Just the 3 of Us

As we strive to live out our family mission, we arrange our lives to spend most of our time with other families and other people. We love it. It fills us and enriches us. And, we hope, it adds brightness and hope to the lives of others as well.  Sometimes, though, we can be the best family we can be by being together without others for awhile—as just the 3 of us.

This past weekend, we made the opportunity to take a getaway as our little family of three. We have by no means seen all there is to see of the tourist spots in Japan, but we have seen our share of shrines and temples and onsens in many of the foreign-traveler hotspots. So, this trip, we designed the plan around two goals, 1) visit a place less traveled, and 2) see the fall colors. In this pursuit, we happened upon Shosenkyo, a beautiful rocky and wooded gorge, outside of Kofu, in Yamanashi.

In true DB style, we incorporated an outdoorsy and active element to our trip by forgoing the bus and hiking a trail to the top. We borrowed an awesome backpack (Kid Comfort III by Deuter in case you’re interested), so little T rode in ultimate comfort and style, along a gorgeous path that skirted up the mountain, next to a large creek. Apparently, D and T could make a compelling advertisement for the backpack as well.

The chill in the air was a perfect introduction to the winter that is to come, and it gave us a chance to dawn our cozy winter garb.

The day was clear and crisp, and at the summit, all we could hear were excited whispers of the other visitors around us…”Fuji-san…sp, sp, sp…Fuji-san…ah…Fuji-san.” And then we noticed it too–the stunning and majestic Mt. Fuji in the distance.

We are so grateful and our hearts so glad that we took a few moments to travel and explore as just the 3 of us. Capturing the beauty of autumn turning into winter, exposing us to a place in Japan a little less known, and providing a perfect venue for more family memories to be created.