10 Places to Camp in Japan

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Aomori Nebuta Matsuri

There could be no better ending to the Invincible Summer than a summer festival. Not just any summer festival, but one of the biggest festivals in our region, the Aomori Nebuta festival.

Waiting to start the parade

Summer festivals are some of the biggest, and loudest, festivals in Japan. There is always a lot of chanting, drums, and dancing. Last year we went to Akita for the Kanto Festival, where participants balance long bamboo poles on their backs with an offering to the gods on top. Since this was our last August in Japan, I knew I had to see the Aomori nebutas before leaving.

Taking a break & letting the crowd see the float

A nebuta is a float, often depicting a warrior figure, though there are also floats for neighborhoods and companies. The red samurais are on all kinds of products in our region. The floats are built out of paper and take almost the entire year to make.

I think this was for Aomori City because it has the aquarium with a dolphin show.

Another big part of the festival is the taiko drums and the haneto dancers. The drums keep the beat for the entire parade, and the crowd chants "Rassera" along to it. Rassera doesn't translate well to English, but it is meant to shake off the sleepiness of summer. Honestly, it sounded a lot like a personal cheer: RAH SARAH!

Taiko drums - they are LOUD!

The last big part of the Aomori Nebuta festival is the haneto dancers. Anyone can be a haneto dancer, even Americans, as long as the proper outfit is worn. Participants can either buy or rent the costumes in advance, and use a handy website, instructing them on how to put it together. We decided it would be better to take in the experience from the sidelines.

I've never had so much hat envy in my entire life.

Once the parade started dying down, we searched for something to eat. Usually festivals have a ton of food booths, but we couldn't find them at this one. We did; however, find a CoCo's Curry, aka the mothership, on the way back to the car.

How every street looks in our area.

After a lovely dinner at CoCo's, we stopped by a Lawsons for our road soda chu-hi. And yes, it is legal to have open containers in Japan, so I'm probably never going to move.

About 10 minutes away from home, we saw a man on a bicycle swerving in and out of the road. The car in front of us safely passed him, and as we were getting ready to do the same, he hit the curb and tumbled over the front of the bike. Shocked, we stopped the car and debated about what we should do.

Thankfully, we had already finished our chu-his, though not that it really mattered since our driver was sober. We approached the man and he was very disoriented. One of the girls in our group gathered his things, which were all over the road. None of us speak a lot of Japanese, but luckily one of the words our TV programming has taught us is ambulance. Thanks, AFN! So we asked him if he wanted an ambulance, or kyukyusha (sounds like Q-Q sha). He violently shook his head no, so we attempted to get a Japanese person to stop and help him.

Eventually, we got a tour bus to stop, and one of the men on board knew enough English to talk to us. He ended up calling an ambulance and the police and told us to wait. Once the police finally got there, they asked the man from the tour bus what happened. I'm not sure what he said, but the police took out a flashlight and started looking at our bumper. The bicyclist started pointing at us, and then it clicked that he told them we hit him!

Sneaky pic of them getting our info. Nice knowing ya, Anna!

Thankfully, one of the girls in the group had a Japanese co-worker she could call, so she told him what happened and he explained it to the cops. After standing on the side of the road for what felt like forever, they let us go. Such an eventful night and the perfect end to the Invincible Summer!

Red, White & Boom: Celebrating Independence in Japan

Fireworks, beer, and grilling - these are the key components to the quintessential 4th of July weekend, and we were determined to celebrate the way we were raised. I suggested camping for the long weekend so I could bring the dogs with me since Mark was deployed. There is a group of lakes on the northwest coast of the island called the Juniko Lakes, which are known for their aqua blue color.

The celebration began with the Color Run 5K. It was a first time event for the base, so we were very eager to participate. This was also my first 5K, which was a big deal for me because I am not a runner. I brought Jackson with me and he had a great time! Many of the runners got a kick out of how colorful he was by the end of the race, and he loved all of the extra attention.

The most stoic Jackson has ever looked

After scrubbing off all of the color, we hit the road for the Juniko Lakes, located in Fukaura, Aomori. We had debated canceling the trip because it was cold and drizzling in Misawa, but as we drove further west, the clouds gave way to blue, sunny skies and temps in the 80s.

The road to the campsite. It is not a one way.

We drove through dense forests before arriving at the main office cabin of Refresh Village. We explained that we were interested in tent camping, since the area offered both cabin and tent camping. After about 15 minutes of a google translated conversation, we were on our way to setting up our site. 

We had the whole area to ourselves.

Since it was already late afternoon, we decided the best course of action was to set up the tents and then start drinking; it was 4th of July after all. Once we had a decent, and safely built, fire started the shenanigans truly began.

It started innocently enough with sparklers.

On the way to Fukaura, we had stopped by a Lawsons for chicken and chu-his and found bags of fireworks for about $10. Our camp was directly under some power lines, so we were a little leery about lighting off some of the bigger fireworks.

We dug deep inside and found the courage to light off the big boys.

