April 6: Farewell Party

Today was the first truly free day we've had since coming to Japan.   No expectations or obligations for the whole day ... well until the farewell party in the evening anyway.

I slept in, completely missing breakfast.   It was nice since we'd gotten in so late the night before.   I finally dragged myself out of bed around 9:30 when Amy and Sheila knocked on my door - I ran to the door with only a tiny robe provided by the hotel - Amy of course took a photo - so somewhere out there is a picture that needs to be destroyed!!!

Amy, Sheila and I decided to wander around the town a bit.   We walked down to the river and took some gorgeous photos of the fish flags waving in the breeze.   We also finally tried Mos Burger!   Mos Burger is a burger chain that we've seen throughout Japan - the burgers looked so good and we had been wanting to try it for ages.   However, it didn't live up to our expectations - it was okay - but pretty much was just a fast food burger.   The onion rings were tasty though!

The Mos Burger was at the Utsunomiya train station - where we also checked out a travel store.  I found a beautiful suitcase I want to buy - I should have picked it up since it was about $100 cheaper than the one I saw at Fukudaya department store!  Oh well, maybe I'll find something in Tokyo.   

Apparently we had decided that today was going to be a very American day.  After lunch we had ice cream cones at Baskin Robbins and then later in the day coffee at Starbucks.   Starbucks, in case you're interested, is EXACTLY the same as in the states.   The only difference was the food they served - and that the menu was also in hiragana or katagana - I forget which one.   

Before heading back to the hotel, we went to a covered shopping area on a pedestrianized walkway.   It had lots of shops both for tourists and locals.   We went into a few stores including a record store where I was going to buy my brother-in-law a CD of a band I had seen on TV.   It seemed like something he would like, but apparently I got the name of the song mixed up with the name of the band and I couldn't find their CD (Sorry Bill!).

We made it back to the hotel in enough time to shower and head downstairs for our farewell party.   We were told to be there at 5, but once we got downstairs we found out the party didn't begin until 6pm.   I tell you, the Japanese like to be early everywhere.  Either that or they think Americans always like to be late so they're planning ahead!

There were about 50 people at the party on the third floor of our hotel.   The party was a farewell party for us and for the Japanese team who will be flying back to SF with us on Wednesday.   So those in attendance were our host families and GSE committee as well as family members of the Japanese GSE team.   My only host family who attended was the very last one - the Ode's.   They were so awesome and I'm glad they were able to make it to the party.   Sheila didn't have anyone in attendance and Geraldine had three families show up.   However, she was still upset that Hisae Hirosawa didn't come.   She seemed to think it had something to do with the incident over the massage parlor - but I seriously doubt it.   Just be happy that three came to see you off and don't focus on the one that didn't.   Hirosawa-san was a bit older and the hotel was 45 minutes away - not to mention there could have been a million other reasons why she didn't show up!   

Both GSE teams gave their presentations at the party.   Ours was basically the one given at the convention with a few tweaks and the Japanese team gave their first official presentation (they'll have at least a dozen times to perfect it over the next month!)   My host family seemed happy that I gave them public recognition at the dinner.   As things were wrapping up, my host sister, Yukako, said she liked my perfume.   She liked it so much she wanted me to write down the name of it - so I ran upstairs and grabbed the bottle for her.   It was a travel size and I had a bigger one at home - so I figured it would be a nice going away present (even if it was a bit used!)

We wrapped up the evening at the hotel bar - where my host family was the only one to come say goodbye with a drink.   It was so funny, because I don't drink a lot and my family knew that so at one point they took a drink away from me and gave me a non-alcoholic drink.   I had been enjoying the other one - but had been holding it for about 15 minutes so I'm sure they thought I didn't like it.

April 5: Final Presentations!

Today we had to give our final presentations at the District Conference. We were all pretty stressed out since we didn't have much free time to write our speeches so we are feeling very unprepared.   Luckily I didn't do much on my free day, so I used that time to write my speech and have my host father translate it for me.   Thank goodness, otherwise I would be freaking out too!  

However, one of the GSE committee was telling us this morning that we should change some of the speeches and that we were getting too personal - most of us were thanking some specific people.   I didn't change mine, because at that point it was way too late.   If we were speaking in our native language we would be fine, but heck, I could barely read what I had written as it was!

About 30 minutes into the day (9:30 by now) we had to leave our study room and go into the opening ceremonies of the District Conference.   There were so many people there - about 1,000 - it was pretty amazing.   Governor Kondo gave a speech, they introduced all the clubs from the district and introduced both GSE teams - ours and the Japanese team.  

