Grant's Eat, Pray, Love in Northern Japan

After taking in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, we took the shinkansen, or bullet train, to Misawa for the more scenic half of Gran't trip. He was very excited to see the scenery and nature of the Aomori Prefecture. 

The first full day, I took him to the Towada Art Museum and the Oirase Gorge. Oirase Gorge is about an hour and half from Misawa and it is one of my favorite places in northern Japan. The trail has a ton of waterfalls and is beautiful during every season.

The dogs love Oirase as much as we do

My favorite time to visit is in the fall when the leaves start to change. The trail starts at Lake Towada and is about 13 miles long. I would like to walk the entire thing some day before we leave.

Feeding the wild horses of Cape Shiriya

The following day, we drove the entire hatchet portion of the Aomori Prefecture. The hatchet is the northernmost part of the main island of Honshu. On a clear day, you are able to see Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan.

We started the day in the Shimokita peninsula with the wild horses of Cape Shiriya. The horses are more free roaming than wild. The last time Mark and I went to the cape we couldn't find the horses, so I was delighted to see them as soon as we drove up to the lighthouse.

They were so much bigger than I thought they would be

The weather is usually pretty rainy and foggy on the cape, so I was pleasantly surprised to see clear skies and unseasonably warm weather as we drove along the coast. We brought a bunch of carrots with us, and at first we couldn't get them to come near us. Then, they suddenly swarmed Grant, but he handled it like a champ.

Reflections on the cape

After we ran out of carrots, we drove to the center of the hatchet to Osorezan, or more famously known as the Gates of Hell. Osorezan is one of the holiest places in Japan. We took my parents here when they visited in the fall.

I liked Osorezan in the fall better because all of the leaves were changing color; however, it was a beautiful day, unlike when my parents were here.

Our last destination in the hatchet was the Hotokegaura Cliffs. I have seen pictures of them, and after two years, finally got to see them in person.

The drive to get to the cliffs was incredible. Lush, green mountains and pure blue lakes surrounded the winding highway the entire way.

The drive to the cliffs

To get to the cliffs, we parked along the road and climbed down a ton of steps. At the bottom, there was a small shrine and a dock.

We walked the entire beach to the far end of the cliffs. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the beauty of Japan. The cliffs reminded me of how small we all are in this great big world. I think it's important to reflect on that fact from time to time.

The following day, we went to the Hirosaki Castle and the 100 torii gates. Unfortunately, there wasn't a festival at the castle, but it is closing in the fall for the next ten years for renovations, so it was nice to see it one last time before we leave.

On our way to the 100 torii gates, we decided to stop and get lunch. We were running low on yen, so I found a post office for us to get more cash. There wasn't anywhere to park, so Grant opted to run in quickly for the both of us. He mistook the entrance of the post office for someone's house and spent a few minutes wandering around before realizing his mistake. Luckily, he didn't see anyone and quietly slipped out the back door.

At the entrance of the torii gates

On the way to the 100 torii gates, we started running low on gas. The first station we pulled into was self service, which is atypical in Japan. I tried figuring out the screen, but there was a lack of pictures so we ended up getting back in the car and trying to find another station.

Can you count 100 torii gates? I did.

The attendant at the second station we found had a pointy-talkie, so we were able to fill up. The directions to get to the 100 torii gates took us past a bunch of rice fields and we were pretty sure we were lost, until we saw a gigantic torii. It's not a true Japan adventure until you question how you're getting home.

Christmas picture for 2014

It was cool to see so many torii gates, which are meant to serve as a reminder of the transition from the profane world to the sacred. Many people travel to this shrine to pray for maritime safety, bountiful harvests, and business prosperity.

Grant was just a little too tall

The following day, I took Grant on a tour of Misawa. One of the highlights of the day was playing around in the photo booths at the mall. Japanese photo booths are crazy. They have professional lighting and let you edit them afterwards.

The best picture from the afternoon

We ended the day by partying in Misawa. Grant had a great time at all of the little hole in the walls we find ourselves at every weekend.

Before dropping Grant off at the airport, we took him to the Nanbu Peony Festival, the only festival taking place during his entire visit. It is a pretty low-key festival with only a few vendors. It takes place at a botanical garden and has over 10,000 different peonies.

Grant had a great time in Japan and I am so glad he got to experience rural Japan.

Flowers & The Invincible Summer

Cold, windy ocean selfie after a day of festivals.

I believe that you are never to old to have your invisible summer. That summer where there isn't a past or future, just the present. That summer where you just feel...alive. This year, this summer, is my invincible summer.

Knocking off early on a Wednesday for some quality beach time.

So what makes the invincible summer? It means making the most of the little free time you have. It means festivals every weekend, pulling half days at the office when the work is light, and lots of laughing.

To quote The Perks of Being a Wallflower, "You stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you're listening to that song, and that drive with the people who you love most in this world. And in this moment, I swear, we are infinite."

Towada Yabusame Festival

The summer officially started with the Yabusame, or horse archery, festival in Towada. It was at the end of April, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect with the cherry blossoms in full bloom.

Just waiting.

The archers attempt to hit three successive targets while atop a galloping horse. It looked like something that would take a ton of practice!

The kids were afraid of him.

The festival was pretty small and our favorite part was feeding the horses. They had a bunch of carrots cut up that you could purchase for ¥100. SOLD!

LOVED him!

Archers getting ready

After watching a few rounds, we went back home. Unfortunately, this is the only cherry blossom viewing we did this year. See last year's cherry blossom festival post, here.

A couple weekends later, my friend Sara and I headed to Karumai for the Tulip Festival.

One of these things is not like the other.

Like all of the flower festivals, this one was pretty low-key. There were only a handful of food booths, though one of the most popular items is a sarunashi, or monkey pear, ice cream. Sara and I were on a strict juice cleanse at the time, so we didn't get to enjoy it, but Mark ordered it last year and it was amazing.

The following weekend, Sara and I recruited our other friends, Vanessa and Kayla, for a festival double header. We started out at the Azalea Festival in Shichinohe and then hit the Nanohana Festival in Yokohama Town.

Festivals and chu his go hand in hand.

The weather wasn't as great as it had been the past two weekends, but we trudged onward.

Tenou Shrine at the top of the hill.

As we were leaving, we saw a sign for a castle, so of course we took a slight detour.

We happened upon a table with wisteria flowers twisting around the posts, and decided it would be the perfect time to play with the timer on my camera.

Just another dysfunctional family dinner.

Even though Mark has tried to explain how to use the camera to me multiple times, I'm still not great with it, mainly because I stop listening about five minutes into any explanation. So I thought I was setting the time, but was actually setting the number of shots the camera would take.

So we got this little gem.

On the way to the Nanohana Festival, we stopped by Lawson for lunch and more chu his. Lawsons are convenience stores all over Japan, and they have some of the BEST food.

Orange chu hi, raspberry Kit Kats, and spicy chicken nuggets. Another typical Lawson lunch!

As we got closer to Yokohama, which is very close to Shipwreck Beach, the wind started picking up significantly.

Storm is brewing!

Nanohana is the Japanese word for the rapeseed flower, which is used to make canola oil. There wasn't much to the festival other than the maze.

So so cold. Thankfully the chu his were there to keep us warm.

We rang the bell three times for good luck, got in the car, and finished the day with a BBQ at Sara's house.

Weekends like these I'm so thankful for the friends I have made here. With Mark gone, they are my family, and I wouldn't trade our chu hi fueled weekends for anything. Because this is living. This is life.

And it's beautiful.