tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18474970206894968302024-03-04T20:11:16.196-08:00Tiko's TravelsLet the traveling begin, and never end.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-53843103025589413252015-11-26T16:12:00.000-08:002015-11-26T16:12:53.390-08:00Trip to Thailand!I went to Thailand last week! It had been about 7 years since the last time that I went, so I was really excited to see my family who live there, and to eat delicious Thai food!<br />
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It was a pretty short trip, but I had a great time!<br />
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Here are some of the things that I got to enjoy there:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTVTb0SO-dgMv4x0wPTWcyANciTDEMVsshvxxlsP8TBD9v4dnBNB4jthkDfZB1w7bNZtWBe-WcujPG8D0OF6MGp1oyE_N4bok0-19PO_h_G3IqPTLzyHVi7Dc3Wjq3E81sxrzB9emBHY8/s1600/P_20151117_173116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTVTb0SO-dgMv4x0wPTWcyANciTDEMVsshvxxlsP8TBD9v4dnBNB4jthkDfZB1w7bNZtWBe-WcujPG8D0OF6MGp1oyE_N4bok0-19PO_h_G3IqPTLzyHVi7Dc3Wjq3E81sxrzB9emBHY8/s320/P_20151117_173116.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First meal in Thailand. Noodles with barbecue duck and pork at a gas station. In Thailand there are many gas stations that have restaurants and even stores attached!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf5z4jID-ruULdVZWyO4qWRtKQDB0LcBDNypbe2bkmMnZF8B5_mOrMj8CpfnC8FurUtJXojX-zesljWT0NwknkMTftxfxO5ABG_EyRwef3hl61N376s1jR3-lul56UIrZeQdcEHh3L_8c/s1600/P_20151117_204659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf5z4jID-ruULdVZWyO4qWRtKQDB0LcBDNypbe2bkmMnZF8B5_mOrMj8CpfnC8FurUtJXojX-zesljWT0NwknkMTftxfxO5ABG_EyRwef3hl61N376s1jR3-lul56UIrZeQdcEHh3L_8c/s320/P_20151117_204659.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thai roti. Fried flour with sweet condensed milk inside. Delicious.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3jiDpX3HMavl2xfNK-eKGCKSiEq5HvkfCqD4BIRL-fcgDRiJF_nXihFowpZGVWmqfooTxgaD6TfacdHb9JuuTvOAbTHWqeJZxaq1KEtwLFahQjWmq79Thailwds19bgVnS9GVGFyNu8/s1600/P_20151118_111035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3jiDpX3HMavl2xfNK-eKGCKSiEq5HvkfCqD4BIRL-fcgDRiJF_nXihFowpZGVWmqfooTxgaD6TfacdHb9JuuTvOAbTHWqeJZxaq1KEtwLFahQjWmq79Thailwds19bgVnS9GVGFyNu8/s320/P_20151118_111035.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast. Barbecue pork and and a boiled egg over rice</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mango and sticky rice</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC-4Tx_jGhkqjmBA1Z79Vl52iKLv2rmACmtkiD0EwKvF3XgfyGYZzvnfDhoPcWWcrOwjR42uQ3IhTd-hJ6D1MAw-xa37BNNW8IeMNNPrB_sDCyZe5So5eEnkZWeV3BRv_8wq5myeEjU-A/s1600/P_20151119_100859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC-4Tx_jGhkqjmBA1Z79Vl52iKLv2rmACmtkiD0EwKvF3XgfyGYZzvnfDhoPcWWcrOwjR42uQ3IhTd-hJ6D1MAw-xa37BNNW8IeMNNPrB_sDCyZe5So5eEnkZWeV3BRv_8wq5myeEjU-A/s320/P_20151119_100859.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dried fish over lettuce</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-hmTJijrcQZc66DDlyePQcqMaAgdc07cLDpImrjUHd5caECfq66QWAGZAeD1pMiB1-TB8peUDh7pYF1EWCkbllnlk7azIMXhjShybF2KlMBOBnwg_aOYpLUAWlUSa_EtxlxWCdo6v4Lo/s1600/P_20151119_144440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-hmTJijrcQZc66DDlyePQcqMaAgdc07cLDpImrjUHd5caECfq66QWAGZAeD1pMiB1-TB8peUDh7pYF1EWCkbllnlk7azIMXhjShybF2KlMBOBnwg_aOYpLUAWlUSa_EtxlxWCdo6v4Lo/s320/P_20151119_144440.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fried banana</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ktEuSyYKgL-duiFc3aHi4-sE8JfoYznzFteqSj1QOQ1u68hK2ByKZtsxdGw5cNEF_DwV3vlpWE6Pyvptd7-nfeyni3gH_TQ5QjFh4Wwyi8b8s4YA6RArnZnn__FurHWTV-zBT4_erNY/s1600/P_20151120_145431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ktEuSyYKgL-duiFc3aHi4-sE8JfoYznzFteqSj1QOQ1u68hK2ByKZtsxdGw5cNEF_DwV3vlpWE6Pyvptd7-nfeyni3gH_TQ5QjFh4Wwyi8b8s4YA6RArnZnn__FurHWTV-zBT4_erNY/s320/P_20151120_145431.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet Siamese pancake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRdfPrEI_15dHStxycv2qqiraJRvkrZ6AJ5thbNAFH2N3ZL4M2o7uE8Cq73YbVhLtDDNWs415p5PDuFpqnImOTPF1wEfpnJAcrbLYzCUINNnflbsT5hdZwnNHgITefakQcqDqiA69IoJ4/s1600/P_20151120_140910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRdfPrEI_15dHStxycv2qqiraJRvkrZ6AJ5thbNAFH2N3ZL4M2o7uE8Cq73YbVhLtDDNWs415p5PDuFpqnImOTPF1wEfpnJAcrbLYzCUINNnflbsT5hdZwnNHgITefakQcqDqiA69IoJ4/s320/P_20151120_140910.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such colorful rice!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANEvVXQ9OWOjkj4AEo0aKx6rygO3XfrSUmv4qk8OQ1Zwg1J4f1CvWkCyOxa6BcJARpkUglXUdz1t4Fd0ly7FF4RGuXV7ZnQL30-m_J29sD_ZdrVJ3HKUmgsk_akTv9D_v2P2vY0ic00s/s1600/P_20151120_174619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANEvVXQ9OWOjkj4AEo0aKx6rygO3XfrSUmv4qk8OQ1Zwg1J4f1CvWkCyOxa6BcJARpkUglXUdz1t4Fd0ly7FF4RGuXV7ZnQL30-m_J29sD_ZdrVJ3HKUmgsk_akTv9D_v2P2vY0ic00s/s320/P_20151120_174619.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice cream sundae at Swensens</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuBo4f2AYQPtE7bHW_pvgmRnl-dTtXxVahDNa4IG9GgTLYSHT_pn9Ymq317B-ysiTJ85NcGgDeNM2rDcbJ4RRHu3JJG4vKNIesYUo9XOZdC3ZIVQFux7al2ivW0wQwvIgmx58aHouJh9E/s1600/P_20151122_103139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuBo4f2AYQPtE7bHW_pvgmRnl-dTtXxVahDNa4IG9GgTLYSHT_pn9Ymq317B-ysiTJ85NcGgDeNM2rDcbJ4RRHu3JJG4vKNIesYUo9XOZdC3ZIVQFux7al2ivW0wQwvIgmx58aHouJh9E/s320/P_20151122_103139.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sticky rice and steamed banana cake. So delicious! Wish that I could have brought it home with me.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ7Gq-yLSK7R9Y04_GvVbghxotROn3WpbP_UeHhdc3U9lkctMsMoRw8sD-kPKeIQvZnXkscQ4gcIOLJNgwzXxppLKlgi4ZUFSEq9MJYH9NfoqUep4ptoWmB-XW2G5NI8i0HBxO9sM7zk8/s1600/P_20151123_093633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ7Gq-yLSK7R9Y04_GvVbghxotROn3WpbP_UeHhdc3U9lkctMsMoRw8sD-kPKeIQvZnXkscQ4gcIOLJNgwzXxppLKlgi4ZUFSEq9MJYH9NfoqUep4ptoWmB-XW2G5NI8i0HBxO9sM7zk8/s320/P_20151123_093633.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of sweets from my uncle! The green ones are called "condo cakes", since they are layered</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT2vTwjZ0I8djPCKW57Oe_0fxapgKTFpE3Djy9yW9zoSGM5IF-Nm7eyqAJXOsaLeDLxU2pU8plZJpFtKZmv-RjIqNHMtv3Jc5nIqGEljHmD4G-zKw7WxqzPEbwLYYAL8JAPjHQrgIIvdA/s1600/P_20151123_133809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT2vTwjZ0I8djPCKW57Oe_0fxapgKTFpE3Djy9yW9zoSGM5IF-Nm7eyqAJXOsaLeDLxU2pU8plZJpFtKZmv-RjIqNHMtv3Jc5nIqGEljHmD4G-zKw7WxqzPEbwLYYAL8JAPjHQrgIIvdA/s320/P_20151123_133809.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salapao, or meat buns</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQx1QkTll-ck1CEPEXOVQwXMUeXwvEgwSXYUFhcV1HvcJTKtQYcyazIJL_NmU0Src2It4MrjBmar-i-zuX9nH0kgg-7-tvZV1B4Ngcm4MXcORiWtNut63Vt6ceGdNyI5AcTQX94-auDk/s1600/P_20151123_142404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQx1QkTll-ck1CEPEXOVQwXMUeXwvEgwSXYUFhcV1HvcJTKtQYcyazIJL_NmU0Src2It4MrjBmar-i-zuX9nH0kgg-7-tvZV1B4Ngcm4MXcORiWtNut63Vt6ceGdNyI5AcTQX94-auDk/s320/P_20151123_142404.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barbecue duck(?) over rice at my favorite restaurant</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbb6218kmRm40s4eNS7dVNIwEleV47mqUx6vIBPjJ3s79V_tC1kx9h-fLn_kPX6egVmTFPHlzlyjn5cGJDhQtTK01OHadb6tIqz-1SsdybfsojdxSBdc4Ub38oZU6AxccPbIJ-LgUT7DA/s1600/P_20151123_141757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbb6218kmRm40s4eNS7dVNIwEleV47mqUx6vIBPjJ3s79V_tC1kx9h-fLn_kPX6egVmTFPHlzlyjn5cGJDhQtTK01OHadb6tIqz-1SsdybfsojdxSBdc4Ub38oZU6AxccPbIJ-LgUT7DA/s320/P_20151123_141757.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ramen with pork also from my favorite restaurant</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2t0I4F-yXdaaxxZColHfjJ0Vw58QaPGkVtmMqSrezg_VOsnofhNQqFFmDThXGnRqPCXD8ZcXHHAOzYqIBNN-jvUkeMbSui8vGrWw65qTMwIDz1_9pnZ6-40fMlrmOjN8NS5zYMdb_ytw/s1600/P_20151123_195741.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2t0I4F-yXdaaxxZColHfjJ0Vw58QaPGkVtmMqSrezg_VOsnofhNQqFFmDThXGnRqPCXD8ZcXHHAOzYqIBNN-jvUkeMbSui8vGrWw65qTMwIDz1_9pnZ6-40fMlrmOjN8NS5zYMdb_ytw/s320/P_20151123_195741.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some spicy ramen with fried wonton </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-HqFyfxMmN_usp6ReOsx042qeSR1NIJNBUYTEobTye3g7WBdPpRcTAFreKRjurcPc2ZZ_lFLopcEQhcg6qWGeIAKgLRxs4uxvyEB1TZsdClkHtiSd9PxQrG11PlGKivgLfjiQmNLUup4/s1600/P_20151123_201433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-HqFyfxMmN_usp6ReOsx042qeSR1NIJNBUYTEobTye3g7WBdPpRcTAFreKRjurcPc2ZZ_lFLopcEQhcg6qWGeIAKgLRxs4uxvyEB1TZsdClkHtiSd9PxQrG11PlGKivgLfjiQmNLUup4/s320/P_20151123_201433.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Earthquake from Swensens. 8 balls of delicious ice cream, all for me~</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg48lNcJh6jvGbDVzSTBbKQlrxr6kALd3qqwg4fA3IFDonn0PwNWUL9hJ-BmfjPIB8k0d0Vzt073KX-S_MXvmcmaF-SHE7ugI2-Z8Lmv7Te7iewIivEVyAikbl0CqXAMLWpZJFAj4XcGyM/s1600/P_20151123_201457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg48lNcJh6jvGbDVzSTBbKQlrxr6kALd3qqwg4fA3IFDonn0PwNWUL9hJ-BmfjPIB8k0d0Vzt073KX-S_MXvmcmaF-SHE7ugI2-Z8Lmv7Te7iewIivEVyAikbl0CqXAMLWpZJFAj4XcGyM/s320/P_20151123_201457.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CHALLENGE ACCEPTED</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All done!</td></tr>
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I also did some touristy stuff too!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Muay Thai match in front of a department store</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Khrut's along the outside wall of the temple</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Jatujak Weekend Market. The best place to buy souvenirs from Thailand!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At a night market on the outskirts of Bangkok</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River at the night market</td></tr>
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I really enjoyed visiting the <a href="http://www.bangkok.com/attraction-temple/wat-prakaeo.htm#promo">Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew)</a> and the <a href="http://www.bangkok.com/attraction-temple/wat-po.htm">Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho</a>. For visitors to Wat Phra Kaew, the entrance fee is 500 Thai baht (about 1,500 Japanese yen/ 14 USD) and they have a strict dress code. No short pants or dresses/ skirts, or sleeveless T-shirts. For people who are stopped by the guards for being not dressed appropriately, there are sarongs that can be rented to wear into the palace. The entrance fee into Wat Pho is 100 Thai baht (about 350 Japanese yen/ 3 USD) and their dress code is similar to Wat Phra Kaew.<div>
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I strongly recommend trying Thai street food if you get the chance! If you are worried about getting food poisoning though, make sure that the food you buy is hot (if it's food that is supposed to be hot), and hasn't been out for a long time. There are a lot of flies and other bugs that carry diseases and other yucky stuff, so be careful if you buy food that has a lot of flies around it!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-29053018426818027252015-11-03T04:29:00.001-08:002015-11-03T04:29:32.349-08:00Fukuroda Falls in Ibaraki!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My friend and I drove up to Fukuroda Falls in Ibaraki Prefecture this past Sunday! I remember seeing pictures on <a href="https://instagram.com/tikotravels/">Instagram</a> last year of Fukuroda Falls and I knew that I had to go see it for myself! Located in Northern Ibaraki in Daigo Town, Fukuroda Falls was about a 2.5 hour drive from Chiba. It is one of the three most renowned waterfalls in all of Japan. We got there just before the sun started to set, so it was especially beautiful!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fukuroda Falls</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suspension Bridge</td></tr>
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There were many parking lots along the road to the falls, but the one that we ended up parking at cost 500 yen. But instead of paying the 500 yen, the store owner asked that we buy something at their store that cost about 500 yen. I had never experienced this kind of payment plan before in Japan, but it ended up working out well for us!</div>
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As we were walking down the road, our noses were greeted with not only the smell of autumn, but with the smell of <i>Ayu </i>fish, or sweetfish. Cooked over a fire, it is slightly salty and delicious! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ayu sweetfish</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgDzR25RjJ9NkHN6cvNmd3Q9JkE-bymC0z5oCJar4RCpngRbnTz0TcoUaeunRnAbRxwryUKSjRkMP2EM_BGtuTTO7UkXP7M_2LzALSvubTy1amcQ3A3pRy6eeXaq3Kb6NmKXvcRMw-D8/s1600/P_20151101_165137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgDzR25RjJ9NkHN6cvNmd3Q9JkE-bymC0z5oCJar4RCpngRbnTz0TcoUaeunRnAbRxwryUKSjRkMP2EM_BGtuTTO7UkXP7M_2LzALSvubTy1amcQ3A3pRy6eeXaq3Kb6NmKXvcRMw-D8/s320/P_20151101_165137.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting dark...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
We finished walking around dusk, so then we made our way to our hotel. We stayed at the <a href="http://www.mito-keiseihotel.com/">Mito Keisei Hotel</a> in Mito City. We found that they had a special offer for people who stay on Sunday, so if you plan on staying on Sunday, please try to check it out! It only cost us 4,400 yen per person for one night. After checking in, we walked to <a href="http://tabelog.com/ibaraki/A0801/A080101/8010716/">Kushitonbo</a> which was located just outside of the JR Mito Station. Not only was the food delicious, but the atmosphere was a lot of fun! For certain drinks, if you win a game of rock-paper-scissors against the server your drink will be upgraded to a bigger size for free! Definitely a fun restaurant for anyone! After eating, we walked to <a href="http://tabelog.com/ibaraki/A0801/A080101/8013837/">Jazz Bar S&F</a> for more drinks. After walking up a flight of stairs we could hear jazz piano music through the door. The bartender greeted us and took our order in English, and even gave us free fruit with our drinks! For jazz or record enthusiasts, this bar is a must! The bartender had an entire room of jazz records!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYkzcBGGmMZJyx3K13gssxRIxMSGv2OFAIFSMfInT3WNbbuS_j38dmgGWAPc1uEH900unAr1AkNFoLx5qPfGfN4kSFBbOwkFqEgnWTpaod8GHcYp4KvLCO6GD7JLmR0tJc_DtCMxxahQ/s1600/P_20151101_213353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYkzcBGGmMZJyx3K13gssxRIxMSGv2OFAIFSMfInT3WNbbuS_j38dmgGWAPc1uEH900unAr1AkNFoLx5qPfGfN4kSFBbOwkFqEgnWTpaod8GHcYp4KvLCO6GD7JLmR0tJc_DtCMxxahQ/s320/P_20151101_213353.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drinks and fruit at Jazz Bar S&F</td></tr>
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<div>
It was raining a lot the next day, so we decided to go home in the afternoon. But we stopped at <a href="http://tabelog.com/ibaraki/A0801/A080101/8015111/">Kani Hompo Ganko-ya</a> for a crab lunch! We got crab legs and a crab gratin. Both were amazing, but the legs were the best! There was too much food for me though, so I couldn't finish my crab legs. Since we went during lunch, the bill came out to about 2,500 yen for the both of us!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhsT8EkQf4cdmr5IBntcMQalJafs93Nsk2oU5c9k7Yx8d5HfS8cCcNOIE5kwwB0zCjaIt7J0DQJcZETDUt3k8g0Lh-XW5oyn1CCEEuLXrs-ePTmPHy-DIYdMTObbblnfmTlA9VsOE26c/s1600/P_20151102_120009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhsT8EkQf4cdmr5IBntcMQalJafs93Nsk2oU5c9k7Yx8d5HfS8cCcNOIE5kwwB0zCjaIt7J0DQJcZETDUt3k8g0Lh-XW5oyn1CCEEuLXrs-ePTmPHy-DIYdMTObbblnfmTlA9VsOE26c/s320/P_20151102_120009.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crab Gratin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTM21epHAiIhkqRv1QOdiusZuVkR_s-8_BeC6G_6FmkxmDHPXtnB77TM65Ve-_acbu91r7RY9iioaw97abhsKhFReKiIgK7FP6nn_7kBFFZlFV1qOTqtEMKHQzHmgDLQOcpxl54Zo8-M/s1600/P_20151102_115608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTM21epHAiIhkqRv1QOdiusZuVkR_s-8_BeC6G_6FmkxmDHPXtnB77TM65Ve-_acbu91r7RY9iioaw97abhsKhFReKiIgK7FP6nn_7kBFFZlFV1qOTqtEMKHQzHmgDLQOcpxl54Zo8-M/s320/P_20151102_115608.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crab Legs<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<div>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-83145237977998094562015-10-12T04:59:00.000-07:002015-10-12T04:59:36.220-07:00Japanese Pear Picking in Chiba!Today was such a beautiful day! It would have been such a waste to stay inside (especially since it was also a holiday), so I decided to go Japanese pear picking!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVngRMZwvy0g2V1IatHNeS0wUcUb2mNk9QwDWq5lSdQqr1QJV1K3ubE4FXhbPGp2l2uN1JCEKyn8yv2b4whpvuu_x0vmPjtrzzbVE9OPrE-SULNYTLqB1ftXClpM8Pk0D8buyW6JEdLv4/s1600/P_20151012_124054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVngRMZwvy0g2V1IatHNeS0wUcUb2mNk9QwDWq5lSdQqr1QJV1K3ubE4FXhbPGp2l2uN1JCEKyn8yv2b4whpvuu_x0vmPjtrzzbVE9OPrE-SULNYTLqB1ftXClpM8Pk0D8buyW6JEdLv4/s320/P_20151012_124054.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Takaai Nashi Farm, Chiba</td></tr>
