Leaves, Rockstars & Reunions

Fall was crazy this year; the blur that was October through December felt about a week long. We got a ton of shows from the USO and Armed Forces Entertainment, which meant that my office was shuttling around all of the talent. It started right before Sara and I went to Akita with Trey Songz.

Sara and I had to squat so that we were shorter. Tall girl problems.

The concert was phenomenal, and was a great way to kickoff an eventful couple of months. A lot of people have asked me what he was like, and I can honestly say not only was he amazing, yet very shy, but his crew was dynamite. This was the most difficult show we had because he got stuck in Okinawa an extra day due to a typhoon, so our itinerary was blown to pieces. Our team pulled it off, with only a few hiccups. After we got back from Akita, Daughtry came to Misawa.

Another great show, and another great group to work with. They did a meet & greet for everyone, which is atypical, so around 300 people got to talk with the band. Just like Trey Songz, they were in Misawa for less than 24 hours, so we didn't get to show them a lot of Japan. Halloween was about two weeks after Daughtry, and this year we decided to take our shenanigans to Sendai for the weekend!

Not sure what the guy sitting on our lap was dressed as, but he sure was fun.

Sara and I went as Thing 1 & Thing 2, which is my favorite costume to wear with another Sara(h). When we first left our hotel, we didn't see a lot of people dressed up, since Halloween really isn't a thing in Japan. As we got closer to the bars, we saw a lot of people dressed up, and for some reason, we got stopped every couple of yards to take pictures.

"Picture, picture, picture!"

And right after Halloween, the best part of fall happened. After being deployed for seven months, Mark finally came home! It was exciting, and weird adjusting to sharing the house with someone again.

As soon as Mark got home, we went to the Hirosaki Chrysanthemum Festival, one of our favorite festivals.

So many colors - it doesn't even seem real.

We went the last weekend of the festival, so there weren't very many vendors or crowds. The leaves were still amazing, and Mark had a great time seeing something other than dirt. On the way back to Misawa, I took him to the 100 torii gates in Goshogawara.

Fields on the way to the 100 torii gates.

This was my second visit to the shrine, as I had taken Grant when he visited in May. Most of the leaves had already fallen at the shrine, but it was still cool to see it in a different season.

Mark was home for a few weeks before our next round of shows started. This time we had Five Finger Death Punch.

Five Finger Death Punch was one of our favorite groups. They were so down to earth, and ready to do anything. Luckily, they were in Misawa for a few days, so we got to talk with them about music, Japanese culture, and what it's like living in Misawa. While they were here, they ran drills with the K-9 police on base, wearing the attack suit and everything. The last group we worked with before Mark and I left for Australia was the Harlem Globetrotters.

And for once, Sara and I felt short.

The Globetrotters game was another challenging show, purely because there were so many people. They travel with the opposing team, so we had to wrangle a total of 26 people for a few days. Fortunately, they were all great to work with and had a lot of fun out in public.

Click here to see how many Globetrotters we could fit in a Japanese photo booth.

Once the Globetrotters left, we had a decent break in our entertainment hosting, which was kind of nice since we had been going non-stop for so long. The weekend before we left for Australia, we had our second annual Ugly Sweater Party.

So much delicious mulled wine!

Even the pups got in on our reindeer games.

We basically cleaned up our party, and hopped on the plane for one of my top bucket list destinations - Australia. Australia was the perfect vacation for such a busy fall.

Christmas Day & The Robot Cafe

On Christmas Day Mark and I did some sightseeing at the Tokyo Tower. Much like the Tokyo Sky Tree, the Tokyo Tower is a broadcasting tower.

It is the second tallest building in Tokyo and was built in 1958. Standing at 1,092 feet tall, it was built to look like the Eiffel Tower and is painted orange for safety reasons.

View from the observation window.

Out of the two towers, I liked the Sky Tree better. Since it is newer, it didn't shake as much and the elevators moved faster, which is good for someone afraid of heights. After looking at the view from both observation decks, we found a photo booth.

The view from Tokyo Tower.

Photo booths are huge in Japan. Typically, men are not allowed in them, unless they are taking pictures with their girlfriends. The booths are so much fun because they are huge and have studio quality lighting. Some of them have costumes that you can put on, or special filters they apply to your photo. It's like Instagram on steroids.

