my low key summer break

Today is unfortunately the last day of my one week summer break… I usually go back to my hometown or travel abroad during this time, but this year I decided to stay back in Nasu for the entire week and have my family drive up here from my hometown. Even though we couldn’t do everything we wished to do, this week went by like a breeze! It’s going to be incredibly difficult to get myself back to my work life, but before I slowly crawl back into my routine here’s a brief summary of how I spent my break.

1. Spending time by the river

One thing that was consistent the entire break was the scorching summer heat! The 35 °C heatwave was lingering the entire week so we couldn’t help but run to the river for a quick dip in the water. We went to two rivers in the Nasu area, Kinomata river and Nasusosui Park. It was my first time going and both were impressively beautiful! The water in Kinomata river has a vivid turquoise color, and the ice cold water provided the perfect natural cooler to lower our body temperatures. There is also a small extension bridge and a nice path in the woods surrounding the river so it’s a great spot to spend a day out in nature.

Walking through the woods @ Kinomata river

@ Kinomata river

The Nasusosui Park is more family friendly since there are stairs built in so that kids can safely sit inside the river. There isn’t a nice path to walk around like the Kinomata river, but it was a tranquil place to relax. We went for a quick stop right before dinner to stretch our legs after a day of sitting around inside the house.

@ Nasusosui Park

2. Visiting a famous local bakery

Another thing we enjoyed was going to a well known bakery in the Nasu area called Penny Lane. This bakery is known for its Beetles themed interior and amazingly delicious pastries. Many Japanese tourists often stop by here when they visit Nasushiobara to bulk buy bread or have a nice lunch out on the terrace. The most well known pastry is their blueberry loaf which is perfect for your breakfast with a cup of coffee. They have both sweet and savory breads filling up the entire shop so you’ll definitely encounter your favorite in this one shop!

3. Eating eating eating

The majority of the time was spent enjoying family meals whether it be at home or at a near restaurant. We definitely went to the supermarket way more times than we needed to but going grocery shopping and cooking with family was enjoyable to me since I’m so used to doing this on my own. I particularly enjoyed our last dinner at the izakaya famous for their tuna dishes. The restaurant was also careful with checking our temperatures and keeping distance in between customers so we safely enjoyed our meal!

Though restricted in the places we could go to, I got to enjoy my days off and spent some quality time with family:) This year’s break was far from what I initially had planned and frankly not as thrilling as last year’s summer, but I’m glad I got to relax and shift my mind away from work for a week. My family is sadly already gone back, but the break isn’t over just yet so I’ll make the best of the rest of the afternoon :D

I hope you all had/are having a great summer!