One of the reasons I wanted to move to Akita City, is it's a big city, but within 20 minutes you can be in complete lush green nature and magnificent parks. We went to a mountain park and played with Hideto's family and then went to a hotspring. It's Autumn and this is dragonfly season. We spent the day catching dragonflies and playing ball games. I didn't know that it was so easy to catch dragonflies when I was growing up in MN. I tried to do it at my brother Kurt's home in CA, but it didn't work. I think the dragonflies in Japan are different. If you put your finger up in the air, they will land on your finger and it's easy to grab their wings and hold them. Noi has been watching "Bug's Life" and she loves bugs, so it was special for her to see the dragonflies. She is also into ants! After having a picnic and hanging out for most of the afternoon, we headed over to an amazing "sports" complex with an interesting pool with a gigantic slide and an outside bath and indoor hotsprings. I enjoyed another hotspring. Akita is the only prefecture (state) in Japan that is blessed with three things- great water (for growing rice and making sake), hotsprings everywhere (wherever you dig a hole in Akita, you can hit a hotspring line), lovely beaches, and lush green forests. I feel very blessed. Better than all of that, Hideto's family is amazing!
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Yes, I can attest to the great onsen of Akita. We traveled from Tokyo to Akita to go to an old OLD one that was amazing. Full of elders so we were a bit out of place with our baby, but we enjoyed it so much. The bath was konyoku (not divided by the sex) which in my mind meant people went there for the bath and nothing else. It was quiet, built by wood that was old and calming, and surrounded by lush mountains. Very refreshing.
I'm so glad you are settling in. I just got back from my week in Tokyo...and it invigorated me as always. I get reminded about what is important about myself. kisetsu wo tanoshinde ne. ganbatte!
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