During the opening speeches, Rotary had hired a A/V team to take pictures and put video up on large screens.   However, they were so bad, it was driving me crazy.   Amy said the look on my face was priceless - I kept muttering "Slow down" and "Get out of the shot" because the camera crew would get their heads in the shot from the main camera and their panning shots were horrible.   Ugh!

We finally were able to head back out to finish up our speeches - we only had about an hour before we had to present.  It was crazy, since I was done, it just gave me time to practice and have some of the Japanese GSE committee listen to my speech to try to perfect some of the pronunciation!  

At 11:30 we marched back into the main ballroom and were almost immediately announced.   All 6 of us went up onto the main stage and Roger began with a very brief speech.   Unfortunately since this was our first time presenting this speech, we were all pretty rough, but we got some laughs at the right moments, so I think it went well overall.   I'm sure they were thrilled when we wrapped up though - the entire presentation went 30 minutes.   Amy and I were the longest - hers was about 7 minutes and mine was 5.   Apparently we needed some serious editing!

At lunchtime we had what had to be the strangest meal yet.   It was a box lunch, but included some bizarre foods that simply didn't taste very good.   Guess bad box lunches at events like this isn't just an American trait!   

We had about 2 hours to visit and wander around the Grand Hotel grounds before heading to our hotel (The Itaya  Hotel) to check in.   Geraldine, Sheila, Terry and I went outside, it was a beautiful, sunny day and it was nice to be outside.  We ran into several Rotarians we had met over the month and one, a nice man from Nikko, gave Geraldine and I a box of what he said were the best cookies in Japan.   I still haven't broken into them yet - but I'll be sure to let you know!

We also ran into our friend Kiyoshi, who told me he didn't think he looked anything like Jon Favreau.  Well, Kiyoshi, is a thin, better looking, Japanese version - but the girls all agree there is still a resemblance there!  But now that I'm thinking about it - maybe he does look a bit more like George Clooney (he reads this blog - so hopefully he'll find that comparison more flattering!!!)

We checked into the Itaya Hotel - this was the hotel where we met every day before heading out.   Our rooms were quite nice and it was a bit of a relief to have our speeches over and be on the final stretch of our trip.   It's been a lot of fun - but I think we're all about ready to go home now.   

After dinner we decided we wanted to go out on the town in Utsunomiya.   It was really the first chance we had to hang out alone, with just the GSE team, and without our "minders" as one of the team members lovingly calls the GSE committee.   We were waiting for one of the translators we had befriended on the trip to join us, so we visited the hotel bar.   There we ran into three Rotarians, one was the GM of the hotel and the other two were men we had previously met.   They ended up buying us drinks - I had a midori sour (not so great here) and the bartender made us up some other drinks to try - most were pretty good.   The men then suggested we head out for some Karaoke - so we jumped into some cabs and headed out.  

The Japanese are pretty serious about DUI, so the man who drove me hired a driver and had a cab follow us to the Karaoke bar.   It's a good idea when you want to keep your car but don't want to get arrested.

We had fun - Sheila and Amy showing off their lovely voices - until we had a bizarre incident.   A man at the bar grabbed the mike and started rambling about something.   He thought his song was up, but it was actually Sheila's, and she thought he was refusing to give her the mike.   Apparently he then muttered something else - I didn't hear what was said - but everyone thought he was ticked off.   Geraldine and one of the Rotarians went over to talk to him and it seemed cool.   About 30 minutes later the man got up to sing and Sheila was going to take his picture - he shouted "NO!" and began muttering about foreigners not understanding Japanese traditions.   Not sure why - because I hadn't heard nor seen anything to reflect any beliefs that the Japanese don't like having their photos taken.  (My opinion was that a drunk is a drunk in any country - and some drunk man in a bar in the US probably would have reacted the same way - it had nothing to do with foreigners and/or beliefs!) It ticked Sheila off something fierce, and a few minutes after she put her camera away she took it out again and clicked off a photo.   The man freaked out again - Sheila went outside to cool off - and when she came back in again he left.   No major international incident - but it was weird.   

We left shortly thereafter ourselves and went out for ramen and gyoza.   It was fabulous - I had a bit more beer with our midnight snack (probably the most I'd had to drink since coming to Japan).   I tried to chat with the men who took us out, but unfortunately none of them spoke great English so it was a good thing we had our translator friend with us!   He kept trying to talk to me about television and then later said to me "Come back to me" in english - when we were talking about visiting again.   He was so sweet.  We had a great time and I just wish I could have communicated that a bit better to the men.   (The next day I did give them some gifts - a KRON 4 t-shirt and some chocolates!)

