Graduating Japan

I am happy that Brenna, Hunter and my mom are also along for the trip. They've spent the last couple of months telling Laura what they'd like to do there.

The flight is overnight but I'm not having much luck sleeping.

"It's like Backrooms," I say to Brenna, referring to the weird movie we watched together. The immigration and customs corridors through Narita Airport are bleak, especially without sleep.

We are relieved when finally we make it through all the checks and emerge to see Laura holding a hand-made sign welcoming our Idaho entourage. Next stop: some treats to keep our low sleep brains going!

Laura guides us through the train system to the station near our hotel in Tokyo. Then we walk for a proper meal.

Food by conveyer is a fun way to dine. It brings a continuous assortment that we can take at will or use the tablet to order something in particular. A slot in the table receives our plates with cheerful casino noises as we sample one dish after another.

I need this at my work desk.

The streets around our hotel are quiet after dark.

Now the adventures begin. Laura made no small effort to coordinate all the requested activities; trains, tickets and times. Today we'll visit some of Hunter's selections.

We walk a block from our Tokyo hotel to the nearest train station where Laura helps us put Yen on our Suica transit cards. The trains run every five minutes so we don't need to worry much about timing.

After the short train ride, we walk a couple blocks to Inokashira Park then follow its meandering paths by pond and woods to the Ghibli Museum.

She doesn't remember it but Brenna loved Ponyo when she was little. We watched it together many times, which is most of my Ghibli experience.

As we slowly make our way through the whimsical building, up, down, around, I'm impressed at the many animation innovations exhibited in remarkable, entertaining ways.

After Ghibli, we return through the park, detouring slightly to visit a pond-side shrine.

Laura instructs us in the proper use of the ritual washbasin, chozubachi. It's muggy and the cool water is a blessing no matter your philosophy.

We continue our meanders less than a mile to what, to my eyes, seems like one of an infinite number of alley ways, each its own elaborate world of small shops and restaurants, many demanding our attention.

Laura, the reptile aficionado, has reserved some time for us at a reptile cafe, a variation on the more common kitty and bunny cafes.

We order drinks then select a few of the many animals to join us during our limited time slot.

There was a much bigger snake but it was convelescing.

A few animals roamed freely, including a large turtle around the floor named Turbo.

In the evening, we leave my mom behind and walk a couple blocks from our hotel to streets of multi-story manga and anime stores.

Girls dressed to entice manga fans are spaced along the sidewalk, inviting us to what Laura says is a bar.

The shops are packed with paraphernalia both new and vintage, some still in the package from the 1980s and priced accordingly.