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Published: August 13th 2007
Two-wheeled Gallivanting
Minami Alps is pretty rural compared to much of Japan. Peach orchards and vineyards are scattered throughout the city.So it's 9:40 a.m. and I am already a sweaty mess! Since the sun comes up at 4:30 a.m., we haven't been able to sleep much past 5:00 a.m.. It's actually not that bad because the morning is the coolest part of the day and the best time to go exploring.
So this morning Greg and I got on our bikes to do a little Yamanashi sight seeing. Most of the city is quiet and closed down, not only because of the morning hour, but because of the Obon Holiday. Some people have likened it to our Christmas/New Years time of Year when things are closed early or not open at all. We haven't gotten a city map yet so we use the Minami Alps and Trial grocery store sign as guides to find our way back home.
At one point today we got turned around and had to use our Japanese to ask a stranger which direction we were going. Greg asked "sumimasen, Kushigata?" ("excuse me, Kushigata?"), and he pointed us in the right direction. Greg has been very impressive when using his Japanese. We both will walk away from a conversation from someone and go "oh we
Humongo Peaches
It took a bit of charades by both parties to figure out that it costs 300 yen for 4 very large white peaches. should have said______", but we just need to keep practicing.
The highlight of our morning was finding a peach stand on the edge of Kushigata. Greg was ecstatic since all he could talk about since getting off the plane was eating fresh peaches! The tricky part was paying for them, but with hand gestures we eventually figured it out.
Yesterday evening was actually the first day we took the bikes out. We had just been walking at first because we were scared of the traffic and the skinny roads. But we decided to be adventurous so we went out around 6:00 p.m. and we got to a corner where there were no lights and Greg was able to cross but I didn't make it. I was stuck there for a long time and I kind started panicking. The streets are angled weired, it is a city planners worst nightmare, no right angles to be seen. Everyones driving on the wrong side of the road, including myself, and the sidewalks are only a foot wide, so no one can really ride a bike on them so you have to ride of the street which barely fits both of the
Downtown Kushigata
You can go to Jes to have your computer repaired in downtown Kushigata. cars. So I'm stuck at this corner and I can't see Greg anymore and this police car pulls up along side me. Now I panic even more. "Am I breaking any laws?" I have no idea. He sits next to me for a long time. "Maybe he is trying to cross the street too." Finally he puts his lights on, I think he is going to pull me over, but instead he gestures for me to cross the street. At the same time he gets on his loud speaker, says something in Japanese and stops traffic in order to let me cross the street. I was thoroughly embarrassed, Greg was across the street thinking it was the coolest thing ever. And I'm amazed I ever rode my bike again.
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Konichiwa
Hi guys! Nice blog! It'll be fun to keep up with your adventures and then when you come home we'll already know all that you've experienced! I hope you get a chance to climb Mt. Fuji. It's an experience you won't ever forget! God's provision of a policeman to help you cross a busy street is evidence that He is watching out for you! I'm looking forward to hearing about all the wonderful things He has in store for you in this adventure.