Swine and Pig, Together in Japan Part Deux

For the grand finale of Katie's trip to Japan, she and I took the Shin up to Tokyo and spent four super packed days there. It was SO much fun and we ate amazing food (of course). We also REALLY made an effort to observe and engage in the Tokyo culture. Japan is such a fun, safe, and hilarious country. I really LOVE living here.

Waiting for our Shinkansen. It's also known as the Bullet train and is in the top 3 fastest trains in the world! It's top speed is right around 200 miles/hour. We were able to make it to Tokyo in just over 4 hours. It would have taken about 10 to drive. 

We made it! Roppongi is a happening district in Tokyo and we were able to explore it quite a bit since our hotel was here.

This is a picture in Miraikan: The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. It was SO COOL! In this picture, I'm playing with an animated stuffed animal that is used to help folks with depression. It responded to various types of touch and petting and really moved, sounded, and behaved like a real animal. 

Just holding up the globe. No biggie.

There was the futuristic "town" we could operate in as a character on the screen. It was like using a Kinect - it was all motion operated with our hands.

We were able to watch Asimo, the robot, in action. He could jog, kick a ball, dance, etc. His moves were really loose and limber so it looked more lifelike.

We ate a snack at the museum and I just HAD to point out the option for a "Pork Frunk Dog". I love Japanese translations of English words, LOL.

Underwater pincher fingers!

Yeah, so there's a GIANT robot outside the mall. It lit up at night and was SUPER cool!

Preparing to brave the famous Shibuya crossing. Hundreds of people cross in every which way, including diagonal, every few minutes. It's insanely busy.

I had to.

Only in Japan... you gotta love it. :)

We went to the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden. which is HUGE. It's beautiful though, and we could have spent all day roaming around. It was really quiet and peaceful even though it's completely surrounded by massive and bustling Tokyo.

The French inspired rose garden

We traveled to the famous Meiji Jingu Shrine and came upon an authentic Japanese wedding ceremony!

I can't believe I'm adding this to the blog, as y'all are probably aware of my arachnophobia, but this is a famous structure in Roppongi Hills and I was brave enough to not only look at it, but to get close enough for a picture.

More of the Roppongi Hills area

Katie is really good at capturing unique photos

We tried out a "scary" Japanese cafe and ordered a delicious dessert, chocolate milk, and blood orange juice. Scrumptious! Love the attention to detail.

There was a ridiculous wait to go up in the Skytree Tower, so we decided to see our city view from the Mori Museum Tower later in the day.

So, not as high up as the Skytree, but still a rockin' view of the city.

You can see Mount Fuji in the distance!!

The Mori Art Museum is obviously a home for contemporary art. We were permitted to take pictures of most of it, which I found super awesome.

This was originally an ant farm,hence all the ant trails. I can only imagine how long it would have taken to build all the nation's flags out of sand, then allow little ants to walk through it! Makes for good art though.

I think Katie would move to Japan if she could, LOL. She really embraced the culture and was a pleasure to host. Thank you for sharing this fabulous adventure with us, Swine!