Shimokita Peninsula

Over the Fourth of July weekend we had four days, so a group of our friends traveled to the Shimokita peninsula. This peninsula is the northern most point of Honshu island. It is in the shape of an axe head with Mutsu Bay to the east, Tsugaru Strait to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Most of us had been to the main highlights (Mt Osare and Yagen Valley), so we hit some of the other parts this time around. Our first stop was "Whale Island" on the southeast corner of the axe. I don't know if the Japanese actually call it this, but that's what we call it. We did some kayaking (as you can see we had to share due to lack of kayaks) and some snow monkey searching.

Me and the Buckalew's went in search of the monkeys, but we didn't stumble upon any. We did, however, find this little shrine in a fishing village. Our original plan was to camp right on the coast this night, but since it was raining we headed to greener pastures.

We tried to procure lodging at some cabins nearby, but we were given the all too familiar "X"...meaning "no cabins for you." But we did get a chance to see some snow monkeys...even if these were in a cage. Apparently these little boogers can be quite aggressive (we've heard stories of them attacking women and children).

We then drove a little inland and camped next to an onsen...which we used quite frequently this trip due to lack of showers. Of note, I nearly burned down the Neal's canopy, because I made the campfire too big. The next morning we headed toward what the Japanese call Hotokegaura.




This just means "rocks that look like Buddha." Although I saw no such rock, the formations were very unique. They were perfect for exploring, as you could walk and climb through them.

We were lucky enough to have the rain go away for awhile and actually enjoyed some sunshine.

To get down to the actual formations you had to climb down about a million steps, so most Japanese that come see them take tour boats and dock nearby.

After exploring this area for a couple of hours we were ready to move on and find our next campsite.

But before we left, we enjoyed a nice dip in some natural rock tubs. Don't let the picture fool you, the water was freezing. It did cool you off, though, after hiking in the heat all day.

Our campsite the next night was completely abandoned (as many campsites in Japan are until August), and it was probably a good thing. Since it was the Fourth, we had to fire off a bunch of fireworks. That's the beautiful thing about Japan...you can buy fireworks year round! Lisa grilled us some pork chops and Scott and Alan gathered half the drift wood in the river for our bonfire.

The next morning we set out to climb this peak you see in the above picture. I don't know the name of it, because the sign is in Japanese (sorry, I still can't read it).

By now the big clouds had cleared, and we had a beautiful day to hike. At some points on the hike you actually had to climb up tree roots using them as ladders. As we were waiting at the bottom we played baseball with our walking sticks and rocks.

On our way to our next destination we had to stock up on a few essentials at everyone's favorite convenient store 7/10! 7/11 has nothing on these guys. And since it was just turning the Fourth of July in the States, we figured (or I figured) we had to buy some more fireworks...and guess what?! 7/10 carries them...as do most convenient stores in northern Japan.

We traveled a little further down the road and had to make a detour. Apparently Scott had read somewhere that there was a Buddhist temple that brewed beer. After taking a couple of back roads and turning around a couple of times (did I mention there were three cars), we finally found it. Unfortunately, the temple/brewery was closed, but we were able to buy some bottles of Buddha's finest from a vending machine.

We then made it to the town of Oma, only 17 km's from Hokkaido. The lighthouse you see behind us is actually on Hokkaido Island. We read that there was a campground nearby, and after talking to some of the locals we realized it was right in the center of the town. So for dinner, we packed up all our food and fireworks and headed for the beach. We then got to celebrate the Fourth as it was happening in the States with more fireworks and another bonfire (we burned drift wood and a car chair we found washed up). We called the night a little short, because some of the girls got spooked by sirens...it was an ambulance.

The next morning we went down the coast a ways to the town of Kazamaura. This town is famous for its onsens (hot baths/spas). I think in the end, we all ended up at different ones. You could just walk around the town and pick one out.

Our last stop on the trip was Cape Shiriya. This spot is famous for its "wild" horses and the white lighthouse. These things were so wild that they would let you go up to them and pet them. Amy still chickened out, so I got a picture of Scott and Lindsey taming the wild beast.

Rock Climbing at Kuji

This past June a couple of our friends (Scott and Jen) invited us and a couple of others to go rock climbing with them. Amy had done some before on a climbing wall, but I had no previous experience. So, this was our first experience up a true rock face.


