Dear Elliot, Emmala and Eliza,

WOW! Have we ever had a busy day today, touring around Tokyo. Our train passes allow us to go wherever we want in the city once we figure out where we want to go. In the morning we decided to go to Tokyo Tower. It is a large tower that has been designed to withstand earthquakes. It was built in 1959 as a television broadcast tower and a place for people to go up in elevators to look down at the city. It was also made so that it could be easily seen and avoided by airplanes both day and night. It was a little hazy, so we couldn't see everything from the top, but it gave us a really good look at the city. We also visited a park with lots of shrines and other special buildings. If you look at the picture of Tokyo Tower, you will notice a place near the top that is wider than the rest of the tower. We went up to that observation deck, which is full of a lot of different mirrors so that you can see the city no matter which direction you are facing. It also has lots of windows for looking out at the city. Then we went down to a place in the middle of the tower where we could see more things.

Grandma and Rachel found a store that has lots of Hello Kitty items. I took a picture of them sitting by a big Hello Kitty.

Then we went to look at the Imperial Palace. It is a huge complex with two moats and can be approached by two bridges for formal occasions. The first bridge is made of stone. The second bridge is made of iron. We couldn't go across the bridges, but we took pictures of them. The palace buildings are in the trees and all of the trees have been carefully trimmed and cut to look like fancy shapes.

In a little while we are going to go to a famous street with lots of shops that sell all kinds of interesting things. We are trying to find some things that will be fun to bring home to show to you.

Grandma and I are having a wonderful time touring Tokyo and tomorrow we will see even more interesting things.