Kofu, Japan

People make the place, I think. There are actually a number of destination tourist sites in and around Kofu. It's "in the shadow of Mt. Fuji", surrounded by Mt. Fuji, Mt. Yatsugatake, the Japan Southern Alps. In the winter, I never got tired of gazing upon these mountains.

In spring come the plum, cherry, and peach trees by turns, utterly breath-taking with their divine and subtle scents wafting through the air. In the summer, the grapes abound, the arbors shading the lots at family wineries. And in the fall, the beauty of Shosenkyo Gorge is unsurpassed and even the lines of cars full of fellow gazers cannot diminish the sense of lasting nature within it depths.

But it is the people of Kofu I love most. I'm including just a few snapshots here from the week of what some might call my "going away" parties, but my friends insisted, I would be back, and so we called them my "See You Later" parties. I think that's sweet, and I can't wait to go back one day and say to my friends, "Tadaimashita!"

(Just a little word I made up, but it came from an honest mistake and my friends, dear as they are, never let me forget it. I love it!)

One night, Misaki ~ one of the staff at The Rink ~ wanted to create a new drink. She finally settled on some pear liqueur and a very fine chocolate liqueur. Sorry, I don't know what ratio of quantities. She moistened the rim of the martini glass with, I think, a lime wedge, then dipped it lightly in cocoa.

What a great-tasting drink! Danni wanted to call it "Kiss the Boys Goodbye", but Misaki had a better idea: Yu & Mi, after Yuki (her boyfriend) and herself. "Yu", and "Mi", the first syllables of their names. A very Japanese tradition, but also a great sound in English.

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