Rowan's Parents Welcome Party
　We had a wonderful two week stay in Japan. We went to many beautiful areas. We arrived in Kosaka at 12:30am Monday 23rd June.　Monday morning we visited the Mayor's office and the Mine Office and drove to Lake Towada. Monday night we had a welcome 　ceremony. A big thank you to the organiser and to the people who came. We really enjoyed it.
　On Tuesday we went shopping in Odate City. Wednesday morning we went to the theatre - the guide showed us around under the stage area and upstairs. We were seated downstairs and given iced coffee. We enjoyed the show very much. We had met two of the actors the day before at the Mine Office.
　Wednesday afternoon we went to Hirosaki Castle and Furofushi spa. It was nice and relaxing.
　On Thursday we met some of Rowan's English class students for lunch and had a wonderful time chatting about different topics.
　On Thursday afternoon we went to the bear farm and fed the bears crusts of bread. Then we went to Mt. Hachimantai and went to an  onsen on the way home.
　On Friday we went shopping at Odate and Kazuno and had pasta for dinner at a restaurant on the way home.
　On Saturday we got up early and travelled to Mt. Moriyoshi by car,  train and gondola and then walked for five hours through mountain
flowers and bush and then caught a train home.
　Next morning we drove to the East Coast of Japan and went  through the new and old Ryusendo Caves. They were spectacular.  We went down 35 feet into the cave and saw the crystal clear water running through below us.
　We stayed at Miyako City on Sunday night. On Monday morning, we drove to the blowhole by the sea and saw the big Buddha which was  12 stories high. We walked inside it to the top. The view from there was great. The coastline was also very beautiful with lots of small islands in the bays. There were many fish farms close to shore. On Tuesday afternoon, we were taken to Odate and then that evening we were invited to a Japanese barbeque.
　On Wednesday we were taken to Aomori to see the festival floats and the remains of an ancient civilisation dating back 6000 years.
On Thursday morning, we played cricket with the Kosaka Primary  School children. We had a lot of fun. Then Rowan's office colleagues all said goodbye and wished us a safe trip home. We would like to thank everyone who looked after us and gave us many gifts. Maybe  we will see you in New Zealand one day!

Sayonara. Best wishes to you all. Kind regards, Sandra and Andrew