The Brassfield's do Tokyo! Week 3!

Since it’s been 5 months since my mom and dad came to visit, I feel real silly about just getting around to the last part of this blog! Oh well. Life is busy. I promise to try to be better and do shorter blogs that aren't so invasive! That’s what’s got me down about it!

Day 14: 6/26-Tuesday

The morning after our meeting with the celebrities we made our way to the oh-so-very-famous Tsukiji Fish Market!

It was a short train ride to the bay where the market is held and it was incredible to see! The way I understand it is at 4:30am they let about 100 tourists into the market to see the famous auctions. I’d heard they pick and choose people and we were not terribly interested in waiting around at 4:30am hoping to be chosen to smell some fish. So we got there around 8:00am instead. We were met by craziness. To the untrained eye it would look like total chaos, but to a Tokyo insider you knew it was very organized. (Still crazy, just not total chaos).

We walked to the building that held the auctions and were promptly met by a security guard of some sort instructing us to go back to where the outside markets were and at 9:30 (??? See, this is why I shouldn’t have waited so long to blog about this!) the large fish market would be open to the public. Who knew? So we looked at the outside markets which sold vegetables, fruits, and souvenirs. There were also lots of sushi restaurants. I’m telling you- the sushi breakfast is something that sounds a little strange, but I’ve been promised that it’s the most delicious thing in the whole world. I was so excited to wait in line to have the world’s freshest sushi. My mom and dad? Not so much. 1, my dad was really not into the whole ‘sushi’ concept and 2, my mom was much too frugal to spend 2,000yen on a sushi breakfast. So I didn’t get my breakfast. Grrrr.

People waiting in line for a 'sushi breakfast'.

We made the best of our time and despite the fact I wasn’t even inside the fish market yet I was totally nauseous. That place smells fishy. Real, real fishy.

We got inside, and saw lots and lots of fish. Tons! Literally! All the restaurants around Tokyo get their fish from this market. It’s huge, the floor is wet, there’s fish guts all around… really gross, but also one of the coolest experiences I’ve had in Japan. You should definitely check it out! 

It wouldn't be a trip to the fish market without making a 'fishy face'! 

Before we got on the train for our next adventure we had to walk to the river and see the boats passing by. Dad loves boats.

We took lots of rests! 

I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so! 

After we were all fished out we hopped back on the train and took it to the Tokyo Government Metropolitan Museum. It’s 2 huge towers, taking you to the top at 202 meters, or 662 feet! Yes, I did have to google that. We saw some incredible views and my parents finally got a good glimpse of what a concrete jungle Tokyo really is. 

We walked to the heart of Shinjuku and found ourselves a McDonald’s to eat at. After a couple of weeks of Japanese experiences, you've just gotta have a little Mickey-D’s! I’m not sure my parents were as impressed with it as I always am.

At this point in the trip I had thought of everything. We had done everything. I know we hadn't really done everything but I was out of ideas on what to do next! I flipped through one of the guide books I’d been hulling around and found the advertisement for the Imperial Palace!

I still don’t know a lot about it but I do know it’s the home of the royal family. You can’t tour inside, but can get into the grounds of it 2 days a year. We were not there on one of those 2 days but we did manage to find our way there and walk around the famous gardens on the outside of the walls. That was a treat to see. Beautiful landscaping and architecture, of course. 

This was a high school track team (or so I thought) that was running laps around the palace. We enjoyed cheering for them as they ran by and waved at us.

Day 15- 6/27- Wednesday

The next day I was still out of ideas but did want them to see Ryogoku, the sumo town. We took the train, and when we exited into the Ryogoku train station we found this little gem. 

There was even a spot for 3 heads and I wanted a picture with it. The train station was super busy and crowded with people rushing off to do whatever it is they had to do that day. The only person we found approachable was a lady about 90 years old. Bless her little heart. We asked her to take our picture, and after about 6 tries, this is the best we got. We'll take it! 

