Packing Day

Well, this is it.  Tomorrow morning we move out of our apartment.  Even with my suitcases mostly full, I still find it hard to believe that we are leaving Japan.  I'm going to miss these wonderful mountain views.

I'm thankful we are spending an extra week traveling around Japan with Drew's mom.  Otherwise, our departure would seem somewhat anti-climatic.  I know Drew is looking forward to a week without work to enjoy his last moments here.  Next time you hear from me I should be Stateside!

Nikko Hike

This past weekend was our very last weekend living in Japan.  Drew finishes work on May 18th and the next day we will depart on our week long adventure with Drew's mom.  We couldn't have picked a better place than Nikko to take our last hike. It was absolutely gorgeous.

First we ate the BEST tempura udon I have ever had.  It must have been homemade.

Here was our great view during the meal.

The beginning of the hike started at Ryuzu falls.

It moved on into the woods.

Where we then followed the Yukawa river all day.

Eventually we came to the Senjogahara Marshland area.

While in this area there is a very nice boardwalk on the trail.

We then arrived at the Yudaki waterfall.

After climbing a million stairs, we were at our final destination, Lake Yunoko.  I wish these pictures could show how beautiful this place actually was.

We have no regrets with how we spent that Sunday.  It was perfect!

Mamada Snake Festival

Drew and I were very excited that we were able to attend the snake festival (Jagamaita) in Mamada, a town just a bike ride away.  We knew, based on photos from past celebrations, that it was going to be one of the more exciting festivals to witness.  People from each district in Mamada construct a "snake" out of bamboo, fern, vine and straw.  The ceremony was originally performed around the time of rice planting in order to wish for rain and wind to keep bugs and disease away from the plant.

First off, the park in Mamada was beautiful.  We were sad that we hadn't been spending more time here already.

Drew got a good shot of one of the snakes before its big debut.

First the snakes get carried up to the shrine for purification.

Next they are put in the pond to drink water.  This was our favorite part.

Afterwards, I hear that they are taken around to "drool" in their local town.  It was a fun experience!

Daishou Mt. Hike

Now that we are getting close to the end of our time here, we wanted to make sure we at least got in one more hike.  You may be able to make out the name of the mountain in white characters in the picture below.  It means something along the lines of "Big Little" Mt.

Drew celebrated when we made it to the sign.

I was glad we hiked to the peak because the view was gorgeous. I won't be seeing as much of this back home.

Tokyo Science Museum

After dropping Kristen off at the airport on Thursday, Drew and I took a trip to the Tokyo Science Museum.  We were both pleasantly surprised by their massive fossil displays.  

This was a large wall of insects.  I particularly enjoyed the butterflies.

My favorite room was this one with hundreds of mounted animals, some of which are now extinct.  The one creepy part was that the two pandas on display used to be in the Tokyo Zoo, so they still have names.  The English audio guide also mentioned that the pandas were happy that we came to see them.  Just a little strange.

Kristen's Visit

Wow, we have been all over the place this past week trying to show Kristen our favorite spots in Japan.  I hope we didn't wear her out too much.

To make sure she was truly taking in the sights, we set up a bingo game for her to play during her stay.  She saw all but 3 items.  If you click on the picture to make it bigger you might be able to make some of the squares out.  My favorite one that she checked off was the crowded train.  The three of us ended up on a train that was beyond crowded.  So crowded, in fact, that people were being squeezed and pushed onto the train and I literally stood on my tiptoes to make sure my lungs had room to expand.  Drew and I hadn't even experienced anything quite like that yet.  I guess that's what we get for traveling during Golden Week when most of the country is off work.

First we took Kristen to Kamakura.  In our opinion, this is one of the best places for viewing shrines and temples.  While there we even showed her a tiny piece of Mt. Fuji that was barely visible through the clouds.

Kamakura is home to the Big Buddha, which is a must-see.

Drew and I hadn't been to the Yuigahama Beach nearby so it was new for us all.

We went to Tokyo a couple times since there is so much to see.  Here we are at Meiji Shrine.

You can't go to Tokyo without investigating the arcades.  Kristen chose to try Tetris.

Kristen's favorite spot ended up being Nikko.  It is a town up in the mountains with several really nice shrines and temples.

In between all of the sights we had a ton of great food, fantastic weather, and a great time.  I'm so happy she was able to come join us in our tiny apartment!

Flying Fish and a Visitor

It's that time of year where the carp flags (koinobori) are hosted all around Japan.  These are flying in honor of Children's Day.  I think they are a lot of fun.

In other news, I'm about to go to Narita airport to pick up Kristen, sorority sister and former roommate, who is visiting with us for a week.  Hopefully, I'll have lots to report.