Weekend in Yokohama

The 4th World Conference of the IASC has begun! On Saturday, they had what they called a "Welcome Party". The Asahi beer and sushi were plentiful, and in between speeches from the organizing committee they had some excellent jugglers perform.

But an even bigger surprise awaited on the way to the conference. The Queen's Square mall in Yokohama just upped the ante on "best Christmas tree in Japan" in a big way. They spared no expense in decking this giant pine to the max. Not only that, but several times a night they would play a light show set to classic Christmas songs and other feel-good music. This was a spectacle--they darkened half the mall to make the show stand out better. Afterward, there was a flurry of picture taking with the tree. Yours truly cannot resist such a moment, of course!