Yokota AFB

Day 9- Our last morning in downtown Tokyo, I just HAD to take advantage of my last chance to see the birds in this area. Birding at the Tokyo Port Wild Bird Area required navigating the bus system (4 buses!) which we hadn't done before. There are only 2 stops listed in English at each bus stop, so it was a bit stressful to figure out. Google maps is a lifesaver! It's pretty awesome at telling you exactly which bus or train to take, what time it leaves and how much it will cost. (Although I often get lost when trying to follow it's walking directions.) I was able to show my phone to the bus driver to make sure I was getting on the right bus. The most confusing part was changing buses which required me to enter and exit the busiest train station I've ever seen. While super busy, it's also very organized. There are signs explaining the direction of traffic so people can easily move thru.

Finally I made it to the Wild Bird Park! I managed to add a few new lifers in a short amount of time, so I say it was worth the stress. It also reminded me of my single days when I used to travel alone and have to navigate buses and hostels and such. It's always good to remind yourself of your capabilities.

One of the blinds looking out over the water.

I was impressed that they had nice scopes set up in the blinds.

On my way back to the hotel, I took a photo of these flowers that smell EXACTLY like Fruit Loops cereal.

Waiting for the shuttle to our new hotel at Yokota air force base. 

The view of Mt Fuji from our hotel room! One summer we'll return to hike it!

Daddy's cousin, Karin and her husband, Dan, live near the base, so they picked us up and took us to our NEW favorite sushi place ever! Sadly I forgot my camera, but it was so good we went back again for lunch the next day, so here are the photos.

At this "sushi go round" all of the food comes right to you via conveyor belt. You place your order with the touch screen (thank goodness there is a button for English!) Each table has color coded trays for food that you've ordered. Just before your food reaches your table, the screen will chime to alert you to grab your specific color coded tray. If it's not on a tray, anyone can grab it.

As you can see, we found quite a few items that we really loved. And the best part is that each plate was ¥100-170 ($.90-1.50 each)! I think the bill for the four of us was $20! That wouldn't even pay for 2 rolls in the US. By the way, you don't tip in Japan, that would be considered rude.

Here's a few other things we found interesting in Japan:

Drinks are sometimes chunky. This one has chunks of aloe in it. 

Domino's delivers...on mopeds.

Fruit is different here and can be insanely expensive. Tiny oranges?

This. 

Another day I witnessed Mario and the dinosaur (as in Mario Bros)

 driving go-carts thru the streets downtown!

They show other people watching the show you're watching. I guess so you see their reactions, I'm not completely sure what's going on here. Like this guy in the circle in the upper left. There's another show where people do tricks or something and there's three heads in circles rating them.