Waterfalls, Birthdays, and Dusty Zabutons

The waterfalls were absolutely beautiful. I couldn't help but think that we had somehow walked into a scene straight out of a Hayao Miyazaki film. The foliage was lush, green, and the velvety moss made the rocks look like huge spongey boulders in which I imagined would make the softest forest bed should I ever fell onto them.

Clear waters flowed all around us, and although it was a wet and rainy day, the drops of rain lent an even more magical air to the gorgeous nature around us. Cloudy as the day was, we were lucky enough in our trek to be blessed by a few rays of sun which would shine periodically through the trees. The only thing I kept thinking about while hiking up the (sometimes steep) path was what a shame that I could never take my dad there. My dad has bad arthritis in both of his knees and has much difficulty walking now. It pained me to see him trying to walk quickly through the streets during our road trip. Although we would stop so he could rest, my dad would insist that we didn't have to wait for him and instead walked on pretending as though his knees didn't cause him any pain. My parents are thinking of visiting me this spring, and as much as I want to take them to the falls, I know that it just won't be possible. But alas there are many other beautiful places in Japan to take them to and I will do just that...





We had a great time and I think we plan on going back when the leaves start to change into all its golden autumn splendor. I can hardly wait to return. It's going to be even more beautiful.

Aww...how cosy they look under those umbrellas...

And it's birthday season again! We always make it a point to celebrate birthdays in lovely Ueno, so this fall the birthday season kicked off with Satomi's surprise party at Pore Pore:

Birthday girl looks radiant

And of course, any conversation involving me has to degenerate into a vulgarity of sorts, so this time it was a lesson in the sleazy gestures a slimeball will resort to in attempting to get a foxy lady's attention in a club. Witness Cory in all his cheesy, sleazy glory.

Or the Grandmaster himself, Takeshi...yeah, that'll get the chicks alright....!!

Let's internationalizing!

(disclaimer: these gals willingly made the gesture, so any suggestion that I have polluted their minds is preposterous! ha ha)

And then it was Dan's birthday!

We went for Dan's favorite, okonomiyaki. Birthday Boy stuffed himself on the Japanese pancake and followed it up with yakisoba. And then there was cake...

Somehow while sitting on the large, fluffy zabuton, Takeshi had a the brilliant idea of using it as a hat (or was it Rachel who suggested it??). We decided to play this (admittedly) stupid game of placing Takeshi in the middle of our circle with the zabuton on his head, meanwhile asking him "Yes" or "No" questions in rapid succession (I'm quite fond of delivering questions in a rapid-fire method, I don't know why). And yet, despite the idiocy of the game, it lasted about a round and a half and then died, in which the pillow eventually landed on my head:

And boy, was it heavy!