M picked me up this morning as we headed off to pick up three others in Fujioka. K was meeting us at Sakurayama Park, where you could see the winter cherry blossoms. It was raining, so some of the others who had wanted to join us, changed their minds. We made to the park with only one mis-turn. There was a guy who said something in Japanese and waved us on. We only understood 300 m so we kept driving figuring he was directing us to parking. Instead we came to another entrance with a booth where you had to pay and had to turn around and re-enter the park. A little confusing, but this time around, the other guy directed us to the parking lot.

The blossoms were pretty faint, I think it was a bit early in the season, but the fall leaves were at their peak. Absolutely stunning! I love the red of momiji, Japanese maple. The rainy weather added some fog. We first walked around a Japanese garden and then walked through the park up a ginormous hill that had a gazebo on top. K decided to stay behind here and take a nap in the peaceful nature. The rest of us were hungry and wanted to get some food. We stopped by the stands that were selling local food, and the mushroom guy even spoke English!

We decided to head to Kanna Town where O, another ALT, was finishing a marathon. We grabbed some conbini food to tide us over and began the drive. The road curves around a lake surrounded by fall leaves with some red bridges spanning it. So picturesque. The color of the water was really cool too. He had already finished by the time we arrived, but we managed to cheer on some of the Japanese runners. Apparently there’s even an exchange with France so a marathon runner comes from there to run. There was free soup and O had some food coupons so we got to try some Japanese food for free, including grilled corn just like my university’s Japanese club always makes.