Takayama

So this past weekend my school had a field trip to Takayama, a quaint historical town about 2 1/2 hours away from Nagoya.

We rode the bus together and when we arrived at the town we split up into groups.  My group consisted of an American  friend of mine and a new Japanese friend I made previously in addition to several new people.

It was a great group! I made several new friends and we had a blast! First we went shopping in the historical district in town, which is a beautiful place full of old buildings and traditional craft shops.

Also, the food was wonderful! Ice cream and special beef stands everywhere.

After shopping we had to return to the bus, which was unfortunate as we only covered one street.  I would've spent a whole day there easily.

Then we went to our next location, Hida Folk Village.  This is an historical (uninhibited) village comprised of very old houses and buildings (maybe...17 century  18th?) and was full of mountain nature.  It was beautiful! Also the weather was perfectly clear so we could see the mountains clearly off in the distance.

After spending some time there we sadly had to return home.  It was a fantastic trip and I made new friends which is great!

Then on Sunday, on my way to church, I saw an amazing thing.  A group of Marios playing soccer  Only in Japan will you find a bunch of guys dressed in Mario costumes playing soccer in the local town park.
Of course I didn't have my camera on me. >.<

Anyway, hard to believe only 3 weeks of school left! I'm counting down the days till my family arrives here in Japan.  Vacationing with them will be a great way to end my stay here in Japan.