Our Something New: "Why couldn't you take a five month old camping?"

We have been too busy doing "something news" to be able to keep up with blogging! A lot of this is in thanks to our friends, Sarah and Keenan, who are sure to be regulars on the blog.

All smiles in car seat- off to a good start!

Eric and I were still trying to shake our post traumatic stress from the car seat crying era and dip our toes in the "adventuring with a baby" waters, when our friend, Sarah, said she wanted to go camping at a place called Juniko Lakes, which is about four hours away from Misawa. In response, I lamented our days of camping and talked about how much we loved them to which she responded, "Why don't you come with us?" I quieted the voices in my head (that immediately started shouting reasons why that was an insane idea) long enough to say, "do you think we could bring Bean- she's only five months old..." Sarah said something along the lines of, "Of course! Why couldn't  you take a five month old camping?" 

Armed with someone else's confidence, Eric and I set out to prepare for a weekend excursion with our new friends...who were somehow interested in hanging out with two people with a new baby. We thought about bringing her pack n' play, then thought, "nah, too big." So instead we brought the "mattress" from the pack n' play and a crib sheet (well, we meant to bring a crib sheet, but forgot it so we ended wrapping a blanket around it...A+ for safety). With the exception of the mattress and a zillion diapers and outfit changes, packing for camping with a baby was essentially the same as packing for camping without..so far this was easy!

Early on a Saturday morning, Sarah and Keenan picked us up. We loaded the car and headed out on our adventure. Juniko Lakes, some other attractions, and the areas in which we were considering setting up camp are located on the western side of the Aomori Prefecture; on the Sea of Japan. On the map to the left, Misawa is circled in black and our destination in red (the area where we actually ended up camping is in purple...but I will explain that part later). 

Side note: I am going to try to start including maps like this one more often for two reasons. First, to better familiarize myself with where we live. I am tired of feeling like the kid who just had my blindfold removed in a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Second, so that whoever reads these posts can have a better idea of the ground we've covered. 

The first stop we made was at the Senjojiki rock formations, which is essentially a rock shelf that has been eroded over time by the sea. You can walk pretty far out onto the rocks and dip your toes in the Sea of Japan. Bean dipped hers! She was a bit unsure about the whole ordeal. As we drove through the small fishing villages along the way, we kept our eyes out for "squid curtains," which are apparently a unique attraction for the area. Squid curtains are lines of rope with squid drying on them, We found some. They are every bit as lovely as you'd imagine. And stinky.

Eric demonstrating Sumo squat with Baby-San.

Between the Senjojiki rocks the Japan Canyon (our next stop), we scoped out a couple of camping areas, which seemed nice, but were literally right on the sea. The forecast was calling for a pretty hefty storm, and by midday, the wind was already picking up and the sky darkening. With rain (and wind) an almost certainty, we began to question whether camping was a good idea...

At the Japan Canyon (Japan's "Grand Canyon"), we hiked up to a lookout point. It was a pretty deep hole in the ground surrounded by trees and cliff faces. We took turns trying to peek over the edge and take pictures between huge wind gusts that blew massive amounts of sand up out of the canyon and into our faces. The weather was definitely becoming more ominous.

Juni-ko, which means "twelve lakes," was just a few more minutes away from the canyon, and luckily the hiking path surrounding the lakes was largely covered by trees (the sky was starting to spit on us and we were a little nervous- but nothing too serious came of it in the end). The area is called "twelve lakes" but is actually made up of 33 different lakes that were created by an earthquake and subsequent landslide during the Edo period. The most famous of the lakes is "Aoike," which is known for its high transparency and deep azure color. The hike was nice and Aoike did not disappoint. It was absolutely gorgeous, and just as clear and as blue as promised.

