The Yamasaki's are in Iwakuni!

We had the amazing opportunity to host the Yamasaki family for several days in Iwakuni. They thought it was great that Americans were showing them around a part of Japan they'd never visited before. :) They were WONDERFUL house guests and we had a blast with them! We were able to cook a lot of "token" American food like burgers, fries, BIG breakfasts, grilled chicken, biscuits, Pizza Hut, tacos... I think you get the idea.

Now, on to the pictures!

We bought everyone Marine Corps outfits. Apparently, the one for Bob-san was a little small, ha ha ;-)

 

We all sat outside and talked while Joel grilled our chicken and veggies the first night

Trying some American brews

We all fit around our little dining table - nice and cozy. We always provided the option of forks or chopsticks. Hiromu always used chopsticks and it was HILARIOUS when he used them with his pizza! We also observed his creativity when he made himself a sandwich with a hamburger AND a hot dog!

Thanks to a good friend from church (thank you Neph!!) we were able to access the tallest structure in Iwakuni - the air traffic control tower on base! We got the full tour and it was AWESOME.

The air traffic controllers allowed us up on the roof where we were able to watch plans and jets take off and land. It was super cool. Quite the operation up there.

We had lunch in the food court on base. Taco Bell, Burger King and Subway, yum!

Next up: Bowling! Bob-san was the best bowler by far.

 

Checking out the jet on display

Unfortunately, one of the days was rainy and gross. But we were all champs and went to see the Kintai Bridge and Castle anyway! I absolutely LOVE Hiromu's rain coat. Wonder if they have them in my size...

Walking across the bridge

We road the cable car up the mountain and then hiked the rest of the way to the castle

Now, these next few pictures are a gift. Because it was raining, we decided to call it a day early and have fun at home by coloring pictures and playing games. Kouichi and Joel rocked it out to Just Dance 4. I was sneaky and took these surveillance photos.  

They were so engaged in the game, they didn't even see me taking these pictures at all! So apparently stealth wasn't necessary, LOL.

You better believe I got a video too!

Sadly, Bob, Eiko and Mai had to leave a couple days early, but Kouichi, Kizuki, Hiromu, and Akari stayed another few days! I had to work unfortunately, but Joel was able to take a day off to show them around Hiroshima. 

Joel got these great shots of Hiromu drinking a really sour fruit drink. This kid is HILARIOUS and one of the most expressive people I've ever met!

Apparently, he told his dad when they were boarding the plane in Tokyo to come visit us in Iwakuni that he was excited because he was "going to the States"! They actually said they felt like they were in America when we took them on base. They LOVED the Commissary and Exchange. It really made us stop and count our blessings - we don't lack for anything here.

Yamasaki family, we had a TERRIFIC time with y'all and you are welcome to come back anytime you want! I'm pretty sure Joel wants a dance re-match with Kouichi! :)