I slept in a bit this morning. It was nearly 8.00 by the time I got up. I had to quickly get dressed because I knew everybody would be waiting for me before starting breakfast!
Once the kitchen was cleaned up, we showed Okasan and Ottosan some photos of what we have been doing since we last saw them. It’s always fun looking at old photos and remembering what we were doing at the time.
Lunch was served on a plate today! We didn’t have to pick what we wanted from a dozen bowls! Yakisoba noodles, and they were delicious!
After lunch, Kaoru and I went for a walk. It was quite cold when we went up the hill – it wasn’t quite snow, but not far off it. A little bit of rain, which made things cooler. Kaoru then took me to the camp ground nearby. In all the trips we have made to Nasu, she had never taken me there before. It was quite interesting seeing a japanese campground. The sites were very clean and neat, and also mostly powered. The tents were quite large too. There was a vending machine which I’m sure served alcohol!
Back at the house it was time to start work. So we got the chain saw out and made a start on cutting Ottosan’s wood pile up for in 3 years time. A neighbour had had some trees cleaned from his yard so a lot of the wood came back to Ottosan’s house. Most of it had been cut up, so the hard work had been done. But they were larger cuts than what was desired. So Kaoru and I worked our way through the pile.
Kaoru’s favourite cousin (who I had never met before) then turned up with his wife and 3 kids. They had been skiing for the day not far away, so came round to say hello on their way home. The kids knew a bit of English, and while they spoke clearly, they had trouble understanding when I asked them some questions. Still a good experience for them though. They ended up staying for dinner, which was Shabu Shabu. They all enjoyed catching up, and it was nearly 8.00 by the time they left for the 2-3 hour drive back to Tokyo.
We cleaned up and called it a day. This has been a really relaxing trip so far!