April 4: District Convention Begins

Today had to be the busiest day yet in our Japanese adventure. The day began at 9:30 and I didn't get home until almost 10pm. Usually on these long days I am enjoying a relaxing dinner or drinks if we're out late - today we were on our toes all day long!

Before I get to our busy schedule, let me tell you about some of the folks we were with. There was one Rotarian who was cracking us up all day - he was ordering everyone around, belting our orders for taking photos and making sure we moved when it was time ... and so on. He was a nice guy, but it was hilarious! This was also the first day where we felt we were dragged around and had no idea where we were going. As usual we had a blast, but I felt a bit like a puppy dog at one point!

It began with a visit to the Mayor of Utsunomiya. We briefly met the mayor and he told us what Utsunomiya is famous for: Gyoza, jazz and cocktails. I've experienced two out of the three so far!

After the mayor it was on to the Governor of Tochigi. We had already briefly met him, but this was a more formal visit. However, first we went up, down and around the building looking at the sites and taking more photographs. We finally met the governor shortly before noon. He is such a distinguished looking, tall man. As we left, he presented us with a teacup made by one of the artists from Mashiko.
Our next stop of the day was for a traditional Japanese tea ceremony and kimono fun. We tried on kimono's first - we were given a choice of several and each one of us chose a different one - no fighting. Terry tried on a samurai suit - he looked so good. It was a lot of fun getting all dressed up. We then had our tea ceremony while still dressed in kimono. However, it was more trouble for Sheila and I since we both preferred to sit cross-legged and it wasn't exactly dainty, but it was fun. Also, my dislike of beans preceeded me and instead of the bean paste treat, I was given a plate of sugary snacks.
Our long day continued with the opening ceremony of the District Conference. The kickoff began with a lovely dinner that included music from a trio, a flamenco dance exhibition and a singer. We also were able to visit with so many of the Rotarians that touched our lives over the last month. It was nice to see our host families and the people who showed us their favorite parts of Japan.

GSE Presentation

Here is the speech I am going to be giving in Japanese on Saturday. It basically is a thank you to all the Japanese Rotarians who made this trip so special. Wish me luck - it's a bit long!

Watashino namae Stacy Tiffin dess. San Francisco dess...
Nihon no bunka ya Nihon ni tsuite no iroiro ka koto o manabi mashita. Kazu ooku no nihonshoku o itadakimashita. Sore wa natto, shimotsukarei, mameruidesu, tatami no uedemo nemuru koto ga dekimashita.
Kono yonshuukan de hijooni ooku no chishiki o eteiru koto o kanji totte imasu. Wareware wa hakubutsukan ya otera byouin sakezukuri o kengaku shimashita.
Terebi producaa dearu watshini totte utsunomiya deno ichiban no kyoomi wa housoukyoku wo nikasho kengaku dekitakotodesu. Tochigi terebi, NHK ga donoyoo ni nyuusu wo seisaku shiteiruka wo misete itadaita kotodesu.
Tokuni konshuu wa kooun deshita. Radio Berry, Tochigi Shinbun ni itte kitakotodesu. Watashini totte hijooni kachinoaru houmondeshita Nihon ni kite wakatta koto wa subarashi hitobito ni aetakoto desu.
Watashi ga deatta subete no hito wa hijooni shinsetsu de yasashiku GSE wa ukeirete kuremashita.
Home Stay shiteiru aida jitakuni irutoki to onaji yoo ni rirax sasete itadakimashita.
Watashi wa yon kazoku ni osewa ni narimashita watashi wa taizai shiteiru aida juu subete no kotoni taishite kokorokara kansha shimasu. Shoshite subeteno rootarian ga wareware ni taishite. Shigoto ya kaji wo chuudan shitemade jikan wo tsukutte itadaki arigatou gozaimashita. Watashi wa itsumo omoidishiteimasu. Oowarai shita koto. Harajukuni ittakoto hajimete shimotsukarei wo. Tabetakoto mashikoyaki wo mitakoto shoshite america no seiji ni tsuite hanashitakoto desu.
Watashi wa yasahii Rotaryan wo wasuremasen ni, san, nichimae watashi no kutsu no hiilu ga toreteshimatta toki sore wo motodoorini naoshite kureta Rotarian ga imashita.
Karera wa watashino hiro desu watashiwa utsunomiyashino Rotaryan ni kansha shimasu. Konshuu tokubetsu ni kimono wo kitsukete itadakimashita arigatoo gozaimashita.
Subete no minasama, tochigi-ken no rotarian no minasama. Hontouni arigatou gozaimashita.
Watashi wa kono subarashi keiken wo wasurenai deshou.
Goseichou arigatou gozaimashita.

