We had the chance again this New Year’s vacation to get away with our friends the Thomsons. There is a prefecture nearby that offers “international guest villas” for very reasonable rent to encourage foreigners to visit their prefecture. So we’ve taken advantage of it a number of times, and this past weekend had a chance to go to Ushimado, a small town along the coast of the Inland sea, with the Thomson family for two nights.

Here are some highlights:

We spent the day on Saturday in one of our favorite little towns, Kurashiki. It is a quaint Japanese town on the outskirts of Okayama city.

Here’s Wendi reading a favorite pirate story to all the kids after a long day:

Eric went out to the car the second night and discovered– the stars! It had been a long time since we’d seen them this bright and beautiful. We all piled on coats and went out to watch. Here’s our “villa” from the night perspective:

On the way home we stopped at a little town famous for their delicious oysters. Who would have guessed –you could even buy soft ice cream complete with fried oysters stuck in the sides!

It was great to be with special friends in a beautiful part of this country to which God has called all of us.