Out and about in Morioka

We woke up to clear blue skies with a lovely view of the 2041 m (~7,000 ft) Mount Iwate.

the view from our bedroom window

Today is our only day without meetings or other appointments (thank goodness Yuki likes to spend Sundays with her family!), so we decided to head out and explore Morioka. We walked the ~2 km into town and explored the ruins of Morioka Castle, wandered around Iwate Park and the surrounding area, then walked a few blocks to the shopping district.

Catie in front of a rock shrine near Morioka Castle

there are gorgeous purple hydrangeas all over Morioka right now

 After Catie’s love of wearing yukata last night, we decided she would probably like to have her own to bring back to Richmond. We knew that if we found one today, she’d be able to wear it at the festival tonight, so we went yukata shopping! They showed us some absolutely gorgeous silk kimono for the 3-5-7 festival in November, but we left with a basic cotton yukata.

Obi tying lessons followed by goofy Catie faces in the mirror

Just before heading home, Catie got to play one of the sansa odori drums. She’s been talking about doing this for the past 3 days, so it was a nice treat. 

***whhooooaaaa. The room is shaking. Really shaking! I guess we are having our first earthquake for this trip. A 6^th floor apartment gets a bit wobbly. Not my favorite thing***

We're heading back into town for more drumming and dancing after a little rest!