The Copeland Travel Log

Bandai Asahi National Park, Japan - August 2008

2011-02-12T05:18:00.002+09:00

Goshikinuma Ponds

While we were in Misawa, Japan we ventured down to Fukushima prefecture over Labor Day Weekend (not celebrated by the Japanese, so no tourist traffic). After a six hour drive and a restful night at our favorite Japanese lodging, Toyoko Inn, we headed in to Bandai Asahi National Park.

Choshigataki Falls

It was a rainy day, so our plans to hike Mt Bandai were put on the back burner for today. Instead we took a hike around the Goshikinuma, a series of ponds and lakes with emerald green colors (thanks to the high mineral deposits from the nearby volcanoes).

Amy and Heath at Choshigataki Falls

Later in the day we made a short and slippery hike to Choshigataki Falls. It's named this because it looks like a 'choshi', which is what sake is poured from. That night we stumbled upon a very nice bed and breakfast with its own onsen (we voted against camping in the rain).

One of the Many Lakes of Bandai Asahi

The next morning the skies were still overcast, so we decided to venture to the nearby town of Aizu-Wakamatsu to see the reconstructed castle. The castle was pretty neat, and the clouds started clearing up.

Wakamatsu Castle

Although the structure dates back to 1593, most of it was reconstructed in the 1950's.

Wakamatsu Castle with Bonzai Tree

The interior now serves as a castle museum with several exhibits on life in the shogun era. Although we couldn't read any of the exhibits, it was still worth the money. It also had a neat bonzai garden on one of the terraces. After lunch at a Japanese imitation of KFC, we headed back to the national park.

Amy and Heath Biking in Bandai Asahi

We spent the rest of the afternoon mountain biking around one of the many lakes found in the park. These lakes and ponds were formed after Mt Bandai erupted in 1888 and dammed up several rivers and streams.

Mt Bandai Trail Head

On the third and final day of our trip the weather finally cleared enough for us to give 'ol Bandai San a go. Although it only reaches 1,819 meters (about 6,000 feet), the base is only about 500 feet above sea level.

View from atop Mount Bandai

Along the hike we had magnificent views of the lakes and ponds we had hiked and biked around previously. And since Bandai San is an active volcano, we witnessed several steam vents and bubbling water puddles on the way up.

Amy and Heath At the Top of Mount Bandai

When we got to the top we were greeted by about a dozen shocked Japanese and a million dragon flies. As usual, there was a mini shrine erected at the peak of the mountain. After a nice lunch on top, we descended and began the journey home.

Shrine at Peak of Mount Bandai

Kanto Matsuri (Lantern Festival) - August 2008

2011-02-12T01:49:00.000+09:00

In August of '08 while still in Misawa, Japan we completed the trifecta of the area's (and Japan's) best festivals by attending the Kanto Matsuri with Alan. We spent the better part of the day trying to find a camping sight due to the immense popularity of the festival. We finally found one just outside of town at some sort of family park complex that had a water park.

We made our way into town braving the rain to see the lantern parade with 400,000 others (the festival generally gets about 1.3 million visitors a year). Along with the lantern toters there were your typical Japanese festival fare.

Luckily, we were able to scope out a pretty good spot right along the avenue of the parade. The lanterns (which weigh around 115 lbs and are about 36 ft long) are passed from man to man and carried on the hip, forehead, hand and shoulder.

Unlike most of the festivals in Japan, this one actually had an element of danger added to it. While the lantern carriers were quite skilled at balancing these lighted beauties, sometimes they did drop all 36 feet of them. Luckily we were standing under a high line that caught the falling projectiles.

Below is a video illustrating the dangerous nature of being a spectator at this festival and how the line saved us.

The morning after spending a rain drenched night at the campsite (in which Alan and I polished off a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos in the Surf as evidenced by orange crumbs all over the car) we set off up the west coast of Japan.

In this region of Japan there is some fable of these crazy dressed people. We never figured out exactly what they were, but as you can see they were friendly and photogenic.

In true Japanese ingenuity, a couple of construction traffic control robots.

And before we headed home, we stopped off to check out the rice art (as seen in a previous post).

Kyoto July 16-19, 2008

2011-02-06T00:31:00.015+09:00

When we got to Kyoto it was the night before the final parade of the Gion Matsuri, one of Japan's most well known festivals. We didn't really plan on doing this, it just worked out that way.

All of downtown Kyoto was blocked off for pedestrian traffic only. All of the floats were on display along with countless food vendors and girls with kimonos.

One of the interesting things about this festival is that families will put family heirlooms on display for all to see. Kyoto's streets basically become a free museum of antique kimonos and artwork.

Since everyone in Kyoto was wrapped up in the festival, it made shrine hopping virtually tourist free for the most part. Our first stop was a short walk from our business hotel. Probably best known for the hundreds of torii gates, Fushimi Inari shrine was definitely one of our favorites.

Started in 790 this Shinto shrine boasts over 10,000 torii gates (and I think we saw everyone of them).

After getting our share of torii gates we stopped by Ginkakuji Temple (Silver Pavilion built in the late 1400's). Although it's called the silver pavilion, it was never covered in silver.

When we were there the main pavilion was under renovation, but we still got to see the gardens.

Tornado potato anyone?

Our next stop was the Heian Jingu temple. This temple was built in 1895 in celebration of Kyoto's 1100th birthday.

Stacks of sake barrels like above represent donations of patrons at Shinto shrines.

These 'paper prayers' are common at temples and shrines in Japan.

When you come to the fork in the road...

The gardens at Heian Jingu were massive and well manicured. They also had hazardous water crossings...in case and so on.

Luckily balance prevailed and we continued on our tour.

More gardens at Heian Jingu.

Another one of the temple complexes we visited was the Kiyomizudera temple. Established in 790, the buildings of the complex date back to the 1600's. As you can see, the temple sits on the hillside giving great views of Kyoto.

In the temple complex are three waterfalls called Otawa no taki. You drink from these for health, longevity, and wisdom respectively. However, you're only supposed to drink from two of them. If you drink from all three you're seen as greedy and misfortune will fall upon you...oops, I was thirsty.

Although we'd seen fountains like this at other shrines in Japan, this was the first one we saw people bringing plastic jugs to fill with the water.

Another interesting part of the temple complex is a shrine dedicated the god of love and match making. In this shrine are two rocks that are about 30 ft apart. If you navigate between the two rocks with your eyes closed you'll find your true love. Let's see how Amy did...

The main complex of the temple (above) is made entirely without any type of nail. It's supported by 139 pillars 49 ft tall. During the Edo period if you jumped off and survived your wish would be granted. Of the 234 who attempted the jump, 85.4% survived.

