Ruby and Justin had several locations in mind for their Spring vacation, what made Japan their top choice?

1.   ?    Ruby's friend Yuki had recently returned to Japan after living in Houston and had invited her to visit.
2.   ?    Ruby and Justin had been taking Japanese language courses together for over a year and wanted to use their skills.
3.   ?    Ruby and Justin love Japanese food and wanted to try the real deal.
4.   ?    Justin wanted to check out Japanese Universities for possible professorships when he graduates.

Ruby and Justin's plane took them from Houston to Tokyo non-stop. How did they occupy the majority of their time on the 14 hour and 23 minute flight?

1.   ?    Ruby mostly tried to sleep while Justin read articles for class.
2.   ?    Ruby and Justin mostly talked to each other and planned their trip.
3.   ?    Ruby mostly read her book while Justin read articles for class.
4.   ?    Ruby mostly watched movies & tried to sleep while Justin read Ruby's book.

Ruby and Justin spent the majority of their time in Tokyo, where did they stay?

1.   ?    At a budget hotel just outside of Tokyo.
2.   ?    At a luxury hotel in the city center.
3.   ?    At Yuki's posh Tokyo apartment.
4.   ?    At a youth Hostel close to the city center.

Remarkably, the trip was mostly free of drama and meltdown material. What was the only issue that served as an early bump in the road?

1.   ?    Justin accidentally broke their camera while trying to take a close up photo of a Japanese sumo wrestler.
2.   ?    Both Ruby and Justin got sick after eating some grilled meat from a roadside stand.
3.   ?    Ruby and Justin planned on using their bank cards to change money via ATMs -but it initially appeared that this would not be possible.
4.   ?    Ruby became totally overwhelmed by all the people and lack of peace on the Tokyo streets and in the shops.

On her first full day in Tokyo, Ruby played a traditional Japanese fortune telling game. What was her fortune?

1.   ?    She would enjoy a long and healthy life.
2.   ?    She would marry a rich and successful businessman.
3.   ?    She would find great joy and pleasure in her friendships.
4.   ?    She would experience some bad luck.

Yuki and Hideaki took Ruby and Justin to a museum on Sunday. To which museum did they go?

1.   ?    Met Art Museum: From oil paintings to calligraphy, pottery and sculpture, this is the place where contemporary Japanese artists show off their work.
2.   ?    Edo Tokyo Museum: The museum shows how Edo, a small 15th century fishing village, came to be the huge Tokyo metropolis of today.
3.   ?    Kanto Earthquake Museum: The earthquake struck on September 1, 1923. Tokyo, was flattened and 58,000 people died.
4.   ?    Met Photography Museum: Many traveling exhibitions pass through and in the basement you'll find a special exhibition devoted to animation and cinematography.

Ruby and Justin participated in two different traditional Zen-based activities / rituals. Chose both of them.

1.   ?    Long-bow Archery.
2.   ?    Hotdog eating.
3.   ?    Tea Ceremony.
4.   ?    Flower arranging.

What did Ruby and Justin do that they normally scoff at and ridicule?

1.   ?    Took tons of pictures.
2.   ?    Went crazy buying gifts and keepsakes.
3.   ?    Used their credit cards to have an extra good time.
4.   ?    Went on a touristy bus tour.

Ruby and Justin missed their scheduled cable car ride up to a mountain-top temple and premium Mt. Fuji view. What made them miss it?

1.   ?    Justin was too busy shopping and decided not to go.
2.   ?    Justin lost track of time.
3.   ?    Ruby misunderstood the time to meet.
4.   ?    Ruby was still a bit seasick from their mountain lake cruise.

While exploring Tokyo on their own, Ruby and Justin paid a visit to Kiddy Land. What is it?

1.   ?    A baby goat themed petting zoo.
2.   ?    A four-story children's playland focused on developmentally appropriate educational fun.
3.   ?    An amusement park themed around Japanime characters.
4.   ?    A store full of cartoon and child-themed merchandise.

What education/school-related thing did Ruby and Justin do while in Tokyo?

1.   ?    Taught an English class.
2.   ?    Visited an elementary school.
3.   ?    Attended a conference.
4.   ?    Nothing, this was vacation.

On the long flight home what two unfortunate things happened to one of our travelers?

1.   ?    Ruby had hot coffee spilled on her and the meal choices all involved fish.
2.   ?    Ruby had a very large man in the seat in front of her and a sick child next to her.
3.   ?    Justin had to sit next to a guy who had bad breath and some serious gastro-intestinal issues.
4.   ?    Justin left his school book at Yuki's place and accidentally packed his snacks in his checked luggage.

What did Justin do to try and help Ruby deal with her unfortunate seating situation?

1.   ?    Gave her his blanket and pillow.
2.   ?    He traded seats with her.
3.   ?    Asked the flight attendants to restrict the meal portions of the man in front of Ruby.
4.   ?    Just kept reading his book.

Finally on the 38 minute flight from Houston to Austin what lucky thing happened?

1.   ?    Justin found himself sitting next to two Norwegians and got to practice his Norwegian and talk Scandinavian politics.
2.   ?    Ruby and Justin got to take an earlier flight -thus arriving home sooner.
3.   ?    Ruby and Justin were both bumped up to first class due to their frequent-flier miles.
4.   ?    Ruby sat next to a High School friend who just happened to be in the seat next to her.

Where would you like to go next?

1.   ?    See the photo album from this trip.
2.   ?    Ruby's Favorite Japanese Stationary Store.
3.   ?    Go back to Justin's homepage.
4.   ?    Google.