Well, I'm never going to get caught up on my blogging unless I just start with little posts, so here goes: last week Bryan and Mondo visited. Bryan took about four days in Japan on the way to Shanghai on a business trip. Mondo hosted him for much of the time at his house in Chiba, and they stayed here one night. Wednesday evening we went to karaoke-that was a first for me, and an interesting cultural experience. For those that don't know, karaoke in the US many times is performed in front of strangers in a larger group, that is, in the common area of a restaurant. Here it's more common to rent a private room with your friends so you can just be silly together (well, I suppose some people don't do it to be silly, but WE sure did).
Thursday we went to Nikko, an amazingly beautiful place. We spent much of the time looking at nature, including two waterfalls and the lake. We had planned to visit the temple at the site, but by the time we got there, it was closed. Not TOO much of a disappointment, though, because you can still walk around on the grounds outside the main area and see some wonderful structures. And for those visiting me this summer and fall that want to go to Nikko, don't worry, I will still be MORE than happy to go with you; I think it's one of those places I could go to MANY times and never get tired of it (not to mention that there are many areas there that I still haven't seen).
Before we got up to Nikko, we stopped part way up. There's a sort of rest area and gift shop at the point where the funicular railway used to end. You can see it in my picture of the picture. Also at that point, you can ride a short tram up to a viewpoint that's maybe another kilometer higher on the mountain. We decided not to take the time to do it, but I'd like to with some future visitors-who's interested?After we got back from Nikko we went out to dinner before Bryan and Mondo headed back to Chiba (suburb of Tokyo). Yeah, it's a silly picture, but it's the only one I got . . .
Next up, the Tokyo trip.
