I don’t know what kind of tree this is. They are everywhere near where we are staying.

They are bare and sculptural and remind me of large bonsai. I love them.

I am also obsessed with the rows of squared hedges of beautiful Camelia bushes.

Inside a train station.

There are vending machines everywhere. On every block, in the train station and even on the train platform!

This one sells croquet sandwiches!

This clock was designed by Hayao Miyazaki. It will go into action for a few minutes at select times during the day. It is entrancing!

We visited the Kyu-Shiba-rikyu gardens.

Early cherry blossoms!

We decided to walk to Tokyo Sky Tree.

People love to ride bikes in Tokyo!

We walked along a dry riverbed that is now a long green space.

Cute mural depicting the seasons.

I could probably take pictures of houses/buildings in Tokyo all day, every day. I was always lagging behind.

Sky Tree is a radio tower and mall and also houses an aquarium and many other attractions.

Our family loves Studio Ghibli. I was so excited to see the cat bus! It eyes glow at night. 🙂

Emma found the sleeping Totoro.

Dried flowers hanging at the Studio Ghibli shop.

There is a strawberry festival going on at Sky Tree and it is decorated with lights for the winter holiday too.

Emma and maiki played a shooting game where they knocked down little cardboard boxes of prizes they wanted. They were successful!

Cute things I saw.

Emma got a cream filled crepe.

The Clover Life Market is awesome. Their prepared food section is the largest of all the markets and convenient shops (konbini) we have visited. I got some udon noodles flavored in a light sauce/broth with pork that was so yummy. I also bought bread and nut butter and jam for breakfasts.

We went on an evening walk too. I have been surprised to see there are some blooms on the quince and plum blossom trees.

We walked along the Sumida river.

There is Sky Tree lit up at night. The colors change and it sparkles with lights of the elevator going to and from the observation deck.

This was an exciting day. I was feeling great. We had packed up everything we needed and were on our way. Thankfully the BART train got us to SFO quickly and everything went smoothly in the airport. We received good news about Emma’s future education life and were about to get on a plane to Tokyo.

Was is possible to sleep? No it was not. I drank complimentary sake and had delicious food. I watched a couple movies and then wore my eye mask and tried to chill. Eventually the long flight ended. We disembarked and made our way through the airport.

The picture above is of maiki on the last mode of transport we took before walking to our final destination. Before this train we had our first real Tokyo experience of being packed as sardines on a commuter train with all of our luggage. 🙂