We found the tiny sumo museum and watched a few rounds of recorded sumo, saw some cool stuff and then were out of things to do. I always think the sumo museum is more exciting than it is. Oh well! At least they still got to take pictures with the cool murals outside! 

                                     

We took a walk along the river and saw some more boats. Dad was particularly proud of this photo he took that has a train and a boat in it. His favorite things!

This was another fascination of Dad's. How on earth they got the cars like that. You'll have to come to Japan for a visit to find out.

We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant and then headed back to the hotel to check out, get our car and drive back to the base. That's just me being silly.

Day 16- 6/28-Thursday

We had the privilege of being taken to my sweet English student, Michiko's vacation home in Yamanashi Prefecture. We took the train to Tachikawa where she picked us up in her car and then drove us out to the mountains. What a site! We wound up on a winding narrow two-way, but should have been one-way kind of road. I was sure we would die. Spoiler: we did not.

 Michiko took us to a museum that featured the artwork of local artist, Hiroshi Yagyu. It was really beautiful and very neat to see how he had layered paper, cut it out and then lit the backgrounds. It was very creative!

After the museum we had a short walk down to the Senga Waterfall. It was a really cool area and definitely something we would have never found without being with a ‘local.’ We even met some shop owners who let us fill out a wish to hang on the tree. I believe each is later picked off of the trees by religious leaders and then prayed over.

 We also ran into a baby Godzilla. Mom and Dad had too much fun with this.

 Senga Waterfall.

 Our wishes hanging on the tree!

 Mom and Dad with an adorable depiction of the 7 gods. 

 A pretty view driving around Yamanashi Prefecture. 

We had dinner at a delicious local Japanese curry restaurant and then back to Michiko’s house to play a game of “Unbalance” (which is basically Jenga) I think we played 3 games. I never won. 

Day 17: 6/29- Friday

The next morning we woke up to a wonderful and beautiful breakfast served on Michiko’s back deck.

We went out exploring and walked across an incredible bridge that stretched across the valley that held the river we visited the day before.

We drove down the hill into the valley and did a little hiking to another waterfall, the Doryu Waterfall. We ran into a group of Korean middle school aged kids who were there on a summer camp field trip of some sort. They all spoke a little bit of English so we had fun chatting with them for a few minutes! Mom kept laughing at me because I was bowing to the kids and because they were Korean and not Japanese, they didn't bow back. 

We were off again, and drove in a big loop to Keep Farm. It’s a farm that was founded by an American sometime after WWII and they have the best soft cream I’ve had since my trip to Hokkaido last February! Yum! There was a museum there to learn about local animals and nature, which is right up my mom’s alley. It was unfortunate it was mostly in Japanese, but we were lucky to have Michiko with us to do some translating!

Our last stop of the day was at a restaurant, store and garden owned by a famous Japanese gardener. I will need to ask Michiko his name! I can’t remember and can’t seem to find the paper I wrote it down on!  She was telling us all about him and he was actually there that day! It was so exciting to meet 2 famous Japanese celebrities in one trip!

We made it back to the base by dinner time where I made (if I do say so myself) a delicious Anniversary Dinner for my parents! 32 years! Wow!  Melissa was sweet and made them this cake! 

Day 18: 6/30- Saturday

The next day we decided to wake up early and drive to Kamakura. So we did. I had taken the train there once before which took a little over 2 hours. We were advised to drive because it’d be cheaper, we could take Cheyenne-dog and it would take about the same time. Whelp… 4.5 hours later, we were there to see the Buddha. They gave me the Gaijin-X when I tried to take Cheyenne into the temple, so I sat outside and let my parents go into the gates to see the giant Buddha. 

We were starving and really concerned about finding a restaurant that allows large dogs, but lo and behold! As we walked along the street on the shore, we came upon a restaurant that actually had a ‘dogs welcome’ sign in the window. My mom believes in the power of positive thinking (don’t we all?) and she still thinks we created that restaurant in our minds.

