Beach Weekend and Hiking through Rice Fields and Mountains

This weekend was an absolute blast. It started out with a birthday party for my friend Erik out at his house. He lives in the country. It is hilarious. He is the only foreigner for a solid 15 miles. I hopped a train after work and got to his party on top of this hill at about 10pm. We hung out at the top of this hill and played drums and guitar until about 2am. After that we went back to Erik's place and hung out on his roof and looked at stars until the sun came up. Once the sun was up we couldn't help but explore the massive rice fields behind his house. We walked through the fields for about an hour. We came back and I headed home. It was truly great to be surrounded by mountains and these amazing rice fields with people who also appreciated the beauty.
Later in the day after I got some sleep. My coworkers picked Jeannie and I up and we headed to Uradome for a kayak tour of the beautiful ocean side cliffs. We kayaked for about 2 or 3 hours and explored the amazing coast. We kayaked into some caves and I saw many crabs and big fish. Again an amazing time. When I got home I passed out with exhaustion and slept for a solid 12 hours that night.
The next day my friend Ai picked me up and we headed to Uradome beach. We chilled and swam from noon to about 5pm. It was so hot, but the water was perfect. This trip made again realize that I am like a white tiger around here. Everywhere I got, people stop what they are doing and point and say ahh Gaijin (foreigner). It does get annoying, but Ive learned to deal with it. I think it is my blonde hair that gets them, its like they have never seen a white person before, even though they all obsess over western culture, especially movies. You think with all that exposure to the west they would not stop and stare at every foreign person they see. They literally do a full 360 when I walk by, it is kinda funny. Anyways, it was fun to hang out at the beach again, on a nicer day.
After the beach I headed to a local shrine to get some peaceful me time...haha. I hiked up this mountain and got to the shrine and no one was there. It was perfect. The pictures will do this place justice. The best part is that this is right in my backyard.
One more thing, I decided to stay until next July. So sorry to everyone who wanted me to come back, but I need to do this while I have the chance. I love you all and miss you so much!
till next week. JB