Harajuku. Ometesando. Cat Street. Aoyama. We walked through 4 different Tokyo shopping districts before lunch today, each one catering to a different demographic. Harajuku is the most famous; catering to teenagers, specializing in fairy tale, pop culture trends. Unfortunately, we missed some of the most outrageous "fashions", as many of the weirdos only come out on Sundays. Ometesando is Tokyo's answer to Paris' Champs Elysées, a tree-lined boulevard of luxur...

Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing. Possibly the busiest crosswalk in the world. The lights change, traffic stops, and waves of humanity surge into the intersection. The chaos is overseen by massive video screens and music, overloading the senses. Illuminated trucks drive by with billboards promoting movies, music and computer games. It can be overwhelming or exhilarating. This picture was taken from the Starbucks on Shibuya crossing, which is allegedly the busiest Star...

Cousin Colin and Miyuki drove us to a famous town called matsushimi which was also hit by the Tsunami but the damage was less than Ishinomaki because of many small islands that protect the bay. We visited a beautiful garden and a small burial shrine which we had to walk over little red bridges to get to. The view is pretty spectacular. We had fun singing Kareoke for my first time! Singing is one of my families favorite pastimes, and we reminisced about the family...

We visited one of the top 3 scenic places in Japan, Matsushima. It's a historic town on the coast in Miyagi that is surrounded by little islands. There is a beautiful temple complex, with burial caves and an exquisite zen garden. There were signs and photos indicating that the town had been impacted by the tsunami, but it appears to have fully recovered.

We have arrived at Kashimidai by Shinkansen and have been welcomed in to my Cousin Colin`s home with his Wife Miyuki and their children Allison and Rikuu. What a wonderful reunion as we have not seen one another since he moved to Japan six years ago, since our wedding In May 2006. I am so glad that Colin and his family are doing well since the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. Colin recounted the tale of his experience and it was litterally a cigarette that s...