It's actually funny how 31C feels not bad when you've been dealing with 36 or 37C!
We walked to Kofu Castle. It's actually a 16th century fortress that has been mostly restored. There's not really a lot to see, although it gives you some views of the town.
This big fellow sits outside the Kofu train station.
This part of the "castle" looks like a Mexican pyramid.
Nobody around.
View of Kofu, Japan. On a clear day if you were looking in this direction, you would see Mt. Fuji.
As we were climbing down, a young Japanese family were climbing up, and the man said "hi" as he passed. Then he turned around and said in perfect American English "Where are you guys from?"
It turns out that his mother is Japanese, but his father is American. He is fluently bilingual, and has a Japanese wife and they are bringing up their family in Japan. He manages a hotel near Mt. Fuji. Interesting guy.
And he had an "I love baseball" shirt on, so we got to talking about that. Of course baseball is very popular in Japan, and I have even looked into going to a pro game here, but unfortunately the home team doesn't play until the 23rd and we leave on the 22nd!
Japanese architecture.
Ruth found a local drink that she likes... it actually tastes more like a gin and tonic!
The Japanese are also big on whisky.
You can buy these big 2.7 liter jugs of cheap Japanese whisky. They cost about 5,000 yen ($43 CAD, $31 USD). Of course they're not great quality, but they are suitable for mixed drinks, which are very popular in Japan.
We did a short hiking trail on the hill behind our place.
Funny fungus.
Some kind of shrine.
View of the area close to where we are.
Sunflowers.
A typical Japanese house in the area.
These are peaches for sale.
I mentioned yesterday about the amount of packaging that you see while grocery shopping here. These peaches, which contain two per package, have a plastic container, plastic protectors, and plastic wrap... for two peaches! Crazy.
Anyhow, back to the title... always something to look forward to...
We fly back to Canada on Wednesday and are meeting up with Bernd and Angi in Vancouver, a couple who were on our 2018 Mexico RV Caravan tour... we haven't seen them since 2018, which was eight years ago!
Bernd, Angi, and Ruth eight years ago in Mexico!
Then, we are looking forward to four weeks at our house in Valle de Bravo. We have never been in Mexico at this time of year! Then we are looking forward to seeing our family at our son's place north of Toronto next month. Then, I am looking forward to seeing all my guy friends at our annual get together... this time in newfoundland! Then family and friends in Ottawa in September. Yes, there's always something to look forward to!
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Yet another great Power Station Deal.
And in Canada...
When I was visiting Tokyo for work in 2000, the drinking culture was huge. Our customers could drink like no one I've ever seen. It was mostly beer, which they would pour from large bottles into our small glasses; it would be considered rude to refuse. And no one ever poured their own; it was part of their culture to always pour for others. I'm sure mixed drinks were imbibed as well, but I mostly remember beer out at restaurants with them. I was just amazed how much they could quaff and still stumble into work the next day, somehow!
ReplyDeleteSince we did our eating at restaurants, I didn't realize how much packaging was used for something simple like fruits. That's really a shame, since it pollutes our planet, uses vital oil resources to make all that plastic as well. They're such smart folks, I'm surprised they have such little regard for the environment and our planet's future.