Japan

The kids had Thur and Fri off of school, so we took the week and went to Japan. It was great. We spent 3 nights in Tokyo, then 3 in Osaka, with day trips to Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Mt. Fuji. The weather was kind of cool and rainy but it was pretty. We also did one day at Tokyo Disneyland, but the lines were incredible long and it was really not worth going. Even the Merry go round was 45 minutes.
Tokyo- we got there Sat afternoon and met Brad at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. The next morning, we explored Tokyo a little, saw the Imperial Palace, the Senso-ji Temple, and Meiji Shrine. The kids bought charms there for protection of a child and managed to still have them when we got home, I thought for sure they would be lost. We used the subway to get around all day. It is huge and complicated, I think so at least.
On Monday, we took a bus trip to Mt. Fuji, about 3 hours to get there on the bus, about 30 minutes on the bullet train home. Mt. Fuji was really pretty with the snow on top. We had a good view of it from a lookout point. We ate a traditional Japanese lunch, as the kids sat there horrified about the hunk of fish looking at them and Uncle Brad trying to get them to eat it. Luckily I brought lots of snacks-in Japan,they sold my favorite- the Snyders Peanut Butter Pretzels. We took a ferry boat ride and Todd showed us where he stayed in high school (do you neighbors remember the story about the small towel and the sauna?- this is where it happened) Then we took a cable car to Komagatake where we saw beautiful mountains and bays and the kids could run off some energy.
Tuesday- went to Tokyo Disneyland, this one had alot more than Hong Kong, but it also had unbelievable crowds. Space mountain was always at least a 90 minute wait and you could only get 1 fast past for any ride every 2 hours. I wouldn't recommed going here, but we did have fun. No high school musical things here though, much to Lauren's disappointment.
Wednesday- we happened to see Brad in the crowded train station and we all got tickets together on the bullet train to go to Osaka- it took about 3 hours. Our hotel was near the train station and we went to the Hard Rock Cafe to eat, and then walked around that area for a while.
Thursday- Took the Bullet train to Kyoto- about 30 minutes. It was so beautiful here- the cherry blossoms were just starting to flower. We walked along the path of philosophy, walked around lost for a while looking for the Toji Temple- and played 20questions while we did it. You'd think we would be able to find Japan's tallest pagoda, but it took a while. After we also visited the Kinkaku Temple (Golden Palace), where Lauren and Marshall rang the bell for good luck. Marshall did an elaborate "bow" after seeing local Japanese do it. We also saw a few Geishas there and were looking for them in the Geisha district but didn't see any. We read that poeple pay up to $3000 per night for a Geisha.
Friday- Brad left and we took the bullet train to Hiroshima- about 1 and a half hours. You get around the city on streetcars and it was a really modern and busy city. There is a section called the Peace Memorial Park where there are monuments for peace, for children, and to all those who died. There is the A-bomb dome which is all that remains today from the bombing. They had a good museum there and we were really glad we went to see it.
Saturday- took the bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo and then another train to the airport for our flight home. Thank goodness for ipods, and Nintendo DS, they help to keep the kids entertained on all of these train and plane rides.
We really liked Japan, it was all much more modern than I thought it would be. My favorite was Kyoto, I think. I loved the bullet trains, they really helped us to be able to see alot of Japan. Most people here spoke a little English or we could use gestures, it was very easy to get around. It was a great trip!