Waking up was hard to do after our insanely busy Saturday, but everyone was in high spirits for our 10:30 church service at Agape International Chapel. Our close, intimate church family was one of the best things about Tsukuba, and we LOVED showing the church off to all of our guests. The people there are especially warm and inviting. You feel at home right away. This particular Sunday was special for two reasons:
In fact, we passed the Haines family riding their bikes that way. After seeing us, Reagan exclaimed "My people!!!" It was, of course, a lot of fun watching our friends out of their element here. Some cultural differences really show when comparing Agape to the churches we are used to in America. When it was time to stand up and greet one another, Amanda, Jill, and Leon got bombarded with curious/excited Agape members. Seth and I enjoyed watching these people pour out their love to total strangers.
After the service, we had our usual lunch at the church and enjoyed the conversations between our American friends and our Japanese friends. We were like proud parents showing off our children! The food was AMAZING! So much so that almost all of us had seconds (and...maybe...thirds...?).
After church we we were mountain-bound to do some good 'ol fashioned ume viewing. Mt. Tsukuba has a fantastic ume (plum) blossom grove and it was supposed to be about time for some bloomin'. Well...not quite yet... There were some pretty sections, but we could tell that the prime time was still a couple weeks away.
We walked around Mt. Tsukuba for a couple hours, visited some shops, and were properly pooped. Luckily, there was an onsen (naked hot bath) just around the corner! We were planning on meeting the Haines' at the onsen around 5:30, so we killed some time by enjoying a beer and the smoggy Tokyo skyline. Unfortunately, it was so smoggy that we weren't able to see much of that skyline. That being said, it was hard to deny the still gorgeous view from the mountain side. After our beers, we strolled over to take a dip in the only true onsen in the Tsukuba area. Ahhh, there is nothing like the relaxation and bonding that comes from an onsen... Truly, there isn't anything like it in the USA.
Unfortunately the Haines' couldn't make it to the bathhouse, but at least they met us for dinner that night.
What an incredible day! ANNNND this week was only going to get better. That night we all headed to bed early because tomorrow we were starting our three day adventure in Tokyo!
~Kate
1. Amanda, Jill, and Leon were able to attend.
and
and
2. We had a car and we got to drive to church (it is normally about a thirty minute bike ride).
After the service, we had our usual lunch at the church and enjoyed the conversations between our American friends and our Japanese friends. We were like proud parents showing off our children! The food was AMAZING! So much so that almost all of us had seconds (and...maybe...thirds...?).
After church we we were mountain-bound to do some good 'ol fashioned ume viewing. Mt. Tsukuba has a fantastic ume (plum) blossom grove and it was supposed to be about time for some bloomin'. Well...not quite yet... There were some pretty sections, but we could tell that the prime time was still a couple weeks away.
We walked around Mt. Tsukuba for a couple hours, visited some shops, and were properly pooped. Luckily, there was an onsen (naked hot bath) just around the corner! We were planning on meeting the Haines' at the onsen around 5:30, so we killed some time by enjoying a beer and the smoggy Tokyo skyline. Unfortunately, it was so smoggy that we weren't able to see much of that skyline. That being said, it was hard to deny the still gorgeous view from the mountain side. After our beers, we strolled over to take a dip in the only true onsen in the Tsukuba area. Ahhh, there is nothing like the relaxation and bonding that comes from an onsen... Truly, there isn't anything like it in the USA.
Unfortunately the Haines' couldn't make it to the bathhouse, but at least they met us for dinner that night.
Okonomiyaki at our favorite place down the street!
What an incredible day! ANNNND this week was only going to get better. That night we all headed to bed early because tomorrow we were starting our three day adventure in Tokyo!
~Kate
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