wedding bells?

Mackenzie says she isn't going to college, is never going to get married, and wants to "live with you guys forever".  Her plan is to cook for us, clean, and tell us what to do.

On our Disneyland vacation, she excitedly pointed out a wedding dress in a window display, and when asked if she wanted a wedding dress like that some day, she replied "no because I'm never getting married!"

So we will have to cherish moments like this, since we will never get the real thing.   The other night Mackenzie disappeared upstairs for a half an hour, and finally emerged looking like this:

Act III: Banzai Nights

The best of Tokyo is seen after sunset.  The anticipation of this final weekend had been building for a good 18 months or so, so the pressure we put on ourselves to deliver was intense.  We made diamonds with this pressure.  Rarely have such lofty expectations been exceeded by such perfect execution.  

The girls decided to lay low the first evening back in the city, opting to save their batteries for Saturday night.  Thus, Friday night was boys night.  What to do on a guys night in Tokyo, Nate asked?  One word: Shibuya.  Big smile from Nate.

Exploration is the theme and the reason to go to Tokyo.  On this night, we took a subway into Shibuya, with no set agenda.  Our plan was to walk up or down every stairwell that appealed, and some that didn't.  We were not disappointed!  

Neon lit "Center Gai", the main artery to Shibuya

Enjoying a whiskey sour at a cool bar we found at the top of a hidden staircase, complete with our own personal Taiwanese bartender

Martini man

Long day at the office???

During the days, the girls liked to shop at department stores (the bane of my existence), and Nate played pachinko all day, leaving me free to do whatever I pleased.  More Shibuya!!

Walking thru Shinjuki to get to the subway to Shibuya.  One of Nate's top 5 pachinko parlors can be seen on the right.

Their cops are cooler than our movie stars

My next haircut...

Bought a sweet shirt from this guy.  I very much respect the decor of his store.

Saturday night was marked by the arrival of our friend Alex, who happened to be in town with his new employer, Coach.  What fortune!  It should be noted that Alex arrived in the afternoon after traveling 20 hours from New York, and basically brushed his teeth, changed his shirt, and said "let's do it!"
The man is a living legend.

So with the girls' batteries recharged, and Alex providing a spark off the bench, we were ready for a night for the ages.  The girls listened to the scouting report from our previous evening, and agreed we should repeat pretty much everything and add a whole bunch of new.

Drinks at Alex's hotel.  

Entering the martini den

The art of the martini.  I hope this video works... if not, :(

Sushi master!  Best sushi ever.

Our happy tribe!

Shelly makes a friend..

When you get lost in the confusing back alleys of Shibuya, it's best to stop for sangria and vegetable bisque.

We knew we were close to the club when we started finding love hotels at every turn...

Steph/Colonel Sanders/Shelly

Drinks at Alcatraz,  a horror movie hospital/prison themed restaurant.  Umm, thanks I'll have a syringe of truth syrum please!

In my happy place:)

We finally found it, Club Atom!

Helpful 7/11 clerk, directing us to the Karaoke bar

 Shelly earns MVP honors for this night, for discovering and then hijacking Dr Shu and Marina, two friendly Tokyo hipsters that she roped into our fun at the karaoke bar. 

"Don't stop... believing!!!"

Doctor Shu and Marina belt out The Backstreet Boys

Neil Diamond or Snoop Dogg?

YES!!!! Snoop Dogg!!!! 

We made it home safely at 5:30AM, happy and content.  Sunday evening we downshifted, putting on our Sunday finest and headed out to the Park Hyatt hotel, enjoying $25 drinks and $30 cheese cake at the famed Lost in Translation bar.  A perfect cap to own Tokyo Drift!

Alex sums the trip up best

Act II: Mountain Rejuvenation

After 3 days of POWER touring in Tokyo, it was definitely time to down shift.  So we hopped on a shinkansen (aka bullet train) and shot off to Kyoto.   Kyoto was the only city of any size in Japan left untouched during the US bombings in World War II, and is a treasure trove of old world Japanese architecture, temples, traditional japanese gardens and zen gardens.   It is said that Kyoto is where Japanese go to remember what it is to be Japanese.... sounded pretty good to us!

The pace is certainly much slower than in Tokyo.  We spent our two days in Kyoto visiting several beautiful temples, getting in some shopping, and just strolling the charming back alleys along the river, absorbing ourselves in the culture, and hoping to be lucky enough to see some geishas en route to their evening engagements.

"Shinkansen"

Kinkaku-ji, aka "Golden Pavilion".  Our first temple visit in Kyoto.  Built in the 14th century, and covered in gold leaf.  Burned to the ground by a whacked out monk in 1950 and reconstructed to its exact original state in 1955. Very peaceful!

"Pontocho", back alleys of Kyoto on the river front.  Great people watching and dining!  No geishas :(

Beautiful gardens at Tofukuji temple, one of our favorites, and the first point of interest on the "philosopher's walk", a beautiful temple lined 2 mile walk along the canal in Northern Higashiyama, in the foothills on the edge of Kyoto.  So relaxed and quiet... we had the grounds almost all to ourselves!

Nanzen-ji Temple, with its beautiful zen gardens

Japanese artisan, making cool necklaces out of really old coins.

Kyomizu-dera Temple

Riverside dinner

After our reprieve in Kyoto, we reconvened with Nate and Shelly, who had made their own side trip to Hiroshima.  Our next stop on the itinerary was "Manza onsen".  An Onsen is a traditional japanese spa and resort, complete with "Ryokken" (guest house) and hot spring baths.  Of course all trips must have at least one planning disaster.  Ours came when we arrived in Karuizawa via shinkansen, went to buy our bus tickets to Manza, only to discover we had missed the last bus of the day, and were stuck in the middle of nowhere!  Fortunately, the travel gods sent us a guardian angel, this nice lady at the train station, who located a rustic little Onsen outside of Karuizawa, which met our needs just fine.  

Our short visit to Karuizawa was just what the doctor ordered... a mini vacation from our vacation.  We took our communal baths (not at all awkward or anything, but they did keep guys and gals separated) and spent the evening playing spades in our room, listening to tunes on my open faced Bose headphones turned to full volume, and emptying the vending machine of all the Kirins and Sapporos.

The next day was spent wandering the sleepy little town of Karuizawa, shopping, and eating crepes.  We left town that afternoon for our return to Tokyo, all charged up for a crazy finale!!!

Guardian Angel

"Kotse Onsen", our little oasis in Karuizawa

"downtown" Karuizawa

Coming soon.. Act III: Banzai Nights!!!