This weekend, one of Matt's co-workers took us on a day-trip to Oirase Gorge and Lake Towada, located about an hour from where we live. We had great weather and really enjoyed getting out of the city to see some of the natural beauty in this area. First, we drove through Oirase Gorge located in Towada-Hachimantai National Park (in Aomori prefecture, the northernmost tip or Tohoku region of the Honshu island). The tree cover provided cooler temperatures and we were able to stop at various points along the drive to take pictures of scenic streams and waterfalls.
Eventually we reached Lake Towada, both Japan's largest volcanic caldera lake (formed by a collapse of land following a volcanic eruption) and deepest lake. We stopped at two points around the lake, the first point (pictured below) was where ferries dock and pick up passengers, which would be fun to try sometime.
At our second stop, we had lunch (Matt had Japanese curry with fried rainbow trout and I had grilled Lake Towada trout) and explored a different part of the lake that had more of an otherworldly feel, reminiscent of scenery from the movie/musical South Pacific.
As we walked along the shore and back into the treeline, we saw the Statue of Otome, composed of two nude, bronze maidens, placed here to commemorate the15th anniversary of Lake Towada's designation as a national park.
We also wandered through a Shinto shrine nestled in the forest. Prior to this Shinto shrine, we had only seen red torii (gates), so we wondered if the paint had just worn off of this one or if there was some other explanation. Fun fact for the day: The red color is not signature of all Shinto shrines, but has come to be associated with those shrines that worship the god Inari, which make up more than one-third of the Shinto shrines in Japan.
Torii (Gate)
And apparently Japanese bears are very angry...
It felt great to get out and see some of our surroundings and we'd love to come back to this area in the fall when the leaves are changing, maybe for a picture with our new family of three!
While we were still staying in the hotel, we decided to check out the annual Misawa Summer Festival, most likely the first of many festivals we will attend while here in Japan.
There were games for kids...
...and several roads were lined with food vendors and closed for the floats and fanfare.We shared a delicious piece of pineapple on a stick and Matt tried Takoyaki, Japanese dumplings made of batter filled with pieces of octopus. After literally three minutes of chewing on the same piece of octopus, Matt determined that it had to be spit out and and we learned what NOT to get at a Japanese festival.
About 15 elaborately decorated floats carrying Taiko drum groups (see the main drummer below with his abdomen wrapped in white) were pulled along the parade route by long lines of singing children with help from adults. Each float was preceded by various costumed performers: young girls singing, teenage girls playing flutes, and men in traditional outfits.
Most of the floats were really beautiful, while one had this very creepy statue...
As newcomers to Misawa, we signed up for a tour of the city and another nearby city, Hachinohe. In Misawa, we visited Tonami Clan Park, which was established in 1872 by a samurai warrior (Yasuto Hirosawa of the Tonami Clan) as the first Western-style ranch in Japan. He imported stud horses and bulls from the West to breed livestock and farm. We explored the memorial hall displaying farming tools as well as a recreated Clan house. Notice the straw footwear hanging above the sandpit and fish being cooked on sticks- we've seen this method of cooking being used at outdoor shops and festivals as well.
Here's a quick and admittedly oversimplified summary of the two dominate religions in Japan- Buddhism and Shintoism. While Buddhism was brought to Japan in the 6th century, Shintoism originated in Japan during prehistoric times as a nature worshiping, polytheistic religion. Interestingly, Buddhism and Shintoism do not appear to be mutually exclusive; people identify themselves with both religions depending on the life event taking place. From what we've been told, Buddhist temples are frequented for sad life events (funerals and memorializing ancestors), while Shinto shrines are frequented for happy life events (to bless a new baby or new car and weddings).
On our tour of Misawa, we visited a Buddhist Temple and an on-site Buddhist cemetery.
Temple Bell
Japanese funerals consist of a wake, cremation, burial in a family grave (some are quite elaborate, as shown below), and a memorial service. We happened to be visiting the temple and cemetery after Obon, an annual Buddhist event during which people believe their ancestors' spirits come back to be reunited with their families. Japanese people will place offerings at their loved ones' graves as demonstrated by the can of beer left below.
The next day, we visited a Shinto Shrine, complete with the signature red Torri (gates).
These are Hachinohe (or Yawata) horses, which we were told are wedding symbols native to this area. The black horse is male, the red horse is female. Small, wooden toy versions of these horses are frequently sold in gift shops throughout the area.
That day we also visited an indoor fish market. Although we didn't buy anything, we did get to sample a few things as well as photograph some of the more exotic sea creatures being sold...
