Hinohara

I love Tokyo.  I really do.  It is a shockingly fascinating city that I think will never cease to amaze me.  However, nothing makes me happier than finding a great place to enjoy the natural beauty of Japan close to where we live.  We recently hiked, or rather, took a relaxing stroll through the woods to a waterfall and gorge very close to the base a few days ago to try and escape the suffocating heat that has been enveloping us all.  It reminded me of Nova Scotia alot, and even Tommy commented as such.

on their way...

there were lots of little waterfalls along the way

wading...

Hinohara falls...

maybe 60 feet tall?

on their way to the gorge..

this place was awesome!  the boys wanted to play Indiana Jones for hours

holding on!

We have found our new favorite swimming hole in this gorge.  We loved it!

This place was made for boys, and fearless little girls!

Fussa Tanabata

Tanabata, meaning evening of the seventh, is a Japanese star festival, originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival.  It celebrates the meeting of two deities, and people often place wishes on pieces of paper and tie them to branches in the hopes these deities will make these wishes come true.

Fussa is the town right outside the gate here, and they hold quite a large tanabata festival every August.  The kids and I spent alot of the day one Friday just wandering around enjoying the atmosphere.

It was a beautiful afternoon, and the temperatures were in the eighties, a welcome reprieve from the 100+ temperatures we have been having as of late.

These streamers were everywhere, and the kids loved playing in them...

Wishes on the streamers...

At every festival, they bring out their 'gods' from the shrines and bring them down the streets in a parade.  Its quite a spectacle of chanting, dancing and singing.

Its nothing like a American parade, and the children were not sure what to think

Young and

the old participate...

the airmen on base bring their shrine of sake or alcohol to lend our local contribution...

happy participation...

Spectator number 3

 Perhaps the highlight of the day was finding watermelon sold by the slice for a dollar.  Considering the out of this world prices for it here, it was the first watermelon we have had in almost a year.  We devoured it.

Traditional festival food of fish on a stick and mochi

Traditional dancers 

Loved the colorful yukata

Evening ambiance...

 Until next year...

Hakone Conferance

Every year in Japan they have a Bible conference at the beginning of August.  When we arrived last year it was just 2 weeks after we arrived and we didn't feel the children, nor ourselves would be ready to venture out so soon.  Each year it is hosted by a different assembly, and this year just happened to be Tokyo's turn.  They held it in Hakone, a famous hot spring area about a hour outside the city.  The meetings were held in the hotel and I had forgotten how nice that is with children.  Our room was mere steps away from the meeting area, restaurant and of course the onsen, or public baths.

We arrived on Friday evening, not really sure what to expect.  I have been to many conferences over the years, but you honestly never quite know what to expect here.

They had had a evening Bible study and we arrived soon after.  We were ushered into the center of the room, and our arrival was announced on the microphone, in case anyone missed it.  Not likely, being American with 4 disheveled children in tow.

Feeling rather on the spot

Evening snack of bean jelly, sour cream pretzel sticks and a tea wafer.

Morning prayer was in this garden at 6:30 am.  Mount Fuji is in the distance

Andrew was the only one from our brood to attend...

The kids were so excited to wake up and wear their hot spring robes (people wear them around the hotel everywhere)  Audrey wanted to go like this.  Note the slippers...shoes were replaced by slippers for almost everyone.

Every morning this little one starts her day with a cup of green tea..

Below are some photos of all who attended...

Mrs. Yachidate and Mrs. Fujishiro

with Mrs. Nakamura

Yuto

Shu and Yano

Yuki and No

There was such a wonderful sense of fellowship and kinship among everyone.  And much emphasis was put on relaxing and enjoying each others company.  On Saturday afternoon, there were not any meetings, just the baptism of Stanley, Molly, and Yu, a boy here from Bangkok.  

Molly and Stanley had both asked to be baptized a couple months ago, and it was arranged to be done at the conference.  Their Sunday school teacher Nozomu Yachidate did it, and it was wonderful.

Getting ready to give their testimony to everyone...Stanley was so nervous!

Stanley

Molly

Yu

They were baptized in an onsen or hot spring fed to the hotel from the volcano nearby.  The water was very hot, and needed cooling with cold water for the children.

After the baptism, for the rest of the afternoon we were encouraged to relax and explore the area.  We had been to this area before, but we decided to go to a open air modern art museum with some of the others at the conference.

Playground anyone?

lookout tower

The lookout from the top

So when we got back, everyone was taking advantage of the hot springs...so we did too!

unimpressed

Loving it

Dinner looked a shade different than other conferences we have been to...

Crab legs, sashimi, octopus, squid, trout, and seasonal veggies...

Soup with mussels

You are kidding right mom?

But they did eat most of their dinner, thankfully, in the end.

Andrew and I came away from the conference truly refreshed.  They took up the book of Jonah, and though I cannot say I understood very much, the fellowship was very special, and much needed.

Hakone 2014