A Magical Evening in Otaki

Last night I made an attempt to cross country ski. I figured my back was on the mend and if there was any chance of my participating in the marathon on Sunday it would be wise to have at least strapped on the skis once before going 6km! Unfortunately I didn't have the correct knee brace with me and consequently I felt very unstable so I basically froze and couldn't relax into any rhythm or anything. I found myself going down a slight incline and before I was all the way to the bottom I found myself flat on my back gazing up at the beautiful starry sky! I made a snap decision that the marathon is not for me this year! I was feeling fairly down about it so Hiro and Naoko and I went out for sushi at a place called Wasabi in Date. It was really fun and the sushi was yummy!

Tonight I went to a reception for the start of the ski marathon. Actually, I went this afternoon with Hiro while she rehearsed her Yosakoi dancing group who were performing at the reception tonight. After the rehearsal we went to the Onsen for a bath. I haven't been in the Onsen since before we left for Christmas and there was no snow then so this was really magical. The world all around the bath was white and icy and the bath was hot and it just felt so lovely! It started to snow big, fluffy, fat flakes while we were sitting there. We stayed in for quite a while and made a plan to come back later, after the reception.

The reception was fun. The Finnish ambasador and his wife were there and my friend Mayu from Date City Hall was there to translate. Hiro and I gorged ourselves on sashimi and crepes - yummy! I spoke with several people who I hadn't met before, including a man who may have a connection for Ian to get a job! After we closed down that party Hiro and I joined another party - several people from Otaki had rented a Karaoke room and asked us to join them. We went in only for a couple of songs - one of the guys sang "You Are My Sunshine" to me - and then we headed back to the bath.

When we got outside it had stopped snowing and was now clear! The stars were amazing and then because it was a special occasion (the start of the marathon) they had fireworks that we could see from the water! Just at the end of the fireworks it began to snow again - just a little bit - but you could still see the stars! What a magical night!