An Open Letter To Japan

Dear Japan,

I wasn't so sure about you. Okay...that's a lie. I was pretty sure I wanted absolutely nothing to do with you. My career was skyrocketing and, you, a meteorite dead ahead. If Alaska was Siberia, you were Mars. Strange, unchartered territory.

Alaska, the beautiful.

And we joked. Said I would be some kobe beef massager, a women's basketball player...the careers as far fetched as the thought of calling you home.

We stepped off that plane into the arms of what would be our friends, our family. But I didn't know. It was all too much, frankly. The sun was blinding, air so thick you could drink it. How will I ever call this inhospitable planet, home?

Our first year together wasn't perfect. Far from it. You tried, really, you did. And I? I was still rereading the last chapter, savoring every word, every syllable. But you kept trying, boisterously coloring my vision with scenery fit for the likes of National Geographic. In late August, you finally broke through.

Maybe it was all the chanting, or the lights, or perhaps the chu hi, but at that festival, on that humid night, you wiggled your way into my heart. My eyes were opened, wide, to the beauty, your beauty, sitting there all along.

You gently tugged me along, showing me a whole world I had been blind to until then. You wove the right people into my life, the people willing to explore with me.

We went everywhere that year - Bali, Tokyo, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam. And when we weren't filling our passports, you were dazzling us with colorful autumn leaves, set against mountains and castles; pure, white snow, perfect for learning how to ski; pink showers of sweet cherry blossoms; and royal blue tides, lapping a shore littered with sand dollars and sea glass. For the first time in a long time, I was content. Happy.

But you weren't done just yet. It was just the beginning, really. Each passing day, each perfect bowl of ramen, each ohayo gozaimasu, led me further into gratitude. And we continued down the path together - Australia, Sapporo, Thailand again.

Three years later, we've come full circle. Except this time, I'm a Martian. And you? You're...home. 

My heart holds on to the belief that someday, I'll actually be ready when it's time to go. Someday...but not now. Not today.

Sayonara, Japan. 

Viva, Las Vegas!

Melbourne & Cairns

After Sydney, we headed south to Melbourne for four days. Melbourne is super trendy; think man buns, ironic mustaches, and street art, though it's also home to the Great Ocean Road, which was my favorite part.

And some koalas.

The first day we took it easy and went to the Queen Vic Market, which was awesomely right next to our hotel. The market had everything from fresh produce to meat and clothes. We stocked up on stuff for breakfast and lunch, because after so many days of restaurants you just kind of want to make some quick meals.

The 12 Apostles

The following day was our big adventure on the Great Ocean Road. We had booked a tour with Outback Billy before arriving, and the bus picked us up fairly early in the morning. The tour started with a bit of a hiccup as the tour guide got lost picking up a few of the other guests. Once we got on the road, the beauty truly began.

The start of the Great Ocean Road!

We made a quick stop at the beginning of the road for pictures, then made our way to a scenic lookout. At this point, it was really cloudy and looked like it might rain. The tour guide told us that the clouds could burn off, or stick around; weather is so touchy when it's close to the ocean! On the way back to the car, she told us to be on the lookout for koalas in the trees, and told us they would look like basketballs.

Oh ya know, just a koala chilling on the side of the road.

Luckily, we saw one in a tree in someone's yard! Just like when we would see moose on the streets in Alaska, it crazy to see wild animals in very populated areas. It was also amazing to see such a frail looking tree support such a big animal.

Trees at Mait's Rest Rainforest Boardwalk

The next stop was Mait's Rest Rainforest Boardwalk. The forest was covered in ferns and the massive trees were about 300 years old. Some of them were so big you could stand inside of them.

Finally, by mid-afternoon, we got to the 12 Apostles, the main highlight of the Great Ocean Road. There are currently only eight apostles, or limestone rock formations, left. Since the formations are in the ocean, they are always eroding and susceptible to complete collapse. At some point, they will no longer be there, so I felt very fortunate to have seen them.

The pile of rocks in the front is one that collapsed in 2005.

