Sunday, December 21, 2014

last batch

So- I've got the last batch of pics from when my parents were in town that need blogging!
we spent three days in tokyo exploring parts of town we hadn't seen before!  sometimes I get so anxious thinking about all of the things I need to see and do here.  There is SO MUCH.  ahhhhh!

Staying at the New Sanno (military hotel) is wonderful. so inexpensive and so easy!  plus they have the BEST pool and a great place to get souvenirs.

here's metta hanging out in the pool.

and mack hanging out poolside with gramps.  it was pretty fabulous having a 1:1 ratio of children to adults.  I need a nanny,
and everybody eating cereal in the coffee cups.
Our first day downtown- it rained and was cold!  we checked out Meiji Shrine and harajuku street and the Roppongi hills neighborhood,  I didn't get many pics because I was wearing mack most of the day and it was so wer!

Yoyogi park is like Central Park in NY.  It's a dense jungle in the middle of a crazy bustling city!  everything here was beautiful.

everything here also seemed to be very large!  these tori gates are the first I've seen in this natural wood.  Most are red.
a giant boat made of vegetables!? I think it may have been as a sacrifice/gift at the shrine?  there were all sorts of vegetable displays here.  they often leave food and drinks and money at the shrines,
the giant spider at roppongi.  metta HATED it.  she is afraid of things in such a sporadic fashion.  She held a giant cockroach at school the other day- but was terrified of this sculpture?  weirdo,

Our next day was dry and lovely.  we took the train out to Odaiba- a man made island in Tokyo Bay. There are museums and malls and Lego land!  the boys were super excited about lego land! and we lucked out to have the place almost emtirely to ourselves!  It's all indoors and has only 3 rides- but the kids were so so happy.

tokyo made out of legos is pretty amazing!  Here's Shibuya square!

and the skyline at night!

nothing better than a giant pit of legos.


the boys took a monkey making course with gramps.  all the instructions were in japanese- but they figured it out!
there was also a car building and test site.

more than anything the boys loved the ninjago training grounds!  they must have tried getting through the lasers a zillion times!


mack didn't like lego land AT ALL.  seriously- it was possibly the grumpiest he's EVER been.


eating some of the world's best food from the best french bakery near the hotel.

we also visited the Asakusa Shrine.  It's one of the largest and oldest in Japan. and it's ALWAYS crazy and crowded!!


I love the smell of burning incense,

metta is throwing in her yennies as an offering!


we try to take lots of dragon pictures for mack.  I feel bad that he's not going to remember any of this at all.


these japanese people LOVED metta.  they hugged her and took pictures and ooed and ahhed.
ike getting a 'no hands' piggy back ride from Nannie Annie!

this street is lined with souvenir shops and fabulous food!



after Asakusa- we ventured out to dinmer at the Hard Rock Cafe.  It was SO DELICIOUS.  Definitely my first high quality american food since we left the states.  and it was so good.  so so good.  our view walking back to the subway was pretty cool!  I LOVE big cities at night. the lights and chaos and sounds are pretty exciting.

our last day with nannie annie and gramps was sad news.  metta cried when they drove away on the shuttle!  I'm so glad they could come and visit! and I'm so happy they said they'll be back soon!

1 comment:

Amber and Travis said...

Your hair is getting so long! I almost didn't recognize you in that picture with your mom! There is a replica of the spider statue in Canada! I took a picture with it! Love all the fun adventures!