Fireworks in the Appopriate Get-up!

Fireworks in Japan are always so fun because people come out in droves and often in yukatas. Yukatas are light, summer-weight kimonos, if you will.
From left to right: Ryan, Minori, Naomi and me (all sportin' our yukatas).
From left to right (below): Naeim, Zena (in the back), Fariha and Evan.
I love this shot. We're just chatting with the fireworks going off overhead.

Slack Lining, Hiking, Camping- Oh My!

This summer has been a good summer in that I've gotten into nature a lot more! Needless to say, it makes me feel much better being in Japan when I have access to the great outdoors.
Below, Norberto (my friend from Austria) is showing off his slack-lining skills.

This summer, Masa invested in a huge family sized tent in the hopes of camping with his niece (Sayu) and nephew (Aoi). Before heading to a camp ground, we did a trial overnight at Aoi's house. We set up the tent, had a nice BBQ and hit the sack- or at least tried to. Unfortunately, the little ones were a wee-bit scared to be in the tent. Maybe next summer. With no little ones in tow, Masa and I took the primo-deluxe tent to a nearby camping site anyhow. Hoping to get some more camping in this fall!
In Komatsu, way into the mountains, there's this really cool camping ground. We took a day to walk around and jump into the falls.
The mountains in Japan are lovely. The shot below is is taken from the car on the way to a climbing excursion. It's the first outdoor climbing I've done in Japan, so I was VERY excited to be on the real rock.