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Wednesday, 13 January 2010




  • Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved
    (Romans 10:13)

    「主の御名を呼び求める者は、だれでも救われる」のです。

    ローマへの手紙　１０章１３節


Tuesday, 12 January 2010

  • Adults Day

    Yesterday was a national holiday called Coming of Age Day. Every year on this particular day, anyone who turns 20yrs old that year celebrates becoming an adult. They attend special ceremonies in their city and the girls wear really fancy, beautiful kimonos. Here are a few of the pictures we took of girls in their kimonos; notice the variety of designs and colors of each kimono!













Thursday, 07 January 2010

  • Daytrip to Kochi-ken


    On my last day with Shoko and Nori's family we drove about 4hrs down to Kochi, a prefecture on the island of Shikoku. The weather was really pretty that day, allowing us to have a lot of fun with the camera. We got to Kochi around noon-thirty, ate sushi for lunch, and then went to Kochi castle.












    View from the observation balcony of the castle




    Shoko and her mom decided to wait outside while Nori, her dad, and brother, and I toured the inside of the castle.


    Noriko taking a picture of the two of them sitting outside while we were at the top of the castle


    Always finding something funny to do in pictures




    Just outside the grounds of the castle





     
    I noticed a store with my mom's name on it during our walk through the city


    And thought I'd give a reference for how small some of the cars are here


    Drive to Katsurahama beach


    Hoping to get a few pictures together before sunset


    Love this picture of these beautiful sisters




    Smile!




    Pacific Ocean




    Trademark jumping pictures




    Tried to get a picture of their mom and dad walking together on the beach...a little blurry but still thought it was a cute one of them. After going to the beach we went to a local onsen for a little while, before eating dinner, and then driving home. It was a really long day of driving for their dad, though he seemed ok with it. Actually reminds me of my dad who thinks nothing of driving all day. =)

Wednesday, 06 January 2010


  •
    I felt very loved this year on my birthday, as I received some very nice cards, emails, and messages on facebook from family and friends. I also got to continue spending time with Noriko and Shoko's family for New Year's. We went to their mom's sister's house for the evening and had so much fun, especially playing with their cousin's kids.






    Hina-chan isn't sure who to look at in this picture =)




    I think Raiki is practicing how to braid and style hair so that he can help Hina-chan when she gets a little older.


    Both grandmas, enjoying some time together (and away from the rowdy children)!


    Noriko and Shoko's brother tickling Raiki


    Showing how strong he is, holding three squirmy kids


    Nice picture of Shoko and her mom


    Noriko looking interested in the boys' DS game


    You may remember Tomoko-san and her husband Kazu-kun from the homestay pictures I posted back in October. It was really nice to see them and their kids again!


    At the end of the evening, everyone surprised me with a birthday cake and cards the kids had made! Before they finished singing "Happy Birthday" the kids blew out the candles. So one of the adults re-lit the candles and everyone started over with the song, but again, the kids blew out the candles.


    This is a standard Japanese birthday cake: it's a very light, white chiffon cake with whipped cream icing and fresh fruit. The cakes are a little less sweet than those we're accustomed too in the States; even so, they're really tasty!


    On top of the cake there's a white chocolate square that said Happy Birthday in Japanese.


    Group pictures with this crew are always crazy! =)


    We all made into one final picture...grandmas, aunts, uncle, cousins and their families

     

  • New Year's

      The New Year's holiday in Japan is observed from the 1st-3rd (rather than just the 1st in the US) and generally centers around lots of special foods and time with family. This year I got to spend the holiday with my friends, Noriko and Shoko, and their family and extended family.


    Here's the amazing variety of food their mom made; we ate it over the course of several meals!!


    Black beans, prepared to have a certain taste, are staples at the New Year 


    Shoko and me


    Their dad's brother (and his family) and his mom came over for dinner to celebrate with us on the 1st. We had a blast playing with their little cousin before and after dinner. He's got so much energy and is very bright for his age, but you can see from this photo that he's also pretty shy about getting his picture taken. I had to be pretty sneaky about getting pictures of him.






    I think he finally warmed up to the idea of taking some pictures =)


    I don't know where their mom gets the energy to spend so much time in the kitchen, but she put together a great dinner for all of us. Thank you!


    Here's the nabe she and their aunt prepared


    Like I said, there's lots of food involved in celebrating New Year's =) And we did a pretty good job eating much of it!

Monday, 04 January 2010

  • Bicycle adventure, day 3

    After a very long and tiring ride the day before, I pictured in my mind that our ride home on day 3 would be pretty relaxing and easy, especially considering there were no real climbs over the remaining 40km of the lake. However, I forgot to factor in recovery time! Though I slept fairly well my legs were VERY fatigued the next morning...definitely had a lot of lactic acid build-up. We also faced a stiffer headwind than we had had either of the two previous days. Thankfully, Akko-chan felt really strong and was nice enough to let me draft off of her back wheel much of the day. =) Made for a fun day of teamwork!
    One thing that took my mind off of the pain in my knees and muscles was the spectacular scenery, not just on this day but the entire ride.