April 3: Rest Day

April 3: Rest Day

And on the 27th day – Stacy rested.
Today was really the first day since I arrived in Japan that I had an actual rest day. I woke up late, worked on the computer, ate lunch, wrote my speech and had a wonderful steak dinner with the family. It was so nice to be able to relax and not have every minute of my day scheduled. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change anything and I have enjoyed seeing so much. It was just nice to have a day off!
Now I’m tired and am going to bed.
Oyasumi Nasi (Good night!)

April 2: Stacy Gets Dressed Up!

One of the unique things about this part of the trip to Japan is that I have been taken under the wing of the Utsunomiya West Rotary Club. My host father is busy with work, so his fellow Rotarians have planned extra special events for me after everyone else heads home. Today I was taken to an Utsunomiya Kimono shop and was able to try on a beautiful Japanese kimono. Of course, it barely fit - but hey it did fit and that's what counts, right? The shop owners were clucking about me, trying to tuck all the fabric in the right spots while the two Rotarians sat watching. It was quite fun and I got a kick out of the two men sitting on the floor - I'm sure they would have rather been somewhere else, but they at least pretended to enjoy it!
The lovely shop owners gave me a fabric bag with some small gifts when we left. In return I gave them a box of chocolates. I can't believe the amount of gifts we have traded on this trip. I thought we may have had too much, but I am rapidly running out!
After the kimono shop, I was taken to a tofu restaurant for dinner. The restaurant had individual private rooms - we wound our way through the restaurant until we came to our room with a very tiny door. I felt a little bit like Alice in Wonderland - but the room was nice and it had a table with a hole so I wouldn't have to sit cross-legged (my legs ALWAYS seem to fall asleep!)
Our first course was a plate full of beans. For those who don't know me very well - I HATE beans. I never eat them, but tonight I ate them all. I wasn't going to have these men who have done so much for me think I was ungrateful! We had course after course of delicious food made mostly from tofu. (I was able to avoid beans for the rest of the meal!) I don't know how the Japanese stay so slim - there had to have been 10 different courses - each better than the last.
My dining companions were the two gentlemen Tokoi-san and Okagawa-san who had accompanied me to the kimono shop and Ito-san, the former temple chief I mentioned in a previous blog. They were all very kind and we were able to communicate very well with the help of a translator. After dinner I presented the three men with SF baseball caps. The gift paled in comparison to what they gave me, but at least it was something!

Earlier in the day we had our usual packed schedule:
9:30: Hiki Hospital: A tour of a local general welfare hospital. Mostly preventative care and nursing home facilities. Very high tech. It was interesting to hear their views of healthcare in the US. They believe Americans have several doctors and nurses for each patient in the hospital - with all the nursing strikes recently I can't believe that is the case. Here they only have about 1 nurse for every 7 patients.
12:30: Utsunomiya-Yoto Rotary Meeting: Another presentation - I haven't been keeping count, but we must be closing in on at least 15 presentations now.
2:00: Suignome Gakuin - a school and home for developmentally disabled adults. The people there were so kind and those who lived there seemed to enjoy our visit.
3:00: Sinohara Residence. This is an old home in Utsunomiya that has been turned into a museum. It is more than 100 years old and one of the few homes that survived wars, fires and modern rebuilding.

April 1： Happy April Fool's Day!

