Gozaisho Mountain

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November 23rd is a national holiday in Japan that celebrates labor and harvest. As it was the day before my birthday, we decided to go out to Gozaisho Mountain. Located right in Mie, these are the same mountains we can see out our apartment door. We were really lucky to be able to see the autumn leaves (that's right, you can still see them at the end of November!).

The friends who joined us wanted to take the cable car up the 1212 meter mountain. We enjoyed the slow ride to the top, but not the steep price! It cost us around $25.00 USD per person, (including the lift).

Masayo and Caitlyn

Toyokazu and Chad (Chad is representin' Mie)

As you can see, at the very top the leaves have mostly changed and fallen. We felt the view was breathtaking nonetheless.

At the top of the mountain, there is a rock with a poem on it. When we asked what it meant, our friends tried to translate. They didn't recognize some of the kanji, and after looking it up in their cell phone dictionaries they came up with, "Snow, Triangle, Teapot." Above, Toyokazu is pondering what it all means.

Udon lunch!

Above: The beautiful view from the cable car on the way down. We are planning on climbing next spring!

At our friend Joel's suggestion, we decided to try senbei, a type of Japanese rice cracker. These ones were freshly made and served warm, so they were actually more like cookies. Yum!

What a cute couple!

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