Hotel Grand Palace Chiyoda

... pictures of half-naked girls spread-eagled in posters up the staircase and he saw an advertisement for the fourth floor that featured women in bondage. So... we left.<br><br>There were a couple of fun arcades around with lots and lots of claw machines just as impossible as those in America, which made us feel quite at home. Throughout the night Sean and I would attempt to strategize a way to win a fun anime girl model for my cousin ...

... sad to see her new Canadian friend say goodbye. It was a rainy day (the first since arriving in Japan) so we headed out to Tokyo Tower. The tallest building in Tokyo. It had some great views and we walked on a small glass floor (my feet covered it) and we observed the view. Emi and I did another silly photo booth episode, this time we were falling from Tokyo Tower.We then went down to the 4th floor for the Trick Gallery. What fun! Lots of Photography silliness here. Lots of ...

... older - she is only 22) We all chose songs and some were performed while others were just sung from around the booths in the room. It was a fun room with sparkly blue/black walls with glitter in the paint. As we sang we laughed and enjoyed each others' jokes and fun antics. We ordered another pitcher of beer when Hitoshi joined us after his shift. He wouldn't sing for us but did pick up the maracas and tambourine to accompany those of us who were singing. Great fun - enjoy the pictures ...

... of it's three annual pro tournaments, we were able to secure floor seats to day three of the 15 day long event. Like seeing a soccer match in Brazil, attending a Japanese Sumo tournament is an amazing experience that cannot be duplicated anywhere else on Earth. For those who are not Sumo Savvy, the rules are fairly simple. Two very large men try to either push each other out of the 15 meter diameter ring or knock the other man to the ground. A wrestler loses when any part of his body ...

... we could see it, and we were glad we saw it, but we were also relieved to get out of that building! After that we walked around the pond, and past their little zoo. It lead us to a mini-amusement park where we had a shaved ice drink. She opeted for Green (Maybe Kiwi or Melon) and I opted for Blue (A berry-ish drink). Clearly meant for teenagers, my stomach was over the drink pretty quickly. We walked off the stomach ache, and found ...

... in the trendy Shibuya area of town. We also took in the many sculptures, paintings, and archaeological discoveries at the National Museum. Japanese culture is simultaneously very traditional and trendy. On the inter-city trains, the conductor bows to the passengers at the front of the carriage, before examining their tickets. In contrast, on the bridge near Yoyogi Park, teenagers and young adults hang-out to be seen ...

... the Tokyo Sea Life Park, the Onsen (traditional bathing house), Ashoka Indian Restaruant with Masanori (brother-in-law) and Beck, and of course our favorite tapioca drink place, "Quickly," which we found out is based in Taiwan. Oh yeah, and you can't forget Masanori's subway pose.