Home, but still posting

Hi all,
While traveling in Shuzenji, a little onsen (hot springs) town, I didn't even open my computer - yeah! And haven't had the chance until now to post more photos. We made it back home on the 21st, and after resting up, I'm finally getting to some of the best stories and photos...before I forget!













Steve and I went out to dinner on one of our last nights in Tokyo with some of the ladies I worked with at Synchronicity Japan. We celebrated Steve's birthday (the 13th) even though it was actually Valentine's Day. Poor guy, had to go out with 5 women - sure got some looks from the other men!

When we came out into the street after dinner, it was snowing! What you see here is a mass exodus of people, scurrying for the subway. There were no taxis or buses, and it was quite a scene.







The next day, we had a nice outing day with my interpreter friend, Yu, who took us to the Meiji Emperor's Shrine and gardens. It was fabulous to be in such a large natural setting, right in the middle of the city, and it was particularly pretty just after the snow.

We even had the opportunity to witness a traditional formal Japanese wedding procession, moving through the center of the temple.


The next day, we traveled by train to a little village 3 hours southeast of Tokyo. That's about how far you have to travel to leave the mass of urban skyscrapers. Beautiful scenery, though still cold, with a river running through a rather steep valley. There are natural springs popping up all over the area, including many hot springs. This picture shows the famous one in the middle of the river - the story is that a monk hit the rock with his staff, and healing water came out. Though it looked inviting for a midnight skinny dip, we stuck to the springs at our hotel.

Our hotel had a spring inside of a cave, which had been expanded by one man with a determination to create such a thing. It took him over a year, with a power rock drill, all by himself. Some people just can't relax after they retire, and we appreciate his efforts!

We really needed some relaxation, since the Tokyo was such high stimulation. It seemed that everything we set out to do in Japan took extra effort. Without being able to read or converse, just the simple task of finding a restaurant that you can order from is quite a task! We did muddle through with smiles, bows, and a few gracious Japanese terms of respect! Also, carried my trusty little Japanese translation book, which was rather primitive, but essential.

Here's Steve in our Japanese style room. We got to choose between sleeping on very thin futons on this tatami floor, or sleeping separately in the single western beds. Guess they watched too much Ozzie & Harriet in the 50's, as singles seem to be the hotel standard!








We had a beautiful Zen sand garden out our window with a view of the surrounding mountains.







For the two days that we were there, we wandered around the town and terraced gardens, visited the temple, strolled through bamboo groves, poked around in shops (Steve got to play with some old Samurai swords), ate at teeny local spots, soaked in the cave, and I took a whole lot of photos.

Here's a few...


































































I'll post one more time after this, to show the sights of our last day in Narita town.


Love to all,
Daeryl