Several of them were experienced climbers, so they had all the necessary equipment we needed. The location was just outside of a town called Kuji on the east coast of Japan. It's definitely a beautiful location (a large stretch of nearby coast has been designated as a national park).



It was amazing how steep a face you could climb up and how much energy it took. Amy and I couldn't make it to the top on the first try, but on the second one we made it. One piece of advice I would give anyone doing this is to wear pants. It pretty much trashed my knees.



The method was quite simple. The climber wore a harness around the waist/legs and you tied one end of the rope to the harness (which was double checked). The rope was put through a ring at the top of the cliff and the rest of it was controlled by someone sitting on the ground. The person on the ground pretty much had your life in their hands, so you didn't spit on them.


Once you got to the top, you were rewarded with some amazing views of the coastline. Fortunately, no injuries occurred and fun was had by all.

The only time there was a risk of injury was when I tried this "Cliffhanger" move to start my first climb...I almost landed it

Mt Fuji

This past July Amy and I decided it was time we tackled the iconic Mt Fuji. We caught a bus from Tokyo in the morning and arrived at Lake Kawaguchi at around lunch time. We took a shuttle to our hotel and tried to sleep the whole afternoon. During the summer months, view of Mt Fuji are rare. So we were excited to see this view from our hotel the night we were to hike it.

We had debated whether or not to hike at night or during the day, but decided to go with the former to catch the sunrise from the top. We caught a bus from the train station to the starting point of the hike. There are several routes up and down the mountain. We took the Kawaguchiko trail starting at the 5th station at about 2,200 meters. For most of night we were alone on the trail, only occasionally passing or getting passed by someone. There were large amounts of people at the huts along the trail (many people hike part way, stay the night, and hike to the top in the morning).

We were zipping up the trail at a pretty good rate. The weather was perfect, with barely a cloud in the sky. It was a little choppy sometimes with the visibility (we only had our headlamps), but for the most part the trail is very easy to navigate. There were only a few times we had to climb hand over foot.

Things were going great...until a little thing called altitude sickness jumped on Amy's back at about 3,200 meters. At this point our pace slowed a bit to allow Amy to let go of some of her lunch/dinner and to rest. After our break the throngs of Japanese climbers had already emerged from their slumber from the mountain huts, and we were forced to get in line for the final ascent.

Despite Amy's bad fortune with the altitude sickness and the slow line to the top, we still made the 5,000 ft climb in a little over 5 hours to 3,776 meters (12,388 ft). And we made it in time for the sunrise. I wasn't sure it was worth it to climb at night (Amy still doesn't think so), until I saw it...I really don't know if it was that beautiful, or if I was just happy to be at the top.

After taking a two hour nap at the summit in one of the ramen huts, we started our descent. Fortunately we had little cloud cover, so the views were great. Once again, we had to take it easy on the way down since Amy was a little dehydrated from the extraneous efforts altitude put on her. Despite that, we still made it down in three hours.

Going down the trail was a little more crowded. As all the mountain hut sleepers were now making their way down. The down trail was a little different terrain than the up trail, too. While on the ascent you were hiking on pretty solid rock, the descent was pretty much on sand.

It felt like I had corneal abrasions by the end. It was like we were hiking at the beach. We had sand in every bit of clothing we had on.

Although Amy had to take it easy, I found it much more fun (and annoying to other hikers) to run down the sand switchbacks. I could then catch my breath while Amy came down, then I would run by the same before mentioned annoyed hikers. This sequence lasted through the first 1/3 of the descent.

When we got back to the 5th station, we caught a bus back to the train station and then a taxi back to our hotel. There we enjoyed a nice dip in the onsen to soothe our weary muscles. I must add that our hotel had one of the coolest things I've ever seen...just watch the video to find out.

Mt Hakkoda and Iwaki

Two of the most accessible mountains in our area are Mt Hakkoda and Mt Iwaki. Both are volcanic and are still active to some degree. Because of this (and other obvious factors) we tend to stick to marked trails. Because we have hiked as many times as we have, we have come across many different trail conditions. We had a number of friends hiking with us this day, and it wasn't the greatest of hiking days.

