Marquise's Birthday Party

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Today is Marquise Usher's birthday! Yay! As Patti commented, he's the third Sonosian *in* *a* *row* to have a birthday while on tour in Japan. First was Ben, then Kat, and now Marquise. We always joke that they get to celebrate their birthday twice - once on Japan time and once on U.S. time. ;)

We arrived in Tokyo at the Keio Plaza Hotel this afternoon, and Marquise decided he wanted to go to one of the *many* hotel restaurants (this place is BIG!) for dinner. So, we did! (It's his birthday, after all. :D)

This is the an "antechamber" before the restaurant proper. I imagine some kind of tea ceremony could be held in here.

Another simple, yet beautiful adornment on the way into the restaurant.

Warren got sushi. Doesn't turn me on, but there was universal praise for the quality of the food (and of the sake!).

Then we got the clever idea of surprising Marquise with a real cake, with candles and everything. This, however, was a major effort. See, they don't make things *big* in Japan. Apparently the cake hunters struggled to find anything much bigger than a cupcake. ;) Just to give you an idea of the typical size:

This is me pointing to a plastic mockup of a "Christmas Cake" from the hotel lobby in Osaka. Yes, it's not much bigger than my hand. But, guess how much it costs...?

Yeah, around *$38*!! Sheesh!

In the end, though, through intensive coordination (we are a handbell ensemble, after all!), we lined up a beautiful cake:



Jim had to scour the shopping district to find utensils and plates, but he persevered. Some of us distracted Marquise ("Hey, I need something from our room!") while others prepared the cake (and most of us lazy louts just hung around criticizing). After the great surprise...









...we cut the cake (there's a story about that!) and shared it around. I can honestly say a great time was had by all.



Well, some more than others... ;)



And here's to the birthday boy himself! Enjoy your first birthday, Marquise!

---Jason