Balloons at dawn

Friday, I stayed over at my friend Mike and his girlfriend Ikuko's apartment in Iwadeyama, about 25 minutes from Naruko. Had a tasty dinner of oden, and drank a few beers while trading stories and staying warm underneath the kotatsu (a low to the ground table with a built-in heater underneath, and covered by a blanket(s), a genius invention). On Saturday, we were up at first light and made our way over the site of the hot-air balloon festival, a flat stretch of land next to the river. We (the three of us plus Christine, another JET) quickly got in line for tickets for free rides, as their were only 200 spots. Just barely in time, we ended up with tickets, #195-198 (we would've had the last four, but we had hurried past a mother and child as we entered the line).



The lead balloon began filling up at about 6:45 and took off just after 7:00 into a pale blue sky, with the orange sun still low over the horizon in the distance. Upon lift off, the other 25 balloons or so began inflating with great commotion. Equally as impressive as the bright colors and sheer size of the balloons, was the noise of the bursts of flame shooting up into each one. One by one, they lifted off, some some quickly, some slowly. I joked to Mike that the scene looked like our New Horizons ichi-nensei (7th grade) textbook cover, graced by a picture of a half-dozen balloons hanging over the countryside.



A really stunning sight, and not nearly captured by the photos you see here, but you get the idea. We watched until they floated over the ridge in the near distance and then when for breakfast. Returned about 9:00 for our much anticipated balloon ride. Though seemingly calm, we were informed that the weather was too windy, and for liability reasons, they couldn't take any passengers. We were a little bummed, but it turned out the balloon would have been tethered to the ground and we could've only gone up about 10 meters anyway. A glorious morning nonetheless...






For lunch we ate at a rather famous ramen shop, Iroha Shokudo. So well known in fact, we were in the queue outside for over 30 minutes. A interesting old Japanese style building, it is seemingly run by one woman (think the Soup Nazi from the Seinfeld episode), though she must've had kitchen help. The restaurant seats about 40, and when spots free up she comes outside and barks commands to those in line, telling who and how many can come inside. Once through the door though, she turns much nicer and does everything from taking orders to serving the food to collecting the money. The menu is pretty simple, they have three items: ramen, ramen with a pork bear claw on top, and katsudon (of which there are only 5 each day, I didnt try it so I cant explain what is is). Anyway, hands down the best ramen I've had in Japan--delicious and well worth the wait.