It is spring here in Akashi and I love it! For the past couple weeks it has been in the mid 50's and sunny most days. Luckily the massively high humidity hasn't kicked in yet so it is enjoyable to be outside. Sorry that you still have a lot of snow in Minnesota! I have a feeling that a Minnesota winter will seem especially harsh next winter after I've been away for a year.
I can't believe that we're coming home in 2 months! Yes, that's right folks, we'll be back home in MN in the beginning of June. We've got lots of stuff planned for the remainder of our time here:
We'll be making a final (sad!) trip up to Omihachiman to visit Joe & Tiff next week. On the docket is a Hanami party under the Sakura (cherry blossoms) in Hikone. Hanami parties are very common in Japan once the cherry trees are in full bloom. Basically you sit under the trees with friends and drink sake. Also we'll be taking a boat trip on Lake Biwa, visiting an Onsen (Japanese public bath - extremely popular here) then up to Nagahama for some Shiga pottery shopping and finally drinks and dinner at the micro brewery there. Phew! Lots of fun stuff crammed into one weekend!
Then a couple weeks later we'll be heading up to Tokyo to visit my friend Beth and her husband Shawn. Beth is a friend of mine from Target where we worked on the same team. She and her husband moved to Tokyo last summer too. I'm excited to see all that is Tokyo! My students tell me that Japanese culture in Tokyo is different than down here in Kansai and that the accent is different. We'll see if I can tell or if any Tokyo-ans can understand my Japanese.
We're hoping to cram in a trip down to Hiroshima and Miyajima as well. Plus we'll be hosting Joe & Tiff for one last trip for them down to Akashi. This will include either a Hanshin Tigers or Kobe Orix Buffalos baseball game, some yakiniku and going out in Kobe.
Wow, we will be busy!
Yesterday I went to Kyoto to get some presents. Kyoto has the best Japanese gifts so I made the trek up there myself to pick stuff up. The cherry blossoms are starting and so it was very crowded. I snapped a picture for you:
