Live from Japan!

This past weekend we stayed at Camp Horado in the mountains of Gifu. It was nice to escape the city and enjoy a little fresh (and cooler) mountain air for a few days. But the accommodations were less than, shall we say, accommodating.

There were a number of cabins for us to choose from when we arrived. There were several small cabins with just tatami mats, and no futons in sight, which meant sleeping on the floor, the dirty floor, without blankets or covers or pillows, would have been a reality.

Fortunatley, we were able to move beyond the small cabins to find one of two larger bunk rooms filled with beds. Unfortunately, many people that had already been to Camp Horado were clued in about the bunk rooms and had claimed many of the beds (by putting their backpacks on them). We were able to score one bed, for both of us.

Calling it a bed is actually a bit of an exaggeration. What they called beds, more closely resembled tables in my mind. Those “beds” gave a brand new meaning to the word “firm.” I don’t think Aaron will ever complain again about our bed back home being too firm.

Despite the fact that it is no touching season, it was much cooler in the mountains, so, at about midnight, we got into the twin bed and snuggled up. Between the hardness of the bed, the small space, a chill in the air, and one other factor I am not going to mention here, I was completely unable to sleep restfully. So, after about an hour, I moved to the floor.

Earlier in the evening, we had brought some cushions and blankets from the communal tatami room to the cabin, we had anticipated the fact that we might need separate sleeping spaces. I used the cushions and blankest to make myself a little nest. Truth be told, I think my nest on the floor was actually softer than the bed that Aaron kept for the rest of the night. I cuddled up with the blanket and was able to rest easily for a few hours. At about 5am, as the sun started to rise, I woke up. I spent some time looking around.

There, right under the bed next to me was a HUGE spider web with a HUGE spider on it. This spider was barely twelve inches from my face. Now, the cabin was filled with a bunch of sleeping people, so I didn’t want to make a fuss. I rolled over and tried to continue my snooze.

Every ten minutes or so, I would wake up, stir and check the status of my spider friend. I already had about a million mosquito bites, I certainly didn’t need or want to be bitten by a spider as well.

After about an hour and a half of this, I gave up on sleeping, walked down to the river and read a book. Being the only one awake, sitting on the river bank was peaceful and refreshing. I was glad to have that time to myself. And, I was glad to be far, far away from Mr. Spider.