September 26 2010

September 26 2010 At last the cooler weather has arrived! Just a little nip in the air in the mornings. Some spectacular sunsets this last week as well, followed by mornings of pouring rain. But it's all good.

On this Sunday, it was bright, and sunny with the temperature just right. Decided it was time to get out of the house. So, Andi, Mykah, and myself got our bikes ready and went for a bike ride.

There was lots of "STOP!!! I'm taking a picture!" Andi looks at it as great opportunities to rest....I think Mykah thinks I take way to many pictures , "just like your mom" he told me. I tell him this is good training for some day when he gets married....

Above and below- a couple of houses that I liked. (and no, that's not a real dog out there)

Oh goody! A horsey place! No, don't look to hard for a horse that appears as though it could be jumping....all we could see were little miniature horses. I think my sisters dogs are bigger than these appeared.

But, then we didn't get all that close to anything.....Really, it doesn't take much for me to not want to go near a horse....this just cements it for me!

Above: One of the many roads we went exploring on...going on roads we'd never been on.

Came across a farmer harvesting his rice crop. His little boy was having a great time up there with his dad! Now, this is just one type of tractor used to harvest. This one, the rice is cut and scooped through the front....then into the middle where the grain must be thrashed off, and put into the sacks. The straw is spit out the back (left end of picture)

In the end, some fields will look like the one below. Others are cleaned of all debris. I guess it all depends on who owns the paddie.

Below: An example of "STOP! I want to take a picture!"

Made a circular loop, not sure how, and ended up at one of the shrines by our house. Took a break to walk around and admire the carvings and the solitude....despite there being a busy road just a stones throw away. The trees are mature and provide a great sound barrier.

It was a good bike ride. Just need to work with the two as to which way is Left, and Right! Really, how many do they think they have??? "Go left" "Left?" "Yes, LEFT!" "This Left"-as they turn in some sort of right diagonal where there is no road......bang head, bang head.....

Maybe we'll try it again next weekend....after I draw L and R on their hands.

September 19 2010

We've had days of sun and blue sky, with reasonable temperatures at long last!

Today, the 19th was the designated day for the Misawa Air Show.

http://www.misawa.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123222692

And don't look to closely at the crowds...you'll not see Andi nor myself in there. Andi doesn't like loud noises, so this is our excuse to go exploring. Shane is already out of town....at this moment in Salt Lake. Sadly, one of his sisters was killed, so he is stateside for the memorial service.

Today though, ended up not being a big outdoor adventure. Morning rain showers and heavy cloud cover changed our plans a little. We headed for Toys R Us in Hachinohe first.....taking roads we had traveled before....have to keep some of the adventure alive!

After wandering the toy store, nothing fun to bring home, we went back up to the local mall, via the same means....roads not traveled before. Being a rainy day....those not at the airshow, were at the mall. This means a packed food court. But Andi, on a previous outing with her father knew of a tucked away restaurant....we ate there.....spaghetti, really good spaghetti!

Then home again, via more back roads. Not the same without Shane with us.....it's hard to take pictures and drive at the same time....(nooooo, I only took the pictures when we were on a dirt road!) Now, this evening the rain has returned. Rice remains out in the fields. Some fields had been partially harvested, but now, I think, it has to dry out again. I shall keep track of "Quiet Road" and see if those fields get harvested this week

A drive around Lake Towada

September 6 2010 Labor Day: A day off from school and work! We decided to take a drive around Lake Towada to see what the whole thing looks like. This meant our usual drive up Oriase Gorge....a route, that without fail, leads to a little girl in the backseat whispering "I don't feel so well" and there is generally a delightful green tinge to her face. Perhaps it is a subconscious thing to stop at our favorite "parking area" (rest stop). Some day we are going to remember to bring some fishing poles.....

Next, we stopped part way up the gorge so that I could take MY turn at being green around the gills. Went into the visitor center while there, and found pictures of wildlife we might see in the gorge....have never seen this, but will keep my eyes open.

Shane and Andi wandered down to the rivers edge (of course) to see what is there.

The first leg around the lake took us from lakeside, around many switchbacks, to the rim of the crater. No car sickness on this leg....I don't think Andi and I had anything more to give....plus we were chomping gum like mad! (my mother would not have been pleased..)

Anyway, this is the first view area. Below you can see the road we traveled up....well, not the road so much as the snowshed tunnels we came through.

My husband, being ever compliant with boundaries, quickly climbed the fence to get a better view of the downward slope. Andi took a gander as well, though while clenching tightly to Shane's hand.

At our next viewing area, there was an abundance of dragonflies. Pretty much the only insect that doesn't send Andi screaming off in terror. We had a great time standing still and letting the fairies in disguise come and perch.

OK, enough playing around.....back to the tour. Above is the view from this stop. Here we found the educational information signs that all national parks have to carry, no matter what country you find yourself in. Of course it is in Japanese, but the pictures they have kind of make you feel like you can indeed read!

