Chiiori

After such an amazing weekend last week, I tried not to expect too much from this weekend’s adventure up to a traditional Japanese thatched-roof house way up in the mountains called Chiiori or "Cottage of the Flute" (www.chiiori.org). The house is featured in Alex Kerr's book, Lost Japan, and volunteers come for weeks, months, or years at a time to live and work at the house and to cater to the tourists who pass through it for day-trips and overnight stays. It was a very random interesting group of about 15 of us from all over the world. Since it was absolutely freezing, we spent most of our time huddled around the two little fire pits except for a trip down into the valley to warm up at the coed mineral hot-springs or onsen. We then spent the next day watching a samurai parade through one of the local villages. The worst part of the weekend was having to return on Sunday afternoon for a full week of school.