needed break from work for both Darren and I. We had put in a lot of hours with the sale and purchase of the ski resort and hotel where we work. It was time for a break, a far away break... So we flew to Taipei and then into Tokyo. We spent 4 nights in a beautiful upscale hotel, The Prince Sakura Tower, complements of the former resort owner. We had an amazing view of the Tokyo skyline and the Tokyo tower. First couple of days we spent with our friend Masanori. He was an awesome tour guide and took us all over the metropolis of Tokyo. Some highlights were the Tokyo Giants baseball game, yummy food that I can't spell or pronounce, Akihabara, the Fish Market, Asakusa and the list goes on... After Tokyo, we went to a town near Nagano called Shibu Onsen. A town of mineral hot springs and wild snow monkeys.... and boy were there monkeys! They were everywhere!! One even ran up to try and play with Ely, a little too close for mom's comfort, he made a swipe for him! After we were done soaking our bones (or rather boiling our bones) in the hot springs, we left our 
robes and wooden sandals and headed to Himeiji. What a cool town! Beautiful white castle up on a hill overlooking the city and the best park on the trip. I think Ely could have easily stayed in this town. We happened upon their "Saturday market" and happened to find some good deals on pottery and art. What a cool surprise! We took a day trip from there into Hiroshima to see the A-Bomb Dome and the Peace Gardens; moving, sad, peaceful, reflective. After that, we went to Nara. Another town we could have stayed in for a long time. Beautiful gardens, lots of friendly deer, yummy noodles, and the largest wooden structure in the world. The biggest temple we saw on our trip, I think I was as tall as the Budda statue's pinky. Pretty amazing structure. We also saw a 5 story pagoda, second only to the Kyoto pagoda in height (by a few centimeters). Our friend Masanori met up with us again in Nara and showed us Kyoto. We saw the Golden Temple, (where some Japanese people made quite a fuss over my handsome husband :-) and Kiyomizu-dera, the most famous temple in Kyoto. After Kyoto, we made an attempt to see Mt. Fuji. Fujisan was covered in rainclouds, so we headed back towards Tokyo and ate a late lunch in Chinatown in Yokohama and then went to a sumo match. Our last day in Tokyo, we made yet another attempt to see Fujisan, but the mountain was ellusive (someday we will just have to go back I guess), so we went to Asakusa again (great shopping), and to the beach. Later that night we went to dinner with Masanori and his friends to eat a big pot of boiling soup stock, cod, fish balls, veggies and tofu cooked by ex-sumo wrestlers (called Chanko). Wow, it was really good, sounds strange, but it was amazing! 
Then it was Sianara to Japan and back to our little sandbox (which Ely was really hoping was now uncovered with snow and ready to play in :-) I am so thankful for our family and for the blessing of our time together.
Ely was very popular with the school girls in Japan!
The Golden Temple
Chanko with Masa and his friends