 My dad took this picture of an unfinished highway. Funny huh? Another 4.5 hours later, we were back home. Oh my word, Tokyo traffic can be SO frustrating! 

The last few days of my parents visit are a blur! We apparently stopped taking pictures! I know that we went to a Japanese mall, made another run to the Daiso (the 100 Yen Store), and my dad fixed my broken car. It was a relaxing last two days just enjoying each others company. It was SO very wonderful to have my parents come to Japan and visit me. As you all know, I love Japan with my whole heart and have had such a great time here. I am so pleased I was able to let my parents experience the fun and excitement of this crazy country, and share those experiences. What a blast!

The Brassfield's do Tokyo! Week 2

Day 8: 6/20- Wednesday

  Our relaxing didn’t last long! We headed to Higashiyamato City to meet my Wednesday English class for lunch. They were so sweet. When they heard my parents were coming to Japan to visit they insisted on throwing them a welcome party. Parties with my students always involve food and a good time. We met Michiko-san at one of our favorite Japanese landmark’s, Mikdonarud’s… AKA McDonald’s. We followed her to a very beautiful and fancy restaurant. We had a great time! This class consists of 7 female students, and every one of them is adorable and fun. I truly leave that class with my cheeks hurting because I’ve smiled through the whole lesson. They were just as wonderful in a restaurant setting. I didn’t take a picture in the room we ate in, but it was really cool to give my parents a true traditional meal in a traditional style restaurant. The room had the sliding screen doors where we took off our shoes and stepped up into a room with tatami (straw) mats on the floor. The waitresses wore buns in their hair and kimonos. My mom and my students all ordered a 10-course meal (I think) that had fish, salad, soup, mochi etc. Mom was a real trouper and tried everything that was presented. I was very proud! Dad did well too. We ordered sukiyaki (which I had never had) which was served with raw egg (we traded with some of our students cause while I’m adventurous I do have limits, y’all.) There were really thick udon noodles served in a sweet soy sauce based bowl with beef and vegetables. We also had sashimi (raw fish) and even my dad tried it! I was so proud of them!

After our lunch we went to the community center where I teach and had our regularly scheduled class. It was a delight for me to share that experience with my parents. Teaching English has given me a huge insight into the Japanese culture and the Japanese people’s lives.

The whole time my parents had been in Japan they just kept asking me questions. “What’s that? What’s this? What do they use that for? Why do they do things like that? Who is that guy? What year did ___ happen in? What’s the point of this? Why? Who? What?” Aaaargh. I realized during their trip I don’t actually know a thing about Japan. So my answer was always “I don’t know. Ask my English students.” So my mom had a running list of questions to ask them. And I let her, and they answered. It all worked out. I can’t remember all of her questions but I remembered a couple…  “Do you have clothes dryers?” (Almost everyone hangs their clothes on clotheslines here.) “What are the sticks in the cemeteries? What is their significance?” (They’re prayers written to the god’s for their loved ones.)

After the lesson I took my parents to my favorite place in Japan. The Daiso. Daiso’s are basically dollar stores, except you pay in yen, which makes them 100 yen stores, which with the conversion rate is really $1.30ish. It’s really not that confusing. We spent about 2.5 hours in there. There is SO much to see and buy. The Japanese are really innovative and you can find a lot of really cool things for 100 yen that you see in American “As Seen on TV” ads. What fun we had buying a bunch of crap. :)

That evening the sun was setting and it was a pretty clear day. It had been raining quite a bit on the trip thus far and I just had a feeling we could maybe see Fuji-san from the roof of the Yokota Community Center. I was right. 

Day 9: 6/21- Thursday

We got a late start to our day again on this day. We were doing that because my parents were still jet-lagged. My dad would wake up at 4 or 5am and then I’d get up around 9 (or 10), and Dad would be ready for a nap. So he’d nap for an hour or two, then we’d be on our way.

