karyn and steve take on japan: part 1

So now that my parents, the famous Karyn and Steve, have been gone for a few days and Jeff and I (and our apartment) have recovered from hosting duties, I guess it's about time to recap the visit.

We got off to a great start their first night here with my mom unpacking a suitcase full of American goodies.

The first day was a bit chilly but we ventured out to Shinjuku gyoen (park) anyways since we heard it was a great place to view the sakura.  My dad brought his camera and snapped a few pictures while we were there, including this sneak attack on Jeff and me. 

My mom thought the location was perfect and wanted to get in on the action.  

I'm pretty sure she stole that move from me. 

My dad also got some nice pictures of the blooms (though I'm sure there is a comment coming my way about this not being color-corrected in photoshop yet).

 He also captured Jeff "holding" my bag. Typical.

After the park, we headed over to Harajuku, but the only picture worth sharing is this gem clearly directed to the tourists who make up the majority of people walking around Harajuku on any given day.  

Our best guess is "tout" should read "touch," but we can't be certain. 





The next morning we were up and at 'em bright and early (thanks in part to the fact that my parents were still on east coast time) and headed out to enjoy a beautiful spring day in Tokyo.   We took the train with the commuters (an experience in itself) to the Imperial Palace gardens to get a view of the sakura in bloom.

In the palace grounds there are ponds filled with very well-fed koi, which my mother found quite amusing.  She might have taken a picture of each and every one had we not intervened.










My mom found a small waterfall which she insisted on getting as close as possible to, traversing a rock path through a stream while we all held our breaths waiting for her to fall in.  Much to my father's relief, she made it so I joined her for a photo op. 

I will spare you the zillions of self-portraits Jeff took of us and subject you to just one (today).

That's all for now.  I do owe my readers (all two of them, Karyn and Steve) the rest of the update, so there will be more. Eventually.

Mata ne,
Melissa