    In the morning we stopped at a couple of different restaurants in neighboring small towns, thinking it would be to wise to put some fuel in our bodies for the day's ride. Unbeknownst to us, 8am was too early for most places to open for breakfast in that area. An additional factor we contended with was that many businesses in small towns close a few days before the all-important New Year's holiday. With no option but to keep riding, we finally stumbled upon a restaurant that was open...and it definitely seemed like God specifically led us there. We ended up getting to chat with the owner of the little restaurant the entire time we ate breakfast. We were amazed with how interested the older gentleman was in having a spiritual conversation with us, and even more thankful for the wonderful opportunity we had to witness to him and tell him about Jesus. What a great start to the day! 


    The clouds parted halfway through today's ride, allowing the temps to rise and keeping the rain away. Once again God answered our prayers for good riding weather and for physical and mental strength to complete the trip. He also protected us from flat tires and or getting lost. I want to thank you again for praying for us.


    When we reached Otsu (our final stop along Lake Biwa before riding back to Kyoto), we stopped by a shop to see one of Akko-chan's friend's who works there and then went next door to a mochi shop. It was fun to see them preparing the fresh mochi right there in front of us. We then ate some as a little snack before heading on our way.







    The last HUGE climb we had while approaching the Higashiyama district of Kyoto was actually the hardest part of the entire 300km trip (almost 190miles). My legs burned  badly, but since we were soooo close there's no way either of us was about to stop. Once we reached the top of that mountain we had an awesome decent, cruising with the cars on one of the main roads into the city. What a thrill! The picture above shows how tired I felt...but that was definitely overridden by the sense of accomplishment and joy of meeting our goal.


    I'm so glad we completed the ride with smiles on our faces...that was one of our priorities!


    After returning our bikes to the rental shop and changing into dry, comfortable clothes, we then ate lunch at a delicious tempura restaurant!


     

Saturday, 02 January 2010

  • Bicycle adventure, day 2


    Our second day started off bright and early, leaving at 7:30 and riding until 6pm at night, stopping about an hour for lunch. Believe it or not I think we covered 190km that day...the most I've ever ridden at one time. We were really pressed for time, knowing that we had to make it to Takashima in order to then make it back to Kyoto the following day.





    We stopped for a short rest near this rice field. The lake was on one side and the rice field was on the other.


    North side of the lake after making it to the top of one of the mountains! We were so relieved that the weather cleared by the time we got there, as most of the day we could see rain clouds ahead. We thought we'd either be getting wet or have to contend with snow on the mountains, but in fact, most of the snow on the roads had melted by the time we got there. God answered our prayers, by clearing the skies overhead and giving us pleasant weather all day; the wind didn't even seem to be a factor! The temps hovered between 5-8 degrees Celsius but while riding it didn't feel very cold.  Dressing in plenty of layers really helped.










    After we reached Takashima we pulled into a gas station to ask some of the workers if they knew of a nearby hotel that we could stay in that night. They went out of their way to call a hotel and help us make reservations. What a relief to walk into this inexpensive hotel and see such a nice room!


  • Bicycle adventure, day 1



    Earlier this week, Akko-chan and I embarked on a 3-day bicycle trip, riding 260km around Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan. We rented mountain bikes in Kyoto and rode from Kyoto to Otsu, then started our journey around the lake. Some sections of the ride, we were on bike paths, but at other times we were riding with the traffic on country roads or on more crowded city roads. We loved seeing God's awesome creation and meeting lots of nice people along the way. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience and feel so blessed to have the opportunity to join my friend Akko-chan on a memorable trip.


    Some sections of the ride, we were on bike paths, but at other times we were riding with the traffic on country roads or on more crowded city roads. Here we stopped on our way from Kyoto to Otsu to get a picture with the sign telling us we'd just entered Shiga prefecture...meaning we were getting closer to Lake Biwa. This was near the very beginning of our trip, when we felt really energetic and full of adrenaline. =)


    Otsu is near the southern part of Lake Biwa, and since we had some extra time we rode for a while along the river that flows South...was very pretty and a totally different type of scenery from the rest of our trip.

    Akko-chan


    Stopped for lunch at a local restaurant and had a nice lunch set: osekihan (rice with black beans), white miso soup, cucumbers, hot tea


    Nice view of Lake Biwa from the southwest side looking towards Biwako Bridge


    We stopped often to check our maps and make sure we were going in the right direction. I was also really thankful for my iPhone on this trip, as the GPS was invaluable in some tricky sections.


    Not quite sunset yet...getting there.




    We stayed with some of Akko-chan's friends in Kusatsu on the first night; they made a delicious feast and were so kind to us! What a joy to stay with this Christian family during our trip and to pray with them before we started out on our trip the next day.


    Grilling shisamo (sardines--not at all the same taste as those you'd get in a can...fresh ones are so good), chicken, mochi, and potatoes on the hibachi grill




    I really liked their dining table...it's low to the ground so everyone sits on the floor. And it also has a heating element on the underside so our feet stay warm. These kind of tables (called kotatsu table) are commonly used by Japanese in the winter. I thought theirs had a really unique look to it.
     
    So by the end of day 1 we figured that we rode about 60km. We had a LONG day ahead of us the next day, but thankfully we went into it well-fed, well-rested, and surrounded by many prayers! God was with us all along the way, that we saw evidence of!

    Stay tuned for days 2 and 3...

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