I cannot adequately describe my wonderful day in Tokyo. Takashi and his wife, Junko, picked me up and we took the subway to Akasana. This is an older section of Tokyo and they had never been here either - so it was a first for all of us. We arrived and went to the market for a little shopping. I didn't get much - just a couple of trinkets. (No, they don't take VISA - not even the restaurants.) The market is the entrance to the Buddhist temple in Asaka. This first picture is Takashi with me at the entrance. Junko is in the second picture. At the entrance to the temple we smudged ourselves and washed our hands and mouths before entering. We also got a fortune! Mine was "Good Fortune" - Encourage yourself and you will be fortunate. You haven't seen a sign of good luck yet, but you will get it in the future. Your time has come, you will be happier like a ship sails before the wind."

Then we went to lunch. This time it was shoes off and sitting on your knees. It was wonderful - shrimp tempura.

After lunch we took a boat tour down the Sumida river. We took a regular boat, but I caught a picture of this crazy boat that can also drive on land. Holden, check this out...

Aftet that we took another train. Holden, I actually saw the Shinkansen train twice, but it's too darn fast and I didn't get a picture. It's pretty cool though. So from there we went to the famous Meiji Jingu Shrine. It was amazing - many acres of old garden and forest in the middle of Tokyo! I got a wonderful walk in and also got my nature fix. Here's a picture of the entrance to the temple... From there it was back to the hotel. I had such an amazing day and really appreciated my friends showing me around. Even though we has some challenges in communication, I got to know them well and valued the time we spent together. I have more pictures and will show everyone when I get home. Tomorrow - Mount Fuji.