Nagoya, Day One

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

So, we're leaving the airport and heading to a mall, because the family hasn't eaten yet.  We think we can't eat anything and sit watching as Andy has soup and Tae is munching octopus balls.  She offers us each one and they are yummy and also make us realize that a bowl of soup wouldn't go amiss!  I actually eat all my noodles and darn near everything else in that large bowl! Andy's impressed!  Ginger gave half of her noodles to Andy!

There's a real, full-sized plane in here!

And we know what that is floating on top!

We think we're heading home now;  but Tae has another surprise.  We stop at this spectacular mochi shop for red-bean paste desserts.  There are five of us and she orders five different ones.  But we all want to try them all so we valiantly mangle them into five pieces with our little sharpened pieces of wood and all dig in! Yum to the max!! Now we can go home!

Home made sampler platter!

The kids are at an after-school educational program and won't be home until six thirty or so, so we have time with just the adults. Andy has the password for his network as a QR code!  Pretty slick!  Before the kids get home we have a chance to put out the omiagi (gifts) and when they come in everyone seems tickled with the choices!  And Iori receives his graduation present, his grandfather's binoculars.  (Sakurako snuggles her Peeps bunny and and takes him with her when she leaves.)

While we've been busy, Satchiko has gone to the grocery store and when she comes back she puts a entire dinner of sushi and miso soup on the table.  So good!! The kids are so good at fitting an entire piece of sushi in their mouths! And we do a pretty good job, too.

Tae had gotten more muchi when we were having our snack and now we have them for dessert!  The pink ones have sakura blossoms on them!

Afterwards we all sample the homemade rice wine that Ginger brought from Cambodia!  the consensus is an all around yuck! And Andy had discovered an old, dusty bottle of VSOP brandy!  That's a big improvement!

It's late and all the travel and food and giggles catch up with us.  Tae and Satchiko have set up the futons in our room and we have been reminded of the way to the bathroom, so it's nearly bed time.  We get to have our hot baths, after getting all clean under the adjoining shower, and crawl into our futons, under thick, fluffy duvets and get all snuggly warm.  Dreamland here we come!  Tomorrow is Iori's graduation!!