detours make for the best adventures!

One of the benefits to moving frequently is that it never gets boring. Usually, around the time we find that we've explored just about everything there is to explore in an area, it's time to move again.

We are loving finding so many new places to explore around Northern Japan. This weekend was our friend's birthday. She was really excited to try this restaurant we had been hearing about for months, so it was the perfect time to do it. Using directions we had gotten from another Misawa-ite, we navigated our way the hour or so to get there. We were hungry and excited. Then, we found out that there was a two hour wait.

While many might be deterred, we figured this was just an excuse to go explore. If you know me at all, you know the love I have for water, so I navigated us to the coastline. We found a great harbor with a nice view of the city and the ocean. In the distance we could see what looked like a giant, sloping rock with a shrine on top of it. We headed that direction and found what turned out to be my new favorite place in Japan!

What was found is the Kabushima Shrine. Kabushima is a Shinto shrine (most of what we have seen are Buddhist) that overlooks the water. Near the shrine is a small inlet and a beach! While we have seen the Pacific Ocean from Japan, we hadn't yet touched it, so this was our first stop. Ben then walked up to the shrine and I stayed on the beach, taking in the rocky beauty. It reminded me so much of the Central Californian coast.

I finally had to drag myself away, and was rewarded with some amazing architecture and unique views of the city and the water.

While the wind chill made for temperatures below freezing, it was a great day to visit the shrine. The snow was confined to the rocky areas and the sky was at its bluest. It was a great way to kill two hours, and we are looking forward to returning when it's warm enough to stay longer!

thanksgiving adventures

Thanksgiving was an eventful day, and was different than any Thanksgiving we had ever had. Normally, we have all the family traditions that we have tried to upkeep even though we lived so far away. Parade in the morning, decorating the tree, watching “White Christmas,” and the whole turkey smorgasbord. This year, though, it seemed like none of those things were going to be in the mix, at least in the way they normally are. Our household goods aren’t due until January, so there were no decorations (and we were in the lodge, so we couldn’t get a tree even if we had the decorations to put on it.) The parade would be shown live…at 1 am our time. And who wants to cook a Thanksgiving dinner in a tiny kitchenette for two people?

So we basically made other plans.

The plans made our first Thanksgiving in Japan an amazing day, filled with new traditions and old ones.

We have some friends who have been in Japan for a long time. When I say long, I mean nearly 20 years. Needless to say, they know the ins and outs and are a wealth of information and great ideas for things to do around the area. We went with them, and some new friends as well, to the beach. While this may sound like a nice place to spend a Thanksgiving day, let me remind you that we live in the northernmost area of the main island in Japan. This means cold weather and snow for a good part of the year. That part of the year had started, so our beach trip was quite literally freezing. We arrived and hurried to bundle up in the massive amount of layers we brought with us. It was 0° C and snowing, though our awesome Swackett app said that it felt like -4° because of the wind chill. It was beautiful and brisk, and we were excited for a fun adventure.

We walked the beach with different purposes. Most of our friends had the purpose of looking for sea glass. The fishermen up here use the glass fishing balls, and they often wash ashore. Apparently the area we were in was a prime spot for finding these treasures. My purpose, though, was to find some great photo opps. (Does this come as a surprise to anyone??) We were all rewarded one way or another! Most of our friends ended up with sea glass, I ended up with some awesome pictures, and we all ended up having a great time.

Here are some of the pictures from Shipwreck Beach. By the way, these are real shipwrecks.




After Shipwreck Beach, we all felt that we needed a warm place to warm our body temperatures (and go to the bathroom!) so we met up at a local shop that sells tofu donuts. The donuts were amazing, the bakery was adorable, and we had our first experience with a traditional Japanese bathroom.





After our trip to the beach was over, we returned to Misawa to join our work associates at my principal's house for Thanksgiving. We had an excellent turkey dinner and more pie than one could even imagine. It was a warm, inviting event and we felt right at home with our new friends. One of our friends even brought her Yorkie, so we got to play with him and find a new friend for Seamus once he gets here.



