November 24 2009: I know, two posts in one week! Whatever could the occasion be? Could it be that we actually got out? Well, as a matter of fact, we did. At least Andi and I did, and friends Jolie, Ethan and Bree came with us. We headed for Komakkoland, home of the giant roller slide that we've heard about. It's also horseland, as indicated by the gutter grates above. I know, you've seen a lot of horses on this blog lately. Really, it's not that I'm seeking them out. It's more that we live in an area that was known far and wide for the breeding of war horses. Though, I thought they looked small for war horses (you'll see in a few pictures) but as Shane pointed out....people here are a bit smaller.
This is one of the roller slides. I should say, this is the smaller roller slide. There was a huge playground for the kids to play on....and play they did!
A shrine outside the museum. It's not a front end shot, as we never did get to go to the museum. It was a nice afternoon (yes, still cold, we are in the foothills) so the kids just wanted to play. They've earned it...weekends of rain have kept them inside more than usual.
The riding arena and stables.
A Shetland pony....none to happy. Though in this picture it looks cheerful enough. You can rent the pony out for a couple hundred yen, and take it for a walk around for 10 minutes. We didn't do that...but I did see the pony out several times while we were there, so it gets plenty of loving from visitors."KANPAI!"
That would be "Cheers!" from this lovely horse. Really it was more interested to find out if I had carrot sticks with me. Which, at that moment I didn't. But fortunately they were sold in the rental office...lucky horse
Andi enjoyed feeding the horses. They weren't shy at all about getting their treats.
A rocking horse. The legs stayed stationary, but the joints rocked back and forth...Andi thought they were great fun. Actually, that looks like a horse even I could ride!
The kids and Bree went on the "carriage" ride. Just a quick loop around the arena. I didn't go...the horse looked docile enough, but you never know. It probably would've taken off like a jack rabbit if I had gotten aboard. Luckily the ticket was for 4 people....darn, I was number 5. (yippeee) I took the golden opportunity to wander around a little bit. Figure out which building was the museum. Didn't get to go in.....another day. From what I understand it should be a rather extensive museum about the history of horses in the area.
Just cute little signs in the area of the roller slice. There were a few more, but must make room for other photos.
A view of Towada-shi (Towada city) from the top of the roller slide.
Yippeee! The roller slide! This was a big one, lots of twists and curves and a nice slope. The trek from bottom to top was a good workout. I didn't get to ride down though....the chute was not made for the wider back end of an American...another weight loss goal.....be able to ride the roller slide down!
View from the starting point looking down. Just into the first bend.
Now, I think if you click on the picture and enlarge it, you might be able to see more of the slide in the trees, to give a better idea as to the length of it. The bottom left is just about to the end of the first leg. You exit the slide, run up another flight of stairs and start another shorter, straighter leg to the bottom, or get out here and run back up.Click on the arrow for video of Andi coming around the corner!
