My family was in town a couple weeks ago, and we got to spend some quality time together. It was the first time that all of us Yokoyama’s were together since New Years, so I was ecstatic to see them all again! I took a Friday off to spend a day with them in San Francisco, and then we drove to South Lake Tahoe for the weekend. Here are some photos from the Yokoyama reunion! 😀
My family making their way down the steps of Lombard Street
Me with my mother and siblings.
Ramen lunch at Tanpopo in Japantown.
For dinner, we went to Zabu Zabu in Berkeley, a shabu shabu restaurant.
Dan and I treated the family to a delicious shabu shabu all-you-can-eat dinner.
On Saturday morning, we headed out in the morning to drive to South Lake Tahoe. I’ve been to Tahoe before, but it was in the winter when there was snow, and it was the northern side at Northstar, so this was a whole new experience to visit the southern side and in the summertime!
My parents with the mountains in South Lake Tahoe.
Dan's got the blues
Miwa advertising her canned green tea.
I love my parents!
At night, the siblings came together for game night in our hotel room.
The next morning, at Heavenly Ski Resort.
The Yokoyama ladies
Miwa and I with our parents.
After breakfast, we rode the gondolas up to the lookout point.
Me with my sister and brother on the gondola.
Arriving at the lookout point.
The Yokoyamas at South Lake Tahoe
A gorgeous view of Lake Tahoe!
We ended our weekend in Tahoe with mini golf, a Yokoyama family tradition.
It was really hot in Tahoe, so we cooled down with some shaved ice. (They claimed it was Hawaiian style, but it just didn't compare....)
I had a wonderful time with the family, but as always, I wish I could have made it longer! It’s so hard when you live across the country from your family and loved ones. I can’t wait until the holidays, when we can go visit them back East! 🙂
Last Saturday, Dan and I went to a bonenkai at Zabu Zabu in Berkeley to celebrate the end of 2009 with friends. For those that aren’t familiar with what a bÅnenkai is, Wikipedia offers a good description:
A bÅnenkai (in Japanese, 忘年会, literally meaning “forget the year gathering”) is a Japanese drinking party that takes place at the end of the year, and is generally held among groups of co-workers or friends. The purpose of the party, as its name implies, is to forget the woes and troubles of the past year, usually by consumption of large amounts of alcohol.
The Japanese love bÅnenkais, and in Japan, it’s typical to go to several throughout December with various groups of friends, classmates, and colleagues. It’s a good excuse for them to do what they do best. 😉 This time, we got together with some friends from the SF Bay Area Japanese Language and Culture Meetup and celebrated over all-you-can-eat shabu shabu. It was fun to catch up with friends we hadn’t seen in a while, as well as meet newcomers and make new friends.
Dan and I both love shabu shabu and we stuffed ourselves so much that we were still very full for much of the day on Sunday. haha* But we’ll be going back soon enough — there’s only so long we can stay away from those savory thin slices of meat!
A huge thanks to Kyoko-san, who worked so hard to plan the bÅnenkai and made it such a big success!
group picture, stolen from Kyoko-sanIt was so nice seeing Kyoko-san again! It's been a while.Yasuko-san and 2 x Miki-sanGreat turnout!
