Summer Getaways

In June, I went to Tochigi, a neighboring prefecture, to visit some members of my soccer team. They took me to the Ajisai Matsuri which is a flower festival on a nearby mountain. Every color of the rainbow was represented in the flowers and the grueling hike to the summit was rewarded with a panoramic of the city. Afterwards, I had my first ever onsen (hot springs) experience and it was amazing!




The following weekend I went to Minakami with some coworkers. Minakami is a little slice of mountainly heaven that reminds me of Boone located in the northern part of the prefecture. We had lunch by the river before an afternoon of rafting. The rapids were probably only a class 2 or maybe 3 and they made everyone wear a wet suit even though it wasn't cold, but it was still a fun time. There were parts where we got to swim, jump off rocks (of course I choose the highest jump), and slide down the raft like a water slide.

In July, I went to Tochigi again. This time for a widely fun time at a rooftop beach theme party. It was nomihodai--- all you can drink and I certainly took advantage of that. The party included a hula hoop and limbo contest, and beach balls were being batted around the dance floor. The night ended with my first karaoke experience in Japan and I drunkenly sang (if you can call it that) "It's my life".


I was reminded the next day that the amount of hours it takes you to recover from a night of drinking is directly related to your age (and I'm not getting any younger). After a day of lounging about and being hung over, the girls I went to downtown Mibu to enjoy the local festival there. There were drummers being pulled on floats who battled other drummers on floats. There were also many food stands and games you could play. It was pretty cool until the spontaneous downpour and thunder! An hour train ride home soaking wet wasn't the most pleasant experience I've ever had.

I spent another weekend in Tochigi in the beginning of August to say goodbye to some friends who were leaving Japan. First was Rachel's send off. Karaoke, drinks, and dinner. The next day it was time to say goodbye to Dan, my Kiwi friend who moved to London. I met him in Utsunomiya for the big festival there. It was by far the best one I went to this season. As an expat, I feel like you are always saying goodbye.

Back in good old Isesaki, I recently went to the local festival here. The festival itself was rather unexciting, but I got to meet some cool new arrivals. I've since joined them for conveyor belt sushi---so delicious and so cheap!




People always come out of hibernation in the summer and I've made a lot of friends recently. I went to a BBQ back in July where I met a lot of people from my prefecture and have since met up with them. Last Friday, I joined a few for drinks and dinner, and thoroughly enjoyed our slightly intoxicated argument about who would win in a fight, Gandalf or Dumbledore? I'd put my money on Dumbledore any day.

In September, I ventured up to Minakami again. This time to meet up with a lot of other expats for a weekend of outdoor activities. I started my Saturday by going canyoning. We slid down waterfalls (including a 20 meter one), jumped off rocks, and swam down the river. It wasn't terribly intense, but it was a terribly good time. That night there was a BBQ, all you can drink, and a party at the lodge. It was all-round fun weekend.