Kiyosato in May

Time to get away from the city and head to the mountains...

for some eating...

and maybe a couple of beers.  

Few things make me happier than having a beer in hand and some meat on the grill with weather that lets you wear shorts and a long sleeve shirt

 mmmmm spare ribs, sausages, and a giant fish sausage...wait did I just say fish sausage?  How does that song by the Vapors go?

Dinner is served. The first night was just Aya, Kinoto, and myself, but everyone else joined us the next day.

Campai

 Koi no bori - or carp streamer (wind sock).  These are flown to celebrate children's day.  In Takanecho everyone donates theirs to the town once their kids grow up and they are all flown together in the valley to celebrate the occasion

The idyllic landscape of Japan - a tanada, or rice terrace, and the early bloom of plums...according to Miyakoda-san.  No arguments here. 

Aya in front of yellow flowers seems to becoming a theme

 The view of the surrounding mountains from the top of the hill 

A better perspective of how many Koi no bori are flown in the valley for this celebration

Aya, Yuri, Kinoto, and I finally finished this puzzle!!!  Now that it is finally finished we can say thanks mom.  

Disc golf with Aya & Yuri

A short, wide open  9 hole course, but by far the most beautiful I have ever played

 View of Fuji-san from the disc golf course

 More grilling...fish for now

Compai!

Yuri & Kinoto's turn - time for beef & vegetables

 Here I am.  Here I am.  Take a picture of me!!!

No party in Kiyosato is complete until you pull out the magnum of local wine.  This is also when the pictures stop.

Anniversary

For our anniversary (2 months ago) Aya and I took a day trip to Chichibu to see Hitsuji Yama Koen (Sheep Mountain Park), famous for the carefully crafted field of creeping phlox which lies in the mountain valley

Thanks to the logistics of coming to the US for our wedding, as long as we are in Japan we will be able to enjoy spring blooms and an almost week long holiday for our anniversary.  

Unfortunately, as you can see in the background it is also a holiday for everyone else in Japan.

Which way should we go?

Fun with photo settings

A very beautiful setting, which explains why it is such a popular destination this time of year

According to the website we missed the prime bloom by about 3 days which may be the reason for some of the green patches?

Self photo - if you look close you will notice the special shape I created the night before to celebrate our special day (hint- just above and to the right of my head)

People also still enjoy the cherry blossoms

Aya and a field of daisy's

Me and the same field of daisy's

An adult beverage at dusk on the roof of our apartment after a long day at the park

Dinner at an Israeli restaurant to get our ethnic fix.  It is not easy to find hommos or falafel in Tokyo, but if you look hard enough and ignore the price you can find anything you crave.

Keikan Sekkei Hanami

Photos from the cherry viewing party at our office.  Unfortunately, a rainy day prevented us from having the party on the roof where we could see the cherries, but everyone still had a good time.