T-10, Act I

We've been back from Japan for a couple of weeks now, but I still find myself on a Tokyo high.  I just love this city!

The inspiration for this trip was a lone free day I spent criss crossing the city and its many unique neighborhoods at the end of a short work trip in the summer of 2008.  I found myself entirely charmed by its friendly citizens and often bizarrely unique culture.  I ached to explore on a grander scale and share in the experience with Steph, so we started planning a return visit shortly after I got back.

Of course, a city like Tokyo is best enjoyed with good company, so we naturally invited our friends Nate and Shelly, who jumped on the idea immediately, and added some brand identity with the moniker "T-10" (Tokyo 2010).

The trip broke down into 3 acts. the last of which was a truly epic finale!

Act I:  Akasaka Heat


We base camped at the Grand Prince Akasaka hotel, a modernist high rise hotel designed by renowned Japansese architect Kenzo Tange.  We hit the ground running fast and furious.  Within 48 hours of arrival (all in 90 degree heat, 90 percent humidity), we had explored Akasaka, Yoyogi Park, Harajuku, Ginza, the Tsukiji fish market, Asakusa, Akihabara, and Roppongi.  We drank Asahi at the Asahi Super Dry beer hall, ate roughly 5 pounds of pork, mostly at a bad Japanese restaurant named Yamato, which translates directly to "pig", drank Kamikazes at a Native American shot bar the size of an office cubical, played Pachinko and walked more miles than I care to ever even think about again.

Favorite images and memories from the opening act:

On our way to a yummy dinner on night one

Shelly charmingly asks for more soy sauce after pouring it all into the two ashtrays

Nate tries to extract his dropped chopsticks from the shabu shabu flames.  And we are rolling!!

Exploring Yoyogi Park.  We tried to find the dancing Elvises, but apparently they got shut down :(

Traditional Japanese wedding procession

Harajuku fashion scene...

Shelly joins the fray, bumpin' new camo rain heels!

Ginza - high end shopping district, and the most expensive commercial real estate on Earth!  A bit older crowd, yet still more cutting edge fashion.

Happy diners, before the longest dinner ever, with the least intelligent human being on earth as our waitress...

You can actually see the aura of ineptitude that surrounds her if you look closely...

Tsukiji fish market.  A hive of activity!

breakfast sushi... it comes no fresher!

Asakusa Kannon Temple, Tokyo's largest Buddhist temple

  

Akihabara... electronics town, and our first taste of Pachinko.  

Nate already in the zone, up two fifty an hour in.

And finally... Roppongi. On the suggestion of a co-worker, we ate at Robotaya Roppongi, basically Japanese dinner theater.   Crazy awesome food and entertainment.  A one of a kind experience.

Whew!  I'm exhausted again!  That wraps up Act I.  Act II soon to come... 

unplug

Last weekend marked our annual summer penance to our kids, a.k.a. "camping".  In brief, we are committed to regularly taking the kids camping.  We know how much they love it, it brings the whole family together, away from the distractions, giving us the opportunity to bond with each other... and with dirt.

Camping with a 4 and 6 year old is pretty much nothing like the camping that we are used to.  It requires a lot of work up front, during, and after.  We don't yet feel confident yet to drive long distances to get to the ideal camp areas, and as such are limited to whatever is within a 90 minute drive or less (in this case Lake Kachess).   Activities are also limited to what a 4 year old and 6 year old can handle.  They cannot yet handle activities such as mountain biking, long hikes, or extended fishing.  Fortunately, they are able to fill in the gaps with activities like "dust parties", "dust dances", and rock collecting!

While it is a bit rugged on the grown-ups at this age, we are thrilled to see the joy and elation from their first experiences in the outdoors, and we are laying the foundation for more in depth camping fun down the road.  For now, we are content just to watch them enjoy things like sleeping in a tent, roasting marshmellows (albeit on a propane grill due to the campfire ban we rudely discovered when we arrived), "fishing" for the first time, and "hiking" along the lake shore trail.

Smokey also enjoyed himself, swimming 4 times in 2 days, although he pretty obviously was sick of lying around in dirt by the end of the trip.  He slept for 2 straight days upon our return to Sammamish!

"Hiking" the shore trail with the kids

Enjoying Mom's special eggs and pancakes breakfast!

Taking Smokey swimming...

First time fishing.  Not the ideal location... the campground attendant said "I think some people caught some fish in the spring".  Nevertheless, it was still great fun.  Jackson was a master, successfully casting on his first try!

Fun with dirt...

Cozy camper

Roasting marshmellows over an open propane grill!

It's all worth it!!!