Our friends Hiroko and Satoru

invited us to their house for dinner the other night. Trevor and I met Hiroko the day we came to Kunitachi and couldn't find our guesthouse. We just happened to stop her father on his bike and ask him for directions. He couldn't speak English and didn't know where the house was, but tried very hard to show us the best he could. He finally gave up, asked us to wait, and returned with Hiroko, who spoke English very well and got us to our house with no problems.

Hiroko and her brother Satoru are of the new generation of Japanese who I believe will save Japan from its destruction from within. Creative, outgoing, and interested in the global community and enriching themselves and others, they are the kind of folks who are needed to pull Japan out of an antiquated system of development and international relations (see _Dogs and Demons_ from Takaosan post). The world needs more people like the Osawas, and Japan is lucky to have them.

We had a great time at their house. It's such a wonderful thing to be invited into a Japanese family's home, and the Osawas made it really memorable. Mrs. Osawa cooked all kinds of fabulous dishes, like homemade shumai and spring rolls, and Mr. Osawa told us about mushroom hunting (his favorite hobby) and was generous with the shochu and beer. But the best part of the evening was that Hiroko's friend brought her koto and entertained us with beautiful contemporary and traditional koto music. It was unreal!