Rulon, Masa Watabe, Miyu and Kyoto singing together.
Singing the hymns of Zion together after dinner at the Watabes.
These girls are headed to BYU Hawaii next year!
Here are some of the hundreds of Valentine cookies that Sister Albrecht made for the missionaries and guests when Elder Oaks and Elder Hallstrom visited and spoke to the Tokyo missionaries.
Here are the missionaries' backpacks and other possessions all in a room. There are about 180 Tokyo missionaries!
This note is from Bishop Ohata who came to dinner just after we had left for the temple. He put the food away and put the dishes in the dishwasher! We wish he could join us for our Friday night dinners but now he works at another location.
This is a kotatsu table - it is a warming table that you sit around and put your feet under the quilt to keep warm since many of the floors are very cold. I have made some of the quilts to go under the tables for the people in Tohoku. This one was in the Reis' apartment.
Nori Mason and me - what a special friend she has been!
Shredded cabbage ready for the katsu dinner we learned to make.
This is the finished katsu that we learned to make as a Relief Society group.
Curry katsu with rice!
Sister Shumway making the katsu.
The secret sauce!
And this little guy stayed under the table reading while his mom helped to make the delicious food!
Here it is ready to be fried - it is pounded chicken or pork cutlets that are breaded.
Sisters Reis and Shumway made this such a fun activity.
This is another activity that we were able to attend - making of mochi or pounded steamed rice. This is the final result - balls of mochi covered with a bit of sugar.
Making the mochi balls- this is an activity that is done especially at New Year. Each year, some older people choke to death eating this gummy treat!
Taking my turn at pounding the rice. It takes a lot of pounding to get it into a sticky, gummy form!
Brother Aalders takes a few swings.
Here comes Elder Gibson!
Brother Wada had a powerful swing. The fellow beside him reached in after each swing and rearranged the rice so that it all got an even pounding. He was really good - I was afraid that he would get his hand pounded!
Everyone in the office got a 15 minute time to come and pound the mochi and then go up and eat the results!
These big mallets are the way mochi was made in ancient times. I guess there are machines now that can do it but it is still a traditional event where friends and neighbors can get together and do this traditional pounding.
We have certainly had some interesting experiences here that we wouldn't have missed for anything! 
3 comments:
Congrats on 400 posts!! You have a very full life! Love all the Japanese traditions, they sure do have a lot. How do the elders find their backpacks when they are done? We need to celebrate Girls day here too!
Looks like another fun time. Seems a lot of their time revolves around food preparation. How do they ever find time for Xbox and TV??
Wow- it is hard to believe it has been 400 posts! What fun pictures of adventures with Japanese eating. The food actually looks really delicious. I loved seeing Dad pounding the rice with that big hammer thing. I was impressed that the little boy was reading for fun and not playing an iPod or video game or anything. Such fun experiences and adventures!
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