Trip of a Lifetime!

On November 16, 2013, Eric and I left Misawa to make our way to Tokyo for the first stop on our 13 day/12 night adventure around Japan. We traveled to Tokyo by overnight bus, which ended up being about a 12 hour trip. Bus drivers are required by law to stop 15 minutes for every two hours of driving so the trip was a bit tedious. Besides being tedious (we thought we could deal with tedium because it was half the cost of a train or plane ticket to Tokyo), it was comfortable with the exception of one MAJOR problem...the heat had to have been cranked up to about 80 degrees!! We were so uncomfortably hot for the first four or so hours. We did not want to complain because all of the other people on the bus appeared to be comfortable; even having blankets pulled up to their chins! But I had literally started to sweat through my shirt and could only be comfortable by pressing myself up against the glass window. Eric was trying to be a trooper (I think to help prevent me from having a heat-induced meltdown complicated by pregnancy). We left Misawa at 8pm and at around midnight someone else must have finally said something because it started to feel like it was cooling off. The remaining 8 hours were just fine and we arrived safely (and promptly) in Tokyo at 7am on Novermber 17th.

Waiting for our bus at Misawa Train Station

The trip was absolutely incredible! To plan it we went through a tour company called Backyard Travel and we couldn't have been happier with their services. When we arrived in Tokyo at 7am, a representative met us at the bus station and escorted us to our hotel. Once we arrived and checked in, she sat down with us and provided a packet of train tickets and hotel information, which had all been reserved in advance. She also provided maps and suggestions of how to spend our time in each city as well as alternative day trip options based on our locations. For some cities, the company provided public transportation passes ahead of time and for others they provided information about how the local transportation system operated. They also scheduled a personal tour guide for one of our days in Tokyo and for a half day in Kyoto. Aside from our set arrival and departure times to and from each city and our 1.5 days of tour guides, the rest of the time was ours to use as we pleased. For us, it was the perfect stress-free way to travel. Here is what our final itinerary looked like:

Tokyo: 3 days/3 nights
Kiso Valley considered the "Japanese Alps": 2 days/1 night- arrived in Tsumago and hiked to Magome with an overnight stop at a traditional Japanese Ryokan in between.
Takayama: 2.5 days/2 nights
Kanazawa: 1.5 days/1 night
Kyoto: 2.5 days/3 nights
Hiroshima 1.5 days/2 nights

Backyard Travel even thought of the little things like making sure to reserve us seats in either the very front or very back of each train car so we would have extra room. They were amazing and their efforts resulted in the most amazing trip ever! I am going to blog about each stop separately because otherwise it would be the longest blog entry in the history of blogging (and I already have a track record for long entries...)!

Stay tuned!

Feasting and Festive Festivaling!

Japan- land of the festival. Since our arrival, there has been no shortage of festivals to attend. Something is always being celebrated. What an excellent way to live! At any given festival you can expect to find food, families, vendors selling handicrafts or homemade/homegrown food, and some type of entertainment be it singing, drumming, drawings for prizes, or some type of competition. We have been to a number of festivals at this point, but two stand out as the most memorable: the Beef and Garlic Festival in Takko Town and the Rokkasho Salmon Festival.

Celeb sighting!

The Beef and Garlic festival takes place in Takko Town, which grows more garlic than any other area in Japan. Naturally, the purpose of the festival is to celebrate garlic! And what goes better with garlic than beef? The people of the town invite people from all over to join them in a giant outdoor BBQ extravaganza! At the festival, each person is given a food kit that contains a significant amount of beef, garlic, veggies, and sauce. After you've retrieved your kit, you make your way to the grilling area and look for a spot to set up shop. There are about 50-100 outdoor grills set up and you can probably fit between 8-12 people around each grill. This type of set up gives people the opportunity to mingle with strangers while preparing their feasts. Eric and I wondered around the grill field trying to determine how one chooses a spot. 

