Our buses. 

Our group gets ready to board the buses. We have about half Japanes and half American passengers. This trip is intended to encourage interaction between the two peoples. 

1-Thes people werre a lot of fun. They are making puffed rice shot from cannons. Actually it is shot from a pressure cooker. The man in the red jacket is the shooter. First they pour in a large quantity of uncooked rice and a little water. A propane burner heats the cooker to .94 pounds per cubic feet. An electric motor powered by a car battery rotates the cooker constantly. After abut 10-15 minutes it is ready. The shooter blows the whistle hanging form his neck to warn/attract people that he is about to shoot. Do you suppose this is how Quaker Puffed Rice got started? 

2-Here the cage is placed around the pressure cooker to get it ready for the firing. 

3-Here is the opening of the pressure cooker. As soon as the rice is exposed to the atmosphere, it expands rapidly into puffed rice. 

4-I sure hope I sequence this right. There is the puffed rice in the cage. 

Lunch stop. 

Mayumi and Hi-de 

They still love the hat. 

Another Buddhist temple and gardens, but 500 years old. No nails used here either. 

Another Buddhist temple and gardens,but 500 years old. 

Buddhist temple and gardens. 400 years old. 

Buddhist temple and gardens. 400 years old. 

Buddhist temple and gardens. 400 years old. 

Buddhist temple and gardens. 400 years old. No nails used in the construction. 

Buddhist temple and gardens. 400 years old. 

Buddhist temple and gardens. 400 years old. 

Buddhist temple and gardens. 400 years old. 

This brave apple picker was picking the perfect apple for his girlfriend, Mayumi. His name is Hide, two sylables with a long i sound. Hi-de. 

One of the braver apple pickers. 

Pretty apples. 

Apple pickers from our buses. 

Apples as far as the eye can see. 

Our destination, the apple orchard. 

This little girl ate apples the whole time she was there.