Favorite Season

Autumn is my favorite season of the year. It usually has very nice weather (although this year it has been too much rain!) and there are lots of fun things to do. It is a great time to go hiking in the mountains and enjoy the colors of the trees. This is a picture of Omine-san in Nara:

I also enjoy the cooler temperatures. After a long hot summer, it is a nice relief to feel the chill in the air and use a blanket to stay warm at night. Also, I have a wood-burning stove at my house, and I love watching the fire and feeling its warmth at night. It is so relaxing. Here is a picture of my dog, Ziggy, enjoying the fire:

I also enjoy autumn foods like sanma pumpkin, sweet potato, and of apples. Also, two of my favorite American holidays are in the fall: Halloween and Thanksgiving. I have always loved dressing in costume, trick or treating, and eating candy at Halloween. Thanksgiving is a holiday to get together with family and friends and eat lots of good food.

My Hobby

Everyone has hobbies. I have several hobbies including listening to music, traveling, watching movies and tv shows, and going hiking. Hiking is one of my favorite hobbies. Last weekend I had a chance to go hiking with my friend. We climbed to the top of Mt. Hyono, Hyogo's highest peak. It is located in northern Kyoto and is 1,510 meters high. We were very worried because the weather forecast said it would rain. However, we decided to go anyway and we were very happy to have very nice weather. We hiked for about five hours. It was very cold at the top, but it never rained! When we finished we visited a local hot springs and enjoyed a nice bath after a long hike.

Weekend Parties!

I hope you all had a really nice and relaxing weekend. I know I did. I had to work on Saturday morning, but I still was able to enjoy Saturday night and Sunday. On Saturday, we went to a new friend's house in our neighborhood and enjoyed a BBQ and roasted chicken. It was my first time to meet our new friends at their house and they were really nice and fun to spend time with. We enjoyed eating, drinking, and getting to know each other.

Then, on Sunday we went to another neighbor's house for a pizza party! Our neighbor's house had an outdoor pizza oven and they made several different kinds of pizzas. If you have never had a pizza from an wood burning oven, you should try it. It is very delicious and the pizza crust is very dark and crispy.

It was really nice to enjoy spending time with friends eating, drinking, and talking. We had good weather and enjoyed the weekend.

My Summer Vacation

This summer vacation was very relaxing and enjoyable. First, I went to Kanazawa and Nagano on a family trip. We drove to Kanazawa and visited Kanazawa castle, Kenrokuen garden and the 21^st Century Museum of Modern Art. 

Then we drove to Lake Nojiri in Nagano and stayed in a cabin. We enjoyed hiking, swimming, and visiting many local hot springs. 

We climbed Mt. Shirane, one of the hundred famous mountains in Japan! Second, I visited my family and friends in my hometown in Michigan. I went on a boat with my friends and spent a lot of time sightseeing with my family. 

Finally, I had a friend from Australia visit me in Japan. He stayed at my home and I took him sightseeing in Nara and Kobe. In Nara we saw the Great Buddha hall and also Kasuga Taisha shrine. 

In Sannomiya, we walked around the town and enjoyed eating and drinking. Overall, I had a nice time traveling and spending time with family and friends this summer.