The Mansions At Azabu Towers Tokyo

... popular in Japan and Kabuki-za actors are highly trained professionals who are literally born into their profession. The actors lives themselves are followed as much as any western celebrity's would be. The elaborate costumes, makeup and stylized performances make for the most interesting piece of theater ever. Although four hours of it could become tiring.<br><br>The night is young, but we must head to bed for tomorrow we make our early journey home.<br><br>For the last time,<br>Rachael out.

... given the remnants of the inane scribble that was the castle schematics found within the Himeji castle's museum, it's equally amazing to think it was built at all. The climb up the main castle tower was particularly grueling given the fact that all doorways and stairs of the time were built to accommodate midgets, and even strangely haunting from the moment you step through those huge iron gates. It's all very dark and very creaky, with the occasional katana, piece of samurai ...

... I still get hyperactive) we headed for one of the arcades. I can tell you, Tokyo-ites have this unique ability to dodge. I'm almost sure its in their DNA. Being the bulky, dazed and confused foreigners we are, I'm sure we unintentionally caused chaos in our wake. Perhaps that's why Ama-yokocho Arcade is closed today....<br><br>At night time we went into Tokyo's equivalent of the Upper East Side of New York; Ginza ...

... and, yes, even video games of my choice via the LCD screen in the back of every chair? In fact, from the moment I learned I could place the strange accompanying remote on its side to form some sort of old-school SNES controller, a nonstop marathon of every Super Mario game under the sun was thoroughly engaged. Hard. In fact, when our flight finally pulled into Changi, I was too irritated by not getting to defeat Bowser to notice. Surely, I thought, this would be the highlight ...

Well dear friends, I am home. We arrived yesterday safe and sound from Japan. I arrived at 8:00 am and Jeff and Brooklyn around 11:30 am. I came home and slept like a baby for several hours and then back to bed at midnight for a good-in-my-own-bed kind of sleep. Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers while I was away. I hope to see you all in the new year and until I do,,,Happy New Year 2008! Mark

... regarding his nationality and familial ties to another housemate) to a Tokyo Giants' game. For those of you who have never been to a professional baseball game in Japan, it is truly a sight unlike any you would encounter stateside. The fans were inexhaustible with a seemingly infinite selection of chants and cheers...and it seemed as though David and I were two of the only people in the entire stadium who did not know absolutely everything about all the ...

... to the hotel and made Matt get up so we could feast on chicken tiki marsala and curry, saffron rice and Nan. It has become essential that we find places to eat that the locals frequent. Food in Japan is exorbitant-a plate of spaghetti at the hotel costs a laughable $60.00, room service will bring you a club sandwich for $22.00 and the cheapest 3 or 4 course meal goes for $120.00. Our dinner with wine and beer ...

... an enthusiastic 'Yes' but instead got an Ultraman cross-armed-Laser-beam 'No'. What is Ultraman? Google it. This arm movement combined with a polite nod of the head is how the Japanese say 'No'. The arm movement is very important because the Japanese do not shake their head sideways. To be fair, I got an Ultraman laser beam 'No' myself at a temple when I asked if I could take a picture of a young lady who worked at the temple dressed in a ...

... with the same guide book that we have. After lunch was a quick trip to the Ginza area, Tokyo's equivalent to Times Square, sort of. It's basically a big shopping area with lots of highrise shopping centers and more Starbucks than you would expect. We went to the Sony building there and got to check out all their new gadgets. There is some pretty cool stuff coming our way, but Janell wouldn:t let me buy the robot dog, the kind that ...