I Have Japanese Hair!!!!!!

Today I had Japanese Thermal hair straightening done by Tomoko-san. It's permanent hair straightening via a Japanese method that costs $800 in the US and $90 here. First they put this chemical on my hair and all the articficial color came off and my hair looked totally destroyed. At that point I started picking out very short haircuts from a Japanese hair magazine where everyone resembled a hip version of Moe, the Stooge. Then they blew dry my hair and it looked like steel wool, then ironed it and it stuck straight out. I wasn't panicking( on the outside)( much). Another chemical was applied and my hair is sliky smooth, shiny and straight. I just walked along the ocean and came in and Mike took this photo. I even feel Japanese now.
Mike and I walked through town to dinner and we took the other photos on our walk home. Sometime in the '70's an entreprenuer opened a night club and wanted to make Yokosuka the "Jazz City" of Japan. He put up these musician statues all over town. There is a walk of fame where jazz muscians put their handprints and autographs in the cement. It didn't seem to take off, now there are just these cool statues that people put beer cans next to.
The man in the window is making Anko, adzuki bean paste, my favorite dessert.

ANKO
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cup azuki beans
10 cups water
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
PREPARATION:
Put 4 cups of water in a pan and add azuki beans in the pan. Soak azuki beans in the water overnight. Put the pan on high heat and bring the water to a boil. Stop the heat and drain the water. Put 6 cups of water in a pan and add the boiled azuki beans.
Put the pan on high heat and bring the water to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and simmer the azuki beans for about an hour. Add sugar and salt. Simmer the azuki beans until thickened. Stir the anko well. Stop the heat.
You can eat as is or really mash them and put into pastries or on croissant.