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... (!)

Sushi firsts

Last night we sampled Shimojo village - a nice, long soak in the onsen overlooking the valley and mountains, then to a rather exquisite sushi restaurant, tucked away from the main road.

We sat ourselves down at the bar, ordered, and watched the chef do his thing. He later told us from all the different places the various sushi came from, although my memory isn't good enough to remember.

Most will know I'm not a big fan of squid, so when the first piece was served I was a little upset to find my delicious bed of rice topped with the fattest and whitest chunk of squid I've ever seen on sushi. I reminded myself just how much this was costing me and down the hatch it went. I have to say though, it was quite nice, not unpleasant at all.

A first for me was salmon eggs. These small orange eggs burst in your mouth when you eat them - quite a sensation. I also tried flying fish eggs too. These are about 6mm in diameter and perhaps a dozen or so are sat on rice and wrapped in seaweed. Again different, but not unpleasant at all. When crunched they have a creamy sort of texture.

Sea urchin was an interesting one. If I had to try and describe how it looks I would say like a thick orange paste, pitted (not unlike an orange skin). The taste is also difficult to describe, as to label it just 'fishy' does it an injustice, but neverthless it does have a salty/sea twang to it.

All this washed down with the tastiest iced green tea, then hot green tea. The price is a little steep for Japan, but about what you'd pay for a lobster dish at a family restaurant in the UK. Well worth it, and we'll definately be going back.


Fat and content.