Samurai and Geisha

Kirk and I spent 3 whole days in Kyoto (which we will continuously blog about because it is AWESOME), but we had to start with pics that we paid a lot of money for. We decided to get professionally "dolled up", as Kirk would say, to be a Geisha and a Samurai. It was fun. It took a lot of time and a lot of make up for Kirk, but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Now for a few of our own, non-professional pics...

Three Peaks Hike

Last Saturday, Kirk and I went with the Outdoor Rec Group from the gym on the Three Peaks Hike in Hiroshima Prefecture, about 45 minutes away from Iwakuni. The trip was advertised as "Moderate to Difficult" but we quickly discovered it was closer to the "Difficult" end of the scale. From the very beginning of the hike, it was a sharp incline uphill and going up the large steps caused our heart rates to climb quickly. We were told that the climb up the mountain was about one mile in length (the hardest mile we've ever been on!!) but it took us nearly two hours to get to all three peaks. However, it was absolutely well worth the struggle.

The trail map. We took the red trail upward and the blue coming back down.

Where's Waldo (the snake)?

Can you tell how sweaty we are? This was after only 15 minutes of climbing!

To the right indicates Sunrise Peak and to the left indicates Middle Peak.

Kirsten "Danger" Diller

Joel "I Make This Look Easy" Diller

View from Sunrise Peak - we began the climb at the building in the middle of the photo. Doesn't that look like more than a mile?!

Taking a break with the rest of the group at the first peak.

Still on Sunrise Peak, we can see the flooded rice farmers' fields. The flooded fields seem to indicate either rice or lotus here in Japan.

This was one place of several where it was so steep, we had to use chains to pull ourselves up. Coming back down, we used the chains to repel down the rock face.

Joel "I Don't Need the Chains" Diller

This Pop Tart's for you, Dad!

Kirk "I'm Hungry" Diller climbing up to the second peak, accurately named Middle Peak.

Kirk "Sitting Down on the Job" Diller enjoying the view at the top of Middle Peak.

Joel "Deserving of a Rest" Diller

Kirk "Spasming Quadriceps" Diller climbing upward and onward to the third peak, known as Sunset Peak.

Lunch break at the top.

If you look closely, you can see some Japanese hikers on the Middle Peak.

Joel "On Top of the World" and Kirk "Along for the Ride" Diller

One of our hiking guides, Tasha, wanted to be featured on the "Handstands Across the World" blog so she was gutsy enough to do it on the edge of Sunset Peak. (Brave or crazy? You decide.)

Joel "I'm Sweaty and I Know It" Diller

Bike Ridin'

Joel and I decided to go for a bike ride today, just around our neighborhood area, and I can't believe I didn't realize how many cool things there were so close by! We rode up some steep hills (talk about killer thigh burn!), paid our respects at two local cemeteries, and meandered through some bamboo forests.

Mom, this bamboo is WAY too thick for you to cut down and use in a project, so don't even think about it!

Some bent bamboo... it was tied that way and I can't figure out why...

Some freshly tilled earth... wonder what they're gonna grow? Most things have already been planted...

Cemetery in the woods... we thought it showed the utmost respect to place Kirin beers on the graves ;-p

That's our cul de sac in the background... our house is right behind the middle one, so you can't actually see it, but this is super close to home!

A view from up higher - you can actually see our roof in this picture

This may look crowded, but we've seen some even more packed!!

Ah, the mountains

We look eh, but the background's cool. Spent 2 hours at the beach after church then went for a bike ride. Pretty relaxing day.

It's just fun to cross bridges, even when you have no clue what's on the other side. Here we are headed back toward the cemetery where we left our bikes. There's no crime here, so we've never been worried about them getting stolen.

I'm assuming that's the name of the foot bridge...

Cool Japanese tree

It looks kinda like a Dunder Mifflin coffee mug, but it just said "Coffee Coffee" on it.

Joel had to turn his feet sideways to walk down the steps because his feet were too big!

Our back yard! Full of weeds... those little boogers.

We have a purple iris! Sig Thet's represent!

My attempt at a garden. We have cherry tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers, parsley, dead basil, mint and rosemary I believe. We can't find cilantro ANYWHERE and it's killing me! We can buy it at the Commissary but I really wanted to grow some. :-/

Needless to say our ivy is doing quite well.

What a fun, relaxing day. Thank goodness for beautiful weather!