IN JAPAN

my mother always told me not to sit down on toilet seats when i was away from home but she didn't know anything about japanese toilet seats.  they are warm & inviting & when you are done with your business you press a button & get sprayed with warm water in strategic places, according to your desire.  this is a great pleasure!

 

masa picked me up at narita airport & then drove 12 hours directly up to the north of japan to a small village in aomori prefecture called tsugaru city. why? because he got a phone call from his friend, noriko, telling him the cherry blossoms were still blooming up there. we were invited to stay in the home of noriko, who took us to ashino park to see the magnificent cherry blossoms, which mean so much to the japanese. we traveled around the region, tiny villages on rice paddies, saw a shamisen concert, and a tachinebuta exhibit, and i ate the best scallop shashimi of my life. next day we headed into the mountains to visit a shrine & dinner at a traditional style restaurant, then to a spa with hot springs situated on a cliff overlooking the sea of japan. breathtaking views & great hot healing waters. we are in the most remote part of japan, with no tourists, or even cars onthe road.  it is all too beautiful & wonderful,  especially ｔｈｅ　ｄｒｉｖｅ　ｉｎ　ｓｈｉｒａｋａｍｉ　ｓａｎchi on the rocky isolated coast.  sorry, i'm having a hard time writing on the computer in the lobby of a hotel in the town of nashiro. so far i've only learned how to say thank you, which sounds like ari gateau.