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Saturday, September 6, 2014

Week 83 September 1 - 7, 2014014

Monday was the first day of September, amazing, how time flies.  It seems like we were just looking forward to our son's visit and now it is over and well past.

I started off the week with a 5K run.  It was a good run and I got a personal best with a 9.02 min/mile pace.  Here is my pace chart showing my progress.  This charts shows Wednesday and Friday after the personal best.


On Tuesday we restarted our YMCA Japanese class near the Shimizu/Tsuboi Chapel.  On the way there we go over a bridge over the Shirakawa river.  This bridge had a temporary bridge built parallel to it and the old one is being reconstructed.  Apparently they will make it taller something.  Stay tuned.  Here they had a large crane lifting the huge I-beams into place on the new column risers.


 Here the work men are fastening the beam into place.


More risers along the rest of the bridge.  I took this picture from the temporary bridge next to it.


At the YMCA in the Kamitori shopping mall, it is all decked out for Halloween.  It is so early.


Our teacher had been in Tokyo helping her sister with here children that were on school vacation.  She brought us back a present of cookies typical of the area.   They were very good.


The Stake Center next to our apartment that we attend church at had a scafolding erected on the back side.  We didn't know what it was for when it first went up.  But it appears from this that at least one thing will be new roofing tar.


On Wednesday we went to our Japanese and English classes at the International Center.  The remodel in the lobby is now done with a new Cafe, "link Cafe".  It is all very nice.  We had great classes, our Japanese teacher has been able to start helping us read the Book of Mormon in Japanese.  We really appreciate this help.


Thursday and Friday we inspected apartments in Nobeoka and Oita.  This is a new route for us and the link between Nobeoka and Oita we have never taken before.  It was very beautiful with many mountains and valleys and tunnels.  Here we started our trip in heavy rain.


and in many locations heavy fog/clouds along the mountain ravines.


In Nobeoka the Elders got a Celestial rating on their cleaning and we took them to lunch.  This is Nanban Chicken, I got the spicy sauce and it was very good, and non fattening, at least the salad.


At Nobeoka we had time to visit the beach area, which we had not go to before.  Here I am in a grassy area near the beach.


A look towards the mountain over the river outlet areas.  There are actually two rivers that enter the ocean here, but apparently don't mix until the ocean.


A fishing boat was plying the waters off the beach.


Here is Luetta with the ocean background.


We stayed at the Hotel Route-Inn.  Here a picture of it with it's name in Katagana on top.


We enjoyed an included breakfast the next day.  It was mostly traditional, except I couldn't pass up the french fries they had out.  This seemed very unusual, maybe just for westerners.  Mizo, very traditional for breakfast is in the upper left.  The lower left bowl is a vegetable very popular in Okinawa called Goya.  It is very bitter in its raw state, but this was fryed up with some vegetable and very spicy.  It was pretty good.  Many Westerners can't stand Goya.



Next we drove to Oita and inspected the Elders apartment there.  They also got a Celestial rating and so we took them out to lunch.  One of the Elders had been out 8 months and not tried Japanese Ramen, so that's where we went.  I got the spicy one with TanTan vegetables.  Nobody knew what that vegetable was, but it was good.


Oh well after delivering some baking pans to the Beppu Sisters, that they wanted we returned home.  We passed many rice fields which are starting to take on a yellowish cast as the approach maturity.  Harvest time is just around the corner.  The end of our second rice cultivation season.



2 comments:

  1. That bowl of ramen is making me drool.... The goya is bitter melon. I've had it in Taiwan and liked it the way they prepared it. You are going to miss the food when you return home!

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