After going through almost all of our fireworks, we ended the night with s'mores and hummus. Unfortunately, our sober selves had purchased the food for the weekend so our munchies were limited to carrots, hummus, and disgusting gluten free pretzels. Major party foul on our part. 

Lucy celebrating freedom.

At this point, we were ready for bed, but we hadn't inflated the air mattresses yet. After blowing fuses in both of our cars, we were finally ready to settle in for the night. The tent was supposed to  accommodate two queen mattresses. This was a lie, so we tried to make them fit. I was putting out the campfire, when I heard expletives coming from the tent. In trying to make the mattresses fit, we put a huge hole in the middle of one. Too drunk to care, we said screw it, and passed out on top of the deflated mattress.

One of the lakes along our hike.

The dogs (and birds), woke us up around 6 a.m. so we made some eggs over the campfire and set off to hike around the lakes. The area was heavily forested and not very crowded so the pups could run off leash.

Lucy took off to go swim immediately, and Jackson spent most of the morning making sure the group stayed together.

We spent a few hours hiking and exploring before heading back to the camp for lunch. Since it was sunny and starting to heat up, we decided to spend the afternoon on the beach. This was probably my favorite part of our campsite. It had the woods for hiking and the beach - can't get any better than that!

We drove back to where we thought we saw a good beach, but there was a lot of trash and the water didn't look too friendly. After googling for a bit, we found a swimming beach that was a little to the south of Refresh Village.

Our perfect little beach

The beach was beautiful with crystal blue waters, and the water was actually warm enough that we could swim in it. This beach was on the Sea of Japan, which is typically warmer than the Pacific, which is where Misawa is located.

Jackson hamming it up. He kept using Sara's boobs as a pillow.

When we returned to our campsite, we found that we would be sharing our area with a Japanese man. Kind of a bummer, but luckily for him, the previous night's festivities caused us all to have a calmer second night.

In the morning, we packed up our equipment and prepared to head back to Misawa. On our way out, we made a pit stop at one of the lakes to rent boats. In standard Asia fashion, we were not given any safety equipment or even asked if we knew how to swim.

Our only instruction was to not break the boats. Arigato gozaimasu!

We paddled around the lake for about thirty minutes before deciding we should have one more beach afternoon. Summer in Japan equals the most beach time we can possibly get!

Torii at the beach

The beach we found was further north than the one from the previous day, and was much busier. It was really hard to keep the dogs from running after people, though luckily everyone there seemed to think they were kawaii, or cute in Japanese. 

Japan's beauty is almost overwhelming at times.

At one point, Lucy took off swimming toward a small girl. We tried to stop her, but failed. The little girl was so excited and started playing with her. I'm so happy we didn't have any incidents with the dogs.

The whole weekend was a success. I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate the United State's independence or a better group of girls to spend it with. Our weekend escapade was the exact recharge I needed.

Good morning, Vietnam!

After exploring Cambodia, we purchased our Vietnam visa appointment letters and headed for Hoi An. Hoi An is located along the South Central coast of Vietnam. When we arrived at the airport, there was a slight confusion on how we would be paying for our visas since the counter processing them apparently didn't have any change. As we were trying to pay, a herd of Chinese people came rushing through, so in an attempt to beat them to customs, we threw down whatever dong (yes, that's the currency in Vietnam) we had, and made a mad dash.

Beer and beach - life doesn't get any better

Hoi An was my favorite part of our entire vacation. It has a quaint downtown area called the Old Town, and it is also right on the coast so it's easy to get to the beach. We stayed at a lovely homestay, the Loc Phat Hoi An, which was conveniently located between the Old Town and the beach. If you ever find yourself in Hoi An, I highly recommend the Loc Phat. We rented bicycles from the homestay for a dollar a day and biked to the beach the first day.

The cutest beach vendor

Like any beach in Southeast Asia, there were a ton of beach vendors trying to sell bracelets, sunglasses, and produce to us the entire time. We spent a lot of time in the water for this reason, well that, and to acquire a killer tan. The few times we were out of the water, aka buying another giant beer, this sweet, older lady kept trying to sell us a pineapple. As we got progressively more drunk, we finally purchased one. She sat down, whipped out this rusty looking knife, and cut it all up for us. It was one of the most delicious pineapples I've ever had, though that might be the tetanus talking.

Classic Vietnamese dinner at Bale Well

After spending the whole day at the beach, we went back to the hotel and booked a cooking class for the following day. While we were booking the class, this hippie backpacker chick came down to ask about buses between the cities in Vietnam. We talked to her for a little bit to figure out what else we could do in Hoi An. She recommended this restaurant called Bale Well. It was a little off the beaten path, but it was absolutely delicious and cheap. They just kept bringing out more and more food. My favorite dish was the Banh Xeo, or rice pancakes.

Market vendors

Another vendor

The following day, we took a Vietnamese cooking class. I have never taken a cooking class on vacation, and it turned out to be a ton of fun. The morning started with heading to the local market to buy our ingredients.

