kasumigaura marathon

Now that I've experienced all the seasons in Japan, Spring and Fall are officially my favorites. I think it's safe to say they would be my favorites in any place, but the colors and types of trees and flowers here really make it unique. The cherry blossoms are all gone now, and green leaves have taken the place of the pinkness. I miss the cherry blossom trees and had never seen anything quite like them before. It's starting to get warm outside, and I am hoping that summer takes its time getting here because I am not ready to experience the heat and 100% humidity quite yet. 

Today, I ran my first 10 mile race in the Kasumigaura Marathon. This race was held close to the station and not far from my apartment, near Lake Kasumigaura. There were over 20,000 participants in the race. It is an internationally known race for blind runners so there were lots of blind people running with partners. I finished the race in an hour and 42ish minutes, thanks only to all the encouragement and excitement around me. There were little kids and old people yelling "ganba re" (you can do it!) the whole way. There were also little performances which kept me extremely entertained. There was a high school band and cheerleaders, a few traditional Japanese musical happenings, a random man playing some kind of flute-like instrument and wearing tights..., fireworks, and I've already forgotten what else. I wish I'd had my camera with me. I ran part of the way with a friend (an AEON student with whom I'd decided to run the race a few months ago), and I also saw a few other students after the race. The course went through our city, up a lot of hilly roads, and through little neighborhoods and wooded areas. I am sunburned and will most likely be sore tomorrow, but that might have been one of the best experiences of my life.

fukushima

I visited Fukushima city last weekend (in Fukushima prefecture). My friend Susan is working there now. It's a couple hours north of Tsuchiura by bullet train. We went to Hanamiyama, a pretty place with a mountain full of colorful cherry blossom trees, which I didn't know existed until we went there. We stayed at a Ryokan (a traditional Japanese-style hotel) in Iizaka, which is a nice hot spring town. 

Amazing dinner. All of this food is for one person. Lots of tiny dishes with beautiful looking, wonderful tasting food. 

Keiko and Susan at dinner. We got to wear a yukata (a lighter version of a kimono) at the ryokan.

Hanamiyama

sakura and o-hanami

Cherry blossom season has arrived! I've been in Tokyo the last couple weekends to see the trees in bloom (they bloom a little earlier in Tokyo than in Ibaraki). Millions of other people were right there with me. It was extremely crowded, but somehow it didn't really matter because I was so distracted by the beauty of the Sakura trees. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before. And the "O-hanami" tradition is pretty fun. People gather together in groups to drink alcohol and eat snacks under the trees. The weather has been perfect lately too, which just makes it all that much more wonderful.

Ueno Park

This is a shrine surrounded by Sakura that Kayla and I stumbled upon in Omote Sando. Kayla (from Austin) was in Tokyo for a day on her way back from Singapore and Malaysia for work, and I got to see her for a few hours. We had just enough time to walk around, get a little lost, and do just a tiny bit of karaoke. It was fun!

more of Ueno Park

in Tsuchiura along the Sakura River