Sleepy Sunday Evening

A month ago we took a trip to the venerable Mt. Fuji, and although the top was shrouded in cloudy mystery, it was a breath-taking sight to behold.  We have joined the Nishio Cultural Association, and as members we get to go on fun trips.  This one was to the Fuji Safari Park!  You get to drive around and look out your car windows at all the interesting animals.  I took this shot of Mandy and i at Lake Hamana, Japan's 10th largest lake by area.  By mer-people population it's slightly larger.

The animals at Fuji Safari Park are wild and ferocious beasts, starkly untamed and extremely dangerous.  They will attack anything, just like this mountain sheep is attacking the ranger truck in quest for tasty tid-bits.  Somebody's been playing too much Grand Theft Auto: Safari Nights.
No matter how far away Fuji-san is, it is amazing.  This town probably would be shaking in its boots back in the day when the mountain was an active volcano.  But now it's perfectly safe, except for the ravenous mountain sheep attacks.  They say that Mt. Fuji is nice to climb, but that the view is rather drab, mostly being clouded over by...er, clouds.

Shizuoka is Japan's most famous tea producing area.  These nice hedge-rows are tea shrubs.  They are quite pretty and very well trimmed.  They are interspersed with solar-powered fans to keep them cool.  

ha ha, just jokes.  But the fans help to collect wind to power lights that keep the plants warm, honest.
Another beast ready to attack!

I'll post more recent stuff tomorrow.  Now it's chill-time.