Day 30: (25 km) Chikuma - Ueda
(08/28/06)

(Me, Ayako, Kazuo, and Mary in Ueda)

James was an excellent host, prepared for us but very relaxed. His place was clean, he had extra bedding, and even went to the store for food and drinks before we arrived. He was fun to hang out with, but it was clear that had we been exhausted and gone straight to bed it would have been fine. Unlike many of the Japanese home stays there was no pressure to stay up and entertain. Hosting lessons learned:

1. Have a clean, comfortable, well kept place
2. Stock the fridge and pantry in preparation for your guests--always have a few food and drink options even if you aren't expecting anyone
3. lay out some snacks without asking, then offer other options as well
4. Be friendly and sociable without putting pressure on your guests to entertain you
5. Have entertainment ready just in case (hurrah for Google Videos!)
6. Have extra bedding on hand
7. Always stock simple breakfast food--even toast does the trick
8. Enjoy the experience and expect only good karma in return

This all seems obvious, but is rarely the case that anyone does all of these. I certainly haven't lived up to them all.