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Japanese pears can be found in many supermarkets now, but the actual fruit picking period is quickly coming to a close. According to many sites, many people can participate in Japanese pear picking from the end of August till the beginning of October. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to find a place to go pear picking but after many phone calls I found one that was still open!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vzFSrljnip6lFE2QkCp3Gto2R-X1XuNTtWN1vkwqq2CKyvimH0m72l6bMLOtRJB2xvKCEcloF_08eMf9_HACojWTPcHGeIonT0i86URDGxwQcR00idMOdpVm0dBkhwim5B6q5r9RYTs/s1600/P_20151012_123007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vzFSrljnip6lFE2QkCp3Gto2R-X1XuNTtWN1vkwqq2CKyvimH0m72l6bMLOtRJB2xvKCEcloF_08eMf9_HACojWTPcHGeIonT0i86URDGxwQcR00idMOdpVm0dBkhwim5B6q5r9RYTs/s320/P_20151012_123007.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Takaai Nashi Farm</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmItjGFUGJTP3AELgv-UMKx2opFhyphenhyphenEcDKtDDvTzrYVrpozOTcL8pCaf0GAysbCnHyR2kZ-qFJf84dauyAlbVnyQVi1B2NQwH1LpGGrQOcQIccoMWI-m31vCKWY_znLj3C0oaa2LBShVY/s1600/P_20151012_123747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmItjGFUGJTP3AELgv-UMKx2opFhyphenhyphenEcDKtDDvTzrYVrpozOTcL8pCaf0GAysbCnHyR2kZ-qFJf84dauyAlbVnyQVi1B2NQwH1LpGGrQOcQIccoMWI-m31vCKWY_znLj3C0oaa2LBShVY/s320/P_20151012_123747.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese pears, or <i>nashi</i></td></tr>
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About a 10 minute walk from the east exit of Higashi Matsudo Station in Chiba, <a href="http://www.takaai.com/">Takaai Nashi Farm</a> is a small Japanese pear orchard. It is run by a nice lady who helped me pick the best pears!<br />
<br />
Admission into the farm was free, and two pears cost about 300 yen. I paid about 850 for the pears that I picked, and she even gave me one for free! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKF2ZUdW8S6OQPLeV66_mmIY6o2Z1UjMSv19htRyfm976vkYv-GNzA_qlw0AClbrh7VSoWarleX_T23Fz801M-X2hahOyRYUy-tvkD6ydImkyWI2l59ThYAyJAGpKvkKuQdi_qOuW9fw8/s1600/P_20151012_124324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKF2ZUdW8S6OQPLeV66_mmIY6o2Z1UjMSv19htRyfm976vkYv-GNzA_qlw0AClbrh7VSoWarleX_T23Fz801M-X2hahOyRYUy-tvkD6ydImkyWI2l59ThYAyJAGpKvkKuQdi_qOuW9fw8/s320/P_20151012_124324.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bag of Japanese pears</td></tr>
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For those planning on going, definitely call ahead!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.takaai.com/">Takaai Nashi Farm</a><br />
047-392-6234<br />
Open: 10am-4pm<br />
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: メイリオ, 'ヒラギノ角ゴ Pro W3', 'Hiragino Kaku Gothic Pro', メイリオ, Meiryo, Osaka, 'MS Pゴシック', 'MS PGothic', sans-serif; font-size: 12.32px;">千葉県松戸市高塚新田49-1</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-48872576642027866522015-10-12T01:08:00.001-07:002015-10-12T01:08:49.519-07:00Sawara Fall Festival!On October 10th, my friends and I went to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawara,_Chiba">Sawara</a>, Chiba, for their <a href="http://www.city.katori.lg.jp/03government/section/kankou/news/2015-0826-1545-15.html">biannual town festival</a>! This festival has a history of more than 300 years.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafeoLDw9zZvfHxBGap232pTfrVl5zp7N4ZQv7a5avSVInlX04es2tpvfcLuewKAS2B4uuY7DhJzYk1VDcJmsCKI0WjchMNlo6uS87rqgL9Y93Frkm27shpkUZ5q3OAvbeUszlM7Ar9NQ/s1600/P_20151010_140227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafeoLDw9zZvfHxBGap232pTfrVl5zp7N4ZQv7a5avSVInlX04es2tpvfcLuewKAS2B4uuY7DhJzYk1VDcJmsCKI0WjchMNlo6uS87rqgL9Y93Frkm27shpkUZ5q3OAvbeUszlM7Ar9NQ/s320/P_20151010_140227.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Onogawa River running through Sawara</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioorl-M5XMsJrWMrEsK5i6K-T96znUN_ZIUBA1y2YnM_3JN0lKUkNLRAnFUKPezSB62IzvCMchhnmNu_HGzqdWJgz3zrYNUY6svijDGjwxICJngB_dPIkSR5GaovbKzL-EhxL8wA9BNX4/s1600/P_20151010_140256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioorl-M5XMsJrWMrEsK5i6K-T96znUN_ZIUBA1y2YnM_3JN0lKUkNLRAnFUKPezSB62IzvCMchhnmNu_HGzqdWJgz3zrYNUY6svijDGjwxICJngB_dPIkSR5GaovbKzL-EhxL8wA9BNX4/s320/P_20151010_140256.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visitors to the Sawara Festival can arrive by boat!</td></tr>
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Sawara has two festivals throughout the year, the Fall Festival and the Summer Festival. It's famous for their towering doll <i>dashi</i>, or festival floats. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0eCKa9nWrvY76uTbkYNd864HFvQCRF1MIme8GYQxYuhCSE8GtEgPIM_QcmiVm6zjfec2YPH88BTFOrHE2ei1kQFxMeIjbZ-xazlANBgapAiAC3L2gOCgpo72VDrzVvMV-coIUNn7TM2A/s1600/P_20151010_140520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0eCKa9nWrvY76uTbkYNd864HFvQCRF1MIme8GYQxYuhCSE8GtEgPIM_QcmiVm6zjfec2YPH88BTFOrHE2ei1kQFxMeIjbZ-xazlANBgapAiAC3L2gOCgpo72VDrzVvMV-coIUNn7TM2A/s320/P_20151010_140520.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Citizen's pulling the doll festival floats. Some of them weigh more than 2 tons!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KZ2bB2igid_fYxFahZFdlYushz6fA0lzhs-ZECvY-RFk6y1N09KOXVqDdMmWneRS_V7dNRJdQbeyVsJl41DcdxprS-q4xgctpiWqc5cBLIt13Zlk-ee-3NS0FJSI5PhZ5rI132mExiM/s1600/P_20151010_152313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KZ2bB2igid_fYxFahZFdlYushz6fA0lzhs-ZECvY-RFk6y1N09KOXVqDdMmWneRS_V7dNRJdQbeyVsJl41DcdxprS-q4xgctpiWqc5cBLIt13Zlk-ee-3NS0FJSI5PhZ5rI132mExiM/s320/P_20151010_152313.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pulling them through the streets of Sawara</td></tr>
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Walking around Sawara gives visitors a sense of going back in time, since the shops and buildings haven't changed for hundreds of years. Many of the shops now are still as they were more than 100 years ago. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhEmiXwTMQBGwlfDGS1J0HTB_n9h1VFJvHOle7mBn0WtiDuRIEzZhDXIevwlxlgN3U3JQMmHUGmGAjtTxsAlSNyvJQhmFmcb251fNSz0C9J4MQ90jiPXslpq5qZ14yMi7hfH80aMGKACc/s1600/P_20151010_142858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhEmiXwTMQBGwlfDGS1J0HTB_n9h1VFJvHOle7mBn0WtiDuRIEzZhDXIevwlxlgN3U3JQMmHUGmGAjtTxsAlSNyvJQhmFmcb251fNSz0C9J4MQ90jiPXslpq5qZ14yMi7hfH80aMGKACc/s320/P_20151010_142858.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visitors can also arrive by train at Sawara Station</td></tr>
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The Sawara Festival (Fall especially) is one of my favorite festivals in Japan, since visitors can see traditional Japan wherever they look. I always see and learn something new every time that I go! Plus there is a lot of delicious food here!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFduMFe6B9_zwfRtooTuJ-_EFoZoV7F6KRBhIc1ni98kKcs8mCB43vyYcS36dhEJ5SLeQDEZFOAtTwclnJPsM68oaeTgfuZwTkgcW3CDD8mlb63NgSMTuhzT_MLvhRNqsjiSABimmZ2cA/s1600/P_20151010_144342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFduMFe6B9_zwfRtooTuJ-_EFoZoV7F6KRBhIc1ni98kKcs8mCB43vyYcS36dhEJ5SLeQDEZFOAtTwclnJPsM68oaeTgfuZwTkgcW3CDD8mlb63NgSMTuhzT_MLvhRNqsjiSABimmZ2cA/s320/P_20151010_144342.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate Banana sold at stall</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWO_gqiitO122buXA-E8ZlvdBETLRDnhcu77z3z-YhefXkyu0Ry4tdd3k3YeBMQR-2YdPw8DFGcFJiv42A-2uSXkQxpwb2R2gVhJsWwMWNjYEPugtgOpdBYdDRWNrGLW6aZF9EH9WS-RY/s1600/P_20151010_150432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWO_gqiitO122buXA-E8ZlvdBETLRDnhcu77z3z-YhefXkyu0Ry4tdd3k3YeBMQR-2YdPw8DFGcFJiv42A-2uSXkQxpwb2R2gVhJsWwMWNjYEPugtgOpdBYdDRWNrGLW6aZF9EH9WS-RY/s320/P_20151010_150432.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet Potato Ice Cream! Tasted just like Japanese sweet potato</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjQ4K_yg8uPH-Uy_kXvGClmFLdDjes25PkLHQns8-6dtk38w8IPvWk-i9Z8wpoiiHj_aSWVJkm_tJlo2h0y0lLdIbo6PR4XLxTA1s4-wHP1hsF5RzDPI_Djl4JN3sk82dp3XLU7o0u9o/s1600/P_20151010_152552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjQ4K_yg8uPH-Uy_kXvGClmFLdDjes25PkLHQns8-6dtk38w8IPvWk-i9Z8wpoiiHj_aSWVJkm_tJlo2h0y0lLdIbo6PR4XLxTA1s4-wHP1hsF5RzDPI_Djl4JN3sk82dp3XLU7o0u9o/s320/P_20151010_152552.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fan Dance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpgzg7wjPq2kg1NpMuahKJnaE4EJFRrm9UstyaU-1rr7b0GsPYm6cK-EaAmIYuxcoGdPdohCX0qrQgK1pFq4E_s0epEUiwMyljxunz4nNtqknFuyzFy2rODsDQ9Et56LuHurixbSGK6I/s1600/P_20151010_170313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpgzg7wjPq2kg1NpMuahKJnaE4EJFRrm9UstyaU-1rr7b0GsPYm6cK-EaAmIYuxcoGdPdohCX0qrQgK1pFq4E_s0epEUiwMyljxunz4nNtqknFuyzFy2rODsDQ9Et56LuHurixbSGK6I/s320/P_20151010_170313.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Floats lit up at night</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcSgYXF5eEn6exrgeWf0uEfH9QXVcvI4zOM3a6ytGQ1WNGRRb8RMW5h3y-K_MtbJtEJY4kgZV7pVQn7a58wbxZBVDzVjrKOuRNcKINQuRa5zu0dxXQAR2Uw9W-nk0PES122ZwftdHabo/s1600/P_20151010_182250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcSgYXF5eEn6exrgeWf0uEfH9QXVcvI4zOM3a6ytGQ1WNGRRb8RMW5h3y-K_MtbJtEJY4kgZV7pVQn7a58wbxZBVDzVjrKOuRNcKINQuRa5zu0dxXQAR2Uw9W-nk0PES122ZwftdHabo/s320/P_20151010_182250.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even young children help pull the floats! So cute!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In addition to the doll festival floats, Sawara is also famous for <i>sake</i> and for a shop that makes black <i>soba</i> (buckwheat) noodles. I've never tried the <i>soba</i> noodles, but their <i>sake</i> is delicious! If you get a chance, please try their <a href="http://www.tokun.co.jp/%E5%8D%81%E5%AF%8C%E7%A6%84%E9%85%92%EF%BC%88%E3%81%A9%E3%81%B6%E3%82%8D%E3%81%8F%E9%85%92%EF%BC%89/"><i>Doburoku</i> sweet sake</a>!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-17201319202657520572015-10-12T00:08:00.001-07:002015-10-12T00:10:23.415-07:00Part 3: Digging for Sweet Potatoes!On October 3rd, Asahi ALTs participated in the last event of the Asahi rice planting experience, where we got to dig up sweet potatoes and participate in <i>mochi-tsuki</i>, or pounding sticky rice cake.<br />
<br />
Digging up the potatoes was pretty fun since we got dig with our hands! Everyone had a small area where they dug up sweet potatoes. I didn't have many potatoes in my area, but the child who I was next found so many potatoes in his area!!! It was pretty unfair hahaha :P<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAnw98aReSfdgRuh4Fp9ezqDH5nkwiAzITGnaTXMn4oIm0aZaUajik7wNFTKC6PE37oOcZkl4IVi51WbMGY0inzVbSYtKvv3oaKVyLASc9Es-QX-i2f-gyV-g-AW61z5aOPahUb8bMF5c/s1600/P_20151003_115250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAnw98aReSfdgRuh4Fp9ezqDH5nkwiAzITGnaTXMn4oIm0aZaUajik7wNFTKC6PE37oOcZkl4IVi51WbMGY0inzVbSYtKvv3oaKVyLASc9Es-QX-i2f-gyV-g-AW61z5aOPahUb8bMF5c/s320/P_20151003_115250.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese sweet potatoes that I dug up</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After potato digging we got to see children pounding the sticky rice cake with their big wooden hammer! It was so cute!<br />
<br />
We also got a bag of rice! I'm pretty sure that it was the rice that we had harvested before too! I thought that it was really cool knowing that we had helped harvest the rice that we were given. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4YCDekQ65RADeMI5GVJ7DjT273XeEXXcVj1ucZc1NNvUJDxKFR013w_hOaYcBPmSPFX3MIOgdCJVS1spTAqhmRsIXvLqF6btRkb978EsEzt-HUds2_3eze3E_n2dOGqI6_BzOpiPRG8/s1600/P_20151012_155249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4YCDekQ65RADeMI5GVJ7DjT273XeEXXcVj1ucZc1NNvUJDxKFR013w_hOaYcBPmSPFX3MIOgdCJVS1spTAqhmRsIXvLqF6btRkb978EsEzt-HUds2_3eze3E_n2dOGqI6_BzOpiPRG8/s320/P_20151012_155249.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harvested rice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-40189912827075400472015-10-01T03:51:00.000-07:002015-10-01T03:51:51.328-07:00Teacher Trip to Yamanashi<div class="MsoNormal">
Silver Week officially ended on September 23<sup>rd</sup>,
but I had the 24<sup>th</sup> and 25<sup>th</sup> off from work so my coworkers
planned a trip to Yamanashi!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had been to Fuji-Q Highland before, but I had never
actually traveled in Yamanashi so I was really excited to go. I was especially excited to travel with my
coworkers since they are awesome!<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY_2P1tzK3s1NFvemn8yUXEIaOg-OXMufDEjByL_Y6-eh2rLOm0dl2Fx582AHaE0ONimCfjDgvjQPNT6IbqW2MB7ABWsv5xOxLNwf5rvo_KkoFan0yz_E1cM75MlOYPvtsmMjKX8YFtUA/s1600/P_20150924_083416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY_2P1tzK3s1NFvemn8yUXEIaOg-OXMufDEjByL_Y6-eh2rLOm0dl2Fx582AHaE0ONimCfjDgvjQPNT6IbqW2MB7ABWsv5xOxLNwf5rvo_KkoFan0yz_E1cM75MlOYPvtsmMjKX8YFtUA/s320/P_20150924_083416.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good morning, time to get the party started</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWp40lXQBRBEpFDBOjNwoxzXUsLwmohjm8kRC3njU9AKZOhpXsxovPeJtAxez2KaEutq4y2JOp9vrrhZiYCAEXFTyHzKBuwsU6B6uXtYhhPu9wRH7CxZxnlspGX1mbQ7hCsTXHq17wH_M/s1600/P_20150924_151906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWp40lXQBRBEpFDBOjNwoxzXUsLwmohjm8kRC3njU9AKZOhpXsxovPeJtAxez2KaEutq4y2JOp9vrrhZiYCAEXFTyHzKBuwsU6B6uXtYhhPu9wRH7CxZxnlspGX1mbQ7hCsTXHq17wH_M/s320/P_20150924_151906.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing card games during the bus ride</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since there were 19 of us, we rented a bus. It was much more convenient than going by
train since there were so many of us.
And it meant that we could drink and play games more easily! My principal had even prepared a quiz for
everyone to participate in, and I actually won!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3p8KBnYXZjCS5BOyZfRmhZ8JHQg9qf7JHIaJk06M93-4HzHm2wmJq1mJYaR1mW3FKPMcqKyNsPA_hzE9U-lNwrkN5b6msp-r4J5UZ1afRF3DsCSXAHJisxOLmDzR4bObV_hRhHx_vSQY/s1600/P_20150924_092852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3p8KBnYXZjCS5BOyZfRmhZ8JHQg9qf7JHIaJk06M93-4HzHm2wmJq1mJYaR1mW3FKPMcqKyNsPA_hzE9U-lNwrkN5b6msp-r4J5UZ1afRF3DsCSXAHJisxOLmDzR4bObV_hRhHx_vSQY/s320/P_20150924_092852.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's what I won! A Japanese ukiyo-e drawing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We arrived at <a href="http://www.chateauk.co.jp/">Chateau Katsunuma</a>, our first stop on our
Yamanashi tour, at about 10 am. We went
on a tour of the winery, where we saw how they bottle the wine and where they
store it. After the tour, we
participated in a wine tasting. I’m not
a big wine fan, but I really liked the wine that I tried there! I even bought one along with their popular
scallop snacks. They also have many
kinds of grape juice, so people who don’t/ can’t drink can enjoy the tasting as
well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi36vxXOCC7bFjAfl3wkRpwqvxtl3gyIz2UQ_fhUG2Amu9GsJgZS9P4SN_t0gVYmZhRDtYDS4Gvm5z4hwxoQA7T7eio9-6y-KUR7k0Phj9h4Hhr1G95RNL0L1Y28_YJy0GltQX-kp6YGIQ/s1600/P_20150924_100902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi36vxXOCC7bFjAfl3wkRpwqvxtl3gyIz2UQ_fhUG2Amu9GsJgZS9P4SN_t0gVYmZhRDtYDS4Gvm5z4hwxoQA7T7eio9-6y-KUR7k0Phj9h4Hhr1G95RNL0L1Y28_YJy0GltQX-kp6YGIQ/s320/P_20150924_100902.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting the tour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtU7HyzYKsVvshA4lTX3i1AqV2RU352sC019AUgFlwISalDlqCk6OoWJ4FDwjguNsf3cJhncmpE_perh9U3y52aSKZ0wPtNHOiOtF9wfhN7e6takOpIQ9lRotDfu6SzZD1ZfKZ83UNmp8/s1600/P_20150924_101300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtU7HyzYKsVvshA4lTX3i1AqV2RU352sC019AUgFlwISalDlqCk6OoWJ4FDwjguNsf3cJhncmpE_perh9U3y52aSKZ0wPtNHOiOtF9wfhN7e6takOpIQ9lRotDfu6SzZD1ZfKZ83UNmp8/s320/P_20150924_101300.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where they bottle the wine</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFUcVGnnzqTsVK7ylSuEuZGbm9CumJAjauVsE6I46qzcj_pi7USjjQ-_7QVkVzXwzZWSt0-IDzkVbLQbIjBf9VmcwYyQzC9G1GLGW0fujyDLigsOE4yYIEfCDKox2sN5_cpo_zCKTgI0/s1600/P_20150924_102240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFUcVGnnzqTsVK7ylSuEuZGbm9CumJAjauVsE6I46qzcj_pi7USjjQ-_7QVkVzXwzZWSt0-IDzkVbLQbIjBf9VmcwYyQzC9G1GLGW0fujyDLigsOE4yYIEfCDKox2sN5_cpo_zCKTgI0/s320/P_20150924_102240.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wine tasting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next stop was <a href="http://www.ichikoen.com/">Ichikoen</a> for grape picking and lunch. They had all-you-can-eat seedless Kyoho
grapes, but it was only for 30 minutes.
The grapes were really big and sweet, but I wish that we could have
stayed longer than 30 minutes. After
grape picking we went and had lunch!
