Merry Christmas, Cowboy!

Many of the other ALTs in the area had gone on trips over the winter break, so Ito was pretty quiet around Christmas. I really wanted to have a festive Christmas Eve dinner; something to remind me of Christmas at home with our family. Paul and I and our friends Aura and Blaise got dressed up and went to Cowboys Steak Saloon for a nice steak dinner. Let me tell you, this place is one of a kind. It’s pretty rustic, outfitted with swinging door, and decorated with all sorts of country western paraphernalia. We were a bit over dressed for the place, but it didn’t matter. The owner, known as “Ohara the Kid”, had spent some time in California and spoke a little English. The four of us all got the same thing, cubed steak, steamed bean sprouts and rice. Now, it was no Ruth’s Chris or even Outback, but it was pretty good for Ito, Japan. We finished our dinners and headed to our very own Baskin Robbins, only to find that it had closed about 5 minutes prior to our arrival. Grrrr… Merry Christmas anywho!