Hiking Yatsubuchi-no-taki

Once our trip to Japan started getting closer, my goal was to find a really good hike to take Jason on.  The Yatsubuchi-no-taki hike came up as the best day-hike to go on in the Kansai region of Japan where we would be.  We spent close to 3 hours on train and bus from Osaka -- passing beautiful rice paddies and green mountains along the way. 

When we got off the bus, we still had a 20 minute walk through a small village to get the the trail head ... we passed this rice paddy that was in the midst of being planted. 

This picture give a pretty good idea of what the hike was like - chains, ropes, handholds and ladders, all over rocks that were slippery with water spray.  Quite a rush!

SO many beautiful waterfalls along the way!!

After spending several hours climbing over rocks and using chains, ropes and ladders to work our way up the gorge, we were feeling pretty tough ...  that is until we spotted this 70+ year old woman creeping along a small ledge with her walking stick! 

Beautiful waterfall to end our hike with and some very cold waters to cool our feet in.

This small town greeted us at the end of our hike.

Celebrating 1300 Years in Nara

This year, this ancient capital of Japan is celebrating it's 1,300 year anniversary and we were there to help!   

Todaiji Temple is one of the main attractions in Nara - for housing a very large sitting Buddha and also for having been originally built in 752 AD (although it burned twice since then). 

To give you an idea of the scale of this sitting Buddha, the youngster on the left is squeezing through a hole that is the exact size as Buddha's nostril ... in hopes of gaining enlightenment. 

Another big draw is the Nara Park, where the deer are believed to be heavenly beings and are as tame as housecats. 

Our most favorite sign of the whole trip!

No city would be complete without trying the street food -- this stall had a hord of people around it, so I hopped into the mix to get a taste.  It's a special gelatinous rice pounded with a big mallet with sweet red bean paste in the middle ... not sure what's on the outside.  Although it may not sound great, it was pretty good :)

Land of the Rising Sun

We were very fortunate to get to travel to Japan last week while our school was on Spring Break.  Our primary reason for going was to visit Jason's aunt & uncle who have worked as missionaries there for over 40 years!   We had a great visit with them and loved getting to share a little bit of their life.

They live in the Osaka area which was heavily bombed during the war so there aren't a lot of historical sites to visit, but we did get to go to a traditional Japanese home which was fun and a bit of a tight squeeze to get into.

The Osaka Castle in the background here -- originally built in the late 1500's.  One of the few historical buildings in Osaka. 

The food in Japan was awesome!  Lucky for me it was not all fish :)  I learned that Japan is known for their plastic food shown in displays ... literally every restaurant had many of their dishes displayed in fine plastic form!

Just a few random pictures from Osaka ... I have no idea why these three dogs were in a laundry basket together, but they seemed to be right at home.

One of my most favorite features of Japan  ... ice cream vending machines!!!  We visited many more places in Japan, those pictures will follow!

Learning how to be Civilized

Several months ago a government mandate was announced in Shanghai encouraging the residents to be more civilized in preparation for the upcoming world Expo which begins on May 1.

Interestingly enough, instead of focusing on things like: scooters, bikes and cars on sidewalks, pushing and cutting in line, uninhibited public urinating, and my favorite the spitting of huge luggies everywhere; the government has decided that there should be no more pajama wearing in public!

Admittedly, there are a large number of Shanghai residents (like the one below) that can been seen on a daily basis wearing their pajamas on the streets as they go about their shopping and socializing, but really?  It's a bit strange that this is the way the government measures the civility of a city.

We came across this park last week and I had to wonder if the government was keeping tabs on it to ensure no pajamas were worn inside.

Is it really a National Park?

Last week, Jason & I set out on the subway to explore Sheshan National Forest Park.  We're always looking for ways to escape the city and this seemed like a good one.  We'd seen the place in the distance before and had done a little research to find out that it is literally the only spot in Shanghai that isn't flat. 

As we got closer, we realized once again how spoiled we've been to have spent most of our lives living in places where there are amazing national parks...that being said, we did have a fun day exploring this park and even found a few paths where we didn't see any other people for a few minutes.

The only "mountain" in all of Shanghai.  Yep, that's it.  Pretty impressive, right? ;-)

At the highest natural point in Shanghai (I am sure there are buildings downtown taller than this little hill).

A really cool flower growing alongside the road.