Tokyo!: A New Japanese Era!

I had planned on getting this posting done last night, but I was still jet-lagged, and fell into bed at 9pm Tokyo time.

Yesterday I woke up around 6am and that's when I posted my previous entry here. I went down to the hotel breakfast buffet and ate my usual yogurt with granola. They also have good mandarin oranges. There are lots of other things that I haven't had the courage to try: fish, tofu, several soups and noodle dishes. Alan's family came last year on my final day and Yuka loved it, but won't be able to handle the food this year. She's really struggling with fatigue and nausea.

I walked to their apartment and played with Kent a while. I brought one of his books and a few gadgets that we had picked up at the air show booths. His favorite was the tiny flashlight! He also loved the lighted spinners (Thanks Kirk!)

We walked to the nearby park beside Tokyo Midtown Mall. There are fish banners up from Children's Day. This whole week has a lot of special holidays, and most Japanese are off work. The new Japanese Emperor was enthroned today, so it was a very special day: the beginning of a new era. Usually the Emperor's son takes office on the day he dies, but the one who has been in power abdicated for his son to take over. Alan says it's pretty much like the British monarchy...a figurehead.

We picked up some lunch at a really nice deli and came back to their apartment to eat. Alan and I walked back to my hotel, so he could work on my list of tech questions while Yuka and Kent napped. She needs the sleep as much or more than he does! We got through most of my list of computer/phone questions.

We joined the two nappers and walked outside some, but it was drizzling so mostly stayed inside Midtown. After dinner, we were able to watch Kent's violin practice without being too much of a distraction. He usually practices twice a day for about 30 minutes.