Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan

Crazy. I can’t believe we’ve come this far. I’m sitting in our hotel room in Kyoto with a few hours to kill before the train takes us back to Tokyo and we begin our journey home. Every step we take from this moment on, is a step towards Malibu. We’re done sightseeing, we’ve “seen the people” for the last time, and we’re not wondering what the next country holds in store because we already know. We’ve each arrived at a peaceful place feeling accomplished, proud and incredibly fulfilled with our traveling adventure. Our family experience has grown beyond belief, our bonds are strong and our memories from this trip will connect in ways we can appreciate and enjoy for the rest of our lives. And now, we’re eager and excited to return home and enjoy the amazing lives we live in California.

Japan has been a really special place to visit and a great way to end our trip. We’ve been so fortunate, along the way, to have met so many beautiful, warm and kind people, but Japan takes the prize. The Japanese people have a grace, subtlety and warmth about them that is particularly delightful. Sure, we saw Buddhist Temples, Shintu Temples, Zen Gardens, Nijo Castle, and even Mt. Fuji, but none of these monuments compared to the fun we had communicating and interacting with the Japanese people.

We were reading a travel magazine and we saw an article about a Camera Museum in Tokyo that sounded really cool. We weren't even sure where it was so we had a taxi drop us off in the general vicinity and we walked around this business district for about an hour until we finally found it tucked away in a nice office building. The museum was filled with hundreds of cameras, covering the entire range of photographic technology and development from every period. The museum was very well done and even had some hands-on cameras to goof around with. We literelly had to drag Alex out of the museum when it was time to move along. She was in "photographers heaven" and is very clear what her next camera addition will be!

When we arrived in Kyoto we were starving so we chose a small, local Japanese restaurant next to our hotel to satiate ourselves. When we sat down we noticed a group of six men sharing lunch and Asahi’s and having a great time. Just after we ordered, one of the men, Sato, approached our table and offered to buy us beers. He then proceeded to teach us the Japanese way to pour beer when it is a gift, how to toast, and when to refill your glass – all in Japanese! An hour later, we were still drinking beers with Sato and his friend, Nomi. It was hysterical and we all laughed so hard we thought we’d pee our pants! With a few English words in his vocabulary, Sato told us he was 23, he didn’t like Bush, but liked Obama (same story for the rest of the planet), and that he loved to watch “Full House” on Japanese television. We all agreed that our Japanese lunch with Sato and Nomi was the best meal experiences of the entire trip!

We learned that 85% of the Japanese are Shintu, a religion that believes in literally thousands of Gods. However, 75% of Japanese consider themselves to be Buddhist as well, so there is a really nice connection between the two religions. We were all familiar with the Japanese animation craze, but we had no idea how huge it was here in Japan. The bookshops are filled with thousands of animation books which range anywhere from Hello Kitty to some pretty raunchy triple XXX versions! Another craze we noticed was cell phone charms! It’s pretty cute to sit on the subway next to an elegantly dressed business man who has with no less then five plastic cell phone charms hanging off his cell phone. Japan was fun. That’s the best way to put it. Matt and I hope to come back one day to do some biking because there is so much natural beauty here to be explored.

The next time I blog will be from my home computer in my little office with the apple green Caesarstone countertops. I can’t wait. This has been incredibly rewarding, but we’re all ready to go home and see Scout, family and friends.