Is it New York City or Tokyo?

First a quiz--What kind of bagel is this? Answer below! Welcome to New York--No-Tokyo Harbor! This could so easily be a scene out of New York. This is a replica of the Statue of Liberty overlooking the harbor.

Little Miss 'Tude with the statue. She did not want to stand.

Wow--I feel like I am home.

Amazing view from dinner at the Red Lobster. Much better than in the USA.

Now she is having fun playing Legos at Mega Toys R Us.

The Tokyo Harbor, again our view from our table at dinner.

Yes, Tokyo Beach.

A view from the pier.

Modern buildings, malls, and a ferris wheel line the beach.

That building with the big silver sphere is the Fuji Film building. It is a TV studio and many people were coming there last night. I don't know what was going on, but it looked like a filming with lots of limos and taxis and security.

Another great view.

Beach and towers.

Mommy and her children strolling on the beach.

Fugi Film Building and beach and boardwalk.

Gorgeous Area

Beach by the Harbor

Spectacular View

How cute! She could not wait to take off her shoes and run in the sand.

Baby and Beach--my two favorites.

We went to the Odaiba Area yesterday and it was spectacular. We got to take the New Transit which is like a monorail that is above the street and goes over the Rainbow Bridge over the Tokyo Bay. There is a beach, replica of the Statue of Liberty and two modern malls. There is also a huge ferris wheel, entertainment center, and Fugi Television Studio. We did not even have time to explore the entire area. We ended up spending a lot of time in mega Toys R Us. Savannah had a lot fun with trains, Legos, and computers. We finally got a new stroller. The airline finally did in our old one after several flights, but now it doesn't turn, doesn't close, and the canopy is broken. We did not get the one over 45,000 yen. We found a light weight one for a reasonable. The service was remarkable. At customer pick up they unpacked it, put it together, and we could use it right away.

We ate dinner at Red Lobster, which was much better and different than in the United States. We also got a spectacular view of the bay and statue.

I also got Savannah some CUTE outfits. Things were a bit more reasonable in the malls in Odaiba.

Today we are going to the zoo and park. It is a beautiful day.

And the answer to the question... I was sure the bagels were pumpernickle raisin, but they were chocolate with chocolate chips.

Hey Good Looking, What's Cooking?

Look who is back! Our baby boy! We are so thrilled to be together again. He came back at 10:30 a.m. and we were SO happy to see him. Now we feel right. A family of 4 here in Tokyo. He looks great and is so adorable and fun. We went to Mid-Town and did some shopping, got Starbucks, and went to the market. We bought spaghetti and cooked it packed it up in tupperware for Savannah so we could go out somewhere other than Italian. Don't get me wrong, we love Italian. It is probably our favorite food, but every night for a month is a bit much. It worked out great. We had our best meal since being in Tokyo. We went to Roy's in Roppongi Hills in the West Walk which is an area of hip, upscale, shops and restaurants, including the Grand Hyatt. We had gone to Roy's in Hawaii, so we knew it was delicious and that we would understand the menu. We gave the baby a bottle as soon as we got there and he fell asleep immediately and Savannah ate her spaghetti, bread, veggies, etc. Rich got salmon over sushi and I got veggie risotto with scallops. The service was impeccable and the food was delicious.

Time to Eat One happy Mommy!

Hey cutie! Love you!

He's back! Yeah!

Big sister and her apples

Happy Daddy that his son is back.

Gorgeous Guy

Grabbing in a cat nap.

Big sister helping to rock her baby brother.

Mommy Loved Ginza

If you take Rodeo Drive of Beverly Hills, 5th Avenue in NYC, the Miracle Mile in Chicago, and Copley Center in Boston and put it all together you still don't have a shopping area as large and upscale as Ginza, but you catch my drift. We went to Ginza yesterday and on the weekends they close the main street to traffic and put tables and chairs in the center until 5:00 p.m. and people can stroll, shop, eat, etc. The weather was a bit overcast, but it wasn't as cold yesterday and the rain held off until after dinner when we were leaving anyway. Ginza is famous for big department stores, along with Tiffanys, Mikimoto, Jimmy Choo, Fendi, Louis Vouton, etc. We did mostly window shopping, but I found a unique children's boutique where I got Savannah some things and I went to H & M and my new favorite store UniQuo. They told us about it at the front desk downstairs and said they had children's clothes for $10 and that they recently opened a store in Soho, NY, the first one in the USA. It is very much like H & M and I actually bought a dress and sweater for me. Very unusual these days. Now I need some trendy shoes to match and I am set. I wonder if I can order online from Uniquo and have it sent here since it is a Japanese store/company. Hmmmm! We went to a great cafe where I had iced green tea. At first we did not see Starbucks, but then we found it. We did not go though. We had already had our Starbucks and found this other cafe. Savannah took an hour nap and we thought maybe we could grab in some different cuisine for dinner and then give her food we brought, but no luck. We did our tour book's suggested walking tour and went to the International Forum while she was sleeping and she woke up just as we were going to dinner. So, we went...Italian. And had pizza and pasta. I even splurged and had tiramisu and guess who loved it--Savannah (the cream on top). Tiramisu is my favorite dessert ever. I wasn't even going to order it, but the people next to us did and that was it. I had to have it. It was my splurge day--bought myself something and had tiramisu.

Welcome to Ginza! The shopping here makes Roppongi, where we are staying, seem inexpensive. Milk and Ginza--perfect together. It is a challenge to get Savannah to drink any milk here. I think it tastes different. Even soy.

Ginza is known for its glass building and lights at night.

Impressive architecture

Steets are pedestrian friendly on the weekends.

Stores galore!

Strolling the streets. Lots of window shopping.

Very crowded. Did everyone that was at Disneyland the day before come to Ginza today?

Enjoying a refreshing iced green tea.

Mommy was shopping and the stores were so crowded and narrow that Savannah stayed outside with Daddy.

Just chillin' in Ginza, needing a nap very soon.

More amazing views.

Fancy cafe where we had coffee and tea.

This Nordstrom like department store had a large area with children's toys of wooden puzzles, kitchen set, instruments, books, etc.

Interesting shaped buildings, below a view at night too.

The International Forum--shaped like the hull of a ship and a huge conference center.

Tokyo Station

Sleeping Savannah at the International Forum

From second floor looking down

Melts my heart everytime. Long eyelashes and a bit of lemon sorbet on her face.

The biggest Apple store we have ever seen and just as crowded as the stores in the US are.

Ginza at night

The lights are spectacular

Same building as above, now lighted at night.