Some of the ruins looked a little bit newer than others. 
Jill had a good time checking out the floweres. 
I was following this giant ant around for a while. 
The rest of the hike was quite nice as well.
It eventually came out at the spot where I paraglide. 
This is Sai Kung where we had lunch.
It was a fun day and we are now well rested for school tomorrow. Did I mention Tuesday is a holiday? It should be a quick week and our Easter vacation is just around the corner.
This is our room at the guest house. It was very simple, tatami mats, a small kneeling table with a tea set. The bed was in the closet.....well there were futons, pillows and blankets there. It was a very Japanese style place and it was great.
Here is the tea set.
The place also had on onsen (hot spring). Luckily we were the only guests staying there at the time so we had it all to ourselves. There were kimonos in our room so one night we all wore them and played some settlers.
The onsen here was indoors. The area was well known for their outdoor onsens. Kathy and Carole went on our last day and said it was lovely being outside. Jill and I were happy enjoying this one to ourselves. To the left is a little wash station were you sit on a stool and wash yourself before entering the bath. It was really hot as you can see. We could only stay in for 10 minutes or so before it got too unbearable. We went again in the morning before leaving.
Dinner and breakfast were also provided at the guesthouse. Both were very Japanese and some of the food made us pause and contemplate eating it or not. Dinner was fine, there were a few yummy things and every time we thought we were finished they would bring out a few more dishes. The presentation was interesting. I noticed halfway through that the dishes were all different. No two things were on matching plates.
The Settlers of JAPAN!!
This time also happened to be a holiday in Japan. Well not exactly a holiday but a special time at least. It was called Setsubun and it celebrates the changing of the season according to the Japanese lunar calendar. At this time people are supposed to throw roasted beans around their house and at the temples and shout "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" meaning "Devil out! Happiness in!". After you throw the beans you have to pick up and eat as many beans as your age. We each ate our beans and threw the other beans at someone wearing a demon mask (Me).
Breakfast. Again, very interesting. The main food was the dried fish in the middle. It was one of the wierder breakfasts I've had. At least they had coffee.
We had to check out in the morning and headed out to do the touristy things that Hakone is famous for. The first thing was a pirate ship tour for a view of Mt. Fuji.
Hakone is a very picturesque town that sits on lake Ashi. There were many temples and shrines around to visit.
This was our first view of Mt. Fuji. We were having a contest to see who could spot it first. We were in the area the previous evening but it was too cloudy and couldn't see it. Jill won.
This is a temple on the right.
The 4 of us on the pirate ship.
On the other side of lake Ashi was a cultural center. Because it was Chinese New Year, they were having some special performances for tourists. We caught the geisha show. They played, sang and danced a few songs.
From there we took a cable car up another mountain to see some more hot springs.
Mr. Snowman made an appearance.
The views from the top were amazing.
One of things to do here is to eat an egg that was cooked in the hot springs. When it's being cooked the shell turns black. It just tasted like a normal egg though. It was actually hard to taste because of all the sulfur in the air, the whole place smelled like eggs.
Here are some random pictures from the top.
The steam coming out behind us is from the hot springs. They advise that you don't spend too much time in this area as the gases are poisonous if you inhale too much.
The trip to Hakone was perfect. It was just 1 night so it didn't feel too long and it seemed like we packed a lot into the 2 days we were there. It was also great to get a different perspective of Japan instead of staying in the city the whole time. But I think it's time for a little city exploration.
After getting a bit of a rest the first night, it was time to explore the city a bit. These little footprints tell you were to stand to activate the crosswalk lights.
They had many different kinds. Silk kimonos were about $20 to $30. Cotton ones were cheaper. 
I heard that there is one vending machine for every 20 people in Tokyo. I also read that some sell everything from umbrellas to t-shirts. This on had drinks and shampoo.....strange combination.
Here on this shopping street we saw these "cos players". It's a clique in Tokyo that dresses up in different anime or goth clothing and parades around. There are some locations in the city where you can see a lot of them amassing on Sunday. Weird for the sake of being weird I think.
Takeshita shopping street. It was a little busy.
We walked around the area a bit and ended up at Meiji shrine and Yoyogi Park. 
These barrels are apparently full of sake.
More of Meiji Shrine 
Jill examining some wish cards. People write down their wishes and hopes then tie them to a board that surrounds a massive tree.
Inside the courtyard of the main building.
We rode the subway the whole time we were there. We were so lucky to have Kathy to help us with the fares and transfers. The planning of the subway map looks like a Japanese engineer dropped his bowl of noodles on the floor then used that to map out the lines. It is confusing.