We decided to head for Mt. Mitake, which I had never been to. My mom wanted me to have new experiences while they were here and not just the same ones over and over. But because we were getting such a late start to our day and it was starting to rain and I didn’t really know how to get to Mt. Mitake I changed my mind and decided to take them to Mt. Takao instead!

I headed for the train station (dragging my parents along behind me) and made it just in time. Because it’s rainy season in Japan, it started to rain on our train ride up to Takao. We were a little hesitant about what to do once we got there because it was pouring down rain and we didn’t have any umbrellas. We took a 10 minute breather at a little market near the train station and bought some Chu-hi’s! Chu-hi’s are alcoholic cocktails in a can. They’re delightful! We decided to walk to the cable car entrance to the mountain and go on up since we were there, despite the rain. On this walk my parents got to see the sweet hospitality of the Japanese people. A man who (we guessed) was returning from the mountain stopped and handed my dad his umbrella. I was ahead of them (as usual) but they got a free umbrella—how sweet and cool is that?

Hachioji Train Station

At the Takao Train Station

On a very empty train!

We took the cable car up the mountain and walked around. Mt. Takao has a handful of temples and beautiful nature to see. When we got to the top there was a nice steady drizzle so we found a place to purchase another umbrella.

The Cable Car

I am not exactly sure what these sticks are for, but I guessed maybe it was things people were thankful for??? Looks like they got an obnoxious American in the plaque painting! 

A slug we helped safely cross the path!

We hiked the path to the furthest point, had some ice cream, (we love ice cream) and then tried to figure out how to get back down. We wanted to take a different trail but the one we wanted to take was closed, probably due to the rain. We found another way and hiked back to where the cable car entrance was and took that back down the mountain. We caught the train out of there and made it home by sunset.

We also decided these trees were almost comparable to the ones in Sequoia National Forest!

As we got home and had some dinner I ran into our friends Matt and Melissa and their two 18 year old house guests who were also here visiting for the 3 weeks! We decided to all go bowling at Round 1, a huge amusement center near the base. We got there and discovered it was 1,000yen to bowl (roughly $12) per person. Per game. Keep in mind on the base it’s like $1 a game, and that includes shoes. $.50 if you go during lunch. So we had a debate and decided to go for it. We’re glad we did! It was pretty cool to see how Japanese bowling works.

First of all, you get your shoes out of a giant vending machine. Did you hear me? Shoes. Out of a vending machine. COOL! Then the balls are all very fluorescent. And they look like basketballs. Except they’re bowling balls. Those two things are really the coolest part of the bowling off base. But they made it worth it. Dad schooled us all in bowling (surprise, surprise) and Mom took second. I think I was third? Maybe? Basically, team Brassfield dominated the Smith’s. Winning!!!

Day 10: 6/22- Friday

We decided to take the Smith’s two visiting girls, Lexi and Sydney to Kamakura with us the next day. We woke up to torrential downpours and decided to nix that plan. Instead we spent the day going to Joyful Honda, one of my favorite stores! They have a food court where we all got KFC (it’s an experience here, don’t judge our American food cravings) except for my mom, who opted for the more Japanese experience and had ramen. She used a fork. JH has tons of cool things to see, food court, a craft store, pet shop, a whole wall of umbrellas, bikes, outdoor things, lumber, kitchen supplies—you name it, it’s there. It’s a cross between Home Depot and Wal-mart. Or something. The best part was being able to take my mom to the gardening section with me and have her teach me a thing or two about gardening! We selected marigolds and vinca’s to plant in my garden, as well as basil and parsley.

Dog washing machine at Joyful Honda! Cheyenne would hate me if I put her in there!!!

Mom being really American and eating her ramen with a fork!

Next we made a trip through Don Quixote! It’s a store that is all kinds of crazy. There’s liquor, clothes, jewelry, massagers, cosmetics, toys, food, it’s very strange. It’s one of those places that is not wheel chair accessible and there is always crazy things to see around each corner. It can be overwhelming!