One of the more interesting places in Kyoto was the Gion Shimbashi. This area is the best example of the Edo period tea houses with the bamboo shades covering the house fronts.

At night we got to glimpse three geisha. Since there are only about 1,100 left, we consider ourselves lucky to have seen some. It's easy to see why this area was one of the main locations for shooting Memoirs of a Geisha.

We did get to eat dinner in one of the tea houses. It was pretty much filled with tourists (both Gaijen and Japanese), but the food was good.

The Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) was originally built as a retreat for a shogun in the 1300's. Eventually it was converted to a Buddhist temple. It has been burned to the ground a few times, the most recent incident by a crazy monk in 1955.

The most underwhelming of the 'must see' temples was the Ryoanji Temple. In the land of Buddha, it is supposedly the most zen of locations. Don't get me wrong, it was a cool rock garden. It was built in the 1400's, and it has also been designated a World Heritage Site.

Another UNESCO site, the Toji temple boasts the tallest wooden pagoda in Japan. Originally built in the 8th century, the present pagoda dates back to the 1600's

A good reminder for all of us thinking of scribbling on priceless treasures of Japanese culture.

The Sanjusangendo Temple boasts the longest wooden building in Japan. But the real attraction here are the 1,001 Kannon statues covered in gold leaf. All of them were individually carved from Japanese Cyprus trees around 1264 AD. Photography was prohibited inside the building...oops.

Back in a Few Months

2009-11-22T07:06:00.004+09:00

Amy and I are in the middle of a five month journey. When we get back, I promise to post the rest of Japan, SE Asia, East Europe, and South America...until then!

Shimokita Peninsula

2009-03-02T19:05:00.010+09:00

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

2009-02-10T19:48:00.008+09:00

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

2009-02-10T17:49:00.009+09:00

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

2008-11-11T17:25:00.007+09:00

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

2008-11-05T21:38:00.008+09:00

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

2008-11-05T21:12:00.004+09:00

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

2008-11-03T21:13:00.005+09:00

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)

2008-10-07T19:55:00.011+09:00

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

2008-07-23T21:16:00.011+09:00

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.

China Part Five: Shanghai

2008-05-21T18:37:00.007+09:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in awhile (my computer crashed). When we got to Shanghai, we proceeded directly toward the Bund (a stretch of European style buildings built by and occupied by western influences over the last two centuries). From here we could see the Pudong area (seen above) really well.
We then ventured toward Yu Yuan Garden and Old Town St. Built originally in the 1500's this garden provided some really cool architecture and gardens. The surrounding area was a bazaar of antiques and souvenir shops. Amy "accidentally" left our guide book at one such shop, so she could go back and by a baby carrier she wanted.
That night we took the metro to the aforementioned Pudong area to have dinner. Afterwards, we made our way 87 stories up the Jin Mao Tower (the 4th tallest in the world, although a skyscraper under construction across the street will be several stories taller). As you can see from the pic below, it offered some very nice view of the Bund.
After learning that our hotel was going to charge us approximately $80 to do our laundry, we took a tour of the neighborhood to find a laundromat. After some very broken Chinese, we finally found our cleaners. We then made our way to E Nanjing Rd and strolled along the pedestrian only (which in China means bikes, scooters, and motorcycles) outdoor mall.

After lunch at a noodle shop, we made our way to Renmin Park to the Shanghai Museum. This large museum had four floors of artifacts ranging from bronze, ceramics, calligraphy, to art.

That night we were fortunate enough to get tickets to watch the famed Shanghai Acrobats. It was an exciting two and a half hours of tumblers, jugglers, and even motorcyclists. The grand finale featured five of these motorcyclists in a steel sphere cage about 30 feet in diameter.

The next morning we gathered our laundry (all of it was there) and headed toward the French Concession. Halfway there we realized we didn't have our camera. We went back to the hotel and couldn't find it. To make a long story short, we bought a new camera and ended up finding our old camera...I think it was my fault, but I really can't remember.
Well, we finally made it to the French Concession, a residential, retail, restaurant area with tree lined street. This area dates back to when the French had significant influence in this area. We then headed toward the Jade Buddha Temple (houses a 7 foot tall statue of Buddha carved out of one piece of jade). You weren't supposed to take pictures of it, but I got a rogue (but blurry) picture of it.
While there, we got to witness a bunch of monks performing some type of ceremony. They had little drums and cymbals...I referred to them as the Buddha marching band. When we got back to the hotel Amy found our camera, so we were very happy to have our pictures. Then it was off to the train station for our last overnight train of the trip to Beijing.

China Part Four: Xi'an

2008-05-20T20:28:00.004+09:00

The first morning we were in Xi'an (once the capital of China) we headed to the Big Goose Pagoda surrounded by the Da Ci'en Temple. This pagoda dates back to AD 652. After touring the grounds we ate a quick lunch at KFC (there's tons of them in China) and headed to the Shaanxi History Museum. This had some interesting artifacts, including some terra cotta warriors you could view close up.

We then walked about 30 minutes to see the Little Goose Pagoda. We only saw this AD 684 structure from afar as we weren't willing to pay the US $7 to enter. We then went back north through the city gates and into the Muslim Quarter.

This area was overflowing with eateries (some shady looking), souvenir shops, and art galleries. The main attraction, though, was the Great Mosque. The oldest and largest in China, this blend of Asian and Islamic architecture dates back to the 8th Century.

In the pictures above you can see some of this architecture with Chinese woman who wanted her picture with Amy and a street shot of the quarter. It was amazing how many Chinese people wanted to take their pictures with the white people (they would only ask the girls, though). You felt like a celebrity.

On the way back we got a good glimpse of the Drum and Bell towers that lie within the city walls. These were used to signify sunrise and sunset, respectively.

The next morning we boarded a bus and drove about 40 minutes to see the terra cotta army. Built for China's first emperor Qin Shi Huang's tomb, more than 100,000 people took over 40 years to complete it.

Each warrior has an individually detailed face, so no two faces are alike. Many of the warriors are still buried, because unearthing them will cause the paint to fade off. They're too cheap to buy the technology from Japan and Germany to preserve the paint, so they'll remain buried until they come up with the solution.

As you can see from the pictures, it is overwhelming the size and area this army covers. We actually got to meet one of the farmers who discovered the tomb when he was digging a well in 1976.

That evening we got to partake in a traditional Chinese Dumpling feast. The dumplings actually originated in this region.

The next morning we woke early and walked about 15 minutes to the city wall. Built in 1370, it is one of the few city walls in the world left standing. We rented bikes and rode the perimeter of this 12 meter tall and 18 meter wide stone fence.

