Holidays in Japan

Although I spent years living in Japan, I had only been there once before on Christmas day. That was in 1998. I was living in Tokyo, and I had to work that day. I had dinner with a friend at a Taiwanese restaurant that night, and then I flew to France a couple of days later. I had never been in Japan on New Year's before. I had such a nice time this year, I wish I had stayed before. Maybe next year!

One of Sapporo's sister cities is Munich, and one result of this is the Munich Market, which is held each year in December. It's a German-style Christmas market, complete with vendors from Germany, German food, and gluwein!

Spending Christmas Eve snowboarding at Kiroro was also wonderful. Hokkaido has the best powder I've ever experienced--and I've also skied Tohoku, the Alps, and the Rockies. Plus, it's inexpensive, and there are usually no lines.

Dishes in my Christmas dinner with a friend and my Japanese teacher: a delicious assortment of Hokkaido sashimi, and potato mochi cheese butter yaki. Hokkaido is known for potatoes, cheese and butter, and this dish combines these specialities--with mochi and a tare sauce. So tasty!

New Year's decorations in Sapporo Station. This display is as tall as a person, and about as big as a Tokyo apartment.

Seeing this photos have made me wonder why I moved back to the States!

Vancouver 2010

I've been dreaming about going to the Olympics in Vancouver since it was announced that they would host. Luckily for me, two of my best friends live there and I'm able to visit often. But when I looked into getting tickets to the events I really wanted to see (any hockey games involving Team Canada!) I gave up. Impossible to get, and too expensive for the likes of unemployed me.

Until today...when I received a Christmas card from an old friend in Alberta (from my Korea days, 13 years ago!) who mentioned that he just happened to have an extra ticket for Canada vs. Switzerland on the 18th, and would I want it? Would I want it?!? So, I'm off to Vancouver next month (using frequent flier miles, of course...what will I do when I run out?) to see Marc-Andre Fleury, Sidney Crosby, and the rest of Team Canada as they take on the Swiss. This is as exciting as the time I unexpectedly met the members of Duran Duran!