We had a wonderful opportunity on Saturday to share Zushi with our friend Ashley. Ashley was our favorite bartender in Great Lakes. We frequented the base bar enough to develop a nice friendship. She is in Japan for her yearly trip to visit her family. Zushi Beach had their Zushi Candle Festival on Saturday. Ashley joined us to view the candles and for dinner.

We had a good laugh at the candle arrangements. It took us a minute to figure out which way to view the display. Once Dave convinced us we were looking at it upside down… We flipped around and laughed – at ourselves and the Japanese. The Japanese had jokes. They wrote, “We’ve moved Fuji” with the candles. It made us laugh. For a couple reasons. One, they made a candle outline of Mt. Fuji. Two, it was cloudy so we couldn’t see Mt. Fuji from the beach. It was like a Japanese magic trick/joke. Haha.

The candles and the blue lights on the water were so pretty.

We had fun playing with the settings on Ashley’s iPhone 8. Can you see our shadows on the water? Yet again, I’m reminded how much I’m ready/excited to upgrade my phone when we move back.

Before getting on the train, we stopped at our favorite chu-hai stand in Zushi. The tree next to the stand had been wrapped with sweaters? Not really sure the purpose. Maybe the locals thought it was chilly. Regardless, it was definitely kawaii!

It was so fun to see Ashley. Having the opportunity to see friends when we are so far away helps fill our happiness buckets.

Ashley and I have plans for a day in Tokyo on Tuesday. I can’t wait to enjoy my favorite city with a “local.” We also discussed where to find our favorite Japanese foods in Chicago. So many things to look forward to… in the meantime, I’ll work on eating as much maguro (tuna) as possible.