This particular day hiking Hakkoda, the peak was so windy and hazy you couldn't see anything.
In fact, it's a miracle my camera stood up to take this picture. Watch the video below this picture if you don't believe me.

Once we got down from the higher altitudes, it was a very nice day for hiking. Since we had only seen this area covered in snow, we were presently surprised to see all the marsh land along the hike. Little ponds like this dotted the lower altitudes of Hakkoda.

Another hike we did early in the summer was Mt Iwaki. It has a number of trail heads, but this particular one starts at a Shinto Shrine and is quite aesthetic. This is actually a picture of Iwaki-san we had taken a couple of weeks earlier with the apple trees blossoming. This area of Japan is known for it's apples, so it was neat to get some pictures of the trees blossoming.

Our friends Alan, Lisa, and Matt came with us to tackle this Volcano. I'm afraid Matt might not come with us again, though. For an overnight camping/mountain hiking trip he brought Chex mix, tent, sleeping bag, pillow, bar of Dove soap, and a backpack with a broken strap.

Luckily we had some extra stuff for him to borrow, and some brat for him to eat after the hike.

Although we had pretty good weather for this hike, we ended up not being able to complete it. The snow was still too heavy towards the top. When we saw a park ranger turning around in front of us, we decided we should do the same.

Even though the trails are covered in snow for much of the spring and early summer, there are ways of staying on the trail. All the trails we hike are in our hand held GPS and are marked by rangers with the fluorescent tape (like you see in the picture below). So between the two, it's pretty easy to stay on course.

Here are the weary hikers back at the base of the mountain. Iwaki won this day, but we'll be back to conquer him.

Mt Chokai

This past summer we realized we wanted to climb the famous Mt Fuji. But before we tackled Japan's tallest and most known mountain, we needed to get into climbing shape. We started off at the end of May about 50 km south of Akita at Mt Chokai.This area is not frequented by many Americans, so we got frequent stares and 'hello how are you' attempts. When we actually got to the base of the mountain, they were about to close a gate blocking off access. Luckily, we got across to them that we were camping and didn't intend to hike that night. The campground we stayed at was completely abandoned (as are many campgrounds in Japan until August).

Mt Chokai gets a lot of snowfall, so there was still plenty of the white stuff left at the beginning of Spring. We were wondering if we were going to be able to hike the trail, but a bunch of old Japanese people set off in front of us. The hike itself was beautiful (about 2/3 of it being in the snow) since most of the trail was above the tree line. There was so much snow that many of the hikers we saw were doing a ski descent.

The hike itself took us 5 hours up and three down...a long hike for the first one of the season, but it was worth it. The picture below is us at one of Mt Chokai's three peaks. Even though there was a lot of snow, the temperatures were pretty nice. Only once we got close to the top did we have to really layer up.

One of the really fun things about hiking/camping in Japan is the interaction you have with fellow Japanese hikers. After our hike we stayed in a mountain hut at the trail head due to it being rainy. One of the guests at the hut knew pretty good English (much to the delight of the manager), so we ended up talking with them for a long while.

Before we met them they said they were surprised we were Americans, because we were so quiet. They had heard us Yankees are loud and obnoxious, so it was nice to let them see otherwise. Although we were exhausted from the hike, we stayed up to about 11pm talking with them (the manager said he usually closes the living area at 10pm, but this was a special occasion).

The manager even broke out a bottle of wine and a bottle of sake to share with us. He kept telling us how much he loved Kentucky "Bubun" (Bourbon). We plan on going back this spring and bringing him a bottle. One of the young guys even made us some noodles.

2008 Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival

Every spring Japan celebrates the blooming of the cherry blossom tree (which does not produce cherries). Last year we attended the cherry blossom festival at the Hirosaki castle and noticed the Japanese would have "tarp parties." All this involves, as the name suggests, is a tarp, food, and drink.

The food of choice is sushi, and the drink of choice for these tarp parties is sake. Sake is a rice wine native to Japan. There are several different types (some you drink hot, some cold, some room temperature). We have a friend who is a Japanese medical student (Hiro) that organized our own little tarp party.

