Sayonara Japan!

On our last day in Japan, August 18, our flight didn't take off till 4 in the afternoon, so we decided to take the morning to do a walking tour of Asakusa, the historical district that we were staying in. We got a chance to walk through their street markets, which we hadn't had a chance to see in other parts of Tokyo. We got an early start, so we were able to see all of the shops just opening up. Everything there was pretty similar to other street markets that you see in other countries, but it was interesting none the less to actually see them operate.

After the market, we made our way over to the Sensoji shrine, which is the oldest and biggest shrine in Tokyo. We took the opportunity to check out some of the really cool Buddhist rituals. There was a large incense burner right when you walked in, and you were supposed to rub the smoke all over you, concentrating in any area that you felt ill, and it was supposed to help lead to a speedy recovery.

We were lucky enough to go when they were leading services of some sort, even though they were behind a gated area, the beautiful singing permeated the entire temple. Molly decided to partake in a ritual, where for 100 yen you shake a can with a small hole filled with numbered bamboo sticks, and whichever stick falls out, corresponds to a numbered drawer, which you go to and pull out your fortune. Unfortunately, her stick contained a very bad fortune, saying she would be unhappy in employment, marriage and life. Luckily there was a way to negate the fortune by tying it to a special rack of strings outside the temple, unfortunately, Molly tore her fortune on the rack, so who knows what will happen.

After that, we picked up our bags for the trip to Narita. Luckily, we got there easily and in plenty of time. Dave was excited to learn that McDonald's Asia has a DOUBLE BIG MAC! Though we didn't eat there, he is excited to come back and try it.

Stay tuned for our exciting adventures in Thailand. Will we adopt a Thai baby? Will we find Blackbeard's gold? Anything could happen, except those two things...