Misawa Tanabata Festival

This weekend we went to the Misawa Tanabata Festival. People write wishes on pieces of paper that are hung on small bamboo trees, and brightly colored decorations are hung from arced bamboo poles that line the street. Hazel seemed to like walking through the streamers, and I often had to stop to pry her hands from them before we could continue walking. Vendors sell typical festival food (e.g., yakisoba, meat skewers, chocolate covered bananas) and toys for kids. We grazed while walking the street, enjoying caramel corn, Pad Thai from our favorite Thai restaurant in town, and a Doner (gyro meat sandwich; Matt's first since leaving Germany). Entertainment was provided by Japanese kids performing hip-hop dance. Some of the dancing was really good, all of it was really funny.

 

 

 

 

Omasaki and Hotokegaura

This weekend we took another bus tour, this time to the northern tip of Honshu. Our first stop was Omasaki, a coastal village known for its pole-and-line tuna fishing practices. Unfortunately, it was a very foggy day, so we weren't able to see much of anything, but we imagine that a clear day would provide some beautiful ocean views. We browsed through a few of the tourist shops and ate a picnic lunch. The photographic highlight of our stop was posing in front of this large tuna statue.

From Omasaki, we drove to Sai Port and boarded a boat to Hotokegaura. The Hotokegaura natural rock formations have been designated a national monument, and rightfully so. They were quite stunning, and reminded us a bit of the rocky coastline we saw in Dingle, Ireland. The slick and uneven rocks made it difficult to navigate the area while lugging a bag, camera, and baby, so we probably could have used more time to explore at a leisurely and safe pace. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant day trip, and reminded us just how much this region of Japan has to offer.

 

 

On a stop on the way home, I decided to try some banana milk. Think liquid banana Runts/Laffy Taffy. Mmmm...

We also wanted to point out that at the bottom of this post, you will see "Location". If you click on the link (for this post, it reads Sai, Shimokita District, Aomori Prefecture, Japan), you can see on a map where we were. We will continue listing location for future blogs, so feel free to click on the links to see where we've been!

Rakuten Eagles Baseball Game

Over the Fourth of July weekend, we traveled about 5 hours south to the Sendai area to watch the Rakuten Eagles play the Chiba Lotte Marines. This was our first time attending a baseball game in Japan, and it was quite the experience. We were cheering for the Eagles, the team from the Tohoku region of northeastern Japan, where we live.  For those of you wondering why you've heard of Sendai, it's because it was the large city hit by the tsunami in March.  It suffered the most damage and life lost.  But they are recovering and living their lives, and they love their baseball. 

The game is the same as in the states, but spectators are much more active, like a college football game. Section leaders facilitate organized cheers throughout the entire game, and fans use pairs of plastic bats as noise makers.

Like sports games in the states, refreshments are sold by roving salespeople. But here in Japan, the salespeople are all young girls, and those tasked with selling beer are decked out in special gear. They wear knee pads that allow them to kneel as they serve up the beer from the keg on their backs.  Yes, KEG ON THEIR BACKS.  This is brilliant, I can't think of a reason why this shouldn't be the norm in America.  

 

The most memorable moment came during the top and bottom of the 7th inning.  Fans of the leading team gets the honor of setting off white sperm balloons, while the trailing team sets off team-colored sperm balloons.  The white sperm balloons are especially memorable for reasons you can imagine.  They have special nozzles at the base, designed to slowly let the air out so they fly straight and longer than normal balloons would (that's what she said).  Seriously, the tip top of the balloon is larger, just like the head of a real...I give up, enjoy the video. 

In addition to all of the cheering props, we were surprised to see that around a third of fans were wearing Eagles jerseys. Needless to say, the souvenir shop must be doing quite well.   

It was a fun day, filled with a mix of American and Japanese culture (e.g., a hot dog and sushi for lunch, the music of Journey and Japanese cheers filling the air; even the Colonel got dressed for the occasion), and we were happy to have experienced it. 

American Day

For the past 24 years, the Misawa community has celebrated "American Day." It is held right outside of the main gate of the Air Base, and consists of a parade, live music, activities, and booths selling various American food items (turkey legs, chocolate cake, Starbucks bottled drinks, funnel cake, etc.) and souvenirs. This year (and perhaps every year) each booth represents a state in the U.S. I couldn't find the Iowa booth, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there. Americans proudly wore their home state attire and it felt a bit like being at a small, multi-state fair. I was surprised at how nice it was to experience a little slice of America on a Sunday morning.

Komaki Onsen and Park

This weekend we visited one of the seven hot spring baths in Misawa, Komaki Onsen. The onsen consisted of two indoor hot pools, a sauna, as well as one cold outdoor pool (and I mean ice cold) and one hot outdoor pool. The outdoor pools overlook a serene alcove of trees surrounding a waterfall, and a pond filled with coy fish that swim right up to the edge of the pool. For me, the scenery was equally as relaxing as soaking in the baths themselves. Unfortunately for blogging purposes (and fortunately for bathers), photography is not allowed inside the onsen. We did, however, get some photos of the beautiful park that is located near the onsen. We will definitely have to come back another time to get some family pictures.

Mt. Hakkoda

On Saturday, we drove about 1.5 hours with friends check out the Mt. Hakkoda mountain range, consisting of more than ten peaks just north of Towada Hachimantai National Park. After a beautiful, winding drive through the National Park, we arrived at the Hakkoda Ropeway. The gondola ride up to Mt. Tamoyachidake provided some beautiful views of this lush mountain range.

In winter, this peak is the starting point for several ski runs. This area is also known for "snow monsters" that appear when ice and snow completely cover the dense-leaved conifers.

The date: June 11, 2011

Once we reached the summit, we set out on an hour long hike on the Tamoyachidake natural trail, and were surprised to find a mix of winter and spring.

Snow in June!

Other than a few thick patches of snow, the trail was pretty easy to traverse; however, these mini bridges proved to be a bit treacherous for the little ones we were hiking with.

Wetlands

Despite all of the snow on the ground, the air temperature was very pleasant. It was a great day for a hike!

Nango Town Peony Festival

This weekend, we drove about an hour to Nango Town with friends to check out a festival at Hase Peony Garden. We were very surprised to find that the peony garden is actually located on the side of a mountain, which made for a very unique way to view some 8,000 peonies. The pictures don't begin to do justice to the scenery or fragrance that we enjoyed on this warm, hazy day.

Peony plants for sale: 1,000 yen (a little more than $12)