So this update is a bit late. You want a fight about it?
It was one day after the end of Junten’s sports day. I was tired, sunburned and incredibly confused about what I had just seen. Whatever we did today should not involve riding a train for more than an hour whilst trying to stop people from squashing a small chocolate cake. However, this is exactly what I did as I feel if I ever decide to become a ninja, they would really be impressed in the interviews when I told them I was excellent at defending desserts on public transportation. Or something.
Barney, an American teacher we work with at Junten, invited us to his house to meet his family and explore the local countryside, near the sea in Oiso. That’s right! Countryside! Beaches! I think this about the third time this year I’ve seen some real nature. When I get back to England the first thing I will do is scale a tree and eat leaves for a few days.
As you can see, the sun was one again beating down, although it wasn’t quite as bad as Saturday, I had a full day of jumping between patches of shadows ahead of me. It actually turned a little bit cooler in the afternoon which was perfect as it allowed me to slowly but surely edge out into the sun, like a tiny squirrel exploring a forest grove for the first time. Except I don’t have an irrational fear of Badgers.
I’m sorry to say it, but this update has a picture of flowers in it. The place was just stuffed full of them and it was so nice to see some colour other than grey. I took quite a lot of pictures of flowers, but in the end I decided just to stick with this one. Again, I’m sorry. Prepare to hold your breath…
There, that wasn’t so bad, was it? Plus, look at all the pretty colours!
Anyway, after a short stop and tour of Barney’s half-Western, half-Asian house, we headed out to climb one of the nearby mountains, which is where the title of this article comes in. Along the way we were assaulted by various forms of wildlife, mostly the very small, creepy variety. If you’re squeamish please look away now, as the next photo has 8 legs and would like nothing more than to eat your toes.
The point of wading our way through all this horrible nature was to get a good view out of the tower which adorned the top of the mountain, offering a few as far as Tokyo, and in the opposite direction all the way to Atami. It was truly a stunning view, and even though the sun had gone in a little you could still see a great deal of distance.
I haven’t been up the Tokyo tower yet, but it’s something I really want to do during the day so I can get a photo like this of the city I live, although to see a picture which would sum that up pretty well, click here.
After we made our way back down to the ground, it was time for dinner, which included mashed potato! After that superb twist of culinary fate it was time to go home, as we had an hour and twenty minute train ride ahead of us, and work in the morning. The last thing we did was take a nighttime stroll along the beach close to Barney’s house, filling our hearts with joy and our shoes with sand, before walking to the station.
Thus ends another page in my book of Japan. We made it home by about half past midnight, collapsed into bed, and although I don’t remember going to work at all on Monday morning, I apparently did as I’ve still got my job.