Gwyn and John: Visitors of the Year Award

We were lucky enough to have Jonathan's recently married sister and brother-in-law, Gwyn and John, come for a week long Tokyo visit. We were especially looking forward to spending a week with them because we haven't had a chance to spend much time with John, who, it turns out, is an exceptional guy.

I hope they had a fun time. We really tried to fill up their week vacation with exciting Japanese things. I was the official tour guide since Jonathan was at work all week long. I was really surprised with how well I can navigate around Tokyo. It doesn't feel like home, but it does feel like...maybe a home away from home.

Gwyn and John, we loved having you share our little studio apartment with us for a week. It was so great getting to know you two better. You two are a very cute couple. And John, thanks for the Panda Ballerina.

Here are some highlights from their trip:

Young lovers walking through a Japanese Garden

Begging me to take them home so they can sleep off their jet lag. But I was unrelenting.

Ramen, the real kind.

Just in case you wonder what John brought back from Japan as a souvenir.

Best street performer ever: Japanese guy wearing a kilt and playing bagpipes.

Gwynnie's favorite orange coy.

Cool temple.

Is that the Imperial Prince and Princess?

John liked this fish dragon.

Gwynnie made me take them on one of the tallest ferris wheels in the world: The Hello Kitty Ferris Wheel.

John was concerned about the message that this Hello Kitty is sending the public.

Giant Buddha in Kamakura

Giant Buddha's shoes.

Gwyn and John love conveyor belt sushi.

They also love Okonomiyaki.

The don't love waking up at 4:30 am to see the fish market, but they put on their happy faces for the event.

Gwynnie loves to eat this raw.

Yum...tuna.

It take three guys to butcher this baby.

It's 8 am and we have already been up for 4 hours. We were waiting in line for an hour to get a sushi breakfast. By the time we finally got inside we felt ill from breathing the exhaust from passing trucks, but once we started to dig in, the fresh sushi brought us back to life. Delish!