Nikko Hotel Narita Airport

... did no sets today and KC and I played Monopoly on his Nintendo DS &#8211; I have no idea what that is but we had a good time.<br><br>Yesterday was my day off and I spent it cooking. Mel and KC and I have a routine where we often will fix dinner for the other guys when they are working and we have a day off. (kinda like at home to my guys! (you know who you are!!) like to ...

... if I will every tire of the kids looking at Santa with those eyes filled with wonder, enjoying the magic for maybe the first time. And of course there are those who come and lean back and settle into my beard and tummy &#8211; oh it makes me smile! I suppose it is a little taste of what I will feel with a grandbaby!<br><br>The other guys have had days off and, in our tradition, made dinner for the three of us. Mel made a dish that his mom used to make of corn, sausage, potatoes ...

... reading and talking waiting for our off time to come so that we could leave &#8211; I finished a book.<br><br>With not much happening in the Park today I thought I would copy a letter I got yesterday from a young lady who has visited us many, many times. Last year she saw us about 3 or 4 times a week ...

... style. There are large electric pots on the table with boiling water or broth. Then thinly sliced carrots, enoki mushrooms, and bokchoy cabbage are served ready to put in the pot. After that comes very thin sliced frozen meat, usually beef. You are to take the meat slices and swish it around in the boiling pot &#8211; shabu-shabu is Japanese for swishing. There are also two dipping sauces, Ponzu (made of soy and citrus) and Sesame ...

November 5, 2009<br><br><br><br>Yesterday was the easiest "orientation day" that we have ever had &#8211; it's great having all three Santas returning. We breezed through all of our stuff and even got to skip over some stuff! Yeah!<br><br>We got to costume fittings and it was hot in the room. These folks sure like their rooms warm! So they put us in our costumes and this year we had a surprise &#8211; padding in the ...

... I stopped at a small traditional restaurant inside the gardens near the museum which was beautifully set out in a traditional style with tatami mats and low tables which looked over a pretty little tea garden. Through a mix of basic english, my trusty phrase book and sign language I was served an extremely tasty chicken terriyaki and then headed out once more to walk through the beautifully peaceful gardens before heading back to the Radisson to collect my stuff and ...

... of "jpeg," which normally wouldn't be a problem, but since I don't have a photoeditor at my disposal, the site won't read the pictures directly off my camera. No fear! I have changed my camera to .jpeg and will begin adding pictures to these entries as soon as possible.<br><br>Ben