On day 5, we bid farewell to Mark Chandler (Director of International Trade, City and County of San Francisco). He had been gone long enough, and Mayor Gavin Newsom wanted him back. Mark did a terrific job representing the city of San Francisco and was lots of fun to hang out with. You're a neat guy, Mark. I
hope our paths will cross again!Our first official event of the day (besides breakfast) was a culinary lecture presented by food anthropologist Elizabeth Ando. Elizabeth is a published author and travels the world to give lectures and professional consultations. She came from the US decades ago on a scholarship, fell in love with the country (and one of its men) and decided to stay. She gave a fascinating talk on Japan's culinary history and practices. During the post Q&A session, I shamefully had to admit that the last 'prepared' meal I made was a can of
Campbells soup. How embarrassing!
After the lecture, the foodies enjoyed a group teppanyaki lunch at restaurant Tsuki no An. Doesn't that look good?
Then, we had our first free day in Osaka! Ann and I immediately seized the opportunity to go shopping. Shopping in Osaka is heaven! It's just as fashionable, if not more fashionable, than New York City. The main difference is that everything is tailored to fit our petite Asian figures. We wanted to buy everything; however, shopping in Japan is not cheap! Chase Manhattan will understand why I HAD to miss one mortgage payment, right? (By the end of our Japan trip, Ann and I purchased a total of 6 coats, 1 bag, 1 pair of shoes, 2 sweaters, a couple of dresses, a few umbrellas, .... ummm, you get the point. What was United's weight limit again?) While Ann and I did our girly shopping thing, the boys did theirs. However, they were much better behaved. Mom and dad decided to explore Osaka on their own and were excited to tell us about the extensive underground network of shops and restaurants that they found.
With the only free dinner left in Osaka, the eight of us decided that we would do a
surprise potluck. Each of us had 15 minutes to run out and purchase a couple of items for the group to share, but we were not allowed to discuss what we would bring. We then met in my hotel room (because there was really no where else we could sit and eat) and had a feast. Boy, oh boy. We bought soooo much food. We ended up touching only half of all the dishes that were b
rought! Luckily, I found Mark and Pamela in the lobby, who were having difficulties securing dinner reservations. They were kind enough to take the rest of our (untouched) food. It would have been such a waste otherwise. Was it good, guys?
