Our First Family Day

Hi All,

Today was our first family day.
Each host family choose something fun in the area to show their guests (our kids :-)
I will see everyone in the morning and I am looking forward to hearing about everyone's day :-)

In the meanwhile, I will share my Family Day experience.

Today - after sleeping in a little and a wonderful breakfast - we left in the late morning by car. We took a route through the mountains along a gorgeous mountain lake, stopping once to view an image of The Buddha carved into a 75 foot tall rock face. It was carved 800 years ago and was pretty amazing. The setting was inspiring.

Then - before the days main activity - we stopped for lunch at a sushi restaurant that was just the coolest:-) When we came in, we put our name into a computer and were issued a ticket number. When our number was called, we were seated at a counter. In front of us, a continuous conveyor belt passed with a constant steam of food. You just reached out to take what you wanted. Items were placed on color coded plates & when we were finished, a waitress came by and tallied our lunch based upon the small plates we had accumulated. If you wanted a special order, each seat had an intercom to the kitchen where you could place an order. I tried ordering twice - with Mr. Ogawara's help :-) You then needed to watch the conveyor for you food which was labeled by your seat. If you missed it, it traveled through the whole restaurant before it came back to you. The food was very good - and novel. We had fun.

After lunch - we went to a castle in Iga City. It was very impressive and had the highest walls of any castle in Japan. I will try to post some photos in the morning before we leave for Nara. This castle and the area is known for it being the home of a Ninja "Academy" in the 1500's or so... We got to watch a fun demonstration of ninja skill - real ninja, not TV ninja! - and then Maddie Hengst and I got to try our hand at hitting a target with throwing stars. I was close, but Maddie was closer.

In the late afternoon, we made our way back home - stopping first at a grocery. Mrs. Ogawara made a meal of Gyoza & Yakisoba. It was delicious. Afterward, Maddie and I surprised the Ogawara's with a snack of freshmade popcorn (although we burned the bottom of her pan a little - ooops! The loved the snack and had not had it before. In Japan they have a similar snack made of puffed rice.

Anyway - it was a fun day. In the morning, we travel to Nara where I will get to hear about the other experiences that our kids had & I will share then later. I will also post photos.

Have a great day :-)

Sayonara,

Todd