The #1 question we got over the past few days was "How was your Japan trip?"; the #2 question was "You went to Japan?"
Yes, we were in Japan for six days, and it was really a very last minute trip. An original work trip to Japan got canceled due to H1N1. 
We were disappointed both because we had already made arrangements on taking leave from work and also we had built up an expectation to see Japan. So when the H1N1 situation turned for the better, we resurrected our Japan plans--this time as a family holiday and not for work--bought air tickets, booked accommodations, packed and left the day after. Definitely the most last minute trip for the both of us!
Right: Me doing last minute planning of the trip. Not sure what my girl was reading...
For our lazy readers, a one-liner description of our trip would be: good but tiring, too short.
Good because Tokyo definitely has a lot to offer -- interesting and very different culture, many types of food to try out, lots of shopping, numerous outdoor options and a great chance to practice Japanese for people learning the language!
Tiring because everyday we had to lug around our 12+kg girl, along with her meals, change of clothes, water bottle, wet tissue, etc etc...and we also had our SLR camera with us. I was surprised at how sore my body was at the end of each day...think hiking was less strenuous. Moreover, everyday we need to feed her milk, feed her food during mealtimes, shower her at night and put her to bed, wash her bottles, pack-unpack her stuff. Whew!
Top: Me with my standard gear -- Jan's bag and the camera bag
Left: PT had to carry Jan for much part of day, esp when Jan naps
Too short not only because Tokyo and its surrounding has much to offer, but also the meager number of usable hours each day. This trip gave me a more realistic expectation of how much parents with young children can do each day. I have learnt to plan my days to just focus on one or two highlights, strategically plan rest stops and include lots of time buffer.
When I started writing this blog entry, I was planning to cover the highlights from the entire trip. However, as I went through the photos, I found that there were just too many things to talk about, and if I were to cover all of them, this entry would probably sit in my laptop for a very very long time. So this is the introduction to an upcoming series of entries that will talk about the interesting sights and sounds we encountered during this trip. Stay tuned!
