Today was amazing. Truly. Though I only got five hours of sleep last night and had to wake up at 6:15 (Saturday...), I had the most relaxing day here yet. This morning Encho sensei (our boss) took us to Aizu, a nearby city, to go hiking and to experience an onsen (explanation later). The morning was beautiful, as you can see. My mother and I saw a quilt earlier this year at a show that looked like it resembled fire. After reading the notes from the quilter, however, we learned that it had been inspired by her experience of Autumn in Japan. Though our tour guide today said that the trees "aren't as beautiful this year as usual," I now understand the drive behind that quilter's needle. After hiking (by the way, Encho sensei is in his 70's, and this was quite a hike...), we stuffed our faces with every kind of Japanese food you can imagine (yes, there was squid), at a hotel buffet. Then after lunch we headed to the onsen. An onsen is something I have been intrigued by ever since reading Bruce Feiler's Learning to Bow in preparation for this trip. In his book, he describes it as a way to establish "relationships without clothes on." That's exactly what we did today. So....an onsen is a natural hotspring that can be enjoyed in a group setting, some are inside, others are outside, without the comfort of a bathing suit. Fortunately, this onsen was separated by gender, so we were good to go. The entrance is located, usually, inside a swanky hotel (though every onsen is unique). You walk through a locker-room-type thing, armed with only a towel the size of what you might dry dishes with. I think our entire experience this afternoon can be summed up in one comment, made by my friend Patty who is self-conscious about "sticking out" while shopping. She looked at her mini-size towel, rolled her eyes, and sighed, "Well, going to the grocery store shouldn't be a problem anymore." That was my day...a great day of culture and relaxation. Sorry I haven't figured all the technical stuff out with the pictures yet...little by little I will learn to use a computer. But, as my brother Chris would say, "Enjoy the visual stimulation."