Nagano...And I'm finished!!!

I just got back from my fourth weekend excursion in a row...I went to Nagano to visit a friend and her family. I'm taking a brief break from traveling, but I think I'll be ready to go again soon (no definate plans yet, though!) Going to Nagano made me feel like a real Japanese person. I just jumped on the shinkansen (bullet train) like it was no big deal. I used to equate riding the shinkansen with riding on an airplane (the price is about the same). I thought you should get to the train station a few hours early, buy your ticket in advance, and watch what you eat before you get on the train (I get sick on airplanes!) But I bought my shinkansen ticket only minutes before I went from Tokyo to Nagano. And I love the shinkansen (mostly because I really hate flying!) I was warmly greeted by my friend, Yuka, and her mom. We drove back to her house, which is in the mountains, up a slightly treacherous, curvy road! Her house is really big compared to most Japanese houses, mostly because it is only one of ten houses on this mountain! On Saturday we went to an onsen (public bath), walked around in the rain, visited a few museums, had some awesome pumpkin and sweet potato ice cream, and hung out with her dad. On Sunday we went to Yuka's church. She told me it would be all day, and it really was! 9-5:30! I think the denomination is called Bretheren...I'm not exactly sure. Many people in her church spoke English, and there were a few foreigners that I spent most of the afternoon visiting with. The weather was pretty cloudy on Saturday, but on Sunday I had a beautiful view of the Nagano mountains. It made me realize how much I miss my sweet Washington mountains! Tateyama, my city, is SO flat!!! On Monday morning Yuka and I woke up at 4:30 and caught a 6:00am Shinkansen back to Tokyo. I didn't end up getting back to Tateyama until 11:00, where I went straight to school! It was a fast trip, but I am so glad that I have these opportunities to visit my friend's hometowns, because they are usually all in Tokyo for school. But now, it is time for a rest! I have been on a train or bus for at least 8 hours every weekend for the past month! But, I gotta do it now, because when I'm back in Washington, I can't easily say, "I'm gonna go to Hiroshima this weekend!"