Hiking Trails and Hospitals

This last few days in Japan were... interesting. 

Wednesday night around 10pm John Cope, from the ward, came over to talk about potential hiking plans. We were going back and forth debating when would be best and we settled on leaving at 5am the next morning! We knew we would be tired, but it was the only time we could make it work. So as soon as he left, we promptly went to bed to catch a few zzzzs before it was time to get up! 

We drove a few hours to Nikko, a really beautiful area north of Tokyo. On our drive to the trail head, we saw two wild monkeys sitting near the road! It was amazing! I didn't have my camera out- bummer! We looked and looked the rest of the day for any more, but there were none to be found. 

The hiking trail we went on is rated one of the most beautiful trails in Japan! and boy, was it beautiful! Here are some pictures of our trip! 

                               Happy birthday, Sarah! 

                               we got our hopes up... 

                         our trusted guide

                               I wanted seconds!

                 I can't express how deep this canyon/fall are

                           School trip ahead. 

We passed a lot of school trips during our hike. My absolute favorite was a group from a special education school. I've noticed in Japan that I don't see people with disabilities often. It is custom to keep them away from everyone else as much as possible. It makes me so sad. The very few times I have encountered someone with a disability, everyone else in the area stops and stares as if they are entirely uncomfortable. I hope someday soon that the country will accept it more freely and lovingly. Needless to say, I didn't take any pictures of the school group, because I didn't want them to think I was being rude. I didn't know how to explain to them in japanese that I teach special education... oh that darn language barrier! 

We had grandiose plans to tour Tokyo on the weekend, but then I got sick (bladder infection, bleh!). We tried to go to the hospital on base, but they wouldn't accept my insurance. So then we had to go to the Japanese hospital!! I did say i wanted to experience all aspects of the culture, didnt i? A member of the stake presidency (AJs boss, and our friend, Nathan Frost) had to come and be my translator. It was awkward, but I felt so grateful that he was willing to serve us. That took up all of Friday and then Saturday I was ordered to rest-up. weekend trip spoiled! 

          see the card? It has my name in Japanese! 

Aaanyways, long story short: Japanese hospitals are very nice, smoked fish at the top of a mountain is delicious, and ALWAYS have your camera ready for a monkey photo-op when traveling in the mountains! 

Love, 

G

Fussa: Solo Style!

Since I have been here in Japan, I haven't done a great job at going off and doing things by myself.

don't get me wrong, i'm not scared... 

I just always wanted to experience things with AJ... or I had to babysit... or this... or that... I kept thinking, "I have more time, next week I will do something by myself"- but it just never happened. 

Then our passes to get on/off base by ourselves expired. The paperwork was supposed to get put in a month ago to make getting an extended pass a piece of cake. any guesses on whether or not it got turned in? Correct.. it didn't get turned in and so now we don't have passes any longer. Every time we go off base we have to make sure someone is there to sign us back on when we are ready to come home. It is SUPER inconvenient... to say the least. 

That night, AJ and I sat talking for a while. We were both pretty mad about the passes... but we decided that if we wanted to have freedom, we just needed to be more proactive about going off by ourselves. We decided to borrow cell phones from members in the ward so we can communicate while we are out and I set a date on my calendar to go out and explore...solo style! 

First I went to the Seiyu... a Japanese department store that has pretty much everything you could possibly want. I spent a long time there and only went through the first floor. I had tried some rice fix-ins at one of the places I babysit... I was hoping to find it at the Seiyu!
success! 

can you believe this whole aisle is rice... oh Japan! 


I saw this hash-brown looking thing... I didn't know how to get it out of the case, so I tried to stop a lady and ask her. I did NOT have the right words to ask her and we were both undoubtedly confused. Eventually, she understood what I meant and told me what to do. thank goodness for body language, without it i would not have known what she was saying in lightening-speed japanese! 

looks yummy! 

NOT YUMMY!! seafood medley surprise. nasty crap! 
i still smell like fish... 

Then I went a-walkin' around side streets and alley ways. I just wanted to see what most people don't see when they are driving to and from the train station. I got to see a lot of cute shops and a LOT of bars... I had no idea so many bars were warranted in such a small town.

I ended up getting lunch at a place I've seen multiple times and have actually been meaning to try. Yoshinoya is a chain restaurant and it was pretty decently priced... I don't know if I would go again, though. too many other places to try! On my way out, I decided I needed to say something in Japanese. I asked the waitress where the nearest bathroom was. It sounds like a small feat- but it did feel good to communicate something! 

eeeeeeeeel. i was feeling adventurous

At this point in my solo day I was exhausted. It is super hot and humid in Japan and I was definitely feeling dehydration coming on. I tried calling for someone to come pick me up, but no one answered. I knew then that I had to stick it out until 3pm, which is when Sarah and I planned to meet up. I looked for a place to sit and rest, but there really wasn't anywhere to go! Finally, I stumbled into a cute cafe, Cafe du Jardin. The waitress was so nice, I was able to practice Japanese with her and she let me sit down and drink much needed H2O while I enjoyed a blueberry tart.

oishii (delicious)

look at my view of Naples... c:

Once I had my energy back, I walked around some more and met Sarah for dinner. We went to Coco Curry! Apparently this place has 10 levels of spice in their curry. we ordered level 0 and it definitely had a kick to it! On the menu it says that you have to sign a waiver to eat any level higher than 5! What a crazy way to live! c:

           gotta love English mix-ups! 

All in all, it was a great day. I am glad that I didn't go home when I wanted to after lunch. I was tired and hot and grumpy. If I had gone home then, I wouldn't have remembered my day in such a positive light. Because I had to tough it out I was able to rehydrate and explore some more.

i will definitely be doing more solo days... no doubt.

c:
G

      I would have died without this glorious thing.

            Pink cell phone!!

        The trucks here are tiny. Gotta love mini-things.