One year ago today, we had been living in Japan for a little over 7 months. One year ago today, we were preparing to leave on our first big trip with Hazel to Phuket, Thailand. One year ago today, I was scared out of my mind huddling in the bathroom with five-month-old Hazel when the 9.0 magnitude earthquake violently shook our house for the longest 5 minutes of my life. One year ago today, we were stuck in the Tokyo airport for the first few hours of the total of 28 we would spend there before traveling on to Thailand as planned. One year ago, we thought the earthquake was the worst of it. It makes me feel sick to think about what was happening to thousands of people just a couple hundred miles away, while we stood around in the street with neighbors listening to a siren and an announcement in Japanese that we didn't understand, wondering what to do. Here is the blog post from last year about our experience.
Please take a moment to pray for the Japanese who lost their wives and husbands, daughters and sons, mothers and fathers on 3/11/11, a day that the Japanese and anyone living in northeastern Japan will never forget.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Niseko: The Aspen of Asia
From Sapporo, we drove to Niseko for three days of skiing. Blizzard conditions made the drive quite stressful; some of the roads we were supposed to take and most roadside stores were closed. At one point, we all needed to go to the bathroom, so we stopped at a little shop that appeared to be open. I asked the woman working in the shop if I could use the toilet. She directed me behind the counter and through doors into what appeared to be a living room filled with her family. An old man was reading on the couch, and children were playing some kind of Japanese game on the floor. To say I felt awkward was an understatement. When I thanked them for their hospitality, I saw that T.J. was walking into the shop saying that he also needed to use the toilet. My heart sank. When I got out to the car, Matt said he had to go too. This poor Japanese family had no idea that they were going to have to let not one but three Americans use their personal restroom in the middle of a blizzard. The hardest part was knowing that it is not a cultural norm in Japan to say "no" in a direct way, so they may not have really wanted to let us use the toilet in the first place. Needless to say, we bought a few things to show our appreciation- a bag of peanuts, a package of butter (to cook in our cabin in Niseko), and a couple of beers. Back in the car and on the road, we laughed about what the Japanese woman must have thought about those random purchases.
We finally arrived in Niseko to more snow than we've seen in our lives. The walls of snow lining the roads were literally 10+ feet high. We soon learned why- it snowed about a foot each night we were there. We rented a small cabin, and slept side by side like thethree four little bears. The sleeping arrangement reminded me of our 2008 trip to Austria with Kiley.We made spaghetti for dinner the first night, and made most of our lunches in the cabin as well.
The weather on our first day of skiing in was ah-mazing. Blue skies, sun, and great visibility of Mt. Yotei (see below). We skied from the Grand Hirafu lift on Day 1 and 3, and the Hanazono lift and lodge on Day 2. After two seasons of skiing in our area of Japan, we were surprised at how awesome the Niseko ski area was- tons of lifts that get you up the mountain in a reasonable amount of time and plenty of challenging runs. Again, it was like being back in Europe. We were also surprised at how many "Western" faces we saw- nearly everyone we saw and met there were from Australia, New Zealand, or Americans/Brits living in Hong Kong. It was very easy to forget that we were still in Japan. In fact, we saw a sign that referred to Niseko as "The Aspen of Asia", which actually seemed like an accurate description.
This picture gives you an idea of what it's like to embark and disembark a ferry by car. We were directed into a spot, the wheels are secured, and we had to wind our way through a dirty and wet underbelly of the boat to the passenger level. It wasn't a pretty sight (or smell), but worth it to have a car to drive to our destinations.
