Tokyo

We got our drivers' licenses. The only things we can read on them are our names and the expiration dates.(you can take your guesses as to which of us received the higher score).
The highlight of the week; however, was the trip we took to Tokyo on Saturday. There is no way to describe the enormity of the city. Simply saying "Tokyo is the largest city in the world" is not enough. One can view Chicago in it's entirety and without straining from their seat on a plane; or drive the New Jersey Turnpike and catch the breadth of New York. Neither is possible with Tokyo. This city goes on in every direction as far as one can see, from all boroughs. Throughout our visit the city's borders remained unable to be seen, the undulating pattern the skyscrapers made did not taper off as with most skylines; it was unending.

We started our visit at the Meiji Shrine, the sacred ground used in the Shinto religion, the most common in Japan. Incidentally the belt the sumo grand champion wears is adorned with Shinto symbols. The shrine was built to honor Emperor Meiji. He "modernized" Japan by ending the samurai, and the military or "Shogunate" rule over the country. Meiji Shrine has the largest torii gate in Japan. It was strange being on the grounds of the shrine and unaware that Tokyo was all around. We caught the procession of a wedding and how different from an American Christian wedding it was. The people were dressed in traditional Japanese clothing. The bride was wearing a large scarf around her head to symbolize the "covering the horns of jealously", since once a woman is married she needs to turn a blind eye to her husband's wandering.

Tokyo Tower was next and was where we caught the immense size of Tokyo. The tower itself is taller than the Eiffel Tower and looks pretty much the same, just painted orange and white. There was even a crepe stand at the foot, which I am sure is the same in France. The observatory allows visitors to see Tokyo in panorama and on one side you can even see Mt. Fuji floating on the mist over the city!

Our last stop was Asakusa. According to, well, common knowledge, this area is supposed to be "real Japan". Less tainted by the modernization of the rest of the city, the streets are narrower, the people friendlier and a little slower paced. Asakusa holds the oldest temple in Japan. Like a Shinto Shrine, temples are used by Buddhists. around the temple were hundreds of vendors selling everything from clothing and souvenirs, to grilled octopus on a stick. It kind of reminded me of the story in John when Jesus expelled the money changers from the temple, but again, this was not America or Christian. We could have spent the entire day just there. We came close to buying Finchy a doggie kimono, but couldn't justify spending $80 on it. The Japanese LOVE their pets. The interesting point about Asakusa was finding out that the charming streets and vendors were actually all organized and run by one organization, the Japanese mob. Apparently the vendors are even told who will sell what from one week to the next. Next week, Jennifer's birthday and Mt. Fuji!

BTW, the photo slideshow has been updated with lots of new stuff.