Day 7 in Japan

Ken-chan waiting for us!






Asakusa during the day. It's just as pretty in the day as it is at night.



TUESDAY, MAY 27

It was Ken-chan's last day off and the last day we had the big van.

He asked what we wanted to do and we decided to go to our mother's favorite craft store and then go back to Asakusa. The store was very close to that particular craft store.

The store, Sakura Hori Kiri, has five levels and you can buy paper of all kinds, kits of all kinds and accessories. We all bought stuff. And paper is very heavy when you buy a lot of it. Believe me.

Fortunately, the van was parked nearby, so we unloaded our things and found a restaurant for lunch.

Actually, it was a Chinese restaurant on the next block from the store. Lunch was very good.

Fortified, we got in the van and headed for Asakusa.

Because Ken-chan had to get the van back to the dealership, we had a limited time. So we split up and went to the places we wanted to go to and set a time to meet back at a certain point.

I took my mother and went one way. Patty and John went in another direction. Fred, Cheryl and Jessica went another. I have no idea were Ken-chan went.

In one store, we saw Patty and John. Then we didn't see them again.

We had about 90 minutes and even that was not enough.

But we had to leave and got back to Kashiwa in time so Ken-chan could return the van.

I can't remember what we did for dinner. We may have ordered something.

Oh, and that's really cool.

You call a restaurant and order whatever you want.

The food is delivered in real dishes. No plastic stuff. After you eat, you put all the dishes back on the tray and put it outside the door. And they pick it up.

You don't have to do dishes or anything!

And there's no tipping in Japan. Not for waiters, cab drivers, hotel bellmen, airport luggage handlers. No one accepts tips. No one.

I'm guessing people are paid for their jobs and don't have to depend on tips to supplement their income.