We finally arrived in Niseko to more snow than we've seen in our lives. The walls of snow lining the roads were literally 10+ feet high. We soon learned why- it snowed about a foot each night we were there. We rented a small cabin, and slept side by side like the
The weather on our first day of skiing in was ah-mazing. Blue skies, sun, and great visibility of Mt. Yotei (see below). We skied from the Grand Hirafu lift on Day 1 and 3, and the Hanazono lift and lodge on Day 2. After two seasons of skiing in our area of Japan, we were surprised at how awesome the Niseko ski area was- tons of lifts that get you up the mountain in a reasonable amount of time and plenty of challenging runs. Again, it was like being back in Europe. We were also surprised at how many "Western" faces we saw- nearly everyone we saw and met there were from Australia, New Zealand, or Americans/Brits living in Hong Kong. It was very easy to forget that we were still in Japan. In fact, we saw a sign that referred to Niseko as "The Aspen of Asia", which actually seemed like an accurate description.
There are a ton of onsens in Niseko. We took turns visiting Yukoro onsen, which was featured on Powder TV.
When our time in Niseko came to an end, we grabbed a quick lunch before boarding the ferry. T.J. ordered a dish that included a bowl of rice and a raw egg. He thought he could ask them to fry up the egg for him, but after talking to about four different people, they were finally able to explain that there was no cooking in the kitchen at that time. So T.J. was left with the most adventurous meal of his trip: a raw egg served over a bowl of rice. He said it wasn't that bad.
This picture gives you an idea of what it's like to embark and disembark a ferry by car. We were directed into a spot, the wheels are secured, and we had to wind our way through a dirty and wet underbelly of the boat to the passenger level. It wasn't a pretty sight (or smell), but worth it to have a car to drive to our destinations.
We are so thankful that T.J. was able to make the trip to see us, and had such a great time in Niseko, that we plan to return next year!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sapporo Snow Festival and Brewery
Our journey to Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, began with a car ride to a ferry port in Hachinohe and was followed by an eight-hour and very choppy ferry ride; so choppy, in fact, that all four of us (that's me, Matt, Hazel, and my brother, T.J.) were either feeling sicking or getting sick most of the time. When we finally arrived at our port in to the port in Tomakomai, we had a car ride to reach our surprisingly nice hotel in Sapporo.
The next morning, we were off to visit the 63rd annual Sapporo Snow Festival. We took a subway to the Odori site, the largest of three festival sights located throughout the city. One of the first ice sculptures we saw was the "Snow Aquarium: Treasures from the sea", and the giant walrus pictured below was one of my favorite sculptures of the entire festival. I think they used some sort of tubing to create the most realistic faux ice whiskers imaginable.
Ice Sculpture of the National Palace Museum, located in Taipei, Taiwan...
Ashley and T.J. in front of a snow sculpture of Aizu Tsuruga Castle, located in Fukushima prefecture.
In addition to crazy impressive ice sculptures, there were performances by Japan's top-level snowboarders and skiers from this 60-meter jump ramp. If it weren't so cold, it would have been fun to stand and watch more than a few jumpers.
We also saw some of Sapporo's main sights, including the TV tower, the maypole (at the sight of the beer fest held in Sapporo) that reminded us of the one we saw at the Viktualienmarkt in Munich, and the red brick Old Government Building. It was sights like these, in addition to the pedestrian friendly and grid-like layout of the city that reminded us of being back in Europe.
The next morning, we were off to visit the 63rd annual Sapporo Snow Festival. We took a subway to the Odori site, the largest of three festival sights located throughout the city. One of the first ice sculptures we saw was the "Snow Aquarium: Treasures from the sea", and the giant walrus pictured below was one of my favorite sculptures of the entire festival. I think they used some sort of tubing to create the most realistic faux ice whiskers imaginable.
Ice Sculpture of the National Palace Museum, located in Taipei, Taiwan...
T.J. in front of the Taj Mahal...
Ashley and T.J. in front of a snow sculpture of Aizu Tsuruga Castle, located in Fukushima prefecture.
Pinnochio...
In addition to crazy impressive ice sculptures, there were performances by Japan's top-level snowboarders and skiers from this 60-meter jump ramp. If it weren't so cold, it would have been fun to stand and watch more than a few jumpers.
We also saw some of Sapporo's main sights, including the TV tower, the maypole (at the sight of the beer fest held in Sapporo) that reminded us of the one we saw at the Viktualienmarkt in Munich, and the red brick Old Government Building. It was sights like these, in addition to the pedestrian friendly and grid-like layout of the city that reminded us of being back in Europe.
But then we'd stumble across an incredibly ornate shrine or temple, and be reminded that we were most certainly still in Asia.
Between the three adults, we sampled a lot of different festival food and beverages, including corn on the cob, deer ragout, vegetable chowder made with Hokkaido cream, yakisoba, a chocolate Belgian waffle, and Belgian beer.
While the Odori site was mostly comprised of large snow sculptures, the Susukino site was lined with smaller but very impressive ice sculptures.
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| Those are real fish, crabs, and other sea creatures frozen in the ice. |
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| Ice bench. |
We found a warm restaurant for dinner and made our way back to the hotel. On our walk back to our hotel, we unexpectedly came across Nakajima park filled with small amateur snow sculptures illuminated with candles in the snow. It was quite beautiful.
The next morning we snagged a picture of the historic clock tower en route to the Sapproro Brewery.
The brewery was located on the outskirts of town, but may as well have been in Europe. The visually appealing campus is made up of a brewery museum/tasting room, beer hall, and multiple gift shops. We all agreed that they must be pumping something into the air throughout these buildings, as we just couldn't stop buying souvenirs (a poster, sticker, glasses, t-shirt, crackers, and a key chain to be used as an ornament to be exact). Here are some photos from our visit to the brewery:
Inside the museum...
In the tasting room, we sampled nearly all of the different types of Sapporo beer between the three adults, and discovered the delicious curry crackers and Sapporo beer crackers (simple butter crackers). After lunch, we returned to the tasting hall for dessert- way too rich caramel and really tasty "black beer" ice cream.
For lunch, we grilled our own meat, fish, and veggies yakiniku style in Kessel hall. They provide bibs the size of aprons and bags to contain coats and bags under the table, presumably so visitors don't smell quite so bad at the end of the meal and to minimize the potential of catching on fire in the open flame used to cook the meal at the table.
The whole brewery experience solidified my burgeoning opinion that Sapporo was my favorite Japanese city visited so far. So much so that I would really love to come back in a different season...if it weren't for that painfully long ferry ride.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Save the Date: House Hunters International
If you want to watch a show that showcases our house hunting experience in Misawa, watch House Hunters International on April 12, 9:30 PM or 12:30 AM Central Time. Follow this link to read about the upcoming episode. The wife is actually a friend of mine, and she and her husband recreated their house hunting experience in January for a small crew. I say recreate, because at the time of filming, they had already been living in their home for some time (yep, folks, it really is Hollywood). Hazel and I were out in the driveway shoveling and playing as they were shooting in the driveway of a house in our neighborhood, so I am curious to hear if we will be in the show! Also, to anyone reading this post that is related to us, even if you don't want to watch (and I know you all do), please DVR this episode so we can watch it on our next visit home. I'm talking to YOU! Thanks in advance :)
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| Picture of them filming, taken from our living room window. |
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| I wasn't there, but this is a picture of them filming in a house in our neighborhood that appears to be an exact mirror image of our house. |
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
New Zealand and Australia
On November 18, 2011, we flew to New Zealand for our biggest vacation ever. We would spend two days in Auckland, New Zealand, cruise for 14 days around New Zealand and to Australia, then spend three more days in Sydney.
The overall itinerary looked like this:
New Zealand
Auckland
At Sea - Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty
Tauranga (and Rotorua)
Napier
Wellington
At Sea - Captain Cook Ship Cove and Queen Charlotte Sound
Picton
Akaroa
Port Chalmers and Dunedin
At Sea - Fjordland National Park (Milford Sound)
Australia
Burnie, Tasmania
Melbourne
Sydney
The bell of the ms Volendam, our floating carriage.
The overall itinerary looked like this:
New Zealand
Auckland
At Sea - Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty
Tauranga (and Rotorua)
Napier
Wellington
At Sea - Captain Cook Ship Cove and Queen Charlotte Sound
Picton
Akaroa
Port Chalmers and Dunedin
At Sea - Fjordland National Park (Milford Sound)
Australia
Burnie, Tasmania
Melbourne
Sydney
The bell of the ms Volendam, our floating carriage.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Sydney, Australia
The cruise ended (disembarked) in Sydney. We really enjoyed our 3 days in Sydney even though the weather wasn't great. It was cloudy all three days and it rained on and off the whole time. Even with the poor weather Sydney is a really neat city. And besides the city there is plenty to do nearby. We spent a whole day far west of Sydney, at the Featherdale Wildlife Park in Blackstone, and at the Blue Mountains National Park near Katoomba.
Sydney Sights
Woolloomooloo - area of the city our hotel was located.
Nude in a Rocking Chair, Pablo Picasso. This was in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. (Note: New South Wales is the province Sydney is located in.) Overall the museum was not great, full of modern art that made me want to punch someone. This was a nice little surprise. The only reason we ended up in the museum was because it was raining pretty hard outside and we needed some shelter. The blue palm tree in the painting was an homage to Henri Matisse, who had died before Picasso painted this.
St. Mary's Cathedral. It is modeled closely after Notre Dame.
Sydney Opera House. Two things need to be noted: (1) this building is enormous, much larger than I would have guessed from pictures, and (2) the roofing is not white at all, cream or dirty white, call it what you will. Pictures and movies make it seem bright white, not the case. We were able to see it from two locations, the quay near The Rocks neighborhood, and across the bay at Milsons Point. Both were neat views, but I would have to guess the best place to see it would be from Harbour Bridge. We didn't have time to walk up there.
Opera House - from Milsons Point.
Opera House, City, Harbour Bridge.
Opera House - from The Rocks Quay.
Harbour Bridge.
The family.
Share a Coke with Matt. This was near Kings Cross train station.
The Rocks neighborhood.
The Rocks.
The Rocks - storefronts/restaurants.
Featherdale Wildlife Park
Our second day in Sydney we took an early train to Katoomba to go see the Blue Mountains. En route we decided to get off at Blackstone to see Featherdale Wildlife Park; we were in Australia after all and needed to see kangaroos and koalas.
Entrance
Blue-Winged Kookaburra. Great name- kookaburra. Does anyone else grow up hearing this song?
Swamp Wallaby.
Little Penguins. That's their actual name.
Red Kangaroo. We should note that we don't think they had adult kangaroos out in the open petting areas. Adult males can be over six feet tall and kick a hole in your chest. These were gentle.
Ashley feeding the little 'roos special food out of an ice cream cone.
Eastern Grey Kangaroo.
Hazel petting grey kangaroos. Hazel could get aggressive so we had to hold her back and tell her to be gentle.
The family with a koala.
Koala. Very noble looking.
Dingo. Looks no different than any other dog.
Tasmanian Devil. Pleasant little fellow.
Two kids.
Rooster. He was so colorful we had to take a picture.
Katoomba and the Blue Mountains
We spent the rest of the day hiking around the Blue Mountain National Park. It was very pretty. The forest is full of eucalyptus trees which release their oil into the air. This oil hangs pretty low over the forest creating the blue hue, hence Blue Mountains. The smell of the forest was the most pleasant smell we'd ever encountered. Ashley was pretty sure that the Wiesbaden spa must have used this oil because it reminded her of it immediately.
Katoomba Train Station.
The Three Sisters. These peaks are well known and make for very pretty scenery.
This angle shows more of the valley.
The family. Hazel napping on my back.
If you were to climb out to the top of that ridge you would be looking down at the Three Sisters. This picture really shows the blue haze.
Prince Henry Cliff Walk. We hiked this trail from the Three Sisters (Katoomba) to see the Leura Cascades. From there we walked/jogged to the train station in Leura, barely making the train.
Ewww. Millipede migration on the trail.
Ashley at one of the many lookouts.
Leura Cascades. Getting to this spot was confusing even with the trail maps. Brochure pictures of the cascades must have been taken after a 24-hour downpour, because it had been raining for a few days before we took the picture below, and they were still only this big. Still very pretty though. We are standing under a large cliff overhang to take this picture - the setting feels hidden.
Sydney Sights
Woolloomooloo - area of the city our hotel was located.
Nude in a Rocking Chair, Pablo Picasso. This was in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. (Note: New South Wales is the province Sydney is located in.) Overall the museum was not great, full of modern art that made me want to punch someone. This was a nice little surprise. The only reason we ended up in the museum was because it was raining pretty hard outside and we needed some shelter. The blue palm tree in the painting was an homage to Henri Matisse, who had died before Picasso painted this.
St. Mary's Cathedral. It is modeled closely after Notre Dame.
Sydney Opera House. Two things need to be noted: (1) this building is enormous, much larger than I would have guessed from pictures, and (2) the roofing is not white at all, cream or dirty white, call it what you will. Pictures and movies make it seem bright white, not the case. We were able to see it from two locations, the quay near The Rocks neighborhood, and across the bay at Milsons Point. Both were neat views, but I would have to guess the best place to see it would be from Harbour Bridge. We didn't have time to walk up there.
Opera House - from Milsons Point.
Opera House, City, Harbour Bridge.
Opera House - from The Rocks Quay.
Harbour Bridge.
The family.
Share a Coke with Matt. This was near Kings Cross train station.
The Rocks neighborhood.
The Rocks.
The Rocks - storefronts/restaurants.
Featherdale Wildlife Park
Our second day in Sydney we took an early train to Katoomba to go see the Blue Mountains. En route we decided to get off at Blackstone to see Featherdale Wildlife Park; we were in Australia after all and needed to see kangaroos and koalas.
Entrance
Blue-Winged Kookaburra. Great name- kookaburra. Does anyone else grow up hearing this song?
Swamp Wallaby.
Little Penguins. That's their actual name.
Red Kangaroo. We should note that we don't think they had adult kangaroos out in the open petting areas. Adult males can be over six feet tall and kick a hole in your chest. These were gentle.
Ashley feeding the little 'roos special food out of an ice cream cone.
Eastern Grey Kangaroo.
Hazel petting grey kangaroos. Hazel could get aggressive so we had to hold her back and tell her to be gentle.
The family with a koala.
Koala. Very noble looking.
Dingo. Looks no different than any other dog.
Tasmanian Devil. Pleasant little fellow.
Two kids.
Rooster. He was so colorful we had to take a picture.
Katoomba and the Blue Mountains
We spent the rest of the day hiking around the Blue Mountain National Park. It was very pretty. The forest is full of eucalyptus trees which release their oil into the air. This oil hangs pretty low over the forest creating the blue hue, hence Blue Mountains. The smell of the forest was the most pleasant smell we'd ever encountered. Ashley was pretty sure that the Wiesbaden spa must have used this oil because it reminded her of it immediately.
Katoomba Train Station.
The Three Sisters. These peaks are well known and make for very pretty scenery.
This angle shows more of the valley.
The family. Hazel napping on my back.
If you were to climb out to the top of that ridge you would be looking down at the Three Sisters. This picture really shows the blue haze.
Prince Henry Cliff Walk. We hiked this trail from the Three Sisters (Katoomba) to see the Leura Cascades. From there we walked/jogged to the train station in Leura, barely making the train.
Ewww. Millipede migration on the trail.
Ashley at one of the many lookouts.
Leura Cascades. Getting to this spot was confusing even with the trail maps. Brochure pictures of the cascades must have been taken after a 24-hour downpour, because it had been raining for a few days before we took the picture below, and they were still only this big. Still very pretty though. We are standing under a large cliff overhang to take this picture - the setting feels hidden.
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