Hakone for a Day!

Since we have a car now, we decided to drive to Hakone for the day. We used the Navi in the car to get us there and it took us up a road that was the road from hell. It turned into a small winding road but we got to Hakone in record time. We wanted to go to the Open Air museum so we parked by the lake and used the ropeway. We had a great time and stopped by the black egg place on the way back. Oh, and Mt. Fuji was beautiful!

We could have taken the nice highway up to Hakone but instead took this two lane backroad.

The gondola at the bottom.

The girls on the ropeway.

Going down!

Ready to go in.

At the museum!

 The sulfur vents.

 The man getting the boiled eggs.

The eggs turn black in the water. The boiled eggs are supposed to be good for you.

 Beautiful!

Love this shot!

Fuji!

Christmas in Tokyo

We had a terrific time in Tokyo with Joanna's brother Peter. He was a fantastic host and made ANOTHER incredible Christmas dinner!

Tokyo Tower during the day.

Tokyo Tower at night!

Still love the Roppongi signs.

Beautiful!

Love them!

A different view.

Having a great time with family and friends!

Alex and Basketball

I know that in the near future I'll be looking back on these days and remembering how great it was to watch Alex play basketball. His game has improved so much and today they won both games in a tournament and his team is in the top eight. In the first game, Alex played the first quarter and five minutes of the last quarter as his team won 109-34. The second game was much more challenging but his team ended up winning by 25 points and he went down in the fourth quarter with leg cramps. He jumped for a rebound once, twice, then three times and went to the ground with about three other opposing team players and stayed on the ground. I saw him lift his leg up in the air and I knew it must be cramps. He ended up sitting out the rest of the game. In a few weeks they face a team that schooled them in this same tournament. Hopefully they'll do better the next time around.

We had a beautiful drive along the Izu Peninsula on the way to his game.

Alex didn't have much to do in the first game.

Rachel was SO excited to watch Alex play!

 Alex going up for the shot.

This is the way Alex shoots! Just kidding. He's going up for a rebound!

I think someone was pulling out a wedgie during the game!

What Happened to Japanese and United States Relations?

We went to one of Alex's tournaments last year and walked through a tunnel under an intersection and found the border between Japan and the United States!

But when we went back to the same tournament this year...the border had been erased! What has happened to our relationship with Japan?

Salad?

A few weeks ago I asked Alex what he was eating and he said, "A salad!" After closer inspection, I realized his definition of a salad was imitation crab, wieners, and a stick of string cheese!

And We Never Get Tired

I don't know why but I never get tired of seeing Mt. Fuji. There is something mesmerizing about it!

Pumpkeen!

We were at the store and saw some things on sale including...Pumpkeen snacks!

Shopping on Amazon.com.jp

You never really know what you are buying on Amazon.com.jp.  There is a picture and the button that says: Add to the cart is in English.  The general description is however still in Japanese.
We have been doing most of our Christmas shopping online, but have been surprised when things arrive.  I told Alex the other day, "Sorry, I had a problem with one of your presents today" and he said, "I don't care".  I told him to remember on Christmas morning that he said that so he won't be totally disappointed with his gift. (Tell you later what it is).
This past weekend, Januck ordered an address book because ours is looking old and it is hard to find info in it with crossed out addresses. He finally found one that had A,B,Cs rather than the Japanese letters. It came yesterday and it is so much smaller than he expected.  It is an adventure!

Early Christmas Package from the Ontiveros'

Wow!  Were we surprised when we got this package last night from the Post Office.  Hilda and Michael - THANK YOU SO MUCH!  We are of course craving Mexican food with good beans and salsa.  The candy and gum are a treat because we can't get black licorice, cinnamon flavored candy and sugarless gum here in Japan.  We will be dividing all the candy equally between the three of us-Sorry, Rachel but you can get this in Michigan where you are living now.   You guys are the best!