I recently went to Japan for a week to visit Rika's family. Rika was there for three weeks, but I couldn't take that kind of time given the busy work schedule right now. We don't do a lot of touristy stuff anymore when we go to Japan, so nine days kind of works, but I'd prefer to stay a little longer. It felt like we returned just after getting adjusted, and with only one week, every night gets booked and the trip becomes a whirlwind.
Below I've written a "Top 10" list of my favorite experiences on this trip. You can also see the photo album I put up (also linked to the right).
10. Daria-en (Dahlia Park)
We went to "Daria-en" with Rika's mom and grandma. Dahlia Park is in a neighboring town called Kawanishi. I used to teach at Okino High School in Kawanishi, which is very close to the Park, but I never saw it while I lived there. So I actually did do one touristy thing.
The park is just acres and acres of dahlias. Huge bloomin' dahlias. Not knowing what a dahlia looked like, I was a bit surprised at how big they are and how many varieties of colors and shapes they come in. They aren't quite orchids for sheer wow factor, but they are impressive nonetheless. It costs about $5 to get in, but if you buy the "Park & Onsen Combo", you can do both for $6.50. We did that. Nothin like a day of western flowers and eastern bathing.
9. Morning jogs
I always try to go for at least a few jogs in Japan, but this year
there was a twist. Rika was jogging with me. We chose to run up into
the mountains toward the campground, which I found out is actually
owned by Rika's family (who knew?). Rika's family was a bit iffy about
us running out there, for two reasons. The first, and saddest, is that
someone committed suicide there the week before I got there. Nobody
really wanted to be up there as a result, which is a real shame because
we normally might have had a barbecue there.
The other reason is that there are bears. Before we start, Rika's
mom is careful to remind us to watch out for bears. Rika decided it
was better to be safe than sorry, and sang while she ran, some kids'
song about meeting a bear. It is sung in rounds to the tune of Down by
the Bay, and goes something like this:
Aru hi (One day)
Mori no naka (Out in the woods)
Kumasan ni (Into a bear)
Deatta (I did run)
Hanasaku mori no michi (Out on a road in the blossoming woods)
Kumasan ni deatta (Into a bear I did run)
She sang this to make sure the bears knew to stay away. I argued
that Japanese bears were small and wussy and that they were nothing to
worry about. Apparently word got out, though, because on the news one
night a bear went into a bus terminal and messed up 9 people. Don't
diss Japanese bears.
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