Tokyo 2009

A picture by a purple Christmas tree for Miss Erin

For Thanksgiving we were able to travel to Tokyo again. The vacation away from Okinawa was certainly a welcome one. I never thought a little island could be so busy. We arrived on Thanksgiving day and enjoyed lunch and a little sight seeing in Roppongi before our turkey feast at The New Sanno.

Friday morning found us up bright and early. There was no doubt we were going to meet the mouse. Since Jeff doesn't embarrass easily I took it upon myself to order us matching Mickey shirts. They made me happy. (Secretly I think Jeff liked them too :)) We spent the day riding rides, watching parades, eating overpriced treats, and loving every minute of it. My favorite part was definitely the electrical parade. However, Alison totally stole my heart during the daytime parade. She sat on her daddy's shoulders and screamed her heart out at Minnie and the princesses. It would not have helped to tell her they couldn't hear her. She was convinced they were waving to her. I loved hearing her little voice yell "Minnie, I'm here. I'm wearing you. Hi Minnie!" "Cinderella, Cinderella, Hi Cinderella! Cinderella". It went on and on for every princess that came through. I'm happy to report that Disney is still the happiest place on earth.

Saturday and Sunday we mastered the Tokyo subway system and explored the city quite a bit. We made it to the Imperial palace and gardens, Ginza (a shopping district), Asakusa (temple and pagoda), The Meiji Shrine, another shopping district, the Tokyo Tower, and Roppongi for dinner at Outback steakhouse. Tokyo is quite an amazing city! I have really come to love Japan. I think my favorite parts of our sight seeing were the imperial palace gardens and Asakusa. The gardens were beautiful. Many trees and fall colors. I haven't seen fall colors in 2 years. Asakusa was a more traditional part of town and it was beautiful too. The temple and pagoda were similar to those we saw in China. But the best thing we did was a rickshaw ride around the town. Our rickshaw "driver" showed us all around the business district of Asakusa. The kids really loved the ride.

We also managed to swim at the hotel and get some yummy baked goods at a local pastry shop. We flew back to Okinawa on Monday night. We were able to see Mt. Fuji from the plane. Maybe we'll head back to Tokyo in the summer to climb it. Or maybe I'll enjoy the hotel while Jeff climbs it. We'll keep you posted.