BBQ in Setsukyou

A couple of weekends back we drove out into the mountainous countryside of Setsukyou for one last BBQ in the river valley near Nana and Ashton's place before winter comes into full effect and makes it unbearably cold. As it was, we were pushing the line a bit by daring to venture out so late in November and so we had the full run of the place to ourselves.

The intrepid explorers arrange themselves around their impressive display of outdoor BBQ equipment, complete with table and chair. Impressive because we carried it into the middle of the river and set up amongst the huge bolders laying strewn around like so many toast crumbs.

The BBQ is immediately put to use with a plethora of gourmet food stuffs.
A Japanese BBQ is much like any other, with the exception perhaps of containing more green-matter and vegetables and a multitude of various thinly sliced meats in place the usual plate-sized steaks and bulging sausages seen slowly carbonising on Aussy BBQ's.

Nana and Beet converse on the topic of confucian vs. western educational systems before a sample backdrop of the multi-coloured leaves of autumn which covered the slopes of the surrounding mountains. The Japanese language has a single word to describe the beautiful phenomenon, but if there's an equivalent in English it either never entered my vocabulary or the brain cell containing it perished from one of the many cold bottles of Bass ale enjoyed throughout the day.

Tyler grins with toddler bliss, rock in hand, as he contemplates the magnitute of finding himself with seemingly endless entertainment at the river's expense.

Ashton was there to make his own photographic record of the day's events. This image was captured before he misteriously took a plunge beneath the chilly waters and had to return home for a change of clothes, but his trusty camera survived unscathed.

Tyler thinks better of taking a dip himself, or possibly is simply taking a break from trying to dam the river with pepples to consider the virtues BBQ'd sausages.

Satomi and Meiki discover the secret of successfull child care - bribe them with snacks. Meiki is allways worried that Tyler doesn't like him, but just look at that happy face! I'm sure he loves you man.

As testament to the abilities of our new camera, I managed to snap this shot of Tyler and Misaki playing with a dog while perched atop a boulder from the other side of the river using a good 300mm or so of zoom. It's a bit blurry, but not too bad for a hand-held job.

The brave campers soldier on into the evening and brave the cold to enjoy the last remnants of the day's BBQ'd morsels. Good night Setsukyou, see you again in Spring!

Masko and Misaki bask in the warmth of Satomi and Meiki's appartement after having invited ourselves over to continue the festivities. Thanks for having us over guys, and sorry for getting a bit roundy and disturbing your landlord...

Ashton, Tyer and Satomi quickly remind themselves of the comforts of home as they sit in appreciation of the cartoon channel. You'd think Tyler would be the most excited at this stage, but I'm not so sure....

Meiki broke out a bottle of his Chinese wicked strength sake equivalent, called moutaijiu (as best I can recall), which at 53% is more like vodka than rice wine. This jubilant picture is an accurate representation of the general mood after a happy day's eating, drinking, and merriment.
Cheers guys, thanks for a great day!