one of those weekends i just had to write about

Yay, another blog post! I really missed blogging. Now, this time, what made me write was my busy but fun weekend. Here we go.

So my weekend activities started last Friday. My coworkers and I celebrated JR's birthday by having dinner at Gyu-kaku, a yakiniku (cook your own korean barbeque) restaurant. According to Kiyota-san, Gyu-kaku is not a real yakiniku restaurant because the meat is different (cheaper?). But the looks of the food and the place were kinda the same as the real yakiniku resto, so I dunno. Anyway, the food was OK--tasty if given the right sauces--so I didn't mind it being cheaper. And speaking of cheap, it was really cheap, relatively. We thought we'd be paying at least 3k yen each but in the end, the nine of us shelled out only a little more than 2k, all for ten people (following the japanese tradition of treating the birthday celebrant).

Right after dinner was karaoke. Not everybody joined though. Only the ones who were really into it participated. But it was also good that way because the ones that remained were the ones who were really willing to belt it out until the end, which was around 4 in the morning. So it was a very enjoyable karaoke. We tried the medley mode, and discovered that we know our carpenters (but not very much bon jovi!)

Then Sunday came and it was time for my second mountain climbing trip in Japan. Peejay and I joined Souma-san and his friends and together we climbed Mt. Arafune (Arafuneyama) in Genma prefecture. It was my first time to go outside Kanto to do non-business stuff. Jump off point to peak was around three hours long. Going down taking a different path took one hour. The climb was not very difficult, but of course was still tiring. The trail reminded me of Mt. Ugu, because of the pine trees and the cool air. The view was spectacular. Near the peak was a viewing deck, which was on top of a huge huge wall of stone. This was where we took our "view from the mountain" pictures, and of course, our jump shots.

After going down Arafuneyama, we headed to a farm which was famous for their cows and dairy products. It was a short but pretty enjoyable detour, as we got to eat their famous yummy soft cream (a.k.a ice cream) and take in the views of beautiful green pastures, colorful park-like sitting areas, and a road lined with pretty pink flowers. There was even a brook with goats grazing nearby. I enjoyed the view while standing on a wooden bridge which led to a deck going to the ice cream parlor. It was a lovely place and gave a very relaxing atmosphere.

But the real relaxation was to come after, because our next stop was the public onsen (hot springs). It was my first time so initially I was very hesitant to try it, getting naked with everyone in there! But my companions (except PJ) seemed fine with it. It seemed like such a normal post-climbing activity to Souma-san and friends. Also, I thought, there's no reason for me to be embarrassed because my female companions can still be considered strangers anyway. The idea of a hot bath wasn't such a bad one either. And so in the end, I convinced myself to go. And wow! I didn't regret it. It was very relaxing and refreshing. It was definitely weird at first--I was almost laughing at myself with embarrassment. But after seeing how normal everyone was acting--chatting and walking around in their birthday suits, I soon got over it, and I was able to enjoy the hot water, and the company of Meg-san and Ari-san, who have become less than strangers already.

After onsen and enduring heavy traffic in the super highway on the way back to the train station, PJ and I rushed over to Yokohama to watch some friends perform jazz music--my first time to go to a jazz club. We were late though. We missed the first set but good thing there was another set, and we were able to catch that one. It was a night of really good jazz and blues. It was also a sort of gathering of the band members from church, as a lot of the musicians and singers were there, partly to show support for Kozue's trumpet debut and partly to celebrate Sumiko's birthday. But another star of the night was Ozcar, Kozue's friend the sexy sax player. He was fantastic. Actually, everyone performing was great. But the sax just brought something else to the sound of the band. And he was cute. Wonderful night!

So I went home super tired, catching the second to the last train of the day. Then, I poured my remaining energy to the mostly uphill biking that I had to do from the station to my house. And then, the super fun weekend was over.

P.S. more pictures to follow. ^_^