The Smiths Take On Tokyo

Walking from our hotel, The New Sanno, to the nearest subway station... I loved seeing these school children everywhere, especially these little guys in their short pants and white hats. So cute!

Bicycles. Everywhere.

Their first subway ride!

 

 On our way to the Meiji Shrine...

Hmmmmm... which flavor should I choose? Tomato Sherbet? Horseradish? Salt Milk? I'm sorry to say that I chose none of these. That's only because we'd just eaten and were on our way out when I saw this sign.

"Follow me, I know the way!"

The Meiji Shrine... it was such a beautiful fall day!

We finally did stop for ice cream... but this is just plain ol' vanilla. Actually, that's not true... it was more of a vanilla bean... with the little black specks to prove it... and it was good!!!

Harajuku girls... they weren't out in full force due to the fact that it was a Tuesday... but still, a fun place to watch people.

After a rest, we went back out to the Hard Rock Cafe, of course.

Daddy and EJ

Then we walked to the Tokyo Tower.

Blurry? Yes. But I love the expression on her face as we ascended in the elevator.

Cool cutouts where you could look straight down to the ground. Daddy wasn't interested in looking down, but the kids couldn't get enough.

Day 3 (I think) was a rainy day. We got an early start only to find that lots of places didn't open until 10:00 or 11:00. So we went window shopping in The Ginza. I suppose it's the Rodeo Drive of Tokyo... Gucci, Armani, Prada... it's the place you go shopping if you have lotsa cash... and no preschoolers tagging along.

These shoes were made for shoppin'... I'm talkin' about the guy on the left... yes, it was a guy...

I loved these... it's a little hard to see with all the reflections, but it was a giant pair of red pumps made out of apples. So cool!

The next day was beautiful again! We took a boat ride down the Sumida River. So fun!

The Asahi Beer building... is it just me, or does that look like a giant golden... oh, nevermind...

Yep. It's a rickshaw. And, yep. They really do use 'em. You should see the calves on the guys who operate these things.

Pagoda near Sensoji Temple

Sensoji Shrine

It's a giant sandal. Can you imagine the feet on this guy?

The Sky Tree... still under construction. It's scheduled to open in the spring of 2012 I believe, and when finished, it's supposed to be the tallest free-standing tower in the world.

Then we were off on a short walk to Hanayashiki Park... the oldest amusement park in Japan; it opened in 1853.

EJ throwing one of her tantrums.

Yeah, we're eating ice cream again... what about it?

A Hanayashiki performer. We couldn't believe the kids weren't afraid of her.

Then, after another short walk, we made some noise at the drum museum which is, for the most part, hands-on... and lots of fun! For kids of all ages! ;)

Noah's got rhythm.

Would you believe EJ slept through much of the visit... even with all the drumming. She woke up in time to play a little for herself.

And we weren't done yet! Stay tuned for another installment... I know... you can't wait.

Devin's Dream Car

Wow!  This is the smallest car I've ever seen.  It's a Suzuki Twin.  It is only 8 feet 11 inches long.  As you can see, it doesn't come up to my chest.  It's only 4 feet 9 inches tall.  And weighs in at a whooping 1300 pounds.  Think of it as a rolling speed-bump for a Suburban.  Behind the seat there is about 9 inches and a small shelf that will hold a few bags of groceries and your sunglasses.  Should I buy one?

Halloween 2011

Noah was so excited this year to go trick-or-treating dressed as "Daddy.

 Our little airman.

 Our little... sushi... Perhaps you can see that her white body is the rice, the orange pillow is a lovely bit of salmon (or maybe tuna), and she has a "seaweed" strip to hold everything in place.

 She was pretty upset here. I gave her the trick-or-treat bag as we set off, and it was clear she was irritated upon realizing that it did not already have candy inside.

 Moses leads the way.

 It's a long way to the front door for these cute little legs.

 Noah had it down. It was serious business. We didn't get to go last year, and I thought he might be afraid, but he knew exactly what to do. He marched right up to the doors... sometimes the wrong doors and sometimes right past the homeowners who sat out in front of their doors to pass out candy... but no matter.  He boldly ordered, "Trick-or-Treat!" and held out his bag for candy. This proud mommy even heard him say, "Thank you!" several times without being prompted. Later, when Emerie had chosen eating M&M's in her stroller over pounding the pavement, Noah was heard asking for extra candy for his little sister. How thoughtful.

 He had so much fun! He's been really coming out of his shell more lately... waving at commissary baggers, fellow churchgoers, and just random strangers. He was doing more of this Halloween night as we passed the other revelers out doing their own trick-or-treating. He was like a little politician... I thought at any moment he'd start shaking hands and kissing babies. Such a sweet, funny little guy.

 Happy Halloween, everyone!

Bios on the Hill

 We went to a beautiful place called "Bios on the Hill" in early September. Sooooo pretty! There were orchids everywhere.

Noah and Mommy... he wasn't very interested in getting his picture taken...

Getting ready to board our boat for a ride...

Noah loved the boat ride!

Emerie loved the little goats. She kept waving at them and saying, "Hi! Hi!"

This goat looks a little annoyed.

There was a great big play area with really neat wooden equipment.

Emerie just climbed right up. Then, once at the top, when she realized how far up she'd traveled, she changed her mind and had Daddy help her back down.

Fun for all ages!

Walking along, looking at the beauty, and... what's this?














Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!

I almost ran right into this giant spider... with my face! I thought I was going to have a heart attack! You can't tell here, but it was about as big as Devin's palm. Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like Emerie's picking a good one!

Water buffalo cart ride...

This rooster kept strutting around...

A tiny truck...

Devin is dying to get one of these!

This orchid smelled like chocolate! So cool!




Naptime!