Countryside

There was a public holiday recently, and Chihiro's aunt and uncle invited us along with her younger sisters for a drive around the Fuji area. One of the highlights was a small dairy farm that had the absolute best icecream I have EVER tasted before. It's going to be tough going back to eating regular icecream. For lunch we had cold soba noodles with tenpura and marinated cucumber - very popular during summer. Did I mention this part of Japan gets up to 30 degrees at this time of year?

These waterfalls were pretty spectacular. I like the name of the name of the first one - Otodome, which means "stop the noise". The second one looks very inviting on a hot day, but the water is absolutely freezing. I couldn't last 30 seconds with just my feet in.

I just love the greenery in Japan, though sometimes it's interrupted quite rudely by powerlines or highways. This bridge is part of a massive new national highway that ran out of funding and remains in a state of purgatory.

Some photos of the countryside on the way back.