April 1 is the beginning of a new fiscal year for Japan. April is the month school starts for all students. Today stories about gas prices were all over the news – I finally figured out it had to do with the removal of a gas tax – which then dropped gas prices about 20 cents a liter. Gas now is about 120 yen per liter – approximately $4.50 a gallon in US prices.
Today I got dropped off at the hotel in Utsunomiya around 9:30 and we were off to the Utsunomiya Prefectorial Museum. The museum featured a Nikko exhibit showing the flora and fauna at all the different parts of the National Park. We also wandered around the Japanese Garden outside the museum. I am definitely going to visit the Japanese Garden in San Francisco more often!
Our next stop was the Shimotsuke Newspaper. We spent about 15 minutes in a boardroom talking to the publisher and editor in chief before heading to the newsroom. Sheila was in heaven! She was running around checking out their cameras and archival systems and talking with everyone who could speak English. She was so unhappy when it was time to leave. Due to our schedule, we only had a little over an hour at the newspaper and had to drag her out of the building kicking and screaming.
(On a side note – they had a little blub in the paper about us the next day with a picture of Sheila and I – check it out on the photo sidebar!)
After lunch, it was all about me (and really, when isn’t it about me????) We visited the NHK Utsunomiya Bureau, Radio Berry … and later I got a personal tour of Tochigi TV! I really expected the Japanese TV stations to be very high tech – they really weren’t. Both had some of the same equipment and in some cases even older equipment than we have at KRON. NHK is a bureau, so they only produce about 30 minutes of news a day in addition to sending some pieces to Tokyo to be rebroadcast from NHK headquarters. It was hard to get some of my questions answered since there was only one employee who spoke English and the translator had a difficult time with some of the technical questions I was asking – even though they weren’t that technical I guess I was using some TV lingo!
Both Tochigi TV and NHK had the large cameras and still ran tape. I did get to speak to one reporter at Tochigi TV who told me they used the VJ format there. However, I was surprised to see how many employees were at both stations. I was able to watch part of the 6pm news at Tochigi TV and was shocked to see nearly 20 people in the control room. I was told they were training, so there were more than usual – but even if you halved that number – it’s still twice as many as we have on any given day!
I don’t think I learned anything really specific that I can bring home to the US from my time at the stations in Japan, however, I have tried to catch a lot of news and feel there area some ideas I’ll take back to work when I return on April 14th!
As I mentioned, the Tochigi TV visit was something special just for me. The Utsunomiya West Rotary club planned several special tours for me. My host father was busy with work, so he asked several of his club members to take care of me in the evenings. I was so touched by all that they did for me this week. Today, they took me to visit Tochigi TV then had a special dinner for me at a local restaurant. (Have I mentioned how well I’m being fed these days!)
It was so much fun. They had the translator come with us and she helped the evening run smoothly. They expected me to drink a lot – apparently one of the members was told that the GSE team REALLY like to drink. Apparently rumors spread like wildfire in Japan! I told them I drink, but not a lot. However, I did end up drinking a big bottle of beer and half a bottle of wine – so maybe the rumors weren’t unfounded!

March 31: My Last Host Family

After our long day, we arrived back at the hotel in Utsunomiya to meet our host families. Three lovely women met me and took me to a small town just outside Utsunomiya called Mibu. Two of the women were part of my host family – the third was a woman named Matsuko. Matsuko is about my age, she’s 34, and came with the family since she could speak English. She lived in the US for several years – attending college in South Carolina and living and working in New York before moving back to the U.S. She was great – I really enjoyed talking and having a few drinks with her. It’s sad to think how women are viewed in Japan. We didn’t hear too much about it – since most didn’t open up to us. Matsuko is single and has some pressure from her parents to get married – it may not be anything more than many women in the U.S. see, but since I am fortunate enough to have parents that don’t bug me about marriage – it seemed like a lot of pressure. I do feel bad for some of the women – so many of the wives did so much for me during my stay in Japan – they were very kind – but I still feel like I was somehow taking advantage of them!
My host mother fixes me breakfast every morning – although I did tell her I just wanted toast and tea. It’s so much less work than having her whip up a big breakfast every day. She also has done my laundry – I need to do some more but I almost hate to ask – because she would do it for me again! My host father is an amazing doctor. He studied both in Japan and in the U.S. He used to be an anesthetist, but is now an MD specializing in pain prevention. He runs a pain clinic in Mibu and works 10 hour days 6 days a week. I hope he pays himself well!

