Tokyo, Japan

Location: Sanrio Puroland, Tama City, Tokyo, Japan
Visited: March 2010

Sanrio Puroland was absolutely hilarious. I felt like I was five years old again. My husband was more than a little bit creeped out, but he enjoyed watching me have fun. As an added bonus, since it was my birth month, I got a birthday card from Hello Kitty. It folds out, and let me tell you, I am always ridiculously pleased with myself when I have a fold-out on a page.

Tokyo, Japan

Location: Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
Visited: March 2010

I cannot say enough good things about the Ghibli Museum. You weren't allowed to take photographs inside, so these pages (and the postcards we purchased) are literally the only images I have of the place. As longtime fans of animation in general and Miyazaki in particular, my husband and I knew we absolutely could not skip this one. And it ended up being quite probably our favorite stop on the entire trip.

Tokyo, Japan

Location: Meguro Parasitological Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Date: April 2010

Because he is a deeply disturbed man, my darling husband was quite interested to visit the only parasite museum in the world during our trip to Japan. He was especially keen to see the 28-foot tapeworm (the white thing with the blue background). The place turned out to be quite tiny - the interior photos shown here, including the gift shop, are all in one moderately size room - but completely unforgettable. The stamp in the upper right corner was one of many collectible stamps we came across at assorted attractions and train stations.