Many of these tarp parties are Japanese college students, and their level of intoxication was sort of scary. As we were exiting the castle grounds it looked like a war zone with the bodies of passed out Japanese college students scattered around.

Although Amy and our friend Lyndsey are doing a great impersonation of these students, we kept our drinking a little more moderate...well, Amy and Lyndsey did anyway.

I know this picture isn't from the festival, but I had to throw it in there. We had a costume party (how old are we?) at the bowling alley for our friend Lyndsey's birthday. We went as crash test dummies. Next up....summer hiking!

Winter 2008

In our part of Japan it tends to snow a little. And this past winter was no exception. Although it makes driving a pain, it also gives us the opportunity to do some winter activities not available in Texas

Over the last two winters we have been proud members of the Misawa Mogul Mashers...it's a skiing/snowboard club that charters a bus every Saturday headed for a different resort. Although the mountains in Japan are nothing like the Rockies, they still offer good skiing with a quarter of the crowd.

We both have gone on snowshoeing trips, as well. I found out how hard it is to hike up a mountain with skis in tow, then dodge trees skiing down. The picture below is actually a one story building buried in snow.

Amy also went on a snowshoe trip with a group of friends. Unfortunately I was on call, so I couldn't join them. No one fell in a pond or a stream, so it was a successful trip.

At the end of the winter they clear a road near to Mt Hakkoda which is only about an hour from us. It's fun to drive through. We actually came up behind one of the plows that builds this snow canyon.

Next up...cherry blossom time.

Sapporo Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival)

Well, I'm finally getting around to adding some of the stuff we've been doing. In February we spent a week in Hokkaido (the northern most island of Japan). Unlike the southern portion of the country, this island is not very populated. Our main objective in this trip was to go to the famed snow festival in Sapporo, but we weren't going to pass up some good skiing. We took a train to Sapporo (a portion of it under the Sea of Japan), so we didn't take all our gear...just our boots.
We went skiing two days at two different resorts (Niseko and Kiroro). The powder was awesome! You can see in the picture there that we had plenty of the white stuff. We were staying in Sapporo, so we had to take trains/buses to get to the resorts. The train company (JR) had these passes that included train ticket/ski rentals/lift ticket for very reasonable prices. What was funny was that there were tons of Australians in Niseko. Apparently that's the cool place to go skiing for the Aussie's.
After two days of skiing we spent some time strolling through Sapporo. There was a whole road with ice sculptures and "ice" stores you could wander through. We got to see a lot of guys making them with chainsaws, so that was pretty cool.
Many of you have had the $0.16 Ramen Noodles before...well, Sapporo has some of the most well known ramen in all of Japan. The most popular spot to get it is in this little alley known as Ramen Rokocho. There is not much seating in these places (6-10) a shop, so we were lucky to get a seat. I couldn't really differentiate the ramen here from others we have eaten, but it was a neat experience.

The main thing we came for, though, was the famed snow festival. It started in 1950 when a bunch of high school students built snow structures in Odori Park downtown. The structures gradually became more extravagant with even the military helping to bring snow into town. When the Olympics were hosted by Sopporo in 1972 the festival gained global attention.

Now 2 million people a year come during the festival. Luckily, we reserved our hotel in advance and left before the main crowds got there. The main attractions are the huge snow structures in Odori park. Each one takes 50 dump trucks full of snow to make. There were probably 15-20 of the large ones and many more small structures.
As at every Japanese festival, there were food and drink vendors galore. I'm always excited to get my chicken on a stick (not to be confused with chicken skin on a stick) and Amy likes her crepes.
You're probably thinking it was pretty cold there...well, you are correct. We basically walked through town with our snow boots, toboggans, and gloves...I think Amy even wore her thermal underwear.
It probably didn't help that we went to see them at night...I can't remember why we did it, but they looked really cool lit up.

The next day we made our way to the outskirts of town for another section of the snow festival. This area had a huge ice slide, snow maze, snow fort, and our favorite...a snow man construction site. You got your bowls, eyes, mouth, card and string and went to town. Amy shows you how to make the perfect miniature snowman.


