Ivan's here!

Good ol' Ivan held true to his promise and visited us (his MFA lunch buddies) in Japan. He even bothered making a 3-day trip to the countryside to visit me! Thanks Ivan! Sorry I had to work and couldn't really take you around.

My Japanese friend Yukiko, a sprightly grandmother who loves climbing mountains, invited us to her place for drinks. She lives in a traditional Japanese house with an iriori (a fire pit that you can hang a nabe pot or kettle over the fire in winter). She plied poor Ivan with so many drinks (have you tried Japanese shochu? Sake? Beer? She drinks 5 glasses every night and has beer and shochu taps at home, like a bar!) and even gave him a big bottle of Hakkai-san sake.