おとうさん (Otosan) & Hiroko

7.12.08

Right after work, Hiroko, her husband and I all hopped into his speedy Megane, Renault convertible and headed towards Futomi, Chiba. Futomi is located on the Pacific Ocean side of the Chiba Prefecture. I live on the opposite side of the Chiba Prefecture--on the Tokyo Bay side. It took us about three hours by car to get to Futomi which is located somewhere between Kamogawa and Tateyama.

As we were driving to Futomi, we passed through a heavy hail storm.

We also passed through this small village that was holding it's summer festival. Here, the men of the village are carrying a solid gold statue to the shrine.

After relaxing in the outdoor onsen (it is fenced in), we enjoyed a rather large dinner in our hotel room. Hiroko later told me that she had ordered the smallest dinner package possible. I couldn't imagine the size of the largest one.

This boat filled with raw fish was only a portion of the meal. There were many new foods that I tried while staying at the hotel, and to be honest, I enjoyed a great majority of them. :)

Otosan & Hirokosan are almost ready for bed.

7.13.08

The next morning, we all woke up very early, went to the onsen again and enjoyed a nice Japanese style breakfast at the hotel as we looked out onto the ocean. After breakfast, we decided to go on several adventures which are described in the pictures below.

View From the Hotel

From our room window, we could enjoy a beautiful Pacific Ocean view.

This is the hotel's eating area.

Hiroko is standing just outside the entrance to our Japanese style hotel.

The fishing pond was located just beyond this cave.

Now that I have my pole and my bait, I'm ready to fish. :)

Hiroko caught a fish! We quickly discovered that these crafty little fish were trained professionals at stealing our bait. If my father would've been fishing with us, he would have called them "bait stealers". I just called them "dorobo!" (robbers in Japanese).

There were several birds of prey flying around the top of this cliff.

Pale Pink Hibiscus

The Nokogiriyama Rope Way

We took the rope way headed towards Nokogiriyama.

This is the view from the top of the rope way.

Climbing Up towards the Nihon-ji Shrine

View Over the Ledge

We passed by these Buddist statues while hiking.

After our long hike, Hiroko and her husband decide to sit in the shade by the Daibutsu (giant Budda statue). The Daibutsu behind them is the largest stone carved Budda in Japan.

Dragonfly

Tiny Budda's Near Their "House"

Hiroko and I placed two little Budda's near their "house"/shrine and made a wish.

From left to right: Azusa, Mai (Azusa's best friend) and me. After all I did this weekend, I still had time to meet up with my friend Azusa on Sunday night. I wanted to see her before she left on a trip to Switzerland. Azusa invited me to her home for dinner, which her father made. He prepared home-made pizza, noodle and cheese casserole, salad and some other dishes that had a very "American" taste. After eating, the three of us sat and talked with Azusa's mother who was very kind and caring.