My Side of the Fuji

Photos Here! It was a loooong time before we ate again. Comparatively. We were going to save our stomachs for some sushi. Masaki was going on another stint of not eating. But. I had to cave this time. We walked past a bakery and it smelled so good, I had to get some pastries. Masaki kept saying, "you're going to regret it! We're having sushi for lunch and you'll wish you could eat more." But, I regret nothing. Those pastries were good. Apparently, most people don't have ovens in their houses in Japan, so a lot of people don't bake. Therefore there are many bakeries. I have to say, the pastries are super good. But there is a place in Idaho that's just as good, if not better. However, they don't have as large a variety as the bakeries in Japan. But the Pie Safe in Deary, Idaho has world-class baked goods. I mean, I haven't eaten anything better anywhere else in the world. Just as good, yes. Better, no. Anyway, just a little bit of prid...

Photos Here! Where to begin? There was a lot going on at the Winter Festival. Snow sculptures. Ice sculptures. High jump ski and snowboard competitions. Cheerleaders for the Nippon Fighters Baseball team. Yeah, the pro baseball teams have cheerleaders. Do American baseball teams have cheerleaders? I honestly can't remember. I haven't been to a pro baseball game since I went to the Atlanta Braves game with my brother and sister-in-law. That was... almost 10 years ago. I don't remember. Anyway, moving on... Art in snow and ice, food. Food. and more food stalls. Including grills scallops, grilled in the shell, which I haven't seen before. An automaton singer. Her voice is not prerecorded: it is actually entirely computer generated, and her sold-out performance is animated. She's called Snow-Miku. We didn't get to see it's show, as it was sold out. As was nearly all of the merchandise. Extremely popular. There was a live radio performance of musicians, ...