Nagano

Like I promised, here is a recap (via pictures) of Mary and my time in Nagano.
Also, like I promised. Many pictures of how beautiful it was there in the mountains.
This is how excited I was to see the leaves changing their colors! Wow!

So seeing, the trees changing their colors was as exciting as I thought and I really enjoyed the cooler mountain air. What a gift from God to be in Nagano. What a fun weekend Mary and I had with Norio and his family.

Norio took us to see this three layered temple. It's amazing and was made completely without nails. Crazy!

At one of the temples we visited, Mary, Norio and I drank from the cleansing water. It was from a hot spring nearby and so it tasted and smelled like boiled (or old) eggs. But it was good. It looks cold but it was hot. Hence, the origin, hot spring I guess I missed that part.

Norio is a BEST club member, who graduated last spring. He has a huge heart to know Jesus. And has written many essays/thoughts on Christ and his respect for Jesus. I am impressed with Norio's faith and his love for Jesus. Norio first respected Jesus as a man, which is something I am learning and want to learn how to do more so.

Norio's sister, in Japan siblings call each other by "brother" or "sister" so I called her "onechan" all weekend which means, "older sister". It's a pet name and more casual I think than using their names.

Ottosan (Father) is making some yummy rice ball dessert thingys. (that's not the technical name!) They are sooo good. I ate so much good food this weekend. Norio's Mama is an amazing cook and Japanese food is always a treat when you are in someone's home.

So random but awesome picture. I was in the back of the car when the windows were down so my hair was everywhere. So I like this picture caus it's just random and my hair looks crazy!

Norio's family has a huge garden (schupbachs, think like two or three times Grandma's old one). They sent us home with a TON of vegetables and rice from their field. They actually didn't grow rice this year, Norio told us. To which I replied in my "going-downhill" english, "Oh, so you gave your field rest?" ha ha!!

Mary loves the mountains and fall almost as much as me. tee hee hee! She's so cute.

No joke! This is how you grow mushrooms! They grow in these trunk holes. See the white dots? That's where mushrooms were already plucked. Cool huh? They have huge fields of these mushrooms growing under trees that are growing close together so that they field is shaded and cool.

Norio loves the mountain. Doesn't he totally look like Peter Pan?

a waterfall we passed by

Here we are, by the waterfall, Mary, Onechan, Onechan's fiance, Jo and Norio

Then Onechan an her fiance introduced us to "dombo" (sp?) it's sledding down a hill on cardboard. Yes, they actually have a name for it besides, "sledding with cardboard". It was SO much fun but we got so dirty. Here Mary tests out her cardboard.

Norio

AS if that wasn't a ton of fun, then they took us "mallet golfing" which the best way I can describe it is a combination between mini golf and croquet. You have this croquet like mallet but you hit like it is a mini golf course. EXCEPT it's longer than a mini golf course and the whole thing was in the woods. So we had this huge uphills and downhills and leaves and sticks interruptng our course. It was beautiful and so much fun.
Here is Onechan driving her first shot. We got to whack the ball pretty hard cause the course was long. So it was fun to take some hardshots.

Norio tries to sink his in the hole.

Such a beautiful weekend! Takashi (fiance), Onechan (her name is Misuzu), Mary, Norio, and Jo... don't I look really short here? I don't know why I look so short. Must be cause I'm next to Norio?? Ha ha!! Yay for Nagano and visiting Norio. It was an amazing weekend!