Back to Japan, a Trip to Iwakuni

We flew back to Japan on Tuesday, Dec. 8th, arriving Wednesday about 7 p.m. President Wada met us at the airport with our car, which we then drove back to Fussa while he took the train back to Kichijoji. He wasn't aware that Elder Mukai had switched the GPS to Japanese, and none of us knew how to change it back to English. So he typed in the address of the Fussa apartment and told us to follow the map! We were pretty amazed that we were able to do so and reached our destination without incident -- our first miracle upon returning to Japan! We went in to the mission office the next day to have Elder Mukai switch the GPS back to English -- didn't want to push our luck!

We had about a day to unpack and settle in. We visited with the elders who now live in our apartment building (no sisters in Fussa any more, sad....) and went to district meeting. Then first thing Saturday morning we got on the bullet train and went to Iwakuni, home of the Marine Corps base. The bullet train, or Shinkansen, is a high speed train that links most major cities on Honshu (the largest island where Tokyo is) and Kyushu (the island south of Honshu).  Maximum speeds are 240-320 km/h (150-200 mph). The train is more spacious and comfortable than flying and the ride is smooth and pretty quiet -- except when you pass another train going the opposite direction. Then there is a rumbling and racket that really wakes you up, but at the speed they're traveling, it only lasts a few seconds.

We had a pretty nice view of Mount Fuji at a couple of points along the way, and I tried to take some pictures out the window. Doesn't do it justice, of course, and looks so much further away in the photo, but you get the idea.

We went to Iwakuni because Bruce was assigned to be the high council speaker at the Iwakuni Branch sacrament meeting on Sunday. We stayed at the home of the senior missionary couple assigned to the branch, the Spencers. They showed us around Iwakuni a bit, including walking across this interesting bridge.

I didn't have my camera (what is the matter with me??) so found these pictures online. On the other side of the bridge is a Japanese village and a gondola that takes you up the side of the mountain to Iwakuni Castle.

The original castle was built in the early 1600s -- this is a replica. It's one of 100 Great Castles of Japan, selected by the Japanese Castle Foundation. We didn't have time to take the gondola and go see it, we weren't prepared for sight-seeing at all. But we'll probably go to Iwakuni again, and next time will plan on a couple of days in the area.

We went to dinner with Elder and Sister Spencer (Indian curry, which I like so much better than Japanese food!) and then back to their house, where Bruce and I went to bed early, still adjusting to the time change. We thoroughly enjoyed attending the Iwakuni Branch on Sunday, 50-60 people there, probably, and it was great. We only had a couple of hours after church before we needed to get on the train -- about a six hour train ride for us. So it was a quick, exhausting, but good trip. I was a little disgruntled with Bruce for accepting the assignment to go when we'd just gotten back to Japan a couple of days earlier, but it turned out okay. He gave a good talk -- and because he told me I was asked to speak as well, I was prepared to. But it turned out they had other speakers assigned, so I get to save my remarks for another day!