Then Osaka!

After Kyoto we went to Osaka! It was so close! We only spent one night there, so we didn't do many things. We stayed next to his famous street (I am sorry I can't think of the name of it) and there we ate takoyaki (octopus balls!). Then we went to the Umeda building, which has an observatory on the roof. I was amazing!!! Then we went to some castle (I don't remember the name, sorry) but it was closed because it was close to New Year's! I can't wait to go to Osaka again!

Christmas in Kyoto

For Christmas I went to Kyoto with a lot of people. We stayed at this really great hostel (which I didn't get photos of, I am sorry). It was nice to get away for a while. On my trip I went to Kyoto Tower (first photo), the Golden Temple (next two photos), the Silver Temple (which has a nice zen garden!)(next three photos), the place that has all the orange Ottori gates (sorry I don't remember the name)(next photo). I was shocked to find out the writing on them is corporations. They are all sponsored! It is supposed to be a holy place! Oh well. Finally, I dressed up like a Geisha, actually it was a Maico (an apprentice Geisha)(last photo). It was fun!

Traditional Japanese Christmas

The Japanese don't celebrate Christmas. Their image of Christmas is going to Disneyland and eating KFC for dinner. I am not kidding! They also eat Christmas cake. This year, we decided to have a traditional Japanese Christmas of KFC! It was soo good, but I was sick after we ate! We couldn't find cake though, but it was ok. Everyone got nice presents, and Jack and Jeff even dressed as Santa! Can you guess who is who?
Jack was really proud of his Christmas jumper (sweater).

Let's pound mochi!

I went to the mochi pounding party in Kamakura again this year. It was fun! This year Jack came with me and we pounded away. Baby Anna was there too! Don't you think that Jack and I look like a yuppy married couple adopting an Asian baby?!? I think so too! Luckily Junpei stepped into the next shot to show who the real daddy is!

Jeffrey's Birthday!

Jeff’s birthday was December 16th. I went a little overboard! But he is a really good person and he does so many things for others, he deserves someone making a big deal about the day he was born. Plus I just love him sooo much ;)
For dinner we went to a French restaurant here in Bando. They reserved a room for us, it was really nice! We had a four course meal. I have three of the courses pictured. We forgot to take a photo of the second course! I assure you it was good though. The first course was…..I am not sure but it had cavier in it! The second one was….hum I can’t remember because we didn’t take a photo of it! The third course was a sweet potato soup. Yummy! The finally course was beef. It was all soo good.
Then it was time for cake. I Jeff had mentioned once he wished he could have some carrot cake. Carrot cake is not common in Japan. So, I had my Dad send me some, with cream cheese frosting, from the US (thanks Daddy!). My next issue was, where do I bake it? Japanese kitchens do not have ovens. Luckily, Reiko’s family has a small oven. I decided cupcakes would be best, because Dad had sent some Happy Birthday candles as a surprise (thanks again Daddy!), one on each cupcake would look nice. My final issue was, where do I find a cupcake pan? Because ovens are not common, it isn’t easy finding baking supplies. Finally I found one (and some cute paper cupcakes cups) and Reiko and I spent hours baking. It was worth it because they turned out really nice and they made Jeff happy and that was the whole point anyway! I was really nervous about his birthday, but it turned out to be a success and he was really thankful for all the work put into it, and touched by all the people who came. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF!