Hiking Mt. Moiwa

My senior adult class and I hiked up Mount Moiwa, a small mountain in the outskirts of Sapporo. The grass and trees were green and lush, but it made me sad to see mountain shrines and offerings to the gods left along the forest trail.

Yoshie and Keiko




A wildflower called "kurumabaso," which translates, "car leaf flower" because the leaves are shaped like the spokes of a wheel.


Our fearless leader, Ken, looking up flowers and plants in his guidebook. He loves nature and has a beautiful vegetable garden, besides teaching physics or biology (I forget which) at a local university.


The mountain path we took was dotted with all kinds of Buddhist statues and stone idols. There is a Buddhist monastery nearby, and I met a female "monk" (nun? not sure of the name) when we were almost to the top. She was so surprised (and happy!) to see a foreigner (me) that she let us take a picture together, although I think I heard her telling the other Japanese that she usually doesn't let people take pictures but this time it was okay. She was wearing a long robe. I can't remember her name, but it started with "Ko" - "Koko," "Koro," something. Please pray for her, that she would find God's truth... Romans says that creation speaks of Him, so pray that she would reach out for God and live.


Mr. Horimoto, one of my favorite people in all Japan.

A walk by the river

Near our apartment there is a beautiful, spacious park called Hiraoka Koen, where cherry trees grow and the path meanders through empty green fields and thin forest. It is still wintery here, and the weather is very cold. Spring is coming, as evidenced by the white and black skunk cabbages we found blooming amidst the brown winter remains of bamboo, plants, and trees in the undergrowth below the bridge.

Cherry blossom season

Cherry blossom season in Japan is one of the most beautiful, magnificent things I've ever experienced in my life. Everything turns into clouds of pink or white (plum blossom) almost overnight, blanketing the ground in petals. People come from miles around to do "hanami," literally translated "flower-seeing." There are picnics in the park with fresh corn and grilled chicken on skewers (yakitori), stir-fried noodles with meat and vegetabes (yakisoba), and hours of sitting under the trees on blankets.

Cherry blossoms (sakura) have a special, poetic significance in Japanese culture - one of fleeting time, of how brief life is. Just as the blossoms appear suddenly, shine for about a week, and then quickly fade, so is life.

The Bible agrees with this idea: "What is your life?" Jesus asks. "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

The book of Isaiah says that all men are like grass - "and all their glory is like the flowers of the field."

Yet that is not the end of the story! For those who believe in Christ, it is just the beginning. Even Isaiah continues this glorious thought: "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. (My people) will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams."