kimono date

Went to zazen practice in the afternoon, and then hiroko and I went on a kimono date to Ginza.
It was bit cold, so we bundled up. Tried the ginzamusubi style of obi tying:

And yes it is supposed to look kinda...droopy. hiroko was looking stylish as always, especially with her grandma's handmade silk coat.
First we headed to Mitsukoshi Department Store for the Okinawa Special Sale so that hiroko could buy her stinky tofu. We checked out all the local goods, including dragon fruit juice and mango juice

and they even had a demonstration of traditional weaving:

Afterwards we went over to Toyoda and had a fine feast. Hashimoto-san hooked us up the quality eats, and hiroko had some hirezake: warm sake with grilled pufferfish fin in it. Most of the alcohol is burnt off when pouring:

All photos.

mita station

mita station, originally uploaded by renfield.

hiroko's meat

Hiroko blogged about eating luscious meat in Sapporo. A must read for all non-vegetarians.

hokkaido summary

For those who just want the visuals, here's the short version:
Otaru, Sapporo, Hakodate, Moerenuma Park, Kuramure Resort.

grandpa's grave stone

grandpa's grave stone, originally uploaded by renfield.

Grandpa Jerry's grave stone was unveiled last night. Papa took this photo for me. Seems nice enough; not really sure how one is supposed to comment one one's dead grandfather's grave stone unveiling.
Not really thrilled about the big blank space on the left just sort of awaiting grandma's impending death. Nice that at some point in the future they'll be together...but I'd prefer it to be far, FAR in the future.