Day 2 in Tokyo

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as you may have noticed, i am new at this mail-to-blog thing, so please forgive any foolishness on my part. i am also typing quickly to minimize hogging the laptop in the hotel lobby. other quick caveat - we:re not sure what laptop access may look like in the remaining itinerary, so my posting may come to an abrupt end. otherwise....

happy rainy tuesday morning! our first stop is to the department stores, to find raingear for troy and ian. i brought mickey mouse ponchos but realize there is no way these guys will wear them. so mother and i will be mickey mousing our way through the city, with gary wearing my size small LL Bean rain jacket (a 7.5 out of 10 on the funny scale) and daddy using the tiny umbrella i brought from home.

Moo.

Tommy Lee Jones is BOSS.

No noodles?! Too interested in eating them to remember to take a photo.

yesterday was overcast but full of adventure. we had breakfast at a local yakisoba shop. i tried very hard to slurp my noodles with gusto, but to little avail. troy and ian did much better.

Texting at Kaminarimon.

we went to the shrine on kaminarimon, where Hiro offered father a rickshaw ride but mother had earlier said no and had since gone inside to get tourist information. rats. before we could even make our way to the shops inside the shrine gate, we found a Totoro store. i can hear you already: say no more.

inside the shrine there were dozens upon dozens of shops for food and gifts. sweet bean cakes were enjoyed by all.

father doused himself liberally with incense smoke to cure all ills; he said he nearly choked in the process. there must be some finesse that no doubt we will acquire with time. we learned the appropriate technique for washing out the mouth with water and cleansing the hands at the shrine, overlooked by a beautiful and ferocious dragon who guarded the fountain.

2nd photo: Fountain at shrine, by Ian Smith

we made our way to the river for a short walk, and then headed via subway to Ueno Park. cherry blossoms are in full and beautiful bloom. people laid out tarps and sat, ate and napped along the walkways. several feral cats lurked here and there. some with tails, some definitely without. we visited saigo and his loyal dog. gary and troy got yakitori and we watched ducks, herons, egrets and cormorants on the lake inside the park.

we spent nearly two hours at various spots in the Ueno train station securing our Japan Rail passes and getting tickets to each of our destinations. then, off to dinner at a restaurant specializing in eel. we learned that eel has lots and lots of tiny bones. for my part, i stuck primarily to tempura and pickled vegetables. all i really need is gohan and miso, but that probably won:t fuel our subsequent adventures especially well.

Does one feel better or worse after drinking Deeppresso?

Tokyo at dusk.

my allotted pc time is up. vastly more interesting updates later, especially as the rain has stopped. sort of. love to all.