Perhaps the happiest news of the past week can be broken down into two chunks. First, my sister and brother-in-law have purchased their tickets, and will be coming to Japan for the first time in August! Hurrah! Now is just a matter of organizing where they want to go over their 2 week visit. My thoughts are Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Toyama, Sado, Tokyo. A lot of city, a little inaka, a little island, and sending them off with a bang.
The other happy news is also concerning inaka and airline tickets. The Yakushima trip has finally been booked! Next month, we will be flying to Kagoshima and ferrying across to climb Miyanouradake. Just need to put our heads together and come up with a plan of action. I look forward to visiting these fine fellows.
On my list of things to pack... salt to kill the leeches I will most likely encounter. Yum.
Other fun random fact I learned this week. Mogura (Japanese moles) have started a northward assault on Nihon farms, as the weather gets warmer each year. Grrr... global warming. My sensei's friend has recently had a plague of mogura descend upon her hatake. But they're so cute and tiny!
