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The final leg of our adventure was Japan where we had a week's stay planned. We were guests of Pat and Kim Lin in Tokyo. Kim is a sorority sister of Cathy's and she and her husband have lived in Tokyo for 7 years. They have two children. To our delight, we had the nicest accommodations of our trip. The Lins keep a second apartment for the nanny which is where we stayed. We each had our own room. It's a very nice home, even by American standards in the Azabu area of Tokyo. Kim escorted us around most of the time and showed us all the great shopping districts like Ginza, Shibuya, Harajuku, Omotesando, and Aoyama. Unfortunately, we were rudely awakened to how expensive it is in Japan. It was even more of a shock compared to China and Thailand where things were sooo cheap. There really isn't a lot of sightseeing to do in Tokyo.

I did all my sightseeing on the first day. Cathy and I went out to the Asakusa area and saw the Senso-ji Temple. One of the most interesting parts of this area is the long shopping arcade leading up to the temple where you can get just about any type of Japanese arts and crafts including kimonos and all the accessories. I was amazed at how expensive kimonos and all the accoutrements are. A kimono can cost $10,000 and the obi, or sash that goes around the waste, can run several thousand dollars. The sandles that look like ordinary thongs can costs as much as $3,000! Since Cathy had already been to Tokyo, I headed off by myself for the afternoon to see the Imperial Palace. There's not much to see since you can't get inside the gates. But you can walk around the palace grounds and the gardens are nice.

Our hosts invited us out to a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called Stelleto (thank God, some real food!). The restaurant is owned by a Japanese restaurateur who also owns La Boeme in Los Angeles. The food was fabulous and the wine selection was superb. After dinner, we went up to the rooftop patio where the gentlemen of our group (and Cathy) smoked cigars. With all the heat lamps and blankets they provide, the cold weather was not a factor.