Reg & Haris' Visit - Part 1

We were thrilled to welcome my oldest brother Reg and our great friend, Haris to Tokyo on February 19. Probably two of the most hardest working people I know, finally took some vacation time...and to no better place than Japan. Markus anticpated their arrival and couldn't be any happier to play host to Reg and Haris. Having two more older boys to play around with was more than the child could ask for. Of course, upon their arrival, Markus was showered, or shall I say spoiled with more birthday gifts from family and friends from our hometown. He received several books, DVDs, clothes, jigsaw puzzles, learning toys and his favourite cereal, Cherrios (which is not sold in Japan). Many thanks to all of you for the thoughtful gifts!!

Since our guests arrived late in the afternoon on the 19th, we decided to head home and have them settle in. Though first, we stopped by the Supa and picked up their first authentic Japanese meal, which consisted of ready-made sashimi, sushi rolls, tempura and egg rolls. For the next 9 days of their stay, we had planned a busy agenda site-seeing most hot spots in Tokyo.

The next day we started off in the district of Shinjuku to meet with Keiko for lunch at Zonbun - one of my favourite lunch spots to go with Keiko each time we have visitors. Zonbun is hidden in a quiet nook of Shinjuku Station, difficult to find if you're not very familiar with the massive station. I always order the same dish which is gyudon, or beef bowl with a twist. It's served with rice and side dishes of pickled vegetables and miso soup. Everyone opted for the same - even Keiko who usually orders the fish. As always, our meal was ouishii!

Famous spider sculpture outside of Mori Tower, Roppongi

TOKYO!

Lounging in Mori Tower

Our next stop was Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills to see the panoramic views of all of Tokyo. I've concluded that as far as aerial views are concerned, this is my favourite spot for viewing. Over the course of our stay in Tokyo, I've been to several locations to view the city from high atop and the 56th floor of the Mori Tower is the best, in my opinion. For one, it's situated close enough to central Tokyo to have magnificent views of the Tokyo Tower, the Shinjuku Skyscraper district, The Rainbow Bridge in the Odaiba District, Imperial Palace, Mount Fuji and many more. After spending about an hour relaxing and lounging it out in Mori Tower, we headed to Korakuen to Tokyo Dome City for some amusement. Actually, we went for Reg. The rollar-coaster-addict wished to ride Thunder Dolphin. The single standing mega coaster rides high over the park and passes through the top of Spa LaQua building, over 262ft above the ground. Markus is terrified of the thundering sound it makes when it zips over the crowd. When he hears it coming, he walks with knees bent, crouched down, with his arms over his head. While Reg waited in line for the front cart to brave the ride, Haris, Markus and I kept warm and enjoyed a Chai Latte at Starbucks. He managed to video tape his ride, which was pretty neat to watch.

Tokyo Dome City

Fugu Shabu Shabu Restaurant

KANPAI!!!

Soon after, we headed back toward Ikebukuro to meet with Rodney for shabu-shabu, one of my all-time favourite types of Japanese dinners. We met at Fugu Shabu Shabu restaurant. I'm happy to say Reg and Haris really enjoyed the meal too!

Checking out the latest technology at Bic Camera, a popular electronics chain store.

Haris is holding a cellphone equipped with a flip-widescreen for TV viewing.

In Ikebukuro Station heading home from Reg & Haris' busy second official day in Tokyo. By this time, they could really feel the jet-lag setting in!

HAKONE & MOUNT FUJI

For all of Day 3, we took a trip to Hakone. Rodney took the day off to join us for our excursion. The day started on quite an adventure. We decided to take the Romancecar train, a reservations-only Limited Express train from Shinjuku. The day before we picked our tickets while in Shinjuku. I thought leaving our home at 7:00 A.M., giving us about 1.25 hours was plenty of time to make our scheduled train for 8:30am. I calculated about 10 minutes walk to Kamiitabashi Stn., then about 25 minutes commute to Shinjuku, then about another 15 minutes to the Odakyu platform to catch our train. Well, the Tokyo rush-hour completely slipped my mind...hey, it's been a while and we try to avoid it ALL costs. We arrived in Ikebukuro fine, however when we got up to the Saikyo train platform, we were immediately bombarded by a mad rush of hundreds of commuters heading our same direction. Experiencing the Tokyo rush hour is a rush in itself. We stood at the front of the line watching train-workers literally shove people in the trains. No such thing as a fire hazard or capacity on these trains. We ended up waiting since we were told by a worker, "Da-meh-da-yo", which basically translates as "Don't think for a second you'll get on this train!" He directed us away from what he called the "panic zone", toward the end cars. Thank goodness for the efficient transportation system, trains come every three-minutes or so during rush hours. We finally got on after two full trains passed. By this time, we were running short on time. We raced through the very busy Shinjuku station to get to the Odakyu platform, like it was a movie. To our demise, we missed our train to Hakone by two minutes. Luckily, the attendant at the desk was kind enough to do an exchange since there were available seats on the next train. Nevertheless, we made it to Hakone!