It wasn't the smoothest ride in the world considering we were riding on 14th century bricks and bikes without much give. As you can probably tell in some of the pictures (the Little Goose Pagoda picture in particular) the pollution in the cities is awful. These were cloudless days, yet you couldn't see more than half a mile due to the smog. Good luck Olympians!

That afternoon we strolled through Shuyuan Xiang, a neighborhood with throngs of vendors and nice architecture. Amy, of course, never failed to find something she couldn't live without whenever we ventured into one of these market places. We did have to make a detour to make a few purchases, as some of Amy's undergarments came up missing after having them laundered. We also witnessed a grand opening for a Wal-Mart here.

That night we boarded yet another overnight train headed for Shanghai.

China Part Three: Three Gorges

2008-05-20T19:42:00.002+09:00

After 12 hours on a train and 4 1/2 hours on a bus we reached Yichang. Once in Yichang we took another bus 40 minutes and reached the Three Gorges Dam. Spanning over a mile in width Amy and I can now say we went on the longest dam tour in the world.

We then took another bus 40 minutes to board the beauty you see above to navigate the Yangtze River. To quote a British lady traveling on the same vessel "the bathrooms are hideous." You had to take showers at a certain time to have warm water (I didn't know this, so I got a cold shower). We didn't hear them before we went to bed, but there were rats scurrying all throughout the boat. Good thing we only had to stay one night on the Princess Cruise.

The next morning we docked, boarded a smaller river boat, and traveled up one of the gorges. Although the dam has made the waters rise about 30 meters, the gorges are still beautiful.

After an hour on this boat we boarded this small traditional fishing boat paddled by three local minorities. When the water became to shallow to row, they got out of the boat and pulled us by ropes. Apparently they used to do this part in the nude, but they now wear shorts.

We then headed back to the luxury liner (needless to say, after we heard the rats we spent the rest of our time on the top level of the boat enjoying the views of the gorges). We spent the night in a nice hotel and zoomed back up the river in a hydroplaning boat the next morning to a 16 hour overnight train.

China Part Two: Yangshuo

2008-05-20T18:36:00.009+09:00

After an overnight train, a one and a half hour bus ride, and a ten minute walk we made it to the charming stone paved streets of Yangshuo. Here we stayed at a youth hostel (not the best but certainly not the worst place we've ever stayed). Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, we got to experience the quieter side of China. Although the shops, musicians, boaters, and street vendors were appealing, the real draw to this area was the limestone karsts.

This area is literally covered with them as far as you can see. The first day we were there, we wondered the streets and made some bargain buys. Late that afternoon we headed in a van for a river tour through the karst lined Li River.

As you can see from the video our boat didn't appear to be the most sea worthy vessel, but it made it out and back okay. The scenery was awesome, and we got some great sunset views before we headed back in.

The next morning our group gathered together to ride mountain bikes through the country side. Once again, we weren't sure if our bikes were going to make it (one of the bikes in our group actually didn't), but we got lucky and finished the trek.

We took a bunch of unpaved roads and received some strange looks along the way (as we did in many parts of the country). As you can see in the pictures, there wasn't a lack of scenery on this bike ride.

After awhile we came upon a karst known as Moon Rock, which is a popular hike for the tourists. Before we even started on the hike, Amy and I had a couple of local farmer's wives trailing us with fans. They fanned us up and down the entire trail (the hike took a good part of 2 hours round trip)...and all they wanted in return was for us to buy a coke from them. That's them with Amy near the top of the climb. China's economy might be booming, but a majority of them still live in poverty as we witnessed many times along the trip.

After the bike ride and climb we were treated to a traditional farmer's lunch at a nearby farm. I can't really remember what all we ate, but I do remember eating this chicken's foot (I guess that chicken didn't cross the road).

The picture below is at the farm where we had lunch. You can see Moon Hill in the background to the left.

That night we took a local taxi/van to watch a light show on the Li River. The significance of it being that the director will direct the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. And if the opening ceremonies is anything like the show we watched, it will be worth watching. I didn't get any good pictures or video, but here is a snippet of it.

China Part One: Hong Kong

2008-03-04T19:26:00.008+09:00

I'm sorry for the lack of posting the last couple of months, but the skiing has been too good to be spending my weekends on the blog. Now that we have a couple of months before hiking/camping season starts I'll try to catch you up on what we've been up to. As many of you know, we spent three weeks in China this past fall. I'm going to break it up into a couple of smaller posts, so I don't kill myself.

The best thing about going to China from Japan is that there is only a 1 hour time difference, so the trip wasn't that bad (5 hour flight from Tokyo). We arrived in Hong Kong at about 10 pm and somehow made it to our hotel around midnight. The next morning we made our way down Nathan Road to Kowloon park were we ate breakfast and sat with the morning crowd of Filipinos and Indonesians. Groups of locals were performing their daily Kung Fu shadow boxing (Tai Chi). We then headed down to the pier to take the famous Star Ferry across to Hong Kong Island.

After our ferry ride we hit the Sheung Wan neighborhood which houses dried seafood shops, herbal medicine wholesalers, ginseng root sellers, several markets, and Man Mo Temple.

The cool thing about this temple was all the incense burning lamp shade looking things. The whole room was covered in them.

You could definitely tell the British influence on this city as the traffic was in the left lane. Not to mention the names of many streets and establishments being of English origin. We would find out in time that Hong Kong was definitely different than the rest of China. It still has its own currency.

After having lunch at one of the more well known restaurants in the area (Yung Kee) we took a bus (no, not the cool looking double decker) to the famed Stanley Market...which was a huge flea market with anything from art, clothing-which Amy walked away with, and souvenirs.

After are fill of the market we took another bus to the Aberdeen area. This harbor houses numerous fishing boats which act as a floating community. Some of these fishers spend their whole life on their boat. Inspired by the dedicated fishermen, we took a sampan(traditional boat) out to a floating restaurant and had some seafood. We were a little late getting home, because we got a little lost (we'll just say it was Amy's fault since I never get lost).

The next morning we went down to the Avenue of the Stars (Hong Kong's version of the Walk of Fame). Amy was wanting to take a Tai Chi class, but we didn't find it until the very end. So, we crossed over to the island again and found Victoria Park. Here we got to find this group doing their little Tai Chi dance.

We walked from the park to Tin Han Temple (not very impressive). From there we decided to take an elevator to the top of the Bank of China skyscraper for some views of the city. After eating lunch at a crazy Thai restaurant we headed for the cable car to the top of Victoria Peak.

As you can see, it afforded some nice views of the city. It also had a little shopping mall at the top where Amy tried her hand at fighting Honk Kong's most famous citizen Bruce Lee (she got waxed...sorry).