We made a few little random stops (following various tiny roads down to the beach) on our way to our last attraction of the day (before we were supposed to set up camp). We looked for (and found!) sea glass at one stop (and also survived a swarm of Japanese hornets by taking turns jumping into a moving car). We stopped at a place where we could look at a big rock with a cave in it (from the shore). A little while later, we spotted a sunken/broken giant ship from the road. We wove our way through little streets trying to find a way down to it, which we eventually did even though it seemed like we may have been trespassing. I think the guy who lived by the sunken ship must have been used to it because he watched us drive through his property (maybe?) and went on with feeding his chickens. We aren't really sure what the story of the ship is, but it was certainly an awesome site to see!

Our last stop of the day was at O-iwa Rock. At low tide, you can walk out to a giant rock in the sea and climb up (the stairs) to the top. The wind had really picked up by this point and we had decided that camping was out of the question. We were all a little bummed as we made our way out to the rock, but being out there definitely lifted our spirits. It was incredible. The sun had decided to peek out through the sky full of clouds (albeit rain clouds); the wind was wild. Bean L-OOOOO-V-E-D the wind. She hooted and hollered like a Banshee out there; grinning ear to ear. It was such an awesome place. Northern Japan is paradise for lovers of cool rocks...my grandpa would have gone crazy over it!

After O-iwa we got back into the car and decided to make our way home. We all started to get mopey again about being unable to camp so Sarah pulled out her phone and started googleing different camping options. She found a campsite near Mt. Iwake (see purple circle). This area was on our way home-ish and had a less than 50% chance of rain for the night. We decided to go for it!

Bean helps set up camp.

We pulled into the campground at a solid dusk. Keenan and I went into the visitors center to try to negotiate a campsite. After a few minutes of hand gestures and broken Japanese, we pointed to the large poster that said something along the lines of "call for free English translations services." Thanks to the mystery person on the other end of the phone line, we secured a campsite for two tents and a hibachi grill for a campfire. Between mosquito bites and beers, we got the tents set up and the fire started. Hot dogs were consumed in mass and a good time was had by all. Even Bean! She loved being outside and fell asleep without too much trouble. She slept normally that night, but got up as the rooster crows, with the sun. Her little chirps were a bit unwelcome at 5:30 am, but all in all she did so well, who could complain?

Oh, and for the most part, the weather held out. We had some midnight showers, but were never at risk of blowing off the side of a cliff, which would have been our reality had we stuck it out on the sea side.

Hot dog party!

Campsite the next morning.

I heart camping!

The next morning we decided to try to get to the top of Iwake...and the drive to the road that would take us there took us through a local triathlon. Keenan weaved around bikers on narrow roads like a pro, but we still didn't beat the clouds gathering at the peak of the mountain. Since we would not be able to see the view from the summit through the cloud cover, our plan was foiled. We decided instead to check out Hirosaki Castle and hit a famous by word of mouth burger joint, Pepe's. On the way to Hirosaki, we stopped at a cool farmer's market to give Bean a break from the car seat and to load up on some local produce. Japanese farmers markets are always neat places to explore.

Hirosaki castle was constructed in 1611 and is unique in that much of its structure remains intact (most other castles have been totally reconstructed). The castle and the grounds surrounding it are a famous location to take in the cherry blossoms in the spring. After seeing the castle, we went to Pepe's for lunch. We parked right in front of the door of the restaurant and waited for our table in our car. The burgers were yummy and filling. We were ready for naps, but still had a way to go before we got home.

Back on the road, Sarah and I caught a glimpse of some rice art out the window and insisted that we stop to check it out. Rice art is when rice fields are planted with different varieties of rice so that the different colors make amazing pictures that can be seen aerially. You can imagine the planning and work that goes into making art of this magnitude. It literally takes a whole village.

The rice art was the last stop on our amazing camping adventure weekend. And even though we only camped once this season, we are much more confident about being able to do it with a Bean of any age. The weekend was an amazing re-entry for Eric and I into the world of people who go out and do things. It was also the beginning of a pretty fun friendship (but don't tell Sarah and Keenan I said that).