Japan - Entry #4

---

We’ve been on the move. One cannot accuse this group of wasting any time. Each day holds a new agenda. At this point we’ve been to many parts of Tokyo on multiple trips. Bryce has taken a considerable interest in mass transit. He thinks it’s very cool! He loves looking at the subway map and signs to figure out where we are going, or even how to get back home when we are in a far-off place. He now has his own Pasmo card, which is the rechargeable subway/train pass. This is empowering for him. He goes through the stalls himself and even loves to run ahead to feel more alone and adult like. We allow it when the station isn’t too crowded so long as he’s within eyeshot of us. It’s amazing the amount of children commuting to and fro school on the trains, unsupervised. Some are as young as six years old, taking trains and walking home alone. He sees these young children on the train and yearns for more freedom. Yesterday he informed us that he plans to travel to Tokyo by himself, but he knows us well enough to predict the answer to that request. Geez, we barely let our kids play outside our yard. We need to find a way to foster and promote his independence.

Sloane is a sight to see for some of these folks. Small, loud, white, and blonde must be the superfecta of cute. Many people cannot resist the urge to stop and shake her hand, or ask her age. At a market in Tokyo, so many folks were stopping to talk to Sloane that she asked, “Am I famous here?” Of course, we are traveling with the larger version of Sloane, and also a redhead. We’re a head-turning group.

The adults took advantage of a night out in Tokyo to catch a show and dinner. The show was at a place called the Robot Restaurant, though it wasn’t really a restaurant at all. It was a crazy psychedelic show about animals of the forest being attacked by evil robots. The animals worked together to defeat the robot army. It’s hard for one to describe the show, as I’ve seen nothing like this before. It was a cornucopia of neon, scantily clad dancing girls, robots, drums, loud music, and very odd costumes. It was hard not to be awestruck by the complex nature of what one was observing. Emily described it best by saying, “I’ve never done shrooms, but I imagine that’s what it would be like if I did.”

A lot of fine-dining restaurants have themes, likely due to the sheer competition in Tokyo. One steakhouse we attended was a ninja theme. Upon entering the restaurant everyone has to go through “ninja training” which is essentially walking to your table through a maze of ninja-based props, like secret doors and drawbridges and so forth. It was very well done, and the food was amazing. That was the best meal we’ve had here by far. Bring your wallet.

Japan is very western for an Asian country. One can pretty much get by with a few Japanese words and basic English. The country is very good about including alphabet-based descriptions on most signs. If everything was in Kanji only, it would be quite difficult for us. In some ways, it’s similar to the US because it’s so industrialized. However, sometimes I learn something about the culture that’s hard for me – a southern born and bred American - to grasp. One example is Japan’s stance on firearms. Let me first say that American’s, as a whole, are totally addicted to guns; it’s just a part of our history and culture. The people of Japan are way on the other side of the fence and I don’t get it at all. Guns are illegal here. No permits, no licenses, no collectable guns, no guns for hunting, no guns period. The police aren’t allowed to carry guns. Let that one sink in for a second. Law enforcement doesn’t have firearms. Rules are rules. Wow!

It’s Thursday. We are traveling at 200 mph on a shinkansen bullet train, headed see the historic sights of Kyoto. The kids are doing well, playing games on their tablets. In Kyoto we rented two historic Japanese houses for the trip. It should be a neat experience.

---