Tayasumi & Bamboo Shoots

I have been having a great time with a lone customer this past week. Getting lost and almost hypothermic in the rain, riding ten-hours in a day to and from the Japan Sea, almost all up^-hill, climbing Naeba where there is still two meters of snow at the summit, and enjoying our local tayasumi (break after finishing planting the rice) festival.

At the festival we, and some friends visiting from Tokyo, helped pick and peel bamboo shoots with our neighbors. I have no photos of the picking because I lost my glasses in the forest, and it took me twenty minutes on my hands and knees to find them. I can only see a few inches in front of me without my glasses.

As you may have guessed, Mona was a big hit at the party.