Happy Christmas Time

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!  The picture above was taken just outside our front door on Christmas Eve.  It was amazing!  We heard some Christmas music down the street along with lots of flashing lights so we went out to investigate.  After a little while it made its way to our house and stopped.  It was a big beautiful fire truck!  A man came up to Madeleine and asked if she lived at a certain house.  It wasn't our number so she told him no.  Then we told him our house number and he checked a long list.  Then he looked up and smiled and said, "Is your name Madeleine?"  Madeleine's face lit up and she started laughing.  Then he told her to go to her house because Santa was on his way to meet her.  Sure enough, just a few minutes later Santa Claus came to the house bearing a gift.  Madeleine was excited (and a little stunned) and gave Santa a hug and bid him goodnight.  When she opened the gift a few minutes later she was surprised again because the package contained something she had really wanted.  Wow!

We had a quiet Christmas morning.  We enjoyed opening all of the gifts from family and friends.  Thanks everyone!  Later that day we had a Christmas dinner with some friendly neighbors.  They are from Texarkana and cooked up a truly wonderful spread.  It was just like home in Texas.  We ate way too much (just like in Texas) and waddled home late in the afternoon.  We had a really nice day spent with each other enjoying the spirit of the season.
On Saturday, Dec. 27th we headed out to Yokohama.  We were invited to that area to have dinner with some old friends, Morik and Miki and their daughter Rio.  Morik was a student of mine in 1994/5.  I looked them up when we got settled in only to find out they were preparing for a move from Tokyo to Abu Dhabi.  Anyway, we decided to go a few hours early and see the sites of the port town of Yokohama.  We first went to a park by the water.  It was a nice park with sculptures and water features.  We walked along the shoreline and then headed over to a place called CosmoWorld.
One of the attractions in CosmoWorld is a giant ferris wheel.   I believe it is about the size of The Eye in London.  We got on as the sun was beginning to set.
To our surprise, Mt. Fuji sneaked out from between the skyscrapers.
After having a good time at CosmoWorld, we headed back toward the train station.  We took the picture above of the ferris wheel in the background to show the beautiful lights.  They were constantly changing colors and patterns.  It was great because of the huge scale.  We snacked on some yummy sweet treats shaped like little teddy bears and continued to the station.
Vanessa and Madeleine under the arch of love.  We made our way to the station where we were meeting our friends.  From there we all walked over to China Town.  It is pretty similiar to the one in San Francisco.  Huge ornate gates at all of the entrances.  The area was very lively and full of lights and street hawkers.  Morik and Miki brought their two year old daughter, Rio.  She was very cute and outgoing.  It was our first time to meet her and soon became friends.  She was born in Rio de Janiero.  We walked to our restaurant which was a very large, beautiful building with lots of marble and ornate wooden carvings.  Morik had reserved a special room for us.  It was at the top of a gorgeous marble stairway.  We had a delicious multi-course meal (I lost count after 10) and a few chinese beers.  It was great visiting them  and they invited us to Abu Dhabi anytime during the four years they will be there.  We might just go!
A few days later we took the train to Odawara.  This city is on Sagami Bay and is famous for the Odawara Castle.  (From the brochure:  It was the stronghold of various daimyo during the Muromachi period of Japanese History. From 1495 onward, five generations of the Late Hojo clan held the castle.  Odawara Castle had very strong defenses, because it was situated on a hill, surrounded by moats with water on the low side, and dry ditches on the hill side, with banks, walls and cliffs located all around the castle, enabled defenders to repel attacks.)  

It is a very nice place to visit on a day trip.  We enjoyed the views from the upper floors.  We had a picnic on the grounds.  They also have some animals on the grounds.  Maddie really liked the Japanese Macaque monkeys (also called snow monkeys.)  These are the same type that like to sit in the hot springs during winter.  Here is a link for more info or simply Google them:  http://www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/frameset.html  Click on the word LIVECAM and you may catch them in action.

She also liked the Indian elephant.  She was about 65 years old and was very friendly.  She would come out of her little house and lift one of her front legs for the crowd.  Later, we got to see them feed her.  She like cabbage the best.  Maddie really enjoyed spending time with her.
From the castle, we watched the sun set behind the mountains and then made our way back home.  Another fine day in Japan.