The latest from mom...

Here is mom's latest update....this Japanese computer seems to not understand all of the punctuation...hope you can understand it anyways....



Monday March 28

Up fairly early and headed out on the bullet to Nikko ・Northeast of Tokyo. Weather forecast was to be warmer・his was true, but it turned out to be RAINY! Nikko is a small town known for its shrine ・it痴 an amazing complex with several beautiful, ornate Buddhas and some typical Japanese gardens. The setting in the forested area on a mountainside in the mist was truly・mystical. Following that we toured the emperor痴 villa. It痴 on 10,000 acres and it was over 100 rooms.

Random thoughts.

English signs are everywhere・ut they don稚 always make sense.

School age girls seem to think walking pigeon toes are really cool and they wear pointed spike healed shoes. Sling back shoes are used as slip-ons and they clack around.

Also noticed young women with bowed legs・ondered if there痴 a correlation between the shoes and bowed legs.

Trains are packed with people・hey all seem to be either listening to headphones or text messaging on their cel phones.

Lots of people wear medical masks. Tony says it痴 because they have a cold and are trying to prevent it from spreading. Maybe it痴 something we should look into, along with bowing instead of handshaking・.(MOM IS BECOMING A LOT LIKE HOWARD HUGHES.)


Definitely no shoes in any of the homes. Tony is a real stickler・ad had problems abiding by the rules.


Today. Tuesday March 29, 2005


We致e been gone a week. We woke up to a sunny day in Nikko. I walked along a beautiful gorge are with lots of waterfalls and beautiful clean water. We went back to the bullet and headed into Tokyo.

Arriving into the Tokyo station we left our luggage in a locker and headed into Ueno park which reminded me of Stanley Park・here are museums, art galleries, a science world and a zoo. There was a lane under the cherry blossom trees that was very beautiful. The cherry blossoms weren稚 out yet, but there were already many reserved sites for people to have their picnics when the blossoms come into bloom.

Checked into our hotel and then headed out for some sightseeing. The train station was a sea of people. It was truly a moving sea. Good thing we池e tall. Saw conductors physically pushing people on in order to get the to squeeze onto the train.

Off to the restaurant of a friend of a friend of Tony痴 where we were royally treated and had a traditional Japanese meal. We had a variety of appetizers including deep fried squid tentacles which were salty and delicious. The main course was cooked on a grill in front of us. It was called 溺onja・・it included smoked salmon, and cabbage and batter. It was scrumptuous.

We made out way back to the hotel・fter 9 o団lock. The subways were still jammed with people. This is how I envisioned Japan.

Going to bed now as we have to get up at 5am to check out a big fish market and go on a bus tour of Tokyo.

Hope everyone is doing well. We池e having a great time here.