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I mentioned a while ago that we caught a bus from Shinjuku in the morning to get to Hakuba. Today’s photo is of my kids just before getting on the bus outside of the west exit of Shinjuku Station. You can see the famous Yodobashi Camera (ヨドバシカメラ) and electronics store behind them. It hadn’t opened yet.
Even though this picture isn’t much more than a year old Ellie and Ryan have really changed. They barely look like these little kids any more.
Who knew that putting a rodent in someone’s lap could cause such a change in happiness?
Arakawa Amusement Park (あらかわ遊園) was the place. If you are visiting Tokyo with kids this is an easy place to get to on the Toden Arakawa Line (都電荒川線) (and it’s cheap).
After watching a Seibu Lions game last year we were able to go down on the field with many other fans. Not only were we on the field but we were on the big screen as well. Ryan was rather excited (can you spot him?). Ellie, on the other hand, had been on big screens so many times (thanks to her blonde hair) by this point in Japan that I think she was doing more to get off the screen than remain in the public eye.
Another random wallpaper of the day offering… This is my daughter sporting a Nishi-Waseda (西わせだ) Happi Coat for one of the many festivals we enjoyed in Tokyo.
That’s a 7-Eleven in the background. Although founded in the USA, 7-Eleven is now a Japanese company. There are far more 7-Elevens in Japan than anywhere else in the world. You can find almost 2,000 of them in Tokyo alone! In the USA I enter a 7-Eleven about once a year. While living in Japan I entered one, or a similar store (like Lawson, FamilyMart, etc.), daily. They are far more interesting, and have a much larger selection in Japan. It’s also the place to do your banking, buy concert tickets, etc.
Which of these kids, holding or wanting-to-hold a guinea pig, do you think is mine? I’ll give you a hint. It isn’t the one making the Mr. Spock peace sign. Which brings up another question, also a hint. Is it more interesting for a Japanese kid to hold a guinea pig or to sit next to a giant, jolly green foreigner? In Tokyo, it appears, the former. Get out into Japan’s countryside, and I bet it would be the latter.
This photo was taken at the Arakawa Amusement Park (あらかわ遊園), which can be found if you hop off at the right stop on Tokyo’s last remaining street car line.
When you are done looking at the fish in Tsukiji Market, you can always head to the outside markets to find endless rows of things foreigners aren’t used to seeing.
Ellie and I made this trip a few mornings after we had arrived in Tokyo. We were still jet lagged so badly that we couldn’t sleep anyway.