That night we headed back for the pier/walkway to watch an interesting and unique show. Every night the skyline on Hong Kong Island puts on a laser/light show to some pretty corny music. Our night ended close to our hotel where we traversed through the Temple Street Market. Here you could find pretty much any brand name purse, watch, backpack, or clothing item for a very inexpensive price...all authentic I'm sure.

The next morning we headed to the north part of the city to visit the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple. Adjacent to the temple is a stable of fortune tellers. For about $7 Amy had her "fortune" told. He said she would have a bad spine, bad heart, and a bad cough...apparently the more you buy from them the better your fortune gets. He also said she would have 3 sisters...although I'm pretty sure Amy's parents are finished.

That afternoon we took a train past the border into mainland China (even though Hong Kong is officially under Chinese rule there is still border security...Chinese citizens are not allowed to pass freely between the two). After crossing the border we boarded an overnight train (luxury, let me tell you) for Guilin.

Nebuta and Tachi-Neputa Festivals

2008-01-06T19:08:00.000+09:00

In the first week of August, we (along with 6 close friends) went to the Aomori Nebuta festival. One of the largest festivals in northern Japan, it celebrates the warrior Sakanoue-no-Tamuramaro who defeated the Ezo people in the 8th century. According to legend he hid warriors in giant dolls luring his enemy. Today the festival runs along several city blocks and has an array of haneto (dancers in traditional dress) who march and dance to the sounds of drums and festival music...not to mention the three dimensional nebuta warriors that are as big as a house. One of the most exciting things was when 50 or so people moving the float would start to spin it around. You can get a sense of the atmosphere from this video:

This festival goes on for a week with the parade occurring every night. Despite the frequency of the parade, the streets were jam packed. We had a good location thanks to our friend Junko. While enjoying the parade, there were plenty of street vendors offering up all our favorite festival foods. After almost 3 hours of parading, we were ready for some sleep.
Before we had moved to Japan, we had heard of capsule hotels that were used by businessmen who needed to sleep off a hard night of sake before they could drive home. And after seeing them on the Amazing Race, we wanted to stay in one. So our whole group got reservations at one in Aomori.
It's really all you could ask for in a hotel room...and more. As you can see they are stacked one on top of the other down a corridor. There are no doors, just a bamboo curtain. Inside your capsule you had a TV, radio, reading lights, hooks, a couple of little shelves, and a thermostat.
The entire capsule floor was about 6 1/2 feet long and about 3 feet wide covered by a mattress. There was a community style bathroom (one female, one male) equipped with showers. Although it wasn't luxury, I got a great night's sleep. The next morning we took a detour on the way to our next festival. Each year, farmers in the town of Inakadate in Aomori prefecture create rice art using different colored rice (purple and yellow-leafed kodaimai and green-leafed tsugaru-roman). In the past they have done famous Japanese characters and one year actually did the Mona Lisa. This year’s creation was a pair of rice reproductions of famous woodblock prints from Hokusai’s 36 Views of Mt Fuji.
We took the picture from a four story observation deck connected to a hotel (built specifically for the rice field art). As you can see from the car in the background, this is quite an undertaking. The two fields were each as big as football fields. To see the progression, I found this website: http://www.vill.inakadate.aomori.jp/ricecroptour/html/ricecroptour_progress_h18.html
After our rice art viewing excursion, we headed for the town of Goshagowara. Since this was a smaller town, we found a campground just outside of town and took the train in. Although the town is much smaller, it seemed like there were twice as many people there. The Tachi-Neputa festival was much shorter, but the floats were very impressive.
Unlike the Nebuta Festival, these floats towered sometimes as much as four stories. And while there weren't as many of the tall floats, they were indeed impressive. And as you can see in both the Nebuta and the Neputa, these floats are being moved by people. Here are a couple of quick videos of some of the taller floats going by:

Rikuchu Kaigan

2007-12-27T20:02:00.000+09:00

On July 4th weekend Amy and I ventured south to the 40th parallel to visit a stretch of coast Japan has designated as a national park. Rikuchu Kaigan, as it is known, is about a 100 mile span of jagged cliffs that drop into the Pacific Ocean. As you can see by the pictures, there were some pretty impressive views along the way. Since it was in the middle of the week, we didn't have to deal with hordes of Japanese tourists.
Since this was pretty far away from our base, we were often gawked at by the Japanese tourists we did encounter. They were probably wondering what the heck we were doing there.
After driving down the road for several hours (checking in on campgrounds along the way) we finally found a campground to stay the night.
Even though it was in July, many of the campgrounds had just opened due to the rain that falls in May and June (aka the rainy season). So we were kind of surprised to find we were the only ones staying at the campground we had found (Amy got the directions from an ice cream stand on the side of the road). The guy who ran the place didn't have any change for the bills we were carrying, so we had to dig all the change we could find from our car...luckily it was enough. The picture below is how we transferred our camping stuff to the actual camp site (many campgrounds have this type of rickshaw type thing).
The campground itself was very nice being 100 yards from the beach, and we had it all to ourselves. We decided to build a fire on the beach and eat dinner, but in the middle of eating it started sprinkling. We headed back to the tent not knowing what was about to hit us. That night I think a monsoon sat right on top of our tent...our shade tarp had collapsed due to all the rain, and our tent had leaked. The next morning the man who ran the campground came to check on us (even though he couldn't speak a lick of English). After we got all our gear stowed, we went to Ryusen-do cavern which was in the area...not too impressive. We decided after the monsoon the night before, we wanted to stay in our dry house the next night.

Towada Lake

2007-12-27T19:30:00.000+09:00

In July we made our way once again to the Hachimantai-Towada National Park. On this trip our main objective was to find campgrounds for future trips to Lake Towada. With a depth of 327 meters, the lake is the third deepest in Japan.

We spent a lot of the first day just driving around since it was a little rainy, but it ended up being fairly nice the rest of the day. The small town of Yasumiya borders the lake, and offers several points of interest...including our tomato head friend.
The next day Amy and I (after an hour or so of searching our Japanese map/GPS) decided to climb Mount Towada (Towadayama). Although this mountain was only 3000 ft, it was a very difficult hike due to the amount of foliage you had to hike through.
As you can see in the picture above, sometimes you were completely surrounded by small trees and bushes. I made the mistake of doing the hike without pants on, and my legs ended up looking like I'd been kicking barbed wire. You can see a little snippet on the video.

The hike wasn't too much fun, but the view from the peak was pretty nice. As usual, Amy and I had our freeze dried meal at the peak (along with some Pizza Combos).
And I couldn't leave this picture out. There is a famous bronze sculpture (famous in Japan anyways) on the lake with two naked ladies giving each other high fives. We found this in town, and I made Amy jump behind it.

