The weekend is over and I am back at work. It is eight o’clock in the morning, and I am already feeling hot. I am amazed at how hot it is already. My thermometer in my room read 23 degrees this morning! The funny thing is that while I walk around in short sleeve shirts, everyone else around me in Japan is wearing wool hats and coats. One in a while I will see another person wearing a t-shirt, and that person is almost always a gaijin!

However, despite the fact that I already feel hot, I had a really great weekend. It started out early on Saturday morning when I met one of my friends in the Hankyu Station in Umeda. We then went to the JR station and took the Fukuchiyama line to Namaze. Our plan was to walk along the old JR Fukuchiyama line to Takedao. It was a really great hike. The trail is an old railway line that runs along the Muko River. The really great part about this hike is that you hike through the old railway tunnels. Luckly, my friend Taka brought a flashlight so that we could see where were going in the tunnels. Some of the tunnels were pretty dark, and we couldn’t even see our hands in front of our faces! Half way through the hike we scrambled down the side of a cliff to have our lunch beside the river. I made rice balls, and Taka brought careage (fried chicken). All in all, it was a really great hike. I can’t wait to go hiking again next weekend. Soon I will be ready to climb Mt. Fuji!