Japan [Day 5] - Visiting Family in Ibaraki-ken

Off to the countryside to visit family. It was nice to head out of Tokyo for a while...starting to feel a little claustrophobic. It was about a 2-hour train ride to Yuki-shi, Ibaraki-ken. On a side note, I love the vending machines in Japan. You can get both hot and cold drinks. These machines are everywhere...even in the most random spots.


For a lot of folks here, they spend a lot of time riding the train. I saw the blank stare of this guy and thought it pretty much summed up what it would feel like to have to take a long train ride everyday.

We attended a nice memorial service (hoji) for Ami's grandfather. They were nice enough to let me take pictures during the service.



Then we visited the family gravesite to offer incense ... while trying not to start a fire.




After the service, we had a family lunch at a local restaurant, kaiseki style.