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Published: October 13th 2009
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Fuji-san
From the plane window Just got in from my weekend spent in Akita visiting Jim for Canadian Thanksgiving (helpfully dubbed by said boys as "Fake Thanksgiving"). I had a total blast! I'm exhausted today but it was well worth it. The ALTs there were super nice and the weather was so chilly it felt like I was back in Canada. It was exactly what I needed this weekend.
We spent a lot of time there eating and going out to bars. I was told many times that that is all you can really do in their town - drink and eat. It's not so bad though, really. The food was deeeelicious and the bars were great too! They even have an international beer bar there that has beers from all over the world. I wound up drinking some fruit flavoured beer. The strangest was coconut. It tasted way more like a pina colada than any beer I've ever tried, but it was delicious (as it should be for $9.00!) There was also this quaint little izakaya we went to pretty much every night. They made the most delicious yakitori (chicken skewers) and they were only $1.00 or $1.50 each. Amazing!
Jim and I
went for a hike up the small-ish mountain there to get a view of the valley. It was super pretty and well worth the exercise to get to the top. We had a bit of help though. The city has this natural spring 'power water' that runs out of the town tap for free. It's got all kinds of minerals and stuff in it so it's supposed to give you energy. We took a bottle with us on the hike. I felt pretty energized but at the very least it tasted clean and fresh.
There was even a crazy adventure along an almost un-navigable road to reach one of Japan's three mouths to Hell. It was a really spooky hillside that's full of sulphur deposits so its totally barren with natural steam shooting out of it. I just wish the weather had been better. Once we got to the top of the hill it was freezing cold, pouring rain and windy like nothing else. We only got about 10 steps towards the "mouth to hell" before our umbrellas blew inside out and we ran back to the car. No thanks!
But, unbelievably, despite the weather there was a
Not a picture of this lady's butt
This is the well where the power water was found. People were lined up beside it with milk crates full of 5 L jugs to fill. Talk about stocking up! Babahara selling ice cream at the bottom of the hill. A Babahara is only found in the Akita area and they are these little old ladies who sell ice cream from carts, only, they are EVERYWHERE! I was pretty excited to meet my first Babahara. I didn't buy her ice cream but I took a picture with her. She offered me some apples too, which I thought was really nice. They were slippery though so the second I pulled it out of the bag it fell on the floor. Everyone had a good laugh about that because it totally looked like I just pulled it out of the bag and threw it. Kind of one of those, "I don't need your stinkin' apple!" moves hahahaha It could only happen to me, I swear.
After that day of adventure though, we headed over to some remote onsen that totally looked like someone's house. The water felt amazing! It would have been cooler if it was outdoors, but given the weather it's probably a good thing it's not. One thing about Japan, you get used to getting naked with people you've just met reeeally fast! After the first couple of times
Bad Idea
I thought these things looked pretty cute so I wanted to pick one up. Worst idea ever. Those spikes you can sort of see are super sharp thorns. It was like I'd tried to pick up a porcupine. it's not awkward anymore...at least, not as much as the first time.
All in all I'd say it was a pretty fabulous Thanksgiving weekend. Even if I couldn't be with my family. Jim and the other ALTs in Akita definitely made it a worthwhile trip. Can't wait to go back!
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