I am not quite sure if I have said this enough times or not, but I am so thankful to be in such a beautiful country with such amazing people. Last Friday Scott and I took off on a little adventure of our own to go see the beautiful 400 year old Castle of Hikone. This is one of the highest accessible points (besides other mountain tops), and the point with one of the best views that I have seen so far. Looking out into the distance from any angle will give you an irreplaceable view of Hikone, including the beautiful Lake Biwa and the city of Hikone itself.

Time and time again, I had to just stop and take it all in. Just to think about people over 400 years ago walking on this very ground, building this very castle is quite a humbling experience. Once we made it to the top and I avoided the evil Japanese hornets, I sat on a bench in the wind and listened to every sound of the city. The holler of the air whistling through the mountains. The voice of the black and white birds in the trees just a few feet away. The city’s vehicles. What a sweet combination of nature, history, civilization, and peace. This gave me an opportunity to let my mind roam in places it ordinarily wouldn’t. I asked a lot of “why” questions to myself and imagined what life would have been like. Unfortunately, because of lack of planning and Scott and my spontaneous spirit, we did not get to the castle during the hours that the inside was open. In more than one way I am thankful for this. We were able to pay close attention to the outside architecture of the castle as well as its beautiful surroundings .

Leaving Hikone Jo, I felt renewed and restored. I had some prayer and much needed relaxation time. The JCMU Intensive Language program is very intense, I study here like I have never studied before… I might just need to visit Hikone Jo a little more often.