Just before Yuki & Hassen left back to Europe, we had a last dinner together in Ikebukuro (compte avec moi, RH: on s'est vu 2 (deux) fois pendant ton séjour au Japon et on est allé 0 (zéro) fois à Roppongi...), with Aki and Andy. In the usual "fish" izakaya... with excellent sake (except the one from Saitama-ken).

And of course, we finished at a karaoke... where are discovered that babies start very early their karaoke education...

And another enjoyable party with old... and new friends. Again, it seems that all events occur 24 hours earlier in Japan compared to Europe: "New Year Dinner" therefore occured the 30th... as the 31st, we had the traditional noodles only!

A special thank to Hassen, who after all those years working around the world together, managed to have only 2 evenings to spend with me during his long stay in Japan (Hassen, note personnelle: essaye de faire mieux au printemps)!

Traditionnally, in Japan, December is a very busy month... for social events. Not only a lot of bonenkai usually take place at work, but it is also the time to organise big parties for friends. This year, the tradition was respected! Here are some pictures (a lot, indeed) of Kawagoe II... in our home in Kawagoe.

How to make people enjoy the party?

Here is the answer!

Seiko, taking care of the food, the guests who can't find the house... and herself!

And all the others:

Note that the celebration ended at midnight the... 23rd, since almost all of us (that's not for you, JP) had to work the 24th AND the 25th!

For one of the last evening with my parents in Japan, I decided they needed to try some... wine! A lot of the visitors of this web site know the love my father has for wine. A good chance to prove him that Tokyo is a great place to live in! Sam seemed to enjoy it, too!

Note that Cedric, Nakako, Seiko and I still prefer more usual japanese drinks (beer & sake, respectively)