It seems like lately I have had a chance to see a few more of the sites in Tokyo. Now, I just need to remember to take my camera. I am in the mode of only carrying it when my children or grandchildren are around. Last Monday was a national holiday and so Rick was ready to be off sightseeing for the day. I always let him plan the day because he is so good at it but I am going to have to start planning at least some of the time so he doesn’t think I am totally incapable of it. Monday we began by taking the train to Shinjuku and walking to Shinjuku Gyoen. In Japanese the word for parks is Koen, so we were a bit confused by the word gyoen because it was a big really nice park. I asked my Japanese teacher about it and she told be that a gyoen is a park that was a gift from an emperor. Anyway, this was the best park that I have seen in Tokyo and decided that it was because we had to pay 200 yen ($2) to enter. Some of the fruit trees were starting to blossom and the Japanese love blossoms and flowers in general. feb2007-002.jpgThere were many people with cameras and we constantly heard kirei and sagoi (pretty and wonderful). Be sure to see the attached photo. feb2007-011.jpgAfter our visit to the gyoen we walked to the Tokyo Metropolitan Building and took the elevator to the 45th floor to look at Tokyo. It was a bit hazy so I didn’t take any pictures. I have only seen Tokyo from the ground so I did not have a grasp on the vastness of this city of 12million. It was quite spectacular. We had lunch at a local ramen shop and got back on the train and headed to Kichijoji. Kichijoji was not a new place for me. Well at least not the train station. Yuzawaya is located in the shopping center connected to the train station. It’s a huge 6 level craft shop and I have been there a few times without Rick. However, I have never ventured out of the station. Rick was on a mission to find the Kichijoji church building. Jericho Road is performing there this month and he wanted to be able to give his young men directions if they wanted to attend. He had some directions from a friend and we started out after walking around for an hour we decided we must have headed down the wrong shopping street. As we headed back to the station Rick saw Sun Road and realized that the friend had mentioned that. So we were off again and did find the church quite easily. The wandering we did was not bad and I did find a cute shop called the Cotswold Store selling Cath Kidson so I may go back sometime. It was a fun day. On Saturday we walked around the government part of town and it was colder than expected. I did get one picture of the supreme court for James before my camera started acting up. feb2007.jpgThen we went by train to the Tokyo Dome area. There is a roller coaster there that is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. The first drop is long and is a vertical as an object can get without coming off the track. It was incredible, Rick asked me if I wanted to ride and I must have been in Granny mode because I said, “No, I don’t do roller coasters anymore.” Now, I’m asking myself why??? Next time we are there I think I will ride.Yesterday was cold and rainy and I was inclined to stay at home. However, I decided at the last minute to go to Nihon Minkaen. (Nihon=Japan Minka=private house) It is an outdoor museum with a collection of different types of old Japanese houses. It was very interesting and we ate lunch at a Soba Noodle restaurant in one of the houses. I plan to go back on a warmer day and spend more time. It was fun to be out with some friends. So naturally, today is a beautiful day again but I have mundane things to accomplish like laundry and cleaning. I know I should leave them for a rainy day, but sometimes I just can’t bear the mess any longer.