Thursday March 23, 2006. We got up early and went to the airport. Our flight from Albuquerque to Houston took about 2 hours. We flew from Houston to Tokyo in about 14 hours and arrived at about 3:30 pm on Friday, March 24, after crossing the international dateline.

Friday March 24, 2006. Celestine’s cousin Masako and her husband Takashi picked us up at the airport in their Toyota Lexus. It was an adjustment to get used to everyone driving on the left-hand side of the road. They drove us from the Narita airport, under the Tokyo Bay, to Yokohama. In Yokohama, they put us up in the “Pan Pacific Hotel” overlooking the Yokohama Bay. Check out our high-tech toilet with a heated seat, bidet, butt-wash, etc.

The view from the 18^th floor (room 1813) of the Pan Pacific gave us chills of delight.


I took a quick shower, and we met Masako and Takashi in the hotel lobby. They took us out to a great sushi restaurant. Here is a shot of our Yokohama family in the restaurant:


Check out this awesome food. Notice the little crabs Takashi called “crab chips” that seem to be fighting. Takashi and Sam each ate one crab, including the shell, the legs, the head and everything inbetween. Yum!


Here is a picture of one of our appetizers, which were raw baby squids. Aren't they cute? Delicious!


Here's a couple shots of the sushi. Makes your mouth water, huh?


Masako asked if I had made reservations for hotels in Kyoto since it was spring break in Japan. I did not think anyone would be in Kyoto since the Japanese kids would still be in school. Foolishly, I had not made any hotel reservations ahead of time. Masako said she would try to find something for us.