Nagano

I love Japan! I'm having a lovely time. Tonya and I met in the airport and took a bus to where they live: Takato, in the Nagano prefecture. Their apartment is very cute, and the area just gorgeous. Its in the "Southern Japanese Alps", so there are mountains all around, and a lot of agriculture, mainly fields of rice patties. Yesterday, Tonya went off to work and Brett and I went to explore. He took me to the top of one of the surrounding mountains to see the view. Then we went to a Buddhist temple. I got to ring the gong, it was pretty fun. The temples in this area are interesting, they're just tucked into the forest, one with nature. How zen. Then we had coffee at a shop owned by one of Brett's students, then came home. At 2:00 Brett had to go to work, so then I belonged to Tonya. They had a brief spat over making sure we were back by 8:30 pm, because Tonya got to hang out with me all week, but Brett only gets two days. I love being fought over!! I feel so loved.

Today we're going to a little boy's first birthday party. Its the child of one of Brett and Tonya's close friends. Its going to be a very traditional birthday celebration. The first-year birthday is a big deal, apparently. Should be fun! Tonight, after the party, Tonya and I are getting on a overnight bus to Hiroshima. It will be the anniversary of the bombing. I think it will be an incredible experience.

Japan is so funny! One example: people have stickers, car rearview mirror adornments, everything of the marijuana leaf. But no one knows that its a marijuana leaf. They think its a maple leaf. We went to a store yesterday and there were shelves of pot-related merchandise, including "Herb in the Car" stickers, a pouch that clearly said "Marijuana" and lots of Rastafarian stuff. Its really bizarre! Can you imagine decorating your car with this stuff in the U.S.? It would be like a "Please, please pull me over and search my car, Mr. Policeman" sign.

The food is lovely. Lots of noodles and tofu...I haven't had actual sushi yet, because there will be a ton of it at the party. And I have nearly a week for that. I'm having a great time! This is the perfect ending to my trip.