To summarize, our full day tour in Hakone consisted of a bus ride to Moto-Hakone in Old Tokaido, a walk through Cedar Avenue to Hakone Checkpoint, a pirate ship cruise on Lake Ashi, the Hakone Ropeway ride to Owakudani volcanic valley, followed by another Ropeway to Gora, then back toward Hakone Yumoto to catch a train home to Tokyo.

Moto-Hakone, by the Shinto Gate at the edge of Lake Ashi

Lake Ashi Pirate Ship cruise

A view of the beautiful snow peaked Mt. Fuji and the red torii gate of Hakone Shrine

Cedar Avenue

Owakudani Volcanic Valley

We arrived by to Owakudani by the Hakone Ropeway. The crater area was created by the volcanic eruption of Mount Hakone about 3000 years ago. The views were incredible with the sulfuric fumes seeping from the ground. It's hard to believe that it was over a year and a half ago since we first visited this site during mom & dad Frijas' visit to Japan.

We all ate the black eggs, which were boiled in the hot springs, with hopes that we will live prolonged healthy lives.

Markus holding on to his black egg

Here, the man is removing the finished eggs from the hotsprings.

After peeling off the black egg shell, it tasted just like a regular boiled egg...a good protein fix for our trek back down the mountain.

After Owakudani, we headed back to Hakone station via another ropeway, then transferred to a cable car. Thank goodness the skies were clear which gave way to beautiful sites of Mt. Fuji everywhere we toured.

National Museum of Nature and Science 国立科学博物館

We completed Markus big "3" birthday weekend with a trip to the National Museum of Nature and Science 国立科学博物館 on Sunday, February 3. It snowed heavily that day and many of the roads driving into the city were slushed with wet snow - the perfect day to venture to an indoor museum. Along with the many reasons why I love Japan so much, it offers a plethora of museums. Literally, there are hundreds in Tokyo alone.

Museums are always a great learning experience, especially at The National Museum of Nature and Science. Markus thoroughly enjoyed many of the exhibits, as he generally does for most museums we visit. In 2007, the museum celebrated its 130Th anniversary. The museum consists of two main galleries: Global and Japan Gallery. In the Global Gallery the main focus is on the history of life on earth. Of course Markus' favourite part was the Animals of the Earth exhibit, which showcased many stuffed life-size animals. The Japanese Gallery describes the environment of the Japanese Islands and its history. For a small fee, I rented a PDA Audio Guidance of the museum. (Just in case you're wondering, it's the blue contraption I'm wearing around my neck.) Listening to the highly informative explanations from experts in the fields, made the experience more worthwhile.

GLOBAL GALLERY

Skeletal figures of terrestrial life

On the second floor, we had fun participating with hands-on experiments in the Science and Technology Exploration Space. Markus and Rodney enjoyed playing around with magnetism.

Markus powering the Light and Senses exhibit.

Here, Rodney and I experiment with moment of inertia while sitting on a swivel stool. Tilting the spinning wheel to one side forces you to turn in the same direction.

Rodney and Markus squirm at the many species of beetles. Nearly two years ago, I learned that having beetles for pets is a popular hobby for children in Japan. During a visit with our friends, the Wakayama family, I remember when Junki and Naoki first showed us their huge pet beetles, I nearly jumped on my seat in fear. But soon learned that these low maintenance creatures are very gentle and most importantly, they don't bite.

Strolling through the Marine Biodiversity section

Exploring the Woodlands Wonder ecosystem

Face-to-face with a Siberian Tiger

As mentioned, the Animals of the Earth exhibit was the highlight of Markus' day. He was so anxious to see all the animals and mammals. He walked around the room naming the animals in Japanese. Here, we learned about way of survival and animals on the brink of extinction. Just a note, all the animals on the display were once living creatures. They were preserved and stuffed true to size.

