Summer 1

So I finished school for the summer at the end of July. I had business classes and company classes scheduled until the first week or so of August, but was still able to relax a bit, and plan some stuff for when L arrived.

He flew in on the 14th, and we drove out to Minakami in Gunma prefecture. After a few wrong turns - I need to work on my geography or route-planning or something - we got in and crashed for the night at Canyons. In the morning, we took a half day canyoning tour, which was cool and refreshing, but not particularly extreme. It was fun being able to jump or slide off various rocks and know that the landing was safe. And all the padding (7mm of wetsuit + life jacket + harness/sliding patch + boots + gloves + helmet) made things comfy. But with the exception of the 18 m watefall slide, everything else was pretty mellow. But fun.

After, we grabbed some snacks and drove over to Takaragawa Onsen, which I'd visited before. We found summer a bit warm for hot springs, but it was still a very relaxing experience. Then we headed up and over the mountains on a very narrow and winding but essentially trafficless road to Nikko.

More coming soon...