Our little Shrimpy got featured on a Japanese website called WiiTube... If you like you can check it out here: Shrimpy on WiiTube (And, to give shrimpy a good rating you have to click the balloon that has Japanese in it followed by an exclaimation point)
Our good friends the Ozawa family invited us to celebrate their son's (Daichi) birthday. They are always so kind to us and we just thank our Lord for their friendship... I made this little video and uploaded it to Google Video. (To watch, press the play button in the lower left corner)
Hey ya'll, Gabe here,... Just wanted to share some of my video goofery... Our friend Alli recently had a birthday. Her husband Dan (a great guy) really worked hard to pull-off a big surprise party for her. I cobbled together this little short memory video for their blog with Windows Movie Maker and just wanted to share. We really had a great time. Lot's of food, drinks and fellowship,...then, of course, KARAOKE! In the movie you can see us in a "Karaoke box". Karaoke in Japan is pretty cool because you get a private room for your party...
Below is a video inside a Japanese "izakaya (居酒屋)" restaurant. We recently attended a welcome party fro a new teacher from the USA who came to our town. We had a great time...drinks and lots of delicious "snack" food.
For our 3rd year anniversary trip we stayed at a Traditional Japanese Inn (Ryokan) which had an "Onsen (hot spring)". The town where we stayed is called "Hanamaki" and it is famous for onsens.
Above is the name of the hot spring hotel where we stayed. Below is the the "rotenburo (outdoor hot spring)" where we soaked about 4 or 5 times a day....
Tea House with foot bath:
Inside the tea house with foot bath(below):
Dinner:
Sashimi(raw fish) & other delicacies:
Dinner Video 1:
Dinner Video 2:
Dinner Video 3:
Inside our room:
A little Japanese television:
Breakfast:
A nearby hotel where we went for coffee:
Here is the website of the Ryokan where we stayed: Misuikan
Steph wrote a nice entry about onsens a year ago. To read it click the link and scroll down the page a little to "Onsen Mania"
Reverand and Mrs. Yoshida have been such good friends of our these past three years and have always treated us just like family. They have shown us so much of our local area and a-lot about Japanese culture and we always have a great time with them. Rev. Yoshida was the pastor of our church for 10 years. He is retired now and he and his wife live about an hour away from here. Every year since we have been here in Japan, they have invited us to celebrate New Year's with them by having special Sukiyaki lunch on New Year's Day. The Japanese New Year's Holiday is one of the only times when almost everyone can take vacation time so it's a really precious time for families. This year, the Yoshida's three daughters were able to visit them on New Year's Day and the Yoshida's also asked us to come to their house to celebrate with them too. We were so happy to visit with their daughters and we really felt honored to be included. And of course, the food was amazing and we all had a great time too! Below are some videos... enjoy!