I have a friend in Ouchi. She works at the train station. Last year, for some reason I made a random stop there, it’s a small train station, but we were destined to meet. She lives with 60 cats, and kindly drove me to a water fall, served me tea, and told me about the hidden gems in Ouchi. I have written her letters since my return, and she has kindly replied. Yesterday, Rachel and I made a trip out to Ouchi in attempt to see her. I was sad to find out that she only works a few days a week. I’m going to try to get back out to see her, and hopefully will make it on one of her working days. It is not close and takes two 55 minute train rides and several transfers, with waiting in between to get to, along with a 6:45am departure, so we will see how that plays out over my last two weeks. Never the less, Rachel and I did have some fun in Ouchi. I took her to the stone Buddhas, we rode on small bikes, we made a funny video (see link above), created bike music, walked over ravines on rusty bridges, avoided being hit by little cars and being bit by sleeping snakes. We laughed hysterically until it started to rain, and then we laughed some more on the train. We learned how to walk up flights of stairs without aggravating our already aching knees. Yes the three plus knee drops on cement and cobblestone in the cold, along with bouncing, lunging, riding small bikes, and stair climbing is making my knees angry. I have discovered though, that if whilst climbing steps, I lean back, avoid bending my knees, tighten my butt cheeks, and proceed to take one step at a time, while lifting through the hips, it is possible to climb large amounts of stairs without using the knees at all. Now, with that in mind, to the average onlooker, I may look like I’m trying to walk up steps after an ether binge, and after watching Rachel embody the same movement, found myself in a fit of laughter that I could not control. After all, it looks like we had a great time in Ouchi and that I may need to make another journey there to say hello to Komiko before I head back to the states as I would like to preserve the friendship with a delightful being.
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