Juniko, Shirakami, and Anmon Falls

2007-11-11T15:34:00.000+09:00

The second week of June we ventured to the west side of the island to visit Juniko (12 lakes). It was our first time to this side of the island, so we weren't real sure of what to expect. The lakes themselves were okay. They were crystal clear, and there were a lot of flowers in bloom.
While wandering through the lakes, we did see an endangered pair of woodpeckers on our hike. They were somewhat camera shy, so no pictures of them. In the afternoon we hiked to the rim of Nippon Canyon (picture below) to get our exercise for the day. After the hike we camped at a campground in the park.

The next day we decided to take a different route home. We ended up driving through a UNESCO world heritage site, which turned out to be the highlight of the trip. Shirakami Forrest is the largest virgin birch tree area in the world. The drive was incredible following the river all the way into the mountains.
We passed numerous waterfalls and incredible scenery. About half way through the drive the road turned from pavement to gravel. Since we had 4-wheel drive we continued. Although it was pretty well maintained, it was a little unnerving driving on the twisting mountain road with sheer drop-offs the whole way.
We took another side road and found this waterfall (about 100 ft tall) and had lunch. It had been raining on and off all afternoon, so we decided to start back. Once we were on the outskirts of the Shirakami area we stumbled upon Anmon Falls.
Anmon Falls is actually a series of three major (#2 is the pic below) and several minor falls on a 3 mile hike. By the time we got to the last waterfall it started down pouring. You really couldn't run, because the trail was quite slick and steep. Needless to say, we were drenched for the rest of the trip home.
We are going to come back to this area to do a backpacking trip next summer, so we can see more of the interior of the Shirakami Forrest. All the pictures of this trip and others are now posted on our shutterfly page: www.heathandamy.shutterfly.com .

Nyuoto Spa and Mt Komagotake

2007-07-16T19:43:00.000+09:00

In the beginning of June we ventured south about 80 miles for our anniversary to visit an onsen (hot spring). These hot springs are very popular in Japan and very numerous due to the high volcanic activity of the country. Supposedly they can treat particular ailments (arthritis, heart disease, etc) depending which one you visit. They can be situated in or outdoors, and usually have some degree of sulfur smell to them. The onsen that we stayed at was formerly samurai living quarters in the southern portion of Towada-Hachimantai National Park near Lake Tazawa (above pic - Lake Tazawa-ko is a crater lake, situated almost in the center of the eastern part of Akita Prefecture, and at 423.4 meters in depth is the deepest in Japan.).

Onsen's, like so many things in Japan, have their own rules of etiquette. Before you enter an onsen you're supposed to bathe. There are usually a set of bowls, some soap/shampoo dispensers, and a tub and/or water faucet (you must provide your own at some onsens). When you bathe you're not supposed to stand up, so there are little wood or plastic stools for you to sit on. You dip your bowl into the onsen for hot water and give yourself a shower/bath. After you bathe you can then enter the onsen. Although some onsens allow you to wear a bathing suit, most require you to be in the buff...as much as I like watching a bunch of naked old men, you could imagine why it's not the most desirable place for me to go.

Most onsens are divided into male and female sections, but some have a coed section as well. In these you can enter the water in your respective male/female section then make your way to the main pool. The water itself is usually very hot...warmer than your typical bath or hot tub. I couldn't stay in more than a few minutes at a time. Most of the time the water will be a milky white color, but there are clear and even black water springs. Most of the Japanese will put there towel on top of their head while sitting in the water (supposedly this keeps them cooler?). After you have adequately soaked yourself, there is usually a small dressing room near the spring for you to dress.

The room we stayed in was a traditional style Japanese tatami mat room. There was no bed or kitchen table, so we ate and slept on the floor (see video).

Our dinner was brought up to us and consisted of Japanese soup, noodles, vegetables, and the fish you see in the picture (head, tail, skin and bones). The man that brought our dinner up also set up our futons...it's a good thing, because we had no idea where we were going to sleep.

The next day we hiked to the top of Mount Komagotake. Although it was early June, there was still some snow on the trek. During winter we had skied on many of the neighboring mountains, so it was neat to see them not covered in snow.

Mt. Komagotake, like all other mountains in Japan, is volcanic. It actually consists of three different peaks. We climbed two of them, the tallest just over 5300 feet. We had awesome weather as you can see by the blue skies. The views were great the whole hike, not just the peak (see video). We will definitely be doing more hiking in this area.

Sendai and Matsushima

2007-06-24T18:06:00.000+09:00

At the end of May we ventured south along the coast to the city of Sendai, a metropolitan area of about 1 million people. The first night we got there we ate at a sushi restaurant and tried the specialty of the area, gyu-tan (cow tongue...don't worry, it was cooked).
We spent the rest of that night and the next morning walking around the city. They were about to have a big parade, so there were a lot of neat floats, drums, and traditional costumes. If you follow the following link, it will play a traditional drum ensemble in action(http://www.youtube.com/v/Ljc0e5HO4XM). As you can see in the pics, some of them were nice enough to pose for us.
The main reason we came to Sendai, however, was to view a professional baseball game. Baseball in Japan is just a little different than the States. First, the whole field (minus the mound and right around the bases) is AstroTurf. Next, in the States the seats behind home plate are the highly sought after ones...not the case in Japan...the most loyal and rowdy fans congregate in the outfield seats (left field for home, right field for visitors).

The fans in these corners have a chant or song for every batter in their line-up. This link will take you to a video I took of one such chant (http://www.youtube.com/v/UuSrLM399gg). At the end of the video, you will here whistles being blown...no, those aren't the umps, they are special whistle blowers in the stands (see pic above). Anytime a foul ball is hit in your vicinity, it is up to these upstanding citizens to warn you of their approach.
Another interesting ritual occurs in the seventh inning. Before the stretch, most of the fans in the stands blow up these elongated balloons that end up being about 6 feet long. When the last out is made in the seventh inning, everyone releases their balloons and they fly 30-100 feet in the air!
Unfortunately, a home run was hit by an opposing team player, so many fans let theirs go prematurely...including Amy (fair weather fan!). Speaking of fair weather, after the final out we got poured on.

The next morning we took the train out to Matsushima. We then took a ferry ride through the bay to witness these stony outcroppings throughout the water. It is said that this collection of islets is one of the three most beautiful sites in Japan...I strongly disagree, but to each their own.
It was nice, though, and the town was charming. Our camera ran out of battery, so I don't have any pictures of that...DOH!

