Yesterday we went to Tokyo church for services. We enjoyed the fellowship there and afterwards were invited to Akito and Marie's for an okonomiyaki "pa-tee" (Japanese say "party" like "pa-tee"!) Okonomiyaki is like a pancake made out of sticky yams, cabbage, pork, dried shrimp, dried tofu parts, eggs, flour, and yes, octopus! We mixed up the batter and then fried them on large griddles on the table. Once they are done, you put mayonaise, another special sauce, dried tuna flakes, and dried seaweed flakes on top! Actually it is very yummy! Often this food is sold at festivals--Akihiro says it is like Japanese fast food! We also took along a huge scallop that we had been given. It was almost as big as my hand!
This morning, we drove out to Yamanashi for work and were blessed with a gorgeous snow fall! Yamanashi is mountainous and thus gets more snow and is colder. Our home rarely gets snow and is a little warmer--rarely gets below 0 degrees Celsius. Akihiro keeps bragging about how much better these Japanese winters are than Tremont winters!
