Thursday, we wanted to head back to the Kiba subway stop and go shopping at the place we only had lunch at the day of our second doctors visit. Tokyo can be pretty expensive in places like Shinjuku and Ginza so we were pretty excited to stock up on some things for Taka before we head home. 

Lunch was okonomiyaki and it wasn't too bad. I think I still prefer Hiroshima style more but I need to go to a more legit Osaka style place.  Yes, that is KFC behind me and McDonald's is to my left.  

And, no, we are not going to eat at either place.

We spent the entire day at the store and tried to get a little bit of everything:  toys, books and clothes. It was pretty exhausting but we had a blast. 

Back home, Taka had his onsen (bath) and then we tried again with the Choo Choo (binky).  He really started getting it this time and held it in quite a bit longer.

Even fell asleep with it.  Here is the video of him snoring and sucking on the Choo Choo:

Once we put him to bed, I went to the store and snagged some garlic seasoned Beef Tips, rice, pasta salad and croquet's and we finished off the red wine. Not a bad dinner for throwing it together. 

Our Wednesday started off a little slow. Seems that Taka isn't much of a morning person.  Since I had a 200PM appointment with the Embassy, we got quick curry lunch at Tokyo Tower.

I then headed up to the Embassy, just me, to receive Taka's VISA. Its not too far of a walk but always feels longer in this heat. Once arriving, everything went smoothly once again. Got my number, checked in and within 3 minutes, had my number called and Taka's VISA in my hands. 

On the walk back, I walked through the Hotel Okura which is next door to the US Embassy. As you can see by the photos, this hotel is stuck in the year it was built, 1964, I think. It was so retro and so cool. I expected to see Don Draper around every corner. Here are a few other pix:

Once I got back, we rested up and Taka cuddled with Mindy. 

He is sssoooo sweet and hard to resist!

Sssssttttrrrreeectttttttchhhh!!!

And sleep. 

That evening we decided to walk through Azabu Juban again. 

It is a really cool area and so many cool shops and eateries. 

Here we are getting ice cream after visiting a super legit incense shop. (Looks like I need to remember to smile and not concentrate so hard on taking the photo).

We stopped to feed Taka and take a break. I think he got a little too comfy. I think Taka and Greta will get along nicely because they both sprawl out and sleep on their backs like this. 

On our way home, we were trying to figure out what sounded good for dinner.  We didn't really want the grocery story again. Thank goodness we ran across Frijoles on a side street. This Chipotle knock off (and a darn good one to be honest) was just what our taste buds needed. 

We got home and headed up to the roof for dinner. Mindy had tacos and Coke and I had a burrito and beer. Very tasty. 

We were the only ones on the roof so we had fun taking some pix, here are some of our goofy shots:

Tuesday morning we went out for breakfast.  We had ice coffee, a cinnamon roll and almond croissant at the Tully's.  It was delicious!

Taka chilled out in his dad's arms while we ate.

Then, we headed to Yamada Denki at Shimbashi to buy a washlet!  Everyone who knows anything about Japan knows they have the best toilets in the world!  That is partly thanks to the washlet: heated seats, bidet, quiet-closing seat... makes you want to stay in your bathroom all day long!  After choosing the washlet, a worker told us they don't convert to toilets in the US.  Needless to say we didn't buy one, but I don't believe it's true so I'm doing more research.

Feeling a little bummed, we decided to go somewhere to lift our spirits... Shinjuku!  Back on the train, we headed to the best book store ever, Kinokuniya.

First stop, however, was lunch.  Eric had his first beef stew omeraisu (omelette with rice inside) and I had pasta in a bread bowl.  yum.  Taka did really well and slept the entire time.

The crosswalk from Shinjuku train station to Times Square at the south exit.

Matcha smoothie at Starbucks.  Taka started to get fussy after our Starbucks stop so we didn't get much time at the book store.  I got a few books, though, for when he gets a little older.  

As my students would say, they are epic!  I can't wait to show them to everyone!

Back in the subway, waiting 2 minutes for our train to come.

Isn't it fun to people watch?  Luckily, the girl on my right didn't hurt anyone with her stick!

The night ended with our amazon packages arriving.  I don't know if it's because we are in Tokyo or because it's amazon Japan, but when you place your order, the packages come the next day (sometimes, same day service).  What IS this place?  Awesome!  Can you guess what's in these boxes???

...formula and diapers, of course!

And, if you can read the Japanese subtitles on the TV, it's pretty funny.  I didn't plan that one.

Today was a pinnacle day with the much anticipated visit to the US Embassy in Tokyo. We didn't know what to expect or how intense it would be but it went really well! They didn't allow any electronics so we don't have photos from the trip. (The one above was taken after we returned home). 

Once we arrived at the embassy, we waited in a room that reminded me of the DMV. When our time came to go to the window Ogawa-san proceeded to place all of our paper work, in order, for the embassy worker. She was very precise and methodical and thank goodness because even though we have reviewed all the paper work a few times over, it still was over whelming. Having her with us made the process so much smoother. 

Once the head master had our paper work, he told Ogawa-san that we would try to get our interview in on the same day. This was such great news. Not having to go back for the interview would be such a relief. We waited about 20-30 more minutes and then our number came up again. This time we had our interview. Really, though, he just walked us through specific pieces our our paper work and asked some questions. After all this time wondering about THE interview, thinking it might be more of an interrogation like you see in the movies, the whole thing really was quite simple and after about 30 minutes with the second person, we were all set. The only remaining thing is that I will need to go back to the US Embassy to pick up Takahiro's passport and VISA!

Today was great and we are so glad to have had both the initial paper work session and the interview in one day and we are so thankful to have Ogawa-san to help us through all of this. It feels really good to have all this behind us but I think we will all breathe easier once we have Taka's passport and VISA in our hands. 

Because it was such a big day, we wanted to celebrate by going out to dinner. And what type of food in Japan would be the most suited for our celebration?

BBQ.

In Azabu Juban, we found a Texas BBQ restaurant that seemed the most fitting. BBQ and beer to celebrate Takahiro's VISA day.

So we toasted the success...

and chowed down on ribs, brisket, sausages and cornbread with molasses butter. 

Although there are differences between KC and Texas BBQ, it tasted great and felt like home.  We ate the dessert (pecan pie and key lime pie) so quickly that I forgot to take a picture.

Here we are with Craig, the owner, after our meal. He is a really nice guy and super smart - designed his own smoker that is located on the first floor of the restaurant and was doing it right by only using US Beef and white oak for the smoker. Well done, Craig!