We got up early this morning for a quick hike before heading out for the day. Kanae lead us along roads until we reached the classic, stairs up a mountain of Japan. At the top of the stairs we found a path that wound its way along the hilltops, occasionally the foliage breaking to give way to a view of Kamakura and the ocean beyond. Kamakura rests safely between mountains and hills on one side and the ocean on the other. Mount Fuji can be seen from the top of this climb on a nice day, but sadly our view was foggy. Still we were able to enjoy the hike, passing through ancient tunnels dug through the hills, and an amazing stretch of ceder woods at the end.

After breakfast back at the house, we headed to Haneda airport to pick up our cat from Krystal and Yuya, who flew down from Hokkaido with him this morning. Happily, Kanae offered to drive us to the airport on her way to the hairdresser in Tokyo. It was a quick exchange in the airport, and with a cat in a bag we headed into Tokyo. Inu-chan (our cat’s name) was dead silent, probably on account of pure shock from his airplane experience. We had been debating between taking the train back from Tokyo – about and hour and a half ride with two train changes – or waiting for their hair appointment to end and getting a ride home with Kanae. In the end we decided the crowded subway would be worse then a couple hours alone in the car, so we wandered around the Omotesando area while Kanae and the girls got their hair done.

Christophe actually stayed in Tokyo after the rest of us headed back with the cat. He went to a concert with a buddy who we had hoped to meet up with earlier in the week but who had had the flu. I took the cat back and introduced him to Kanae’s parents home. Kanae and I set about making pizzas for dinner, and by the time the dough had finished rising Inu-chan had come out from behind the couch and was happily inspecting the room. I was amazed by how quickly he adjusted to the new space. I guess he did remember me after all, since it took him no time at all to start nuzzling me and following me around meowing (you have to take the good with the bad when it comes to cats).

It was a relaxed evening of making and eating pizzas. Kanae’s brother’s family lives on the second floor of the house so they all joined us for dinner. After dinner we all took baths one by one, and just hung around until we got tired (actually until the adults got tired, Kanae’s girls and their cousins seemed to have an endless quantity of energy!). I went to bed before Christophe got back and don’t even remember his return – I guess the day had been more tiring then I realized.