Lessons Mom Learned in Japan!

Lesson #1: Always stay left.  Whether driving, walking, climbing, or just standing still.

Lesson #2: Don't leave me in charge of the ordering after I've had a couple of drinks.  It all starts out innocent enough, and then the bill comes!

 Then it turned a little more risque.  This was after dinner and a few drinks.  I had to take Mom to Buffalos to meet Shu and experience the Honch!

 And, then I drank too much.  I started meeting new friends on the street and convincing them to join me in the fun.  I have no idea who this man is...

Lesson #3: Don't eat things that you don't recognize...especially when I am making this face!

But yet, you continue to trust me.  Yummy!

 Lesson #4: Don't eat things that you DO recognize...especially when the guy making the squid crackers shows off like this.

 Here he is battering them.

 Here is how they look right before putting them on the griddle.  I swear, we could hear them screaming!

Here we are eating our completed Squid Crackers...Delicious!

Lesson #5: Never waste your money on expensive umbrellas.  Sometimes a strong gust of wind comes along and suddenly you don't look so much like Mary Poppins.  

Lesson #6: The best "man" legs in the world belong to the men in Japan.

 I could watch him stretch out all day long.

Lesson #7: Taking the dogs for a walk really doesn't mean taking the dogs for a walk.

 They are awfully friendly.

 Mom thinks that Lulu needs one of these.

Lesson #8: Sometimes Tuna at 5am just isn't enough to wake you up.  Especially when it's freezing and you've been wearing these awful orange vests since 4am.

 Wait until the smell hits you like a ton of bricks and you might never forget it.

 Examining the miles and miles of tuna is serious business.  

Lesson #9: Be wary when giving me the camera...especially when you start making faces like this.

 Wait, are you laughing at me or with me?

 What is going on here?

 Just one of my fantastic self portraits.  

 They are having a great time at their welcome dinner.  

What a welcome!

Lesson #10: Things aren't always what they seem.  In fact, sometimes you don't ever figure it out.  Luckily, I determined that the stuffed creature below is not what first comes to mind, but instead a not so exact replica of the Tokyo Tower.  

 And this, my friends, is not a huge golden sperm, but instead the top of the Asahi Beer building in Tokyo.  The designers think that it resembles the head on a nice mug of beer...interesting!

Lesson #11: Don't tease the monkeys...especially if you are shoving food down your throat with the windows wide open, hanging out to take pictures.  

 They all look cute at first.

Until they start to get curious.  

And closer...and closer...trying to jump in the car.

Lesson #12: Don't trust me with directions...I really have no idea where I am going.  Although we did get to see all the sights, just at full speed, and there were lots of fences to block the good photographs.

 My passengers also appreciated my skillful navigation of these curves around Mt. Fuji...I felt like a race car driver...thankfully the way up was one way so I could take the curves on the inside.

 Here we are, lost in Tokyo...or was it Yokohama...heck it could have been on our way to Thanksgiving dinner at the rest stop...Mmmm, shrimp cutlets!

 This is pretty much how we looked for the majority of the trip.  And I was talented enough to drive AND take this photo at the same time.