Day 40

My last day... it was fun today. Su-chan took me to Kurobe to see the gorge and ride the open air train. It was so fun! Only Su-chan was free today, the rest of my family was busy. So it was just her and me as we rode through the valley. It was really pretty, and I got to take lots of pictures. Plus, the weather was amazing! Perfect for my last day. I have mixed feelings about returning. On one hand I'm really looking forward to seeing my pets, family, and friends who I haven't seen in six weeks. On the other hand I'm really going to miss Japanese food, my host family, and all the cool things that I did or wasn't able to do because of my short stay.

After Kurobe Gorge, I treated my family to dinner at a restaurant (which they hardly ever do because its much more expensive than doing it at home). We went to Yakiniku, or grilled meat. You cook the meat directly on your table! I wish I knew of restaurants like that back in Chicago, I'll have to look around to find some.

Overall, I think this was a good last day. Tomorrow I leave in the morning to head to Tokyo before my direct flight home to Chicago (yes, direct from Tokyo to Chicago. Yes yikes). Here are some pics from the day!

Bridges for monkeys

toy replica of the train (looks real doesn't it)

Day 39

I was supposed to hang out with a girl from my class today but unfortunately we got the dates mixed up and she was busy. I spent the day packing all of my goodies into my suitcase. I don't know if I can fit everything! Today was also the last day I saw Iori, because she is volunteering today through Thursday, so she won't be able to say goodbye to me at the airport :(. Hopefully we can meet again in America!

Tomorrow I go to Kurobe gorge with my host sister. I am very excited! My last day in Japan will be fun.

painting I did for my host family

Day 38

Today I went to Obuse in Nagano prefecture. It was very pretty! I went with a YFU volunteer because my host family was very busy and I wanted to sight-see more. We went to a couple of temples, and then to the museum of the famous artist Hokusai, who you might not know by name but you will definitely know by his most famous piece.

In Nagano city we went the the famous temple, Zenkyo-ji. Zenkyo-ji has this famous tunnel underneath it that is pitch black. It is so dark that you can't see anything! You aren't supposed to bring any light in, just walk in total darkness with your right hand on the wall. They say that the darkness is the closest we can get to death, and the tunnel is considered the holiest place in the temple. I went by myself and it was very scary! It was a really cool experience.

fancy train that lets you sit at the front and look out

Path made of blocks of chestnut tree

view of the temple from the top of the gate

the famous painting, in person! this is actually just one of 100 paintings of Mt. Fuji that Hokusai did. Some of them are even cooler than this one in my opinion, but I didn't take a lot of pics (I don't think I was supposed to)

you place a stone on top and pray

Ms. Nakayama, the YFU volunteer

The Shinkansen (bullet train) is so fast that this sign looks like its bent