TUJ students in front of a steam locomotive bound for Minakami hot springs. The beginning to a long weekend of adventure.
View of the top of the train
We were welcomed to Minakami by the captain. Mike Allen (Main Campus) and Amanda Entenberg (Main Campus) pose upon arrival.
Beautiful view of the river in Suwa Gorge
We observed a man bungee jump from the bridge. Unfortunately, none of the TUJ students participated.
Then we went to a glass-blowing factory and museum. Here are a bunch of TUJ students watching the process . (Pictured: Louis Graup, Alex Chisar and Ryan Fish)
The railings outside were covered in amazing hang-made glass animals and objects.
Tree at the bottom of Ikaho Shrine. People were writing their wishes on these pieces of paper and hanging them up here.
Then it began to rain so we ran for cover. Pictured: Eric Mousin, Alex Kosaka and Darrel Kurogawa
And a couple of us went to a indoor archery range. (Pictured: Trevor Flournoy from Champlain College)
A bunch of Kewpies at the Toy & Doll Museum
Darrel Kurogawa plays pinball as other TUJ students cheer him on
At the end of the museum trip, we even got to paint our own miniature Kewpies!
Next, we went to the Shorinzan Daruma-ji Temple for an introduction to darumas
Eric Mousin and I pose in front of a giant Daruma
Finally, we went to daimon-ya where we all got to paint our own Darumas! Ours didn’t turn out quite as well as the ones in the shop
