Thanks for the link...it answered my question of whether Kristi would be there since I know the Japanese love figure skating almost as much as they admire Elvis! And Michele Kwan got to go to the formal lunch when the guy from China was here...
Thank you for that link. Here's the whole enchilada, or, sushi roll.
Bush and Koizumi Sing Diplomatic Duet
http://tinyurl.com/lgze4
By NEDRA PICKLER
The Associated Press
Thursday, June 29, 2006; 6:22 PM
WASHINGTON -- It's not everyday that two world leaders croon to each other, "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You."
But clearly President Bush has special feelings for Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and he put them on full display from morning until night Thursday at the White House.
The love fest began with an elaborate welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn and an exchange of gifts inside afterward. Koizumi gave the sports-loving president a bike and an enlarged version of the Japanese postage stamp that features Babe Ruth. The Bushes gave the Elvis-loving prime minister a refurbished 1954 jukebox that includes 25 songs by his favorite singer.
"Prime Minister Koizumi searched the keys and found `I Want You, I Need You, I Love You,'" first lady Laura Bush said. "He and the president sang a duet."
In the evening, the Bushes were hosting a formal dinner, the eighth of their White House tenure. It was in honor of Koizumi, who leaves office in September.
The guest list included two Japanese-American Olympic athletes _ speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno and ice skater Kristi Yamaguchi.
On Friday, the U.S. and Japanese leaders had their sights set on Graceland, Presley's mansion in Memphis, Tenn. Their tour guides: Elvis' former wife, Priscilla, and his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley.
The White House dinner celebrated Japan-U.S. ties, complete with a diplomatic choice of main course _ Kobe beef from decedents of Japanese cattle raised in Bush's home state of Texas.
The menu was chosen when the United States was still trying to persuade Japan to end a ban on U.S. beef imports imposed over concerns about mad cow disease. Japan lifted the ban last week, and Bush prompted Koizumi to say before the television cameras that he was feeling "very good" after eating a cut of the U.S. meat on Wednesday night.
They were dining on beef with cracked black pepper, shitake mushroom jus, silver corn pilaf and sesame-coated wild asparagus. The gold-colored china was from the Clinton administration.
Also on the menu: Maryland she crab soup; jicama and cucumber chiffonade; and an ornate desert modeled after a bonsai garden, with a chocolate tree on a base of kumquat-stuffed cherries, surrounded by miniature chocolate pagodas.
The Japanese theme extended to the decorations.
The tables were covered in green silk and large spheres of green cymbidium orchids, which grow in the wild in Japan. The orchids rested on top of tall clear glass cylinders.
Three bonsai trees on loan from the National Arboretum were set up in the Grand Foyer. The menus themselves were decorated with a drawing of a blossom from the cherry trees that were given to the U.S. as a symbol of friendship from the Japanese nearly 100 years ago.
The entertainment was provided by the Brian Setzer Orchestra, known for song "Jump Jive An' Wail."