Ichikoen offers grape picking as well as a barbecue lunch, where you
barbecue your own food under the grape vines! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOd_h_P4xmYYyHvcgCZJlb0mlGhQC5sLLeruHQsE25PdcC9oRtkuKKP7W1kLp6FZ8YJCbhFWUc9apzhdAEm6MOmCik45vnKgKtnjs9J2LcYDgB7BlGKA8IsNUlDCKKtS4W3m0RYtkxx_Q/s1600/P_20150924_105442_BF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOd_h_P4xmYYyHvcgCZJlb0mlGhQC5sLLeruHQsE25PdcC9oRtkuKKP7W1kLp6FZ8YJCbhFWUc9apzhdAEm6MOmCik45vnKgKtnjs9J2LcYDgB7BlGKA8IsNUlDCKKtS4W3m0RYtkxx_Q/s320/P_20150924_105442_BF.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going to pick grapes (cut my head out on purpose muahaha)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYZiusbZwgQyZfBIguFQWqHunT_KSQhdW0qAU60AGYvMib8Ru1BW6isCGRY2Dkf12js-wVUVJPKHjeJqfyjwm8yiq3vhk_26AuOkUM-MPY1e24wJI5E7UpXUa1-ySeADGZbcXqX1E9_0/s1600/P_20150924_110055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYZiusbZwgQyZfBIguFQWqHunT_KSQhdW0qAU60AGYvMib8Ru1BW6isCGRY2Dkf12js-wVUVJPKHjeJqfyjwm8yiq3vhk_26AuOkUM-MPY1e24wJI5E7UpXUa1-ySeADGZbcXqX1E9_0/s320/P_20150924_110055.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Under the grape vines</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RtyHVbTbXKfgh4lh_2jTieJ1RcdJOur7rDZ6riOAbmcnwjMT-4TIW2xGxR6smXybVjdQJCTKh3rJ9LVwiuUgR2qg_hS8NXUCRUZr5PF0mZRESb0QVBzWYDKTQ6yKMwzCNAccn-uuUXM/s1600/P_20150924_110227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RtyHVbTbXKfgh4lh_2jTieJ1RcdJOur7rDZ6riOAbmcnwjMT-4TIW2xGxR6smXybVjdQJCTKh3rJ9LVwiuUgR2qg_hS8NXUCRUZr5PF0mZRESb0QVBzWYDKTQ6yKMwzCNAccn-uuUXM/s320/P_20150924_110227.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grapes as big as one's eyeball</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6bxLaGqVRLopF8WNeXKMni-R54yNx_3wIPrP_RdjDkIXYZQfNB2rT4iTTcU19ejsoXYD55PIvPYoGL8ir_U6_iedouB8nZpnecyhizM1e3sScfKTQWTr5EUDjfhyphenhyphentgeP7FtbWS7NAlE/s1600/P_20150924_112610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6bxLaGqVRLopF8WNeXKMni-R54yNx_3wIPrP_RdjDkIXYZQfNB2rT4iTTcU19ejsoXYD55PIvPYoGL8ir_U6_iedouB8nZpnecyhizM1e3sScfKTQWTr5EUDjfhyphenhyphentgeP7FtbWS7NAlE/s320/P_20150924_112610.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch under the grape vines</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLc0IGyDXpOcd4GuQz3tqNuMwsufFQYXX0PNNX7FiGl45EFaIxNVintyZEhr1bucxlnZ5UPDhOPJpQRRU9HYXw3EDz3Gsxj5zyWu6izSWGbrXdodRCp4_EPyc7kTxUxy8FRy3cRi9SfI/s1600/P_20150924_113620.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLc0IGyDXpOcd4GuQz3tqNuMwsufFQYXX0PNNX7FiGl45EFaIxNVintyZEhr1bucxlnZ5UPDhOPJpQRRU9HYXw3EDz3Gsxj5zyWu6izSWGbrXdodRCp4_EPyc7kTxUxy8FRy3cRi9SfI/s320/P_20150924_113620.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time to barbecue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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After lunch, we went to <a href="http://www.kikyouya.co.jp/">Kikyouya</a> to try some of Yamanashi’s
famous Shingen-mochi! They do
all-you-can-pack Shingen-mochi for 210 yen, but they were sold out by the time
we had arrived! However, they did have
Shingen-mochi ice cream which was delicious!</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-F2LIZ-IzmSikZcJ4vlfNJ-rulEQgp6gxl7RSd_LILs6CFW9Hes-R3emSX2ZfH-k5yc89drgblA0LB_xIm16m_pruckVbt82rkJzoA72LPu-esBfVpxjZdpktneO8brJdskgKMwHLew/s1600/P_20150924_125452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-F2LIZ-IzmSikZcJ4vlfNJ-rulEQgp6gxl7RSd_LILs6CFW9Hes-R3emSX2ZfH-k5yc89drgblA0LB_xIm16m_pruckVbt82rkJzoA72LPu-esBfVpxjZdpktneO8brJdskgKMwHLew/s320/P_20150924_125452.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shingen-mochi ice cream at Kikyouya, 390 yen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We made our way to <a href="http://www.koshuwasabi.com/">Koshu Wasabi Center</a> next, where they had
many different wasabi samples.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-c35-GaAGQJJz6nIIziq6k3POt_sfAQKcSjnkB9SI-r-NIReavKi7M1pUYEn1yqsXGr8NwLYR3XfoFPgVKQeHeb_aVamB3bnBrKW0Iyf3EQc5PAAr25-JeMSDFUs0JkBV1eBUcIZ3C3o/s1600/P_20150924_132037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-c35-GaAGQJJz6nIIziq6k3POt_sfAQKcSjnkB9SI-r-NIReavKi7M1pUYEn1yqsXGr8NwLYR3XfoFPgVKQeHeb_aVamB3bnBrKW0Iyf3EQc5PAAr25-JeMSDFUs0JkBV1eBUcIZ3C3o/s320/P_20150924_132037.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the wasabi samples</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The next stop was <a href="http://www.mtfuji-cave.com/en/">Fugaku Wind Cave</a>. I think that we were running late by this
time though, so we sort of rushed through it so I didn’t get a chance to take a
good look inside the cave. It was pretty
cold inside, and the ceiling was very low, so everyone had to squat-walk
throughout most of the cave. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCydvOYrL4vZOjxQOBf9qAIQPngXFE64dN6BN2B2MZo191lN858xOy9gscCkxDjqy_rx9MXFak8YeNsMs0kgIdkmY7hWCWbOPPTUKszr2OfHhgDpNtVMLKC7TNEP_3keqZt1MppvUeuhI/s1600/P_20150924_143445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCydvOYrL4vZOjxQOBf9qAIQPngXFE64dN6BN2B2MZo191lN858xOy9gscCkxDjqy_rx9MXFak8YeNsMs0kgIdkmY7hWCWbOPPTUKszr2OfHhgDpNtVMLKC7TNEP_3keqZt1MppvUeuhI/s320/P_20150924_143445.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Descent to the cave (sorry for the blurry pic)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOIpKuzPX2KE2HvIPFK3J4lzKI3Y6cnr_MM0miUAczDjSp-9WjiwG_Sb5K7vIZOU7Y-u668Lzq98k464Br4yaXPo_d7_4TfwuW2Px2CB9nLAZyBct7iuSMBJdtUW6KGLkiwo_NdTvCw4Y/s1600/P_20150924_143629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOIpKuzPX2KE2HvIPFK3J4lzKI3Y6cnr_MM0miUAczDjSp-9WjiwG_Sb5K7vIZOU7Y-u668Lzq98k464Br4yaXPo_d7_4TfwuW2Px2CB9nLAZyBct7iuSMBJdtUW6KGLkiwo_NdTvCw4Y/s320/P_20150924_143629.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fugaku Wind Cave</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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After we left the cave, I saw that they were selling corn
ice cream, so I decided to try it! It
tasted like corn, but it was still really good!</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3WKfi1ePz4yVlXbDFCQ1-_UtP-VOB_SH1gdXj1q_ioZH-AWwUgE0IZ8QBlA0IpTYiGPbEm3ZW_FkLQVXDyfEz0Y1JeQcRKLD2LOd1oIYwSxbgS8A2TBirwV_8kNuNZCwxskflXx6lcI/s1600/P_20150924_145148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3WKfi1ePz4yVlXbDFCQ1-_UtP-VOB_SH1gdXj1q_ioZH-AWwUgE0IZ8QBlA0IpTYiGPbEm3ZW_FkLQVXDyfEz0Y1JeQcRKLD2LOd1oIYwSxbgS8A2TBirwV_8kNuNZCwxskflXx6lcI/s320/P_20150924_145148.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corn ice cream, 360 yen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The last stop of the day was at our hotel, <a href="http://kukuna.jp/eng/index.html">Kukuna</a>. It had a Hawaiian-atmosphere, and it was
really nice! The bath was especially
nice! They have an outdoor bath too, so
guests can see Mt. Fuji from the bath on nice days! After a delicious dinner at Kukuna, we went
to bed to prepare for the next day of our trip.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdW43ygJBS40cs1kdoYt0UpKhpvvsOCShHbDsdHtCVDW6QjbK2fXUI8jrs_PrGMLPIFp1bFXn_mCkCjqmgNklVW0h2d3me-Hp37B2-tNrLsziBbOCuNugmjad2ylMo0Dus19mr8z2I3eM/s1600/P_20150924_154412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdW43ygJBS40cs1kdoYt0UpKhpvvsOCShHbDsdHtCVDW6QjbK2fXUI8jrs_PrGMLPIFp1bFXn_mCkCjqmgNklVW0h2d3me-Hp37B2-tNrLsziBbOCuNugmjad2ylMo0Dus19mr8z2I3eM/s320/P_20150924_154412.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kukuna room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8CRvTb9Q4dfSvnAAxU997LjXtQBnoCaf_07A7TN7hLkTJEW48SvNdeB5nb4NZGut4I-I6ndBlWp4BTaCekd-boO01vHaPhWjhc61MiNg91S__YPwL0QWhkada1cbSxt0WIhBjVZ1Eiy4/s1600/P_20150924_154601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8CRvTb9Q4dfSvnAAxU997LjXtQBnoCaf_07A7TN7hLkTJEW48SvNdeB5nb4NZGut4I-I6ndBlWp4BTaCekd-boO01vHaPhWjhc61MiNg91S__YPwL0QWhkada1cbSxt0WIhBjVZ1Eiy4/s320/P_20150924_154601.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhkrXklmz-5u4CAb32oCOraOnr1f8aA5KtWnFvD_aZfwESruP_1wY-HlZw8tV__i-tGsZE9xsAdg9XloVoV1wcKMDzpht-EozWlBMGsLl7CbSc-foMSJkjmJqfJ2G4q2dpOPO6DERYzA/s1600/P_20150924_154653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhkrXklmz-5u4CAb32oCOraOnr1f8aA5KtWnFvD_aZfwESruP_1wY-HlZw8tV__i-tGsZE9xsAdg9XloVoV1wcKMDzpht-EozWlBMGsLl7CbSc-foMSJkjmJqfJ2G4q2dpOPO6DERYzA/s320/P_20150924_154653.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from our room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The first stop of our last day in Yamanashi was <a href="http://www.vill.oshino.yamanashi.jp/8lake.html">Oshinohakkai Village</a>. It was raining pretty hard when
we went, so we weren’t able to see Mt. Fuji.
So sad. So I drowned my sadness
in ice cream! I got the lavender and peach
mix, but the lavender was so much more delicious than the peach. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Sa4XhqK8-GsvAHMAwzYFoYH_3QsHCSRNqQ_iETAPkLLwTche3fP0I99Hd57P2YkPmBNflgGEJPvFICQ-nu83WUr2b6a88cKsXY8bHiDasKxgm35e0NTbk0OQmQOZiD9iaNno7VnvLwI/s1600/P_20150925_095545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Sa4XhqK8-GsvAHMAwzYFoYH_3QsHCSRNqQ_iETAPkLLwTche3fP0I99Hd57P2YkPmBNflgGEJPvFICQ-nu83WUr2b6a88cKsXY8bHiDasKxgm35e0NTbk0OQmQOZiD9iaNno7VnvLwI/s320/P_20150925_095545.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oshinohakkai Village</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtzuqAyeop19cxTHei_5xihpacRxyfL6NQ1dj-QhzrBj10MzHnswtQAJecQ_av9RfhI3RtzpN8k0NkCrwrrNRb2sPg1K5AcUPJaUay8Cs5efwRKnMqH4pUGYK9Qxpym2OEQcQiAbpdbk/s1600/P_20150925_100320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtzuqAyeop19cxTHei_5xihpacRxyfL6NQ1dj-QhzrBj10MzHnswtQAJecQ_av9RfhI3RtzpN8k0NkCrwrrNRb2sPg1K5AcUPJaUay8Cs5efwRKnMqH4pUGYK9Qxpym2OEQcQiAbpdbk/s320/P_20150925_100320.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lavender and peach ice cream, 400 yen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Our last stop in Yamanashi was at Gotemba Outlet. I guess Japanese people love outlet
malls? At least my coworkers do anyway <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> Overall, I had a really awesome time,
especially since I rarely get the chance to see my coworkers outside of
work! </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-56526856115988141322015-09-28T05:16:00.002-07:002015-09-28T05:16:48.997-07:00Trekking in Oze National Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Every September, there are a few days of consecutive
holidays in Japan. The third Monday in
September is </span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'; text-align: left;">敬老の日</span><span style="text-align: left;"> (</span><i style="text-align: left;">keirou no hi</i><span style="text-align: left;">,
or Respect for the Aged Day), and September 23</span><sup style="text-align: left;">rd</sup><span style="text-align: left;"> is usually </span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'; text-align: left;">秋分の日</span><span style="text-align: left;"> (</span><i style="text-align: left;">shuubun no hi</i><span style="text-align: left;">,
or the Autumnal Equinox Day). According
to Japanese law, if there is a non-holiday in between two holidays, that day
also becomes a holiday, hence September 22</span><sup style="text-align: left;">nd</sup><span style="text-align: left;"> being </span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'; text-align: left;">国民の休日</span><span style="text-align: left;">(</span><i style="text-align: left;">kokumin no kyujitsu</i><span style="text-align: left;">, or Citizen’s
Holiday). These three consecutive
holidays are commonly referred to as Silver Week, and it’s a popular time to go
traveling. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQmfM0e5ixsVIUOuM92Mwi3W-oAA_M8-VOD9Pl9MHH9FL2k_SslsWrPG12Y6FwcImNNu5ZjNP7LQH050OYOVnn6j2BmhLzDETmrtoo-BuhZ4UEholk5VEX4cotMJcvW68ByWgNLQ9ZUk4/s1600/P_20150921_054206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQmfM0e5ixsVIUOuM92Mwi3W-oAA_M8-VOD9Pl9MHH9FL2k_SslsWrPG12Y6FwcImNNu5ZjNP7LQH050OYOVnn6j2BmhLzDETmrtoo-BuhZ4UEholk5VEX4cotMJcvW68ByWgNLQ9ZUk4/s320/P_20150921_054206.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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During Silver Week, my partner and I decided to go to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oze_National_Park">Oze National Park</a>, which is more than 370 km and reaches four different prefectures
(Fukushima, Tochigi, Gunma and Niigata). </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We were able to find a tour package from <a href="http://www.sunshinetour.co.jp/oze/">Sunshine Tour</a> which
only cost 22,200 yen per person (included bus transportation to and from Oze,
lodging at the park, and <i>bento</i> for
two days). The night bus left from
Ikebukuro at 11:00 pm on September 20<sup>th</sup>, and we arrived at Ōshimizu
Rest Area of Oze National Park at 5:00 am on the 21<sup>st</sup>. After eating a light breakfast and changing
our clothes (it was really cold!!), we began our trek at 5:45 am. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12vBNrk54QNsDW8CDDWv7T6SZIAFIp0WUSIaNSzPaJ_pS2nIDb9xIL8Ao7hUwnVSwYP2N3eTGvvDINy9eoqR-mLI5n-o8sM_plGK_ycPmpN1WFaednk_sZ-lE27cGTvc-jToIbNq1yEY/s1600/P_20150921_055014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12vBNrk54QNsDW8CDDWv7T6SZIAFIp0WUSIaNSzPaJ_pS2nIDb9xIL8Ao7hUwnVSwYP2N3eTGvvDINy9eoqR-mLI5n-o8sM_plGK_ycPmpN1WFaednk_sZ-lE27cGTvc-jToIbNq1yEY/s320/P_20150921_055014.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sky at 6 am</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvNdJRNcFG6XTYFTB7F2Ab0BVcsr3nVHwLBtATbXGZDm-YLQJIcuWLwffImYPx5KiNfuB1V56yrgv8RI5cHc67CU3lwqgyDZO8o0WQXDJ8lAmjV2OvLc9qiHQB9EiHW7J8UT4vJ5L9O4/s1600/P_20150921_071949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvNdJRNcFG6XTYFTB7F2Ab0BVcsr3nVHwLBtATbXGZDm-YLQJIcuWLwffImYPx5KiNfuB1V56yrgv8RI5cHc67CU3lwqgyDZO8o0WQXDJ8lAmjV2OvLc9qiHQB9EiHW7J8UT4vJ5L9O4/s320/P_20150921_071949.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trekking through the forest</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgABwLl4w4iGcLix4mNQIMGZjMLoC0WA77dbN1HYOQ68AqPbVz3MnKFZum8KNyAKi_o0Z7xVxDAnfCk8JCS-ccEZPlAPdaQAUTgxva5TQ8gQFaXrgALnVyXdW95ZrX8XA9O9rwsipfsaqM/s1600/P_20150921_103218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>We arrived at Ozenuma Pond after about three hours of
trekking. The water was so blue, and the
fields surrounding the pond provided the perfect color contrast. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPaUTxafyFCcRYh11TNBnZoQLE2fxJsJ5BEklRoBwOTV7SjbUwAyoMQryG-lBKB7G2-aqgYCle4eqsjyTbj8znp1nSAfZ_SMEaOc2ka0252G9g31nIJg5MGWWT0Qv45gcXtJbRavTqu0/s1600/P_20150921_085558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPaUTxafyFCcRYh11TNBnZoQLE2fxJsJ5BEklRoBwOTV7SjbUwAyoMQryG-lBKB7G2-aqgYCle4eqsjyTbj8znp1nSAfZ_SMEaOc2ka0252G9g31nIJg5MGWWT0Qv45gcXtJbRavTqu0/s320/P_20150921_085558.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ozenuma Pond</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTG6piAYm3Bf8wKL42m40LqL4MNUjb-glzoTkl_zlzgAJo4aOBmLfXXvWDX520iZfg1sX42WPzqCwmlwHpNBzcFEGbEJ-eKDiQoFW43njtMK02ZKLFgiUvVb0Y5UpDaJon81yIAgkHjYM/s1600/P_20150921_095747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTG6piAYm3Bf8wKL42m40LqL4MNUjb-glzoTkl_zlzgAJo4aOBmLfXXvWDX520iZfg1sX42WPzqCwmlwHpNBzcFEGbEJ-eKDiQoFW43njtMK02ZKLFgiUvVb0Y5UpDaJon81yIAgkHjYM/s320/P_20150921_095747.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Ozenuma Pond from the fields</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiBW8gTO-f43LilF7FwhQzEWFsRypkBFU3-aqw86HC9xmItxEGAK0s50eJU7CBVldsfh-wWjcdeH2c4Q7F2FjYaJfNHudI2ett_xeJjyexC9IC0dNjeTx8PXsjFbAUeZwFnVXBx_ltK0o/s1600/P_20150921_100825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiBW8gTO-f43LilF7FwhQzEWFsRypkBFU3-aqw86HC9xmItxEGAK0s50eJU7CBVldsfh-wWjcdeH2c4Q7F2FjYaJfNHudI2ett_xeJjyexC9IC0dNjeTx8PXsjFbAUeZwFnVXBx_ltK0o/s320/P_20150921_100825.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pathway through the fields</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbNN4fPskINJpemtDztMmyFVR3ZrS6wa4iSmwRvKjINnJwtsEccmY12xFbwGo7ilEZKwB56GXEZdULq-tTl2_Wdzljq3tY1mNbrIeWgxmkEuLbOxt9aGPkSplHQ0HM-auRkjDq0nxzIw/s1600/P_20150921_115227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbNN4fPskINJpemtDztMmyFVR3ZrS6wa4iSmwRvKjINnJwtsEccmY12xFbwGo7ilEZKwB56GXEZdULq-tTl2_Wdzljq3tY1mNbrIeWgxmkEuLbOxt9aGPkSplHQ0HM-auRkjDq0nxzIw/s320/P_20150921_115227.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sky reflected in the pond water</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPM3WFoRnIAZ5BL9HbM5me2UH7BA_xT2fONt4e2tBMcEv5zkW918ZGzY5qvvkg_4abL2gtLwMM21MmJKr-By6feoWbYkv9709bI0DVqsbwhTMzpfky2FMp0-Bon415da2LzA7evEWaDc/s1600/P_20150921_105141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPM3WFoRnIAZ5BL9HbM5me2UH7BA_xT2fONt4e2tBMcEv5zkW918ZGzY5qvvkg_4abL2gtLwMM21MmJKr-By6feoWbYkv9709bI0DVqsbwhTMzpfky2FMp0-Bon415da2LzA7evEWaDc/s320/P_20150921_105141.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The trek on the first day was long, but we found ways to
keep ourselves entertained.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwK_Hf2h78noJ-ihuPsI1p4RB1sju0d0s081zcFA3G1Y396fnA6BrUokepPxocyDFVs8WndPDrwgtXMtqPOderw8XU-BqlnG8IXgaEEzP4JLrlEd7kysUc4-BfcN2BKgRjEJqsGR1cOdo/s1600/P_20150921_104017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwK_Hf2h78noJ-ihuPsI1p4RB1sju0d0s081zcFA3G1Y396fnA6BrUokepPxocyDFVs8WndPDrwgtXMtqPOderw8XU-BqlnG8IXgaEEzP4JLrlEd7kysUc4-BfcN2BKgRjEJqsGR1cOdo/s320/P_20150921_104017.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mushroom Chronicles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNfSqyPeVE4h_spV74G00nhyBWhRJuI2YlYrFw5SC2XTJ2W2GYRJUXhS7HEiny0UGWTKRYk-ObxRCl-5bb4h5W5NuVCmH8F-7Rs9nUlPhEAiFEGlJw1hK5b4CXNnwAGCC7HNXloKmSH3Q/s1600/P_20150921_101948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNfSqyPeVE4h_spV74G00nhyBWhRJuI2YlYrFw5SC2XTJ2W2GYRJUXhS7HEiny0UGWTKRYk-ObxRCl-5bb4h5W5NuVCmH8F-7Rs9nUlPhEAiFEGlJw1hK5b4CXNnwAGCC7HNXloKmSH3Q/s320/P_20150921_101948.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Get those mushrooms, Mario</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9cgXzSYMtCpDs4NIfO9JuzMIka-9RzZ61GAVnQz0SdfKvIEVzh8FE1Tg9YeYdGuhHJlN7HYewHF1a_gVFVzYP3ggUDPyJLXZWenKDGfPOH4Q6GLFWvfCbifTp47IRntzTQqRP_OpmkS0/s1600/P_20150921_104832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9cgXzSYMtCpDs4NIfO9JuzMIka-9RzZ61GAVnQz0SdfKvIEVzh8FE1Tg9YeYdGuhHJlN7HYewHF1a_gVFVzYP3ggUDPyJLXZWenKDGfPOH4Q6GLFWvfCbifTp47IRntzTQqRP_OpmkS0/s320/P_20150921_104832.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WHAT</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We finally arrived at <a href="http://www.welcome-to-oze.com/mountain/?page=0002"><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">元湯山荘</span> (<i>Motoyusansō</i>)</a>, our lodging for the night, at 2:20 pm. It took us more than eight hours to get
there! There are many lodgings like
Motoyusansō in Oze National Park, which are called <i>yamagoyas</i>, or mountain huts.
They are very comfortable, and our particular <i>yamagoya</i> had private rooms (as opposed to shared rooms). One thing to note if you plan on spending the
night in Oze: there is a high chance that amenities will NOT be provided by the
<i>yamagoya</i>, as the water that runs out
of the <i>yamagoya </i>will be filtered back
out into the park. Motoyusansō asked
that guests refrain from using shampoo and other bath products to protect the
Oze environment. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRo4aB0m4Mj42QGs2-oz8Ia_O-MA9fs2THSzNzVhz1P23dd7kAvXejJ5iNq0Ba8gFogp0CIB6C7vXK3iwI9_dP1XF9vVz1V73gAuXcVDCZ65_bfMcygGivM3UyyWzGiYIdcRe-9_wYgJU/s1600/P_20150921_172744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRo4aB0m4Mj42QGs2-oz8Ia_O-MA9fs2THSzNzVhz1P23dd7kAvXejJ5iNq0Ba8gFogp0CIB6C7vXK3iwI9_dP1XF9vVz1V73gAuXcVDCZ65_bfMcygGivM3UyyWzGiYIdcRe-9_wYgJU/s320/P_20150921_172744.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner at the yamagoya</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After eating dinner at the <i>yamagoya</i>, we went to bed early to prepare for our next day of
trekking back to the meeting place. On
September 22<sup>nd</sup>, we left Motoyusansō at 7:20 am (which was so much
nicer than having to start at 5:45 am haha). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYsNWXdD5UxAf511N_YrGsYUx6GTEnH7ElpFyJnydV-Su2Jb6bIjP-jSmSGT7OKfdZxM3xBj_mJ90qhe3FS4l5kBs-25OMimpHZ4KLl_87rQxeCkfR_ZTIzcC7zkSciOwJnym44bw4l4/s1600/P_20150922_073347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYsNWXdD5UxAf511N_YrGsYUx6GTEnH7ElpFyJnydV-Su2Jb6bIjP-jSmSGT7OKfdZxM3xBj_mJ90qhe3FS4l5kBs-25OMimpHZ4KLl_87rQxeCkfR_ZTIzcC7zkSciOwJnym44bw4l4/s320/P_20150922_073347.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning glory</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ACFgQrXoltTEvecpGhQyjOGtGRR1v69DdBsZ0qfc3CfLO2w6inYnwhFIK7BseuDM2T6JfXoSmIlmBaQIYdJIaUt8hphOgbAtf5FUNqNVKs8WqSdkxZprdC41n1PI51PIuuR89AjmbM4/s1600/P_20150922_100732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ACFgQrXoltTEvecpGhQyjOGtGRR1v69DdBsZ0qfc3CfLO2w6inYnwhFIK7BseuDM2T6JfXoSmIlmBaQIYdJIaUt8hphOgbAtf5FUNqNVKs8WqSdkxZprdC41n1PI51PIuuR89AjmbM4/s320/P_20150922_100732.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYSgPWapayx1z1xBBhvysmUHt8dbZO2BPCpiOywawxZoqKt0uMQNR3uSbvL_8v1Kh-7OsAZLqHHfan4aJBxdj8WbyHxhyMcW54afnhyGQ8GZMZ8a6TVtis8GAsxz79L-UXNIstaozmfa8/s1600/P_20150922_101114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYSgPWapayx1z1xBBhvysmUHt8dbZO2BPCpiOywawxZoqKt0uMQNR3uSbvL_8v1Kh-7OsAZLqHHfan4aJBxdj8WbyHxhyMcW54afnhyGQ8GZMZ8a6TVtis8GAsxz79L-UXNIstaozmfa8/s320/P_20150922_101114.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yamanohana</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It took us about five hours to get to Hatomachitōge Rest
Area, where our bus would come pick us up at 2 pm. We ended up arriving early though, so we
enjoyed relaxing with their famous <i>hana-mame</i>
ice cream and a beer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Et1MPs8HHiyAh08CEsrYcDRZSMahBJ-zC5SObMjrDAH22Xy3hlMdaPIheBtJkpQu-Ng9ek2KBoSbyVOy8DoIC2KE9EYgkHreeTGe-us_PnQivGZbRqNuy6T3rU0c6lUftzjatyLKJHs/s1600/P_20150922_130545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Et1MPs8HHiyAh08CEsrYcDRZSMahBJ-zC5SObMjrDAH22Xy3hlMdaPIheBtJkpQu-Ng9ek2KBoSbyVOy8DoIC2KE9EYgkHreeTGe-us_PnQivGZbRqNuy6T3rU0c6lUftzjatyLKJHs/s320/P_20150922_130545.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hana-mame ice cream</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOE0J8MrSdg7EbOJJg8R62HGAgpHvXA7iUu9E-PpU0WQ0XrAlXdPivWPtFPgHqfWl2W0pDHL3x1k9cfPvRCzxXpEDLIQbu6DVBkMfDkZGKMTdf1TN2RgYtF3uZtR3yhW1tad7c4lqMsxI/s1600/P_20150922_131522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOE0J8MrSdg7EbOJJg8R62HGAgpHvXA7iUu9E-PpU0WQ0XrAlXdPivWPtFPgHqfWl2W0pDHL3x1k9cfPvRCzxXpEDLIQbu6DVBkMfDkZGKMTdf1TN2RgYtF3uZtR3yhW1tad7c4lqMsxI/s320/P_20150922_131522.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebratory beer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For anyone who is interested in trekking, I cannot recommend
Oze enough. There are so many paths to
take, and going throughout the year allows visitors to see different views of
Oze depending on the season. This
particular tour package was also very convenient and reasonably priced. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-6375458056104130152015-09-06T17:13:00.000-07:002015-09-06T17:13:11.780-07:00Part 2: Rope Making and Rice Harvesting in Asahi, Chiba!<div class="MsoNormal">
On Saturday September 5<sup>th</sup>, my friends and I went
back to <st1:place w:st="on"><a href="http://www.city.asahi.chiba.jp/yugaku/info/oy_eng_annai.html"><st1:placename w:st="on">Ohara</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Yugaku</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></a></st1:place>
in Asahi to take part in the next experience: rope making and rice harvesting!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we got there, we noticed that some volunteers had farming
clothes prepared for participants who wanted to wear them (for free!) so we
decided to wear them for the day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After the welcome ceremony, we began the first event of the
day: making rope from straw!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdRyYz78NIj_qu1METVueof6-H9aXafwFQdlLwwFKn_MnmBTumCgZwBcDmBF4bwdFArFt9ab0ESvFQPsDATKhgEVZEBGasn9yJIGf0inTeZDah6STYS8b6m23i4aoM4duZfiLS9xo0s4/s1600/P_20150905_112035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdRyYz78NIj_qu1METVueof6-H9aXafwFQdlLwwFKn_MnmBTumCgZwBcDmBF4bwdFArFt9ab0ESvFQPsDATKhgEVZEBGasn9yJIGf0inTeZDah6STYS8b6m23i4aoM4duZfiLS9xo0s4/s320/P_20150905_112035.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ALTs making rope from straw</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The old ladies who were teaching everyone made it look so
easy, but it turned out to be really difficult!
