This past Saturday was a beautiful day and probably the last Saturday to enjoy the fall colors, so we got on the train and paid 120 yen (a little over a dollar) for our tickets(psst--we smuggled Stanley! No ticket for him!) to ride to the next station--Takaosanguchi. Here we hiked about 2 hours to the top of Mt. Takao, enjoying the deep red maple trees and the good smell of nature in autumn. We could see Mt. Fuji, but a cloud covered the top (on the picture, snow-covered Mt. Fuji is right above Stanley's head). I was hoping to see some wild monkeys, but none appeared, so we paid a few yen to see some at a Monkey park. In the mountains Akihiro said they can come and grab your bag and run away--I guess they are a real pest! It was fun to see them! We had rice balls for lunch and mochi balls (compressed rice) toasted and dipped in sweet miso (fermented soybean paste). It sounds gross, but actually it was quite yummy!
On our return trip we got a good view of the Hachioji area (Hachioji is like a county and Takao is the town we live in). If you note the picture, you can see the row of yellow ginko trees along Route 20 that is very near our house and the bridge spanning the river behind our house. Our house is above the bridge and to the left of the ginko trees.
That night we went to visit Akihiro's grandfather's sake bar in Kawasaki--about 1.5 hours by train. He is 80 years old, but manages fairly well! He enjoyed filling us up with cooked eal, clams, tuna sashimi, shrimp, tempura, and all kinds of good food! The place may close soon, so we were glad we went! Akihiro's grandma and his cousin met us there too.