While the cat's away.......

Yuki and Clara are both in Tokyo at the moment and will return to Shimogo on Wednesday. As they are in Tokyo, I thought it would be a good idea to invite Alan (a friend from Scotland) and his girlfriend to Shimogo. It proved to be a busy 2 days.

On Friday at about 9.30pm, I drove to a station called Aizu Kogen to pick them up. While I was driving through the town of Tajima, I noticed that the small van in front of me had stopped on the train level crossing. Seconds later, a woman got out of the van and ran towards my car. She told me that she had just broken down! I can't think of a worse place to break down, apart from on Haifa Street in Baghdad.

I got out of my car and managed to push the van off the tracks - seconds later, along came a train. I was in the right place at the right time. If I hadn't have been there, the train would certainly have collided with the van. Exciting stuff!!

We got back to Shimogo at about 10pm and then headed to Wakatsuki for some food and drink. Alan and Akie seemed impressed with Wakatsuki and were surprised that such a place existed in Shimogo. We left Wakatsuki fairly late and this probably has something to do with our late start on Saturday.On Saturday, we drove to a town called Tadami for the snow festival. The drive took about 90 minutes but it was a good opportunity for Alan and Akie to see the real Japanese countryside. I think Tadami probably is the most charming town in the local area. I was expecting the festival to be really busy, and so was very surprised to see few people at this event. It was raining and I think that drove a lot of people away. Another bad point of the Tadami Snow Festival was the smell of cooked mutton - the smell was really strong and making us all feel nauseous.

After our brief visit to the Tadami Snow Festival, we drove to Yurari Onsen for a bath followed by lunch and a nap.

On Saturday night, we went to a newish place called Doronko in Shimogo for dinner and more beers. I would like to go to Doronko more often but it is too far from the area where I stay. The food at Doronko is excellent. Doronko is run by a young couple called Rie and Nozomi. New businesses run by young people are rare in rural Japan but are vitally important for the future survival of Japanese rural settlements. I wish them luck.

Alan and Akie planned to return to Tokyo at 2.30pm on Sunday. This allowed me to show them another snow festival in Ouchijuku (technically part of Shimogo) and also show them a place called Tonohetsuri with its interesting rock formations. They were really pleased to see Ouchijuku with its charming houses with straw roofs. After lunch in Ouchijuku, I drove Alan and Akie to Tajima so they could catch their train back to Tokyo. A good couple of days but I'm certainly pretty tired after the visit (and a lot poorer).
There has been quite a lot of snow over the past couple of days so I paid a brief visit to Daikura today (Monday) for a spot of skiing. It was really busy today as it's a national holiday (Foundation Day) in Japan.

Next week will see me visit 3 different elementary schools for the last time before we move to Tokyo. On Tuesday night I'll be busy cleaning the flat in advance of the return of Yuki and Clara. Bye for now.

Yakiniku and Onsen

We were lucky to have the Labor Day holiday in Japan on November 23rd. Yuki's parents and brother visited Shimogo for a few days, arriving on Thursday morning and leaving this morning at 9am (Sunday). I think they had a good time in what was probably their last visit to Shimogo before we move to Tokyo in late March.

On Thursday, we drove to Yurari onsen which is in a town called Tadami. I really love the onsen when the weather gets cold and I felt really refreshed after the bath - very good for your circulation. The water in Yurari onsen is a reddish colour because of the high level of iron in the water. After the bath, we relaxed in the lounge on zabuton (Japanese cushions) and played cards on the low tables. Because it was a holiday and I was not driving, I was also able to have a couple of Kirin beers. Lucky me.

Yuki's parents took us to a yakiniku restaurant on Friday evening in the next town called Tajima. Yakiniku is a Korean style BBQ of meat and vegetables, cooked over a charcoal or gas brazier. I really love eating yakiniku and so I was looking forward to the meal and a few beers. The beef was excellent and was made even better after dipping it in a spicy soy sauce mixed with chilli paste. Delicious!! On Friday, I was pretty tired after a busy week at work (despite the holiday on Thursday) and was looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the food at the yakiniku restaurant. Next week will also be busy with evening conversation classes (which I was volunteered for without anyone telling me!!), elementary school, and junior high school.

We didn't do much on Saturday. We drove to Kirara onsen for a bath and spent a lot of time in the lounge relaxing and dozing. Very pleasant. Our visits to the local onsens will become ever more frequent as the weather gets colder and the snows piles up. I am now mentally prepared for the oncoming winter assault.

Not long now until December and the end of year party season in Japan. With all the parties, snow, and skiing, I'll probably have a lot to blog about. Cheers.