Kayaking in Koza

Katherine invited everyone down to Koza to go kayaking and BBQ this past weekend. This was a much needed excuse for me to leave the apartment so I went. Now Koza is just about as far south as you can go in Wakayama, so I headed off Friday for a full weekend of adventure.

Here are some random memories from the weekend:
Making desserts with Lilly and Katherine. Lilly and I learning how to make mud pie, complete with worms and spiders (really octopus jellies).
Cleaning!
A white girl rockn the corn rows. Go KAT!
Being surprised at Katherine's huge wardrobe and learning that she had already taken some of it home.
Watching taxis being loaded up with kayaks and then being driven over a creek bed riddled with sharp pointy rocks. Couldn't believe we didn't get a flat tire.
Cool clear water.
Chatting with Lilly.
Watching friends get up the nerve to jump off about a 8 meter high rock into the river.
Waiting on Lilly to jump from that 8 meter rock and eventually paddling away b/c I couldn't keep my kayak still in the river. In the end she did jump.
15,000 yen worth of fireworks being set off. That's a lot of yen!
Katherine igniting the BBQ with a roman candle.
Johno's guitar being overpowered by hip hop music.
Meeting Tristan's gal, Olivia and hearing about life in Shikoku.
Tons of trash in the trunk.
Jello shots; never seen so many people excited at the mention of jello shots.
Lilly spoon feeding jello shots to people.
Realizing that there is some guy named Justin in our prefecture; meeting him for the first time.
Hot as hell in the room I tried to sleep in.
Joe singing at the top of his lungs at 3 in the morning while Katherine gave ballet lessons. Burritos for breakfast.
Snoozing on the beach at Shirahama after eating a Subway sandwich (for those in the states, that's a big treat here in Japan).
Eating gyoza at a foot onsen.
Being exhausted and in dire need of sleep.

OK, here are the photos. Sadly there aren't any kayaking photos. I just couldn't bear the idea of my camera taking an accidental and fatal plunge into the river. So the photos are of everything else that happened this weekend.