My hostess took me on another walk in the park. She told me that she is really enjoying the opportunity to walk there because she has not been able to walk there due to all of the typhoons that have been hitting Japan every weekend since summer. The window cat told me that there have been eight typhoons this season. One of them was the worst in twenty five years. There was damage to many of the trees in this park and some of them had to be cut down.

A Platanus tree like the Lord of the park was also cut down. Platanus trees are a family of trees that includes a tree that I am very familiar with in my home in Texas, USA. The members of the platanus tree family that live in Texas are called sycamores. We even have a street named Sycamore Street.

The next day when we woke up I told my host family all about my stay in Canada. The tea that I brought with me from British Columbia was served for breakfast. It is fun to think of that tea traveling all the way from western Canada to Otsu to be enjoyed with breakfast.

On another day we went for a bicycle ride to see the beautiful autumn leaves. My new friends and I rode in the basket. It was very exciting. I was happy that one of my new friends held on to me as we rode. Baby window cat was a little afraid and was also happy to be held.

We also went near the lake and enjoyed the evening scenery. Nearby there are boat houses from universities in the Shiga area and also from universities in Kyoto.  We saw the students in their canoes. They practice rowing canoes all during the year. My hostess doesn't go in the canoes, but she likes to watch the students row in the pretty lake.

Look, there is a special dentist just for children in Otsu. I wonder what my young Canadian friends will think about the friendly tooth family on the building?

Here is a photo of one of the dinners we enjoyed. My host family often eats dried tofu.

My hostess wrote an explanation of what we were eating:

Dark blue dish/Salad (Vinegar, Salt, Pepper, Olive oil) Boiled chicken, Wasabi leaves, Cucumber, Japanese persimmon. 

Green dish/Stir-fry (Soy sauce, Sweet rice wine) Bell pepper,Dried and boiled baby sardines. 

White dish/Vinegared mackerel with mustard. 

Round dish/Stew(Soup of dried bonito, Soy sauce, Sweet rice wine, Salt, sugar) Boiled egg, Radish, Freeze-Dried Tofu.

Today my friends and I got to go on a train.

The picture on the train is advertising a movie called “Chihayafuru”. This movie is a story of young people who challenge Karuta. Karuta are traditional Japanese playing cards.  Chihayafuru is also a manga series.

There is a shrine called Omi Jingu (近江神宮) in the city where I am visiting. Part of the live action movie was filmed there . You can read more about Omi Jingu and also a little about the movie and the cards here: http://jpninfo.com/68069

This is the main website for the shrine: http://oumijingu.org/