Three days this week and three days next week at the Kencho. Kind of a drag but it could be worse. Yesterday was my last day of teaching for the year. Went to Yuda and attended three classes I've never seen before. Usually I always see the same three classes but for some reason Yazaki-sensei asked me if I could say hi to three new classes. So I did three short self-introductions (I am getting quite tired of introducing myself) and then took questions in each class. The last class was the craziest. Were around 35 first year (10th grade) girls and a few of them seemed quite outgoing. One girl wouldn't stop staring at me, another seemed highly disappointed when I got to the part about having a girlfriend, and another said she wanted to come with me when I travel around Japan. Then at the end of the class two girls cut me off from leaving, one pulls out a camera and the other and I posed for a picture. I hope I never get famous, I don't think I'd like this all the time. And this is on a very small scale. But hell, it was fun while it lasted; just strange.
So now I have today and tomorrow and then the 24th, 25th and 26th of next week here at the Kencho. Monday I am taking the day off to be with Amy in Tokyo on her way out of here for xmas (she leaves Tuesday), and Tuesday is a national holiday (the Emperor's birthday). I've never had to work on my birthday before. That will be new. But I have been informed by Watanabe-san that we have a Kencho Bon Enkai tomorrow night but the night of the 25th is a small Bon Enkai for the five of us in the private schools division. So that will be ok. As far as I know they don't know when the hell my birthday is and I don't intend to tell them. Why would they care? Hell, I don't really care either. I just look forward to the following week (starting the 29th) when I have the whole week off.

So Sunday Yamashita-sensei (from Sundai junior high) took Amy and me on a day long tour of a part of Yamanashi. It was damn cool.
Amy and I left the apartment around 7:50am and walked up to the exit of a tunnel about five minutes away. He and I had set up meeting at the exit of the tunnel at 8am. So we got there, stood there for about two minutes and up drove Yamashita. We piled in, I introduced him and Amy to each other, he offered us hot tea, and off we went.
We had talked a bit about where to go, but the problem was that he asked me to choose where I wanted to go and I told him that since I just moved here I had no idea where there was to go. He speaks very good English but there are still small misunderstandings between us now and then and I think the day's agenda was one of them.
He asked us if we had ever been to the Takeda shrine. I told him I'd heard of it but that we'd never been there. So we drove up to it with him pointing out things along the way and I realized that there is a whole section of Kofu I've never even begun to explore. I usually go south and slightly west or east from my apartment. Since I am on the side of a hill there is nothing to my north, except that tunnel. But if you go west and then north there is a whole area of things.
So we got up to the shrine and walked up to the main building. We didn't go in (I'm not sure you can or do) but we did learn how to make the small prayer. Two bows, two claps and another bow. Funny thing was that before this we walked towards a small structure that had water and dipping cups in it, very beautiful. Yamashita said to us that you were supposed to use this to purify yourself before you approached the shrine. So I was thinking, "well, ok, I'm not religious but if you do it I'll do it." But then he said to us, "But it is very cold this morning so....." And I said, "We are already pure enough?" He laughed and said "Yes."
So after the shrine we took a long drive in a north western direction up to the very corner of the Yamanashi prefecture. Yamashita asked me on the way, "What do you want to do?" I was looking around at all the mountains, some of which had snow on top, and said, "Let's climb a mountain!" He seemed a little shocked by this and I later found out that Amy wasn't exactly excited by my answer but it ended up being great for all. We drove a solid hour through small towns and villages, and up hills on curvy roads and finally got to some place where we parked and got out. The day was cold but it felt good and wasn't windy at all. So we followed him on foot to a set of stairs made of wood and stone that went up the side of a hill. Amy looked up and then made some noise at me, but I knew she'd love it once we got going.
The climb was actually quite short and we got to the top, stopped and looked around. The day was clear except for the angle of the sun which made looking at a gorgeous Mt. Fuji a little painful, but in all other directions were mountains of various heights. Some had snow, others did not, but they all had naked trees. After we took a few pictures, Yamashita asked what we should do, head back down or walk on the trail a little. The trail headed west and up. I wasn't going to give Amy a chance to answer and said, "Let's walk a bit." So we set out and walked a ways. We talked and made jokes and it was great fun. There was snow on the trail and eventually we came to a sign which Yamashita said indicated that if we kept going there would be a pond. "Sure," I said, "Let's find it." So we kept going and the trail turned corner after corner, each revealing that we had more climbing to do. Amy was doing that false complaining she likes to do and Yamashita was breathing hard at points, but we pushed on anxious to be the first foreigners to this pond (ok ok, probably not). So after much climbing we made it up to an area surrounded by a small wooden fence that looked like it might have, at one time, surrounded a small body of water. "Hmmm," I thought, "Amy's not gonna like this when she gets here." She was lagging, of course. The "pond" had a three foot high wooden fence, the kind you can easily scale, and just on the outside of the fence was a wooden walkway that went all the way around. So we took a picture and walked around the place and did discover that there was some water in there amongst all the weeds that had frozen over. I found a couple rocks to try to break the ice with but it was frozen solid.