Shortly after taking in the beauty of the 12 Apostles, the tour went to the Loch Ard Gorge, which was equally impressive.

At this point, we were allowed some swimming time, but Melbourne is a lot colder than Sydney, so Mark and I passed on that opportunity and enjoyed the scenery instead.

These people froze their butts off.

After the Loch Ard Gorge we were supposed to go to the Loch Arch, or London Bridge, but since we got lost in Melbourne and some of our group had to catch a flight, we had to turn around. I was kind of mad about that fact, but the rest of the day was awesome, so I can't really complain too much. If we wouldn't have gone on the Great Ocean Road, I don't know if I would have liked Victoria all that much.

Sleepy koala agrees.

The following day, I went on a mad shopping spree at H&M. I know, I know...you don't go to Australia to shop at a chain store, but it's essential when you live in Japan and are not the size of a middle school child.

We also got to take in the city, which was pretty cool.

Other than the Great Ocean Road, Melbourne is famous for its street art. Almost every alley is covered in beautiful graffiti-style murals. 

Artists are given alleys, and it is easy to tell them all apart. This is all sanctioned by the city of Melbourne and traditional tagging is illegal, though some of the art was ruined by it.

Look at Mark really being one with this piece.

We spent our last night in Melbourne at this super trendy, aka crowded as hell, restaurant that had stagecoaches for seating. Originally we were trying to go to a Thai restaurant called Cookie, but they wouldn't let us in without a reservation. The staff sent us up the stairs to Choo Choo's, which was supposedly owned by the same chef and offered a similar fare. 

The best picture I could find for Choo Choo's, courtesy of thetoffintown.com.

We were seated in the bar at first, which was super uncomfortable, but then they moved us to the stagecoach. I loved the stagecoach because you could shut the doors and have a romantic dinner, though some drunk dude opened ours to say hello. After dinner, we spent our last night on our deck drinking craft beers, which seemed like the only way to say goodbye to Melbourne.

We spent the rest of our vacation in Cairns, which is where you go if you want to see the Great Barrier Reef. There isn't much to do in Cairns other than the Great Barrier Reef, so I wish we would have spent less time there and more time in Sydney. 

I thought Cairns would be our beach time, but I researched the area poorly and didn't understand that swimming in the ocean is not allowed because of alligators. The Great Barrier Reef is indescribable, and something that you need to experience in person. We only snorkeled the reef because we had to fly out the next day, but it honestly seemed like you got to see more that way. I feel incredibly lucky to have gone to Australia, as it is something I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember.

Down Under in Sydney

Back in January, Mark and I traveled to Australia for three amazing weeks. I have wanted to go to Australia for as long as I can remember, so we booked it as a welcome home vacation. If you want to call it our honeymoon, almost six years after the fact, you could. And if you want to know why I'm holding a bird, continue onward.

Happy New Year from Sydney!

We traveled first to Sydney, then on to Melbourne and Cairns for the rest of the vacation. We landed in Sydney on the morning of New Year's Eve. Luckily, we were able to check in early, shower, and take a quick nap before heading down to Sydney Harbour for drinks and fireworks.

It's officially vacation when Mark starts ordering the girly drinks.

We went to Milson's Point to view the New Year's Eve fireworks, as suggested by our hotel. It was crazy packed, but we knew it would be going into it. Like the old people we are, we went to the "family show" because it was earlier in the evening. That's right; we didn't even make it to midnight.

Opera House!

The following day, we checked out of our hotel near the airport, and made our way to our new location in the city. Since we couldn't check in until later in the afternoon, we spent the day wandering around Sydney.

The following day, we took the ferry to Manly Beach, and chilled the whole afternoon. It was a little overcast, so the beach wasn't as crowded, which was nice. All the relaxing was perfect for an adventurous next day in the Blue Mountains.

We left for the Blue Mountains fairly early in the morning, and arrived a little before noon. The weather couldn't have been better. It was decently crowded at the visitor center and the Three Sisters, which is the main attraction.

The Three Sisters 

There were a ton of hiking trails through the mountains, including a path to the Three Sisters, so we started our journey there.

So many people! 

