Here, in no particular order (probably!) is my Top Ten List for Japan. 10) Toilets - the most multi-tasking toi-toi's I've ever seen. They played music, had seat warmers, bidet function and even had a button for "flushing sounds." Like, don't waste water because you're bashful about being heard, just hit the flushing sound. AWESOME! Sad to say, we had fun with toilets everywhere we went! Each was a little different & some had super special functions. 9) Taxis - self-opening doors, super clean interiors, knowledgeable (but silent) cabbies & no tips! 8) Trains - I've been ever [View Full Entry]

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I said Narita (where the airport is), but technically I'm over the Pacific! :) We just crossed the Int'l Date Line. So, on my flight today, I have left Narita at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16th and I will land in Seattle at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16th. It's doing something funky to my brain. Rachel & slept in a bit today. Check out was officially at 11 a.m., but you could buy extra time at 1000/hour...so we did! We thought about pushing to do one last thing, but decided against it. Instead, we cruised through the mall that [View Full Entry]

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Our last full day in Japan. On one hand, it's gone by in a blur. On the other, I feel like we've been here forever! Rachel and I were just discussing our ferris wheel ride and how it felt like it happened last year! :) I don't really want to come home (seriously, I would probably stay here if I could speak the language!) but I'm ready for this particular trip to be over. I'm already planning what I want to do on my next trip to Japan... So, today, we decided to go to Hakone for the morning. This is [View Full Entry]

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Well, I'm really tired but we had such a great day today I have to share! It'll mostly be pictures, but that's good, too, right? Especially after my venting yesterday? :) Today worked out just about perfectly...like it sometimes does after a storm. Maybe we were just in a place to be appreciative and happy? At any rate, Samia & Alice decided to go to Kamakura. Rachel wasn't interested & I already went with the tour group. So, we split into two groups. Rachel and I weren't sure what we wanted to do, but we definitely wanted to take it slow. [View Full Entry]

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13 Sep 08 Today we made it back to Tokyo. I'm quite relieved, actually. It was fun traveling around, but we kind of jam-packed our days here. It's nice to know there is no more logistical stuff coming. The airport jaunt will be quite enough, thank you. I'm getting ahead of myself, though. Let's start at the beginning of the day. Rachel and I slept in a bit today. An early call from Samia woke me up, but Rachel slept through. Another call from Takako, so I woke Rach. After that, we were both awake, darn it! :) Our plan was [View Full Entry]

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12 Sept 08 Today was another lazy day...to a point. It was overcast so the bright (beautiful) sun didn't have us up at the crack of dawn. Still, the girls left early this morning to visit a school to check out the lunches' situation. By all accounts they had a lot of fun and the 3rd graders were so cute that Rachel wants to bring 10 of them back with her. I agree with the concept, but boggle at the quantity! In fact, she said tonight that her as-of-yet-unborn kids are getting sent to Japanese boarding school so they'll be like [View Full Entry]

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One must take oneself to Nara so that one can see the largest Buddha in Japan, housed in the largest wooden structure in Japan. To that end, Samia, Rachel and I set off for Nara, another ancient capital of Japan. It was only the capital for about 70 years but it is considered the birthplace of Japanese civilization. Many temples and works of art dating from the 7th & 8th centuries still survive, which can't be said of many places in Japan. More a large town than a city, we were able to explore most of it by foot. We took [View Full Entry]

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Ho ho ho. Another gorgeous day in Japan. Seriously, we have had the most perfect weather imaginable! Granted it's a bit hot, but the sunshine is awesome. I'm getting a tan, for goodness sake. Everything I read said this was the beginning of the rainy season, but uh-huh. Dripping w/sweat season, maybe but no rain since the first day. :) This was another group tour day for me. Rachel's presentation was this afternoon, so it was just as good for me to be occupied elsewhere. Had all my stuff ready to go & they checked out when they got up. The [View Full Entry]

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I traveled, I got culture, I spent money, I made new friends & I took a bazillion photos. I feel like I can come home now with a clear conscience. :) Well, after Kyoto, I guess. Today I went on a sponsored tour as part of the Int'l Dietetics Congress (the "reason" we're here) and ended up back in Tokyo. There were about 25 of us from at least eight countries. I talked to folks from England, Jamaica, USA, Canada, Turkey, Italy, Spain and Germany. There might even have been more, but I didn't talk to everyone...gave it my best effort, [View Full Entry]

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That's pretty much all there is to this post. Samia & I checked out the World Porters Market (& I got a meat bun...finally!). The girls were good conference attendees. Was feeling a bit iffy, but I had a list of to-do so I decided to charge onward...and then, my camera died. :( I came back to the room to charge it and boom! down I went w/a crazy migraine. Haven't gotten one on vacation for a long while...maybe a symptom of jetlag? Otherwise, I'm feeling pretty good. Anyways, came back to the room for a nice long afternoon nap and [View Full Entry]

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