I had to restart my rope a couple times.
But in the end I (sort of) got the hang of it!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93LwoKcz-0gL94eFB-uhZ9_LUuq4Um9UVi7pMnRJo99A-oPNjf6THE6p8Zu7PO9gaeWNd-Wh2qKP0WadGdvB2b4nLu70nqRcihRX1KuyaIxyqZZjNpscUTc996UiAxvBJC65-bwauS4E/s1600/P_20150905_111845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93LwoKcz-0gL94eFB-uhZ9_LUuq4Um9UVi7pMnRJo99A-oPNjf6THE6p8Zu7PO9gaeWNd-Wh2qKP0WadGdvB2b4nLu70nqRcihRX1KuyaIxyqZZjNpscUTc996UiAxvBJC65-bwauS4E/s320/P_20150905_111845.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rope that I made</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We all wanted to keep our ropes, but unfortunately we used
them for the rice harvesting activity in the afternoon. The person in charge briefly taught us how to
stand and cut the rice, and afterwards we made our way to the rice field that
we had weeded two months before.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28NmdE0GE-anl1yL_f5WP7gTTs9g6Fn0UHarT0YjZT76PU4ZzKi0SiHsEuoZvMoxsekUytLdJIvJ2Yt7pGh0dwMMVwJhhJqORnrlJkpRKFxCzuIsRPQoK-a6BIEshqO6uzvSo43LNoH0/s1600/P_20150905_133239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28NmdE0GE-anl1yL_f5WP7gTTs9g6Fn0UHarT0YjZT76PU4ZzKi0SiHsEuoZvMoxsekUytLdJIvJ2Yt7pGh0dwMMVwJhhJqORnrlJkpRKFxCzuIsRPQoK-a6BIEshqO6uzvSo43LNoH0/s320/P_20150905_133239.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A child cutting the rice in the rice field</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cutting the rice was really fun! We used the ropes that we had made that
morning to bundle the rice. It was
really cool sharing the same experience with traditional Japanese rice farmers.
We cut the rice for about 45 minutes,
and while there were a lot of other participants, there was still a lot of rice
plants left uncut by the time we finished. Now, there are machines that can easily cut
the rice plants so it isn’t as strenuous for farmers to harvest the rice
annually. It was still an awesome
experience to cut the rice by hand, so if anyone gets the opportunity to
partake in this kind of event, please give it a try!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-68760704022469901312015-09-01T18:28:00.001-07:002015-09-01T18:28:29.928-07:00Tohoku Road Trip: Day 3- Goshiki-numa in Fukushima<div class="MsoNormal">
On the last day of our road trip, we went to Goshiki-numa. From our hotel it was about a five minute
drive to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Urabandai</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Visitor</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Center</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
where we could park our car for free. There
was another parking lot closer to the entrance to Goshiki-numa, but we didn’t
know about it until we started walking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tU5g3uDIqUp2ojGlCFLg93pGU6xpMzRNi45LCZdv_DMhxffQlTL-Pmx-0cAP16btJDdvzr7QFO1K017ErvrsuREY5fnLafr1azdwWVejPT9WtoZUJ6vLLHfciUjM4jtzn9LsRXxW2k4/s1600/P_20150830_094850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tU5g3uDIqUp2ojGlCFLg93pGU6xpMzRNi45LCZdv_DMhxffQlTL-Pmx-0cAP16btJDdvzr7QFO1K017ErvrsuREY5fnLafr1azdwWVejPT9WtoZUJ6vLLHfciUjM4jtzn9LsRXxW2k4/s320/P_20150830_094850.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bishamon-numa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goshiki-numa">Goshiki-numa</a> is made up of five-different colored volcanic
lakes, and walking to all of them takes about an hour and a half on foot. Apparently the colors of the lakes changes
color throughout the year depending on the weather. It was lightly raining when we went, so if we
had gone on a sunny day I wonder if the colors would have been different.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEZ5ht-iUZWixHs-3au-yRP7HUYNKSAlPfFa_nI5gFLE-DhF-177Rc2o7R2TU7dm-DFmbpM3gBxYFuPzhNLnJc6TZ5PpHke8Y_6ZI1RALk2t9W__U5K_JabU20pIZ1Bc5WyKYwK0T7lo/s1600/P_20150830_101449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEZ5ht-iUZWixHs-3au-yRP7HUYNKSAlPfFa_nI5gFLE-DhF-177Rc2o7R2TU7dm-DFmbpM3gBxYFuPzhNLnJc6TZ5PpHke8Y_6ZI1RALk2t9W__U5K_JabU20pIZ1Bc5WyKYwK0T7lo/s320/P_20150830_101449.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aka-numa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhonA2iTQ7JZRonPuclH7GxXv0sdYg-04jug5c5c0rweXPql5OqajeKh35J2fimbTHy2BCQldONDF2o-XnygL1KReZYVcr0FrOzflBDq9kKMS6-XLw18XKEpT9g2GkNa1R-4G7QSJVtOOM/s1600/P_20150830_101803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhonA2iTQ7JZRonPuclH7GxXv0sdYg-04jug5c5c0rweXPql5OqajeKh35J2fimbTHy2BCQldONDF2o-XnygL1KReZYVcr0FrOzflBDq9kKMS6-XLw18XKEpT9g2GkNa1R-4G7QSJVtOOM/s320/P_20150830_101803.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Midoro-numa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmuMgKUAn_eM9DnDgMUAqM72g78d30_UYS0X7seEnrRMrprLmV7HWC3rPj6InWTEaYk6YkPd3Y8mpfuWwza136Wzl80k5XXzLdz7_B4zaz76nnukxjqpST-TKguUVamDQH1ePr7tmUQc/s1600/P_20150830_103422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmuMgKUAn_eM9DnDgMUAqM72g78d30_UYS0X7seEnrRMrprLmV7HWC3rPj6InWTEaYk6YkPd3Y8mpfuWwza136Wzl80k5XXzLdz7_B4zaz76nnukxjqpST-TKguUVamDQH1ePr7tmUQc/s320/P_20150830_103422.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Benten-numa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfpeDb5x3SrZ00kg3GgZwEKecKPrx5c81O8niOaulalZjH98UtxvtXNbF5KjgqG6KU0xMbzMF-9G7uut9YcjAk1tdNLKVTV8LA2RDXeybUtNyZQNc9WGOdgk_CO9R39nyn_kr3S4oWD8g/s1600/P_20150830_105058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfpeDb5x3SrZ00kg3GgZwEKecKPrx5c81O8niOaulalZjH98UtxvtXNbF5KjgqG6KU0xMbzMF-9G7uut9YcjAk1tdNLKVTV8LA2RDXeybUtNyZQNc9WGOdgk_CO9R39nyn_kr3S4oWD8g/s320/P_20150830_105058.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ao-numa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It started raining more heavily after we finished our trek. The owner of the Chalet Urabandai hotel kindly
offered to pick us up and drive us to our car after we had finished our trek. It was so kind of him to offer, since we had already checked out!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After we got back to the car, we drove to a nearby
restaurant to get lunch. The restaurant
selection around Goshiki-numa is very scarce.
We went to the stylish <a href="http://tabelog.com/en/fukushima/A0705/A070502/7000662/">Restaurant Monterey</a>. I got the mentaiko spaghetti and my friend
ordered the sandwiches. Both of our
choices were so-so, so I would recommend getting something different (such as
the <st1:place w:st="on">hamburg</st1:place>
steak) if you go. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFlpVL1GMUe5fwDZzFIlV20Pmelh59ZxzTOOd7O-5hNiHhN8cZbaz0N4cSiRfEU3OIuFjdK1_uwq3S2_ekOi4J9egFVMwoVU4ZKS9_OlvSvrzhfTHk_Hilsx6i2mvhBrWcRO3Ez9SjuQ/s1600/P_20150830_093922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFlpVL1GMUe5fwDZzFIlV20Pmelh59ZxzTOOd7O-5hNiHhN8cZbaz0N4cSiRfEU3OIuFjdK1_uwq3S2_ekOi4J9egFVMwoVU4ZKS9_OlvSvrzhfTHk_Hilsx6i2mvhBrWcRO3Ez9SjuQ/s320/P_20150830_093922.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice cream flavors at Goshiki-numa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> No trip is complete without ice cream, so w</o:p>e both decided to get ice cream before we went back to <st1:city w:st="on">Chiba.</st1:city> We went back to
the entrance to Goshiki-numa to get some ice cream! They had some really interesting flavors! My friend got the peach and Chocolate and
Peach flavor, and I tried the Goshikinuma and Peach flavor. They were both delicious. It was the perfect way to end our Tohoku
road trip and our summer.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTbD4buQr5LmWDMhhDtft7O_Q3Rg_YGjFq_ZAkFTbAfcdmsHbnkqUgGe4rNXXaNXAicLsK9v8obgXIQIhiQg6ssUwPBVGG04EUXhxZbH8qapxJyPb0TQc1Luwn3OzOan6dcJgTpo7wUXA/s1600/P_20150830_123055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTbD4buQr5LmWDMhhDtft7O_Q3Rg_YGjFq_ZAkFTbAfcdmsHbnkqUgGe4rNXXaNXAicLsK9v8obgXIQIhiQg6ssUwPBVGG04EUXhxZbH8qapxJyPb0TQc1Luwn3OzOan6dcJgTpo7wUXA/s320/P_20150830_123055.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goshikinuma and Peach Flavor (YUM)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-76750556287861418172015-09-01T18:00:00.000-07:002015-09-01T18:00:33.824-07:00Tohoku Road Trip: Day 2- Yama-dera Temple and Fruit Picking in Yamagata<div class="MsoNormal">
After eating breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and
drove 20 minutes to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Yama-dera</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype></st1:place>. <a href="http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7940.html">Yama-dera</a> is a popular mountain temple in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Yamagata</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Prefecture</st1:placetype></st1:place>. The temple is famous for its stunning views,
but it is not an easy task to get to the top. There are 1,015 steps to the top of the
mountain temple, and while it seems like it will take a long time to reach the
top, the scenery will give everyone energy to make the trek. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLFz9rDSQryRv7PvwFzraxHmczk0O3NCU5nJNcmX5bnERVTQUU_CGgnLER0MWXsZRZpDh33Nb-4kzuMoharHRYbl6NBN3Pf0UIuirF7tcqSIl54zodpB16rglCPfb3fnZM0zZwnTQyHk/s1600/P_20150829_102048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLFz9rDSQryRv7PvwFzraxHmczk0O3NCU5nJNcmX5bnERVTQUU_CGgnLER0MWXsZRZpDh33Nb-4kzuMoharHRYbl6NBN3Pf0UIuirF7tcqSIl54zodpB16rglCPfb3fnZM0zZwnTQyHk/s320/P_20150829_102048.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A man praying at the base of Yama-dera</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We paid the entrance fee of 300 yen and started our ascent. It happened to be raining at the time that we
went, but it didn’t deter us from making our way to the top. The pitter-patter of the rain added a
peaceful soundtrack to our trek up the mountain.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0GuBGO1Q2E7fNsxLhXI7ITf_RBDKJugusM_LiyoqSNbMAgUpRlZj6P5tGANSOYuKRsnUuH55xlO3p4RQwki8RFpUcab85cgJTLVTu3hQM17j3fHOCtSNLI2E2pvVZAuvbM3hgnu9E0E/s1600/P_20150829_105634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0GuBGO1Q2E7fNsxLhXI7ITf_RBDKJugusM_LiyoqSNbMAgUpRlZj6P5tGANSOYuKRsnUuH55xlO3p4RQwki8RFpUcab85cgJTLVTu3hQM17j3fHOCtSNLI2E2pvVZAuvbM3hgnu9E0E/s320/P_20150829_105634.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the top</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLqxQh4n9u5KvbSx2_BDlfvqCTo552xYpdRZvXmTsFsuGvyLJR4qfg8mswQ75FeJc3cOm4F-iLTYT1khUPGSF8XwyhQrxRFOqkx1I-8WHodejyMUDbYEsbLpeMSGjuyJRwUtmgt-joqw/s1600/P_20150829_103329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLqxQh4n9u5KvbSx2_BDlfvqCTo552xYpdRZvXmTsFsuGvyLJR4qfg8mswQ75FeJc3cOm4F-iLTYT1khUPGSF8XwyhQrxRFOqkx1I-8WHodejyMUDbYEsbLpeMSGjuyJRwUtmgt-joqw/s320/P_20150829_103329.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing to the top</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddwqxN7D9BGC9bJklLnkdmKZIw16hIla5i_lAxmjtGFkQS7Rgvs28P5PPVirrTK5NSCixH8DpiFQjNWqssqntRZvwhkPtk5Oww5i_mbBmrojF-i-hb2Q0tcz5lHTehGS3GfJvnpw-Y3g/s1600/P_20150829_104842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddwqxN7D9BGC9bJklLnkdmKZIw16hIla5i_lAxmjtGFkQS7Rgvs28P5PPVirrTK5NSCixH8DpiFQjNWqssqntRZvwhkPtk5Oww5i_mbBmrojF-i-hb2Q0tcz5lHTehGS3GfJvnpw-Y3g/s320/P_20150829_104842.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The leaves have already started changing color<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkqxTw9LS_JMf6k4-SDdp7THmbuIM1rRal7VlTz1HtRvLh_np6WsDRjeLH_BJlkhTOwfo4JrFAhyphenhyphentdTwdlPCTSWwEU11-NtEws2lLQAArvP8feZpQzc-OCr0TFJmgXQ1FS1EgF-mIzKs/s1600/P_20150829_111819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkqxTw9LS_JMf6k4-SDdp7THmbuIM1rRal7VlTz1HtRvLh_np6WsDRjeLH_BJlkhTOwfo4JrFAhyphenhyphentdTwdlPCTSWwEU11-NtEws2lLQAArvP8feZpQzc-OCr0TFJmgXQ1FS1EgF-mIzKs/s320/P_20150829_111819.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yama-dera Temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After making our way back down, we decided to get lunch at a
nearby restaurant. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Yamagata</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Prefecture</st1:placetype></st1:place>
is famous for soba, so we both had the cold mountain vegetable soba. We also saw that they had ice cream, so we got
ice cream too! I got the cherry ice
cream, and my friend got the La France, or European Pear flavor. Both of the flavors were really good! My friend had only had one bite of hers when
it dropped on the ground. But the clerks
were so nice that they gave her another one for free!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJpl9DWRGfWh9zva_nRAlmtvNzVau-RE94F-uHYVLDgdhaTTf2AMu6HL7tZD136axZZQbHhTtVluV3rD_2s8C1F-pXvEj0DZawIpqgofQl2Gm2MWIU1SlLdh8kuGhYBCv8VZ_CAASQ5I/s1600/P_20150829_121308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJpl9DWRGfWh9zva_nRAlmtvNzVau-RE94F-uHYVLDgdhaTTf2AMu6HL7tZD136axZZQbHhTtVluV3rD_2s8C1F-pXvEj0DZawIpqgofQl2Gm2MWIU1SlLdh8kuGhYBCv8VZ_CAASQ5I/s320/P_20150829_121308.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soba Lunch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIYTEDQ-lCYtCrc-9Oht4vnOpUDZxaXqV2qz_in_WZUTAGDLlu4PavrmM_Lof4gqv6tKt_rjJHHe4oEa09v_TJXvlkcj4VJ8UBBY7JTy1OpFNQ3M3RTawAywj-TxryWWWWsqeB-DUQKM/s1600/P_20150829_124607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIYTEDQ-lCYtCrc-9Oht4vnOpUDZxaXqV2qz_in_WZUTAGDLlu4PavrmM_Lof4gqv6tKt_rjJHHe4oEa09v_TJXvlkcj4VJ8UBBY7JTy1OpFNQ3M3RTawAywj-TxryWWWWsqeB-DUQKM/s320/P_20150829_124607.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherry-flavored ice cream</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWCA9TmoIL8OTQ1j1YblhhmmUk2lrak3B_b7j6JsZFOi3RsK4ZhUrRphGEiOlz5f7Mh56Nv-37MjcBSUEUCbmKRouz8vkNRdOewr3tu-e2m6FhpJz6CxqimscEnMsoWKoNYtkj66PJOTU/s1600/P_20150829_124354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWCA9TmoIL8OTQ1j1YblhhmmUk2lrak3B_b7j6JsZFOi3RsK4ZhUrRphGEiOlz5f7Mh56Nv-37MjcBSUEUCbmKRouz8vkNRdOewr3tu-e2m6FhpJz6CxqimscEnMsoWKoNYtkj66PJOTU/s320/P_20150829_124354.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La France ice cream, that my friend dropped</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We walked around the streets of Yama-dera for a while and
looked in some of the cute shops on the way. We then made our way to a fruit-picking place
to pick grapes and peaches!</div>
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<br /></div>
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It only cost us 800 yen for an hour of all-you-can-eat
grapes and peaches. It was heaven.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhEv5dDsGkPwr_-0Ja7qAWDKPGfxrfUTKcIkseXadKH14uazQotM2zOPzDssg4kmX4mNCBDKQoZMSQUAm5K0JtXQ_GjMPzNiUKnN2W0j7ClEdJYh4D8Jr0oZurwG3d1KfDOA96kjbWBM/s1600/P_20150829_132125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhEv5dDsGkPwr_-0Ja7qAWDKPGfxrfUTKcIkseXadKH14uazQotM2zOPzDssg4kmX4mNCBDKQoZMSQUAm5K0JtXQ_GjMPzNiUKnN2W0j7ClEdJYh4D8Jr0oZurwG3d1KfDOA96kjbWBM/s320/P_20150829_132125.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Niagra Grapes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSMH-OdZVdH7_yQbIY4rx4Y3PdpApK3JGOakpIlFCCpytQw95QaDUOxJkptcC6Rdr__UTNhDjv9U_1idv8J6_tR11LfcW3FBuW0dNRCz4U23FArvE9cwIXWMWekTeTqJxB3Y4VUjVNp8/s1600/P_20150829_141829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSMH-OdZVdH7_yQbIY4rx4Y3PdpApK3JGOakpIlFCCpytQw95QaDUOxJkptcC6Rdr__UTNhDjv9U_1idv8J6_tR11LfcW3FBuW0dNRCz4U23FArvE9cwIXWMWekTeTqJxB3Y4VUjVNp8/s320/P_20150829_141829.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delaware Grapes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwlHerD0zoQnVAnT_l_LRMaaTFHtQfpcDbSZuuK3_PaE8H23hlMeRrLeljRjyC830Vr57yrzfmdFQbBZJQ-Uv_IuUcyvPpGZsg-SV0YdZCnRk4FglN8rjMK1Lk8rUvOIme_D7izUHjio/s1600/P_20150829_132435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwlHerD0zoQnVAnT_l_LRMaaTFHtQfpcDbSZuuK3_PaE8H23hlMeRrLeljRjyC830Vr57yrzfmdFQbBZJQ-Uv_IuUcyvPpGZsg-SV0YdZCnRk4FglN8rjMK1Lk8rUvOIme_D7izUHjio/s320/P_20150829_132435.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goldfinger Grapes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VxiGbedC0A7D_qcKf_jCMT1Nn4oDHMvSB3DlC-1RB0O4xyySX7WBbAmj7KgHaDpSHIDMcPfcZFQKHt3i6geA-LdHgcEdaW7xGyXYezbBgjjUZBsEgWprxDAuF56BTSDG-qbqtjtvy38/s1600/P_20150829_134635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VxiGbedC0A7D_qcKf_jCMT1Nn4oDHMvSB3DlC-1RB0O4xyySX7WBbAmj7KgHaDpSHIDMcPfcZFQKHt3i6geA-LdHgcEdaW7xGyXYezbBgjjUZBsEgWprxDAuF56BTSDG-qbqtjtvy38/s320/P_20150829_134635.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peach picking</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Once we had our fill of delicious fruit, we made our way to <st1:city w:st="on">Fukushima</st1:city>. We took a mountain pass and even saw monkeys
on the road!</div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinF2yvaCvnIG_ChFRrf6DWdmT8FqlSUIz2xEV09ZbBN6yRRu_JfLGj-VrPqtYjgJiDNKjTZqzsaenwGWFxAKUYBRQNCSpF4aHoDByTijomm_sBpxUWDvQDS8X3Rj1CTxfvkJYx0ee0LOE/s1600/P_20150829_164652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinF2yvaCvnIG_ChFRrf6DWdmT8FqlSUIz2xEV09ZbBN6yRRu_JfLGj-VrPqtYjgJiDNKjTZqzsaenwGWFxAKUYBRQNCSpF4aHoDByTijomm_sBpxUWDvQDS8X3Rj1CTxfvkJYx0ee0LOE/s320/P_20150829_164652.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain monkey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
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We arrived at our lodging for the night, <a href="http://chalet-u.com/">Chalet Urabandai</a>. The owners were very kind, but the lodging
itself was sort of a letdown. The room
we stayed in was small, and the communal bath was not clean. </div>
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We asked the owner where we could go get dinner, and we were
surprised to learn that even though it was only 6:00 pm, almost all of the
restaurants in the area were closed. Like,
really?! He did suggest going to <a href="http://il-regalo.com/menu">il Regalo</a>, a
nearby Italian restaurant (which was the only restaurant nearby that was open), which was delicious. </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHDnIyO1CkNSJnuEBcIdxpVsjQexAPuHfyDlgNw7SYs3EvQFw_2K_nNEonxH1k2iiM95IEJ7l1MCsMZha1h8yRfP-B7gEN1d2SN9KfSK0NfF7Z5aAHWo6N4opgBErdRS3A9P5p1Y-ESA/s1600/P_20150829_191333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHDnIyO1CkNSJnuEBcIdxpVsjQexAPuHfyDlgNw7SYs3EvQFw_2K_nNEonxH1k2iiM95IEJ7l1MCsMZha1h8yRfP-B7gEN1d2SN9KfSK0NfF7Z5aAHWo6N4opgBErdRS3A9P5p1Y-ESA/s320/P_20150829_191333.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steak made from Fukushima beef</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVMEoh-2YVjvCT-1U1990Mh45DuEJxF8vZruCMWmlFe5ZxKi_gwjUlklXiE1OzbgZkZnpiF4OifP9WKZL0qCZz_H9D-na-bdjTtALY_TUPVSXZLFB9c-UFWYd_sabLmpQhdUbe0mxQDuk/s1600/P_20150829_194719.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVMEoh-2YVjvCT-1U1990Mh45DuEJxF8vZruCMWmlFe5ZxKi_gwjUlklXiE1OzbgZkZnpiF4OifP9WKZL0qCZz_H9D-na-bdjTtALY_TUPVSXZLFB9c-UFWYd_sabLmpQhdUbe0mxQDuk/s320/P_20150829_194719.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artichoke Pizza</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBg4A2bigVFBRC6P1wgN7d3S7G_9O40D9EiRvq3rPSIXAZZQy0H7kxUi2b8VtOM5GUD58x8r9tXO4XhOVbkXJATMg2Zu7KUMyI13wVU1CMta-G2Gnau9wdBQ5PM7MAFa2ChvCSjm7IpvY/s1600/P_20150829_190242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBg4A2bigVFBRC6P1wgN7d3S7G_9O40D9EiRvq3rPSIXAZZQy0H7kxUi2b8VtOM5GUD58x8r9tXO4XhOVbkXJATMg2Zu7KUMyI13wVU1CMta-G2Gnau9wdBQ5PM7MAFa2ChvCSjm7IpvY/s320/P_20150829_190242.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">il Regalo Italian Restaurant<br /><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-43850583184005257992015-08-30T21:01:00.000-07:002015-08-30T21:01:09.191-07:00Tohoku Road Trip: Day 1- Matsushima & Ginzan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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The next morning, we went downstairs to get breakfast at
