Istanbul

A gorgeous city, truly. Unfortunately it was quite filthy. After the order and cleanliness of Tokyo, I have to admit I was a little disappointed.

Kyoto

This place is AWESOME! Nuff said.

The Marathon Monks on Mount Hiei

Perhaps one of the coolest experiences of our trip, hanging out at the Myo-o-do Temple with some new friends.

Meeting up with Nate

Our amigo Nate arrived in Tokyo the day before we left, so we got to catch and spend the day walking the streets. Had a good laugh in Harajuku when we ran into a music video being filmed in the middle of the street. Those dudes were MANIC!

We hadn't seen Nate since he visited Hawaii the year before we got married. Good times, and some good beers at a nice little bar called Brussels.

Robo Toilet

I am missing my throne in Tokyo!

The control panel looks like you could control the Millennium Falcon with it. And look at the lights on the crapper! Amazing!

Straight Hair and the Design Festa (Harajuku)

One of the big events of our stay in Tokyo was Veronica deciding to get her hair straightened (mainly because the Japanese invented the ION Straightening Perm System. She went to the salon Kua frequents in Harajuku, It took 6 and a half hours!

Meanwhile, I had a bit of free time. I wandered through the immaculate stores that make everyone just want to BUY things. Managed to stumble into the Design Festa, a free art gallery. While having a coffee I struck up a conversation with Hiro, a self professed Tokyo homeboy who loves P-Funk. He was busy running his own art installation, the Milk Bar, which in essence was a free bar. I ended up spending the afternoon with him drinking Jack Daniels, being involved in a photo shoot at the gallery, and meeting some cool Japanese artists and some fellow travelers.