Today we spent the morning with Kanae and adorable Riko and Rio. First Kanae brought us to the famous Giant Buddha of Kamakura – one of the only two giant Buddha statues in all Japan. I’m pretty sure there are others but, hey, an official list is an official list no matter how short. We admired his giant, thin and curly mustache, went inside the sculpture for 20yen a head and made our way back to the car to continue our Kamakura expedition.

Kanae had planned to take us to Hachimangu – a very famous shrine – but traffic proved to be rather intense for reasons we later discovered (a very important holiday for kids turning 3, 5 and 7 is coming up and families are heading to shrines in droves). So we bypassed Hachimangu for the moment and headed to a temple (whose name I for-the-life-of-me can’t remember) that is known for it’s wonderfully thick bamboo forest. I think it’s colloquially called the Bamboo Temple. And my what a thick forest of bamboo it was. Just beauitful – with a thick carpet of lush moss only broken by the occasional stepping stone. We enjoyed a bit of thick, foamy green tea (what we realized would be our last matcha) as we took in the scenery of the bamboo forest and a playful little waterfall.

For our next Kamakura location-not-be-missed, Kanae lead the way to a Zen temple nestled in a forest and carved into the stone of a mountain side. It proved a beautiful if not a bit spooky place whose scraggly, leafless trees drove home the message that fall was coming despite today’s extraordinarily warm weather.

We walked back to Kanae’s car and started the trip back to Hachimangu with hopes that the crowds had subsided or at least a parking spot would be free. No such luck. As we drove in circles, slowly, looking for a parking spot, we realized that time was getting short and Kanae, Riko and Rio would soon have to head back to Kanae’s parents home in order to get their ride to the airport. Ah, how quickly time flies. We finally found a spot and Kanae hurried us to a Thai restaurant she had mentioned earlier. Aware of the time, we all quickly ate up our respective tasty Thai dishes and rushed back through the now bustling crowds of children in kimono and parents and formal wear.

We made it back in time to Kanae’s parents, and sadly waved Kanae, Riko and Rio goodbye with hopes, no, assurances that we will see them in the States soon. It was then back to packing. Our bikes were still unwrapped and unready so we got to work; the bubble wrap, tape, bikes and bike bags all lay in wait. Kanae’s father, Meghan and I all spent the next hour with greasy hands trying to protect every protrusion and side of the bike from rough baggage handlers – all while trying to keep the bikes as small as possible. It’s quite unlikely that we’ll get away with the bike bags as regular checked luggage but if we do, it means we’ll save about 400USD in over-sized baggage charges. Please, please, please let us not incur those charges.

Bike packed, we popped them in the car, washed our hands and headed into house for our final, and always delicious, dinner prepared by Mrs.Hitomi . Tonight was chicken with broccoli and pasta followed by the again always delicious fresh sliced apple. Our final dinner in Japan and homecooked. What a treat! After dinner, we had much needed showers, ensured that our bags were, mostly, in order, grabbed Inu-chan from his new favorite napping place on the piano, and headed to bed.

It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that tomorrow night I will be back home in Washington DC. It’s not a vacation. We’re going home for good. And not only does that mean readjusting to a culture and country that I feel like I should know (but I don’t), but also means leaving Japan, a place I have grown to love and be very comfortable in during these last three years. But maybe that’s why it’s time to go. I’m not ready to get so comfortable yet – it’s important to mix things up every now and them.

So, I guess this is our last post from Japan. If you are in the US, we will no doubt see you very soon. If you are in Japan, we’ll be in touch and no doubt see you all fairly soon as well.