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Checking out the selection at a restaurant, via their models of food | | This was a place where you paid for the food with this automated teller. It was tricky to use, and only partially translated into English. We needed help. |
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Ueno Park was a big cherry blossum viewing area. There were large blue plastic sheets set up for people to set up picnics on, along with signs telling them to stay only one hour | | Garbage disposal area, with very detailed instructions on how to separate the garbage |
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The shops in front of the Shinobazunoike Bentendo temple, right next ot Ueno Park. | | Octopus on a stick |
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Some cherry trees, still in bloom | | Cones to guide the lines for the zoo. I believe this line is only if you want to see the pandas. I wouldn't want to be waiting here if the line were this long! |
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Shops close to the Senso-ji temple complex, selling things that look like shrines | | View of the Senso-ji temple area |
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Peter, with the Skytree growing out of his head | | Smokers cluster in these special areas to enjoy their cigarettes |
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The symbol for Buddhist temples looks like a swastica, except not on an angle, and turned the other direction | | Many shops on the way to the temple, selling souveneirs and snacks |
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I asked this lovely lady in a kimono to pose with Peter | | A little machine to make the filled cookies |
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At the temple | | Paying 100 yen to get a paper fortune |
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This was a very popular spot for photos. The ladies liked to havve photos taken of themselves, in kimonos, holding a branch of cherry blossums. | | Headed back home on the subway, unusually empty. The subways are spectacularly clean and comfortable. |
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A newspaper office very close to our house | | I finally noticed that there's a little shrine, just next to our house |
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The house 2 doors down from ours was being torn down while we were there. Things progressed very quickly. Every day, they swept and washed the street down. | | The Akihabara neighborhood, previously famous for electronics, and there's still a few stalls left. It's mostly all about anime now, though. |
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| | Old radios |
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Super expensive Japanese children's backpacks. The most expensive one here is about 538 USD. We later saw ones that were even more expensive. | | Some very brightly colored buildings in Akihabara |
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Many places had whole walls of vending machines, selling various collectibles | | At Mister Donut |
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| | Builders started work on the lot diagonally across from us while we were there |
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At the playground very close to our house | | Some of the many interesting buildings in our neighborhood. This one was very narrow |
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A mini townhouse complex | | This Frank Lloyd Wright designed building was a few minutes walk away from our house. |
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The traditional fence building style is to tie bamboo together with black cord | | At the Mejiro Teien temple/garden, very close to our house |
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A very beautiful looking driveway | | The Nippon Foundation held a show to promote Adoption Day in Japan. |
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At a "love hotel" | | We stumbled upon "Outdoor Day" at Yoyogi Park. Peter and Eric in a tent sauna. It was hot in there! |
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| | A s'more station for kids |
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Fully disposable bbq set | | Japan style RV |
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The largest ballon sculpture I've ever seen | | A Subaru made front-wheel drive bike |
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This guys had FIVE poodles | | A folding cooler. The Japanese have all kinds of cool ideas for folding and collapsible items. |
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Another cherry blossum viewing area | | A folding picnic table |
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| | At the Meiji Jingu Shinto shrine |
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| | We happened to come across a very formal Shinto wedding ceremony |
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![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180407_132800.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180407_133333.jpg) |
The bride and groom, and attendants | |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_0980.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180407_134703.jpg) | | | A beautiful avenue |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_mvimg_20180407_135033.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_mvimg_20180407_142157.jpg) | | | It's more interesting to walk down the street in Japan because things actually happen and are visible on the street. This man has a street-side shoe polishing stand. |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180407_161249.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_mvimg_20180407_171344.jpg) | The grocery store about a 2 minute walk away, we bought all our food there. Nothing was in English, and there were no American brands, so it was pretty difficult to figure things out. | | Based on what Google maps shows, this was a foundation. |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_mvimg_20180407_171557.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_0981.jpg) | Interesting narrow buliding | | Another interesting narrow building |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180407_171921.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_mvimg_20180407_174219.jpg) | This is the only place I saw bike sharing facilities | | More interesting buildings |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_mvimg_20180407_174309.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180407_174520.jpg) | | | Pristine and very nice looking gates were everywhere |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180407_174720.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_0982.jpg) | | | At our house. The Christmas decor was a little out of date. There were only Japanese programs on TV, no subtitles or dubbing. It was kind of relaxing to watch. |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180407_180711.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_mvimg_20180407_185720.jpg) | Progress on the building diagonally across from us, on the other side of the train tracks | | Our steps. The house was three stories, and the stairs were narrower than what we're used to, and also the railing was lower. |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180408_093252.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180408_093639.jpg) | A parking garage close by | | Climbing wall at a school nearby |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180408_094132.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_0984.jpg) | Very narrow builiding | | Homeless man at a nearby park. Overall, there were very few visible homeless, though - maybe about 1/1000th of the what Seattle has. |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180408_102327.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180408_102341.jpg) | At the shopping complex in Ikebukuro. The bottom floor of department stores seem to always have these amazing dessert areas. They're decorated like jewels. | |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180408_102423.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180408_105459.jpg) | | | At a local department store - this was a whole new category of furniture for me. It's like an armchair, but on the floor. I guess for the low tables? |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180408_133731.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180408_145510.jpg) | Visiting with our friend from Geneva, Alison, and her two boys. It was really great to sege them again. | | Little dogs wearing dresses. They were everywhere! |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180408_154157.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180408_164313.jpg) | Basketball at the park with Alison's boys | | I finally figured out that all the bumpy yellow lines were for blind people. There were any more visible blind people walking around Japan than in the US (where you basically never see blind people).f |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_0991.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180409_091114.jpg) | At a parking gargae/carousel | | The house 2 houses down from ours, now being completely demolished |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180409_115135.jpg) | | ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180409_115228.jpg) | In the line to ride the Shinkansen (bullet train) into Kyoto | | These ladies in pink clean the train and turn it around in about 8 minutes |
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| ![](/Pictures/2018/04-01-2018-japan/tokyo/gallery_img_20180409_115729.jpg) | | | On the train! | | | | |