We got brave and tried to stake out a space, but were then given the universal "no no" sign by one of the guys maintaining the grills. He indicated that another family had dibs (even though we had arrived first...VIPs maybe?). We continued to wander and search when all of the sudden a very jolly man waved us over to join his party. He was with a group of about 8 other people who all gave us a very warm welcome to their fire pit. They shared their food with us (even though we had plenty of our own) and challenged us to eat whole cloves of grilled garlic. We chatted with them throughout the meal- they spoke Japanese and we spoke English, and this did not seem to matter to anyone. The food was abundant and delicious and of course outdoor cooking is always a good time. After a substantial lunch, Eric and I thanked the man and his friends for their hospitality. We then took our lawn chairs and went off to find a spot to enjoy the entertainment. 

There were singers, drummers, dancers, and large plushy creatures. What more could you want? At one point, I scanned the crowd and my eyes met our jolly friend's eyes. He got excited and waved Eric and I back over to their group. We walked over and when we got there, they all jumped out of their chairs, inviting us to sit down and join them again. Eric and I ran back to retrieve our own chairs, and they moved theirs apart so we could sit right in the middle of their group. They kept calling Eric James Dean, which was pretty awesome. We didn't have the heart to tell them James Dean was dead. 

Our jolly friend :)

We sat with our new friends and continued our "conversation." While we sat, chatted, and laughed, we were treated to a garlic spitting contest. I don't think I need too elaborate on this. It was exactly what it sounds like and every bit as entertaining as you are imagining. Overall it was an amazing (and filling) day! We are already looking forward to going back next year. 

At the Rokkasho Salmon Festival, guests are invited to try to catch salmon with their bare hands out of giant wading pools stocked with huge salmon. There are three "catching times" during which about 100 people line up for a three minute chance to catch their fish....the first five people to catch a fish run over to another area where their salmon race each other across sandbags. While waiting in line, Eric was of course befriended by another very friendly Japanese man who made sure (through  hand gestures and sign language) that Eric got a prime spot by the pool and that we understood I could accompany Eric into the pool area to take pictures.

The contestants gather around the pool. They are all different ages from young children to elderly men and women. There are people in waders and people in gym shorts. There is much conversation and thought about strategy. 

Hands go up into the air and the countdown begins...10, 9, 8...it is done in both Japanese and English. Then, the clock starts, contestants jump into the pool, and three minutes of mayhem ensues. People and fish are flopping all over the place. The fish are jumping and splashing. Everyone is laughing, cheering, and smiling. The mayhem is punctuated by what can only be described as circus music. It is completely amazing. 

About a minute and half into the three minutes, Eric had caught his fish. He was completely soaked, but very happy about his victory. He said the experience was intense. He said the fish were super slippery, fast and strong. His advice to future salmon catching enthusiasts, "grab a hold, hold on, hug it and love it."

After the three minutes was up, everyone lines up again to have their fish cleaned and packed on ice. Eric decided to take ALL the parts home...and use everything.

One of the things I love and admire about Eric is that he completely throws himself into all experiences. When he decides to do something, he is 100% dedicated to it. When we got home with our fish, he got right to cleaning it up and preparing it for various meals. He saved parts for soup stock, prepared filets for grilling and freezing, and cleaned and brined the roe. That night for dinner we had fresh salmon on the grill. It was amazing! 

The next night we had salmon head soup...I was very leery of this idea, but by the time the soup made it to my bowl, there was no salmon head floating in there, just pieces of tender and delicious salmon cheek. YUM. Plus, who can complain about being cooked for two nights in a roe? Hahaha, get it?

Okay, I'm done :)

Labor Day Weekend: Rained Out Edition

We had grand plans to go camping over Labor Day weekend. We even got as far as having the car packed, but when we stopped by Outdoor Rec to rent some equipment, the guy working there said, "just be really careful with the typhoon coming..." All of the sudden, the slightly overcast sky seemed a lot more ominous. Eric and I pushed "pause" on our plans and took time to re-evaluate. We were supposed to meet some new friends who had gone to the campsite a day earlier. They had called around the same time we received the typhoon warning to finalize directions and also to let us know they understood if we were re-thinking our plans in light of the dark sky. They reported that they had already spent one really rainy night under the stars...

Eric and I decided then and there to save camping for another weekend. Suddenly we were looking at a four day weekend with no plans, which almost threw us into a panic as we do not want to waste any time off of work that he has. We were dealing with other things too...mainly, the overwhelming shock of losing my cousin, Michael. We were feeling an intense combination of devastation and desire to live life to its fullest because...you never know. We needed a place to regroup and we still had some sun so we decided to head to the base lake and rent a kayak for some time on the water. We spent an hour or so out on the lake and discussed various ways we could spend the rest of our weekend together.

