Advent in Japan

Advent was officially "kicked-off" with Jonathan & I having a date in Osaka to go see Handel's "Messiah." This has been an annual tradition for us, beginning on our honeymoon, where we saw a spectacular performance at the Sydney Opera House. The following year, we were able to attend another impressive performance with my folks at the National Cathedral in D.C. In Japan, we sometimes have to go a little further from home (Tokyo) and/or attend in October (like we did in 2008,) however, Jonathan has always managed to find a venue & get tickets. This year we were grateful to be able to see it so close to home - and on December 5th!

Showing the Nativity Scene to Joshua and explaining about Jesus coming to earth as a baby. He obviously understands that we have so much to be thankful and joyful about!
Grandma w/ Joshua, who is wearing the sweater Mom Kohl made some 20 years ago to celebrate Chris Becker's birth

Kendra didn't bake Christmas cookies this year, but we all enjoyed plenty of Lebkuchen to last throughout Advent into the New Year!

And Kobe has it's own event, similar to a German "Christmas Market." It's called Luminaria and is held at the park where we ate Mister Donuts in the fall. It's actually to commemorate the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995 (when Kendra was in Nagoya) and celebrate the life that still flourishes in Kobe



Then, we were able to experience a "satellite" German Christmas Market in Osaka

They even had "real bratwurst" and pretzels

Joshua's first Musli (yogurt breakfast) at the big table with everyone

We celebrated Christmas with Mom & Daddy (Kohl) on Sunday, the 13th




Family photo shoot in front of the Christmas tree

Finally...time to open presents!!

The next day, we headed to Hokkaido, the main northern island of Japan. Sapporo has a famous Beer Garden Restaurant (called Ghengis Khan) where their specialty just happens to be Lamb, so we thought it was the perfect place to visit with Mom & Daddy!

Jonathan at Ghengis Khan, after Joshua had gotten to his bib :-D

Daddy inspecting the quality of the sushi before we ate

Mom may be spoiled for other sushi, as it's hard to beat the freshness of what's served at the local fish market in Sapporo


Warming up after our walk in Sapporo's version of the German Christmas Market

After the big city, we wanted to warm up at the famous Noboribetsu Onsen (Hot Springs.) We had lunch at a "Mom & Pop" Ramen noodle shop on the way, and settled in for some relaxation. Joshua didn't go into the hot springs, but enjoyed his first swimming pool experience. They had a huge shallow "baby pool" where he thoroughly enjoyed himself!
After dinner, Joshua was plum tuckered!! I put him down in our room to crawl around & immediately he went to enjoy the fluffy "futons" that Jonathan & I would sleep on. (He had his pack-n-play, but couldn't crawl into that himself.)

He totally plopped himself into this comfy, cozy spot!

Good Night!