<a href="http://www.0109g.com/hotel/">Ikeuo no Yado Inn</a> in Matsushima. We had
a table right next to the outdoor fish tank that overlooked <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Matsushima</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bay</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Here was our breakfast: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1DstrOQkMwki3vSA5d8X8JTjC9KTVu2a79ckzpAZWDG6waAAnf4nYrf0Mu7ZGEdti5B1pB0O_7KTL6ppjwW4vX-Ov80NWxZeQrZ2ENUW-F_1JMyifD7CHga9h6mwDXx27vbYEwd3904/s1600/P_20150828_080432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1DstrOQkMwki3vSA5d8X8JTjC9KTVu2a79ckzpAZWDG6waAAnf4nYrf0Mu7ZGEdti5B1pB0O_7KTL6ppjwW4vX-Ov80NWxZeQrZ2ENUW-F_1JMyifD7CHga9h6mwDXx27vbYEwd3904/s320/P_20150828_080432.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast at Ikeuo no Yado</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5ioEO5Ch_J17MgsUtWtx2ILHU2-EJeoSO0MyaAbkHFi9b9a2-CEqzjOm28ym76i0crlxSLGaXWyoXj3pabDQ0CaOr-2P6UaIo-DIPHyvgXxbP0ONhXGzz-Z_b3KpPKDgl-jmbmbJshk/s1600/P_20150828_080859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5ioEO5Ch_J17MgsUtWtx2ILHU2-EJeoSO0MyaAbkHFi9b9a2-CEqzjOm28ym76i0crlxSLGaXWyoXj3pabDQ0CaOr-2P6UaIo-DIPHyvgXxbP0ONhXGzz-Z_b3KpPKDgl-jmbmbJshk/s320/P_20150828_080859.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sashimi was the best part of breakfast</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpASC5VGykMLfUYHMjqvuhTekiiUV054w7KEMZAtqmN_MoDHunFkZufFkggC9aBZPwM2Sl-qvzvgNzVZ2sF48MZqSlw6EuWbrd9rnZ4ls-DQP8Oxs1IiiRxoAl9boq0wHpYRd2ZeUPtBA/s1600/P_20150828_080914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpASC5VGykMLfUYHMjqvuhTekiiUV054w7KEMZAtqmN_MoDHunFkZufFkggC9aBZPwM2Sl-qvzvgNzVZ2sF48MZqSlw6EuWbrd9rnZ4ls-DQP8Oxs1IiiRxoAl9boq0wHpYRd2ZeUPtBA/s320/P_20150828_080914.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast also came with bacon and sausage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZ8pijPIGGmRrTnbbG7im5E8DHgycSaRPy1RD81NvWATxlxdVHr-82swDDCbTdpdZgKhV4D_lYHXOIwrH-JonkoZepPtSe_2X1z2Jel-ZPjxIRKWafgTpCb2SaS5ClwpYEp8N9LYKyl0/s1600/P_20150828_080448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZ8pijPIGGmRrTnbbG7im5E8DHgycSaRPy1RD81NvWATxlxdVHr-82swDDCbTdpdZgKhV4D_lYHXOIwrH-JonkoZepPtSe_2X1z2Jel-ZPjxIRKWafgTpCb2SaS5ClwpYEp8N9LYKyl0/s320/P_20150828_080448.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the outdoor fish tank from our table</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After eating we went on a walk back to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Fukuura</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bridge</st1:placetype></st1:place>. When we went the night before, the gate to
the bridge was open, but this time it was closed. We realized that we had to pay 200 yen to
cross the bridge (whoops). We crossed
the bridge and arrived at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Fukuura</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Island</st1:placetype></st1:place>. We really enjoyed walking around and seeing
some of the other islands from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Fukuura</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Island</st1:placetype></st1:place>. </div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiigSuzKXvGXex_uVdyhB9_tuam4TlIIyCxoO9CEucVwlZgCPjA81WE7kdYnAbwNHc2JEK6-Jpu0ekHDTW-YeqT61h10Vn0nyhaHE5NNaJ-BSmTDT9MWrUcfB8QpVK8IpW8gMzk3vn__pk/s1600/P_20150828_092050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiigSuzKXvGXex_uVdyhB9_tuam4TlIIyCxoO9CEucVwlZgCPjA81WE7kdYnAbwNHc2JEK6-Jpu0ekHDTW-YeqT61h10Vn0nyhaHE5NNaJ-BSmTDT9MWrUcfB8QpVK8IpW8gMzk3vn__pk/s320/P_20150828_092050.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking around Fukuura Island</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<o:p> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihbWMcjARCwA_t2FNPiHMKrxAOe46k86iCAPqHJoDZvAcup9w9xGQ6YRL2mKObS_ymYI330zn1uqUY8hKvGUWSeFWVXKEa_2YhXSqXhHyeKTSzia8lmKgGt3ZAE9GH6Pe7yQeVZGl36Ak/s1600/P_20150828_091356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihbWMcjARCwA_t2FNPiHMKrxAOe46k86iCAPqHJoDZvAcup9w9xGQ6YRL2mKObS_ymYI330zn1uqUY8hKvGUWSeFWVXKEa_2YhXSqXhHyeKTSzia8lmKgGt3ZAE9GH6Pe7yQeVZGl36Ak/s320/P_20150828_091356.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fukuura Bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_9LVZBN0pItblsuiYipTqYKanJMWqq7rWwzWBydIsPkDh9qfhNkdmw9c-Jir7XfnI9kU1koY7Y35_kdD0ejcCo2WX-LfgYAoeDgvtZR5lp29cNwIads46NmzWSe3qaIS0M7JAYP9xJU/s1600/P_20150828_094140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_9LVZBN0pItblsuiYipTqYKanJMWqq7rWwzWBydIsPkDh9qfhNkdmw9c-Jir7XfnI9kU1koY7Y35_kdD0ejcCo2WX-LfgYAoeDgvtZR5lp29cNwIads46NmzWSe3qaIS0M7JAYP9xJU/s320/P_20150828_094140.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of other islands</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPOmn2Ytzdd4ZYVjnHdWVkXvLWgCIqTVmodKjHsc0v-NQIvMtoDzq-Lk7Vuj_LOMu2OY1XhsnpXIocNuC9sc3WBkY8yRvjQYaWzLpt1K5XWDWd77XxrHgxs1WoQm8MK7ov7qU07sNvI6c/s1600/P_20150828_092725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPOmn2Ytzdd4ZYVjnHdWVkXvLWgCIqTVmodKjHsc0v-NQIvMtoDzq-Lk7Vuj_LOMu2OY1XhsnpXIocNuC9sc3WBkY8yRvjQYaWzLpt1K5XWDWd77XxrHgxs1WoQm8MK7ov7qU07sNvI6c/s320/P_20150828_092725.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Oh my God, is he dead?"<br />Turns out he was alive</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
We left <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Fukuura</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Island</st1:placetype></st1:place> and checked out of
our hotel. We found a parking spot
nearby and made our way to buy our tickets for the ferry ride around <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Matsushima</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bay</st1:placetype></st1:place>. My friend picked up a discount coupon for the
ferry ride at the hotel before we left, so it only cost us 1,350 yen (as
opposed to 1,500 yen).</div>
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<br /></div>
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We had some free time before the next ferry left, so we
walked across the street to the <st1:place w:st="on"><a href="http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5102.html">Zuiganji Temple</a></st1:place>. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Zuiganji</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype></st1:place> is one of the most
famous Zen temples in Tohoku, but when we went it was under construction. We were able to see the grounds around the
temple, but we couldn’t go in. The caves
that we passed along the way were absolutely breathtaking. I was amazed that they hadn’t collapsed due
to the way that they were formed/ constructed.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNhLXylWYQuEWyFkgrLhhiZnqFJwzD1woKzxxPFn0gF9nBT9DvJzXcUIuwDEjK0mfxRMbQMJWZmceQEdoi_kdX7pSj6ffmP3fmGalVBQCDB8fbgQ0-RWemuEs0SLDb_Gv3VgxUPNz9mYs/s1600/P_20150828_104619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNhLXylWYQuEWyFkgrLhhiZnqFJwzD1woKzxxPFn0gF9nBT9DvJzXcUIuwDEjK0mfxRMbQMJWZmceQEdoi_kdX7pSj6ffmP3fmGalVBQCDB8fbgQ0-RWemuEs0SLDb_Gv3VgxUPNz9mYs/s320/P_20150828_104619.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caves on the temple grounds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmEFOSytcT0j6AE9_CQc1TjtHsNcUanSKcKjXfTipU_pol1stgaoAynAqr8tcCgCkQxLsGiij4Vi_OltjZfOxks-MfEXHTKixuvgk3CjRZPiAHcwXa5FYHN00gGXyHTlMXtVD7pe3FUg8/s1600/P_20150828_104514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmEFOSytcT0j6AE9_CQc1TjtHsNcUanSKcKjXfTipU_pol1stgaoAynAqr8tcCgCkQxLsGiij4Vi_OltjZfOxks-MfEXHTKixuvgk3CjRZPiAHcwXa5FYHN00gGXyHTlMXtVD7pe3FUg8/s320/P_20150828_104514.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Zuiganji Temple Grounds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
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After walking around the <st1:placename w:st="on">Zuiganji</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype> grounds we went to catch our
ferry around <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Matsushima</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Bay</st1:placetype></st1:place>. It was nice seeing some of the other islands
from the boat.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDfqscXRT7p9JepTI9925K9WE27NWDPb_eQ2u2bxZDkTH_K-eONoFZFRgxnMhR6jWE_pa4uanc3kz6mj2YKKXB0vTPL7GeBhE2mXWNyQGv_3wV_76I6Pm6O7z7At3GiPC-A6kuMih5QA/s1600/P_20150828_112057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDfqscXRT7p9JepTI9925K9WE27NWDPb_eQ2u2bxZDkTH_K-eONoFZFRgxnMhR6jWE_pa4uanc3kz6mj2YKKXB0vTPL7GeBhE2mXWNyQGv_3wV_76I6Pm6O7z7At3GiPC-A6kuMih5QA/s320/P_20150828_112057.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Islands in Matsushima Bay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once we got back to the mainland, we went to get lunch at
<a href="http://www.sakana-ichiba.co.jp/">Matsushima Sakana Ichiba</a>. Many kinds of
souvenirs are sold here, and there are also many restaurants. We both wanted to try the famous Matsushima Fried
Oyster Burger (350 yen), so we each got one and split a cooked scallop skewer. The burger was very delicious!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2v5ZqQ4A0QR7BVIW73loQk2OpthqJkbg3aLlM9-O_Ev9q9oX6IlX65ekhIMLJ7Bmdx4lzy36mv1Vv90O_LApcuCWv8tlcjfejWHTlylCYzO4pfG3trevESGSbnEK9Io2gTmXGDUzXkAM/s1600/P_20150828_121753.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2v5ZqQ4A0QR7BVIW73loQk2OpthqJkbg3aLlM9-O_Ev9q9oX6IlX65ekhIMLJ7Bmdx4lzy36mv1Vv90O_LApcuCWv8tlcjfejWHTlylCYzO4pfG3trevESGSbnEK9Io2gTmXGDUzXkAM/s320/P_20150828_121753.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matsushima Fried Oyster Burger and Scallop Skewer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next was dessert. We
went to a nearby shop that sold <i>Zunda
Mochi</i>, or rice cakes covered in sweetened mashed green soybeans. I’m not a bean fan, but decided to try it
anyway. I would suggest it to people who
really enjoy Japanese soybeans, or <i>edamame</i>.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS0N3wAvx8lleglcheR1ueiQsIJflCOZ2s0U8GQeWDHXrFcBIhDDJ-7Bt1yao5lscU-7Pz-i6ylimgEWKLCj7ISOhbK_4uqpVfnMfXrthjAWnjGvKp56E2k-3mxctdR9uKnFuYWcZoRuU/s1600/P_20150828_131041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS0N3wAvx8lleglcheR1ueiQsIJflCOZ2s0U8GQeWDHXrFcBIhDDJ-7Bt1yao5lscU-7Pz-i6ylimgEWKLCj7ISOhbK_4uqpVfnMfXrthjAWnjGvKp56E2k-3mxctdR9uKnFuYWcZoRuU/s320/P_20150828_131041.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zunda Mochi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After we had eaten we decided to make a quick stop at <st1:place w:st="on"><a href="http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5103.html"><st1:placename w:st="on">Godaido</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype></a></st1:place> before we left Matsushima. It was a lot smaller than we both thought but
it was still very beautiful. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg97OGCAmOfshFBlwQzRSswFTZcOoiaj3Yu1cXMim1K-80gHHphyphenhyphenqTWDcnAzJRLEE-U6bSnbOem_6P3UJwcpXp95b2-9NFnxae8ugUFTgBwRYr-W96A2FwlHfDCQ8NNJZ0GOA7ia5afHmo/s1600/P_20150828_133201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg97OGCAmOfshFBlwQzRSswFTZcOoiaj3Yu1cXMim1K-80gHHphyphenhyphenqTWDcnAzJRLEE-U6bSnbOem_6P3UJwcpXp95b2-9NFnxae8ugUFTgBwRYr-W96A2FwlHfDCQ8NNJZ0GOA7ia5afHmo/s320/P_20150828_133201.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Godaido Temple</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZj6MSOq4Ju48TeynK-VSijW3xWRvQZpYkQPDlSVpPQ91EqjHGcywPW1BnWGdJmJYuqA3SVmHHSG16BEpLUB4OXJ7JbQbe2BpBb_LPHuqgcc74ODylaYm29Qgmw9GL8Pexg8N01lHneo/s1600/P_20150828_133103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZj6MSOq4Ju48TeynK-VSijW3xWRvQZpYkQPDlSVpPQ91EqjHGcywPW1BnWGdJmJYuqA3SVmHHSG16BEpLUB4OXJ7JbQbe2BpBb_LPHuqgcc74ODylaYm29Qgmw9GL8Pexg8N01lHneo/s320/P_20150828_133103.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Godaido Temple Bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next stop: <a href="http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/spot/hotspri/ginzan.html">Ginzan Hot Spring Resort</a>!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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The small, quiet town of <st1:city w:st="on">Ginzan</st1:city> was about a 2-hour drive by car from
Matsushima. There are bridges across a
river running underneath the town that connects each side of the town. As we walked past the hotels and further away
from civilization, we found a beautiful waterfall!</div>
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The area behind Ginzan was green and beautiful. Walking through the forest was very relaxing.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcU9EYw4CBacTbW4tbWLdgOMpAunSCD9SSiPNn-TPS2gCoqBBT4doKkxYhOufI837aaMqMe-O7Vzg1lUimcBgH7HZxgTUTsRCsKBASwxtrwANKxNp5Ob3u8ziKtktYYxr59vh7RBS4dU/s1600/P_20150828_175241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcU9EYw4CBacTbW4tbWLdgOMpAunSCD9SSiPNn-TPS2gCoqBBT4doKkxYhOufI837aaMqMe-O7Vzg1lUimcBgH7HZxgTUTsRCsKBASwxtrwANKxNp5Ob3u8ziKtktYYxr59vh7RBS4dU/s320/P_20150828_175241.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ginzan Hot Spring Town</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3SU_v4CkH3FoJV49xe-t7QKzkLrJMyFi93JrOILKvgiaW49MA-6jYi2A1YR_Jfs2rmp2OKVJV5PmVKB1FqSYDUYhtVN6rgoSOD8Zh21S41vZv35kb-jpIC6m4-ARw2wCYsgA9EjFhX2w/s1600/P_20150828_164446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3SU_v4CkH3FoJV49xe-t7QKzkLrJMyFi93JrOILKvgiaW49MA-6jYi2A1YR_Jfs2rmp2OKVJV5PmVKB1FqSYDUYhtVN6rgoSOD8Zh21S41vZv35kb-jpIC6m4-ARw2wCYsgA9EjFhX2w/s320/P_20150828_164446.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foot baths in Ginzan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyun33EQN9NEv0BdLs3zyWY348m7iFoR6Bq4CRycQ1fZ4iSU-x66KU0QcqaXXWlGdgYd0ZQi6qnGjjXQ-FCrLlKz1_Hiy0jWq-pejgemBOD-Ne-Plld3kUh6FNevaz50MRZn760tKPcvU/s1600/P_20150828_171303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyun33EQN9NEv0BdLs3zyWY348m7iFoR6Bq4CRycQ1fZ4iSU-x66KU0QcqaXXWlGdgYd0ZQi6qnGjjXQ-FCrLlKz1_Hiy0jWq-pejgemBOD-Ne-Plld3kUh6FNevaz50MRZn760tKPcvU/s320/P_20150828_171303.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shirogane Waterfall in Ginzan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After spending about two hours in Ginzan, we made our way to
<st1:city w:st="on">Yamagata</st1:city>! We stayed at <a href="http://www.view-kuroda.com/">Hotel View Kuroda</a> in Tendo,
Yamagata. When we checked in, the
receptionist said that our room would be a smoking room, but my friend and I
don’t smoke, so we requested a non-smoking room (which we had originally requested
when we made the reservation weeks before). They kindly let us stay in a premium non-smoking
room without charging us extra. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5ezfgyPQtqJTCsspDhPrfq3lBl-BIdezPSBqAtRTzHVBWVPIT8ZrVrDOLWYz4HbRjBGL6IWbHjV418wNIfRZkJN-4oKUoAtnLqS8b6nUUJsYzfkfjND_1PvW_Q2qSCPDcxb7MBDumlI/s1600/P_20150828_191727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5ezfgyPQtqJTCsspDhPrfq3lBl-BIdezPSBqAtRTzHVBWVPIT8ZrVrDOLWYz4HbRjBGL6IWbHjV418wNIfRZkJN-4oKUoAtnLqS8b6nUUJsYzfkfjND_1PvW_Q2qSCPDcxb7MBDumlI/s320/P_20150828_191727.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Premium non-smoking room at Hotel View Kuroda</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were pretty exhausted by then, so we decided to get
dinner at the hotel. They were serving
duck hot pot that night, which was pretty good. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lzV4AidDVFInHP7kd4wcbvgfCjbxAI2d7pIeDZQiatFww88yMhtFbk-ZPAAR6olcfobS9AKaWTIiCyHeQi0GjOpymcvo3wf-TMrftcqL4EwxY7DQcVxKzFm8pCZLD2_9EQ24FStiieA/s1600/P_20150828_193328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lzV4AidDVFInHP7kd4wcbvgfCjbxAI2d7pIeDZQiatFww88yMhtFbk-ZPAAR6olcfobS9AKaWTIiCyHeQi0GjOpymcvo3wf-TMrftcqL4EwxY7DQcVxKzFm8pCZLD2_9EQ24FStiieA/s320/P_20150828_193328.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner at Hotel View Kuroda</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdJSlbkiTxQoMAqT2QNELSklGpbb7vGTZDdddlqZVCGrMY2S-joRyz7EVGXtyI24p5SSIie7XkHicsYU412wuHexgperxarw188p-GD4QBx9aALQ8YEkbZnPl9ogM2N4_D4pLZMXbubs/s1600/P_20150828_200150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdJSlbkiTxQoMAqT2QNELSklGpbb7vGTZDdddlqZVCGrMY2S-joRyz7EVGXtyI24p5SSIie7XkHicsYU412wuHexgperxarw188p-GD4QBx9aALQ8YEkbZnPl9ogM2N4_D4pLZMXbubs/s320/P_20150828_200150.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Duck Hot Pot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-60335582850580799642015-08-30T19:19:00.000-07:002015-08-30T19:20:26.881-07:00Tohoku Road Trip: Night 1- Matsushima<div class="MsoNormal">
As one last hurrah before school starts in September, my
friend and I decided to take a road trip around the Tohoku region of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region>. Our
first stop was Matsushima.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsushima">Wikipedia</a>, about 260 of Matsushima’s islands are
covered in pine trees, or <i>matsu</i> in
Japanese, hence the name Matsushima. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My friend and I left <st1:city w:st="on">Chiba</st1:city>
at around 2:30 pm on Thursday and arrived at the <a href="http://www.0109g.com/hotel/">Ikeuo no Yado Inn (Fishery Section)</a> a little after 8:00 pm. Once we
had settled in to our room, we decided to go and walk around the area. Our hotel was right on <st1:placename w:st="on">Matsushima</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Bay</st1:placetype>, and was very close to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Fukuura</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bridge</st1:placetype></st1:place>, which looked especially stunning
at night. We noticed that the gate to
the bridge was open so we decided to walk along it for awhile. Afterwards we walked past <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Godaido</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype></st1:place>
and Kanrantei, as well as by the ferry docks.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYd2J9raAj34UmRnY5tsxhhi1DGDd1ZWI-VJ903d1C7-Nue0KGOa-EAJyyS7S8cx8iZTblFfrZ8WvVeYZHFRt5rmL4op4ike77MLv6M3fnuVFVqIZdvZ4w6vuwigwJ5Ch6uPVumRseczs/s1600/Tohoku+Road+Trip+1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYd2J9raAj34UmRnY5tsxhhi1DGDd1ZWI-VJ903d1C7-Nue0KGOa-EAJyyS7S8cx8iZTblFfrZ8WvVeYZHFRt5rmL4op4ike77MLv6M3fnuVFVqIZdvZ4w6vuwigwJ5Ch6uPVumRseczs/s320/Tohoku+Road+Trip+1.bmp" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Night view from Fukuura Bridge, Matsushima</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since it was already 9:00 pm by this time, we decided to go
back to our room and take a bath at hotel.
