Mikawa Mu Valley

On January 1st, we drove up to this little mountain resort area, about 1 hour away to visit a cave called Underground Kingdom. I really didn’t know anything about it except the name. It turns out it’s not a cave actually, but a former mine turned into a scavenger hunt maze. When you go in, you get a card like a giant scratch-off lottery ticket. There are things hidden and symbols that you find and match up to your card, then scratch it off to reveal a message or clue. We didn’t find any treasure, probably because we didn’t read any of the signs or follow any of the clues. (They were, not surprisingly, all in Japanese.) But we did have fun making up our own messages and clues, since Josiah insisted that I read each and every one to him. And tickling the statues’ giant toes…
Outside there was a beautiful 6 inches of fresh snow.