Spring in Tanabe

I have not taken any big trips since my ten day round Japan trip, but I have kept myself pretty busy. Last weekend I met up with Mariel, Corinne, and Kate for a hike through the mountains of Takarazuk along an old train track. The area is going to be torn up sometime in the near future and after reading about it Kansai Time Out, we thought we ought to give it a try. Whiloe I wouldn't say it really qualifies as a hike by American standards, it was a decent, very beautiful, walk. Unlike so many "hikes" I have been on in Japan there was... no pavement to be found. The absence of a paved walkway and the 10 minute long abandonned tunnels we walked through even seemed to scare away the girls wearing 3 inch heels. There were no vending machines or snack stands that you usually find (even on the top of mountians). We found ourselves wondering if we were in fact actually still in Japan. The shape of the hills and the mountains was different, but it was almost like being at home, walking around the North Carolina mountains. The atmosphere seemed somehow completly un-Japanese. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of amazing natural places to be found in Japan.... it's just kind of rare to find a nice, unpaved, uncrowded middle ground.





Meanwhile Tanabe has been transformed by spring. It is the rainy season here, although it is not really all that rainy, and all the plants have come back to life. All the sudden everything is green and flowers are everywhere. Just passing through the park on the way to and from my apartment everyday has become a pretty wonderful bike ride.