Visitor from Home

When you're overseas for a prolonged period of time, the only thing better than getting in touch with family and friends from home is getting a visit from family back home. In early April, over Josh's spring break from school, Nicki's mom came to visit. I'm not sure who was more excited about the trip, Nicki's mom, Laura, or the rest of us.

We picked her up from Narita on April 3 - the first time we had actually drive up to Narita Airport in the 3.5 years that we've been living here. She returned to the airport on April 13 to fly back to the States. And in between, we had a whole lot of fun.

We spent a few nights up at the New Sanno Hotel, which we were able to book only a week in advance, thanks to some last minute cancellations. It had been a while since we stayed up there... so long, in fact, that it made me realize how fun it actually can be. Josh got to spend a bit of time in the pool and hot tub, which he loves. And we were able to show Grammi many of the fun touristy things to see in Tokyo, including Harajuku, Tokyo Disneyland, the Emperor's Palace, and Shibuya (just Nicki and her mom). Outside of Tokyo, we also took her to Kamakura, to give her a taste of the real flavor of Japan's great temples and shrines. Grammi was even game for going to Kawasaki for the annual Fertility Festival, which was a blast as it is every year, even with the kids in tow.

Her trip coincided almost identically with the entire cherry blossom season, which led us into some great photo opportunities. Pics are in the Gallery, dated 04/30/2009, or you can view them by clicking here.