A couple of Eric road snack selections...

He always chooses the funky-est stuff he can find.

The weekend ended up being a good combination of trying new things and quiet time together. Not the weekend we imagined, but definitely the weekend we needed. Eric suggested that on Saturday we try to jump on, last minute, a tour run by the base of a place called Osorezan. He called and asked the tour office if there was any room left on the bus. They responded that there were in fact two empty seats, but that they were not together. Deciding that we could handle sitting separately for a couple of hours, Eric and I joined the tour.

It rained the entire day of the tour, but we made every effort to make the most of it. Our first stop was at Yagan Valley, a very remote wooded area with a river and hiking paths, which I believe eventually lead to the west coast. We were given time to hike or to enjoy the onsen (natural hot bath) there. Eric and I opted to hike in the rain. In the picture on the left, I am posing with a statue of the famous Kappa. Remember? The colonoscopy fish?

We came back from our hike chilly and wet, but quickly warmed up with huge bowls of ramen at the noodle shop in the valley. The noodles in Eric's ramen were made of squid ink, hence the black color. Remember what I said about funky? After lunch, we rolled up our pants and soaked our feet in a natural hot spring until it was time to get back on the bus. We had to resist the urge to submerge our whole bodies and stay for the rest of the day...perhaps the onsen would have been the better choice...

Back on the bus, we made our way to Osorezan. By the time we arrived, the rain was really falling hard. We walked around taking in the sites and smells. There is a strong smell of sulfur in the air at Osorezan. We stopped as often as we could to take pictures of the remarkable landscape. It reminded me of other wondrous places I've visited (Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, Persepolis)...you have to see it to believe it. It almost felt like we'd left our planet and landed on another...maybe this is what Mars feels like?

Osorezan is considered one of the three holiest sites of Japan and was founded in the ninth century by Japanese Buddhist priest, En'nin. Following a dream, he was sent by a holy monk from China to Japan to search for a sacred mountain. The mountain that he found after extensive traveling and many hardships was Osorezan. Osorezan is also referred to as, "The Gates of Hell." This is due to both the landscape (the area is covered by boiling, sulfurous lakes) and the fact that it is the place of worship of the bodhisattva Jizo. Jizo  "vows to suffer hell himself to alleviate the pain of those condemned to hell, to free human beings from the illusions of life and death in this world, and to lead even heavenly beings of the purer world into eternal salvation." (from Osorezan literature). It is said that people in the region believe that all people will go to Osorezan after death. For over a thousand years, people have visited Osorezan bringing prayers and wishes for loved ones. It seemed an appropriate destination for Eric and myself that weekend.

While at Osorezan, Eric and I searched for a spot where we could take a moment to honor Michael. People who visit Osorezan to offer prayers and wishes for loved ones recently departed build little towers of rocks, which serve as bridges or paths to ease their loved ones' journey into the afterlife. We knew that our family was gradually congregating in Arkansas to celebrate Mike's life and mourn our loss. To build little bridges of their own. To hug each other, cry with each other, laugh with each other, and comfort each other. We could not be there, but together we took the time to perform a ritual of our own. To hug, cry, laugh, and comfort each other. We picked a place to build Michael's bridge that we knew he would like: high up on a hill, overlooking a beautiful lake.

We made our way back to the bus absolutely drenched and vowing to return to Osorezan again so we could have more time to take it all in.

The rest of the weekend was restful, quiet, and perfect. The only other "reportable" event that took place was our visit to the Misawa McDonald's. If ever we stop at a foreign McDonald's, we order two #1s and attempt to rate how they stack up to others we've tried. We have a veeeery short list of competitors at this point. We have our work cut out for us...though it is hard to stop at McDonald's when you are traveling in new areas and are determined to try as much of the local cuisine as possible. Anyway, here are the current rankings in our Big Mac Challenge: France > Misawa > USA. France wins because beers came with the value meal for the same price as soda or water. Japan should win because the craftsmanship of the sandwich was far superior to any of its competitors. And the USA would win if more people took pride in craftsmanship....and if beer was a beverage option. As you can see...our standards are quite rigorous and the rankings are very firm.

