Once again, catching up on the last trip, right before we head out on another. This is a picture gallery from a family trip to Tokyo last fall. After touring Taipei for a few days, we spent about a week in Tokyo. As usual… long aimless days and no time to post any updates. The love affair really hasn’t waned. Like Taipei, this visit included our 5-year-old niece, so a few elements were different.
One thing we noticed that was new for us is the way rules get broken or amended with a small child in tow. Especially a cute and well behaved one. We (well, she) got free gifts at a few places, better service at times (although the bar is already pretty high). Teach the kid a couple of Japanese greetings and pleasantries and doors will magically open. The Japanese are avid rule-followers, but having her along we got to see more rule-breaking than usual. It was altogether quite fun to visit some familiar places and see them in a different context.
As far as the itinerary, we stayed in Tokyo and environs, visited the Disney Parks, roamed around our favorite districts and caught some shows. It’s not gonna be long before we have our next Tokyo post. Maybe I can try to not procrastinate as much on that one.
Met with some friends for the visit
Interesting themed restaurant: "Kawaii Monsters Cafe"
Sanrio Puroland, an indoor theme park featuring all the different Sanrio characters (Hello Kitty, Gudetama, etc)
Candy shop in Harajuku
Meiji Shrine near Harajuku
As it was explained to us, these are dolls/toys donated to the temple for a kind of funeral ritual. They are all burned and their spirits released... or something like that.
Yep!