We were lucky that no one was there with us at the time that we went
hahaha. This was one of the nicest hotel
baths that I had seen in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region>
(as it turns out, it would be the nicest hotel bath on our trip), so if you
stay at this hotel, I suggest checking it out!
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_m20hxCnLzxGjhNI7ap_NuhgmuJGRY1W9PpY9TyCAEfBMcYmO_z9RmO-Nsim4iUH0ZIvobeH2MDrlZKeh6-mxDg7vOlGPiWsqcgoNE6CT1SLV6b8GWWFT52xaxpUWEWUs-g1_CrdfJDY/s1600/P_20150827_201332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_m20hxCnLzxGjhNI7ap_NuhgmuJGRY1W9PpY9TyCAEfBMcYmO_z9RmO-Nsim4iUH0ZIvobeH2MDrlZKeh6-mxDg7vOlGPiWsqcgoNE6CT1SLV6b8GWWFT52xaxpUWEWUs-g1_CrdfJDY/s320/P_20150827_201332.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our room in Matsushima</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_SaYtBkXRWWvqNlma7Yk6RKCETDfI3vKNstr_4pkts9E7Upm7KJypNUgdhJtdK2jAwy51nftiaAll2nbEKuPl9d0jpMv9RATEwhSr9VVGaqEynIFp-iMdby5mayqsA2vmlAbgJRZMGs/s1600/P_20150827_220526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_SaYtBkXRWWvqNlma7Yk6RKCETDfI3vKNstr_4pkts9E7Upm7KJypNUgdhJtdK2jAwy51nftiaAll2nbEKuPl9d0jpMv9RATEwhSr9VVGaqEynIFp-iMdby5mayqsA2vmlAbgJRZMGs/s320/P_20150827_220526.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bath at Ikeuo no Yado</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_vNQ80IJENrSwSFUhFkiUtYL0cm7OwqQBGE5DMZzHikPBIojowgKbGZEjCYfGqHeKG6s_v7u4IS2LWgTOGL8IJ6b7nf9WeQ5crbiFqAwIag025bPz3nLFd_3AryRGkFE1ToRJPaNbwg/s1600/P_20150827_220537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_vNQ80IJENrSwSFUhFkiUtYL0cm7OwqQBGE5DMZzHikPBIojowgKbGZEjCYfGqHeKG6s_v7u4IS2LWgTOGL8IJ6b7nf9WeQ5crbiFqAwIag025bPz3nLFd_3AryRGkFE1ToRJPaNbwg/s320/P_20150827_220537.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Open window bath at Ikeuo no Yado</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-32360368080892183632015-08-17T01:59:00.001-07:002015-08-17T01:59:50.876-07:00Skydiving in Japan!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVVrNMzSYM-T-Xvq-M751Umt_4bFNkxchVOVRC7aoLw8QX463IkFODlxZMfLgiZ82A0gYh6Lh_CkaoDAQ_EHPXZcV57rHXYU1HcGLvHYsfxiqr-6GiMzEl6KAATgpOEzvLOvkJL8BRFs/s1600/Sky+Diving+6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVVrNMzSYM-T-Xvq-M751Umt_4bFNkxchVOVRC7aoLw8QX463IkFODlxZMfLgiZ82A0gYh6Lh_CkaoDAQ_EHPXZcV57rHXYU1HcGLvHYsfxiqr-6GiMzEl6KAATgpOEzvLOvkJL8BRFs/s320/Sky+Diving+6.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out that view!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have now officially started my fifth and final year as an
ALT on the JET Program. I can’t believe
how fast the time has passed! I still
remember getting off the plane at Narita Airport and beginning to sweat; not
from nervousness, but from the humidity.
Okay, part of it was nervousness too.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since this is my last year on JET, I decided that I want to
do as many things as I can before my contract ends. Travel, eat, meet new friends,
everything! I don’t want to leave JET
thinking “I wish that I had done this while I still had the chance”. So I wanted to start my last year off with a
bang! Or more precisely, with a drop. Out of an airplane. 30,000 feet from the ground.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On August 16<sup>th</sup>, my friend and I went to <a href="http://www.tokyoskydivingclub.jp/">Tokyo Skydiving Club</a> in Saitama to go skydiving!! It was something that I had always
wanted to do but was too scared to try.
We were originally going to go the Thursday before, but due to problems
with the plane we had to cancel. But we
were able to reschedule for Sunday at 10:15 AM.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After parking the car at the drop-zone parking lot (less
than a 2 minute walk away from the gathering area and main office), we walked
towards the gathering area, where we were greeted by a Japanese woman who
showed us the way to the check-in area.
After filling out the application form, we got to choose whether we
wanted a cameraman, or a hand camera (there is also an option to opt out of
having a camera). Jumping with a cameraman
means that they’ll take videos and pictures of you during your jump (costs an
extra 16,000 yen). The hand camera
option (which my friend and I both decided on) meant that the instructor who
rode tandem with us would take videos of us (no pictures). This option cost an extra 8,000 yen, so
altogether the total came out to 40,000 yen each (the base price for a tandem
jump is 32,000 yen). Click <a href="http://www.tokyoskydivingclub.jp/mm01_tan.html">here</a> to look at the prices (in Japanese).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once we filled out the application form we went back to the
front office and paid. We were told
beforehand that we would need to bring photo ID and our <i>hanko</i>, or personal Japanese seal, but they didn’t end up asking for
them. Good thing we didn’t die!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few minutes later a man comes out and starts naming off
the people who will be on the next flight.
“…<i>Sato-san…Mori-san…</i>” Then he stops. He had already named off all the Japanese
people, so my friend and I were the only two left. He reads the sheet again, looks up and in my
direction he says a simple “…<i>ne.</i>” In Japanese, the word “<i>ne</i>” has many meanings. In
this case, it meant <s>“This isn’t-a Japanese name goddammit I don’t really want to try reading
it katakana is dumb”</s> “And you.” After telling him how to say my name, he
looked at my friend and said “<i>…issho</i>.” (<i>Issho </i>in
English means “together”). <i>He</i> did try to say my friend’s name
afterwards, which came out as “Charushi”.
My friend (Chelsea by the way) and I both got a kick out of that hahaha.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3QIl2Qswi50O366xBhPbEtlx2Wf22NdKEYyUYb3_z-3We8lpDyE5MkUInc8eF31qgE8o8JeS1Ci3rwq1zl9G8R4TVIiKWVMcrWe1-ti8EL3lwFFQgHhyhSx5Qa6WggW5gnjwpKxdw3tw/s1600/Sky+Diving+13.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3QIl2Qswi50O366xBhPbEtlx2Wf22NdKEYyUYb3_z-3We8lpDyE5MkUInc8eF31qgE8o8JeS1Ci3rwq1zl9G8R4TVIiKWVMcrWe1-ti8EL3lwFFQgHhyhSx5Qa6WggW5gnjwpKxdw3tw/s320/Sky+Diving+13.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Issho and Ne, on the way to the plane</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After the man had checked that everyone had arrived,
including Ne and Issho, we were ushered to a room. The man gave a brief description of what we
would be doing, but mostly told everyone to look at the pictures in the room. And with a cute “Bye bye!” he left the
room. A couple minutes later our
instructors came to get us. My
instructor’s name was Aki, and he was fluent in English. He had lived in Seattle and in Australia for
a while so he had a strong Australian accent.
He was hilarious too! He told me:
“Right before we jump, I’ll tell you to make a banana shape with your
body. So when I say ‘Make a banana
shape!’ make a banana, okay?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once everyone had put their gear on we got in a van and made
our way to the plane! I was the first
person to get on, so I got to sit in the cockpit with the pilot! It was amazing to see the view from the front
of the plane!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we were at about 30,000 feet in the air, the hatch was
opened and everyone began dropping out of the plane! I was the second-to-last person to jump, and
for me personally, one of the scariest parts was watching all the other people
jump before me. One second they would be
there, and then they would be dropping and I wouldn’t see them anymore. That was pretty scary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Soon it was my turn.
We inched our way closer and closer to the hatch. “Oh my God I’m really about to do this” was
all that I could think about. Aki said, “Okay
now put your legs outside”. <i>This is insane. Shit, the wind is gonna blow me away before
he can open up the parachute and we’re going to die. </i>“Make a banana shape! Ready?
Here we go!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CqOYvnaGqOVptzcm0IVvW1jRJW7_qnsH1TgqrPXfmDn1svYE9KSkIVN-glRZDiA0X86tvcOBX1Tyd1nYifuymduW0wkpNr4IfnkyWJvPob9_JNPnuupeodh2645hudW7dbmKsPChRqQ/s1600/Sky+Diving+10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CqOYvnaGqOVptzcm0IVvW1jRJW7_qnsH1TgqrPXfmDn1svYE9KSkIVN-glRZDiA0X86tvcOBX1Tyd1nYifuymduW0wkpNr4IfnkyWJvPob9_JNPnuupeodh2645hudW7dbmKsPChRqQ/s320/Sky+Diving+10.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dropping from the plane</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second we dropped out of the plane was the scariest part
of the experience. It was like someone held
you by your feet and then dropped you, head first, into a never-ending abyss. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But damn, the view was amazing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdcs92DOkIkedD4o7FYvpSDdjfVehfriJte8Dwwf8Z5f8L3Akhig5620fM68ZNZ6oFbrHNeRSkdYOgkA3Lxv_KFDndCjZij7Myq45ihm9kR0VFigDSBHIXFaW3EPZD2-KuoeHbi390ks/s1600/Sky+Diving+11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdcs92DOkIkedD4o7FYvpSDdjfVehfriJte8Dwwf8Z5f8L3Akhig5620fM68ZNZ6oFbrHNeRSkdYOgkA3Lxv_KFDndCjZij7Myq45ihm9kR0VFigDSBHIXFaW3EPZD2-KuoeHbi390ks/s320/Sky+Diving+11.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out those clouds! And Aki's arm! 120 miles per hour isn't easy on one's skin!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWc8nYzlapkzld9A_keEEi1fJVJAOTK9mD9E26d6gD6B-Y_5oj9qE9qVmavnpvK3XrsgOFplVe5yreirytzXKaj3jNZiY9WGatCMWjC83BmdqLSn12SJJWDexu6ehxxxhvL8NZzoqDmHA/s1600/Sky+Diving+12.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWc8nYzlapkzld9A_keEEi1fJVJAOTK9mD9E26d6gD6B-Y_5oj9qE9qVmavnpvK3XrsgOFplVe5yreirytzXKaj3jNZiY9WGatCMWjC83BmdqLSn12SJJWDexu6ehxxxhvL8NZzoqDmHA/s320/Sky+Diving+12.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My view from the sky (before diving into the cloud)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The clouds were so close, and skydiving right into a cloud
was so intense. It was like going
through a really heavy mist (at 120 miles per hour). Once we passed through the cloud, Aki opened
up our parachute so we could enjoy the full view from the sky (at a more
leisurely pace).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCJ9jhUth_OAozXukFxOy1t0qI3iVmCtc9KK3qsp23c2g3uIdblXomPHEdnBGnNbSpIR16C1rf5tobdFxCh3LEzqom_2-Fl1eux9bsVUxRN2arqYB93a9idxhs47_xi28V1EbP-GUbIs/s1600/Sky+Diving+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCJ9jhUth_OAozXukFxOy1t0qI3iVmCtc9KK3qsp23c2g3uIdblXomPHEdnBGnNbSpIR16C1rf5tobdFxCh3LEzqom_2-Fl1eux9bsVUxRN2arqYB93a9idxhs47_xi28V1EbP-GUbIs/s320/Sky+Diving+4.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the cloud</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After we landed we loaded ourselves back onto the van and
drove back to the meeting area. Aki then
took all the gear off of me and then gave me a SD card with videos of the whole
experience. The entire process took
about 2 hours, but the experience will last a lifetime.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For anyone who is interested in skydiving in Japan, please check out the <a href="http://www.tokyoskydivingclub.jp/">Tokyo Skydiving Club</a>!! The instructors are extremely friendly and professional, and many of them can speak Japanese and English fluently! The flights fill up pretty quickly, so I suggest emailing them about a week before you want to go.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGZsW0eT9KwMlDzooZZvxLvFXV-REP6CAQV-z3wGd0n1lMjqVZjDwI5XLQFs7BTWhyphenhyphennbv1szvq6pC-raV81rLLgEeXQvSwYY-_vqVVydbH5x55shcjScgXT9bcK8dbFSRMjVtt0_GhCI/s1600/Sky+Diving+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGZsW0eT9KwMlDzooZZvxLvFXV-REP6CAQV-z3wGd0n1lMjqVZjDwI5XLQFs7BTWhyphenhyphennbv1szvq6pC-raV81rLLgEeXQvSwYY-_vqVVydbH5x55shcjScgXT9bcK8dbFSRMjVtt0_GhCI/s320/Sky+Diving+5.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let's enjoy skydiving!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-49514205340651985412015-07-16T05:55:00.000-07:002015-07-16T18:39:49.226-07:00Part 1: Rice Field Event in Asahi, Chiba!<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
Japanese summers are notorious for being hot and humid. But on the rare occasion that the wind blows, being near a rice field is truly breathtaking. Seeing the rice plants billow in the wind is very relaxing, and the wind feels so refreshing!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5fSgDyA89uhDxcbn0WBVC53L39rQBXcH1ZYu6bVxyb4IW5Msl0JD1q10M4d2op9LQiGeu-cGPmSHYim63QdjhX7Y_k80Um0ZmfmwImaEzZSM6NZmWW4TJlawOGb0BXSrOimN6zqdI_mM/s1600/P_20150711_123030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5fSgDyA89uhDxcbn0WBVC53L39rQBXcH1ZYu6bVxyb4IW5Msl0JD1q10M4d2op9LQiGeu-cGPmSHYim63QdjhX7Y_k80Um0ZmfmwImaEzZSM6NZmWW4TJlawOGb0BXSrOimN6zqdI_mM/s320/P_20150711_123030.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese rice field, Asahi, Chiba</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
On July 11th, a group of ALTs and I participated in part of a rice harvesting event. This particular event is made up of four parts: 1) rice planting, 2) weeding and bug catching, 3) rice cutting, and 4) the harvesting of the rice. My friends and I participated in the weeding and bug catching experience.<br />
<br />
"But weeding is so boring!" That's what my friends and I thought at first, but it actually turned out to be really fun!<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-NIJGwwDniZhMT0kUgmO5PBsiWEXBrE3Zo4cE2ZLmz_FKR2H28qPatwMj0pbRSWl5xR0Mlr3gWJpnrXkRJiP3kLYT3tJOWrFIP4Muc37luvQ7piP8eJPX5S0N3o_umaixBTvYAJqiwpM/s1600/No1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-NIJGwwDniZhMT0kUgmO5PBsiWEXBrE3Zo4cE2ZLmz_FKR2H28qPatwMj0pbRSWl5xR0Mlr3gWJpnrXkRJiP3kLYT3tJOWrFIP4Muc37luvQ7piP8eJPX5S0N3o_umaixBTvYAJqiwpM/s320/No1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See! Everyone is smiling! Photo credit: Koki Hirano</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNpnPxREZ3-S1GXlvSPd_tUUtJyQqPD-bJDiZhyphenhyphenNgu4u3rsGW4gbia-Qhp26q9DvM5eulV4gefD7EVNxb6E6Sg3jCRZ8lYpr7vq1g19ovtbgjxsRq3lYswpov82fRmXc8DL5Skwj_kUAY/s1600/No2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNpnPxREZ3-S1GXlvSPd_tUUtJyQqPD-bJDiZhyphenhyphenNgu4u3rsGW4gbia-Qhp26q9DvM5eulV4gefD7EVNxb6E6Sg3jCRZ8lYpr7vq1g19ovtbgjxsRq3lYswpov82fRmXc8DL5Skwj_kUAY/s320/No2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting the grass! Photo credit: Koki Hirano</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">The event took place at the rice field near the <a href="http://www.city.asahi.chiba.jp/yugaku/info/oy_eng_annai.html">Ohara Yugaku Museum</a> in Asahi, Chiba. We went down to the rice field around 10:30 AM, and with out little hand scythes we cut the weeds around the rice field. If the weeds made their way into the rice fields then they could actually damage the rice.</span><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LyxRJNYq6MufMrshqfBZaUva_0THbTHF5MGzgxTa9a9ltKBzX0fKwCEszE37iyvWAxkYV6qr7HX77_fxJQjNHaDu9mhmdLo5M3nmV7Kq8amLSDdTuBDRM6TIYQn-yJot6N8SEH7o7uc/s1600/P_20150711_123438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LyxRJNYq6MufMrshqfBZaUva_0THbTHF5MGzgxTa9a9ltKBzX0fKwCEszE37iyvWAxkYV6qr7HX77_fxJQjNHaDu9mhmdLo5M3nmV7Kq8amLSDdTuBDRM6TIYQn-yJot6N8SEH7o7uc/s320/P_20150711_123438.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lotus plants near the rice fields</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
After eating lunch, we started the second part of the experience: bug catching. I don't really like bugs, but one of the members of our group loves bugs, so she had the time of her life trying to catch bugs and frogs with her net. Many children who were participating also had a lot of fun going into the rice field and catching frogs and other small creatures.<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIe1cBor6FECaZKN-R8YtjmK1Zcj5a0L87CNlV86GZcqSYCQ9K8ygdbHCKg68kcjwgzcMLy_YgLsE-5409meR0vO-yoVqn6TVOZGY6qJHbYMwgRmv_R6DLGvwyTkCFbuNtMhcl-2lftjQ/s1600/P_20150711_122402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIe1cBor6FECaZKN-R8YtjmK1Zcj5a0L87CNlV86GZcqSYCQ9K8ygdbHCKg68kcjwgzcMLy_YgLsE-5409meR0vO-yoVqn6TVOZGY6qJHbYMwgRmv_R6DLGvwyTkCFbuNtMhcl-2lftjQ/s320/P_20150711_122402.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Children having fun with bugs<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
Can't wait for the rice cutting event in September!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-2211172591224435852015-06-22T22:26:00.001-07:002015-06-22T22:26:26.282-07:00Robot Ice Cream in Matsumoto<div class="MsoNormal">
On our last day in Matsumoto, we decided to take it easy and
just spend the morning shopping for souvenirs.
