Japan Week 7

(9/18) Friday- Today Eric had a day hike with the high school. The students and staff hiked from the high school to the ski resort at the top of the mountain in our town, it was 12 km each way. Fortunately for Eric he was responsible for taking pictures of the students so he was picked up and dropped off periodically to ensure he got pictures of as many students as possible so he did not have to hike the entire thing.

(9/19) Saturday- Today was the festival for Good Harvest and Mt. Iwaki-san is the god of the Harvest so there was a festival on and near the mountain. Yuki, a member of our Ekaiwa class, took us to the mountain and hiked with us. It was very neat to experience a festival with a local who was able to explain the traditions to us. Mt. Iwaki is 1625m high which is about a mile high! We drove up a very windy road (see photo) to get to about the 1/2 way point on the mountain, and then we rode a chair lift up the portion that is very steep and we hiked the rest. From the chair lift it took us about 2 hours to get to the peak, partially because we made frequent stops for photo opps! The view was absolutely incredible! When we reached the top we learned that there was a shinto shrine and right as we approached it a shinto priest started his prayer ceremony. It was really amazing to witness this ritual while being engulfed by clouds sitting on rocks a mile in the sky. The pictures do not do it much justice. The weather was absolutely perfect, allowing us to see for miles. After we hiked back down Yuki drove us to a near by town for a parade and festivities. We ate lunch with many of the parade members and we visited several shrines and a museum. You will notice that we have red bandanas on our heads in the pictures after we hiked Iwaki; this is because after you hike Mt. Iwaki the first time you can wear a red badge, and if you hike it a 2nd time you can then wear a yellow badge (like Yuki) everytime.


































(9/20) Sunday- Today we explored Lake Juniko with our friend Hal. Ju=ten Ni= 2 Ko=small.... It is a cluster of 12 small lakes all together. It's only about a 30 minute drive from our house, so I am sure we will be back there before the year is over. The drive itself was absolutely beautiful! The road is right along the coast and it was a wonderful clear day and the Sea of Japan looked especially blue! We made a few quick stops along the way to enjoy the coast and play on the rocks in the ocean a bit. At lake Juniko we started out with a hike to see the canyon. According to the sign the canyon and lake Juniko is reminiscent of America's Grand Canyon... naturally, we had to find out for ourselves. While the canyon was beautiful (see photo on right), it does not even begin to compare to the Grand Canyon. We had also hear about Aoko, Ao means Blue, and wanted to check it out. Lake Aoko is a very small lake that is alarmingly blue. Supposedly scientists have been studying the water for years and cannot determine what causes the water to be so blue. If you look closely you can also see that the water is rather transparent. It was very interesting to see. On our way home from the lake(s) we stopped off to see one of the largest water wheels in Japan, it was in fact very very large. We stopped to watch the sunset from another cluster of rocks out in the ocean, it was the most beautiful Japan sunset I have seen yet! It was a great finish to the weekend! After our drive back we took a nice long relaxing bath at the onsen and had dinner at a small restaraunt in Kizukuri where Hal lives.
















(9/21)Monday- Today is respect for the elderly day, and therefore NO SCHOOL!!! Since Eric had they day off we decided to do some "home improvement shopping" and spruce up the house a bit! It was also very nice to have a day to relax after quite an exhausting weekend!

(9/22) Tuesday- Today is Citizens Holiday in Japan, which also means NO SCHOOL!!! Today we had a nice quiet day at home. After we finished up with our home improvements we enjoyed some relaxing movie and entertaining games :) Having a day at home, together was quite a treat. I cannot remember the last time we were both "free" on the same day, for the whole day... and were able to just relax together!

(9/23) Wednesday- Today was Autumnal Equinox Holiday, which again means NO SCHOOL!!! (SHHH Don't tell the equinox already happened) Another wonderful, relaxing day at home together :) Unfortunately Eric has to go to work tomorrow, but on the bright side of things... he only has 2 days of work and then the weekend!!