Tonight we rolled into Tokyo, our final stop in Japan (and all of Asia, for that matter). Not only were we going to see Tokyo, but we were staying with some old family friends. My grandparents have been friends with a woman named Sadako since my dad was a kid. She lives in Tokyo and so do her two children. Her daughter, Yumi, graciously invited us to stay with her family while we were in Tokyo. Disembarking from our train, Yumi met us on the platform and took us to her home in central Tokyo.

We were welcomed with a huge, delicious, homemade dinner. Since we’ll be here for a week and the same names will undoubtedly keep coming up, I’ll give a rundown of everyone at dinner. Sadako, my grandparents’ long time friend was there. And then Yumi and her husband, Akio. Then they have two kids, Eisuke, 15, and Yusuke, 7. And there’s Dr. Kojima, a very close friend of the family. The dinner was closer to a banquet than anything else. Sadako and Yumi had been preparing and cooking all day.  The food was amazing, and a description of it wouldn’t live up to all that goodness.  It was like Thanksgiving but with Japanese food.  Not only did we try a lot of good food, but Akio’s a wine guy and uncorked a bottle of 1989 Bordeaux. After dinner, we were stuffed and tired from a day of traveling, so we went to bed early. But I know it’s a going to a fun week in Tokyo.