On the far side of the pond was a trail that ascended the mountain we were on. I made a suggestion but it was quickly shot down and we all headed back the way we came.
After getting back to the car we drove down to some small resort/village that was founded by some Polish guy many years ago. We used the facilities and then Yamashita showed us the way over to a place named Jersey Hut and we had some ice cream. It was actually a really nice area with Fuji in the distance, the snow covered mountains, and the chill in the air.
Then, I think to appease Amy, Yamashita said, "Do you want to go shopping?" Amy screamed out, "YES YES!" And off we went. He took us to some outlet center which, oddly enough, seemed to sell mostly foreign goods. It was ok, but nearly all the stores sold nothing but clothes and most of you know my aversion to clothes shopping. I did find a pretty good pair of shoes and a warm hat that I liked so it wasn't a total loss. Amy seemed interested in the whole affair so I was happy she was happy. Yamashita and I talked and joked around during much of this time and eventually we got out of there.
Next we went to eat Hoto at a place up there and not too far away. Mmmmmm.....hoto. I had a kind I'd never had before which was damn good but I still like my usual better. The place, I think, is a branch of the place here in Kofu that I am always going to, but I'm not sure about this. Anyway, Yamashita insisted that he pay for the whole thing (as he did all day long--except for my shoes and hat) and we left the place stuffed.
Then we headed down the mountain and ended up at some park, the name of which in Japanese translates to water park. I think this is because of all the water around it, there is a river and a small pond, not because you can ride water based rides. So we explored the area in there, found a pretty cool outdoor theatre, and then a man-made waterfall. The water fall section had a large beach looking are below the waterfall and I could see that the water never got too deep. Turns out this was designed to be a play area for families in the summer. It's really interesting how the Japanese don't fight nature the way we do in the west. They use nature. Here was a mountain river/stream and they built a waterfall with a small slide, an entryway and exit that go behind the falls, various other areas for kids to play in the water, and a beach. It was all so well incorporated into the whole mountain setting that it didn't look out of place in the least, even though here it was, a man-made structure.
I actually can remember, from my first venture in Japan, going to a place like this and playing in the water. I stood there wondering if this was the place. It seemed like it might have been, but then, I'm not sure that my family and I ever made it to northwestern Yamanashi. So I don't know.
We left the park and continued down and back towards Kofu when we stopped and parked. We were being treated to none other than a tasting experience at a sake brewery. OH Yeah!
We walked into the all wooden building and it felt more religious than any shrine ever has to me. Here was where they made that stuff I was reading about and was drinking more frequently these days. So we looked around a bit and then headed into the tasting room. Now, I thought it would be like the wine tasting places I've been to in the past. Either free or a small charge, and then you have to ask for what you want with the person putting five drops in your glass and then wanting to discuss something about what it was you were tasting. I can't stand those places where the they speak like they have a good education and need to use the big words they learned. And then, of course, they always want to sell you something. But this was different.
On a table in the middle of the room were two long glass(?) boxes in which was ice and about six to eight different bottles of sake. You just had to pay 150yen (about $1.40!), they gave you a shot glass, and then you went over to the table and did your damage. It was great! I think I tasted all 16 bottles on that table and some more than once. I asked Yamashita if there was a time limit for your 150yen and said that there wasn't. "I guess that's why they don't have chairs then," I thought.
But in regards to the sake, this was the first time I got to taste more than one kind of sake at a time and I could definitely tell the difference between some of them. Some were sweet, some were quite strong, and some were very smooth. Amy ended up buying a bottle for her father and I bought three: one as a gift to Yamashita, one for my own father and one for my uncle Ray (both of which I am saving here for you two so that we can drink them when you come visit).
After the heaven on earth I had just experienced we went across the street "for Amy-sensei" as Yamashita said. The sake place had been for me and the sweets shop we now went to was for her. We sat down in the small shop and Yamashita ordered us tea and some small cakes. It was all very good, but I kept eyeing that place across the street vowing to be back again one day.
And after that, he dropped us off outside the tunnel right where he had picked us up. I gave him the bottle of sake at this point (it was the least I could do for this great day of touring where I wasn't allowed to pay for a thing) and he nearly looked like he wasn't going to take it. But I gave him that look that says, "Listen, buddy..." and he accepted it. So we said our goodbyes and arigatos and walked home.
A great day and Yamashita is already thinking about next time, "maybe the other side of Fuji?". Can't wait.