Micky D's: Paris version

Misawa McDonald's

It took me a lot of time and tears to get through writing this entry...and it seems funny that it ended up concluding with my memories about our Big Mac Challenge that weekend. I suppose if I look for some kind of deeper meaning I could say that it is symbolic of life. Life is not always fair and sometimes it is downright painful, but it does go on, doesn't it? One Big Mac at a time.

Just a jaunt to Korea...

Last week a couple of friends invited me to go shopping with them....in Korea! The plan was to take a military hop from our base to Osan AB in Korea. We would leave on a Monday morning and return to Misawa on Tuesday afternoon. The cost: free (with the exception of what we spent shopping, food, and lodging). The catch? Nothing, really, with the exception that because you are flying space-available (like standby), you run the risk of not getting a seat on the return trip. If this happens you either have to pay to fly commercial or you can decide to wait it out and try to get a ride home on the next week's flight. You would have to be crazy not to take someone up on an invitation like this one so, of course, I was all in.

Just as planned, we left Misawa on Monday morning. There was quite a bit of waiting around in the terminals before we left Misawa and once we arrived in Korea, but the flight itself only took about two hours. After getting through customs in Korea, we went to the hotel on the base to try to get a room, but all the rooms we booked. We hopped in a cab and drove from hotel to hotel until we found a place with room vacancies. I think we had success on about our third stop. The guy working the reservations desk at our second stop walked us over to a hotel that he knew had vacancies after he told us he could not accommodate us that night. Talk about customer service!

Our hotel on the horizon.

We dropped off our bags and started shopping! Most of the store owners spoke English pretty well and it also seemed like they accepted either Dollars or Won. Bartering was a-okay and I tried my hand at it, but I think not speaking Korean ourselves put us at a disadvantage in that department. The shopping area reminded me of a combination between an outdoor mall and a bazaar or open-air market. I probably only saw about one square mile of Korea (maybe even less), but I had a great time! I got a couple of dresses, got to spend time with really fun people, had an excellent Thai dinner, and became familiar with the process of using military hops for travel. After a great little 24 hour getaway, we were back on base in Misawa and going on with our week!

I have to mention that while we were on our way to/in Korea, I couldn't help but be reminded of the similar getaways I went on with my girlfriends in Altus. The times my friends and I traveled to Dallas (and spent the night) to be able to make it to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Costco. Nothing like an overnight trip for groceries!  

I am already looking forward to planning future trips to Korea. I would definitely be up for more short trips like the one we took, and I can't wait to do an extended stay and some traveling/sight-seeing with Eric...what an amazing opportunity!

Rest peacefully, sweet cousin

Michael Gover. Devoted son. Loving brother. Adoring uncle. Mr. Wonderful. Everyone's best friend. Larger than life. The life of our party. He left our world yesterday, leaving a space seemingly impossible to fill. His smile could brighten a room, his laugh utterly contagious. His bear hugs...irreplaceable. And the ever-present twinkle in his eye...

Things will never be the same without you, Mikey, but we were all lucky to have you while we did.

Here are some words that are not my own, but are too good not to share. They were written by one of his many friends, and if you didn't have the privilege of knowing him, this gives you a taste of what made him so special...

"Gover was a man among men. He told inside jokes..to total strangers. He once won a staring contest with a photograph. He would often open his fridge and tell his milk when..and if to expire. Sometimes I knew Gover to mail something and forget the postage..and it would still get there. Gover and I once played a game of poker..and he won using only UNO cards. Often Bigfoot would try to capture photos of Gover and it was rumored that Werewolves were jealous of his beard. When the local safari was closing, Michael opened his beard up and used it as an ark for the residence of the misplaced animals. And most recently I have been told Sharks have devoted a week just for him." -Jason


"When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight."  -Kahlil Gibran

Misawa Summer Festival

The Misawa Summer Festival is a four day celebration, which takes place at the end of August. The festival consists of a drumming competition and a ton of parades to include: costume, traditional Bon dance, Mikoshi, and two float parades. The parade route either started or ended right outside the Main Gate entrance to Misawa AB, which is super convenient for all of the base-dwellers (such as ourselves). We could park our cars at the shopping center on base and walk right out the gate to enjoy and take part in the festivities. Eric and I ended up getting to see all but the drumming competition, which is definitely on our list of things to do next year after hearing the drumming in the parade. The competition would certainly have been pretty amazing to see.