Tokyo Tower Photo Booth!

We got to choose two backgrounds for this one and then we added the little hearts during the editing process. That's right, you edit your photo booth pictures. It's the best 500 yen you can spend!

Tokyo subway.

After the Tokyo Tower, we headed to the Tsukiji Fish Market. This is the biggest wholesale fish market in the world, and is where the infamous tuna auctions take place. Tourists once were able to see the auctions take place, but they have recently stopped allowing tourists in the inner market.

So many people! There were a ton of booths selling fish and other goods.

We worked up an appetite walking around so we popped into one of the restaurants located above the shops. The stairs were ridiculously steep and the sushi was simple and fresh. We had a few beers and then headed back to the hotel to prepare for the Robot Cafe.

Santa Baby at the Robot Cafe.

The Robot Cafe fits every stereotype foreigners have of Japan. Laser lights. Girls in skimpy outfits. Frantic music. Pandas riding cows. And it is the best thing we did in Tokyo.

During the battle scene. The panda riding a cow was on her side...against the robots.

The cafe is more of a show than a dinner. They provided bento boxes, but we stuck to chu-his (flavored malt beverages). It is located in the flashy Shinjuku area of town, mostly known for its shopping and nightlife.

We all got glow sticks for this portion.

The show itself is a series of scenes of pandas, anime girls, and robots battling each other. Don't try to make sense of it, because it just doesn't. Words really can't do it justice, though all I can say is if you find yourself in Tokyo for the night, this is a requirement. You won't regret it.

Don't ask why...just enjoy it.

If you want to see a bit of the show, click the picture below to watch the Robot Cafe rendition of Santa Baby (yes, we went on Christmas):

The following day we went to the Meiji Jingu shrine, which was very pretty because it was surrounded by Yoyogi Park.

Torii gate at the entrance of the park.

We wondered around, enjoying the more mild temperatures of Tokyo. We found a garden which would have been very pretty in the fall and summer, but pretty much everything was dead when we went.

Prayer cards from all over the world. It was so cool to see so many different languages.

In the garden, we saw this older man picking up pebbles and holding them flat in his hand. After a few minutes, a small sparrow-looking bird landed right on this hand and sat perched there for a few seconds before flying away.

So Mark copied him.

And then he kept trying to get me to do the same, despite my fear of birds, which we've already discussed here. After a little while, I finally worked up the courage.

In case you wondered what my fear face looks like...

But after the initial shock, we got a better picture of me once again conquering my fear.

WINNING!

And that was our Tokyo adventure. Such a great way to end two months apart.

Christmas Eve in Tokyo

Merry Christmas from the top of the Tokyo Sky Tree!

Mark and I were lucky to find ourselves in Tokyo over Christmas. Mark was returning home from a TDY,  so I met him down there. On our first day in Tokyo, we went to the Tokyo Sky Tree. The Sky Tree opened in May 2012, and is the world's tallest free-standing broadcasting tower.

Tokyo Sky Tree

The structure is 634 meters tall, or 2,080 feet, which is about 300 feet taller than the One World Trade Center Building in New York City. Since it was built so recently, everything was very clean and high tech. The elevators were specifically designed to represent the changing seasons, and had a digital display going through the seasons as you rode.

At the highest point!

We had great weather; you can see Mt. Fuji in the background.

After taking in the view, we wandered around the mall-ish area connected to the Sky Tree. We ate lunch at a really good Hawaiian place, and then went to this little Christmas area. The Japanese love Christmas, or at least the secular parts of Christmas, so everywhere we went was decorated and playing festive American music. It really added to the whole trip.

Kisses for Christmas Colonel Sanders!

One of the Christmas Town booths had hot wine, or glühwein. Mark got his mixed with rum, and I had mine mixed with amaretto. It was absolutely delicious, and we spent the afternoon enjoying the drinks, weather, and each other's company.

Christmas Town! Loved it!

After our wine, we went back to our hotel and rested up a bit before heading to Roppongi to see the Christmas lights.

Christmas Eve in Roppongi. Tokyo Tower in the background.

Street view of the Christmas lights and Tokyo Tower all lit up. It says 2020 for the Olympics!

Building by our hotel, also excited for the 2020 Olympics.

We rounded out the night by eating at a Chinese restaurant. Doesn't get much more 'Merican than that!