The Embassy

On Monday Brayden and I headed down to Tokyo to meet up with Justin who was just arriving from China. Justin's team sent a very nice lady to pick us up from the train station and take us to our hotel. She also took us to the Embassy the next day, and then back to the train station. It was so nice of his team to help us out that way. Although we probably could have figured things out on our own, it was nice to have someone that knew the city well with us.

Shibuya Crossing. One of the busiest in the world. 45,000 people cross every 30 minutes!!

Beautiful Christmas decorations everywhere in Tokyo.

 

Monday night the three of us ventured out to the Shibuya area of Tokyo that features many restaurants and shops. Justin was in search of one in particular...Outback Steakhouse. He said that the only thing that got him through the food in China was knowing that we were going to Outback on Monday. So, with Brayden strapped on to Justin with the Baby Bjorn we walked around until we found it, and it was worth the cab ride! It was so nice to have something familiar and tasty!

The next morning we geared up to go to the American Embassy. What an experience! I have never been through such high security anywhere! There were guards all the way around the Embassy as well as on the opposite side of the road. There were bomb/squat vans on all four corners of the street surrounding the building, along with a 20 foot fence that surrounded the property. No photos are allowed to be taken inside or outside of the Embassy. I sneaked a couple of shots before getting chased down and yelled at.

Before getting in to the Embassy we went through our first security check. Luckily we were American Citizens and got to jump the 200+ person line to get Visas. They searched all of our bags, made us take out all cell phones, cameras, and anything electronic, and ran us through the metal detector. We had to leave our bags and electronics with them. We then entered into the Embassy were we got searched for the second time, and went through another metal detector.

The Embassy was packed! I didn't realize it would be so busy with people trying to get Visas into the States. Luckily the wait for reporting a birth was pretty small. Brayden was awesome up to the point of them calling our name. Of course right at that moment he decides he wants to eat NOW! So, he and I hid out in the bathroom while Justin did all the paperwork. In between the screaming breaks, I had to get his picture taken in the photo booth. Easier said than done to make sure he is not screaming, not moving, and is in the perfect place to get his passport photo. Luckily the second picture was good enough for his passport, and we were on our way out! Once back in the Baby Bjorn he was back to sleep.

He decided to skip the afternoon site seeing and head back to Hachinohe for fear of another meltdown. He was a real trooper on the 3 hour trip back home. It's so quiet on the train that you can hear a pin drop. No one talks, you're not allowed to use your cellphone (unless you go to the space in between cars), and everyone is sleeping. So, any little peep that Brayden made all heads turned in our direction. Talk about stressful! At least I could take him in between cars to feed and change him without disturbing anyone.

Overall a successful trip!