Karaoke

This is what happens when we go out with a large group of Americans.

Mochi-making

It's a New Year's tradition to make/partake of mochi.  Here in Tokyo, our building sponsored a demonstration of traditional mochi-making in which soaked white rice is pounded into a solid and sticky substance.  The mochi dough is then rolled or shaped into bite sized portions and can be put in soup or more often is used as the base for a sweet, sticky desert.  It can be dusted with sweet green tea powder or rolled and stuffed with an (sweet akuki bean paste).  I think there are probably hundreds of "sweet" variations.

It was bitterly cold the morning we watched this demonstration.  Max, rather than waiting in line to pound the mochi, begged to go to the nearby toy store.  So no shots of him pounding.  As you can see from the video, it's a highly orchestrated process of pounding and maneuvering and wetting the dough.  Be careful or you might lose your hand.

mochi; mochiko
[MOH-chee, MOH-chee-koh]
A sweet, short-grained, very glutinous rice with a high starch content. Mochi is commonly used to make rice cakes, for which it is pounded in large tubs until it becomes extremely sticky. It is then formed into balls or squares, which can be found in Japanese markets. Mochi is also used in confections and rice dishes. Mochiko is a rice flour made from mochi.

My cookie dough boy

He LOVES chocolate chip cookie dough.  

(The underpants, however, were not such a success as he managed to pee in his closet within the hour.)

PS - The bed thing is, however, working out.  

Sumo

We enjoyed an afternoon of Sumo.  I have spared you the obese grotesquerie and given you an elegant snapshot.  See the slideshow feed from Flickr on the right for the full monty.

Yokohama Chinatown

This past Sunday we ventured out to Yokohama, a city of 3.6 million people that is a "suburb" of Tokyo.  It was a quick train ride and then a nice walk to the harbor.  Max fell asleep in the stroller, something he doesn't do much anymore.  Rich took some nice photos and I meditated a bit.

Then we headed into Chinatown for lunch and steamed buns.  Check out this crazy bun steamer. And the crazy people waiting in line to eat at a hole in the wall restaurant.

Then we found the cool temple with crazy green dragons on top.  They were a big hit with Max.

 

New Bed

We made the switch. Out with the crib, in with the bed.  All to very little fanfare, actually.  So far no problem sleeping in and staying in the bed.  (That will soon change, I imagine, as Max realizes that he doesn't need me to take him out of bed.)  For now, the delusion persists. 

Next up:  Getting serious about the toilet training thing.

Reading is fundamental

Take your pick.  National Enquirer (gift from Allison) or Cars sticker book.