Tsuyu and Obstacle Courses

We have heard many horror stories about tsuyu (rainy season), but so far, we have had very good weather. We were expecting rain this Saturday, but when it turned out to be sunny, we decided to take a trip to Heiwajima obstacle course, in Tokyo.

Getting there was a bit of an obstacle course itself, since we took the wrong train and ended up in Nagano. However, after figuring out the right train and the location of the park, we found the free "preschool" obstacle course. Laurea's favorite was "space adventure" (pictures 1&2), a centrifugal experience for her and an exertion for Russ.

Our favorite was the "mouse runner" (pictures 3&4), which Russ described as like being on the tenure track. (Fortunately, he is better at being on the tenure track than on being on this wheel, as you can see in picture 4.)

Our appetites were whetted for more, and we decided to spring for the pay obstacle course (270Y for adults and 100Y for kids). There were about 40 stops, so here are a couple of our favorites:

#14:Rub-a-dub-dub. Row yourself around an island in a little barrel boat. (Pictures 5&6)

#23: The pull boat. Pull yourself across the river, without getting wet (picture 7). Unfortunately, as picture #8 shows, mission was not accomplished.

#35 The spiral rope net. Descend through a spiralling tunnel of rope, then climb your way out. (pictures 9-10). Laurea loved this one.

#32 The toilet bowl. Try to keep running around in a circle without falling into the center (pictures 11-12). This one was very tiring! We were all eventually "flushed" (in more ways than one).