March 31: Moving to Utsunomiya

Moving day again! We are moving to our 5th city and our 4th host family today. I hate to leave Nikko, it's so beautiful and I feel like I could spend a week here, not just one day. But alas, it's time and off we go to Utsunomiya!
Another rush-rush day. We arrived in Utsunomiya around noon and had lunch with some Rotarians at a hotel restaurant. It was the first buffet style meal I’ve had since arriving in Japan. It’s nice to know that it’s not just Americans that like all you can eat food!
After lunch we piled onto a bus and headed for the Oya-Kannon. We first stopped off at the home of one of the Rotary members – he owns one of the stone-making factories and gave each of us a beautiful vase made of stone. They are lovely, but could take us over the weight limit on the flight back to the US!!! We then stopped off at Oya-Kannon to see an amazing statue built shortly after WWII. It’s called the peace statue and is a female Buddha. The statue was in a park area that was stunning, but since it was cold we were happy to be rushed off to the next site – which turned out to be right across the street! This was the Oya-Kannon temple. It was an old oya-stone cave that had some Buddha’s carved into the wall that were nearly 1200 years old – amazing! Unfortunately, like most of the historic sites we visited, we were unable to take photographs. The temple featured a multi-armed Buddha that has links to Hinduism – as well as several other large and small Buddha’s in another room of the cavern. A temple has now been built around the opening of the cavern to both protect it from the climate changes as well as enable the owner to earn some money from tourists!
We then loaded back onto the bus and headed a few miles away to the Oya-Stone Museum. This is a museum that has a small room with artifacts – but is in fact a huge museum – once you enter the underground chamber! It was an underground stone mine that had a lot of steps – ouch! – and was stunning. It had caverns and huge rooms that are now occasionally used for concerts. I would love to have heard a concert in one of those rooms – it must sound wonderful in the cave. If we weren’t limited by the ropes and rules – it would have been fun to explore deeper into the caves as well.
Our final stop of the day was at the Tagesan Temple. This is a temple built upon the highest point in Utsunomiya. The temple itself is 160 steps on top of a hill – billowing flags flank the staircase leading up to the temple. The guide, a former chief named Ito-san gave us a tour. He is a charming man, very quick to smile. I was lucky enough to have dinner with him a few days later. He led us to the top where his son, the current chief, played a type of horn built out of a shell. He said it was his prayer for our happiness. Here’s hoping it works!
On the way down we passed a shrine with dozens of tiny babies carved out of stone or clay. Each was dressed in a scarf, many had hats and some even had baby bibs. I had seen many similar statues around Tochigi, but today I discovered that dressing statues in clothing is a way to honor babies who have died either shortly after birth or while still in the womb. So sad…

March 30: Touring Nikko World Heritage Site

Everything in Japan has been amazing, but one of the best days yet was the tour through Nikko, a World Heritage site. Unfortunately the day began a bit late since we also had to move from Imaichi - so we only had about 3 hours to spend at the temples of Nikko!
We arrived in the town of Nikko shortly after 11am. As usual we saw horrified faces as we dragged what seemed like hundreds of suitcases into the Kanaya hotel. We couldn't check in until after 1pm, so we stored all our luggage with the desk and went on a brief tour to the famous red bridge which was right next to the hotel. We spent about 30 minutes there before rushing back to the hotel for lunch. Lunch and dinner at the Kanaya Hotel were probably the most amazing meals I've had in Japan. Not for the food so much as the elegance. Beautiful table settings and impeccable service. Wow!
Finally around 1pm, we set off to the temples of Nikko. I cannot express how simply amazing this area is. It is a Unesco World Heritage site and has multiple temples at the location. We weren't able to visit them all, but we were able to check out some of the most historical sites. One of which was the famous "Hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil" monkeys. They are carved into the side of one of the temples. It was fun to watch all the tourists waiting to pose next to the monkeys covering their eyes, ears and mouths!
We were very lucky that we had such well connected guides on our tour. In two of the areas, we had some of the monks? give us special one on one information and in one of the temples we even got to go in an area roped off from the public. It was fun to see all the other tourists gawking at us wondering who we were and why we were able to get such special attention.
I have put several photos from Nikko on this website, but it's just a fraction of what I have taken. Unfortunately, we were unable to take photos inside most of the buildings.
After Nikko the original plan was to take us back to the hotel to check in, but it was only 4pm and we wanted to see more. So we convinced our Rotary tour guides to take us up into the mountains to see the National Park. It was a very windy road with 48 hairpin curves. We also saw a bunch of wild monkeys on the way up. Apparently the monkeys are very aggressive and will attack anyone they think has food, so we had to keep the windows on the bus closed - that is why the photo I posted is so bad!
Once we got to the lake near the top of the mountain, it started snowing. We were all dressed fairly warmly, but it was still freezing cold! We rushed about to a few sites including some beautiful waterfalls and then headed back down the mountain after about an hour. I could see why the driver wanted to leave so soon, once we headed down the mountain, the fog was so thick you could barely see the road. I felt like I was back home for a moment!
Once we got back to the hotel, we had about 10 minutes to change for dinner. We met with four of the members of the Nikko Rotary club and saw their large collection of banners from Rotary clubs around the world. It was so cool to see banners that were obviously more than 40 years old - one from North Oakland that looked like a 60's or 70's concert poster and an old confederate flag banner from Mississippi - I bet you don't see those anymore!