Hirosaki and the Cherry Blossoms

2007-06-24T17:36:00.001+09:00

One of the more momentous times of the year in Japan is the few months the cherry blossoms bloom. The Japanese will actually plan months in advance to have cherry blossom parties in the parks and gardens where they are prevalent. They will set out there tarps, cook on their mini barbecue pit, and drink copious amounts of sake and beer. In our part of the country they appeared at the end of April, so we went to one of the most popular places to view them in Hirosaki.
Located about 2 hours drive due west of us, Hirosaki has a very large castle grounds with some nicely restored guard towers. The main attraction for us on this trip, however, were the cherry blossoms. The castle grounds boast over 2000 cherry blossom trees on the premises. You can also view Mt. Iwaki-san from the grounds. We plan on hiking to the top of this volcanic mountain later this summer.
The Japanese celebrate in this area with a large festival with numerous food booths, traditional drumming competitions, and the tarp parties which I previously mentioned. The cherry blossoms only hang around for a couple of weeks (if you're lucky), so we didn't have much of a window to go view them. The limited time frame means a lot of people and as many cameras.

Mt. Hakkoda Part II

2007-06-24T16:50:00.000+09:00

Our last ski trip of the year was the first week in April to the famed mountain Hakkoda-san. On the way out was the first week the road we traveled was open, so it was like driving through a snow canyon.

Although there are only two marked ski paths on the mountain, many people like to go "exploring" the back country on this mountain. Amy and I aren't what you would call expert skiiers, so we stuck with the marked routes.

Even though Hakkoda-san is not as high in altitude as the Colorado Rockies, it receives in some cases more snow fall. What you see in this last picture are the tops of 30 ft trees plastered with snow...here they are dubbed Hakkoda Snow Monsters.

Tokyo Part II

2007-05-25T12:46:00.000+09:00

At the end of March we went to Tokyo for a dental conference, but we found enough time to see quite a bit of the city. During our visit in January we figured out the subway system, so navigating around was much easier this time...not to mention that we had our personal tour guide Junko! Our first stop was to the Sony display building...it was 6 stories of Sony's newest electronics, many of which aren't available in stores yet. I guess I was somewhat disappointed in it. My expectations were much higher than what they put on display for me. And you would think that electronics would be cheaper in Japan since they don't have to import them...Ha!, think again.

After that we headed to the Ebisu Garden's...it's a large shopping complex built in and around an old Sapporo brewery which has now been converted into corporate offices and a beer museum. We saw some Japanese celebrity singer who had just performed. We stopped him and got a picture with him, but we still don't know who he really is. We really couldn't understand anything in the beer museum, but that didn't make the beer taste any worse. And although I tried, I wasn't able to make it home with the Sapporo truck.

The next evening we made our way to the Akihabara district. Several blocks of this neighborhood are devoted to multi-storied electronic emporiums. These stores have any and everything you could think of electronic...the highlight for me was seeing a $750 toilet seat with remote control. After being disappointed by the Sony building, Akihabara renewed my belief that Japanese are definitely into their gizmo's and gadgets.

The next morning we got up early and headed to the famed Tsukiji Fish Market. Even though we didn't make it there for their busiest hour, there were still enough trucks, carts, fish, runners, and tourists to flatten an army. It covers about 3 city blocks and consists of over 1,200 fish stands. 90% of all the fish eaten in Tokyo comes through here.

We saw everything from octopus to swordfish. And many of the tuna were as large as a full grown man. The primary means of transporting the fish from the market to the various restaurants/grocers was a little stand-up motor-cart about 6 feet long with a flat, round steering wheel.

While one of the runner's was busy loading fish, Amy tried to make off with one of these fish transporters...needless to say, she didn't make it very far. (Have you noticed a grand theft auto theme?)

After the hustle and bustle of the fish market (not to mention the smell), we headed to one of Tokyo's many gardens. The Hama Rikyu Garden was once a game reserve for the powerful shogun's and later came into the hands of the imperial family in 1871. When we visited in March half of the garden's foliage had yet to bloom, but this didn't take away from the beauty of the wooden bridges, channels, and the ponds. There was also a large field of rape blooms as seen in the pic below.

After the garden we ventured back near the fish market and had some fresh sushi. We've found that in Japan sushi is a lot simpler than in the States. Most sushi in Japan is simply a slice of tuna or another type of fish over rice. Whereas in the States, sushi is presented in flavorful rolls for the most part (ie, spicy tuna roll).

One of the neatest things we got to see in Tokyo was the Imperial Palace and Gardens. Once the largest fort in the world, most of what remains of this huge fortification are the massive stone walls built without mortar. They were built to withstand earthquakes (not to mention US bombings during WWII). There are a few guard towers that have been reconstructed, and large moats surround the whole area. The imperial family still lives in the garden's, so a lot of it is off limits. This was the first area we got to see the blooming cherry blossoms (don't worry, we'll get into that soon).

The next destination on our tour of Tokyo was Ueno district. As soon as you get out of the train station you are overcome by hoards of people smashing their way through crowded allies in the shopping district known as Ameyoko. As you can see in the picture below, if you didn't keep walking you got ran over...I have no idea how anything gets bought or sold there.

Once we made our way out of that chaos we headed for Ueno park. Although the cherry blossoms weren't in full bloom yet, many people had gathered there for the weekend to eat, drink, and be merry in anticipation of the coming spring. There were a couple of neat shrines/temples, a pagoda, and plenty of food vendors. We also go to visit the Tokyo National Museum which is located in the park.

That evening we took a train over the bay to the island district known as Odaiba. There is shopping, restaurants, and even an amusement park. The main reason we came, though, was for the panoramic nighttime views of the city. With the Rainbow Bridge lit up and the sky scrapers in the background, it was definitely worth the trip. Unfortunately, my photography skills aren't so good as to get a quality shot at night, so this is all we have.

