Rock-n-roll. They've been running us ragged on a tight schedule from early morning to evening.
Arao is an interesting small city -- kind of a cross between tourist-town and suburban village in the midst of transformation following the collapse of a coal mining as a viable industry here about ten years ago. We're kept busy all day long, mostly touring schools, but also a few cultural activities as well (pottery making, visiting local sites like castles, ancient bridges and a Shinto temple, among others). I've been frustrated by the lack of internet access at the hotel and surrounding neighborhood; but realistically there's been little time to write posts, even offline.
I have, however, taken A LOT of pictures, so my priority in this short time online is to post as many of those as possible, plus some of my offline writings.
I probably won't have a chance to get online again until next Tuesday when we return to Tokyo, so here are the big events coming up: This Saturday & Sunday I'll be staying with my host family. I met them briefly earlier in the week, and they seem very nice, though I'm still just a bit anxious. There are three boys under the age of seven, so I'm counting on them to provide some comic relief.
Next Monday we'll be staying at a ryoken, a traditional Japanese inn. That should be groovy.
I'm hoping to find a restaurant tomorrow night where I can order basashi -- the raw horse-meat specialty for which this area is known.
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