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Misato and her boyfriend, Brad, also attended our nabe party, in addition to Naomi, Jonathan and myself.

Our friend, Naomi, came to our apartment a couple weeks ago and taught us how to cook Nabe, a traditional Japanese dish. It's made in a large ceramic pot, cooked over a small portable stove that rests on the table where you are eating. You can cook a variety of vegetables and meat combinations in a delicious concoction of liquids that comprise a savory broth. All the guests sit around the table and serve themselves from the pot and add more ingredients as necessary. When all the vegetables and meat are gone, the remaining "broth" is soaked up by adding rice to the pot. The result is a risotto-esque dish called ojiya. Very delicious and very appropriate for a cold, winter evening. We had a nice time.

Someone took advantage of the snow from a week or so earlier to construct this unique snowman on a side street in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo.

After the tournament.

The tournament winner receives his prize.

This is the presentation of the main wrestlers of the tournament. "Yokozuna" is the name for the highest ranking wrestlers. Their are only two yokozuna at a time ever - one from the "East" and one from the "West". Wrestlers are separated into east and west teams. The Yokozuna now are Kotooshu (who is actually from Bulgaria and Emily and I brushed shoulders with on the street one day in Tokyo, but didn't know he was a famous wrestler at the time) and Asashoryu. Both of them lost their match on this day. D'oh!

Once they begin to fight, the match can last only a few seconds. They charge into each other and slam their bodies together. The wrestlers are not allowed to use fists, but using open palms to hit each other is fully acceptable. They will smack each other with these huge slab-of-meat hands across each others faces and necks. It is quite amazing. And the sound of skin being smacked that far - even from as far away as we were sitting...woah. The winner is determined by who can throw, push, pull or otherwise oust their opponent outside the main ring of the mound. Sometimes the wrestlers land on the spectators sitting ringside. Oof-da.

Two wrestlers take their positions. One custom that is part of sumo wrestling is for the wrestlers to step up to the white line, crouch down on their knuckles, facing each other, appear to be ready to fight, and then stand up and walk back to their respective corners to throw more salt. Part of the pre-match build up is that each wrestler stands in his corner, squats low, and then raises one leg up and to the side of him as high as he can go before stomping it back to the ground fiercely. It's an interesting way of preening their feathers, and it makes the crowd go nutso. When they do this a few times, they grab a handful of salt and throw it into the ring, walk up to the white line, crouch, face each other, pause...then stand up and walk back to their corner to repeat the whole routine. Depending on moods and who knows what else, the wrestlers may do this five or six times before they actually proceed to fight.

On January 21st, we went to Ryogoku in Tokyo to see the final game of the most recent sumo wrestling tournament. It was a fantastic experience. Sumo is a fascinating sport that I'd like to read more about. As you can see, our seats were somewhat removed from the wrestling mound, but with the help of binoculars, we could see quite well.

This is Kijima-san and I. Kijima-san is a man who attends an English class that one of my co-workers teaches. I was invited to the class's New Year's party at a local Chinese restaurant. Here we are lifting glasses of a traditional Chinese aperitif (although the name has escaped me). It tasted sweet like brown sugar, but with a slight motor-oily taste (despite that seemingly unflattering description, it was quite good liquor).

It snowed here in late January - a very rare event in this part of Japan. The snow looked pretty on the trees and roof of the shrine across from our apartment.

Outside some shop in Akihabara...

Engrossed in expostulation.

On January 14, I gave a speech about "my life as an American" to a room full of Japanese adults at a local community center. I talked for about two hours and they asked lots of questions about the large portions of food, Christianity, football, and music. It was fun. These are the two ladies who invited me to speak - Noriko-san and Michiko-san.

Back in our apartment after the long flight home. I was tired.

This is the PT Cruiser they gave us when we rented a car. Yow! We were totally pimpin.

Time to say goodbye. Jonathan and I left Minnesota for a layover in Atlanta. We got bumped from our flight because it was too full, so we had a full day and night in Atlanta. Pretty fun. Walking down the street in Atlanta.

Jonathan and I right after Jonathan gve me my ring. You can even see it sparkling on my finger in the photo. We're sitting in the same booth at the Turf Club where we were the very first time we met.

This is at breakfast with Jake, a few days before we left (the morning of the day that Jonathan gave me my engagement ring!)

And I held and fired a rifle for the first time in my life.

We visited the resting place of Joel Haynes.

While Jonathan and I were in Iowa, we also stayed one night at his Dad's house. We sang hymns together at the piano in the morning.

Jonathan and I visited his grandpa in Iowa the week before we returned to Japan. Here they are together at breakfast one morning in Cedar Rapids.

Jeremy and I. I was helping him with his homework and he was eating beef jerky.

Me and Kari.

At Coffee News on Grand Ave. Me, Jonathan and Jake in the background. There's no place like home. It was nice to be back at Coffee News.

Although the artwork was left open to interpretation...

Me and Jonathan's Dad. This is outside the Wedding Shoppe where we had just been to have Jonathan's dad measure for the suit he will wear at our wedding.

Jonathan in the snow.

On New Year's Eve, about 20 or so people went to hang out in Mille Lacs with our friends from church. We had a nice time chatting and drinking wine and eating good food. Jonathan and Jake and Brett played music for us.

Here's an interesting vehicle. This truck was parked on side street in St. Paul. It had posters duct-taped all over the body proclaiming various prophecies and words of doom from Allah, God, Jesus Christ, and I think Vishnu, too. Someone's interesting labor of love...

Jonathan and I take a moment to add our own bit of Christmas cheer.

My little brother has started learning to play electric guitar. He really rocks!

My papa and Jonathan.

When Jonathan and I went home for Christmas, my Mom threw a big housewarming/Christmas party. Here we are raising our glasses.

Strike a pose.

Me and Komooka-sensei. She likes to be called Como. She's one of the English teachers I work with.

On December 9th, '05, Jonathan and I attended my school's end of the year party. It was held at the New Otani Hotel in Makuhari. Very fancy. We had a delicious meal and lots of fun games. I even won a DVD player.

Miscellaneous category. Riding the train home from somewhere.

This is a class of students I taught until December of last year. I still teach a few of them once a week. They work for Nihon Medi-Physics. They research and experiment with radio isotopes to be used for things like cancer treatment and other medical purposes. It's really interesting to talk to them.

Jonathan prepares to partake of the goods.