Sumo Tournament in Tokyo

2007-02-04T17:33:00.000+09:00

A few weeks ago we ventured down to Tokyo for our first ever sumo tournament. There are 6 tournaments a year that last for 15 days, 3 of the tournaments being held in Tokyo. There are four divisions of wrestlers, but we watched just the upper division in the afternoons. The arena held in my estimation around 15,000 to 18,000 people, and it is sold out every afternoon. The arena looks very similar seating-wise to how a boxing match would look in the states...the big difference being that the first three sections you sit on mats, not seats. The first afternoon we sat on the mats in the lower section. The upper division wrestlers have a match everyday during the 15 day tournament, so we got to see our favorite wrestler twice. The basic rules of a sumo match are as follows: be the first to knock your opponent either out of the ring or have any part of his body hit the ground other than his feet. The only rules are no closed fist punches (slapping is allowed), no eye gouging, and no pulling hair. Other than that it is a free for all.
Some of the matches are over in a matter of seconds, while some last up to five minutes. Before each match the fighters go through a ritual of stretching, leg raising, foot stamping, and salt throwing (each of these things having a deeper meaning). This can go on for up to 5 minutes (the better the wrestlers, the longer it goes on). The last match of the night is always the Grand Champion. To earn this title, you must win consecutive tournaments. Once given the title of Grand Champion, if you have a losing record in a tournament you are forced to retire from the sport. That being said, anytime the Grand Champion loses, everyone in the arena tosses their mats they've been sitting onto the ring. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you're the Grand Champion), that didn't happen the two afternoons we attended. One of the highlights of the tournament was watching the wrestlers enter the arena. The better fighters were brought right to the gate in a van/taxi, while the lower division fighters had to take the subway. We got to take our picture with a couple of the lower division wrestlers outside the arena after we had lunch.
While we weren't attending the tournament we got to do some site seeing around Tokyo. We went with a couple of dentists in our clinic (one of them being Japanese) and another Japanese dentist from Okinawa. It was great having two people who could speak Japanese with us and someone who understood the Tokyo subway system. While we were out and about we visited some neat neighborhoods, which we will highlight after future trips to Tokyo.
We did venture to Kamakura (former capital just outside Tokyo), which had some neat Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. One of which housing this giant Buddha seen in the picture. Well, that's all for now. Sayoonara.

Cozumel

2007-02-04T17:12:00.000+09:00

Over Christmas, we had the opportunity to spend some time with the Copeland family in Cozumel, Mexico. Although we had to travel 36 hours in a plane (total round trip) it was worth it. We had a house right by the water, and the view as you can see was fantastic. It rained off and on, but the weather was nice all in all. We went snorkeling everyday off the deck from the back of our house. One day Amy, Hunter, and I took a snorkeling tour. On it we saw a sea snake, eels, a barracuda, and a sting ray.
One day after it had been raining, we decided to go to some Mayan ruins about 15 minutes from where we were staying. The highlight of this trip was Dad getting his new shoes broken in by stepping in a huge mud/water puddle. As you can see from the picture above, I was the tour guide.
When Landry and Chris joined us we spent a day out on the beach boogie boarding, throwing the football, and playing "sand ball"...don't ask me, Hunter made up that game. On the way back from the beach, this horse was nice enough to stop and let us take our picture with it.
Fortunately, we got to eat plenty of Mexican food (kind of a scarcity in Japan...and the Midwest for that matter). And on another sidenote, our house was frequented by about 6 iguanas. They ranged in size from about 1 1/2 feet to 3 feet long.

Winter Sports

2007-01-10T19:49:00.000+09:00

Well, they say that this is the least snow they have had in years here in Misawa. It's still the most snow that we've seen in our life. We're learning to adapt I guess...we're getting a little more comfortable driving. Both our cars are 4wd, so that helps. The giddiness that comes with a blanket of fresh snowfall is still there, but we really don't have to shovel our driveway.
We've also learned with snow comes a new world of possibilities in the outdoor rec department. We've already been to three different ski resorts and have joined a club on base that goes skiing every weekend (so you know where we are when you can't contact us). It is a little different going into the lodge and ordering a bowl of ramen instead of a hamburger or pizza. As far as fashion on the slopes, anything goes. Some of the Japanese aren't afraid to wear circa 1983 ski-wear. Two words psychadelic.

As you can see in the pictures, we've also acquired ($2 apiece) what we like to call the "buttboard." We call it that because that's about all you can fit on it (I think they're made for kids). It's a thin piece of plastic with a handle protruding out the front. After I bought them Amy had her doubts on whether or not they would carry us. Let me tell you, just lay back, grab the handle, and lift your legs (sounds like what you do in the bathroom)...we were even passing skiers on the slopes last weekend on these bad boys. To get off, you simply do what Amy is here in the picture...roll or slide...and it's usually not by choice.
I must add that Amy got a little out of control once and slammed into a plastic barrier fence at about 15 mph. Don't worry, the fence is okay. Everyone on the lift did seem to enjoy watching the two Americans darting down the hill with nothing between them and the ground but a piece of plastic.
The other winter sport that we've tried out is snowshoeing. We rented some from our local outdoor store on base and went hiking on the base golf course. We even found a couple of balls. We have a trip with some of the docs in our clinic to snowshoe up Mt Hakkoda later this winter. I volunteered to bring the hot cocoa.

Morioka

2007-01-09T20:41:00.000+09:00

Over Thanksgiving Amy and I ventured about 2 hours south of Misawa to the capital of the Iwate prefecture, Morioka. About 30 minutes out of town the horizon is dominated by the extinct volcano (at least we hope so) Mt Iwate-san. With three rivers running through town and the volcano in the background, the city was quite picturesque. The city also has the closest GAP and Starbuck's, so that pretty much made Amy a happy camper.
There was also a pretty large temple/shrine district which we roamed through as well. There was a rock that supposedly had a demon's hand prints on it, but we couldn't see them. There was also this Buddhist temple which housed 500 mini-Buddha's (about 2 1/2 feet tall) all with different facial expressions and poses.
The highlight of this trip, however, was our wanko soba dining experience at the Azumaya Soba Shop. Soba is a wheat based noodle and "wanko" simply means "wooden cup." So in case you have addition problems it translates into a wooden cup of noodles. Now that you know what it is, here's how you eat it.

First, you are seated at a Japanese style table and given an apron to put on. Next, a group of side dishes is brought out (sashimi, chicken, spices, etc.) along with your bowl (with lid) and a wooden bucket. The waitress then comes out with a tray full of wanko soba (the orange cups in the picture). At this point, the game is on.

The waitress begins by pouring a cup (wanko soba) into your bowl. After you finish your soba (which you can adorn with the side dishes), you can then pour the soup portion into the wooden bucket. The waitress immediately pours you another cup when the soba is gone from your bowl. Keep in mind we're doing this with chop sticks and a Japanese waitress looking over our shoulders. When you have had enough, you simply slip the lid on top of your bowl...did I say "simply?"....because that is far from the truth. As soon as the last soba has slipped through your lips another cup is being poured in your bowl (supposedly this goes back to way back when you used to eat more, even though you're full, so not to make the cook think it's not good). If you put your lid on and there is still soba in it (even a piece 1/8 inch in length) the waitress will swiftly remove the lid, politely point it out to you, and pour you another cup.

Even though we were ready to stop in the 30's (15 wanko soba = 1 cup) we just weren't quick enough. Amy ended up eating 43, and Heath 71. Although this seems like a lot, the record is 345. Needless to say, we won't be eating any wanko soba anytime soon.

