Japanese November 8, 2005: Kyushu - Latvia Snow Club (No.3) Arrived at Riga, Latvian capital
The late Dr. Ukichiro Nakaya was the first researcher who created artificial snow crystals for the first time in the world. Mr. Kentarou Nakaya, a nephew of Ukichiro, one day introduced us of a very good tour to Latvia to join an official meeting called "The dialogue of ice and snow exhibition to be held at National Museum of Natural History in Riga City in November.
	We said good-bye to the travel agent JTB and started the trip by ourselves. Some people joined us late last night from Kobe,Tokyo,Fukushima, and Sendai. The total number of the group was 14. We will have another member from London at Riga.
We took a FinnAir from Kansai airport. More than ten hours flight will take us to Helsinki. Wishing the safety of the trip, my husband toasted with Finnish beer.
	Only about 30 percent of the seat was occupied. I could relax in the economy class cabin. The lunch was served soon.
The dish was chicken lasagna,salad, and Soba noodle.
	When I fell into a doze for a while, one of the member taught me to look outside. What was surprising, the world was in Siberian White.
Sunset(?) was shinning over the ice field fantastically. The trans-Siberian flight route started from Kansai airport heading north to Hokkaido Island then fly over the great frozen continent to Helsinki.
	Early dinner was soon served. I took another Finnish beer this time.
The dish was curried rice. The combination of good butter-flied bean and the curry was very good.
	We arrived at Helsinki airport at 14:00 local time. The time difference between here and Japan is 7 hours.
I found a huge painting of Santa Claus on the fuselage of the plane.
After one hour transit time, we got on a smaller propeller plane to Riga, the capital of Latvia.
	Tea ceremony items were carried carefully by hands.
Even before four in the afternoon, the sun hurries to sink down below the horizon.
	A small plane took us to Riga in an hour. It wasn't so cold than I had expected.
A simple snack was served soon. The bread and cheese were good and new to me.
	We arrived the destination,Riga at last. Miss Ieva, this time guide, welcomed us in fluent Japanese. She had once learned in Waseda University of Japan for a year, she smiled.
Mr. Tanaka, the temporary vice-ambassador to Latvia,came quickly as well. "Thank you very much so many Japanese visit to Latvia, please enjoy your stay", he greeted. Latvia is a young country set up from USSR in 1991. The population is 2.32 million and the land area is about 1/6 that of Japan. The president is Biche Fleiberga, (female). In 2000, Japan set the embassy. Current Japanese resident is 14.
We exchanged US dollar to Latvian money. The unit of the currency is Lat (1Euro=0.70Lat)
	Our hotel was a huge hotel on the canal of Daugava River. The hotel was remodeled two years ago, they said.
The member from London joined us at the hotel. All the members enjoyed the first night of Latvia pleasantly.
	The local artists played wonderful music with violin and guitar. We requested famous Latvian folk songs.
The dishes were beautiful and very tasty.
BACK:No.2 To Latvia	NEXT:No4: World Heritage Riga Old town