Parents Visit Tokyo
M's parents took a trip to China for a tour. On their way back towards San Francisco, they stopped in Tokyo for a few days to visit us. We had a great time showing them around our neighborhood and the city. They weren't here nearly long enough to see everything in the city, but they got a good flavor.
We took a walk to the Meiji shrine (largest in Tokyo, I think), strolled the Omotesando fashion district (with Cartier, Armani, and Ralph Lauren), went chopstick and used kimono shopping, saw some antiques including a 200 year old bento set ($2500), had tea at a teahouse on an island in the middle of a pond in a beautiful Japanese garden, saw a graceful 300 year old pine tree, visited the Tokyo-Edo museum (history of the city), walked around University of Tokyo (including its beautiful pond and garden), went to the kabuki theater to see a terribly tragic but wonderfully performed play (with wireless earpieces that broadcast translation and interpretation in English to one ear so that you can both enjoy the show and follow what is happening), and walked around the Imperial palace and its gardens (though the palace itself is off limits to visitors). Plus, we sampled lots of great Japanese food! We really enjoyed having visitors, and we hope others will come along to see us soon as well!