Action-packed weekender

This weekend just gone had an odd air of laziness attached to it, despite the fact I was really active.

On Friday night we (Iida block JETs) headed out for a wonderful Thai meal in Iida. We then congregated for a movie/sleepover combo, followed by a beautiful onsen in the mountains on Saturday morning. We drove up into the minami alps to a small village called Oshika. The sky was bright, the sun was warm, and although spring isn't quite here yet it certainly felt like it that day. We passed small (but pretty) waterfalls, a dam (which I had no idea was there) and through several mountain tunnels to reach a really small onsen that was aside from us, completely deserted. The attendant seemed genuinely happy to see us - although whether that was because a group of foreigners knew about the place, or because he hadn't seen another human face in weeks, is beyond my guess.



The onsen itself was on the side of a mountain, and so while we soaked in the hot water we were able to view the lovely mountains yonder. I should imagine it's insanely beautiful during spring and summer, at which times I fully intend on revisiting.



After soaking our troubles away we headed back to the village to take some pictures of a pretty shrine that seemed randomly placed next to the road, then on to my village to pick strawberries in one of the many huge greenhouses that pepper my village, which is known locally for it's divine strawberry production. I'm sure the photos here speak for themselves.






We then headed to a park for a play on the childrens climbing frames, slides, etc and a wander around the grounds. Then we headed out for food before congregating for another movie/sleepover.




On Sunday we had a lazy morning, watched the Fifth Element (awesome movie!) and had fresh waffles with maple syrup. We headed to a rather lovely ramen place for lunch, then spent the afternoon taking a lovely walk around the village just north of mine where Bryce lives. The day was finished with an amazing meal at Aruru in Matsukawa.








On rereading this entry it would appear I spend alot of time eating, so just to clear that up, here's a picture of my desk drawer at work... (!)

Silver Week

This week has been Silver Week in Japan, and although I didn't travel in Japan like a lot of people do, I still managed to pack in some excellent stuff - it's not really possible to have an unfulfilling day here, unless you have your eyes and ears shut!



On Sunday afternoon I headed out towards the Southern Japanese Alps that stretch along the east border of my village to find a lake I'd seen on a map. I discovered the lake was part of a campsite/country park, and as such it was populated by campers and fisherman. It was so relaxing to just sit by the water and listen to the sploshing of the lone canoeist paddling around. The setting sun gave the trees a striped appearance, although my camera couldn't really pick the trees out with the strong sun bearing down.

Matsukawa dam





On Wednesday, after stuffing ourselves with Japanese curry, Marion and I headed up through her town to take a wander around the dam there. After a short drive we came out into a big valley blanketed by trees and dominated by the fairly large dam. We stopped for some pics and to take in the beauty of our surroundings.





We headed further up the mountain and after rounding a corner suddenly spotted a prehistoric beast lurching its way across the road. We got out and approached it...





... it was a huge mountain toad! The light rain had obviously brought it out of the undergrowth, but it didn't mind posing for a few pics before it crawled away. Toads in the UK are big, but not like this. It was quite the experience.

On the way down we stopped briefly at the shrine at the base of the mountain, before heading to the onsen at Matsukawa. Bliss!