Later that night, I watched the parade, skyped with our families, and began my online Black Friday shopping! All in all, it was a great first Japanese Thanksgiving.

water for sunsets

We finally got a car AND the insurance to drive it, so we have been trying to leave the base every day, if only for a little bit, so we can get to know our way around Misawa. It's been getting dark at 4:30 in the afternoon, so we don't have a lot of daylight once school is over, but we've have fun exploring!

Today, we had three missions. First, find the hundred yen store (which turned out to be awesome!), the McDonald's (which is WAY better than any McDonald's in the states), and the beach.

I was so proud of myself that I successfully navigated us to the store, to the McDonald's, AND to the beach...until we actually got to the beach. After the tsunami, the Japanese began building breaker walls because of the crazy undertows and the damage to the beaches. We could smell the salt air and the fish at the port, but there was no ocean in sight.

We decided to try and drive up the coast to see if we could find beach access. Twenty-eight km later, we still had no luck. We found a few areas that used to be access points, but are now closed to the public. We decided to be intrepid and continue on, and we finally found a wharf. From there, we could see the ocean! My wish to touch the Pacific Ocean from its Asian boundaries will have to wait, but at least I've seen it now!

On the way back to Misawa, we were lucky enough to be able to watch the sun set. We found a few spots that were so breathtaking, we had to pull over and shoot some photos!!

While we didn't get to walk along the beach, our day of exploration ended up being a great time!

no more misadventures!

Whew! I'm glad to say that the rest of our vacation went a lot more smoothly than our misadventures with the drop zones! We took a three day weekend drive down to Charleston and Savannah, both of which I had seen, but Ben and Naomi hadn't. We took a carriage ride through Historic Charleston, which still has cobblestone streets, and learned about some of its amazing history. We saw Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were shot, some amazing houses build in the 17 and 1800's, and the first Otis Elevator in the south.

We then visited the Charleston Aquarium, home of the rare albino alligator. We also walked along the waterfront of Charleston Harbor.







We spent the night in Charleston and headed south toward Savannah early the next morning. On the way, we stopped by Morris Island to check out the beach and the Morris Island Lighthouse. It was definitely one of the coolest lighthouses we have visited so far in our east coast travels.





Once in Savannah, we were caught up in the history of this amazing city. We visited Old Fort Jackson, a fort that has stood the test of time and was used during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War; Fort Pulaski, one of the first forts targeted by the Union Army during the Civil War; Bonaventure Cemetery, resting place for many of Georgia's historically important founders and governors; and Wormsloe Plantation, which is famous for its beautiful moss-draped trees.

Old Fort Jackson

Fort Pulaski

Bonaventure Cemetery

Wormsloe Plantation

Of course, we spent some time swimming at Tybee Island and strolling down the waterfront of Historic Savannah. We saw some amazing sights and drank in the southern atmosphere.

del playa

For those of you who don't know Spanish, playa is pronounced "ply-a" and not "play-a." On that note, Ben, Corey, and Jonathan and I went to visit our friend May in Santa Barbara last weekend for her graduation.

This is the view from May's house on Del Playa, which is right across the street from the beach...

...and this is the wonderful futon on her porch that we "watched" the view from while Corey and May took the couches inside.

IV (Isla Vista to you non-Santa Barbara folk) is known for several things. First, it's the student living area of one of the biggest "party schools" in the country. Second, it's literally right on the beach. And third, there are parties going on all day, every day. One thing the parties are known for (other than alcohol and loud music) is the couch burning. Especially around graduation/move-out time, one can walk the streets of IV and see random fires EVERYWHERE. One will be able to hear several fire trucks in the distance, but may never actually see one through the throngs of drunken college students. Upon closer inspection of the fire, however, one can see that these flames in the middle of the streets were actually the remains of couches. Rather than said couches being moved back home, or wherever the students came from, they get thrown (literally) off the balconies and set on fire wherever they land. They burn on the street, in driveways, on the beach, and even in dumpsters. This, really, is a phenomenon that can only make sense once you have witnessed it. So next time you plan a vacation in the mid-to-southern California region, take a trip to Del Playa and see the location known for the worlds most couch-burnings per year.

All in all it was a great trip. Got to see friends, the beach, lots of fire trucks, and burning couches. Partayyyy