Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (a little late)!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! I had fun here in Tokyo. November was really busy. We had the Marine Ball at the beginning of the month. A week later, there was a high-level visit, during which I saw ANA's R2D2 plane!

To give credit where credit is due, one of my colleagues took that picture. Isn't it great!  

The work visit was immediately followed by the fun wedding of two of my friends and then a Thanksgiving dinner with TONS of food. Seriously. I think there were four turkeys. So. Much. Food. And lots of great people too. 

And then it was December!

In December, I went to Nagoya to visit a port, a feed miller and a whiskey distillery. On the way down there, I saw Mt. Fuji from the shinkansen.

Back in Tokyo, I went to an excellent sushi dinner where I saw real wasabi - an unusually large real wasabi - for the first time. Wasabi is so difficult to grow and rare enough that often what is called "wasabi" is actually green colored horseradish. But he grated this up right in front of us. It had a much more complex flavor than what you usually get with horseradish. ("Complex." Like that? It sounds very foodie.) We had a private sushi chef who was really interesting to talk to. According to him, to become a sushi chef, you spend several years just running errands and making bentos (carry-out lunches) for the chefs. In year four, you're allowed to stir the rice. But not to touch it! I think you get to touch the rice in year five...

Also in December was a fire drill at the housing compound. The fire department came with their big trucks and their earthquake simulator. It can be fun. They even pulled a couple people off the roof of one of the buildings.









And of course, the big event of December... I went to see the new Star Wars movie!

So much joy. I'm so happy with this movie. I'd love to go see it again. We saw it in 3D Dolby Atmos, or something like that. It was great. There was 4D too, but I think that could get annoying. One of the great things about Japan - or at least this theater, which is the only one I've been to - when you order popcorn and drink, it's given to you on a tray with a drop down thing that fits into the cup holder on your chair. So you don't have to juggle anything! It's brilliant.

And then it was Christmas!

That was my Christmas tree. I may have been a slacker the last few years when it comes to baking and everything, but at least I had my Christmas tree!

There was the annual German Christmas market at Roppongi Hills, where you could buy Christmas decorations and then have some hot spiced wine and a ton of german sausage.

And there were holiday light displays all over Tokyo.

At Roppongi Hills

In front of Midtown.  The leaves were really late this year!

The illumination at Midtown

Behind Roppongi Hills, with Tokyo Tower in the background

Christmas Eve was a fun dinner with a group of friends. Christmas day, a group of us went to the Christmas brunch at New Sanno (the military's hotel here), where I also saw this great Star Wars gingerbread house.

And then that night was hanging with friends, eating lots of food - including the traditional Japanese Christmas meal of KFC chicken and champagne! - and watching the first Star Wars movie (episode IV). All told, a wonderful Christmas time with lots of good friends and good food!

And now it's January (for another day or two). I went hiking one day at Mt. Takao (where I went my first year in Japan) - and enjoyed another view of Mt. Fuji and a nice, warm udon lunch at the tiny restaurant at the top - and then some of us went to the Trick Art Museum that is across the street from the train station. That was a fun day.

I wish you all a wonderful 2016 and a happy Year of the Monkey!