We had to add a little Texas touch to it, so we made our little man a cowboy hat. The Japanese people loved him, taking pictures of him like he was a celebrity. After parading him around the little area, we put him in with the rest of his snowmen friends.
If you've never seen an army of snowmen, here's your chance. I had trouble sleeping that night thinking of them invading our hotel.
There is another thing that Sapporo is famous for...their beer. While in Rome...We went to the Sapporo Beer Museum and Brewery. Although no actual brewing is done in the city anymore, they still had plenty of it on hand for you to try.
After our long day of snowman construction and walking in the cold, we enjoyed a frosty beverage and an assortment of food in their beer hall. As the following video shows you, it's' not a good idea to drink and try an ice slide....

China Part Six: Beijing

Our final stop in China was the site of this year's Olympics. Beijing definitely had a lot of things to see, and definitely felt the most communistic (is that a word?). The first place we wanted to go was the Temple of Heaven, but we got sidetracked and wandered into the Dazhalan/Liulichang area. It was a bunch of brick paved roads that had an assortment of book shops and souvenir shops. Since it was at the end of the "tourist season" we got plenty of attention from the vendors.
It took us a little longer than we thought to finally reach the temple complex, but it was well worth it (so was the taxi ride back). This 267 acre complex was built for the Son of Heaven to pray for good harvests and sought divine clearance for the sins of the people. All the architecture has some symbolism right down to how many steps each temple has.
After we walked around for a couple of hours we made our way to Tienanmen Square. There are definitely no protests going on here anymore with the throngs of uniformed and plain clothes police patrolling the square. The next morning we came back through on our way to the Forbidden City. This guard was kind enough to pose for us in front of Chairman Mao. You can go see his embalmed body in the gate, but we didn't want to waste our time.
The Forbidden City is the largest collection of preserved buildings in China. It was definitely an impressive collection of architecture...I would even say it was fit for a king...or emperor. The only bad thing was that the biggest building had scaffolding all around it...it seems having it spruced up for the Olympics was more important than us.
After strolling through the complex for about four hours (complete with English audio guide) we were ready for some food. While we were in China, there was no way we were going to leave without some good ol' Peking duck. We found the best one and went to town.

They actually give you a certificate authenticating the duck that you eat. Ours was the 285,231st duck the restaurant had served since 1864...who was I to argue. The way you eat it is pretty interesting. You pretty much make a Chinese duck soft taco. You put the duck, sauce and veggies onto a soft rice "tortilla" and have at it.
In nearly all of Asia, the "squatty potty" is your only option many times. So, when you find a western style toilet you take advantage. However, Asians will obviously think of you as an old man.
One of the most memorable things of China was the traffic. I guess since the automobile has burst on the scene, the regulation of driver's training hasn't kept up. Traffic rules seem to be suggestions rather than the law. In our short while there we witnessed several wrecks. On the way to one of the definite highlights of the trip, we too were almost in a wreck. A car ran a stop sign in front of our bus, realized it was about to get broadsided, gunned the accelerator, and ran into a tree on the other side of the road. Our bus driver rolled down the window (we assume to ask if the two stumbling older gentlemen were alright) then took off. No police, no insurance, no problem.
The wall itself was very cool. Half the beauty of it was the surrounding mountains. Much of the wall is still in ruins, but we went to a restored section (you're actually not allowed to the unrestored sections). We spent a few hours climbing up and down the narrow walkways...it was a pretty tough hike. I can't imagine the manpower it took to build this thing in the ridge of the mountain.

Since we had to travel about 2 hours out of the city to get to this section of the wall, we didn't do much else that day except do some souvenir shopping.
The next morning we made our way to the Imperial Summer Palace (I'm tellin' you, these emperors had it made). It was built to get away from the hot and humid summers at the Forbidden City...even though it's only a 20 minute bus ride away.
This place, too, had a number of cool buildings, temples, and gardens. It is built on a man made lake (man made in the 1500's) and even has a marble double decker boat that doesn't go anywhere.
After strolling through here, I've decided I need to get into the emperor business.
Our last stop on our trip was to the Lama Temple, Beijing's most magnificent Buddhist temple. The temple's most prized possession is its 17 m-high sandalwood statue of the Maitreya Buddha. Although photography and video aren't allowed inside the temple, I went ninja and snagged some of both the statue and a monk sing-a-long going on.