Keith and Michelle Visit: Part 1

Keith and Michelle came from Singapore to visit (and take the PE exam). On Friday, they rode the train up from Yokosuka, Kangawa, to Takasaki. We met them at the station in Takasaki and had dinner at an izakaya. Then we all went home to Maebashi.

On Saturday, we headed off to Nikko with a stop in Utsunomiya for the yabusame festival at Futaarasan Jinja. Unfortunately, due to a passing typhoon, it was rainy all day so the festival was cancelled and we arrived in Nikko too late to do any sightseeing that day. We did make time to enjoy some of Utsunomiya's famous gyoza and ramen for lunch. For dinner, we enjoyed okonomiyaki and Murasaki Shikibu Pancakes for dessert (Okonomiyaki batter with sweetened adzuki mixed in). After that, we enjoyed the Japanese style onsen bath at Turtle Inn, Hotori-An.

On Sunday, the weather was sunny and we headed out to Rinnoji Temple, Toshogu Jinja, and Shinkyo Bridge. It must have been an auspicious day, because we saw weddings at both Toshogu and Shinkyo Bridge as well as several children all dressed up in kimono and heading to the shrines. For lunch, we enjoyed the yuba teishoku set since yuba is Nikko's famous local product. For dinner we enjoyed a lovely sushi meal.

On Monday we headed to Tokyo and went sightseeing and souvenir shopping in Asakusa. We had handmade soba for lunch. After that, we tried to catch a train to check out the sights in Shinjuku, but ran out of time and had to head back to Ueno to catch the train to the airport.

We had a great time. Hope to see you guys again soon!