C-17

Just for reference, this is the plane that we are flying home on.... this should prove to be interesting on a 14 hour flight with kids!

More Food Pictures

I promised to take pictures of all of the yummy delicacies we have munched on while here. There wasn't much we didn't like. I have found out I do not prefer eel- a little too fishy for me but if it is slathered in teriyaki sauce, put on a stick and grilled it is quite tasty. The kids ate EVERYTHING and loved every bit of it- sushi and sashimi were their favourites but the ramen was a close competitor. Just for reference we did not go to disgusting McDonalds once and are hoping to never eat there again, lol! We only ate western food a few times and it was near the end of our trip while on the unexpected extended days and that was just because we didn't want to chance straying too far from base.

Tired Kiddos

Ever wonder what it looks like when you have you kids out way past their bedtime after forcing them to walk a bajillion miles during the day and clearly starving them by only allowing them to eat strips of raw fish at meals?



Same kid five minutes later- nothing a little silliness won't handle!



Mom had to join in the fun too- I never realized how entertaining it was to pop your collar while riding underground on the subway in the middle of the night in a foreign country... more people should try this, for sure.

Tsukiji Fish Market

The Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo was a must stop for us. It is the biggest wholesale fish market in the world and was quite a sight to see. We did not get to see the famous tuna auction, to do this we would have had to be at the gates at 0400 and only 75 people get let in anyway. We ended up getting there about 0900 and wandered around the market itself completely amazed at the live and dead fresh fish that was caught and brought in just hours prior. This market is not for normal people to buy fish though, it is meant as a wholesale market where stores and restaurants buy their fish in large quantities. After wandering around and getting lost in the aisles of fish we ate a traditional Japanese breakfast at one of the little market restaurants. No eggs and bacon there- we started with a full course of sashimi (YUM!), a bowl of miso soup and rice (YUM!) and a grilled fresh fish of some sort that was gotten at the market earlier that day (YUM!). I wish we could start all of our days with that meal!

Fish Market

Tokyo at Night

SUMO

During the month of May there is a HUGE Sumo tournament going on in Tokyo and we were lucky enough to score tickets and attend. It is a sport that has been able to maintain all of the old customs and traditions and was a real treat to watch. We got there in the morning to watch the Sumo hopefuls and newbies then we got to see the big guys come in and THAT WAS GREAT! I still cannot believe the size of these people! Josh kept joking around with everyone by telling them "Watashi wa sumohtorini narini kimashita" meaning "I am here to become a sumo wrestler". Nobody took him seriously or else we may have been going home with a Josh that looked like a smooshed pancake :)