Tateyama mountain

We went to Tateyama mountain. It was so beautiful. It was supposed to storm both days we were there, but were we blessed with only a few sprinkles...enough to keep us cool and limit the number of other sightseers.







We were almost 3000meters up, walking around on this beautiful plateau with two large lakes. The lakes reflected the surrounding mountains perfectly.



We took several modes of transportation to get up and down the mountain. We took a train, cable car, bus, and ropeway.




From the beautiful plateau, we were able to head down to "Hell Valley." There were steam vents spewing sulfur gas all around us. We actually climbed down all those stairs to see and smell it.

I was bummed that I'd forgotten to pack my hazmat suit. Man, did it stink. I'm glad we didn't bring egg salad sandwiches for lunch. We'd never be able to tell if they were rotten!

Okay, back to the beginning of the trip. We took a Shinkansen (bullet train) for part of the way to save time. The one hour trip was $50 each, but saved us several hours.

The inside of the Shinkansen was pretty nice. We had non-reserved tickets and on the way home accidentally got on one of the smoking cars. EEEEW! I was laughing because the guy next to Erik was trying to be polite and direct his smoke away from Erik. This redirection resulted in the guy behind him getting pummeled by smoke.

This guy is buying a ticket for the noodle dish he wants to eat. He will then take the ticket to the window and get his order cooked.

This is me eating my order as we waited for our train. There are many shops near train stations with tables that you stand at so you can eat on the run.

We got to eat bento on the Shinkansen. It's not just the picture...that really is a small egg. It must have been a quail egg or something. The veggy with holes is lotus root. We were hesitant to buy two bento, not knowing exactly if we'd like it or not so we ended up sharing. It was delicious.
It was packaged up neatly and had a yellow string sticking out of it. We pulled the string and it immediately started to steam and heat up our food. It was so exciting. We took several shots of the food before, during, and after.

This was taken from the train. We saw rice fields, mountains, and the Sea of Japan on the way. The sea was an especially pretty color contrast to the green and yellow fields. So anyway, if you want to see more pictures go to our slide show. I also added captions to the pictures. You have to click on "slideshow" in the upper left hand corner. http://picasaweb.google.com/crystalchapla/Tateyama#slideshow

Job Chapter 9

I heard a good sermon this past Sunday about Job. Job was a God-fearing man who was blessed with wealth and a large family. Job had everything taken away from him: all of his sons and daughters were murdered, his livestock and servants were burned, and he was afflicted with painful sores from his head to his feet. Job was totally dejected, but he knew that he could not point an accusing finger at God. "If God snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'"

In Job's day, a mediator would solve disputes in court. However, in Job's own words, "God is not a man like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court...If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, someone to remove God's rod (punishment) from me..." Job wanted someone to stand between him and God, to hear his cries and take away his punishment.

Job's plea was granted by God when he sent his son, Jesus. Jesus is our mediator. He stands with one hand on God and one hand on us pleading our case before God. We cannot stand alone before God, we need Jesus.