places for boys

Jon wanted to make sure that we did things that would be interesting for the boys, so he researched and planned visits to some great museums.  The first museum here is the Railway Museum.  It is a huge museum with examples of trains throughout the history of Japan.  There are many interactive activities and a great train store.  Unfortunately, it took a lot longer to get here than we planned, so we only had a little bit of time before it closed.  We ran around quickly and saw as much as we could!

They had a miniature train that the kids could go on.  We were here a little too late for that, but it was cute to see.

This is an interactive exhibit where you drive the train through the different little stations.

It was a neat place and one I think we could have spent a lot of time there.

As we were late for the train station, we were extra late for our next event - the Urawa Reds professional soccer game.  It took us so long to get there, that everyone was a little hot, tired and grumpy (or was that just me?).  We figured we would just get some dinner and enjoy the game.  Interestingly, there was no food to be found in the whole stadium.  There were a few concession stands, but they all had signs across the food items that said "sold out".  Luckily, I found a few cups of edamame to buy and we scrounged our bags for granola bars.  With a little food in our stomachs, we enjoyed watching the energetic crowds and some good soccer.

I have videos of the crowds chanting, but can't figure out how to put them in my blog.

I took the girls shopping while Jon took the boys to a place called "Kidzania."  What a cool place!  It started in Mexico and there are Kidzanias all over the world (except in the U.S.) (Although they are building one in 2014).  It is a huge place modeled after a city where kids actually go through training in various jobs and are able to perform those jobs.  There are 80 different areas of work (some with waiting lines of over an hour) where you can explore occupations.  

Their first job was as a car designer.  They were able to create models out of clay and see how their cars would turn out.  By the way, each "job" came with an appropriate uniform.

Next, they worked in research and development for a food company.  They put together fried rice with various ingredients and then were able to eat it.

Here they are in the freeze dried area.

Next, they were excited to open a bank account.  It comes with an actual ATM card which you put money into and they can use at the various job areas.

Andrew felt pretty big.

I think Matthew did also.

They then got their drivers licenses so they could rent a car and drive.

Here is Matthew filling out his rental car form.

Although the cars were reportedly very slow, they had fun driving around town.

Here is a picture of what part of the town looked like.

With a construction suit on, they were set for their next job - to build a skyscraper.

They used various construction vehicles to lift and build a tall skyscraper.

They wished they had more time and could have visited all of the areas.  I thought the whole idea of the place was amazing.  I can't wait to see where they open one in America!

a taste of home

Sunday morning, we set out to go to church. We took a train from our station, transferred to another train and then walked the rest of the way...in the humid heat. It made me realize how very easy it is to get to our church at home! We decided to go to the English speaking ward so we could all actually understand what was said.  The church is right next to the temple.  It is in a nice residential neighborhood.  We loved to see the temple.

Of course space is hard to come by in Tokyo, so the temple is a bit small, but tall.

The church building next to the temple looks kind of like an office building.  There are 4 floors they use.  (The primary is in the very bottom.)

I thought it was kind of fun to see all the japanese names on the mailboxes, and then Tokyo English Ward in English.

It was interesting to meet people from all over who were living abroad.  Some were there for only a few years for work, and others had lived there for many years and raised their children there.  It was a little bit strange to hear everyone speak English, and look like we do.

Sure glad to be here with these guys.

It really did feel like a little oasis here.

tokyo traditions

As we often passed the Shibuya station, we decided to visit the famous Hachiko statue.  The statue, built in 1934, has a wonderful story associated with it of love and loyalty.  Hachiko was a special breed of dog (Akita) who lived in Tokyo with his owner, Mr. Elsaburo Uyeno.  Hachiko would accompany his owner everyday to the train station, and then when Mr. Uyeno came back after work, Hachiko would be sitting outside the station, tail wagging, waiting patiently.

Two years later, Mr. Uyeno passed away and never returned home.  Although his wife sent Hachiko to live with other relatives, the dog would continue to come to the train station every day to wait for his master.  This continued every day for years.  The people, who were familiar with this consistent scene, began bringing food and water for Hachiko.  Eleven years later, Hachiko passed away.  The community was so touched by the dedication and loyalty shown by Hachiko, that they erected this statue.  It is a popular gathering spot today.

The Shibuya Station is the third busiest train station in Tokyo.  What it is mostly known for (besides the Hachiko statue) is the Shibuya crossing.  Outside the station is an intersection which is known as a scramble intersection.  When the light turns red, ALL of the lights in every direction turn red.  The cars are completely stopped and people spill out into the intersection from every direction.  It is really amazing to witness.  We were there at 9:00 in the evening, and it was still amazingly crowded.  

Andrew kept asking if the lights on the buildings we saw were "the lights from Cars 2".  Jon thinks that the lights around the Shibuya crossing were probably what the movie was trying to portray.

Despite a few of my children's lack of enthusiasm for the event, we walked across the intersection.

I wanted a more complete view of the scramble, so I went to a better vantage point and took pictures.  Here is the intersection right before the lights turn red.  Only automobiles.

When the light changes, people come from everywhere - across, diagonally, etc.

I enjoyed watching the mass of humanity.

shopping in Tokyo

The shopping here is incredible. Every single corner of the city has huge buildings of endless stores.  Each of the many department stores have 12 floors each.  There is no way to see it all....but we tried. The only problem is that the people here are so tiny, they didn't have our sizes in many of the stores.

We loved visiting Harajuku.  There are many interesting and fun people here.

In Harajuku, there was a fun kids toy store that Andrew loved.  They had an entire line of toy bullet trains.  He chose to spend some of his souvenir money on them.

In that same store they sold these pouches.  I thought what they wrote on the package was funny. "This pouch has many functions.  Napkin, underwear, PET bottle, cosmetics, ice bag."  They thought of everything!

A completely different shopping area was the Nakamise shopping street on the way to the Sensoji Temple.  There are just rows and rows of souvenirs crowded into little shops.

Ali loved all the cute little socks they have all over.

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At the end of the shopping street, we enjoyed a quick (and extremely hot) visit to the temple.

I love the pagodas.

I enjoyed myself at the next shopping area - the Kappabashi Kitchenware Town.  There are rows and rows of restaurant supply stores and kitchen tools.  Everything from wholesale chopsticks to industrial mixers and menu boards

Loved the themed building with coffee mugs on the side.

This store was really cool.  It has fake food that all the restaurants use in their window displays.  They are so realistic!  We thought it would be fun to buy something there, but they are actually really expensive.

Grilled meat and veggies.

Ramen and fried rice.

Curries and noodles.

Look how real that meat looks!

I found some fun things for my kitchen.

There are Japanese dishes, bowls and teapots everywhere.

I thought it was funny in the grocery stores to see all of the asian foods.  We usually have a small section of asian food along with mexican, etc.  Here there are rows and rows of asian food (obviously) but no other sections from other countries.

Ahh.... the stationary stores.  We love the stationary stores.  Rows and rows of pens, notebooks and beautiful stationary.

Yes, we enjoyed shopping and now we must check our bags on the airplane so we can carry it all on.