Yuusuikyo

Thursday night Chigusa and Yukari were able to visit from Kumamoto City and stay the night with us. We had a great dinner, made by Hisako, then played Settlers of Catan. It was the first time for both of them to play, and I think they really enjoyed it.

The next day, Friday the 17th, Hisako made a huge picnic lunch and we all four went to Yuusuikyo, an outdoor park of sorts. It is a river-based camp area and park. The riverbed itself is unique in that it is a slab of rock. In other words, it is not rocks, pebbles, or mud, but one large slab of rock on which people can walk. The river flows fast but is only 2 or 3 inches deep. This means people can walk the length of the river, against the flow if you want. It's quite a unique experience and is different from any other river I've been to.

The most fascinating thing about this place is that if one thinks about it too much, it could be seen as very dangerous. Small children are free to run around on a gently sloping riverbed in water that is fast and a surface that is slippery in places. This means kids often fall, sometimes hitting their heads. If I were a parent, I would like to think that I would relax and let my children run wild. However, I can imagine a parent wanting to constantly watch, as if waiting for a train wreck, constantly yelling, "Don't run, don't push, be careful, don't walk over there, look out!" But here, kids play in what some would consider a high risk place, and parents sit back and let them play. There are no lifeguards, no safety precautions, no rules. It was wonderfully refreshing, both the cold water on my feet and watching kids play like kids. I told the others that this place would be shut down in minutes in the U.S.

Here is the webpage for Yuusuikyo: (in Japanese) http://www.yado.co.jp/camp/kumamoto/yuusuikyo/

Here are some photos of the river and our lunch.