SUSHI IN JAPAN!

I had SUSHI in JAPAN for lunch during my long layover in Narita!

Mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm.

I ordered just one roll... an eel and cucumber roll... and it was de-licious!!

out on the streets of Narita, Japan

My mom said that there are red and blue mailboxes in Japan... 

one is for domestic and the other international...

(although I'm not sure which is which).

Even their milk is CUTE!

I stopped at a cute cafe and this is what I had for breakfast:

Umbrella... fail.

cute signs around Narita, Japan

I'm not sure what either of these say... but they are the cutest little outdoor stools I've ever seen!

Awesome sign over a restaurant...

Again... not sure what it says... but pretty awesome...

randoms at the temple...

More fun around the Naritasan-Shinshoji Temple...

rats and dragons in Narita, Japan

I was born in the year of the rat...

But this year is the year of the dragon...

(Found on the side of the street in Narita, Japan.)

Narita shops...

There were a number of shops on the street I walked along in Narita, Japan... both touristy shops and grocery stores. It seems like this city is gearing up for more and more tourism (...there are even a number of websites dedicated to going out and about in Narita during a long layover!)

Normal...?? ...Feeing pigeons IN the shop!

(Other than the pigeons...) everything is so clean and well-labeled! 

Naritasan-Shinshoji Temple

I made it to the area of the Naritasan-Shinshoji Temple... Beautiful!

There was a small pond with lots of turtles sunning themselves...

Location:Narita, Japan

Narita, Japan

The walk down to the temples was beatific! A lovely road with shops, restaurants, and houses on either side...

A restaurant showing food options...

Location:Narita, Japan

8-hour layover in Narita, Japan

I had an 8- hour layover in Narita, Japan on my way home to the States... Arriving earl Wednesday morning. ...So I made the most of it and took the subway one stop to the town of Narita.
It was great to get out and about a bit... See a tidbit of Japan, and walk around.

I was really excited at how CLEAN the town was! (kind of like Singapore!) ...AND that you can drink the water here :)

I found a map of the city posted on the street and decided to walk down to the temples in the green area on the right...

Location:Narita, Japan

Sunrise heading fromHCMC to Japan

The sunrise was beautiful from the plane while flying from Ho Chi Minh City to Narita, Japan...

...and it went from pink to yellow...

delayed and re-routed

Well, I'm sitting the DC airport... In the United States!

I've made it this far... but my flight from Narita, Japan was delayed landing in DC and I missed my flight from DC to Rochester. Seriously, the little flight that's just over an hour long is the one that got me.

I was supposed to land in Rochester at 6:30pm... but I'm now waiting for a 10:00pm flight ...to Buffalo ...landing at 11:15pm.

Ok... Enough complaining OTHER than to say that this does not feel like a wonderful 'welcome back' from the States. I've been so excited for this visit home... But I have had none of the feelings like when I landed in San Francisco for my spring break and literally skipped up to the customs desk!

I did some yoga, stretching, and breathing just now, which helped to relax a bit... as well as wake up a bit. I've been telling myself that this happens and I need to be flexible...

My time in NY already felt short so now, even more so, I want to concentrate on enjoying the 4 days I have ahead of me in my hometown with family and good friends! I'm lucky enough to even have a few friends flying in this weekend to see me!! I'm lucky in life and this is just a little thing... but I am 'delaying' and 're-routing' my fondness for the States for now while I sit at Gate A3A in the airport instead of where I thought I'd be right now... eating a hot dog with chili sauce down by the lake! D'Oh!

pure joy!

These kids live on my street... they're awesome!

(And they just laughed and laughed when I showed them these pictures!)

oh... the life of a xe om

Nice.

mmmm $7.00 sushi lunch!

I took myself out for a lovely sushi lunch yesterday... this spread was less than $7.00 total. Seriously. Yes, please!

The Sushi Bar even brings this yummy little yogurt drink (cult of yogurt?!) at the end of the meal.  :)

beautiful outside in Saigon

The following pictures were taken at the track where we held our school's Sports Day...

Fun randomness at the track...

I like this house... flowers hanging from the top floor

...laundry from below!

This track had a great backdrop!

Suzie, a 6th grader, helped take a bunch of photos with my camera... and I think this one is pretty awesome!

Nice temple on the way back to school...

AIS middle school GRADUATION ceremony

AIS held each campus' graduation (moving on) ceremony at the Opera House in District 1. This was my first time in the beautiful building and I was really looking forward to it.

You can read more about Ho Chi Minh City's Opera House by clicking here... 
I think the background of the place is pretty interesting!