Food, glorious food

Ian will eat anything you put into his mouth...or so we thought until we tried avocado recently. I made the mistake of not adding water to it, so he kind of gagged as he tried it. Here are some pictures of our second time trying avocado. This time I added water to help with the consistency.

Here he is prior to his first bite...

His initial reaction...and my reaction as well. I'm not sure whose face looks scarier! Notice I already have the spoon ready to see if he'll try another bite. He actually kept taking bites - I think he was somehow hoping that it was something other than avocado.

His next reaction...I don't understand how this kid can eat nasty smelling green beans, but not like avocado!

Still trying to get it down...

Despite the trauma of avocado, Ian is still able to smile for the camera.

Roller Slide

Several coworkers had mentioned a fun "roller slide" at a local park. When I heard that one coworker flew off the end of the slide and couldn't walk straight for two weeks I asked how to find the slide.

In the US there would be lawsuits due to injuries on this slide; in Japan it's just "fun at your own risk". Here is a video of the ride, enjoy!

Ian didn't go down the slide but he did enjoy being outside and watching the action.

Mt. Nokogiri

We headed out on a beautiful, sunny morning for a day trip across Tokyo Bay to Mt. Nokogiri. We took a train, ferry, and finally a cable car up the mountain. I'm pretty sure it was mid-50s outside. If this is typical January weather in Japan, I'll take it! The view was great from the top. On a clear day you can see Mt. Fuji, but it was too hazy for us to spot.

After getting off the cable car, we walked to see a Bodhisattva carved into the stone. Ian woke up from his nap in time to get his picture taken.

The Japanese have named this rock outcropping "Peering into Hell." Ryan and Ian went up and looked off the edge. It's a great name, but I'm not quite sure what it's referring to as the views are gorgeous.

After stopping in the sun for lunch, we then headed down a ton of stairs to see the Buddha. Along the way there were 1,500 stone figures of Tokai Arhats. From what I have read, arhats are people who have achieved nirvana. Each of the 1500 arhats are rumored to have a different expression. We didn't see all 1500, but they did have some great expressions. Here is my favorite:

Here we are at the 2nd largest Daibutsu (Buddha) in Japan. It was worth all the stairs.