Rita I promise the detergent won't be a waste of space in your luggage lol...

Sabbath I'll update later about Amiee and Kody in the other thread, but doing good Thank You.

Beautiful photos, Sabbath! I feel like I'm there!

What part of California are you from?

Spent all night at work tonight, during long periods of no phone calls to read about Japan on-line. I brought a book to read for slow times but couldn't stop reading about traveling there. Planning on a trip in the next 2 years. Going to finally meet my mom's family. Love the pictures!

I have several kimono from Ichiroya, they sell both new and 'pre-loved' kimono as well as a lot of other items!

Do they let people feed the monkeys or would that make them act more brazenly assertive like the deer? :P

Jennifer- you go into a cage like hut and feed them through the wires of the cage. Basically your the one in the cage and you can only feed them food that they sell. I think it was Bananas and Peanuts. They are aggressive so I didn't get too close.

Hahaha - well at least the monkeys are free, humans already get to roam all over anyway. :)

The monkeys were so cute and when they feed them their main meals they play racing music through speakers and monkeys run from the mountains in every direction. It was so neat to see them all racing to eat their lunch while racing music blared.

It was amazing to walk by sleeping monkeys. Some of the monkeys got in tiffs and seemed like they were arguing hahaha just like humans.

We happened to be in Kyoto while they had a special event at Kodaiji Temple and the temple was lit up. Street musicians played the flute and everything was lit up. The stores around the temple were beautiful too.

Goodness, where to start?? It's all so beautiful and charming. The candles and bamboo and the temple all look magical, like Miyazaki drew the scenes out of his imagination. The monkeys are too adorable and what a sight it must be when the music blares and they all go running! The temple all lit up is so beautiful. And the tiny shop in one family for generations- could anything be more different from what we know here?

Sabbath, you must have been so sad to say goodbye to Japan after such an immersive experience.

Hi Rita, again my apologies regarding how late this is. Shubuya Crossing was basically a crosswalk with stores around it. I liked staying in Shinjuku better. The restaurant, "Ichiran" was absolutely delicious, please look up the reviews on yelp as they testify to this.

There are many TINY stalls in the fish market to eat sushi from.

You are so kind to come back and add to this thread. I love this virtual trip to Japan. Seeing all the wonderful food, I have to ask, are you completely spoilt for regular American sushi? The bowl with the salmon (?) looks amazing- the fish practically glistens with freshness.

Did you develop a taste for many new things while you were in Japan, or were you already very familiar with a lot of Japanese cuisine? The restaurant with the computer ordering and curtain drop off seems incredibly cool and futuristic- to quite as much fun as the robot restaurant though :-)

Hi Rita, fresh Sushi tastes different, it is very light and mild. It is smooth like butter. Here are some pictures of the hotels we stayed in and the taxi cabs in Japan, which are so cute.

Above photos are Hilton Shinjuku and Intercontinental Ana Kyoto top photo.

Above are taxi cabs in Tokyo.

They come in a rainbow of colors, and are so charming. Many have delicate lace covers that the driver sits on.

These pictures are wonderful. The Japanese aesthetic is so refined and delightful. The views from the hotels are so beautiful. The Hilton Shinjuku is particularly striking to me. And the taxis are adorable.

I had to look up Harajuku style- it is such a fun look to play with. Usually I am in the - dressing is not a valid means of self-expression camp- but I would make an exception for this whimsical style.