Another wonderful day in Nishinomiya

The main event today was a tofu nabe lunch at our friend Mariko's house, naturally quite close to where we used to live.

She came to our hotel to pick us up & she took us home, where she had prepared everything for a delicious tofu nabe. This just means a tofu lunch cooked at the table in a pot, a very normal way of preparing a meal in Japan. Everything was so good, particularly since she included items not available in Canada, which, of course, makes them even more delicious when we can finally get them in Japan.

At her house, I also got to say hello again to my bicycle. It was mine first, but Mariko took it over in 2013, the year we left Japan for Canada. It's still going strong & Mariko rides it every day.

Mariko and JO C are the same age. Their birthdays are only a couple of weeks apart, so the three of us used to have a joint celebration. 🍾 We pretended today was their February birthday celebration, so they could have another joint party!

This Mariko is the first of two Marikos we'll be seeing on this trip, so don't be surprised when the other one appears here, not looking at all like this one.Read more