Holiday plans for July

See that "pin" just south of the word Niigata, north
of Tokyo, that's where we're going. A whole new
area to explore, we've never been to this area of
Japan before. (The other pins represent other
places we've camped in the last five years.)

In the midst of this transition work, we're looking forward to holiday time we've planned in July in Japan. We're rushing back to Japan, but we don't land in the middle of work, we land in the middle of the summer holidays. 

School doesn't start till later in August and I've held off on taking back responsibilities at the magazine until then too. So we have some time to play and readjust to life in Japan! 

Good thing, because there isn't much time to relax on this side of departure. Though I am feeling a little more relaxed this week and have been able to take some reading time during the day! Or maybe that is, I'm making myself take reading time...

Anyway, here are our two planned get-aways in July.

1. My parents are visiting for 10 days soon after we get back. We're taking them to the some missionary chalets near lakes overlooking Mt Fuji. We've not been there before so it will be an adventure for us all.

2. After they leave, but before the mammoth summer crowds hit their strides in August we're headed to the west coast (only 3 hrs north-west of Tokyo) to camp in the mountains, visit the beaches and missionary friends, plus enjoy a summer fireworks display.

Though organising the above has added to the list of things we've had to do before we leave here, it's good to have something fun to look forward to. And to the boys who are complaining that they don't want to go anywhere else besides "home" in Japan, we can say, "After we finish camping we'll have four weeks to sit at home and swelter in Tokyo before school starts."