shibata is beautiful

luke, hiten and i went on a bike ride today, on a 12-km-each way bike path that starts in shibata and meanders through the countryside. i always forget exactly how rural niigata prefecture is until i step out of the city. it was breathtakingly beautiful, with the lush greenery, the rice paddies, and the mountains. we stopped at the 'town' where the bike path ends, and had seafood rice pilaf in a quaint little restaurant with a beautiful view of the paddies. on the way back we also stopped at a beautiful traditional japanese tea house. we sat on a table outside that overlooked a gigantic, beautifully aqua-green swelling river, and ate delicious anko-filled fried moji balls and tea. i should spend more saturdays like this.