We also wanted to go to a famous ice cream shop in Matsumoto called
Kaiundo <span lang="JA" style="font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(<a href="http://www.kaiundo.co.jp/">開運堂</a>)</span>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYyFXI1lHPgZWpTuE6_lQLnnuBPfaBaZkjbzd3CibpJho1w4RnnkzuKWa6AlV0JJwNzmE4MPUt987Hr8orLgxKb4M9BGmVjPPZctBjJjHvlXnqdA09XYw5B_fnru49E0kaepyjyxqtTH4/s1600/P_20150615_093541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYyFXI1lHPgZWpTuE6_lQLnnuBPfaBaZkjbzd3CibpJho1w4RnnkzuKWa6AlV0JJwNzmE4MPUt987Hr8orLgxKb4M9BGmVjPPZctBjJjHvlXnqdA09XYw5B_fnru49E0kaepyjyxqtTH4/s320/P_20150615_093541.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaiundo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kaiundo is also a Japanese sweets store. Kaiundo opens at 9:00 a.m., but the ice cream
part of the store doesn’t open until 10:30, which we weren’t aware of until we
got to the shop.</div>
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<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgKNgTqzBLI8COPd4zieuYBrENVFweBwTlpZQ3EK2WPGEMVLVMq4leWvWtgk84tGgFZ8Ztd6VXu6mIIw3LyVBqeu7pNoJK0w5SAfeZ-Rg2xOoiDtZLPcuDcdH-5orLxLgAlSke_LSh5I/s1600/P_20150615_093308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgKNgTqzBLI8COPd4zieuYBrENVFweBwTlpZQ3EK2WPGEMVLVMq4leWvWtgk84tGgFZ8Ztd6VXu6mIIw3LyVBqeu7pNoJK0w5SAfeZ-Rg2xOoiDtZLPcuDcdH-5orLxLgAlSke_LSh5I/s320/P_20150615_093308.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sweets section of Kaiundo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The reason why this particular ice cream is famous is because
it is made by a robot!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To buy ice cream, you must go to the counter and pay 320 for
a special coin.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSlxDYdjPKOm7ggTerJpQV7kFIBMBF5xjsJRNdpSmLllc891AGj14cNAdbgSwp9OompdFUuFXkkdkGpnGjydiRoUYtiDq7ddK6ckL1iChFMGVTe-dF2qZZsxK9iRR8remGDqCvY4eTQw/s1600/P_20150615_104400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSlxDYdjPKOm7ggTerJpQV7kFIBMBF5xjsJRNdpSmLllc891AGj14cNAdbgSwp9OompdFUuFXkkdkGpnGjydiRoUYtiDq7ddK6ckL1iChFMGVTe-dF2qZZsxK9iRR8remGDqCvY4eTQw/s320/P_20150615_104400.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Once you have your coin, insert it and then choose whether
you want a medium or large serving. It
doesn’t cost extra to choose large. Once
you have chosen your size, the robot starts preparing the ice cream!</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05hNHpT0cTI0is9wTpVNSysqqkOPebO1zYCLbYZ9FfLnM0W7ilgFqGiWwkjrR89DytC05w6LKwpvQaj9IGDkSdLaORQqYSAMs7kb20Ntn6jKvq5lxlJi29hSCYR7aIJ4vUOQaB5ZXzX0/s1600/V_20150615_104452.mp4" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05hNHpT0cTI0is9wTpVNSysqqkOPebO1zYCLbYZ9FfLnM0W7ilgFqGiWwkjrR89DytC05w6LKwpvQaj9IGDkSdLaORQqYSAMs7kb20Ntn6jKvq5lxlJi29hSCYR7aIJ4vUOQaB5ZXzX0/s320/V_20150615_104452.mp4" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unfortunately, they only serve one ice cream flavor a day,
but it means that you can try a different flavor every day! They have many different flavors, including
strawberry, chocolate mint, pistachio, <st1:place w:st="on">Tahiti</st1:place>
(mango and passion fruit), green tea, apple pie, banana, espresso, maple, and
many more. On the day that we went they served Apricot Yogurt, which was really
good!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yi2-F_Dj0W8_ztsRAnRZNjIhidx7l1jWUvGaDA75Oh5h_BIsROiseF4hvjPLNjesRo8Z8BGIAIT3jy10y5E2uY9Cp8G4TGqtI0RUOkBMCK2iMJn7RMZextdvAAiXwuSto8l2An8FSE4/s1600/P_20150615_104548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yi2-F_Dj0W8_ztsRAnRZNjIhidx7l1jWUvGaDA75Oh5h_BIsROiseF4hvjPLNjesRo8Z8BGIAIT3jy10y5E2uY9Cp8G4TGqtI0RUOkBMCK2iMJn7RMZextdvAAiXwuSto8l2An8FSE4/s320/P_20150615_104548.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apricot Yogurt Ice Cream</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For a list of the flavors for the month, please check <a href="http://www.kaiundo.co.jp/calendar/6.html">this link</a>. (Japanese only) For more information,
please check <a href="http://uradoori.com/archives/20410.html">this site</a> (Japanese only). Kaiundo
is open 7 days a week from 10:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., or until there is no
more ice cream. </div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Please enjoy!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-83469981250365307462015-06-21T22:53:00.000-07:002015-06-21T22:53:05.616-07:00Weekend Trip in Nagano- Kamikochi and Shirahone Hot Springs<div class="MsoNormal">
On our second day in <st1:city w:st="on">Nagano</st1:city>,
we went to <a href="http://www.go-nagano.net/modules/contents07/index.php?id=1&mode=disdetailsisetu&cityid=2&junleid=1&indexid=4&kubuncode=1">Kamikochi</a>! Kamikochi is a
famous mountain valley in <st1:place w:st="on">Western Nagano</st1:place>. The scenery there was very beautiful.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLnTYAjiSI-IkhYp0Z5mcA8lLyjhKjso0JBiyrBixWrtF0QTgWETfSLo9DIhpjNLc9EkdAi25YTwtg1A-b_-iM8pN0frVd0d144fe3jAok9K1xCr8v7PxF7_mccMPBqdxwEsV5jnAIYU/s1600/P_20150614_105639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLnTYAjiSI-IkhYp0Z5mcA8lLyjhKjso0JBiyrBixWrtF0QTgWETfSLo9DIhpjNLc9EkdAi25YTwtg1A-b_-iM8pN0frVd0d144fe3jAok9K1xCr8v7PxF7_mccMPBqdxwEsV5jnAIYU/s320/P_20150614_105639.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhge6E6ccDlVJo38GP4doNAzOSmc47bywYpxjMwbKPIKUu21b_psc8xOXsYe6lmzjFDtZjWPVwcPdDdSCyC2AE0_rXeokXKKnVGDMFhjbwZFKS8NkaPGN-cP-Crvyzc2GgVAv_FIEq_WqM/s1600/P_20150614_110047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhge6E6ccDlVJo38GP4doNAzOSmc47bywYpxjMwbKPIKUu21b_psc8xOXsYe6lmzjFDtZjWPVwcPdDdSCyC2AE0_rXeokXKKnVGDMFhjbwZFKS8NkaPGN-cP-Crvyzc2GgVAv_FIEq_WqM/s320/P_20150614_110047.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fETaLh8m08uOyF80Rd128RRYt3PhG_Yh5GE2iY7RvF4svKMOdkqsl1gzfG-J_RqzsiSRahR6L20fL_hpqVTNpddgJCYOHx1VhNhO82uRLmnbrbnTUOGW5vPfAJ1FpepQAjh3Ax1yx1s/s1600/P_20150614_105648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fETaLh8m08uOyF80Rd128RRYt3PhG_Yh5GE2iY7RvF4svKMOdkqsl1gzfG-J_RqzsiSRahR6L20fL_hpqVTNpddgJCYOHx1VhNhO82uRLmnbrbnTUOGW5vPfAJ1FpepQAjh3Ax1yx1s/s320/P_20150614_105648.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man painting the Kamikochi mountain range</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvFdOadCwRZEeL8xW7ABjbLf1fuOPoKXW_Id4X7CQrfc8idaCSLBLlAIcWP9PTIi6QWTjP4GnS_v8O6H1ADowrcZvnyV48Jk463SCjoRcqKKGakEJQAx1uu225ugrGKCZQS5PAy61eYU/s1600/P_20150614_110532_PN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="87" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvFdOadCwRZEeL8xW7ABjbLf1fuOPoKXW_Id4X7CQrfc8idaCSLBLlAIcWP9PTIi6QWTjP4GnS_v8O6H1ADowrcZvnyV48Jk463SCjoRcqKKGakEJQAx1uu225ugrGKCZQS5PAy61eYU/s320/P_20150614_110532_PN.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kamikochi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Getting to Kamikochi can be confusing though. For those with cars, you are not allowed to
drive personal cars into Kamikochi since they want to preserve its natural
state as much as possible. You have to
park your car further down the way at one of the parking areas and take a taxi
or bus to Kamikochi. My brother and I
didn’t drive though, so we took the train and bus from Matsumoto. It took a long time, but it was very easy to
understand and navigate the train and bus system.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, we went to the Ario Matsumoto Bus Terminal, across the
street from Matsumoto Station.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCdZC869MmBfXBdTh706GXXtfR7IrfT2Wff0c6OQiUrqPUvxZqHrKTS9dok_1hfMNew-dD5tj1_pyln1t1CZUFv4GmBY0AH5jkeOORKygBD6wFs579GBNPEG7aWT8pj8KzoMit6clWrg/s1600/P_20150614_185721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCdZC869MmBfXBdTh706GXXtfR7IrfT2Wff0c6OQiUrqPUvxZqHrKTS9dok_1hfMNew-dD5tj1_pyln1t1CZUFv4GmBY0AH5jkeOORKygBD6wFs579GBNPEG7aWT8pj8KzoMit6clWrg/s320/P_20150614_185721.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ario Matsumoto Bus Terminal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There we could buy the train and bus ticket to
Kamikochi. We also wanted to stop at
Shirahone Hot Springs, so we decided to buy the Kamikochi/ Norikura 2 Day Free
Pass. It costs 5,150 yen for adults and
2,580 yen for children. After we bought
our passes, we used our passes at Matsumoto Station to take the ALPICO Line
from Matsumoto to Shinshimashima Station. Once we arrived at Shinshimashima Station we
waited for our bus to Kamikochi to arrive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After riding the bus for about an hour, we arrived at
Kamikochi Bus Terminal. Once you arrive
at Kamikochi, I recommend going to the sight-seeing center and getting a <i>seiriken</i>, or numbered boarding ticket. You will need this number when you take the
bus back. You will have to tell the
attendant which bus you want to leave on, so please don’t get lost while
exploring Kamikochi because you might miss your bus!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After that, we started exploring and trekking around
Kamikochi!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKWrmjIzVudSq7WVGobC1ErdVlYTHhFhu9TFnUzUiydnzd8HTzobnJ92UMub_JB-SzYTvEWRv1NjI9OJ77fuMjYlY-3mbKP4NHrrHy25jpvMAkNok4AV9XxiIG1SnRhSS-viG-_LC4TmI/s1600/P_20150614_120132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKWrmjIzVudSq7WVGobC1ErdVlYTHhFhu9TFnUzUiydnzd8HTzobnJ92UMub_JB-SzYTvEWRv1NjI9OJ77fuMjYlY-3mbKP4NHrrHy25jpvMAkNok4AV9XxiIG1SnRhSS-viG-_LC4TmI/s320/P_20150614_120132.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-5Womdur-81-OOLBzWXJFP3_MvXPIWRXT3AGWTtpmWCTIxoGQQBUbezNhSXQt36y141eW9ElcMw-_7gk9aBj-I_vnPW9D75JBfTH1fb306hFDVbhd6aw-sz5HFZXy5zTmpfCTCQ-Hlg/s1600/P_20150614_120419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-5Womdur-81-OOLBzWXJFP3_MvXPIWRXT3AGWTtpmWCTIxoGQQBUbezNhSXQt36y141eW9ElcMw-_7gk9aBj-I_vnPW9D75JBfTH1fb306hFDVbhd6aw-sz5HFZXy5zTmpfCTCQ-Hlg/s320/P_20150614_120419.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCvMDKxhpFnEpRzueSFZxAZD8tycqzR-cdVaAW8hzjynh3R9OlQGtzGW9X87Gv9dvEoXgN97PC3vH05zbM5ImWcoDyTMX75e2l-aljDekEH0SyOcRY988tSZxJ-hDh26C62kgKuArCLM/s1600/P_20150614_115443.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCvMDKxhpFnEpRzueSFZxAZD8tycqzR-cdVaAW8hzjynh3R9OlQGtzGW9X87Gv9dvEoXgN97PC3vH05zbM5ImWcoDyTMX75e2l-aljDekEH0SyOcRY988tSZxJ-hDh26C62kgKuArCLM/s320/P_20150614_115443.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JzTJ3X1RYQehqwH1TIeb5nEdwQW6HmmgiCwriahuTPMYOtgbul5n2zTkWq46WtkE8Az5l0zReArRPMrrYy2sRv5mksxr4Rag7Z18Kgfdpk5Xd9NZd14pG3rKhfs7GawFs9mVFolW2pM/s1600/P_20150614_122543.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JzTJ3X1RYQehqwH1TIeb5nEdwQW6HmmgiCwriahuTPMYOtgbul5n2zTkWq46WtkE8Az5l0zReArRPMrrYy2sRv5mksxr4Rag7Z18Kgfdpk5Xd9NZd14pG3rKhfs7GawFs9mVFolW2pM/s320/P_20150614_122543.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
After we made it back to Kappabashi, we decided to get
lunch. We went to Restaurant Konashi (<span lang="JA" style="font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.kamikochi.or.jp/facilities/stay/hotel-shirakabaso/#detail02-2">レストラン小梨</a></span>) and had the spicy
tomato curry. We were both pretty
disappointed with the taste though, so afterwards we went to eat dessert! The first stop was Trois Cinq (<span lang="JA" style="font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.kamikochi.or.jp/facilities/stay/gosenjaku-lodge/#detail02">トワ・サンク</a></span>) for their famous apple pie!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Ts6xXVK9IG1ELgtNEphJ1dnEcGrNDI4ty4XQO-bdomincpB-ddesJHgU68kvv6_mbBxxXHfX9_PVK_yShcXreWjfrt14ljYC0GkcP8J6J8dbGV1tVOXd7U-UQpUfxY9DmoS-qUPRw94/s1600/P_20150614_124940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Ts6xXVK9IG1ELgtNEphJ1dnEcGrNDI4ty4XQO-bdomincpB-ddesJHgU68kvv6_mbBxxXHfX9_PVK_yShcXreWjfrt14ljYC0GkcP8J6J8dbGV1tVOXd7U-UQpUfxY9DmoS-qUPRw94/s320/P_20150614_124940.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spicy Tomato Curry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOf4DykPsP2RxEAMfc6qgvKurYWEK5Xne_tviC1Mvc7n-OvEamXPiPc6R4BYIHsyQTP_ilZIIc0TzzTcSWeZC4Dg7h5JJyqP58UnV2AV5r-Qoack6An1Q07hde14Pl_7QdGQXPqXq34w/s1600/P_20150614_130511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOf4DykPsP2RxEAMfc6qgvKurYWEK5Xne_tviC1Mvc7n-OvEamXPiPc6R4BYIHsyQTP_ilZIIc0TzzTcSWeZC4Dg7h5JJyqP58UnV2AV5r-Qoack6An1Q07hde14Pl_7QdGQXPqXq34w/s320/P_20150614_130511.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple Pie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The principal at my school also recommended that we try the
cheesecake sold at <a href="http://www.kamikochi.or.jp/facilities/stay/gosenjaku-hotel/#detail02-3">5HORN</a> near Kappabashi. I really wanted to try the baked cheesecake,
but they were sold out. It is one of
their most popular desserts. Instead, my
brother and I both had the blueberry cheesecake, which was light and fluffy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_Ll0aQvWOpKVMw14QsFXlvKJR8ni5lNxkDL3QtQdVSnxbuH6Moq9ngwV8OvY1RJVrQe3gMggrd1wGqoNP9JnbYHSJ21OvGbH9G4v4Ugfufb9FyYVx_P1StKzutlOrZz4LbSJ3ygsB-s/s1600/P_20150614_131953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_Ll0aQvWOpKVMw14QsFXlvKJR8ni5lNxkDL3QtQdVSnxbuH6Moq9ngwV8OvY1RJVrQe3gMggrd1wGqoNP9JnbYHSJ21OvGbH9G4v4Ugfufb9FyYVx_P1StKzutlOrZz4LbSJ3ygsB-s/s320/P_20150614_131953.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blueberry Cheesecake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We finished eating and decided to walk a little more before
we had to catch our bus to go to <a href="http://www.go-nagano.net/modules/contents07/index.php?id=1&mode=disdetailsisetu&cityid=2&junleid=6&indexid=5&kubuncode=3">Shirahone Hot Springs</a>! We took the 2:05 bus, and had to transfer at
Alpico Sawando Shakomae bus stop. We
finally arrived at Shirahone Onsen bus stop around 3:10.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij3-dSRN6caKcUqKxwtAOQlSdg8X8zogpxWW9VmAomHXsjAl9kLkrr7Igg94Qv7ZacDcyMbazGMCjNHX_-dj9S1idkUk7Ku-fqfQOQl8lYg39R2iS1yUjySNKZMLU5pWSo1ssIvxb8BOQ/s1600/P_20150614_150553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij3-dSRN6caKcUqKxwtAOQlSdg8X8zogpxWW9VmAomHXsjAl9kLkrr7Igg94Qv7ZacDcyMbazGMCjNHX_-dj9S1idkUk7Ku-fqfQOQl8lYg39R2iS1yUjySNKZMLU5pWSo1ssIvxb8BOQ/s320/P_20150614_150553.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shirahone Hot Springs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I love <st1:city w:st="on">hot springs</st1:city> a lot, so
I was really excited to go into their famous white water <st1:city w:st="on">hot springs</st1:city>. There were many places where one could enjoy
the hot springs, but I ended up going to the cheapest one (510 yen, plus 200
yen for a towel). The hot spring itself
was nice but I couldn’t stay in it for a long time since the weather was so
humid.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our goal was to take the 4:21 bus back to Shinshimashima
Station (as was written in the bus timetable booklet), but apparently that bus
went to Norikura instead of Shinshimashima Station! We were told that the next bus to
Shinshimashima would be an hour later!! There wasn’t anything else to do in Shirahone
Onsen, so we decided to take the bus going to Norikura and to wait on it until
it went to Shinshimashima. There were so
many mosquitoes so we didn’t really have a choice but to take the Norikura bus.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were expecting to get to Shinshimashima at 6:10 p.m., but
after the bus driver went to Norikura, he drove us straight to Shinshimashima
Station so that we could catch the 6:02 p.m. bus back to Matsumoto! We were so surprised and happy that we didn’t
have to wait until 7 p.m.! The <a href="http://www.alpico.co.jp/traffic/">ALPICO</a>
workers were so kind and helpful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once we arrived back in Matsumoto we dropped off our things
and got dinner at Minge Restaurant Moriyoshi (<span lang="JA" style="font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://tabelog.com/nagano/A2002/A200201/20000061/">民芸レストラン盛よし</a></span>).
After our long day of walking around
Kamikochi and Shirahone, we were both in the mood for filling food. This restaurant is very popular with the
locals since the portions are big and the price is cheap. They serve mostly <span lang="JA" style="font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">定食</span>, or set meals which include the main dish, miso
soup, and rice. We were both happy with
our dinners.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUuh_uVw4cuNF-R7C8ZUjGuR1PdYyHq3ZcF7GRzewJqq28ItKCRHQcTV5uKi3gh9Me0xZOOpQEC6_29FDN200BBWaDep06KjpcNNLlQwSCb3jewbqYqi2AUwm7g_O0asI0tZ36XIicKE/s1600/P_20150614_191715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUuh_uVw4cuNF-R7C8ZUjGuR1PdYyHq3ZcF7GRzewJqq28ItKCRHQcTV5uKi3gh9Me0xZOOpQEC6_29FDN200BBWaDep06KjpcNNLlQwSCb3jewbqYqi2AUwm7g_O0asI0tZ36XIicKE/s320/P_20150614_191715.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crab croquette with side of salad, miso soup and rice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-61887720300813566762015-06-16T05:46:00.001-07:002015-06-16T05:46:50.477-07:00Weekend Trip to Matsumoto, Nagano<div class="MsoNormal">
Every year, the third grade students at the junior high
school I teach at go on a school trip to Nagano. Every year, they come back and
write diaries in English about all the delicious food they ate, as well as the
beautiful sights they saw. Then, they
end their diary entries with “Have you ever been to Nagano? Please visit Nagano!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Every year, I settled for just getting souvenirs from the
teachers and students that went. But not
this year. This year, I can finally say that I have visited Nagano.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My brother and I decided to go to Nagano this past weekend! We
spent the night in Tokyo on Friday, and left to catch the 8:30 a.m. bullet
train from Shinjuku Station on Saturday. He had his <a href="http://www.jrpass.com/japan-rail-pass-eligibility">JR Pass</a>, which provides
unlimited use of the JR trains across the country for foreigners visiting
Japan. However, I had to buy a ticket
for the <i>Shinkansen</i>, or bullet
train. I got the unreserved ticket,
which cost 6,380 yen one-way from Shinjuku to Matsumoto station. We were worried that we wouldn’t get seats on
the train, but we were very fortunate that the train started from Shinjuku, so
we were able to find seats pretty easily.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After about 3 hours on the train, we finally arrived at
Matsumoto Station!<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxD6iYM1wSOnEJTw0ifsDoq9LUl3KUF7YWB3i2_6yOSP5c1MCJ1N3YkyGLUR3tto6Fz84KArRq6Rf-hc_5EG1POlSNJ2naUZzCXHGLb51atj4_IYhlh6Rp6r9WE7zBbrYh3-cHIzIAnMg/s1600/P_20150615_091050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxD6iYM1wSOnEJTw0ifsDoq9LUl3KUF7YWB3i2_6yOSP5c1MCJ1N3YkyGLUR3tto6Fz84KArRq6Rf-hc_5EG1POlSNJ2naUZzCXHGLb51atj4_IYhlh6Rp6r9WE7zBbrYh3-cHIzIAnMg/s320/P_20150615_091050.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matsumoto Station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We decided to go to the hotel we reserved online after we
arrived so that we wouldn’t have to carry our things with us around the city. We stayed at Hotel Ote (<span lang="JA" style="font-family: 'MS Mincho';">ホテル大手</span>),
which was about a 5 minute walk away from Matsumoto Station. The room itself was pretty small, but it was
pretty cheap and the location was convenient.
