Adventure Day

After all of my vacations this year, I had one day of paid vacation left over.  I debated when to take it….in June when there are no national holidays..?  Extend the one three day weekend in July to a four day weekend….?  Take off the very last day of my contract…..?  In the end I decided to attach it onto my birthday weekend.  After a weekend of festivities with the Kuma-gun farewell party, I thought that it would be nice to have some down time after a hectic weekend.

I wanted to go hiking in Ebino, but Ian said he wasn’t feeling up to it, so we compromised: Adventure Day!  We did something that I’ve always wanted to do and that was on my “bucket list” before leaving Japan….taking the Hitoyoshi looped bridge to Ebino.  It’s basically taking the old road to Ebino, and it’s a gorgeous drive.  The day we had made it even better because the sky above was an amazing blue with white puffy clouds above and down below were the constant rolling green mountains.  There were a few times when we had to pull over along the side of the road and take pictures because it was just too beautiful. 

 

It didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would to get to Ebino.  Dare I say that it took the same amount of time that it would have had we taken the tolled IC….?  Once we got to Ebino, neither one of us really had any plans, so we just turned around and came back to Hitoyoshi.  I know it seems like a wasted drive, but I absolutely love mountain drives, and I have to soak up as much mountain lovin’ as I can before heading back to flat Kentucky. 

By the time we got back to Hitoyoshi, it was past lunch, so we stopped at Nishimuta for a bento.  Low and behold, I saw what I’ve wanted to get a picture of for the past two years…..the Kuma-gun BATMOBILE!!!  I have seen this car numerous times and wanted to get a picture of it, but I could never get my camera out quick enough because we were driving.  I have no idea who owns this car or why they created a Batmobile out of their van, but I love them for it!!

We took our lunch to the riverside park in Hitoyoshi and spent the afternoon in/beside the river.  That was another “bucket list” item of mine…..to spend an afternoon relaxing and picnicking by the river.  Since it was such a beautiful day, Ian decided it would be a great time to take pictures.  We waded through the foot deep water to a sand bar and left our stuff there.  Then we walked out as far as we could…..which actually wasn’t very far because the dang current was too strong!!  Both of us sat in the middle of the Kumagawa on rocks and admired exactly what we were doing….enjoying an afternoon in the middle of the river in Japan.  This led into an epic discussion of our time in Japan coming to a close, the next step for us, when we wanted to start have kids, where we thought we’d be in ten years, etc.  What a beautiful day and surroundings for such a heavy discussion!

 

One thing that I want to get before we leave is a Kumamon bumper sticker to put on my car at home.  Therefore, once we finished our river play time, we went to the Hitoyoshi Craft Park to see if the gift shop would have any.  It didn’t, but Ian and I wandered around the park for a bit taking pictures before leaving.  On our way back into town, we pulled over to investigate a coffee shop that we had never been to and heard was great.  It’s right off the 219 and serves fresh roasted coffee.  While I don’t enjoy coffee, I do enjoy the coffee shop feel, so I agreed that we should go.  It was such a cute little bohemian shop!  There were all kinds of trinkets and gifts to buy in there and was just a cool place in general!  The clerk gave us both samples of iced coffee to try.  I didn’t want to be rude, so after Ian had finished his coffee, I switched the glasses when the clerk wasn’t looking.

As we were walking along the sidewalk back to our car, a convoy of Japan’s SDF (Self Defense Force) rolled by.  One of the guys in a Humvee smiled and waved excitedly at us.  Ian didn’t see the guy, so when he looked up and saw me beaming and waving at a mysterious man in uniform, he asked what I was doing.  I told him that the guy waved first, and he said, “Riiiiiiiiiight.”  He thought that I was being a flirt!  As if flirting in gym clothes, tennis shoes, and with sweaty hair is a turn-on………

After that, we drove to Mollee’s house on the other side of Hitoyoshi to surprise her and tell her to come out and play with us.  She did, so we went to Aoiaso Shrine in Hitoyoshi to get some pictures.  We’ve lived here for two years and driven by that place multiple times, yet neither of us have taken pictures of it.  I especially wanted pictures of the entrance.  A red bridge crosses a pond covered with lily pads.  The deep green of the lily pads mixed with the bright red and the clear blue sky is an amazing combination.  It’s a shame that we haven’t been there before!  Mollee, Ian, and I stood on the bridge for a while gazing out over the pond and reflecting on our time here.  It seems so weird that all of this is coming to a close!  Gack!

  

We wrapped up our day with dinner in Hitoyoshi.  Another item on my list was to go to our favorite restaurant, Everest, one more time.  We invited everyone, but only the three of us plus Melissa, David, and Lucas could make it.  We stayed there for a long time enjoying one another’s company and talking.  Yet all good things must come to a close, so as the night wrapped up, Ian and I headed home.  Shortly after we left the city lights of Hitoyoshi, I leaned forward to the dashboard and admired the bounty of stars.  Ian even commented on it and pulled over so that we could star gaze.  Together we sat on the hood of our car watching shooting stars and trying to pick out constellations.  It was late by the time we got home, but I didn’t regret it.  What a wonderful day of adventure!