Happy New Year of the Tiger from Tokyo and the Smith house

Happy New Year indeed!

I'm so glad we are "doing" Kyoto!

Yes, we are here in the Toyku Hotel with a fabulous breakfast including in the package deal where Adam can have a complete Japanese breakfast and those of us not quite so local yet can enjoy a more traditional Western style tho I don't think they have pineapple this sweet in my West :). We have been blessed with rain free days and have been off to different temple sites each day. Here are a few of my favorite shots so far (and if I could figure out how to do an even better job with photo import and text into this blogging deal, I'd stick in some more but for this afternoon, this is it--I mean I have a temple chanting to get ready for at 4!) As you can see, C & C have been temple stars--they are such good, good kids and today's temple visit with its beautiful gardens put us all in an even more calm satisfied zen like place for sure--a nice place to be in for the start of a new year!

And a few "classic" Christmas eve shots....

Merry Christmas Eve and to all a good night!

Hey, Christmas Eve Day in Minami Azabu

Yup! Gramma Tana got here last night and guess who waited up for her?! They were delighted to see her and I think the feeling was more than mutual. So this morning we sent Dad off to work with a promise of coming home early enough to go with us to hear some great live Christmas music at a beautiful outdoor park area near the Grand Hyatt/Mori Complex and then home for sake, fondue and presents...and maybe even putting on his Santa suit of sorts...

And we took Gramma to our favorite noodle place for lunch--slurp and yum!

Okay, Daddy's home, we have two strollers and the will to find our way on the subway train to the Sensoji Temple in the heart of the Asakusa District whose origin has been traced back to the year 628 and where today there was a special market event with a Kabuki flair, which you will note below in a couple of the photos. Carl is considering which line we need to buy a ticket for here and both he and Chloe loved the ride--since we had about a dozen stops to our temple destination, they quickly got into, "stop, doors open, people go out, people come in, doors close" and fortunately they did not go out until we arrived, though Chloe thought about it for just a flashing Japanese moment--if there is such a moment.

It seems the word was out! Yes, it was very crowded but somehow it didn't seem to be. There was an order, a sense of reverence with no pushing ever and of course, traveling with two delightful little people who catch everyone's attention, even if they pretend not to look for too long, makes it even more fun.




A few candid shots of the day including C & C loving the fresh fried fish on a stick! It was a great
day and this is only the first half of it!

We started this morning visiting the Tokyo Cemetary, a very peaceful center to this fast moving, full service, crowded and yet amazingly private city. From there we (Ruth, Maja, Carl, Chloe and I) walked, pushing the stroller, to the Nezu Museum that includes a collection of Japanese and East Asian art with more than 7,000 items including 7 works designated as National Treasures. We spent most of our time in the Japanese garden inside with trees and foliage that reflect the four seasons and a pond full of big fish. (see photos below)



After naps and Ruth left to go back to her home, we went to the nearest shopping mall to greet the 7 dwarfs and for Mommy and Ama to make ticket arrangements for our Christmas trip to Kyoto. We are going for 4 nights and plan to have a grand time. Gramma Tana will be here too so that will make it even more fun. While Ama was talking to the ticket lady, C & C had a great time jumping and riding up and down the escalator. Go, Tokyo!

Okay, had a wonderful afternoon discovering more of Tokyo with my friend Ruth who lives in Fuchu where she is teaching English at a women's college. She has been in Tokyo several times and so had a couple of sites she wanted to share including the huge Yoyogi Park right in the middle of the city and favorite shopping street for the young in Harajuku. I will let the following photos tell the story: