Didn't eat sushi, but still had a great time!

We did so much in Japan that it is hard to know where to start. I've decided to do a few posts about the trip. This one will be more of what we did and the sites we saw. I posted most of my pics of Facebook, so check them out.

I guess I better start with the flight over. We flew from Salt Lake to L.A., where my sister, Chrystal, met us. Then it was a long 11 hour flight to Tokyo. I have to say it was the best flying experience I have ever had. Each person had their personal "entertainment system" to watch movies, play games, watch TV. I got a little addicted to Yahtzee!

We visited four cities: Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Nagoya and stayed in hostels the whole time. I have never walked or taken public transportation that much in my entire life!!!!

Tokyo

Shopped at Asakusa - There are a bunch of little shops that have everything from food to kimonos. It was really crowded, but so much fun!
Rickshaw ride - A rickshaw is a two person carriage that is pulled by a person. These guys and girls do this for a living. It was really hot and humid and I have know idea how they do it everyday.
Lunch with the family - My aunts, uncles, and cousins met at a Chinese restaurant for lunch. It was the first time I have seen this side of the family in 21 years!
Fish market - They catch and sale fresh seafood here. They have all kinds including octopus, turtles, and every kind of fish you can think of. They chop it right there, which is a little gross, but kinda cool. My family ate at this little famous sushi place right by the fish market. After they were done, we went to McDonald's so I could get something to eat :-)
Sony Building - This is in downtown Tokyo and has all these cool Sony products
Harajuku Street - This is street in downtown Tokyo just for teenagers. They have crazy dressed teenagers walking up and down it. They also have these cool photo booths that take amazing pics. They make your eyes bigger (I guess Japanese people like big eyes) and you can choose the background. You can also write on your pic or decorate it. Definitely one of my top 10 things we did on the trip! My cousin Saeka showed us around this street and we would have never found these places without her!
Karaoke - This was one of the best things we did! Each group has there own room set up for karaoke, so you don't have to sing in front of people you don't know. They had a ton of songs to choose from. Everyone in my family got into to it! Spencer and I did "La Bamba", mom and dad did "I Got You Babe", and we went on and on. Nothin' like seein' your family singing their guts out! My dad did some Japanese songs which was awesome. My uncle, Kenichi, and my aunt Sanae joined us and let me tell you, Kenichi knows how to Karaoke. He was amazing!!!!
Ate dinner at Sanae's - One night we ate a fabulous dinner at Sanae's house. We looked at pictures, I played Saeka's piano, and just had fun. The best part was getting to put on a kimono my grandma (obachan) made 40 years ago. It was absolutely beautiful and very special!
LDS temple - We went to the Tokyo temple, which I definitely wanted to see!

Kyoto

Gion Corner - We saw traditional Japanese performances of a tea ceremony, Koto music (it is a 13 stringed instrument that is a little like a harp), Gagaku (court music), Kyogen (ancient comic play), Kyomai (a dance performed by Geishas), and Bunraku (puppet play).
Ate at one of the top 5 Gioza places in Japan
Kiyomizy Dera Temple - This was one of the most amazing temples. They had a spring that you could drink fresh water from, Love stones (see the FB pic and caption), gorgeous Bhuddas, and you could see most of Kyoto from the mountain.
Japanese garden - The best part was standing on the stones in the middle of a pond filled with lilly pads. Christmas card pic for sure!

Hiroshima

Hisroshima museum - It had a reverent feeling to it, kind of like the Holocaust museum. We were given personal translators that we hung around our necks so we could hear the videos in English. One part of the museum tells individual stories of those that survived the atomic bomb and those who lost loved ones. To see the photos of the devastation the atomic bomb caused was unbelievable.
A-Dome Peace Memorial - This was a building still stands today as a reminder of what happened and a memorial to the over 70,000 people that lost their lives.
Ferry ride - We took a ferry ride to island of Miyajima
Miyajima - This island was amazing! Deer just wandered free on the street. They were so use to people feeding them that they would come up to you looking for food. We took a rope tour up the mountain. We didn't see any monkeys, but the view was amazing!

Nagoya

Visited Obachan - She will turn 100 in October. She has dementia and didn't recognize us. We think she recognized my dad for a little bit, but then it was gone. She was so sweet and happy. She actually was extremely funny too! When we would take a picture, she would cover her face. She also liked to stick her tongue out :-) She kept telling my dad that he wasn't Susumu (my dad's Japanese name) because Susumu had a fatter face. We brought her a 100 cake and celebrated with her. She thought she was around 60 years old, so I think she was thinkin' we were all crazy telling her she was almost 100.
Shabu Shabu dinner - We went to really nice Shabu Shabu restaurant. How do I explain the meal.....well, first they bring out a pot of bowling water. You dip very thinkly sliced beef into the water and it cooks it. You then dip the beef in a sauce. We had two kinds, a sesame sauce and a vinegar type sauce, which were both amazing. Next you dip vegtables, tofu, and clear rice noodles in the water. It is called Shabu shabu because that is the sound water makes. It is kinda like in English we say "swish".
Church - We went to church. We had English translators, so I could actually understand the talks. It was great to be in an LDS chapel and feel so at home. The Church is the same no matter where in the world you go!
House were dad grew up - We visited the house where my dad grew up. No one lives there so were could just walk through. My mom found a Japanese table that obachan used to burn incense and decided she was going to take it! My dad found some rice bowls that he remembered. We knew the house was going to be demolished eventually, but we found out later that it was demolished the day after we visited. There was beautiful shrine still left that no one in the family knew how to get out of the house and it was destroyed. :-(

I want to go again soon and hopefully can! (Just not in August, because it is so stinkin' hot and I got huge mosquito bites :-)