I did some googleing to try to understand what exactly the festival is celebrating. I couldn't find the history of the Misawa Summer Festival itself, but could find some information on the different parades.

During the Bon dance parade, (what seems like) hundreds of dancers dressed in light-weight kimonos perform the traditional Bon dance down the street. Bon dance is a style of dancing performed during Obon (a Japanese Buddhist holiday). Obon is a family-reunion type of holiday during which families commemorate their ancestors by visiting graves, making food offerings, and guiding the spirits of their ancestors home by hanging lanterns outside their homes. At the end of Obon, lanterns placed in bodies of water float away guiding the spirits back to the spirit world. This celebration has been observed in Japan for over 500 years. Bon dancing (which is called Bon Odori) was traditionally meant to welcome the spirits of the dead, but over the years has come to be associated with summer. Dances and music differ from region to region, but the dance is always performed in unison by the dancers. (Props to Wikipedia- a very reliable source- for lots of this information...to be fair, I cross-referenced it with other sources and with information given by our tour guide during our cultural briefing).

 

The Mikoshi parade is a parade of mini-shrines. The shrines are believed to transport and temporarily house deities. There were only a handful of Mikoshi during the parade at the Misawa Summer Festival, but it was interesting to see that at least one of the was made to resemble a cartoon character, which makes me wonder what kind of deity it housed... The people carrying the Mikoshi bounced the mini-shrines up and down, spun them around in circles, and tilted them from side to side. Wikipedia (again) tells me that this is done to give the deity a thrill. Well, the deity wasn't the only one getting a thrill, the crowd loved it and it seemed like the people carrying the shrines were having a great time, too!

The Mikoshi are carried by the beams.

So far I have not been able to find much specific information on the floats in terms of their history or what they are meant to represent. They were huge, beautiful, and elaborate. Each float appeared to be themed and each float also carried a large drum (played by an adult drummer) and a line of smaller drums (played by children). The drummers as well as those pulling the float sang and chanted along with the drums. Some people walking in the parade played flutes. The sound was as beautiful as the floats. Eric and I thoroughly enjoyed this parade, but were dying to know more about what was going on. During the parade it became obvious that Misawa is a small, close-knit community as people participating in the parade jumped out from time to time to greet and chat with people observing the parade.

As the float parade started, I felt myself getting a little emotional. I don't know if it was the beauty of what we were witnessing, the fact that the drumming and singing reminded me of pow-wow, the hormones, or the fact that I was feeling just so fortunate to have the unique opportunity to live in and be part of such an entirely different culture from our own. It was probably a combination of all the above, but Eric and I commented all night about how lucky and happy we are. We have to keep pinching ourselves to remind us that this is our real life. We don't intend to take any of it for granted. We grinned ear-to-ear throughout the entire parade. Here are some pictures of the beautiful floats...

 

Of course no festival is complete without great fair food. Eric and I walked around and checked out all there was to offer. Later, in a google-sesh about traditional Japanese fair food, we learned that all the fair-food superstars were available at the Misawa festival. Eric ate a lot of (and loved) Takoyaki, which you can read about here, but are basically octopus fritters. We tried two different types. One I would describe as the mass-produced, fast food version (octopus chunks were smaller), and one I would describe as the handmade, legit version (large octopus chunks). I preferred the smaller chunks of tentacles, Eric the larger ones. We sampled various other delicious fair foods, but got too full to try it all. Now we have a list of must-try's for next time!

After the float parade ended, Eric and I popped into a liquor store to check out the selection. They sold beers individually at this store so you could piece together a custom six-pack (or more). They had a lot of really unique beers and Eric got a couple to take home and sample. I stood there and whimpered. But the highlight of the trip was really this, which I am considering purchasing specifically for the purpose of a table centerpiece. I think it would really help future guests feel at ease in our home... what do you think?

Who doesn't like snakes in their liquor?

Cheers!