I got days off. My friends and my mom and myself, we went to Gunma prefecture. The place called Minakami where is about 3 hours drive from Tokyo. All the dark fresh greens in the mountains and the view of clean river and breeze.....uhhhhh.....feels so goood!!! This is the air we should breath everyday, not smoggy stuffy air in town. I heard70% of the land is mountain and uninhabitable. Japan is such a tiny country, no wonder it is so crowded and we have to live in a small cell like apartment. But the greatness of it is you can enjoy so much of greens and great nature. Especially in deep mountains, the air is so nice and cool. No humidity! That's always people talk about summer in Japan. So hot and humid. Well, not in here. :)
We did white water rafting. I have never done it before, but it was so much fun! I was worried about my mom even though she said she will try because she can't swim. However, the life jacket is so well made. It floats very well and the guide said it is constructed not to put your face in the water so you will not die. We floated in the water before we got on the boat and made sure it works well. My mom seemed nervous first but she was getting more comfortable about it. The ride was GREAT!! The river was clear and clean, so close, splashing over us, cooling down the worn out mind and body in the city. The view is only for those who goes down the river. It is definitely different than watching from riverside even it is very nice feeling too. You are in the middle of it! Our guide was a Brazilian, he spoke Japanese and English. On the half way......he found there was a wild monkey on a small bridge!!!!!!!! I was amazed he found that because the color was not standing out so much. I waved the monkey but he was just staring at us down the river. Maybe he thought "Here goes again.....silly Japanese on a boat...."!?
Next day, I went to Tanigawa mountain with my mom since the onsen (hot spring) place we were planning to go was not open yet. So we drove 10 more minutes to take a ropeway ride. The sky was so clear, we were told there are only a few days of a year that you can really have a 360 degree view of mountains. Well, that was the day! We were so lucky, the day before of rafting as well. It was the first clear blue sky almost in 30days. Tanigawa mountain is also know as a great hike course. There are so many groups of people visiting with backpacks and canes. My mom and I just realized we are the only ones wearing flip-flops. Well, we were not there for hiking.

Also, there are so many dragonflies all over. Both of us are really good at catching them, but......the dragonflies there were so quick! I used to catch a lot when I was a kid at my grandma place so I know how to catch them. My mom using another grabbing technique that my grandma told her. I only tried to grab their wings from the side when they are really resting. You can see their wings go down a little by little, once the wings are so low down they can't fly up so easily.....supposed to! I don't know why but they are so sensitive for their surroundings. They notice immediately and fly away. Both of us are so excited to win this battle with dragonfly. My mom started catching them with her quick grabbing palm. I tried but I knew I hesitate for a mili second being afraid I might crush them, so it did not work for a long time. Then we found all the ones we got are quite young ones. It is smaller and my mom mentioned the wings are softer. They have not learned how to run away I guess. Of course we don't kill them, let them free. Everybody was trying to catching them since there are so many but we saw none succeeded. My mom gave a dragonfly to a small boy and a girl let the family take a picture. His parents were so happy since they couldn't catch any. Kids were so excited to hold them in their own hands. Maybe nowadays Japanese children don't have much chance to chase and handle those live bugs in summer like we used to....

The whole trip was great. I had so much fun being in the nature. I am happy to be able to spend time with my mom, too. I would love to come back here again.