Mount Hakkoda-san

2006-11-07T21:03:00.000+09:00

Two weekends ago we drove about an hour and a half to Hakkoda-san, a famous mountain in the Aomori prefecture. Our main objective was to view the fall foliage, and we weren't disappointed. We ended up taking a gondola ride to the top of Mount Hakkoda for the scenic view. It held about 75 people...and let me tell you, the Japanese aren't shy about making their way very quickly to the windows. Turns out we were taller than everyone in the gondola, so we had a good view out the windows. The Japanese definitely displayed their love of electronics/photography on the way up...I think we saw about 30 different cameras with telescopic lenses that could probably see the surface of Mars.

After we escaped the madhouse known as the gondola, we scoped out a ski resort next door that we hope to be hitting...after a little practice and with a guide (see the following article: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0602/sports/ski-japan.html).
After that, we did some hiking and came across this waterfall. Other than this little excursion, we haven't done much the last couple of weeks. We're kind of twiddling our thumbs waiting for the snow to come. In the following weeks we'll put more posts on "cultural differences." 'Til then.

Yagen Valley

2006-10-09T20:04:00.000+09:00

Well, we ventured out once again into parts of Japan we didn't know existed. This trip was to the Shimokita peninsula to the Shimokitahanto National Park. We ended up camping in a location known as Yagen Valley. The location was very scenic with a river flowing next door to us cutting a gorge into the landscape. Amy and I both experienced our first onsen (natural hot springs) and will tell more of that in a future post.

The next day we drove to Mount Osare (literally Mount Dread), which is a quasi active volcano with a beautiful caldera lake (see 1st photo).
This location is one of the three most "holy" spots to the Japanese...the rough translation is the gateway to hell. A huge Buddhist temple covering several acres is on shore of this caldera lake. There are numerous shrines, statues, and monuments scattered on the landscape (photo 3). Also dotting the area are sulfer and steam vents (photo 2). Most of these have rock piles on them (a sort of monument to dead infants). These rock piles are everywhere. Every year the Japanese have some sort of holy ritual that takes place here that over 30,000 people attend. Blind women known as itako lead these rituals supposedly being able to communicate with the dead. We didn't see any dead, but the area was pretty neat. We'll have pictures of this up on our shutterfly site soon.

Lake Towada Area

2006-10-04T20:12:00.000+09:00

Our first overnight trip was in the beginning of September to Towada-Hachimantai National Park. We stayed at a pretty nice campground, not unlike those you would find in the states. Our main objective was to hike the Oraise Gorge (the bottom pic of the waterfall). This was about a 6 mile round trip hike that included numerous waterfalls.

The campground we stayed at was just outside a town called Yasumia, that just happened to be hosting a festival that weekend (middle picture). There were all kinds of food and beverage vendors that served anything from candy to grilled fish on a stick (scales, eyes, and all). Although our favorite was the very simple and plain grilled chicken, we did venture out and try some different noodles, soups, and items we're really not quite sure of what food group they belong to. All Japanese festivals have either an elaborate parade or fireworks (many times both). The parades consist of different floats being pushed/carried by as many as 50 people. They are always surrounded by dancers in traditional dress and followed by ice chests full of sake and various Japanese beers. The highlight of this parade was what I like to call the "lantern balancing guys." These fellas would take turns balancing a 70 foot bamboo shoot stacked with lit paper lanterns (quite impressive).

After a long day/night of hiking and festivaling we took a nice leisurely drive around Lake Towada (a volcanic lake and top picture). We'll put up all these pictures on our shutterfly website soon.

The Cars

2006-10-01T18:05:00.000+09:00

Our first automobile is a 1997 baby blue Surf (4-Runner in the US) with 61,000 km's (about 36,000 miles). This bad boy has power windows/locks, remote starter, 4-wd, 12-disk CD changer, airconditioning, sunroof, and GPS (although it's in Japanese).

The second of our auto's is what I refer to as the "monster truck." It's a 1995 Pajero Mini with 111,000 km's (66, 000 miles). It's fully equipped with power windows, cd/mp3 player (you have to hold it in at first, so it will start playing), and 4-wd for the snow driving. In this bad boy you are literally elbow to elbow with your fellow passenger. This soccer mom's dream will hold 4 full sized adults very uncomfortably.

Both cars run well (Japanese engineering at its finest). But for the life of us, we can't figure out what the tiny mirrors are for on the hood. A couple of theories are (1) they can see the shorter japanese people walking along the road, (2) you can check the polish on the chrome of your rims, or (3) to check the blindspot inbetween the front wheel and your front door before trying to make a lane change. And although we would love to bring these beauties back home with us, it might be hard to drive in the US with the steering wheels on the wrong side.

The House

2006-10-01T17:46:00.000+09:00

May we present to you the tuscan mustard house...our domicile for the next three years. This baby comes equipped with 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths (1 heated toilet seat), 1- car garage, and no lawn to mow. We have lots of closet space, kerosene heaters in every room, and electric air conditioners/heaters in the living room and all bedrooms. We'll put interior pictures up as soon as we get everything moved in.

2006-09-11T19:54:00.000+09:00

Upon arrival we started our hunt for the basics...a house and a car. Our success in both these areas can be attributed to the service oriented nature of the Japanese along with several of those we will be working with in the dental clinic....many of the landlords came to pick us up to look at houses and coworkers drove us to nearby towns to shop for cars. Four days after landing in Misawa we signed a lease on a house and an hour later one of our coworkers friends came over with a car...and we bought it on the spot. We were very lucky to get a brand new 3 bedroom 2.5 bath 2 story house...you can see the mountains in the distance from several of our bedrooms...in a Japanese neighborhood off base. We are only about 10 minutes by car or bike to the main gate of the base. Heath really wanted a mini car like all the Japanese drive so we bought a $2000 '96 4-wheel drive Mitsubishi Mini Pajero...which is like the old Suzuki Samarai. As for the age...it is in its prime on base where the average age of cars is a '95. After just a few days, however, the mini pj already had to be put in the shop to repair a terrible "clanking" noise on turning ...luckily it cost us less than $200....stay tuned to see if this car makes it to the end of our 3 year tour. As for Japan...life is different...but really not that different except for the language. In all our travels we can usually make sense of things in Latin based languages....but this is a whole new ballgame...characters are impossible to write and difficult to even to find in our Japanese to English dictionary. The Japanese language is exciting to learn and the locals are very happy when we try. More on our adventures later. We miss you guys...please start saving so you can come and visit. -Amy

2006-09-08T17:15:00.000+09:00

well, here's our official first post...kind of a dry run. we just wanted to let everyone know we made it here and we still don't speak the language. there are other things to eat other than rice and raw fish, but we'll get to that soon enough. we won't be able to share pictures until october (when our furniture, etc. gets to us). until then you will just have to sit back and imagine what a few white people in a sea of hideki matsui's look like.