Now, on the diogram below, lets not spend to much time wondering why this reminds us of something, but lets just focus on the cross section of the formation of the crater. (maybe it's just me who has her mind in the gutter....but I think not)

So, the crater is 400 meters deep. That's 1312 feet. 0.24855 miles (if these are wrong, I blame the Internet....math and conversions are not my strong suit) At this point on the map below, we are at the bottom of the map. Having entered the tour from the left side from that road coming in from the lower left.

Moving along, we stopped next midway around on the right side. Using the above map for reference, we missed the view area at the lower right....we were busy concentrating on the next set of switchbacks that took us off the rim and back to lakeside.

Here we stopped for a rest, and a picnic lunch. There was a very nice parking area, lots of tables and benches and this pier where the ferry puts in. (it's plenty deep enough) There is a little beach, where ones toes can dangle a bit, but really, one should watch out for that last step....the water gets deep, fast! (and no, we didn't learn by experience....unless you count listening to the voices of our own parents from when we were children)

Anyway, I wish I had a comfy chair....I could have rested out here for a loooooong time!

Our picnic area.....complete with hundreds of dragonflies.....which are a good thing, as this means NO mosquitoes! Andi and I found this dragonfly down by the waters edge...a rock balanced on the branch of a tree, with the dragonfly perched on top!

On we go for a ways. We didn't stop at the next village, as we've been there before (it's where we go for some of the festivals) but for reference, the village is located on the underside of that upper "toe" (or whatever you want to call it) Now from this view point (in red on the map....with our original entry point on the lower right) we get, yes, you guessed it, another look at the lake.....just be glad I didn't put all 80 pictures I took on this page.

I am betting that in a good fall season the colors are spectacular. I bet also the little roads are very crowded.

As we left the last overlook, we were coming back down to lakeside level. Through the trees we got a glimpse of some jade colored water. Knowing we were still looking at the lake, we just had to get out for a closer look. So we parked "Japanese style" (meaning we just pulled to the side of the road....even though there was no shoulder and got out...it happens a lot here), hopped out, found a game trail and followed it down. There was a little bit of a shore line (but the drop off was RIGHT there) so we were able to feel the water. It was warm. Much warmer than other areas of the lake where Andi's toes had dangled. Pretty neat to see that shade of water.

After we got back in the car, we went around the next bend, to find this sign. Now we already know that there are bears in these woods.....we have just never seen the warning sign.....

And finally, the end of a good journey! Lake Towada is among our favorite places to explore. There were many side roads branching out from the loop route. And they are beckoning.....

Towada Kunizakae Festival

September 4 2010- After a long hot week in Misawa (hottest summer in Japan on record, since record keeping started in 1898) Andi and I headed for the hills. It was a girls day out, while Shane parked himself in front of the computer to catch up on some of his college courses. Andi and I enjoyed the pleasant mountain temperatures.....not to mention a little dangling of the toes in the waters of the lake.

The purpose of this festival is a gathering of some of the best performances of three Prefectures (kind of like a state or province) of Northern Japan. There isn't a set parade, but rather the groups perform at different stations through out town. Perform at one and move on to another and perform again. Then at the end perform in a concert area, where really large crowds gather.

Strolling along the lakeside path we came across various performers, who were done performing. We came across the below group just after they finished. The young lad in front (looking at the camera) looks less than thrilled. Well it probably wasn't as pleasant of temperatures dressed in costume.

Oh, look! We finally came across a performance. Now the next problem was that we would go and wander about, hear music, go to where they were playing, and somehow keep coming across this same group! Ah well, it was still fun!

Finally, we went and did something different. Andi has never been on a paddle boat....until now. And truth be told, she didn't really do much work. That's ok, I needed a workout.....I guess.

I'll have to say, it was a bit hard to look out the front windows with a giant swan neck blocking the view. Perhaps it's easier to see out if you're shorter. (I'm just saying....)

The side views were much easier. Andi was a little nervous to start out. You must understand that her frame of reference for things that float on water was the USS Nashville...a tiny bit larger than this bird.

Below-one of the little islands near the shore. We really didn't venture to far out, since I was the only one providing power, didn't want to overdue it.

A little breeze on the lake, but it was nice.

Andi finally got over her nerves and put her fingers in the water and tried to spy fish. She thinks she may have seen some, hard to tell with the shadows playing in the water.

We ate a late lunch, early dinner at one of the restaurants. Andi could look out and see the dancers, and we could hear the music of the (yes, you know it) same group we kept seeing.

My view was out at the lake.

While eating we had noticed this woman walk by with her puppy buggy. Complete with two little dogs. We came across her a few minutes later when we were wandering around. She offered Andi a chance to hold the little dog and take a picture (I'm sure she is very used to this judging by how happily she posed) Let me tell you, that little dog was SOOOOOOO soft! It was like touching a cloud!

Needless to say, Andi wants a dog like that, complete with puppy buggy....

As we left, I couldn't help but do a double take at the two policemen. It's not often you see a tall Japanese person. The cop on the left is average height!