Sanjo Stompin' Grounds

This weekend we took a trip up to Sanjo, which is about 3 hours (by train) northwest of Yokohama. We visited with the Nakagawa family. Emiko Nakagawa was one of the people that Jared baptized while he was on his mission here in Japan ten years ago. Since then, she's been married and has 4 beautiful children. Jason really loved playing with them all.

Chiho was gracious enough to let Jason ride on the back of her bike with her. These two really hit it off, and Jared liked to joke that Jason had a girlfriend.

Obviously, Chiho adored Jason as much as he adored her. In fact, when the Nakagawa family dropped us off at the train station when it was time to go home, Jason tried to kiss Chiho. I guess she thought he was too young for her. (She's 5.)

Here's a picture of me and Tatsu. Both Jared and I loved playing with him. He's about 18 months old, and so cute! He was a very happy baby, and he warmed up to us both very quickly.

Here's a picture of me & Jared with Emiko and her husband, Hiroshi. They were very welcoming, and we really enjoyed the time we were able to share with their family. Jared was almost giddy being back in his old missionary stomping ground, and was welcomed back by a large percentage of the small branch of the church there. The Nakagawa family especially inspired us with the strength of their faith.

On Saturday night, Emiko's parents and sister, Tomoko, also came by to visit. They were all very nice, and brought Jason a traditional matsuri costume. In all, we had a great time in Sanjo, and were sad to leave our friends.