Cherry Blossoms- American Style!

Early Saturday morning, our friend Adam was dropped off at our local lake and kept our special spot safe.

At 10 am, I met Adam with our prepared foods. He was so happy to have someone with him.



The sofa was a special part of our Hanami this year. We decided to bring our living room to the festivities. As other Japanese parties brought out their blue tarps, we took out our coffee table, carpet, and couch. Many Japanese strollers couldn't understand our strange set up, but we knew that they were all envious that we though of such a great idea. While the rest of our family arrived, the boys enjoyed some light exercise.



Our Family Hanami Picture

The rest of the warm sunny day was enjoyed playing baseball, eating homemade food, feeding the flying hawks, practicing handstands, and staring down the judging faces of the Japanese community.

The dangers of a new spring

Here are some pictures of the dangers you will face going from negative degree temperature to sunny springy days. FALLING ICE!

Golden Week Vacation- Bimbo Ryoko!

びんぼ旅行
Bimbo- "poor" Ryoko- "vacation"

Ahh! It feels like college again. Golden Week is one of the largest group of national holidays. So many and so close together that they call that week "Golden Week" and many Japanese families take this opportunity to go north and see the Cherry Blossoms or somewhere south to just rest. Basically, everyone in Japan is on the move during this week. Not to miss in the experience, Ron and I too were planning a trip of our own. With many summer plans in the making, Ron's change of job, and a new house, we've decided that using the minimal amount of money was necessary for future living. So we decided to go to Yamagata, a prefecture where many Moriokans refer to as the "Ohio" of Japan, why go? BECAUSE WE CAN!!

During the three day trip, we slept in the car in sleeping bags, took rest in 24 hour supermarket parking lots and convenient stores, cooked with our little stove in the trunk, and took baths in nearby onsen. Some may say that's barely living, but in that trip, we did more things than I could imagine any Japanese person could do. We saw a brilliant amount of sights and tasted the delicious food. We saw a famous war reenactment festival, tasted their famous cherries, dipped in the most famous onsen, saw "take your breath away" temples and the Pacific Ocean scattered with small islands, and a gigantic crater. In the end, we spent $350 on the whole trip, transportantion costs included. By pinching pennies (yennies) and trying to find the best deals, it felt like our own reality show adventure, minus the drama and the backstabbing.

Yonesawa Festival











Yamadera- A mountain hike lined with temples






Yamagata City- known for it's cherries ($100 for one box of cherries!)





Okama- In Yamagata it means "Gigantic Crater", in Ichi-ko it means "Gay" :( Either way, to me it means " freakin' cool)



Matsushima... This place is one of the three best sights of Japan. This beach area near Sendai is peppered with mini islands. Real pretty, but we came when it was a little overcast. I think the next time we go on a beautiful day, it will show it's true beauty.






Truly unconventional ね?

Happy May Day!

Wow! We have been in Japan for 9 months! That's three-fourths of a year. That's fast math! Well, we now have beautiful weather in Morioka. The birds are chirping and the cicadas are creeking (crap!) We've had a few visitors from the underground to give us a "hello" which is a sure sign of warmer weather. The sleeves are getting rolled up in the school and the paper fans are coming out. UH OH!

Tazawako Lake and walking 10 kilometers!

April 26
In Akita, an hour away is the deepest lake in Japan. In the prefecture above there is another lake called Towadako. There is a legend that Tazawako has the spirit of a woman who turned into a water dragon of the lake because she drank too much of the lake water in order to become beautiful. Lake Towadako is her husband that too turned into a dragon of Towadako. I can't remember why. They say that in the winter Tazawako never freezes over because of the heat coming from the two dragons that meet and then making love. Ohh naughty...