One of many sushi train restaurants we visited: you sit at the counter and the sushi on those little plates goes around on a conveyor belt in front of you. Grab what you want, pay at the end depending on how many plates you took!
Marc, Alana, and Kane enjoying the sushi train
Sumo dudes wait for a taxi outside the sumo tournament gymnasium...that taxi was weighed down a bit after they got in
Sumo impressions
Crepes! Alana tried to order a banana/chocolate crepe, but instead got a caramel and whipped cream crepe. Such is the difficulty of not knowing the language
Shrimp fajitas at El Torito in Osaka - yes, we went there
Seemingly nice dessert in Osaka...
But my chocolate sundae is filled with Saltine crackers at the bottom -- wtf?!
Marc feeds the deer in the park in the town of Nara (you're supposed to feed them, so it's ok)
Marc is being pummeled by deer in Nara
Deer face
I pet the deer, they're nice
Deer everywhere in Nara
Big old entrance thingie in Nara, the four of us are tiny in front
Wooden structure
Daibutsu-den Hall in Todai-ji in Nara: houses the Great Buddha and is said to be the largest wooden structure in the world (though I could have sworn other structures in Japan have claimed that too...)
Great Buddha on the right, not as great one on the left, I guess - inside Daibutsu-den in Nara
Alana and Kane are excited about giant buddhas
Kane wishes he were a giant buddha
Kane leads the deer with promises of food
Hopeful deer faces
Kane: the deer whisperer
Sumo: a weird excuse to see a lot of man ass
Sumo match in Osaka
The fighting of the matches is shortlived, only a few seconds usually
All the dudes that are in the final round of this day of the tournament: these guys are the best ones in the tournament
Marc and Alana enjoying the sumo in Osaka
The expensive seats are pillows on the floor! I'm so glad we got the "cheap" seats which were regular fold down movie-theater-type seats
More fighting, or at least leaning
The sumo "ring"
Free eyelashes come with my photo booth pictures!!
Photo booths in Japan are awesome: I'm upset I didn't discover them sooner
Marc eats a wacky Japanese ice cream cone
Streets of Osaka
Manhole cover in Osaka, they're all decorated all over the country
Marc and Alana outside the best ramen place ever
Best Ramen ever, in Osaka
Marc and Kane wait for the Shinkansen (bullet train)
Bullet Train arrives
Photo Booth Experience #2 - figured out how to use the decorating wand, but went a bit overboard
Awesome photo booth in Osaka
Photo booth visit #3 - figured out how to use the little decoration wand in a more reasonable way
Banana drink? Marc likes it.
Pachinko slots; I got yelled at after taking this picture (no pictures allowed in here!)
Ridiculously overcrowded streets of Harajuku in Tokyo
We entered a food court (in search of food) only to find this mob of 13 year old girls worshipping a girl band making an appearance and singing a song. They were terrible.
I'm not feeling well just looking at the store
The most elaborate sushi train ever
Massive crosswalk in Shibuya, Tokyo
They are EXCITED about recycling in Japan. This place fortunately had a garbage can, but often it's hard to find a one as there are only recycle bins
Spider sculpture in Roppongi Hills shopping center, Tokyo
Spidey again
Tokyo's crappy imitation of the Eiffel Tower in the background, my windblown face up front and center
Rad spiral staircase in Roppongi Hills
Another crazy staircase in Roppongi Hills shopping center
Tokyo's Eiffel tower thingie lit up at night, as seen from Roppongi
Twins
Lantern and cherry blossoms in Ueno-koen (Ueno park)
Cute little swan paddle and row boats on a tiny lake in Ueno park did not fare well on this extremely windy day
Kane in Ueno park
The best sushi boat display I've seen yet
Tentacle, anyone?
Now that's a shoe shop.
Shinjuku district at night
Shinjuku
Mini Statue of Liberty on Odaiba island in Tokyo
Me and my Lady
Crazy building in Odaiba - it houses one of Japan's major TV studios (equivalent of NBC or something)
Angry boy
Every big town seems to have a ferris wheel; here's Tokyo's
I want one of these
Toyota showroom has some weird stuff, not sure why this car is shaped like this
I want this car
Ferris wheel again, no we did not ride it
Tokyo Fish Market is the biggest in the world
Tokyo Fish Market
Octopus, anyone?
Giant slabs of tuna in the refrigerator case
mmm...fish heads
My haul: all the bowls I bought in Osaka and Kane lugged back for me...I love them all
