Getting the hang of it

We were on the subway a lot today because we were going to places on the other side of the city.  Even though this was a pain, it was also good because I think we are finally getting the hang of getting around.  We started the day with the Tokyo National Museum.  It turns out that the museum is in this really neat area with a bunch of museums, a zoo, and a nice park.  The museum was full of katana swords, kibuki costumes, samurai armor, pottery, and Dan even got to see some real live Hokusai paintings!  He took a lot of great pictures that are under the piictures tab.

After the museum, we went to an area called Asakusa where there is a famous temple (you might recognize the red lanterns), lots of shopping stalls and supposed street performers (though we didn’t see any).  Before we went to the temple, we decided to try a okonomyaki restaurant where you cook savory pancake type things (with various toppings) on hot plates in the center of your table.  The best part, in my opinion, was that it was a japanese style restaurant, so we had to take our shoes off, put them in a bag, and carry them to the table and we got to sit on thin cushions on the floor.  It was so cool!  After lunch, we went to the temple, and it was neat too.  We took some pictures and bought lots of souvenirs!

After that, it was back on the subway to try to find Tokyo Tower.  We paid to go all the way to the top and there are also some good pictures of the view.  It was cool to look out onto Tokyo Bay because we haven’t gone to see the water yet and it hardly feels like we are on an island!  After the tower we took three trains back home and rested for a minute before deciding we couldn’t possibly go anywhere far for dinner.  So, we found a very close thai restaurant and then came back home.  Ben and Dan crashed hard (this was about 8pm), so I decided to go down to our cafe, have some tea and plan for tomorrow.  Right now, Ben and Dan are still sleeping (it’s 10:15pm) and I’m thinking they are done for the night.  Another long day tomorrow.  We are having fun, but it is definitely nonstop!