Tour...Guiding?

My brother and Dad came out for a visit and Jordan and I did our best to show them some sites. Needless to say when we met them Saturday and Sunday we didn't exactly meet up perfectly but we found each other and no one got too lost and they made it back home!

Nihon-ji 

Saturday we took them on the ferry over to Chiba to see giant stone Buddhas carved into the side of a mountain. It looked like the Japanese mined through the mountain pass and then perhaps later turned the area into a temple. This pathway was entirely carved out!

There are several trails along the mountain that zigzag up and down stairs and through tunnels with smaller carvings all around. The Buddhas were in all stages of aging and there were several with less than typical faces

The highlight of the temple was these two carvings that were unbelievably large!

Our our way back to Yokosuka we stopped at Kurihama Flower Park to fight Godzilla and try out some more roller slides! Dad was too fast for the kids...

Tokyo

Sunday we took trains all over Tokyo and saw a lot of interesting things and a lot of people! We began the day by going up the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for a free look at the skyline. It was a skyline of civilization as far as the eye could see in all directions! Made you feel very small in a very modern world.

Once we were tired of the skyline we made out way to Shibuya with a quick stop at Harajuku. This section of town is supposed to be the center of teenage culture and fashion and many people arrive dressed up as rock stars or anime characters etc. I didn't see anything particularly interesting except for a ton of people!

We continued on our way to Shibuya famous for the Shibuya crossing. After a quick bite to eat we wondered up into a Starbucks that overlooks the crossing and watched the hordes of people cross the street every couple of minutes. It's amazing how many people cross the street every time. It's like they appear out of nowhere!

Next on the list was a quick train ride to the "edge" of Tokyo to see Totoro! There is a small museum dedicated to a popular and successful anime studio. In order to see the museum you must buy tickets a month in advance. We were not so prepared but the ourside of the museum was particularly aesthetic and there was a giant totoro at the entrance to greet anyone who passed by the street.

 Our final stop before dinner was the Tokyo Tower -an Eiffel Tower replica. You can go to the top for a view but with night and clouds closing in heavily we decided to fill our bellies instead.