Kimono Luncheon

I had a great time at the Kimono Luncheon the AWA Japanese ladies hosted for us this past week. Getting into a Kimono is no small feat. It took two Japanese ladies to pull and tuck and pull tighter until I was hardly able to breath. After about 30 minutes in it my lower back was aching and I could not wait to get it off. What an honor to be able to wear one though. It was such a unique and fun experience.

Thank you Komichi-san and Mitsiko-san for helping to put the Kimono on.

Japanese/American Cooking Club

Each month on the third Thursday of the month we go to a community center near base to cook with our Japanese friends. We alternate months and this month was the American's turn to cook. They wanted to have casseroles, and we did that with a Mardi Gras theme. We had gumbo, broccoli casserole, chicken divine, a king cake and I was going to make bananas foster.

Here I am showing Hitomi-san and Miyako-san how to make a crepes. We had so much fun trying to make the perfect circle.

After we are done cooking we all set the table and sit down to eat together. Usually we are there from 10-1. We clean up together and talk about what we want to cook for the next month. Next month it is the Japanese turn to host. They are going to teach us how to make miso soup, potato croquettes and rolled sushi. I can't wait!

Here are our "bookkeapers" who tally the grocery receipts and tell us how much we owe. Take a close look and see the abacus they used for counting.

Ueno Zoo

On Sunday, Chad was out of town and the girls and I decided to train into Tokyo to see the the Ueno Park and Zoo. We were ready for an outing and the day was beautiful. Once arriving at the Ueno Station, all of us were hungry. We found a Soba Noodle Shop right outside the train station. Lunch was great and now we were ready to explore. We walked through the park and found a stand selling candy dipped bananas. Lauren, like her Aunt Kim wanted nothing to do with them...but Allie thought they looked devine.

Upon more exploring we found a 100 yen amusement ride are. The girls got to pick 3 rides each and loved riding them. They even learned the kanji for entrance and exit while boarding and unboarding the rides.

Here we are now at the Ueno Zoo. We were looking forward to seeing the Giant Pandas given to Japan from China, but the last one they had passed away last year due to "sickness". We saw lots of other animals instead.

On the way out I was tempted by this crepe display, but resisted. Another fun and exciting day out in Japan for the Whites.

Getting home

Sorry it took me so long to get to my last post on the snow festival. We ended our trip with a bus ride up to Lake Shikotsu. I was wondering if the 90 minute ride up a narrow windy road would be worth it, but let me assure you it was. This place was magical. There is an area where different groups or companies have made these huge ice displays and caves.


The one below had pine frozen in it. As soon as you walked into the ice cave it smelt like the most intense Christmas trees. Truly spectacular!


The girls loved all of the icicles hanging down.

After our trip to the lake was complete it was time to get to the airport to leave and go back home. We were pretty tired from our full 3 day trip and were looking forward to Sunday to relax and rest. Once we got to our gate we looked out the window and this is how it looked.

The de-icer machine was working hard, but just couldn't get the job done. It was really coming down hard. We boarded the plane and waited almost an hour and then they asked us to de-board and wait at the gate. Finally we got word that our flight was cancelled. So we ended up sleeping at the airport. Each of us got one blanket, found a cozy spot on the floor and slept.

Here is Allie the next morning, still not quite awake.

Finally at 10:30 the next morning we took off.

Otaru

The following morning we took the train (about a 40 minute ride) to a coastal town called Otaru. This small village is a fishing town, but also known for their glass and glass blown objects. Right outside the train station was another igloo and the girls took a little break to rest their legs.

Back to running in the snow. Here they climbed up the snow bank. You can see how high it is with the car in the background. Lauren's favorite thing to do was to make snow balls and roll them in the snow until they were huge. She would lug them around for hours.


Lots of seafood for sale. I saw the biggest scallops I have ever seen in my life. Crab is also indigenous to the waters off the coast here.

Along this canal at night is illumination with hundreds of little snow made candle holders.

I picked up this little hat in one of the shops. Fun!

Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival)

After we checked in the hotel (The Sapporo Grand Hotel), we put our bags in the room and headed outside to walk through the snow sculptures. They were amazing!!!! They truck the snow in from the mountain and spend several days carving them. The detail was just unreal.

I didn't realize but Tokyo is a candidate for the 2016 Olympics. Wouldn't that be a fun trip to take in a few years.



The girls loved the ice slides and spent a good time sliding down them.

There was a snowboard slope set up where snowboarding enthusiasts could go up and show there tricks and jumps. Here is Chad thrashing it up. (Not really....)

We ended the night with a group dinner at a local restaurant. I think there were 25 of us. The kids killed time by playing a little pool.

Sapporo, Japan

This weekend we spent in Sapporo, Japan for the annual Snow Festival they hold there. It is on the northern island of Japan called Hokkaido. They get a ton of snow there and it is very cold. We went on a tour with several other friends from base for three full days and 2 nights. We met the bus for the airport Thursday morning at 5:30. From there we flew up to Sapporo which took 1 1/2 hours. Once we landed in Sapporo we got our luggage and took another bus to the Sapporo Brewery for lunch (90 minutes of all you can eat and drink).


Lunch was Korean BBQ that we grilled at our table. Very delicious food and beer.



Here was our gang that we went on the trip finishing our last beers before heading out.

Right outside the brewery was the first glimpse of what the snow festival would be like. There was an igloo that the had benches inside that the girls loved to sit inside.

Now off to the hotel to check in!!!