john and hiroe: January 2009

IHOP 1/25/09

Went out for pancakes at IHOP (Internation House of Pancakes) this morning, followed by a three hour walk at Mall of America. A nice day!

Twins day at the Dome 1/24/09

Today we went to Twins day at the metrodome. It was a collection of memorabilia sales, autographs, and games for kids.

Below is Hiroe checking out the event.

We thought Junior would enjoy it as he loves seeing and experiencing something new.

He wasn't quite old enough to practice batting.

But he enjoyed it anyway.

And Hiroe got to enjoy a bratwurst.

And back home the puppies chose to share a bed. Very good friends.

Rice for dinner 1/20/08

On to solid foods... occasionally...

In Minneapolis 1/19/09

So if anyone is wondering what your dish rack looks like when you have children, well... little plates, silverware, and bottles...

Tonight we went to the new Seward Market on Franklin Ave. It's much larger with a nice selection, including huge napa cabbage.

Junior approved.

Japan through 1/17/08

Our trip continued with an evening dinner at an oyster restaurant in Tokyo. In total, we went to Tokyo three times. Each time by Shinkansen. At dinner was Hiroe, me, Junior, Kana, Anton, and Anton's husband Makosan. It was a great dinner!

Afterward, Junior was a bit tired. He's sleeping better and better now. Good or bad, it's getting hard to wake him up.

But when he's awake, he loves seeing action. Especially in the car. Fortunately, there's lots to look at.

KFC is still quite popular in Japan. I kept hearing Hiroe and Yokko referring to Kentucky. I was curious what it was about, then found that KFC is always referred to as Kentucky. Guess that's another way to avoid the "Fried" part of the name. The Japanese characters in the picture below say "Kentakee".

There's also "Makudonarudo" in the picture below. I can never say it right. I tend to add another random syllable when I say it.

Now this is what I call a full service car wash!

Better than this one. The gentleman in the picture below is drying his car in his suit.

We stopped at a nearby supermarket. Again, plenty for Junior to look at.

I think he liked the flexibility of his seat.

In Japan, as most everywhere I suppose, Obama is big news. Let's just say there is a lot of anticipation that he'll turn things around.

Back at Yokko's, Hiroe got a chance to read to Kaho and Junior.

Hiroe's aunt Yoko and Junior.

We bought Hiroe's mom a macbook while we were there. She's entering the electronic age!

And some family photos. Tora-kun and Junior-kun.

Kaho and Junior.

And Sei-chan too.

And back in Minneapolis... Junior and Gnocchi.

Japan 1/11/09

Today was another part of the New Years celebration... the official burning of last years daruma dolls. Again, apologies that I don't have my photo tuning software with me. Anyway, about a week ago the people who live in the immediate area constructed the tower shown below. Each area builds their own tower. The inside of the tower is filled with daruma dolls and hay.

That's Hiroe and Kaho, wearing their finest witches attire. Actually, it was just clothes to keep warm. Junior is on Hiroe's back. The door to the tower is shown in the photo.

This morning at about 9 AM they set it on fire. I have video of the event, which is why I don't have any photos of the whole tower on fire.

I guess they used to start earlier - at maybe 6:30 AM. I don't know why they started later here. It would have been cool to see the tall fire in the dark before dawn.

Once the initial fire dies down, everyone takes out long sticks and starts cooking what looks like marshmallows. Actually, it's a kind of edible silk. Unfortunately, they take a long time to cook. Hiroe brought marshmallows, which cook quickly, and we made s'mores. We were the only ones making s'mores.

So many people trying to cook the silk balls...

But since they take so long to cook, many people stopped and instead had soup that one woman was serving. In fact, Mr. Akimoto just went home and stuck the balls in the microwave.