Happy Birthday B!

Dear Brad, I'm sorry that I cant be with you on your birthday :( But....in memory of turning 26, here is a birthday day cake for you! It's actually pounded rice mixed with edible grass filled with sweet beans! Heeheehee:) Love you mole man!

Fun Stuff

So, we went to this AWESOME place called "Sweets Paradise"....a dessert buffet! Tasty morsels! This green melon soda is one of my favorites!

The place had really cool light fixtures!

The wall paper was really funky too

Did I mention they had Coffee Jello? Something i did NOT like. EW!

Then we went to this arcade place where this drum game (Taiko no Tatsujin) is popular. It was really fun!

Yes, they have bowling in Japan.....its exactly the same except for the names are in Japanese of course;) My name is number 1: cashii (カシー）

On Saturday, we had a okonomiyaki feast at church! Japanese pancakes! They are made of shrimp, octopus, cabbage, eggs, special flour, special poatatoes, and special sauce (okonomiyaki sauce) for on top. The white sauce is mayo, the green sprinkles are seaweed, and the brown shaving are dried flakes of fish. TASTY! 

I LOVE the kids here. This is Yuka.

Marie, Me, Ayako (Marie's daughter)

This is Shotaro giving me a kiss.....more like a bite actually!


There was also some intense action when I was taught how to Sumo. You start out squatting, then when your fists touch the ground, it begins. You try to throw the other person out of the ring or onto the floor. If you touch the floor with anything other than your feet, then you lose too. It was violent and fun!

ahh......so much fun:D

Tokyo

Here is a video of what we do most nights after supper:) Near the Cross is my favorite hymn. In the video, you can catch a glimpse of Stephanie from China, Margie, the family I'm staying with, and Carrie with her little one ;)

Here is Hannah. I had time to draw a picture today. In Japan, the style of "manga" is popular. It basically adds cartoonish characteristics to the picture. In manga, the eys are REALLY big, but the mouth and nose are usually REALLY small. I think I better stick with drawing things as I see them ;)

MANGA

Here we all are having curry for supper.....If you look close, you can see EVERYBODY!

Here I caught a glimpse of Fuji San (mount Fuji)

Here I am in the BIGGEST BUSIEST train station in the WORLD!

Shrimp Pizza! Yummy.....but did I mention 2 pizzas + 1 small pizza = 80.00$ in Japan!!!!!

Here is a great view of Tokyo! That random forest in the middle of the city is reserved for the Emperor and his house!

See the hotel? Its NOT a hotel. Its what apartment buildings look like in Tokyo! This is where Akito and Marie live.....on the 10th floor!

I would say sayonara, but I learned that means goodbye for a very long time, so instead I will say: matane!

Skiing at Nozawa Onsen!

We traveled about 4 hours to get to "snow country". In Japan, the temperature varies drastically in just 4 hours. Here in Hachioji, a jacket is usually sufficient for me, but in Nozawa Onsen, there was negative temps and snow! We stayed at a minshuku (Japanese Inn) for 3 nights, and breakfast and supper is included.....fish and rice for breakfast of course;) The food was delicious and the old couple who own the inn are warm and friendly....it was just a tiny place and we were the only ones there-much better than crowded hotels.

Unfortunately, we got stuck on the way there.....in very deep snow.....the tire was just spinning in mid-air. A bulldozer thing had to pull us out, but it was quite the adventure!

This is our little room we share. Here we are setting up our "beds".

You wear these hats to keep the snow out of your face. The symbol means "snow".

It snows there. A lot. This is the van after just 1 day!

The van-day 2!

Me and the kids are "wading" through the snow. It was SO FUN and fluffy :)

The skiing was VERY DIFFERENT than in America. It snowed so much the first two days, that if your ski came off, it was difficult to find! Here my ski fell of and after searching a few minutes, I finally found it completely buried a foot under snow. It wasn't showing at all. I had to pull the tip out so you can see it in the picture!

Here is the very TOP of the mountain (1, 650 Meters high). This is how snowy it was the first day.

Here is the same EXACT spot at the top the very next day. BIG difference in the weather!

In Nozawa, you have to not only shovel the sidewalk but the roof too! They had an underground running water system on the roads so snow never stuck on the roads! It was pretty cool!

(yes, i ate raw egg....and it was really ok!)

Here is an expert hill I did. The 3rd day the expert courses were a lot more slick, but the first 2 days they were bumpy with lots of snow. I did almost every trail....I think....It was a BIG mountain with lots of lifts. You had to use a map to get around. The Gondola (enclosed ski lift) was nice because it took you up most of the mountain in 15 minutes. Then, you had to get on 2 other lifts to get to the very top!