JAPAN - TOKYO, KYOTO, HIROSHIMA

When we first moved to Sydney, we made a list of all of the places we wanted to visit while living here in Australia.  Japan was NOT on the list because I had already been there and Tom was not the intrigued by it.  However, for the last two years in school Grace has been taking Japanese and was lobbying for us to visit this AMAZING country she had been studying.  After further encouragement from a colleague at Stryker, we took the plunge and booked our tickets to Japan.

With the help of family and friends who have lived in Japan at one point in their life, I got to planning the trip.  It was going to be quite a bit different then our normal holidays filled with lots of relaxation mingled with cultural experiences.  We are going to be in full-on travel mode as we moved from Tokyo to Kyoto to Hiroshima over the course of our ten-day adventure.  We were going to be using planes, trains, buses, streetcars, taxis and our feet to see all that we could of the Japanese culture.  With our happy, eager attitudes we tried to remain claim and open to what awaited us.   It was a wonderful trip full of many, many highs and the family was quite happy to say that they could see themselves living in Japan.  They LOVED it.  Our highs and lows were.....drum roll please :)

Jane:
High - the Japanese toilets (she loved them!)
Low - the accommodations were very small in Japan

Grace:
High - Japan is an extremely clean country and has fantastic stationary
Low -  some of the places we went were very tight

Claire:
High - the food (every cuisine we tried was AMAZEBALLS)
Low - communicating with the Japanese people at times was frustrating

Steph:
High - Japan is such a SAFE, CLEAN, and easy to NAVIGATE country
Low - communicating with Japanese people sometimes was difficult

Tom:
High - Japan is an EXTREMELY organized society (he loves order)
Low - small rooms/accommodations

Here are some pics to highlight the trip - ENJOY!

DAY 1, 2, 3 - Tokyo
Tsukiji Fish market - holy BIG tunas
Tokyo Tower - aerial view
Imperial Palace, Gardens and Moat - gorgeous grounds
Shibuya Crossing - gigantic crossing of many streets
Omotesando Dori - the Champs Elysees of Asia
Meiji Shrine
Yoyogi Park - great park to people watch and eat soft serve ice cream
Takeshita Dori - packed street with teens dressed in entertaining outfits
Bullet Train to Kyoto

Vending Machine are everywhere!

No waste with anything

Claire said they were tasty and quite salty.

Moats for days or 6 KM.

The cat-man with TEN kittens - WOW!

Meiji Shrine

Teen Street - so interesting to see!

The girls prefer bullet trains to planes

DAY 4, 5, 6 - KYOTO

Kiyomizu-dera Temple
Gion District (geisha)
Nishki Market
Nijo Castle
Golden Temple
Fushimi Inari Shrine (Red Gates)
Imperial Palace

Bullet Train to Hiroshima

Gold-leaf Temple - my mom (Goldie) would love it!

Our tub/shower in one of the apartments we stayed in....so little!

Our dinner from 7-11, it was quite delish....surprise, surprise!

WE LOVED JAPAN!

DAY 7, 8, 9 - HIROSHIMA

A-Bomb Dome - humbling experience
Peace Memorial Park
Crepes- eating lots of them....
Shukkei-en Garden - beautiful Japanese garden it was lovely!
Hiroshima Castle
Miyajima Island - Ferry to the Island
Karaoke- Big Echo is a MUST!
Bullet train to Tokyo

A-BOMB DOME

PEACE BELL

PAPER CRANES - THOUSANDS OF THEM

A DRINK WITH AN ACTUAL DEAD FISH IN IT!

HEAVEN - CREPE WITH CREME, STRAWBERRIES AND BROWNIES!

MIYAJIMA ISLAND WITH WILD DEER!

KARAOKE IS ALWAYS A MUST!

DAY 10 - TOKYO

LDS Temple - Church
Shinjuku Gyoen Garden/Greenhouse

Carolina BBQ

ADMIRING THE BEAUTY OF GOD'S CREATIONS!

FILLING OUR BELLIES WITH CAROLINA BBQ - WE MISS HOME!

LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE

Shortly after we returned home from our trip to South Africa, a lovely AMERICAN family moved into our ward. They are expats just like us and will be here for the next three years.  They are a family of all boys and it has been fun getting to know them.  We have been helping them to get acquainted with SYDNEY.  One of the things I have noticed about this family is that they live by the principle of "LOVING WHERE YOU LIVE."  

While we have been making mental lists of MUST DOS, we have had the opportunity to reflect on our adventure over the last 2 1/2 years.  Upon reflection, we have grown to really love SYDNEY and we have embraced the lifestyle rich with culture. There have been so many unbelievable once-in-a-lifetime moments that it is hard to keep track of what we have experienced.  This last month has been no different than any others...jammed packed full of events to add to the memory books.  Rather than a post for each one, I thought I would compile them into one - it may be a little long.  

GHOST TOUR - We went on a double date with some friends (Darin & Robin) to explore Sydney at night.  We opted for a ghost tour of the ROCKS - the oldest part of Sydney.  It was insightful and a little bit eerie as we went into darkened buildings that held centuries of ghost legends.  We did not see any poltergeist behavior but, we sure had fun.  Seeing Sydney at night makes for a unique experience.

Apparently at Number 19 - there was a young lady who died in her attic.  Every year for centuries at a certain time of year this very same attic space smells of decomposing flesh.  

HARRY'S CAFE DE WHEELS - Party Pies are a HUGE thing here in Australia.  Since moving to Sydney we have wanted to try out this famous pie shop especially when it was referred to as having the BEST "Dirty Street Pies."  It is located at the Finger Wharf in Woolloomooloo near Russell Crowe's home.  It did not disappoint and the Tiger Pie (a beef pie with mashed potatoes, smashed peas and gravy on top) was a real hit with Claire and Tom.  They were in "street" pie heaven.

OPERA HOUSE - Jane participated in the Arts Alive Primary Choral Concert 2105 with her school.  They performed in the Bennelong Concert Hall and it was a fantastic night filled with angelic voices, splendid music and some very talented primary school age children.  We were so excited for Jane because not everyone can say that they have performed at the Sydney Opera House.  My favorite song of the night was "Jungle Rhythm"  from the Jungle Book Soundtrack.

Hanging out at the Opera Kitchen prior to the performance....I love this girl.

Jane's Fan Club!

 RUGBY GAME - Tom and Claire have fallen in love with RUGBY.  They are huge fans and for Australian Father's Day they went to a game (West Tigers vs. Dragons).  It was exhilarating to see the very muscular players POUND on each other without remorse.  One of their thighs is the circumference of my entire body.  In addition to seeing this eventful game, they were able to meet up with some friends (the Awesome Perry Family) during half-time.  These fun expats, have 4 boys and add balance to the estrogen rich Manning Family of 3 girls. 

Perry "TIGER" boys really getting into the spirit of the game.

Claire is wrangling tigers!

What a great game!