So many places, so little time

We have been so busy visiting as many places as possible. By the time we get home from a new adventure I'm too tired to blog. But, today I realized that I am so behind on pictures and days that I better take the time and do some posts.

We went to a Polynesian dinner and show at the Officer's Club. Dancers and performers we're brought in from Hawaii. The buffet wasn't that awesome, but the show was.

On Sunday, we went to Tokyo for two days and visited the Tokyo Tower, which was inspired by the Eiffel Tower, The International Forum, Zojoji Temple, and the Emperor's Imperial Palace.

Ginza district of Tokyo

Tokyo Tower

The International Forum

This beautiful building is Japan's largest congress center. It is a large glass structure that is supported by only two large beams. It has many halls for art exhibits and convention rooms. When we were there, they were having the premiere of "Dark Night". There were hundreds of people waiting in line to get a sneak peak of a celebrity.

Ema boards are for wish making or prayers.

Mizuko Jizo statues are dedicated to the lost life of a baby.

Monks in prayer at Zojoji Temple.

Our visit to Tokyo was so awesome that I will have to put it into two different posts. Right now I am out of time. Shawn and I are taking advantage of Grandma and Grandpa's last night of their visit to have a night out...and I am not ready.

Some random Pics

Big Buddha Day

We took the grandparents to see the big buddha in Kamakura. The weather was SO HOT!!! But we still enjoyed ourselves.

We were able to get some great family photos.

Caleb is going through this phase right now where he doesn't want to get his picture taken or for anyone else to get their picture taken either. He'll jump in front of the person trying to take the picture and yell, "Beep!" which to him means, "stop!" It's really annoying, so you may notice that Caleb is either trying to escape a picture or isn't looking at the camera or is on the corner of some pictures where he's trying to stop the camera person.....

Pictures from China Town

I have so many neat pictures from China Town that I had to publish some more. We had such an awesome time and I am really looking forward to going back.

This is a pedicab...yes, it's a bicycle that carries people. Neat huh?

A rickashaw (it seems inhuman, doesn't it?)

Mean as a dragon!

A temple of a warrior.

An awesome menu, the only problem.....what is any of it????

These are the roasting hazelnuts. They were selling these on every other corner and the smell covered the air. DELICIOUS!

This is a steamer and inside are the dumplings (I'm sure that there is a fancy name for these, but I've yet to learn what it is). The dumpling is slightly sweet and the inside is filled with meat and vegs. The one that we tried was filled with beef and cabbage. Really good.

This is one of the many gates found in China Town. You can find one of these beautiful gates about every few blocks.

Grandma and Grandpa

Yokohoma

At 9:15am, we ventured out to Yokohoma, which is the second largest city in Japan, to find Sea Paradise and China Town.

Sea Paradise is an aquamarine/amusement park. It's the nicest aquamarine I've ever been to. We really enjoyed it.

Caleb thought the little fish we're the best, especially the "mud skippers" and the big fish he thought might get him through the glass, but he learned quickly that he was safe and able to explore.

As Shawn says, "You can't spit in any direction and not hit a train in Japan" and Sea Paradise was no exception. Grandma and Caleb took off on this little train and had a blast.

After Sea Paradise we got back on the train to find China Town. We walked around for a bit trying to find it, but once we did, it was soooooo cool. There are many tea shops and restaurants and little places that roast and sell hazelnuts and these large steamed dumplings filled with different types of meat and vegetables. The streets are crowded with little shops filled with souvenirs, Chinese clothing and trinkets.

We didn't get back on base till after 9:00 pm and we were so tired! China Town is a place that you could spend all day at and so is Sea Paradise. It was exhausting trying to visit them in the same day.