A couple of days into our Japan trip we decamped from Shinagawa and headed over to Sumie's brother's house to spend some serious time with the cousins. Here we are about to head out from Shinagawa. As you can tell, Kuri is still entranced by the trains out the window.
Sumie's brother, Shu, and his wife, Kayo, have four kids, so it was a bit refreshing to be in a house again in which there's the traditional level of chaos. Our first night was a laid-back affair, which eventually devolved into Shu and I enjoying a bit too much Japanese whiskey after the kids had gone to bed. As such, no pictures.
I'd always loved the Tokyo neighborhood Shu and Kayo have chosen (around Gotanda and Meguro). This love only blossomed the following morning when, walking to the station, I looked to my left and saw a Doughnut Plant transplant from NYC. I did not even talk to my wife and children. I simply made a 180 with Mari's stroller and headed back for the nearest crosswalk.
While many of the flavors were different, it was still chock full of Doughnut Plant goodness. The kids and I decided to act like hobbits and dig into a second breakfast.
Fully satiated, we then took the first train ride of our trip, heading for the Tokyo Metropolitan Subway Museum.
Here are Mimi and Kuri, perhaps more relaxed than they would've been during rush hour, on a Ginza line car from the 1950s.
And here's Mimi in front of one of the first subway cars in Japan.
The museum had a lot of fantastic exhibits. One of the kids' favorites was a cutaway of a train that let them grab hold of the controls.
But this being Japan, it didn't stop at just pretend. There were a number of simulators for different subways. One even had simulated motion so you could feel the train rocking. Both Mimi and Kuri had a chance to get behind the throttle and miss the stopping point at the train platform by several hundred yards.
Mari was a bit too young for the simulators, but she loved the many models on display. "Papa! Denshya! Papa! Train!"
Following our museum visit it was time for lunch. The surprise discovery of Doughnut Plant that morning, and the fact that Tokyo station was on the way home, inspired us to attempt a mini-NYC day. We sought out, and amazingly found, Shake Shack.
Mimi was pleased.
Both kids were excited. After all, they both knew that Shake Shack means custard shakes will be on tap.
I have to say I was pretty impressed. I've eaten at a number of these outside of NYC and never felt they were quite up to snuff. This one, though, hot damn. Or maybe I just really, really needed a Shack Stack (burger topped with a portabella mushroom stuffed with gruyere cheese and fried - yeah, that's healthy).
Back near Shu and Kayo's place we decided to do some shopping. We just happened to bump into Kayo, who then offered to lead us back home. The kids got to experience her amazing, two-child, electric bicycle. I've been wanting one for here in Marin ever since. This picture occurred a few minutes after Kuri, who insisted on going for a ride, chickened out after about 100 yards. He's not the most adventurous type, my boy.
While shopping we were able to pick up something very special for Mimi: a randoseru, the traditional Japanese backpack for elementary school kids. She'll be wearing this to her Japanese Saturday School proudly. It was amazing just how much our kids look like Japanese elementary school students with these on.
Back at Shu and Kayo's it wasn't all play. Unlike us, their kids were still in school and there was homework to be done. Mimi worked on her book project alongside her older cousin, Shuhei.
Asuka, who is roughly the same age as Mimi, took the desk for her studies. In the midst of a trip, it was rather nice having this bit of "regular" home life to balance out the adventures.
The next day, Sumie's parents decided to invite some of the extended family out for a bit of bowling. Mimi, as you can see, takes her bowling rather seriously.
Kuri, on the other hand, is a bit more laid back.
We all had a great time save for Mari, who was still adjusting to the time difference and all the new people. Perhaps you noticed in the picture above that she's holding a bottle. It was the sports drink from this same bottle that she managed to pour on the floor. And it's the same sports drink her father managed to step in without knowing just before he bowled, resulting in a catastrophic slip that landed him square on his right knee, which had nerve damage for the rest of the trip. Ah, traveling with infants. You never know what's going to happen.
After bowling the kids had time for some games. This one was a four player take on air hockey that, from time to time, would dump and additional 10 mini pucks onto the "ice." Kuri and Shuhei narrowly beat out Mimi and Asuka in several highly contested rounds.
And, of course, we had to play a bit of Taiko.
We closed out our cousin adventures at a yaki niku restaurant (Japanese BBQ done with thin meat over an open fire at your table). The food was wonderful, but as you can see, even before setting down to eat, the kids were feeling the effects of all the excitement. Kuri was sound asleep by the time we left the restaurant.
It had been a fantastic week with family and friends in Tokyo. As all of us were now finally getting past our jet lag, it was time to move on, via bullet train, to Nagoya, Lego Land, and beyond. More on that in the next installment.
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