A Random Drive Around Echizen City

It was the last day of my long winter holiday. A fatigue had set in. Cooking for family; participating in family gatherings; uninterrupted hours of Spider-Man 2 on the Playstation -- I had fatigue from being able to focus on enjoying time with myself and those who make life happy. I felt like maybe I was looking forward to work, but I also felt like a needed to see or do something new before my time became my students' again.

And so it was that I found myself driving around the mountainous and still Anyojicho area of Echizen by day and the lively center of the city by night.

A scene from the serenely quiet Anyojicho, a small village on the outskirts of Echizen City. It reminds me of Little House on the Prairie.

Outside the main gate of Echizen's Soja Daijingu Shrine is Yokogawa Bunten. The restaurant is famous for Bolgar Rice, omelette-topped rice topped with a fried pork cutlet and drenched in a rich gravy.

Check out more photos from my wandering adventure over on Instagram.