A couple of years ago my friend Eric spent about a year in Japan working on a ride for Tokyo Disney. Eric was a classmate of mine at USC and is in the Imagineering department at Disney. At the time I told him that I would come out to visit but unfortunately I never made it to see him.

As luck would have it Disney is opening a new park called Disney Sea in Tokyo and Eric is working on designing one of the new rides. This time he will be spending 27 months in Tokyo which would give me plenty of time for an Asian visit. In fact in early June, after Eric was away from the States for just a couple of months, he got more visitors than he bargained for. Not only was Curt on a project for Intel and in Japan for a couple of months himself, but Tyler, Darcy and Joe all decided to make the trip across the Pacific to visit as well.

Tokyo was really amazing. We had so much fun and learned so much about how things work over there. Some of the stuff was just crazy! From heated toilets to beer vending machines, we soon realized how truly different things can be in Japan. It made a going to Europe seem like a trip to upstate New York.

Of all the crazy stuff there, the cost of living has to be the biggest shock to your system. Beers at small local pubs run about 1000 yen or in the neighborhood of $8.50. A small apartment can run you $5000 a month easy. Dinner at a nice place - don't even ask - and we even heard stories about a $10 peach. Yes, that is one peach. They said it was a good peach, but it was a singular peach.

The trip was a huge success and it couldn't have been without Eric and Curt there giving us a place to stay and acting as tour guides. Arigato Gozimus to Eric-san and Curt-san for their generous hospitality!

Here are some pictures, hope you enjoy them!

• Some modern buildings, a ferris wheel and an old ship viewed from Yokohama.
• The Landmark Center in Yokohama. Great views from here and this building has the fastest elevator in the world!
• The Yokohama Hard Rock Cafe. Darcy and I went to Europe together and had our pictures taken infront of all the HRCs like this one.
• First day trip was to Kyoto and it was the only day that it rained. This was myself, Tyler and Curt at one of the temples.
• Curt infront of this cool Golden Temple called Kinkakuji.
• Myself and a ton of Japanese school children infront on a huge Buddha in Kamakura.
• Here I am confused at this Kamakura road sign.
• Eric, Tyler, Joe and Darcy infront of dozens of Sake kegs outside a temple in Kamakura.
• A guardtower next to the moat on the grounds of the Imperial Palace.
• Me climbing one of the walls near the palace.
• Tyler and Joe on the Palace grounds with parts of Tokyo in the background.
• Just across from the Palace I am standing in the middle of some big fountains.
• Curt, Darcy and Tyler on the subway. You can see these things were not built with tall Americans in mind.
• Street of Akihabra which is the district in Tokyo with all the electronics. There are streets and streets full of stores that have everything that you can run with electricity.
• Tyler with some of the Akihabra buildings in the backgroud. You can see the large TV screens on the buildings. Many of the buildings in Tokyo have these for advertising.
• Curt, Tyler and myself sitting down for a nice Korean BBQ (yakiniku).
• Myself, Tyler, Eric and Curt at an all you can eat Brazilian restaurant.
• Out on the town in Roppongi where Eric lives. This is like the New Orleans of Tokyo, party central. Eric really has a sweet pad in a sweet part of town!