Shabu-shabu and bicycling

Veggies in the pot and meat on the tray waiting to be cooked.

There were two sauces a teriyaki and a soy sauce with a small bowl of rice.  The tray on the left had udon noodles.

Friday evening we celebrated a significant zero number birthday for one of the staff members from CAJ.  We went out to eat at a restaurant that serves shabu-shabu.  Shabu-shabu is basically where you get a pot with water and seaweed and put it on a gas burner.  You heat up the water and then put in the veggies, meat and noodles to cook as you wish to eat them.  Apparently it is appropriate to eat the vegetables and meat and end with the noodles.  There are can be variety of sauces that you dip the veggies, meat and noodles.  It was my first time having this and it actually tasted quite  good.

Runners waiting at the starting line.

Saturday was another good day.  Bette and I took our bicycles and went to a cross country meet that CAJ had some Middle and High School participants.  We ended up helping with inputting into a computer program the student's number and the their place at the finish line. We did four different races.  

Bette and I were preparing ourselves for the runners when finished.  

After the races were finished, we bicycled along the Tama River and on to Costco to pick up a few things.  We ended up bicycling past the US Yokota Air Base.  It was interesting that the stores in that area catered to the American culture, selling a number of American style items and restaurants with humburg.  We also passed a number of plots of land where gardens were being grown.  Here is a tea field.

Tea field in what seems like the middle of a commercial area.

We ended up bicycling for approximately 80 kilometers.  There were occasions on the bicycle ride that Bette and I could chat, but much of the time we rode single file.  That allowed me to look around at the scenery, relax and pray.  The following are a couple of pictures of the scenery along they way.  The last picture is of a Buddhist statue not far from home.  That is a reminder to me to continue to pray for  Japan and its people.

Bridge over the Tama River

Tama River

Do you know where you are going?

Buddhist statue