A traditional Japanese experience

It's been a sunny, beautiful and relaxing Saturday, with a cool breeze that hints of autumn.

After last night's stay at a bed and breakfast (and dinner, too) kind of place called Tamaya, I'm quickly getting into the mindset of fall.

Tamaya is so rustic and lovely. Gotta love that roof!

In typical Japanese fashion, as soon as you step through the door, there was a rack to place your shoes.

I saw these traditional sandals on the shelf.

We stayed in a big tatami mat room, on futons....

One of the other rooms had a traditional-style hat worn by workers in the rice fields.

I felt like I had stepped back in time as we gathered around what can best be described as a sand pit. We sat around the fire, which was surrounded by corn and potatoes roasting near the flames.

The vegetables had a wood-smoked flavor that was absolutely delicious.

The husband and wife who own the place served us a dinner full of vegetables right out of their backyard...

I'll do my best to identify everything. From the bottom right corner, going clock-wise: takoyaki (octopus ball), peppers and beef, cucumbers?, salad, edamame (Japanese soybeans), eggplant, egg salad, daikon (Japanese radish) and meat. Later on, they served us miso soup and onigiri. (rice balls)

After dinner, we passed around a few unique instruments to try.

Harriet -- the new ALT who replaced Sean and is from Bath, England -- trying the didgeridoo. It was hard to get a good sound from it!

We had a very nice time at Tamaya, just 30 minutes away from Kuji. It kind of felt like indoor camping since it was so rustic. :)

Tonight there are about 15 ALTs in the area going tent camping, and I'm looking forward to more relaxing time around a fire.