Saturday, November 22nd

This morning Tetsuo has a call and wakes me up at 6:30 a.m. A good short walk and as always great breakfast with presentation of small gifts. I gave Tetsuo’s wife a bluebird of happiness which really symbolizes her life. She makes everyone happy; her husband, her children, her grandchildren, and even a foreign stranger who visits her home. After bowing and thank you we get into the Tetsuo SUV. He put his window down and she runs to the vehicle and extends her hand for me to shake a very nice departure. With good fortune this is a couple I will entertain in Kansas, Colorado, or Arizona. We had a very winding two hour trip to Fuji with two stops along the way; one for great photos of Mt. Fuji and the other a rest stop (where the price of a gallon of milk was $23.00 (makes Pittsburg prices look great). Our final welcome lunch with speeches then a tour of the Ouji Paper Mill Company which operates 24 hours for 365 days of the year. The plant manager was a Japanese Dustin Hoffman. A tour of Miyafuji doll factory. I purchase dolls for Stella Grace and Ruby Alice. We are delivered to the hotel and have thirty minutes to change clothes and get ready for dinner. A very nice dinner with three Rotarian Club Presidents, a Doctor, Dentist, and the owner of the doll factory, the GSE team and two translators where we all enjoy great Japanese food and with Scott VanAsche’s help we are able to get a completely free day tomorrow. I am extremely tired and need the rest. We are staying for three nights at the Fuji Port Hotel.