More Tokyo

Sumo wrestling tournaments in Tokyo take place in January, May, and September. But we got a nice photo outside this sumo stadium in Ryogoku.

The Edo-Tokyo Museum was a perfect place to visit indoors to beat the rain, cold, and some morning snow flakes. Record low temperatures for this time of year. Chase was excited to see a real samurai sword.

The famous Shibuya Crossing. There are five intersecting streets and the lights will turn red in all directions to allow pedestrians to bombard the "scramble crossing". The Starbucks seen in the picture (on the second floor) is one of busiest in the world. Apparently, this intersection has been featured in a lot of movies including Lost in Translation, The Fast and the Furious, and Resident Evil.

Traditional kabuki theater model. I learned that in the Edo period of Japan's history, many people enjoyed live theater especially the "aragoto" or fighting scenes.

The statue of Hachiko at the Shibuya train station. We saw this movie a couple years ago and the whole family loved it. So we wanted to make sure we visited the statue. Our guide said that it was the first time she has seen a flower wreath around his neck. 

Takashimaya Times Square. Lots of food and shopping.

Japanese shabu-shabu in Akihabara. Super tasty and free ice cream for dessert.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.

There are 1,500 cherry blossom trees in this national garden. You can see that a lot of the flowers have already fallen. Some areas looked like they were covered in snow.

The garden is divided into three sections: French, English, and Japanese landscapes. The pictures don't do this place justice. Very scenic and peaceful. And only costs 200 yen for adults and 50 yen for children.

One of the more impressive cherry blossom trees that still has most of its flowers. By the afternoon, the place was getting pretty crowded with people coming to see the sakura trees.

Where else but in Japan can you get a latte with Pikachu on the foam? This was actually from a Japanese maid cafe in Akihabara. 

This was our first meal in Japan. The small local "hole in the wall" has a ticket vending machine in the front. You pay for what you want and then give the ticket to the waitress. A bit overwhelming since everything is in Japanese. So you're really trying to make out the small pictures on the buttons.

But the place was really good. We ended up going back two more times. Here's a picture of the boys eating ramen.