At the end of a long day we got back to Kathy's and decided to try on some of the kimonos. Jill borrowed one of Kathy's. Here the girls are watching a youtube video showing them how to properly put it on and how to tie the obi.
The bows look about right. Good job. 
Mine was much easier. I really like the pink on Jill. 
I just googled kimono and the literal translation is "think to wear". I suppose we think they are fancy and intricate but Japanese just call them clothes. 
One of the things I really wanted to do was go for sushi. Shouldn't be hard in Tokyo. This is a sushi train restaurant. All the dishes go along a conveyer belt and when they pass your table you simply take what you want. There is also a computer screen where you can place a specific order and it will be placed on a special plate so other people don't take it. The computer beeps when your plate is nearing. 
I think a trip to Japan isn't complete without sushi. We went back to this restaurant before flying home.
When you are finished, you ring a waiter who comes and tallies your plates. Each plate is the same: $1. I stuffed my face and it only cost around $13. Maybe the cheapest/best sushi I've ever had. It's also very fast, as soon as you sit you can eat. 
More subway action. Riding the subway is another interesting experience. Even when it is packed shoulder to shoulder you can still literally hear a pin drop. Everyone is so quiet. We felt very conscious of talk to each other, you could almost hear your echo. Except for rush hour, it was very easy to get a seat. We're not used to this in hk.
This was one of the more unique restaurants we went to. When you enter, you are greeted by a vending machine. You look at the menu and place your order here. Next you give your ticket stub to a cook and he prepares your meal. This cuts down on costs and as a result a lot of blue collar workers were eating here. They had plastic food displayed in the window outside, so we were able to match the number next to those with the corresponding vending machine button. 
Yummy. 
More vending machines. 
Another stop for Jill and I was the SONY building. Inside were 8 floors of new gadgets and technology that is yet to hit the streets. The 3D technology is cool. Soon we'll all be watching 3D TV.
After the SONY building we needed a bit of nature so it was off to Hibiya park. This is the beginning of the blossom season so I can just imagine what this park would look like during full bloom. Here we saw plum blossoms with the cherry blossoms not yet in season. 
The red ones were really nice and very fragrent.
In the center of the park was a small lake and a tea house, the walking path crossed several bridges like this one.
This one was my favorite.
After the park we did a bit more exploring that day. A few subway stops away was Asakusa Shrine. This is one of the most famous shrines in Tokyo. It was built in the mid 1600's. This is Kaminarimon gate leading into the shrine. 
Even on a weekday, it was still very busy.
The main building. 
Here is my fortune.
When you are finished, you have to roll it up and tie it to this post. In the instructions it also says not to take it literally, if you get a bad fortune you are ultimately the master of your own destiny and you have the power to change it to good fortune, and vise versa for good luck.....you have to try for your luck and that it's not good to get arrogant (such as blogging about how great your fortune was and posting it for everyone to see).
Every 30 minutes, the mall went through 1 day. The sky went from dusk to night to dawn and day. 
Morning
Day
And the highlight of the day: SEGA Joypolis. This is one of the largest indoor electronic theme parks. I think it's every kid's dream come true. We found a coupon online that gave us 30% off and because it was a Tuesday, there were very few people there. I couldn't imagine how crazy this place gets on a weekend. This place has been visited by the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, and Michael Jackson.
And my favorite, racing. There were 3 cars you could choose, this Subaru WRX, a Toyota RX7 or an old Toyota Tureno. They shook, reved and moved as you drove on a virtual track. It was by far the best video game I've ever played. 
Kathy enjoyed the RX7. 
Wack a Mole 
More carnival games.
Afterward, we had our last dinner (Mexican buffet of all things), and headed to the patio for some of Tokyo's best city scapes.
Tokyo at night. 
When we woke up in the morning and finished packing Kathy noticed that it was snowing outside. Apparently it doesn't snow much in Tokyo, only once or twice a year. This was the first time Jill and I saw it snowing in about 2 years. It was really nice until it was time to leave and it turned to rain. 
Tokyo is truely one of the world's most intersting and fun cities. It was a fantastic trip and we really have to thank Kathy for making it so great. The only thing that would have made this trip better was if we had seen Sumo wrestling. They only hold public matches a few times a year, and we were very excited to get tickets for the Sunday that we were in Tokyo. Unfortunately, a couple days before the match, the whole thing was cancelled due to accusations/proof of match rigging and cheating. Seeing a match would have been the icing on the cake.
