Today I went to a flower festival with friends. The train ride followed the coast and had some beautiful views. It was fun to be "out in the country" for a while. The flowers were gorgeous! There were fields of purple, pink, and white cosmos flowers and the backdrop consisted of mountains. The conji for cosmos translates into "fall cherry blossom."

The weather was perfect for a day at the park. Lots and lots of cute kids were with their parents and grandparents. People sat in the green grass with picnic lunches and talked and relaxed together. It was very refreshing to see this part of family life and people enjoying each other.

For me, lunch consisted of pork on a stick, grilled corn-on-the-cob (with soysauce), and takoyaki (octopus in a fried batter). It was all very good and the food reminded me of county and state fairs in the States.

There was also a flea market, where I saw a sight I never would have anticipated in Japan. Flying above all else was a Confederate flag! I took a picture of it to document "One of the top ten things I never thought I'd see in Japan," and the owner started talking to me. He had spent some time in Hawaii and bought it at a market there. He didn't have a great grasp on what the flag actually stood for besides that it had to do with southern states. It was an interesting discussion!

Pictures from the Flower Festival:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaNXLlm0cNWLM