Mikawa Mu Valley Caves

Yesterday, we went on an adventure.  The original plan was to go strawberry picking, but due to all the rain, our plans were canceled.  At the last minute, we decided to try something else.  We headed out to the Mikawa Mu Valley Caves.  It was about an hour's drive from our house.  It is an Indiana Jones type of scavenger hunt set inside a series of caves that used to be used for mining.  It was a completely crazy Japanese adventure. 

 

 

A dark corridor.

 

Some old mining tracks.

 

 

Inside there was an underground waterfall. 

And a beautiful underground lake.

The view from outside the caves on top of the bridge.

This one is a random one taken from on top of the bridge.  In it you can see the structures that they put into the hillside to prevent mudslides.  These structures are everywhere.  We get a lot of rain here.

 

Not pictured were all of the statues that were carved into the stone of the caves, the random clues, and all the stuff that actually made in Indiana Jones-esque.  We wondered around in the caves for about 2.5 hours before we gave up solving the mystery.  We WILL go back and we WILL solve the puzzle!

New Year Bonfire at the Kintai

 

Once the new year arrives, people start placing rope wreaths outside of their homes and businesses.  Our understanding of these wreaths is that they are hung to symbolize and invite good luck for the new year.  On January 11th, they gather all of their new year wreaths and other decorations and toss them into a huge bonfire at the Kintai.  The culture here is so rich.  We are blessed to be able to be a part of it!

 

 

Karate at the Kintai

New Year's Day is one of the biggest holidays in Japan.  They also celebrate on January 2nd, but we aren't entirely sure why.  On the 2nd, there was a karate demonstration in (yes IN) the river that flows underneath the Kintai Bridge.  We viewed it from across the river.  It was hilarious.  We've enjoyed very mild temperatures so far this winter, but I guarantee those people were cold!

 

 

 

 

 

First they warmed up with some stretching.

 

 And then they got in the water. 

 

 They did a routine of sorts in the water, followed by some sparring, that led to a full on water fight.

When it was over, all of the participants marched to the other side of the bridge.  You can see they weren't too shaken up by the event.

Christmas 2015

This year for Christmas, Ken and I made the kids a teepee.  We had fun doing it and the kids were so excited Christmas morning.  Stone even squealed!  Here are some of my favorite shots of the day.