The trip details are getting fuzzy at this point but I’m pretty sure this is the night we came home, had Thai food from our base’s bowling alley (DE-lish btw), and then Melissa, Lexi, Sydney, my mom and I all went Karaokeing (spellcheck tells me this is not a real verb) while Matt took my dad out to the Drop Bar. Not many dads who visit Japan make it to the Drop Bar, so obviously MY dad is the coolest.

I’m not sure how we stayed out until almost 2am again, but we did! WOW!

Day 11: 6/23- Saturday

This day was BEATLES day! Hooray! I booked us a room for 4 nights down at the New Sanno hotel in downtown Tokyo. It’s expensive (about $10, one way) to get into town and back on the train so it made more sense to spend that money to sleep downtown and be able to have more time there for the next few days. It worked out well.

My sweet friend Laura worked hard to coordinate a big group of us to go to the Beatles Night the New Sanno hotel hosts twice a year. We went last year and had a total blast! Check out that blog here. We slept in and then got on the road (before stopping to have some ramen) and made it to the hotel in record time! We had a couple of drinks in our room, got ready and then headed to the ball room for the event. Hats, glasses and food were provided. The Parrot’s came on the stage and everyone danced! I don’t know why but I didn’t bask in the moment. I was missing George and was just in a weird mood. We had a great time though. And I know I keep saying this, but it was really special to have that experience with my Mom (and Dad, of course!!!). We’re true Beatles fans and will be forever. We dance, dance, danced. 

Getting ready in our hotel room!

All the people from our squadron!

Thankful for the relationship they have and the example they set for George and I!

After the show I ran into the Parrot’s in the lobby and I took a picture with them. They don’t speak much English but I was able to ask them if I come to the club where they play (it’s called the Abbey Road club) can I dance? (As their website states ‘No Dancing Allowed’.) They told me no.

 Me with The Parrots!

Mom and Dad did the responsible adult thing and went to bed and I went out with a few friends to bar called Heartland, some tequila bar (where I did NOT have any tequila) and finally a happy stop at McDonald’s! I made it back to the room and crashed!

Day 12: 6/24- Sunday

We got up the next day and headed for the train! At this point my parents were doing much better at keeping up, though not great. :) We made it to Shibuya Crossing! It’s the busiest intersection in the world. Shibuya Crossing is to Tokyo as Times Square is to NYC. We spent about half an hour crossing the intersection over and over before heading up to the Starbucks at that intersection and taking pictures. Our favorite moment was watching a guy in a big diaper and a guy dressed in some sort of gold-crazy doing jumping jack-things in the middle of the intersection. Hysterical.

We decided I’d stay in the Starbucks and let my parents go down into the sea of people and I’d take their picture. We didn’t have a game plan to find each other. After I shot them (with the camera, not a gun) I waited and waited for them to come back into the Starbucks. After a considerable amount of time I finally went down to find my dad but my mom was now missing because she went back into the coffee shop to find me. Eventually we found each other, but at the biggest intersection in the world, there was the small chance we never would’ve!

 Can you find Judy and Joe?

Oh! Oh! AND we finally found Hachi! Hachiko is a legend in Japan. Hachiko was a dog who would wait for his owner at the exit of the train station every day until he came home from work. Once his owner died Hachiko sat there and waited each day, until his own death. It’s heartbreaking. Richard Gere starred in an Americanized version of this story. I watched it last week. And I cried through the whole movie. Anywho, there is a statue in his honor placed outside of the Shibuya train station. I’ve been through that station many times but had never seen the statue until that day!

We walked from Shibuya through the streets to Harajuku! I think my Dad’s favorite part about Japan was the transportation. He took so many pictures of motorcycles I don’t know what to do with them!

We eventually wound our way through the streets to Harajuku. We did a lap through Yoyogi Park and checked out the Tokyo riffraff. We found more ice cream near the giant venue adjacent to Yoyogi Park. There were thousands of girls going into this venue and almost all of them were wearing t-shirts that said ‘Shinee’ on them. I didn’t have a clue who they were but eventually found out they’re a Korean pop boy band. What can I say? Asia tends to be about 10 years behind the American music/fashion scene.

