Toronto, Canada

Although this is a little delayed, from June 8-10, Gary and I went up to Toronto for a quick trip.  I had been wanting to take Gary to Toronto for a while, seeing it is where I was born, but had never found the right time.  Well, the right time arrived when my cousin Shaki decided to have a mini reception to introduce his Canadian friends to his new bride, Mizue. 

Shaki flew all the way out to Utah from Japan for our wedding, so I'm happy we got to go to his reception just a 7 hour drive away.  Shaki's sister Hiromi was also at the reception from Japan, so it was really nice to be able to catch up with her too.  I've noticed that as an only child, you treasure your relationships with your cousins even more, because they are the closest substitute to a sibling you have. I was sad that Nao (Shaki and Hiromi's brother) wasn't at the reception, because he is the one who taught me the importance of the special bond we have as cousins :)

Another reason we went to Toronto is because my uncle (Shaki, Hiromi, and Nao's dad) was going to be retiring (he is now retired) and sold his restaurant. 

Mikado has been my uncle's restaurant for the last 35 years.  It is where my parents met.  My dad, who wanted a change of scenery, moved his life to Toronto in the early 80's after receiving a flyer about immigrating to Canada at a concert he had attended in Japan.  Apparently the flyers were being distributed by the Canadian Embassy, who at the time, was looking to bring foreign nationals who were trained in certain professions, including Engineers, to Canada.  My dad fit the description they were looking for, so after an interview, he was granted permanent residency in Canada.  He then immigrated as a young, single professional to a country he had never been to.  

My mom, who also wanted a change of scenery, was persuaded by my uncle to come to Canada for a while. My mom met my dad when she was working at the restaurant, and the rest is history. 

That's my uncle, working behind the sushi bar. Whenever my parents and I would take our annual trip up to Toronto to visit, we would sit at the sushi bar and chat with my uncle. Oh, and stuff our faces with the most amazing food ever, too. 

And the final reason we went to Toronto is to visit our good friends, Jacqueline and Wil! They showed us around town and took us over to the Toronto Islands. We got to stay at their beautiful house and got to be their first official house guests! 

We had such a good time visiting with family and close friends. Until we meet again, Toronto.