It was right across the street from a 7-11, so it made getting breakfast
each morning nice and easy hahaha.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUclZtdhsl5A9tRzP4ctzJdzq_BON27eGxQQFKVjnQEwZsFO9_Hz7MN0DCXq_50FNl-V0sQRsmusGCrf_-5v-7MTlNYn_DhS-geFtWX2uXYkN4gKQThH2n-Gw0mPTTm2VVO84t8hHS3Q8/s1600/P_20150613_120005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUclZtdhsl5A9tRzP4ctzJdzq_BON27eGxQQFKVjnQEwZsFO9_Hz7MN0DCXq_50FNl-V0sQRsmusGCrf_-5v-7MTlNYn_DhS-geFtWX2uXYkN4gKQThH2n-Gw0mPTTm2VVO84t8hHS3Q8/s320/P_20150613_120005.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the door</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkOgZA5nHvSPXV4-P9LiFyWIHYEUSqvCQ3Kta9_et36irVewT_STOL_7yaAUAxXk4m2IinG_DvTeJ9qUF7G89CgQi7ZOF7t6YJ9pgwpjf6eXzDGZVC-al_9KMZSZohq9q_1P-7eqIv7M/s1600/P_20150613_115945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkOgZA5nHvSPXV4-P9LiFyWIHYEUSqvCQ3Kta9_et36irVewT_STOL_7yaAUAxXk4m2IinG_DvTeJ9qUF7G89CgQi7ZOF7t6YJ9pgwpjf6eXzDGZVC-al_9KMZSZohq9q_1P-7eqIv7M/s320/P_20150613_115945.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Twin beds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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After dropping off our luggage we went off to find a place
where we could eat lunch. We decided on
a Japanese soba restaurant called Soba Kurabu Sasaki (<span lang="JA" style="font-family: 'MS Mincho';"><a href="http://tabelog.com/nagano/A2002/A200201/20002376/">蕎麦倶楽部佐々木</a></span>),
which was a 15 minute walk from Matsumoto Station. My brother got the Mori Soba, the restaurant’s
recommendation. I got the Kamotsuke
Soba, cold soba served with a hot duck meat soup. Our sobas were delicious, and the people who
worked at the restaurant were extremely nice and helpful. For anyone who wants
to try Matsumoto Soba, I strongly recommend this restaurant! (English menu provided, staff also speaks
very good English) (Mori Soba- 1,000 yen; Kamotsuke Soba- 1,500 yen)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMIWrvcAyotVFHQbu94SpsBqXUpPWbUsz6VJiPh2SJX0H-z2BRebPAqrX4vynv84TFAbL4jP-KaaK08kO2EsDwfQZRvvosRBrWnNHBONhh9ceRyniaq9B4Vt6QeX5eQzTnup3m_m249k/s1600/P_20150613_125052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMIWrvcAyotVFHQbu94SpsBqXUpPWbUsz6VJiPh2SJX0H-z2BRebPAqrX4vynv84TFAbL4jP-KaaK08kO2EsDwfQZRvvosRBrWnNHBONhh9ceRyniaq9B4Vt6QeX5eQzTnup3m_m249k/s320/P_20150613_125052.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kamotsuke Soba from Soba Kurabu Sasaki</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now that we had eaten, we were ready to explore Matsumoto
City! The waitress at the soba
restaurant gave us a map and directions to Matsumoto Castle, so we headed there
first. From the restaurant it was about
a 10 minute walk (from the station it’s about 15). The fee to get into the castle was 610 yen. The views from the castle were spectacular,
and I really enjoyed seeing the gun collection inside the castle. There were 6 floors which tourists could go
to, but the staircases in the castle got very crowded. The staircase from the 5<sup>th</sup> to the
6<sup>th</sup> floor were not only crowded, but the steps were very high! There was an old man who almost slipped going
down the stairs just as I was about to go up. Luckily there was a rail so he
managed to not fall down, but it was still pretty scary. I was pretty worried about falling as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgziTlz7Kv4hKMPf0MsewW3PwS_lkChbLseBwTwSOEGsKFhuhrK8JUABjqV1i1pKHQnkRgdRs_fEGPWkK4Kadl9n4V9K4aaXaSsC8h8cnvcx4_zz1hUZ0SCNG-q5RbRN1hOH41896fGvN0/s1600/P_20150613_131521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgziTlz7Kv4hKMPf0MsewW3PwS_lkChbLseBwTwSOEGsKFhuhrK8JUABjqV1i1pKHQnkRgdRs_fEGPWkK4Kadl9n4V9K4aaXaSsC8h8cnvcx4_zz1hUZ0SCNG-q5RbRN1hOH41896fGvN0/s320/P_20150613_131521.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matsumoto Castle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSrrpKLMBo6vUuSHNcPrFnEfO3hidRDf-8jzd7E8xq26EpW4RAMwcBjaQ-blNNFsQRHLw5DXPyMxd42PrsI6AOqpsLSB0dy3etP0xOzxE8to66AH_rSp4tRSAOLTWfZaIEZ8yY8acLKE/s1600/P_20150613_135318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSrrpKLMBo6vUuSHNcPrFnEfO3hidRDf-8jzd7E8xq26EpW4RAMwcBjaQ-blNNFsQRHLw5DXPyMxd42PrsI6AOqpsLSB0dy3etP0xOzxE8to66AH_rSp4tRSAOLTWfZaIEZ8yY8acLKE/s320/P_20150613_135318.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the artillery collection inside Matsumoto Castle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcCXl1jWvl917XXMIJ12yFTT2Gd6a71NSYG-ZqDlaue5iqbWqDDBFGoDU_JHhzkpQr7-c-a98CKXt_22fQEDsevnHMdib0glUCHEk0y2M9yUYgD6_hBH4qi4MGTK7C0Sbn70_jBTCp5Y/s1600/P_20150613_141603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcCXl1jWvl917XXMIJ12yFTT2Gd6a71NSYG-ZqDlaue5iqbWqDDBFGoDU_JHhzkpQr7-c-a98CKXt_22fQEDsevnHMdib0glUCHEk0y2M9yUYgD6_hBH4qi4MGTK7C0Sbn70_jBTCp5Y/s320/P_20150613_141603.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the castle grounds from the Moon Viewing Room of Matsumoto Castle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once we left the castle, we went to the museum that was
right in front of Matsumoto Castle. The
610 yen admission fee that we had paid for the castle also included admission
to the museum. The museum had a lot of
interesting things showing the history of Matsumoto, as well as yearly events
that occur. I really liked the treasure
ship with the seven dolls. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8tTtvahobMN9oWplqwiKalwEE-av41GkOGxq0_RGcdSl75hOgevfzd6IZC4JbwRLPzfNXylglVBrb6BS0ngHojpwmP3RqibUD13SpzMee4LTcyShwhU3ZEUjwwZxQPjaNJ0Cr54ytik/s1600/P_20150613_143736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8tTtvahobMN9oWplqwiKalwEE-av41GkOGxq0_RGcdSl75hOgevfzd6IZC4JbwRLPzfNXylglVBrb6BS0ngHojpwmP3RqibUD13SpzMee4LTcyShwhU3ZEUjwwZxQPjaNJ0Cr54ytik/s320/P_20150613_143736.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Treasure Ship</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was still pretty early, so we decided to visit the Former
Kaichi Primary School, the oldest elementary school in Japan. I wasn’t expecting it to look so nice on the
outside, but I was surprised to see that it looked a lot newer than the elementary
schools that I teach at hahaha. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMzHhR2wh0TyslTAhEoyzrTK25iGwXYQpwRoWiNm6_BnsPICS-dF1mRy-h4FLhmCx8QRel1eA3TGpHtQIhyl0m_RoPO36RIqK6uhEk1VEWNQXonf1zKovqJPJa0AQP_DurTD0H5ug8z3Q/s1600/P_20150613_150653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMzHhR2wh0TyslTAhEoyzrTK25iGwXYQpwRoWiNm6_BnsPICS-dF1mRy-h4FLhmCx8QRel1eA3TGpHtQIhyl0m_RoPO36RIqK6uhEk1VEWNQXonf1zKovqJPJa0AQP_DurTD0H5ug8z3Q/s320/P_20150613_150653.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Former Kaichi Primary School, the oldest elementary school in Japan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Afterwards, we made our way back to Nawate Street to look
around and to buy a taiyaki! One of my
teachers recommended eating taiyaki from <a href="http://taiyaki-ya.com/wp/index.php?language=ja">Furusato</a>. I got the anko (sweet bean paste) taiyaki
which cost about 150 yen. It was good,
but really filling.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4_3Cpg2RjovP38IAr2M98uszg4Px_R-3TZZQbP5lKGK_rDZ-dNBlzC531qrocNV65aobyPuxx6DomQI5iPO-GOFQk130YSbndRJuvWGXcRgcn8oM5lYWbO0r-2jxjHTE9BhKv_7IgmA/s1600/P_20150613_160134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4_3Cpg2RjovP38IAr2M98uszg4Px_R-3TZZQbP5lKGK_rDZ-dNBlzC531qrocNV65aobyPuxx6DomQI5iPO-GOFQk130YSbndRJuvWGXcRgcn8oM5lYWbO0r-2jxjHTE9BhKv_7IgmA/s320/P_20150613_160134.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Furusato</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZueVZNC0KpLFusE20cJghXRBI8mTLd8JcY4_TnqrMBgc2rurDqldvSl-jJjI5CEAWTaJ1hjjQpB_jv9uofp3kw5Fm6H8qh6_B_O59ItswlSTRedgIe4QIiHKGV3fSLFBMRJJ7ekapnM/s1600/P_20150613_155702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZueVZNC0KpLFusE20cJghXRBI8mTLd8JcY4_TnqrMBgc2rurDqldvSl-jJjI5CEAWTaJ1hjjQpB_jv9uofp3kw5Fm6H8qh6_B_O59ItswlSTRedgIe4QIiHKGV3fSLFBMRJJ7ekapnM/s320/P_20150613_155702.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anko (sweet bean paste) Taiyaki</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For dinner, we decided to eat another one of Matsumoto’s
famous dishes, <i>sanzoku-yaki</i>, or fried
chicken. We went to Hyakurotei (<span lang="JA" style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://tabelog.com/nagano/A2002/A200201/20000870/">百老亭</a></span>), which was about a 10 minute walk from Matsumoto
Station. We got the <i>sanzoku-yaki</i> and rice set, which was about 1,100 yen. There was way too much food for me though, so
I ended up giving half of my chicken to my brother. The chicken was good, but the portion size
was too much for me. If you decide to go
here, I would recommend that you get the rice set if you like to eat a lot of
food.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgRpZizma-Fnlre8OMKNYL2_XZdPAbeFYGjLzJij-mhbVTL5X2klZY7XZjjgFy_T1bikOWVaATpyu5qVxnbEyGZf12EqejIHdKKmr_xQHIzTarl5P56ALk69j9Dkz09Q-GOY8-DOQGP8/s1600/P_20150613_174354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgRpZizma-Fnlre8OMKNYL2_XZdPAbeFYGjLzJij-mhbVTL5X2klZY7XZjjgFy_T1bikOWVaATpyu5qVxnbEyGZf12EqejIHdKKmr_xQHIzTarl5P56ALk69j9Dkz09Q-GOY8-DOQGP8/s320/P_20150613_174354.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanzoku-yaki</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We had both eaten a lot of food that day, so we decided to walk to the other side of the city that we hadn’t been to yet. As I was walking through Matsumoto City, I felt that it was the perfect combination of both traditional and modern. My brother and I had spent most of the day in the traditional part of the city, but the other half of the city had department stores and other big buildings. Tourists can enjoy seeing temples and castles during the day, and end the day with a couple drinks at one of the many bars that are in Matsumoto. However, instead of going to a bar, my brother and I decided to end our first day with a creampuff from <a href="http://tabelog.com/nagano/A2002/A200201/20000074/">Masamura</a>.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsk5cY6-Fu2AUG_zT5gpeq2ercxjAk0PvnCafi_EDw-My-sZ3jf95HZLtj8zg-nU9N3AbLlUwMW-ZXM94q5GPDfYbfb2cW-bfjqEIqISK4KXn94lsRcILCfDUZhbrQOeXLPEWRQx1_1g/s1600/P_20150613_184401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsk5cY6-Fu2AUG_zT5gpeq2ercxjAk0PvnCafi_EDw-My-sZ3jf95HZLtj8zg-nU9N3AbLlUwMW-ZXM94q5GPDfYbfb2cW-bfjqEIqISK4KXn94lsRcILCfDUZhbrQOeXLPEWRQx1_1g/s320/P_20150613_184401.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Masamura, view from outside</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-0l4F7QV3G6fpHU77w3aFsvFEIBhiwVt_2yeOM8VP4X-jDBBYhYwnImhoIx1tly32tkcxGXS8iWLpwSJUbvE4JMat9sK0J5m4_8eUbXYtz01tjhdvFJSzDq3DD1SE6BbP7mFbNETLYk/s1600/P_20150613_184819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-0l4F7QV3G6fpHU77w3aFsvFEIBhiwVt_2yeOM8VP4X-jDBBYhYwnImhoIx1tly32tkcxGXS8iWLpwSJUbvE4JMat9sK0J5m4_8eUbXYtz01tjhdvFJSzDq3DD1SE6BbP7mFbNETLYk/s320/P_20150613_184819.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside Masamura</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglxAeoaB06mJmQQKMpbTaGZPD6UPt-9vTlbkyUfzEF5g3TQGoQbVivGWi4TbJ7O1zEwq-rMpzFQjuse8lAk9UTil2ocdZNUIbsKtNI0oP5syaAhVWdYsRIyXs33PxNHc_qDujYzw7k04/s1600/P_20150613_184945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglxAeoaB06mJmQQKMpbTaGZPD6UPt-9vTlbkyUfzEF5g3TQGoQbVivGWi4TbJ7O1zEwq-rMpzFQjuse8lAk9UTil2ocdZNUIbsKtNI0oP5syaAhVWdYsRIyXs33PxNHc_qDujYzw7k04/s320/P_20150613_184945.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cream puff from Masamura</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There were many kinds of creampuffs to choose
from, but we decided to get a normal creampuff with whipped cream filling (216
yen). My brother said that it was the
best creampuff that he had ever had in his life. I thought that it was pretty delicious
too. It was definitely the best way to
end our first night in Nagano.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tiko</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-34842501362958374552015-06-07T19:09:00.001-07:002015-06-07T19:09:41.802-07:00Beautiful Roses at Hitachi Seaside Park<div class="MsoNormal">
Yesterday (June 7), I went to <a href="http://en.hitachikaihin.jp/">Hitachi Seaside Park</a>
in <st1:city w:st="on">Ibaraki</st1:city> with
my brother and one of my friends. My
brother said that he wanted to visit there while he is in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region>, so we
decided to go for the day. For flower
enthusiasts, I highly recommend going there! It makes for a lovely day trip. Even if you don’t like flowers, there is also
an amusement park with a Ferris wheel as well as a large open space to play
sports. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5TvMFdExOmhwNV35bI544gMV2FdIN99rOj7M1URE5C8xMplKzO8MVSnYc-1Mb_4pX9BlI9F8cmMc4US0gTSiAvxihtXWXYpKn_Au8qILtn-X-E6miOcSdyo8bsUUivtgqchYxbOOa0A/s1600/P_20150607_130844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5TvMFdExOmhwNV35bI544gMV2FdIN99rOj7M1URE5C8xMplKzO8MVSnYc-1Mb_4pX9BlI9F8cmMc4US0gTSiAvxihtXWXYpKn_Au8qILtn-X-E6miOcSdyo8bsUUivtgqchYxbOOa0A/s320/P_20150607_130844.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ferris Wheel and Poppies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We left around 10:30 am and arrived there around 12:30 in
the afternoon. I had driven my car, so
we had to pay 510 yen to park my car at their parking lot. There are three parking lots (West, South, and
<st1:city w:st="on">Seaside</st1:city>) and
the price is the same for all three of them. We parked at the Seaside Parking lot, which is
furthest away from the rose garden, but we were able to find a parking space
pretty easily. We could also see the
coast as well which was very nice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6f_c9XYluf2LQlmxS-XEnL1WJUBEQEfF4YwzVI_hKUs76vzCOHNGSdCbIztwhy12mx3Gfv7o3o9F3KsELCYi2JgtGD_mzN7Y2fw9kLsPW4iZ7CJaOwBgPhLOWKVAP6w-zwL91_bzWes/s1600/P_20150607_142747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6f_c9XYluf2LQlmxS-XEnL1WJUBEQEfF4YwzVI_hKUs76vzCOHNGSdCbIztwhy12mx3Gfv7o3o9F3KsELCYi2JgtGD_mzN7Y2fw9kLsPW4iZ7CJaOwBgPhLOWKVAP6w-zwL91_bzWes/s320/P_20150607_142747.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the coast from top of the hill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
About once a month, they have a free admission day, so we
were very lucky that it happened to be on the day that we went. Admission is 410 yen for adults, 80 yen for
children, and 210 yen for seniors. Unfortunately
I couldn’t find information about the free admission days on their English
website, so please check their <a href="http://hitachikaihin.jp/guide/schedule.html">Japanese website</a> for more information!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Roses are currently in bloom, so we could see many beautiful
roses. We could also see some poppies too
when we first entered the park. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The park is very big, so if there are lots of things that
you want to see but if you don’t feel like walking around the entire park there are
some convenient modes of transportation. Bicycles can be rented there at 500 yen for
the day, or 400 yen for three hours (it’s an extra 50 yen for every 30 minutes
after the three hours). (For children it’s 300 yen for the day, 250 yen for
three hours + 20 yen for every 30 minutes after) [As written on their <a href="http://hitachikaihin.jp/spot-guide/cycling.html">Japanese website</a>]. They have many kinds of
bicycles that can be rented, including tandem bicycles. If you decide to rent a tandem bicycle you and
your partner will both have to pay to use the bike. There is also a cute train that goes through
the park as well that one can ride for 500 yen for the whole day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The flowers change every season, so please check their
<a href="http://en.hitachikaihin.jp/flower-calendar.html">website</a> to find out which flowers are blooming! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tiko</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-23868109836697668072015-04-19T06:49:00.000-07:002015-06-07T23:48:08.711-07:00Strawberry Picking in Tonosho<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Spring is one of the most beautiful seasons in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region>. After waking up to cold and dreary winter
weather that never seems to end, the sun eventually comes out. A few weeks later, cherry blossoms start to
bloom all throughout <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region>.
It is truly a beautiful sight.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_UMjHDMjjtxnxM8H7s6j4oe4iVFDVwRTqX_RLBEW0pLhD-0fkpMYonImmHy9HEr6TacrdE7UDctGM106uV4V13IM6JeMNNwV9IxWxGX0YX5Wi1Dvm1C3zmRxoR5pHWR65Ep7GaU_UOw/s1600/P_20150329_164538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_UMjHDMjjtxnxM8H7s6j4oe4iVFDVwRTqX_RLBEW0pLhD-0fkpMYonImmHy9HEr6TacrdE7UDctGM106uV4V13IM6JeMNNwV9IxWxGX0YX5Wi1Dvm1C3zmRxoR5pHWR65Ep7GaU_UOw/s320/P_20150329_164538.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherry Blossoms at Nagasaki Peace Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
And while cherry blossoms are the most common association
with spring, I always associate strawberry season with spring. Bright red and sweet, they are a welcome sight
after a gray winter. Strawberries are
not only sold at supermarkets, but there are also farms where one can go and
eat strawberries right off the vine. All-you-can-eat
strawberries, or <span lang="JA" style="font-family: 'MS 明朝';">いちご狩り</span>(ichigo-gari), is a common activity among people living
in my area.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
The most famous area for strawberry picking in my area is
Tonosho. I had heard that not only are
their strawberries sweet, but they can be as big as one’s palm. A fellow ALT on the JET Program invited ALTs
to go to one of the most famous farms in Tonosho for strawberry picking, so how
could I say no! A group of 12
foreigners, myself included, made our way to Sasagawa Station in Tonosho
yesterday morning.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YQ2KNSb13izs8ZVeST8bmCQJLm4MowteDbx5ED1R6qH0BB2xilB3xlOgox-jemYRLRZsWtHffy8_3KH1ZP1A1pNwbhyTFV0_DyGkV8xBMygnYw6zutZZZxHvRphuiPbriuV1OfmMNLo/s1600/P_20150418_095208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YQ2KNSb13izs8ZVeST8bmCQJLm4MowteDbx5ED1R6qH0BB2xilB3xlOgox-jemYRLRZsWtHffy8_3KH1ZP1A1pNwbhyTFV0_DyGkV8xBMygnYw6zutZZZxHvRphuiPbriuV1OfmMNLo/s320/P_20150418_095208.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside of Sasagawa Station, Tonosho</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
After getting off the train, our friend led us through
the small town towards the strawberry farm. The Japanese people living there were clearly
surprised to see such a large group of foreigners in their town, but they were
very friendly to us. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
After walking for about 20 minutes through busy roads and
rice fields, we finally arrived at <a href="http://isoyama1583.com/itigo.html">Isoyama Strawberry Farm</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXa6f1Q5FXdL8IYAgja9Em1AT7vKEtCPi-lIhnaqxItEnmi91Ef7n8xLSBuY5OFf5B0uk3Nc0zkcj8p2fN0BDTyu86s8e-hd0wXVkBHYGsQgDbkfstoFq_cdA90YCcZ2Y5iabCsA3MXA/s1600/P_20150418_101556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXa6f1Q5FXdL8IYAgja9Em1AT7vKEtCPi-lIhnaqxItEnmi91Ef7n8xLSBuY5OFf5B0uk3Nc0zkcj8p2fN0BDTyu86s8e-hd0wXVkBHYGsQgDbkfstoFq_cdA90YCcZ2Y5iabCsA3MXA/s320/P_20150418_101556.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isoyama Strawberry Farm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
I don’t know if it was because we were such a big group,
or if it was because the workers there knew our friend, but instead of paying
the original 1,150 yen for 30 minutes of all-you-can-eat strawberries, we only
had to pay 1,050 yen! Only 100 yen, but
every little bit helps. After we paid,
everyone received a blue tray with condensed milk (free, but if you want to get
chocolate sauce instead, it’s an extra fee of 50 yen).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Then we were lead to the greenhouse by one of the
workers. As we were walking through the
maze of greenhouses, the sweet aroma of strawberries was making my mouth water.
I was ready to get my hands on these
famous strawberries! Once we arrived at
the greenhouse, the man in charge explained to us in Japanese that we could eat
any of the strawberries in the greenhouse, but that the best strawberries were
the ones that were completely red, all the way to the stem. He also said that the bigger strawberries were
in the back of the greenhouse. With
that, it was time to start eating!<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt97_8HvehBcSugJs0vUhx5JphsMxeHiT_ZnOIqlNxkoixaPp7ZsxQpCN0bxogA3NgRQDZB0w_YoaVcmXWnCmNAC8yVU6aFm0FsLko-k5Iz-gJPtog9lHhr4xSVn6ULLsPa0o6a74NWS4/s1600/P_20150418_102310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt97_8HvehBcSugJs0vUhx5JphsMxeHiT_ZnOIqlNxkoixaPp7ZsxQpCN0bxogA3NgRQDZB0w_YoaVcmXWnCmNAC8yVU6aFm0FsLko-k5Iz-gJPtog9lHhr4xSVn6ULLsPa0o6a74NWS4/s320/P_20150418_102310.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberry Picking</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh7VDhfHYIl2f5v3VUKFzD3lcBPZxJw_c7UlH8XjF3zRuPufoDPTsQHgCouZzWIB6QDK_mo-zxQy6pg2NhJrf3eDkmJNeeog1WpDx8Hz1RMFq1sIB0NGAT2bf5lhNeNuUz8duo7E3wlCU/s1600/P_20150418_105025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh7VDhfHYIl2f5v3VUKFzD3lcBPZxJw_c7UlH8XjF3zRuPufoDPTsQHgCouZzWIB6QDK_mo-zxQy6pg2NhJrf3eDkmJNeeog1WpDx8Hz1RMFq1sIB0NGAT2bf5lhNeNuUz8duo7E3wlCU/s320/P_20150418_105025.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the greenhouse</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilcazoq13q3l-lW0YrAnNyRvRcmahxhoxy7gXZOqRvpivAx06P51lOH_DUMPv9kbFsxs5XlCONzdvpyAzY5Ule_Ko3b6RBv9S0-bbO_FEwRVORti6ndwqaf7IJnq79zQtERA2HgclMYZk/s1600/P_20150418_102533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilcazoq13q3l-lW0YrAnNyRvRcmahxhoxy7gXZOqRvpivAx06P51lOH_DUMPv9kbFsxs5XlCONzdvpyAzY5Ule_Ko3b6RBv9S0-bbO_FEwRVORti6ndwqaf7IJnq79zQtERA2HgclMYZk/s320/P_20150418_102533.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberry that is as long as my fingers (Sorry for the terrible quality, I was a little too excited)</td></tr>
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After we finished eating, we threw away the stems and put
the trays in a pile. I ate the most
strawberries out of everyone (78, but my record in 109). The workers also offered to give us a free
ride back to the station in a bus! I was
very surprised that they had that kind of service. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Some things that I would like to mention to anyone who is
interested in going here in the future to do strawberry picking:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Look carefully at the strawberries before you pick
them. Some of the strawberries I picked
were covered in mold.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Although some of the strawberries were big, many of them
were normal-sized or small. All of them
were sweet thought, so don’t let that dissuade you from trying them!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->When the strawberry season starts in January, the price
is 1,700 yen for adults. However, the
later you go the cheaper it becomes. Because
of that, the size of strawberries/ amount that are growing also decreases. I would try to go in March, since the size is
probably bigger than in April, and it’s only 1,550 yen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Because <a href="http://isoyama1583.com/itigo.html">Isoyama Strawberry Farm </a>is quite famous, many
people come here from all over <st1:city w:st="on">Chiba</st1:city>/ <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region>. The best time to go would be in the morning,
before big groups come in the afternoon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Tiko</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1847497020689496830.post-63088888217617691802015-04-19T06:45:00.000-07:002015-06-23T05:40:09.773-07:00Welcome! ようこそ!<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">
Welcome to my attempt at documenting all the superawesomeamazingwonderfulenlighteningdidImentionawesome things that I do when I decide to leave my house.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">
Are you interested in Japan, particularly traveling? Well, I can't say that you've come to the right blog, but feel free to join in my adventures and maybe learn a little about an amazing country.</div>
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Let the traveling begin, but never end.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349252090058131282noreply@blogger.com0