfortunately the English tours were the day before and on Friday so we had to do the tour in Japanese’s. It wasn’t as bad as we thought and the girl was really nice and tried to explain as much as she could in English so it helped.  Another family joined us midway and she had to give up on the bi-lingual tour and just went full Japanese but luckily the dad knew a lot of English and explained a bunch of stuff to us.  After the tour she told us we could buy a tasting cup and then help our self to take all of the different sake's.  Umm...excuse me???  Help ourselves to ALL of the sake???  She said yes and then even said, 'we encourage you to try all the different types' and there were at least 18 different types out on the tables!  This was crazy...Mike's eyes lit up like it was Christmas.  The cost was not very expensive at all and the sake's were actually pretty good compared to what I've had before which hasn't been much or great quality.  We didn't go hog wild but enjoyed our tasting while the boys watched a little ipad.  We even got a couple bottles to go...they were only $15 each which is so cheap.  Next back to the train station and back to Tokyo.

We were ahead of our schedule so we decided to go check out Electric Town...what a place.  The whole city is electric town to me but this little district is crazy with electronics.  We only went into a few shops but Mike and the boys were mesmerized by the place.  Mike ended up getting some stuff and the boys were pretty close to getting some stuff too but I told them to wait and check everything out before they pick something.  Then we ended up in an arcade where there was this train driver simulator thing that Lino had to do.  There were 2 simulators but they both were busy and Mike was joking with me about how lame it is for some guy to be sitting driving a train.  Lets just say after our 40min of driving the train Mike was a bigger fan than the boys.  It was too funny because of course all the directions were spoken and written in Japanese so Mike was guessing what they were saying...it took a while to figure it out and we had to pull out the google translator to assist and we finally figured it out enough to play it. 

Well they didn't even play it...they did the simulation of the simulation instead of the actual simulation.  It basically stopped every step to explain what you did and what to do in the next part.  The boys loved it regardless.  After that we headed up stairs just to look around...man there are some serious gamers here.  The boys were getting exited about all the games and almost bumped into a guy and not even 2 sec later one of the workers came over to us to say not to disturb the players.  There was even a gathering around a few machines with the old street fighter games on them.  Mike qued up to play because of the nostalgia and before I had a chance to get Shaun set up on a different game and come back over to him he had lost!  He said the game must have been set on a super high level because he didn't remember the guys moving so fast...maybe he is just out of practice :-)  We let the boys play one more game and then we headed out.  Mike was tempted to go back to the train simulator and to go to the first shop we went to in order to get some Final Fantasy 4 action figure that apparently was the coolest thing he has ever seen...but we didn't.  Instead we went to another area that is suppose to have lots of shops and places to eat and we had a place picked out but couldn't find it (we were at the wrong station apparently) so we ended up at another ramen place.  Lino was happy about this but Shaun was totally over ramen...we got them some gyoza's and rice too so he was happy.

Friday the plan was to just visit Tokyo.  We had been all over the place at this point so it was time to stick around town plus there was no way we were going to miss the robot show.  We decided to go to the fish market, Tsukiji, because we figured it would be less crowded than if we waited to go on Saturday.  I don't think it matters what day you go that places was swamped!!! 

 
So many people!!!  What a cool place but man there are just so many people and so many places to eat.  We had to split up at one point because we wanted to try the fresh tuna but the boys were not going to stand in line to wait for it so I took them to get something to eat while Mike got us tuna.  Man was it good!!!! 

So fresh and tender...just amazing.  Mike said when the guy was cutting the pieces the tuna was still bleeding...that's how fresh it was.  The line was crazy long too, about 35min to get a little plate of fresh sushi...it was worth it. 

Then we hit a few other places, ice cream, Taiyaki (pancake filled with sweet bean paste), coffee and tempura to name a few.  One place Mike was not impressed with the item, it was steamed scallop with uni on top.  Neither one of us knew it was uni on top and neither one of us are big fans.  I was able to stomach it, it wasn't that bad just not my thing, but Mike almost threw up...he couldn't make it past 2 chews before his face turned green from discuss.  Hahaha...too funny.  Our friends would give us so much crap if they were here seeing this.  Even though we were nibbling the whole time we didn't really have any food so we got some before we left. 

