Mark Tokyo and Kyoto

 


Few observation about Japan:

- Very clean and the further from the tourist areas the clearer it gets.

- Rules rule the day, and night, here.  Every rule is followed, lines, crossing road (they wait for the walk sign....no exceptions), etc..

- Very interesting culture and not trivial and I've barely scratched the surface.

- Due to US inflation and their weak Yen, Japan is actually cheaper than the US. This one is a shocker.

- The food and people are healthier than other counties I've been to. 

- Much more English than the last time I was here.

- The transportation system in Tokyo is crazy complex, but Peyton and I ended up going pro.

- Still the worst part of my day is looking on x-feed and reading the news in the US.  Japan is looking better and better.

- In general, I liked Japan more than Taiwan, but there are caveats. I spent several months in Thailand with very close Thai friends over the years.  Taiwan is different from Thailand, but it's very similar in general.  I also had a friend, Masa, here who hooked Peyton up big time with wrestling practices and one national tournament.  That wasn't just fun, it was a real glimpse into the culture.  These combined, gave Japan an unfair advantage.


Festival from our airbnb we had a great location, three iconic structures.  





This festival than went on for three days and more importantly; lots and lots of men dressed like this, and....it's my new look, just you wait, you'll love it.  BTW don't worry too much about me, you can stuff your phone in the underwear!

What did I tell you about the transportation system?  This is the rail system, and it's not as simple as it looks.   Several times we were routed through a shopping mall maze, I'm not kidding the gps routed and guided us through massive malls.  Sometimes I wasn't sure if above ground, below, or other.


I wonder if our HOA will allow me to build a three story parking facility?  BTW, I sold Lynette's 1999 CRV days before our trip, and I still want to build it.  I'm hoping used car prices have continued to decline. 





 


Art exhibit



Trying to get selfies in each room.















Gotta have temples.







Cheesy, but it was a cool ninja museum and a boat we took.



She went native.   Lynette rented this for her (it's very common) and Talia LOVED it.  She was over the moon on this one.














Weird things

Maybe not the best translation, the next one I title "Peyton thinking inside the box"



Obligatory, and feeding the animals 




Random oddities



Pictures I like.



I liked em both. The other is what I title coffee lab.


Temple, and the other one was at the top of hill (40 million of my closest friends).











Comments

  1. HopeJune 3, 2024 at 8:09 AM

    Thank you, Mark. Great pictures. More is better.

    ReplyDelete
  2. nalineeJune 5, 2024 at 12:29 AM

    love the pictures

    ReplyDelete
  3. Keri KwiatekJune 6, 2024 at 1:44 PM

    What great experiences! I am sure Talia will love it when you pick her up from school in your new stylish clothes :P

    ReplyDelete
  4. MandyJune 25, 2024 at 1:05 PM

    Love this! What a bizarre menu item 😂 can you tell what they were trying to say?

    ReplyDelete

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