Sushi for Breakfast

 We made it to Japan.  One of the stereotypical things that we Americans do when we arrive in Tokyo is wake up early on our first day here and go to the fish market at Tsukiji.  So that's what we did!  In fact, we sat next to some Americans from California who had just arrived that morning at 5am.  But first, the striking conclusion to our journey to actually get to Japan.

We were supposed to depart from Dulles on Sunday, and we did!  But we turned around because of plane sensor issues.  We were rebooked to leave the next day and fly from DCA through Chicago.  But when we got home Sunday night, that flight got canceled.  So we stayed on the phone for about 3 hours to get rebooked again.  Some terrible options were discarded (such as waking up early Monday to fly economy through Los Angeles). We agreed to fly out Tuesday from Dulles thru Chicago and end up in Narita, the less close Tokyo airport.  After a day of resting on Monday, we cheerfully headed out to the airport on Tuesday to make the opposite trip from what we did 17 years ago when we took Will to the United States for the first time.

Back on the Metro to Dulles

We arrived at the airport, went through security again, and settled in with some coffee and snacks while waiting for our flight to board.  Then we get the text:  Your flight to Chicago has been delayed 3 hours due to lack of a crew.  Since our layover in Chicago was 4 hours, this was not great news.  Dan went to the customer service desk to sort through it and we ended up getting rebooked.  The customer service agents (yes, they sent him to multiple agents) were confused as to how many re-books were on our trip, but ultimately put us on the same plane we were supposed to take Sunday, direct from Dulles to Haneda, even maintaining our business class upgrade.

After arriving, we took a cab to our apartment hotel.  "Ah, the Kroboth Family.  You made it!"  We dropped off our bags and made the necessary journey to get food.  In order to ease ourselves into the food experience, we opted for burgers from a place called Crane .  They were amazing.

Kudos to our host, effectively posing in the background

There was much sleeping after dinner, then we woke up early the next morning to have SUSHI FOR BREAKFAST!  Alex got salmon rolls, quite typical.  He also drank the tea that I managed to successfully order, unintentionally for everyone when I meant to just order it for myself.  Dan, of course, is eating Chirashi.

Facing Fresh Fish

For Will, I order a sushi platter that featured some of the best, fresh, sushi options.

Deluxe breakfast omelet sushi included

How did we know it was super fresh sushi?  The fish behind the counter implied it.  He was the only one left in his tank. 

Lots of Space in the Tank

But there was additional evidence.  

Do you see the little tentacle at the top wiggling?  And the undulating!  It was a little unnerving.  It didn't seem to like being touched with chopsticks and also appeared to be trying to escape the top of the sushi.  Will opted not to eat the little guy, but of course, we have Dan-who-can-eat-anything-once with us. He said it was crunchier than he anticipated.

Finally, in conclusion, at the end of this post, here is the Chat GPT wrapup:  :)

Our journey to get to Japan might have been filled with twists and turns, but it only made our arrival all the more memorable. As we savored each bite of sushi and embraced the excitement of being in this vibrant city, we knew that our adventures in Japan were just beginning. Tokyo had already captured our hearts, and we were ready to immerse ourselves in all the wonders this incredible destination had to offer.

So, stay tuned for more tales of our escapades in Japan. The journey had been eventful, but it was only the prelude to the remarkable adventures that awaited us in the Land of the Rising Sun. Arigato for joining us on this incredible journey!

:) Not bad, but I'm really going to have to find the generative text tool that incorporates my tone and writing style.  It's what all of the kids are using these days... to complete their homework.