Japan: Day 9 - Tokyo

Arriving in Tokyo, we checked in at the Shibuyu Dormy Inn.

This was me and Kinley's room

I ventured out on my own to visit my dear friends, Kaz and Maiko

 

 It was a dream to be in Tokyo with them and meet their sweet children.

  

 Maiko made the most delicious dinner, complete with desserts from Fauchon in Paris!

I loved their daughter's bunny dishes!

 I had such a great time being with this family.  It had been 9 years since we said goodbye in Ann Arbor, and I was so happy that we got to meet again.

 

 

 Such a cute family!!

Walking home near Shibuya

The hotel had an onsen.  We all took shifts to try it out again!  

This one had floating apples in it and was very nice.

 A savory crepe for breakfast 

 Then, a sweet one for brunch

 This restaurant had buckwheat crepes for the gluten free crowd 

and accommodated no butter, no milk for Luke.  It was a win!

This is a fad in Tokyo.  This group had 2 women and 2 men, but they were all dressed up like school girls and they dance and record themselves.

The hotel had FREE bike rental. We took a long ride around a park nearby.

The bikes were so cool!  They were electric and you could cruise around without breaking a sweat at all.....even up big hills!  I wanted to take one home so badly!

So sad, but it's time to fly home!   Here's my last little tourist visit to Shibuya Crossing.  The view from Starbucks is pretty nice.  

The infamous drink machines.  They even serve hot drinks.

 

When you get on the train, you line up in the spot where your train is listed. 

 Everyone is very obedient to get in line and not cut.

 

The airport had some amazing shops!

Goodbye Tokyo!!!  

 It was an unforgettable trip!

Japan Day 8: Fukuoka

We arrived in Fukuoka via train and walked from the station about 15 Minutes to our hotel.

After checking into our lovely hotel, we headed straight for 

Canal City: The coolest mall I've ever been to.

We ate at an all you can eat buffet place.

There was a beautiful light show going on every hour in the center of the mall.

It was like 5 floors high, and full of the most amazing shops and restaurants.

Dad happened to see the mission president, so we talked with him for a while

 and learned a bit about the mission now.

Shop with anime

They have every flavor of Kit Kat in Japan you can imagine!

And they have the cutest cookies and sweets to give as gifts

This place was called "Ramen Station" because it had 5-6 Ramen restaurants all in one little courtyard of the mall.

This store and cafe was all things Harry Potter.  This is the menu.

Interesting ceiling lights

The next day we visited the church in Fukuoka.  Dad didn't recognize anyone from the branch from 1972, but he really enjoyed talking to everyone and going to Sunday School.

We arrived 20 minutes before the meeting and the chapel was already full of people.  At 10 minutes before 9, the bishopric gave the announcements from the pulpit and then for the 5 minutes before the meeting began everyone was very quiet and preparing themselves for the meeting.  It was very reverent.  We were impressed.

Also, everyone went up so quickly to bear their testimony that they had to tell everyone at 20 minutes before the meeting ended that they would "close the line" for testimonies, so to speak. :)

I met Jared and his wife, who were BYU-Hawaii graduates.  He had even taken law classes from Jennifer Kajiyama, my good friend.

We walked a short distance to the temple, which was built in 2000

It is right under the botanical garden, and next to the zoo.  Dad remembered this spot from his mission, because it was the mission home.

The temple president was so kind.  He saw us taking photos and stopped to talk to us.  He felt impressed to allow us inside to take a tour of the temple.  He was able to look up our recommends online and bring us inside.  The temple is closed on Sundays and Mondays, so this was very special.

Interestingly too was that it was exactly the same as the Detroit MI Temple, which was dedicated just the year before.  I felt very at home.

We walked a stretch behind the temple toward the botanical garden with beautiful views.

A couple from the church were walking that direction as well and we visited along the way.

Many people were enjoying Hanami under the cherry blossoms

Eating at KFC was not a proud moment, but it was very satisfying!  We were SO hungry!

The cherry blossoms and views at Fukuoka Castle Ruins were stunning!

We spent an hour in Ohori Park, which had beautiful views around the lake. 

The islands in the middle with bridges were particularly beautiful.

No what?!  Oh!  No fishing!

View from our hotel of canal city

At the Fukuoka Train Station, heading back to Tokyo

There are lots of Bento Boxes and other snacks for sale at the train station.

I am too afraid of seafood to try one, but I snapped some photos for the kids, so they could see what snacks they might choose from in Japan.

I know that I am posting a million pictures, but since this is my "slideshow" for the kids, 

I am including most of them for them to see, as they requested.