There were a ton of stairs to get there.

After going out on the rocks, we had lunch at the visitors center before heading on our walkabout. That's right. Walkabout. Because we're in Australia.

So pretty

The walk wasn't too bad, and it was super lush. We saw a peacock while we were walking, but there was too much foliage in the way to get a good shot. We kept following signs for the Leura Waterfalls because they looked really pretty on Pinterest. Yep, I use Pinterest to plan trips. The signs kept pointing in a bunch of different directions, and we kept running into the same groups trying to find the waterfalls. At this point, it was painfully obvious how accustom we have grown to being lost in Japan. Here we were in an English speaking country, and it didn't even occur to us to ask for directions.

Eventually we found them without any help.

At this point, I really needed to go to the bathroom, so we headed back up to the main road and found this awesome little bar. The bartenders were from France and in Australia on a work visa. They had traveled to Katoomba, and loved it so much they stayed and learned English from bar patrons. One of my favorite parts of traveling is meeting people from other countries; you learn so much about different cultures.

Angel Place bird cages

The following day, we spent another, more sunny, day at Manly Beach. We didn't take any pictures at Manly, because it's just a beach. You've seen one of those before, right? Okay, good. Those of you waiting for the bird story, your time is now.

For our final day in Sydney, we had planned on going to the Featherdale Wildlife Park so I could pet a kangaroo and a koala. As we got ready for bed, Mark said he had a surprise for me before going to the kangaroos. He told me we would get breakfast to go, then head to the Royal Botanical Gardens. For those of you who don't know Mark very well, this is very out of character for him. I'm the planner and Mark just kind of shows up when and where I tell him. This should have been my first red flag.

So. Much. Terror.

I ordered breakfast for both of us the following morning, while Mark went to pick up an item needed for the surprise. At this point, I was fairly excited, thinking Mark was going to be romantic. Wrong. Once we were in the botanical garden, we saw a wild cockatoo, and I asked Mark if he wanted to take a picture, to which he surprisingly said no. This should have been my second red flag. 

Wild bird in the garden

We came to a clearing in the gardens, and Mark asked if I was ready for my surprise. He set his backpack down, and whipped out a bag of almonds. Immediately, a cockatoo came flying out of nowhere and landed on his shoulder. The lights finally clicked; my surprise is feeding the damn birds. Loyal readers should know by now how terrified I am of winged beasts, as evidenced here and here. It was clear at this moment, I would not be petting a kangaroo until I fed the birds.

So I fed them.

This wasn't enough for Mark. He would not rest until I let them land directly on me. So after a lot of coercing, and general fear of not getting to see my beloved kangaroos, I did it.

And produced some great gems, such as this.

Mark's personal favorite and current lock screen picture on his phone.

So quick recap: I fed the WILD cockatoos in Sydney, it was terrifying, and I am no longer interested in surprises of any sort. We also found out later it is illegal to feed the birds, which I pointed out to Mark. He said the fine would have been worth it. We ate our cold breakfasts, and walked through the rest of the park on the way to Featherdale.

Just happy to be away from the birds.

The gardens were very pretty.

Featherdale Wildlife Park was about an hour train ride from Syndey, and again we got there in the afternoon. The kangaroos pretty much roam the entire park, so they were very friendly and ready to be fed and petted.

The wallabies were more active. This little guy loved me.

You could purchase cones of hay to feed the kangaroos and wallabies for $1. Almost everyone in the park bought a cone, so a lot of them weren't hungry.

So full!

One of the enclosures had wallabies and emus, and again, Mark wanted me to feed the damn birds. The emus were scary as hell. They are huge and would come running up to you while you were trying to feed the cute, little wallabies. Apparently they were the only hungry animals in that whole park.

Did I mention they also have freaking teeth?!

They also had koalas at the park, so we got to pet one and take our picture with it. They were super fuzzy!

Just a touch scared she was going to wake up and claw my face!

After a fun filled day with all of the animals, we packed up our stuff and headed for Melbourne! Sydney was my favorite part of the trip, and I would highly recommend visiting if you have the chance.