Lino had ramen, too funny, Shaun had salmon and rice (but the salmon was super salty smoked salmon so he didn't like it as much but ate it) and Mike & I got some amazingly delicious 'meat' dish that was to die for.  This place was on the main rode just outside of the market and they only had 2 dishes...meat or mixed (inners & meat).  We got the meat and what a dish that was.  We were suppose to share a dish but it was too good we had to get 2. 

While we were enjoying our meal I noticed there were a few people around us with the option 2 and they looked to be in pain.  I thought they were just eating it to quickly because it was heat hot but I found out quickly that option 2 is not only mixed it is super spicy!  It looks like most people who get option 2 are doing it for a challenge.  There were at least 3 groups of people that we saw sharing a bowl and dying after each chopstick full of it.  The sweat, jumping around and head shaking were all tell tell signs of the pain that the dish was dishing out.  Next we thought we might have time to do one more thing before the robot show but we were not prepared for this addition so instead just headed straight there. 

And even though we had over 1hr to get there before the recommended 40min before show arrival time we just barely made it...and the line outside was crazy but we made it in.  The boys were super excited and they had been pretty good compared to the first few days here so it was a nice treat for everyone.  The show though was...crazy...unique...strange.  So hard to explain it...I can't say that I would ever do it again but I am glad that we did see it while we were there.  The 'robots' were a little more low grade than I was expecting and the acting/skit was so corny.  The people watching was super funny too. The people in front of us ordered sushi at the show...I know this is tokyo but this show was in the basement of some building...like level B5...we had to go from one building to get our ticket to another to see the show then down 6 flights of small winding stairs to get to our seats.  This guy and his group had the super fancy sushi meal no one except the guy that I suspect organized this event form them, ate the sushi.  It is silly but funny to me at the same time...what a waste. 

They were all sharing a bag of chips and some other snack instead of their meal...these people.  Anyway, the show was crazy...I tried to go pee during the 3 break and the same lady who was giving me shit on Wednesday was there telling me I couldn't go to the restroom even though the sign that she was holding clearly said that if I went to the restroom I wouldn't be able to come back for 15min...I was cool with that but I wasn't cool with holding my pee.  I didn't even have the energy to fight with her so I just went back to my seat...thankfully the boys didn't have to go.  

After the trama of the show we headed to the shopping district to check it out.  There wasn't much souvenirs just regular old cheap shopping and a few snack food places.  I got some pastry with cream inside what was pretty darn tasty.  Next, back to where our hotel was in Akasuka and looked for a place to eat.  Shaun was dying to cook your own food so we found a place that had an inviting sign and went in.  The food was good of course and we loved it so much that we had to order double.  The guy thought we were mixed up because we ordered the same meal twice so we had to cut a few things out to make it look like we were not fat Americans.  The boys ate half of what we got for us so we needed all the food we got.  After we left we were walking around and noticed how busy the area was.  I knew it was a popular place for eating and hanging out that is one of the reasons we booked the room.  We ended up walking by a ramen place and everyone said "yum ramen" (except Shaun) so we went in for a top of after our 2 meals of beef!  The place was busy...and tiny so we knew it was going to be good and man was it good!  The different types of raman in this city is incredible and they are all so good.  I can't believe we basically ate 3x within the span of 3hrs!!!  That is what vacation is all about!!!!

Our last day in Japan/Tokyo we had to hit up the last few places on the list and we had dinner scheduled with my old boss from Dannon and his family.  We did pretty good on time and knocking off the last 2 sights so I was happy.  Ramen for breakfast of course, then to Meiji Jinju to see the temple and to get a ice cream sandwich.  I saw on some site that there was a really good place near the temple that has them but they sell out fast so we were not sure if we would be able to get one but it was worth a try since we were there. We spent about 10min looking at one of the maps trying to find this place then when we turned around it was right behind us...if it was a snake...  These ice cream sandwich things were amazingly delicious and I don't even like ice cream that much...and it wasn't even that hot to have ice cream but the sweet pastry was warm and tasty and add the melting ice cream inside...it was heavenly.  Next to get Matcha because we are in Tokyo and that is what you do...Matcha everything and everywhere!!!! 

