Probably one of our favorite memories from Japan came from our last weekend in the country. Ray's team intern for massage and stretching is Rinko Yamada. Early in the season Ray found out that her family owned a dairy farm high in the mountains. Since then he had said he had wanted to visit, and finally we got our opportunity. Rinko invited us to a "bbq" with her family, but until we arrived we didn't really know what to expect.
Apparently the bbq was a celebration for the grand opening of their small dairy store and cafe. Because of the lack of farm land in Japan, it is rare to see livestock, let along some 150 cattle. On the farm they market fresh milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheeses, and some of the most incredible cheesecake I have ever tasted.
When we arrived we toured the farm and the stalls and said hello to the beautiful black and white ladies.
We even got the opportunity to see the milking process, and I got to milk my first cow! It was really fun!
Later that night the bbq commenced. This was one fancy celebration! They had fresh fish that they put over a bed of straw on fire...
Mr. and Mrs. Yamada gave a speech later that night. I was delighted by their true joy and how much laughter they possessed. The spirit from these 'farm folks' was such a breath of fresh air. We didn't want to leave... so we didn't. We ended up spending the night as a family of four in the loft above the barn!!
I'm disappointed that I didn't get any photos from the next day, but Ray decided to wake early to help in the barn. At 6am we woke to a typhoon!!! The babes and I slept in while Ray got to feed the baby calves from a big bottle, and help in the stalls. All in all our trip to the farm will be one we never forget. The generosity, genuinity and love of the people we met there will stay with us for a very long time...
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