We made it to Tokyo! The nice thing about living in Portland is the direct flight on Delta from Portland to Tokyo. 11 hours there and 9 on the way back. No layovers. Definitely worth it when traveling with a kid. Rowan was great on the flight, but on all other overseas flights we have taken each seat has its own personal monitor you can pick movies/shows/games on. It is a lifesaver for a kid who is old enough to know of those things (Rowan is), but on this flight we didn’t have those things. There was just the overhead monitors that played 4 movies over the duration of the flight. Lame. My ticket wasn’t any cheaper this time but not as many amenaties on the flight. Go figure. Also, they give earbuds to you instead of headphones now – these do not work for kids. Rowans ears are too small and they fall out continuously. She was so frustrated by it that she stopped watching the only kids movies they played – Toy Story 3 – have way through. Other than that we had a fine flight. Rowan played endlessly with Barbies and talked to me about I don’t even remember what. She only fell asleep for the last 2 hours but she was pretty hard to get up when we landed. That would have been almost midnight Portland time. She was a trooper.
After the flight we had to take a train into Tokyo to meet Jason. This was the tricky part because those of you who know me well are aware that I am directionally challenged. I was very nervous about procuring tickets and getting on the right train all by myself. We did get lost once and Rowan kept reminding me that she wished daddy was here because he would know where things were. I had to finally go up to a random stranger and ask if I could use his phone to call Jason. He finally found us though and we made it to the apartment around 8pm Tokyo time. Just in time for bed. I was so tired I thought I would fall asleep walking to the apartment. Rowan was just getting her second or third wind and was ready to party. We made her go to sleep though and she was fine until 3am when she woke up and made it so no one else could sleep with her constant sighing and kicking (she is sleeping on the floor next to our bed). Did I mention that Tokyo apartments are small and compact?
Today Rowan and I went to yoga practice at Studio Yoggy. The Mysore class is from 7 – 10. We arrived around 8 and the room was packed. Jason said there were 61 people today. I had to wait a few minutes before a spot opened. It was a great practice and I was completely drenched by the end. There is a great big lobby that Rowan hung out in while I practice. We brought her backpack and she colored and played Barbies the whole time. She is amazingly good at keeping herself occupied. I had at least 3 students ask me if pink was her favorite color. And on the train on the way there this morning Rowan was the only person on the train not wearing black, gray, or navy blue. She definitely stood out in her pink Hello Kitty shirt and pink skirt.
After practice we had tea and yummy pumpkin scones with 3 of the yoga students. Two were Japanese and one is a visiting student from Norway named Lars. He has been here for a few months studying Aikido with a 75 year old master and living at the Aikido studio he is practicing at. Oh, and he is also a concert pianist. Yeah – random and cool at the same time. Jason is going to go to a beginners class with him this weekend.
Later we walked around Tarik’s neighborhood and looked in some cool stores and had some yakitori chicken. Now we are all back at the apartment and Jason is practicing yoga downstairs while Rowan and I are upstairs in the bedroom doing her schoolwork. She has been really into the idea that she will be “home schooled” while in Japan. Hey, whatever makes her excited about doing her work! When Jason is finished we will go to the market for dinner and come home for BED. My goal is stay awake until 8pm tonight 
Okay – that is a long update on our day. Next blog entry will be more interesting I hope. I have included some pictures from our day – click on them to see a bigger version.