The place we went to was pretty busy so you know it had to be good.  They had 7 levels of Matcha and I had no idea what that meant but apparently the higher the level the more bitter it is...which means better????  I could not understand why you would want to pay more for a bitter ice cream so I got something in the middle... a #4.  Mike was not interested at all in it because the first one we had was not good but I wanted to try it again and have the experience.  I must say it was better than the first but the quality wasn't so good because there were chunks of ice inside my little scoop.  The boys were not impressed either so that meant it was all mine...after a few spoonfuls it actually wasn't too bad.  I can't say I would just order it just because but I could stomach it if I wanted to...don't think I will any time soon though.  

Next up was Tokyo Tower.  The first sight seeing building we have seen during the day.  The whole place was a disaster...we should have bought our tickets on line but we didn't so we could pay an extra 1500yen to get a ticket right away or wait in line for 20-30min to save the money...we opted to wait in line.  Well Mike waited in line and me & the boys went outside so that they could run around a little.  I think it was longer than 30min and by the time we found Mike he was all frustrated because he had waited in line to get tickets but they wouldn't let him get tickets for us without us all being there.  How crazy is that????  I guess they worry about selling tickets to someone who will sell them on to someone else maybe???  Who knows.  So the lady said to get us and come back, he didn't have to sit in the line again, but when we were trying to explain this to the people standing outside the door they had no idea what we were talking about and were trying to get us to go back to the line and wait.  After the realized we were not going to the line they called over another kid who spoke more English and we explained to him and he let us in...man that was tough.  The view from the main deck was pretty nice. 

It was a foggy day so we didn't see a whole lot but I did get a small glimpse of Mt Fuji which was great :-0  We didn't need to spend a lot of time there so we had enough time to go back to electric town so the boys could do the train simulation again and Mike could get his toy.  The 'boys' were having so much fun we ended up being late for dinner.  It was a horribly embarrassing dinner because the boys were so BAD!!!!  I actually had to take them to the bathroom to threaten them at one point in order to get them to calm down.  Other than their super bad behavior we had a good dinner and finally got real Tonkatsu.  We realized that we have been having Tonkatsu almost every day on our train trips because Mike & I get a fried pork sandwich or chunks in the morning to take with us on our adventures.  I thought it might be the same but didn't know...now we have had it fresh and it is so much better fresh than refrigerated in a sandwich.  It was great to catch up with Duc and Tran...they really like in in Tokyo.  They understand our pains with navigating through the country due to the language but apparently it was worse when they got there...google map was in all Japanese script...and that is even complicated with over 5000 characters from 2 or 3 different dialects.  This language is tough!!!  But the people are so nice and the food is amazing so I could see how you could fall in love with it.

That concludes our time in Japan.  The summary of our trip...what a cool country!!!!  I can't say it was our favorite place to visit but one of our favorite places to eat for sure.  The Sukura trees were really beautiful and I wish we could have seen them a few days earlier when they were really in full bloom.  The subways are amazing and crazy busy and there are no freaking trash cans anywhere!  Duc was telling us that everyone has to clean and separate their trash for recycling that is why there are no trash cans in the metro.  That is crazy that they have to actually clean their trash but I kind of like it.  I keep seeing these post on Facebook about how Switzerland is running out of trash because of the big push to recycle and reduce waste.  I would love to do something like that...maybe one day I am going to go plastic free.  My friends already call me a tree huger so I should just go for it...one day.  The bullet trains are so cool and so fast and the perfect way to get around.  I am sure the boys will remember that for a long time.  The fresh cutting of the tuna at the fish market was AMAZING!!!  The video (below) doesn't do it justice...I know you can see this in lots of places but this is the first for us so it was special...and yummy!  Also, the people are so so so kind there!  I don't think I met a person that wasn't friendly or helpful.  From the guy in the DIY shop racing to give us direction at the bus stop to the guy at Tokyo Tower who noticed we were looking for something...everyone just seems to be so kind which is nice.  Another unexpected thing was the toilets...the boys messed around with all the different sprayers and it was a mess but once they figured out how and what they did it actually was kind of...nice.  I got to clean their butts after nasty poops without even having to waste a lot of toilet paper.  Even Lino was saying how it was nice to clean his butt in the toilet because he didn't have to wipe his butt after because it was already clean.  Im not sure I would go that far but it was funny and useful at the same time.  Such a different way of doing things but if you can get over that it is actually very convenient.  Lastly but not least, it is super safe there and the food is so amazing.  If the boys were a little better I think we would have enjoyed it more but it is still a tick off of our list of places to visit.