The market was super crowded

After purchasing our ingredients, we got a boat that took us to the island where the cooking class took place.

View on the way to the cooking class

Once we got closer to the island, they transferred us to a smaller boat; which I was pretty sure was going to end with one of us in the murky water, but alas, we made it to the other side as dry as when we started! They gave us those sweet little rice hats to block out the sun and began the class by teach us how to make rice milk.

Separating the grain from the husk. She made it look super easy. It was not.

After separating the husk from the rice, they put the grain into a stone mortar type thing with water, and cranked it around until it produced rice milk.

Making the rice milk. 

We then proceeded to start our beef stock for pho because it would take awhile to simmer. They taught us how to make four different dishes. My favorite part of the whole experience was that they gave us the recipes so we could make them again at home.

Fresh spring roll

The first dish was a fresh spring roll, which was actually a lot easier to make than I thought it would be.

Making Banh Xeo

The second dish we made was Banh Xeo, or rice pancakes. This was my favorite course, though it was the most difficult to make. It was hard to get the right amount of oil so that it was crispy but not drowning in oil. A little boy working there saved the day on this one.

Pretty much nailed it on the presentation though.

The third dish we made was Bun Bo Nam Bo, or southern style beef vermicelli. This was another one of my favorites and it was super easy. They tried to get us to make the dish look all pretty, but I was super hungry, so I just kind of slammed everything on the plate and called it good. 

The instructor's plate

My plate - NAILED IT!

The last thing we had was our beef pho, which is what most people think of when they think of Vietnamese food. It was good, but not exactly what I wanted to have when it was over 100 degrees outside.

Hot beef pho on a hot afternoon

After the class, we biked into Old Town for some beverages and shopping. We had a hard time finding a place to lock up our bikes because none of the stores would let you park unless you bought something there. One of the workers at the Japanese bridge told us to park in the temple, so we locked them up there and went off to explore.

Ninja turtle boats!

We had a few drinks overlooking the water, then set off to get some custom made dresses, which is huge in Southeast Asia. I didn't really find anything I liked, but the girls I was with did so it wasn't a complete lost cause.

Hoi An at sunset - so sad I only had my phone with me!

As I was taking a picture of the sunset, these two women carrying fruit approached us and put the wooden carrying frame on one of the girls in my group. We took pictures of her, and then they motioned for all of us to get together for a picture. They put their rice hats on us, and then proceeded to take our picture.

Blending in

We gave them the fruit back, and they started putting a random assortment of fruit into a bag and handing to us. Before we knew what happened, we were each holding a giant bag of fruit. Then they stuck out their hands, and we realized that we got played. We gave them whatever dong we had on us and they went off into the sunset. Totally bizarre, but that picture was one hundred percent worth the awkward fruit purchase.

Just sitting on tiny stools. In an alley.

After dinner, we walked around, taking in the sights and bar hopping. Maggie had been to Vietnam before, and she kept telling us about these tiny stools outside all the bars, so we were determined to have a tiny stool night. We found a restaurant that had them, but as soon as we told them we were only drinking, they banished us to the alley. It was kind of sad, but we at least we checked an item off our list.

We wandered around to a bunch of different bars, and around 2 a.m., decided to call it a night. Surprisingly, we remembered how to get back to our bikes, only to find that the temple was gated up and locked for the night. This posed a major problem because we were supposed to check out of our hotel in about six hours and head to Hanoi. We started banging on the gate, and suddenly a light flashed on inside and a woman came out. In drunk, broken English we tried to tell her about our bikes. We walked over to them and noticed the locks were different. This woman had changed the locks and then charged us for the key to the new locks! After going back and forth, we finally freed our bikes, made our way back to our homestay, and tried to sneak in like nothing happened. Flashbacks of staying out past curfew in high school ran through my head.

Halong Bay

The next morning, we took Jet Star, which I would prefer to never take again, to Hanoi. At this point, my stomach stopped cooperating with me, which was fantastic because we were taking an overnight cruise to the Halong Bay the following day. Hanoi was just another city and wasn't horribly exciting. After walking around a bit, we turned in for the night. We were laying on our beds, when we heard what sounded like a cat dying. Apparently there was a cat turf war right outside our window and it carried on all night. Luckily, we only had one night there.

The Halong Bay

We spent the last two nights of our vacation party cruising the Halong Bay. The Halong Bay is a collection of over 700 limestone islets. Unfortunately, it poured buckets of rain both days of the cruise, though we were very fortunate that they still let the boat leave the dock, as the day before they had not. We spent the first day kayaking and swimming (and covertly peeing) in the warm waters, and the evening playing Kings Cup with everyone on board. Our other shipmates were mainly from England and Australia, and they taught us a lot about world travel.

The following day was less rainy, so I was able to get a few pictures while we all relaxed on the upper deck of the boat. Once we returned to shore, we spent the night in Hanoi and then it was back to Japan. I loved Vietnam and had a great time. Hopefully some day I'll get to go back during a time of better weather.