We were so very fortunate to make contact with several wonderful people in Fujiyoshida who helped make our stay the highlight of our trip to Japan.
| Sean DeBlieck was our contact in Fujiyoshida City Hall. We got in touch through the sister city relationship between our hometown of Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, and Fujiyoshida. Sean, who is from Minnesota, arranged for us to stay with our host, Seiko Wakebe in her home. Sean is the fit-looking person on the right in this photo. |  |
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Wakebe-san was very gracious to open her home to our family of four large Americans. She is a wonderful cook, and we greatly enjoyed our meals with her. She lives in a 200 year old farm house with a delightful garden in the back. Of course, this is a new house compared to the 400 year old one out back. |
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The night before the race, Fujiyoshida holds their annual Foundation Festival celebrating the creation of Fujiyoshida city from a merging of three smaller towns. I greatly enjoyed the cultural activities and especially the food vendors while walking around the central city. My family was off climbing Fuji themselves, so this constituted my carboloading feast before the race.  |
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Lindsey Family
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