We saw the dancing Elvis’s, a mime show, a bubble magician (he wasn’t doing magic tricks but his craft was indeed magical) and many musical groups, among a collection of eclectic people of Tokyo.

We also went down Takeshita Street, of course, and saw the crazy there. It’s a nut-so street filled with people screaming at you to purchase their items, and shop in their stores. It never fails to amaze me what the kids are wearing these days. Oh my word. I think I’m old. Kids these days have crazy hair, short dresses, and weird makeup. Did I just use the phrase "kids these days?!" Maybe I really am getting old?!

We had reservations for the Ninja Restaurant with Melissa, Matt, and the girls but Matt ended up not being able to come to dinner. The Ninja Restaurant is a themed dinner experience! I really don’t want to write all about it because it’s one of those things with surprises happening here and there and I’d hate to ruin some of the surprises for those friends/readers who will eventually go there and have their experience ruined. I’ll just say that the food was delicious. There were ninjas, though our waiter was a very clumsy ninja! He kept dropping things and over pouring the beer. I thought maybe it could be a comedy act, but in the end, I think he was just an overweight, clumsy ninja. There was also fire. It was very cool!

With the Ninja Menu

Melissa won by ordering the coolest dish!

Day 13: 6/25- Monday

Tokyo has a really cool bus system that is for locals but highly advertised to foreigners in the area, which worked great for us. It visits about 12 different areas of Tokyo and you can pay 500Yen for the day and ride the bus at your convenience. My goal of the day was to get to that bus!

We started our day by taking the train to Akihabara. Its nickname is Electric Street, and is a huge electronic district amidst the tall buildings of Tokyo. We checked out tons of camera, computer, wire, and light stores. There were teeny tiny alleys filled with all sorts of gadgets. It’s almost magical. I visited the Akihabara area last summer but because of the nuclear energy crisis in Japan, almost everything was turned off. This experience was much more electric! 

Once we had seen enough cameras and rice cookers we couldn’t find the bus stop to hop on the cool bus so instead we walked through the streets to our next destination—Ueno.  Ueno is a very interesting place! We found ourselves on a busy street with clothing vendors, food vendors, souvenir vendors etc. It was a pretty eccentric scene for a Monday afternoon! We knew the Ueno Zoo was close by but we had little interest in seeing it so we walked through Ueno Park searching for the ponds. We eventually found them and they were covered in lily pads! You could hardly see the water. For one reason or another I began to get grumpy. We were lost and confused. The maps didn’t make sense, my feet hurt and I was just done with Ueno. We couldn’t find the bus stop yet again but after conversing (poorly) with a few locals we figured out where to catch the bus and how to get to Kappabashi, the kitchen district. Hallelujah.

The Eternal Flame in Ueno Park.

About 5 minutes on the bus and we were on a street filled with restaurant vendors. This is where you go to buy industrial equipment, dishes, chopsticks, and plastic model food, which is very popular here. Kappabashi has been on my list of things to do for quite some time and I was really looking forward to seeing it! Unfortunately it was a letdown. Everything was really expensive and I didn’t find anything I wanted to purchase. Plus my mom made me concerned everything had lead in it. Thanks for the paranoia Mom! One cool thing did happen there. We needed to use the bathroom and found a public bathroom but the door was locked. My mom tried to ask the one woman in the building for a key. She spoke a little English and ended up leading us down the block to her own business office which was already closed to let us in to use the bathroom. How sweet!

With rows and rows of plastic display food!

We left Kappabashi empty handed and walked down to Asakusa. On the way there we stumbled into beer vending machines. FINALLY.