The dinosaur exhibit was most fascinating

Tyrannosaurus Rex

JAPANESE GALLERY

At the entry of the main hall in the Japanese Gallery, is this mounted skeleton of the dinosaur Allosaurus. This is one of the museum's most important exhibits in the museum's 130 year history, because it was the first dinosaur skeleton ever on display in a Japanese museum. Coincidentally, Allosaurus celebrated it's 130th anniversary last year since its scientific name was created in 1877, by paleontologist O.C. Marsh.

Just a glimpse of the many beautiful creatures found in and around the Japanese Islands

Holy "crab"!

This slimy looking blob is an octopus...eeks!

This photo above describes the Nature of the Japanese Islands from North to South. There are four zones: Subtropical Zone, Warm Temperate Zone, Cool Temperate Zone, and Subarctic Zone. Within the same exhibit we learned more about plate motion around Japan. Interestingly, the Japanese Islands belongs to four tectonic plates, which are: the North America, the Eurasia, the Pacific, and the Philippine Sea plates. There is of course, more scientific explanation involved, but this is the main reason for the frequent earthquakes and tremors in Japan.

Fossils of deep sea organisms found in the geological framework of the Japanese Islands.

Taking a much-needed break overlooking Ueno Station railways, prior to heading home.

We were very happy with our visit to the National Museum of Nature and Science. I thought maybe the several exhibits would be a bit overwhelming for Markus, but I'm proud to say that he showed such an interest and behaved extremely well. My sweet baby is growing too fast.

A Birthday Celebration for Our Sweet Markus

What's a birthday without a party? Probably not a whole lot if you ask a 3-year old boy. Therefore, we wanted to be sure to make Markus' third birthday a memorable experience to share with our great friends in Tokyo. I find myself overwhelmed with bittersweet happiness when I think of how quickly three years has passed.

On Saturday, February 2 (the day after his official birthday, February 1), I invited Markus' close circle of friends - most from Jidoukan to attend his special day. Since most three-year olds are notorious for having extra loads of energy, I reserved the recreation room in our apartment, which offered lots of space for fun play. We cranked up the music and the toddlers enjoyed crafts and crayons, balloons and games, which kept them busy and entertained for hours.

Markus' big boy pals, Junki & Naoki did a great job helping entertain the younger kids!

For lunch, we enjoyed tasty sashimi, sushi rolls, salads, dips and finger foods. Of course, many of the mothers contributed with wonderful Japanese cuisine, which is always so oishii!

Cake time!

I hope all your birtday wishes come true, my love!

Chihiro-kun anxious to dip into the icing

Funny Riko-chan swiping a piece of Moet-chan's cake, while she's turned away.

Rinna-chan, Ryota-kun and Taro-kun munching away on the cake.

Presents galore!

This is how Markus signs "3". How cute, eh!

So far, the transition from two-years-old to three hasn't been such a big difference. Though the tantrums have subsided, he seems to be more demanding. He still doesn't sleep the greatest, but that's been since birth, so I'm just so used to it. Some nights when he sleeps through to the morning, I find myself gettting up just to check on him. On a positive note, he is beginning to understand consequences to his actions. Reasoning with him has become easier. We've really enjoyed his creative side. Lately, he enjoys strumming his guitar trying to make music while singing. He continues to love jigsaw puzzles, books, anything related to animals, and music. He often asks us to play music from our computer, while colouring or playing with his trains and cars. Most of all, he's such a happy and loving child.

Happy 3rd Birthday Markus! Otanjoubi Omedetou!

Mt. Bandai & Malrunuma Ski Resort

View of Bandai Alps

Rodney journeyed up north for a couple more snowboarding trips with friends. He, along with co-worker Yoshikawa-san and friend, Travis headed to a resort near Mt. Bandai on January 26. Two weekends later on February 16, Yoshikawa-san invited Rodney again to Malrunuma Ski Resort.

This year, the conditions were perfect for any winter-sport enthusiast. Here are a few photos of Rodney's recent trips. As you can see the views were phenomenal.

An immaculate view of Lake Inawashiro from high atop the gondala ride. This is the same lake where Rodney and Yoshikawa-san jet skied last summer.

Travis and Rod take a quick look at the mogul course just before crashing all the way down.

Travis chillin' at the summit of Alts Resort near Mt. Bandai

Malrunuma mountainscapes

Below, a couple of short video clips of Rodney and Yoshikawa-san