Octopus
Sea Urchin (we actually ate some sea urchin in a sushi roll for dinner one night)
Today we felt our first earthquake in Japan!! We were sitting in a housing office and all of sudden the couch Matt and I were sitting on rocked back and forth a little bit. It was so small I thought it was just Matt pushing the couch back and forth with his feet, but then we noticed the floor plant swaying a bit and another person in the office confirmed it. It lasted less than 15 seconds, but was eventful for us nonetheless!
On Monday, we went out again to look at potential houses and found a new favorite. We are set to sign the lease on Thursday, and plan to move in within the next couple of weeks! We'll most likely have some loaner furniture until our shipment of household goods arrive at the beginning of September. Here are a few stats and photos (FYI- I forgot to take a picture of the living room, but rest assured we do have one)...
2 car garage with shelving/storage space
3 Bedrooms
- all with A/C units (central air/heating is rare here)
- Master bedroom has a walk-in closet and the two smaller bedrooms have smaller closets
The two smaller bedrooms are identical...
2 Bathrooms
- master bath with a walk-in shower, toilet, and vanity
- kid/guest bathroom with shower/bathtub, toilet and vanity
Kitchen
- Stainless steel countertops
- Potential for a dishwasher (not the norm here)
- Overlooks the dining room
Laundry room
Sliding glass/screen doors that open to a small, covered patio and a nice big yard
Located in an "American" neighborhood with wides streets for walking...this is an added perk since sidewalks do not appear to be the norm here
Other random feature:
3 miniature ponies in the lot behind our house
Choosing a house marks the last big decision we had to check off the list which is a huge relief. We hope we're going to like our new house (or ie, pronounced ee-eh) in Japan!
We arrived in Misawa on Thursday, August 5, and have been welcomed with 3 days of record setting heat. On Friday, temperatures were over 100 degrees and we have no AC in the hotel! Despite the heat, we spent the entire day on Friday outside taking care of all sorts of tasks, such as (a) getting registered at the hospital where the baby will be born, (b) getting cell phones, (c) picking up all of our forwarded mail at the post office, (d) visiting two Japanese car dealerships that cater to Americans, and (e) touring about seven houses with two different rental agencies in the hopes of finding our future home. We were able to narrow all of the houses down to one favorite with three bedrooms, two bathrooms (two showers, one bath, and two toilets), a large kitchen, one car garage, and a patio all on one level. This house would be close to a couple of produce markets that only sell local/seasonal fruits and veggies. We will continue to look this week, but in the meantime here are a few pictures of our favorite house so far to give you an idea of what the homes built for Americans look like over here...
Living room
Master Bedroom/Bath
Halfway through the day, we ate lunch at a Japanese noodle/rice restaurant where it was so hot that sweat was literally dripping off of our faces. That night, we had dinner at a French restaurant called Marche with a couple that has been showing us around this week. We had grilled scallops, salmon, and a really delicious pureed corn soup.
On Saturday, we were out on the town again with a different co-worker. Although we arrived with the intention of sharing one car like we did in Germany, the drive to Matt's work is going to be long enough that we decided it would be beneficial to have two cars. So, here are our future cars: a 1999 Subaru Forrester and a 1997 Nissan Terrano (equivalent to a Pathfinder in the states), both 4x4 because we are in snow country...
In addition to checking car purchases off the list, we explored Homac, a home amenities store (think small Home Depot)...
...and Universe, a large supermarket with a great selection of seafood (see package of squid pictured below).
As it was explained to us, the Japanese value uniformity not only among their people, but also among their produce. Just look at the perfectly shaped carrots and imagine how many must not have made the cut…
We also explored Aeon Shopping Center in Shimoda. It was really large and felt surprisingly like a mall you would find in the states, with 2 food courts, a movie theatre (about $17 for regular adult admission and $10 after 8 p.m.), and a kids play center/arcade called You's Land.
We noticed that many of the stores have really funny names, our favorites being Alphabet’s Alphabet, Boy’s Room (exclusively selling trendy clothes for teenage girls), and Bee Boo ____(insert random word that we can’t remember here). Next time we go there I'm bringing a pen and pad of paper to write some of the real doozies down.
Earlier in the day, we decided to try a drink out of a vending machine and were surprised that the Aloe and White Grape juice literally had chunks of aloe floating inside. This sensation really goes against the instinct that chunks in drink = rancidity.
We ate lunch at a pretty good sushi restaurant where we shared a sushi/tempura platter...
Finally, here is a picture of our first rice paddy field sighting...
It's been a busy couple of days, and things really do feel more foreign than they did in Germany, but so far we think we're really going to like it here!
