Mt. Mihara

The island of Oshima is made completely of volcanic ash from the Mt. Mihara volcano. The last major eruption was in 1986 so I figured it would be completely safe to just head on in for a peek at the action myself. A local islander named Yuuki offered to give us a tour of the inside of the crater so we hopped in the jeep and headed for the top. So here I am in the back of a jeep older than me and with no seat belt because believe it or not I was too fat and it wouldn't fit around me. The jeep didn't even have a windshield so we had to wear motorcycle goggles to avoid getting ash in our eyes. Yuuki turns around and says to me "you like jet engine?" Confused, I try to figure out what he is talking about and finally realize that he meant to ask if I like roller coasters....Once he finds out that I am not going to competley lose it, he hits the gas. The next 40 minutes are spent flying up and down mountain trails, but once we are inside the crater, everything turns to black ash. Yuuki of course decides that this would be an excellent time to turn off the 4-wheel drive and hit the crater Tokyo drift style. We all go flying though the crater for the next 2 hours stopping here and there to check out the hotspots where steam is constantly escaping to the surface. Note: sliding into a hot spot wearing only chacos is a bad idea- volcano steam is hotter than it looks!

Once we reach the summit, Tyler and I decide to go ahead and shoot a commercial for Yuuki's jeep. What do you think?

The perfect ending? After thanking Yuuki and giving him a goodbye hug he turns around blushes and says "Sanks, I never before receive hug from blond girl!"

Kawaiiiiii!!