Japan!

We had a great family trip to Japan over Chinese New Year. Craig had to travel to Tokyo and Kyoto for work and Kay and I tagged along.

Tokyo...

Observation floor of the World Trade Center to see the Tokyo sprawl. Tokyo is so different than Hong Kong. There is plenty of flat land for buildings and the high rises are shorter.

Asakusa Temple

Largest Buddhist temple in Tokyo

Craig and Kay were so excited to see a shoe bigger than his!

Trying to figure out the very confusing public transportation map.

Ginza Area...

Sony Building

We ate... A LOT...

Kay was pretty popular in Japan as well. There is a lot less English, but people still could not resist a friendly blonde little girl. Craig's co-worker gave Kay a small toy and she got a teddy bear from a lady at the coffee shop. The ladies sitting next to us at the restaurant loved that Kay could do cheers. They reached their glasses over and had Kay give them cheers as well. Very cute! We even had what we both decided was the best burger we have ever had.

Making the sesame paste for our tempura/Tonkatsu dipping sauce...

Shaba Shabu...

This is a traditional type of food that is similar to fondue. It usually takes 2.5 hours, but we were able to make it out in record speed because Kay didn't have the patience to make it any longer. The restaurant had their own head of cattle in the mountains surrounding Kyoto, so this was easily some of the best beef we have ever had. The only better beef we've had is at Gorat's in Nebraska!

Lots of Sushi and Shashimi (even I ate it!)

Trying Seaweed tea...

Yes, we took a picture of a toilet. Oh... the toilets.... We had a challenge with Kay and the toilets. It was very interesting how very few hotels had wireless, hardly anyone had smart phones, and in general it felt like we had gone back 10-20 years in time. Even without the technology we have grown accustomed to, they had "fancy" toilets. These things would play music when you sit down, lids would open automatically, and lights would flash. Thank goodness Kay never discovered the bidet button! We had a wonderful dinner with Craig's co-workers until Kay had to use the bathroom. When I took her in the toilet lid opened automatically and blue lights started to flash. Kay was terrified and would not use the bathroom. I walked around and finally found one in another store that she was not afraid of. We checked into our hotel only to find the same toilet! We finally had to unplug it so she would use it. The toilet even had a remote. Any ideas on why you would need to flush the toilet in a different room?

Waiting for the subway. Notice there are no doors to cover the tracks. There were men standing shining the light on the tracks to make sure no one fell. I was very nervous with Kay by the trains...

On the high speed train (180 miles per hour) to Kyoto. Enjoying a rice cracker with her daddy...

It was so cold! It was a rainy/snowy/yucky mess for several of the days. Apparently it snows in Tokyo/Kyoto about twice a year. Of course, it snows when we were there! We came out of the subway and saw this... we decided it was a sign to buy hats because we were freezing!

Kyoto...

Kinkaku-ji "Golden Temple"

Built in 1397

Ryoan-Ji "Zen Rock Garden"

Built in 1450

Kay's favorite part was getting to put on pink slippers. Staying quiet and enjoying the zen garden was a challenge for a two year old.

We were amazed at how incredible the moss gardens were. We then saw the ladies on their hands and knees digging out weeds.

Nijo-Jo (Nijo Castle)

Built in 1603 and housed the showguns.

We were not allowed to take pictures inside the building. The walls were gold leaf and had pairings that were over 300 years old. The floors were called knighting gale floors. They squeeked when you walked on them to alert the guards that enemies were coming.

Kiyomizudera "Pure water temple"

Founded in 780

There are three natural springs; each one is supposed to have a different benefit.

Kay checking out one of the many, many, many vending machines in Japan. They seem to be everywhere!

Exploring while Craig worked. We have talked about shadows often. Kay finally "got" that she had a shadow on this trip. We spent about 45 minutes chasing our shadow!

Our journey home was long. We left Kyoto for a 2.5 hour high speed train ride, then had a 45 minute train ride to the airport in Tokyo, had several hours to spend in the airport, then took a 4.5 hour plane ride, 35 minute subway ride to Hong Kong, and finally a 15 minute taxi ride to our house. We got home about 11:30 pm. Kay (and her parents) were exhausted!