Homecomings and World's Busiest Intersection

When planning our Tokyo trip, we really had no agenda...other than a sweet, relaxed reunion. In the past, Cliff had always deployed with a unit...so the homecoming was always surrounded by much planning and fanfare. Whether we were waiting at the pier for the ship to pull in, or waiting behind that yellow rope on the flightline, watching bodies in camouflage make neat formations while waiting for the rope to drop after that magic word "dismissed!"; there was a formula too it...a wonderful, magical docket...with joy so thick it swaddles you like a blanket.

Since Cliff was an Individual Augmentee (IA) this time, our homecoming was our own, and we could arrange it however we wished. Since our kids are old enough to make it on their own (with some help from friends) we decided to have our own reunion before returning to the kids...which we felt would be more preferable to them than having dad come home, only to leave again with mom for a few days for a much needed getaway.

We decided on Tokyo, and decided to plan nothing, other than where we'd stay and that if we decided we wanted to do anything other than lounge around in the hotel...we'd just consult the concierge. The New Sanno concierge is awesome, by the way. Tell her how much time you have, answer a couple of questions about what you are interested it, and she will pull out of her magic bag of tricks, the perfect itinerary for you.

This is how we landed at the "World's Busiest Intersection" outside of Shibuya Station in Tokyo. I have to admit I'm kind of easily impressed (like riding on the subway) so this was absolutely exhilarating to me. We walked through it several times...

and then opted to get our favorite (well, my favorite...but I'm sure it will soon be Cliff's, too) Chocolate Cream Chip Frappuccino (like a blended fudgesicle...total YUM!) at the Starbucks overlooking the intersection...which I would dare say is also the world's busiest Starbucks.


We had to stand and wait for a spot by the window...but it was worth it for this view:



(too big...had to upload it to YouTube)

We looked for the famous dog statue (the legendary Hachi of the new Richard Gere movie)...



but couldn't find it. This mural was as close as we came:






(Lots of interesting sights to behold)



Finding our way to the correct bus to return to our hotel was another adventure...



There are so many ways to get lost in Tokyo...but we managed to make it back in time for dinner at the Bangkok Kitchen (remember...I went there with Melene and Amy and couldn't wait to take Cliff?).





Dinner did not disappoint...but we were so hungry, I forgot to take photos until dessert.



I was dreaming about this lychee sorbet...and it was so wonderful to watch Cliff enjoy some great food after knowing he was living on puke for 6 months (don't even get me started on that one). I love to feed my sweetie!

What a fun day! And on a side note...the typhoon is moving it's course and will miss Okinawa...they're just getting some strong winds and rain. Whew!