nearing the end of our time in Tokyo....

here's a few recent images from tokyo - not much time left - we return to U.S. on August 20

Walker and Dad attended a Yomiuri Tokyo Giants game at the Tokyo Dome - the Giants won easily over the Hanshin Tokyo Tigers

Alice's friend Emani invited Alice and Walker to Kidzania - an indoor children's amusement - where kids take on jobs and earn pretend money for the day - with many 'careers' to test out, the kids had a great time

Emani and Alice as ice cream parlor employees

newly employed pizza chefs

firefighters

checking out more things in tokyo:

dinner in a cafe in the Gyre building (designed by MVRDV) - overlooking Omotesando, Tokyo

a few more for the architecture geeks - especially fans of Sejima and Nishizawa - or together as SANAA

SANAA's 21st Century Museum of Art in Kanazawa

alice loved the 'pool' installation

Nikkei Sekkei's Spiral building from train - in Nagoya

Kazuyo Sejima's Gifu Kitakata housing from 1998

The project was organized by Arata Isozaki - and he selected four women architects, and a landscape architect to work together - the others include Akiko Takahashi, Elizabeth Diller and Christine Hawley - LA was Martha Schwartz

Elizabeth Diller's building:

Akiko Takahashi's project:

Hawley's building and the Schwartz landscape

Here's some of SANAA's Okarayama apartment complex in Tokyo

Penny and Stuart take on Japan

Sara's sister Penny and her partner Stuart recently stayed with us in Japan - and we visited many sites in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Magome (mountain town) - while John and Alice had a side trip to Kanazawa.

Here's a few images -

feeding the deer in Nara

lighting incense at Todaiji in Nara

Ryoanji rock garden in Kyoto

a couple images from Magone - on the Tokaido 'highway' - in the mountains

Sara and Penny in their yukata (summer robes) sitting in front of our inn after a bath

one of those sushi conveyor belt restaurants in tokyo