When talking about Japan and my favorite things about this country I almost always mention the vending machines. The variety of things you can purchase in a vending machine is so very fun, and this includes beer. So, my parents wanted to see the beer vending machines, but 2 weeks into their trip, and we hadn’t found one yet. So I was thrilled to walk them down a random street and find a few. We didn’t even buy beer out of them, but it was good to be justified that they existed- I’m sure at this point in the trip they doubted they were real!

Birru Onegaishimasu!

Asakusa is one beautiful city, particularly at night when its lights are all lit up. It was creeping up on dark and as we walked through the shrines to the river where we hoped to see some boats for my dad’s sake. Poor guy had been putting up with our walking and shopping all day and deserved to see a few boats! As we hit the edge of the river we saw an advertisement for a Boat Tour. I was curious to see how much it would cost and we found it only cost 600Yen for a 40 minute ride down the river. We figured that was totally doable and we had about 30 minutes to spare!

In those 30 minutes we grabbed a snack from a 7-11, checked out the closing up Shrine’s and busy streets and made it in time to be the last people to hop in line. We gathered on a ramp leading down to the dock behind 100 Japanese elderly tourists. Just before the line began to move, in walked an entourage.

Our first glimpse of the giant Sky Tree!

 Being real silly.

An older lady and a younger man captured the full attention of the 100 tourists. They all “oohed and awed” at the celebrities. It was hysterical. Not only was there the 2 famous people who shook our hands, but also a series of cameramen, sound guys and what I assumed to be directors or producers, with clipboards. I think they were filming a TV show! I had no idea who the celebrities were but the Japanese sure did!!!

The line began to move and we scooted on the boat behind the 100 tourists. The tourists had all taken their seats on the boat and since we were last we were left standing. Just as we realized we were going to be standing the whole time the celebs made their way onto the boat; they were actually going to ride too! As the other passengers realized this they hopped out of their seats and crowded around the famous people. My mom shouted at me to take their picture! I shouted back to go steal the seats of the tourists who had just gotten up from their seats! She did her thing, I did mine and then went to join my mom and dad in the booth they had found.

And guess who sat across from us in the booth? 

That’s right- the celebrities.

The next 40 minutes down the river were the most awkward and broken conversations I’ve ever had. Mom says “Are you famous?” to the people. “Yes.” Says the lady, in the deepest voice imaginable. I almost peed myself when I realized this beautiful older lady is actually a man. A celebrity Japanese drag queen. ONLY MY MOM AND I COULD GET OURSELVES INTO THIS KIND OF SITUATION. My dad is squished in between us. I couldn’t help but whisper to him “That’s a man” because I knew he might be the only one of the 3 of us who wouldn’t pick up on this. He whispers it to my mom who elbows him because of all of the cameras and microphones around us.

I know they both spoke at least a little English but I think with the camera’s on them they weren’t feeling the English communication. They spoke mostly in Japanese and I tried really hard to catch a few words here and there. They asked us how long we would be in Japan. We responded 3 weeks. I didn’t dare tell them I had actually lived in Japan for 2 years and spoke very little Japanese. I was worried I’d be “that stupid American.”  

We figured out they had something to do with a documentary on the Sky Tree, Japan’s newest pride and joy! Later that night we asked the hotel concierge if he knew who the people were in the picture. He responded with… “Well… ummm… that one is um… bisexual.” 

My Japanese friends on Facebook were able to tell me they are really "Arino", a Japanese comedian who plays video games on a tv show and "Kenichi Mikawa", a really famous singer from the 70's who recently returned to the spotlight as a drag queen. S/He's beloved by all ages too! They were really nice and I'm sure I'm going to wind up on Japanese TV somewhere, so if anybody sees us on TV, please let me know!!!

 An obligatory but horrible picture of the Sky Tree from the boat.

 With our new best friends!

 Rainbow bridge from the boat.

 From the local monorail.

The boat took us down the river from where we actually needed to be so we wound up in Roppongi for dinner. Not many parents make their way to Roppongi so it’s just one more bit of proof that my parents are actually the coolest.

The coolest!