Japan

After a couple of days in Bangkok, Chad and I split up...Chad was off to Nepal & I was heading to Japan to visit some friends.

Akiko & I met when she came to the States to study as an exchange student...we were roommates in the dorms. We've been able to keep in touch & I even went to Japan for her wedding. I am in love with her family & was soooo excited to see them all again!

We were able to do & see a ton of stuff (but I have to admit after about 9 months I don't remember the exact order of our trip)...

We went to a really neat Japanese park.

And Akiko & I were able to enjoy a nice mug of green tea.We went to the fisherman's market in Tokyo...I was really surprised to see that wasabi looks like this before it becomes that paste that you add to your sushi to give it a bite...After that, we went to eat a breakfast of sushi...delicious!We made a trip up to Mt. Fuji. We made a stop at Chinatown and Akiko & Taka had this made for me...We went to a model of an old Japanese village. This is where they film some of the old-style Japanese movies. I found this candy when we stopped in a convenience store...not sure if I would try it.We even made it to an old Japanese castle.

One night, we made sushi rolls for dinner...

We also went to see a traditional Japanese play. Luckily they had audio tapes for the tourists to listen to because it was in ancient Japanese & Akiko said that she had trouble understanding it (not that I would have been able to understand it if it was in modern Japanese). We went to an art exhibit, the pier, and temples.

They all came to see me off at the airport.

I had so much fun with Akiko, Taka, and her family. Her younger brother made me laugh harder than I had in a long time (you know that laugh that makes your gut hurt & your eyes water). I love her family & can't wait to visit them again (or even better for them to come visit me)!!!