April 2008 | Page 4 of 5 |

After a couple weeks fine-tuning the bike and dealing with various photography apparatus problems, I will hit the road again in a couple days. The time has been filled with dashes to the bike shop, camera store or hardware store buying O-rings for my stove, new pedals, and a new digital camera, among other things. Plus playing with the kids of course. A two year old can keep three adults fully occupied when she is going full speed. It’s enough to drive you batty. As proof, here is my sister before and after two years in Japan:

One of the most interesting things to do in Tokyo is to explore the small mom and pop eateries throughout the town. Some only have one or two tables. the place below is a noodle joint run by an older couple, their son and his wife. Here is the old man who served us. When I asked to take his photo he bowed. Check out the footwear. They are wooden sandals and they are called geta.

Japan is an orderly society. But this requires rules. Here’s a board of rules we found while walking through a small nature area. Not sure what all the symbols mean, especially the second one from the top on the right hand side. “No breaking up big ice cubes in front of crowds?”

Trying out the macro feature on my new camera.

The family at the park. Nephew David, his wife Kirsten, Annika, Katrina, Kev.

Tokyo has the largest subway system in the world. Millions of people ride it daily. Here are a few shots from the train. Check out the fingernails on the girl talking on the phone.

Naturally there are a lot of railroad crossings to accommodate all those trains. At each crossing, it seems, there are a couple uniformed guards whose job apparently is to just make sure no one gets in the way of the trains. Here’s one of them.