Our 7 Day Trip: Days 1 and 2

AJ and I were able to buy traveler's JR Train Passes before we left the states. The pass is a week-long voucher that gets us on any JR train... Including Shinkansen! The Shinkansen, or bullet trains, usually cost a lot of money. However, the pass allows us to use them as much as we want to wherever we want! It was pretty expensive to buy the pass up front, but it is DEFINITELY worth it. It's only been two days and we have already made up for the cost. c:

So, at the end of our summer in Japan, AJ and I decided to do a western- Honshu tour. Our plans are fluid, so I will post as we go! 

Day 1: Lots and Lots of Travel

We decided to go to our furthest destination on day 1 and then work our way back to Tokyo the rest of the week. Where did we go first? 

Hiroshima! 

The Shinkansen ride took about 6 hours from Yokota Air Base, but it was definitely a smooth ride! Shinkansen trains are set-up similar to planes, but there is more leg room. I didn't get a picture inside the Shinkansen, but I will try to another day. 

When we arrived in Hiroshima it was around 5pm. We went to our hotel to check in and decided (after looking at a map) that it was too late to walk all the way to the other side of the city for the tourist-y stuff. Instead we took a walk along the river and found dinner at a delicious hole-in-the-wall! 

The menu was all in Japanese... We didn't know what we ordered until it came out! 

Tuesday morning we got all packed up and left our stuff in the hotel's lobby (it was watched by the office, of course). Then we went on a big adventure to the Hiroshima Castle and the Peace Memorial Park! 

The castle is gorgeous! Old wood and white paint.... Loved it. 

AJ took this picture... Isn't it perfect? 

The castle was amazing to see... We have seen quite a few castles this summer but this one really took the cake! After we left, we walked through some underground tunnel and came out in the middle of a fair. Apparently the anniversary of the A-bomb is next week and they do a huge peace promotional fair each year. We happened to come right in the middle of it. Activities ranged from making picture frames to an awe-inspiring exhibit on the needs of Africa to bicycling to generate electricity! It was a lot of fun!

AJ generated the most electricity of the day! And in second place...yours truly!  C:

We wanted as much time as possible to spend in the Peace Memorial Park. The first thing we saw was the A-bomb dome. It was definitely sad to see such a gorgeous building torn apart. The city of Hiroshima kept most of the rubble inside the dome and left it pretty much as-is. 

What a way to start the park tour. The A-bomb dome set the tone for the day.

We walked over to the Cildren's Peace Memorial. I absolutely love this exhibit. The symbol for children's peace is the origami crane (as seen at the top of the statue). People from all over the world make huge strands of cranes, or artwork made entirely of cranes, and donate them to the park. Each of the booths pictured below are chalk-full of cranes. 

This was my favorite piece of art work made of cranes. 

Then we walked over to the museum and saw some really beautiful and inspiring exhibits. It was definitely heartbreaking to see the devastation from the bomb. I was amazed at how the Japanese people handled it though. There was not one negative thing written about the American people. The whole museum was a historical account, completely free of blame. They stated the facts, and even some of the reasons why we (the Americans) did what we did. But there was no animosity or hatred. The whole museum was dedicated to peace... And I love that. 

Sometimes bad things happen in our lives and it is so easy to blame others and hold a grudge. But I know that it is important to forgive and to lay down our grudges at the Lord's feet and let Him fill our hearts with love. 

As we were leaving the museum we saw this picture:: 

"That autumn: in Hiroshima where it was said, 'for 75 years nothing will grow' new buds sprouted. In the green that came back to life among the charred ruins, people recovered their living hopes and courage."

I love that the last message leaving the museum was about hope. Hope in the future. It was really a beautiful experience. 

C: 

G

DATE NIGHT!!!

It has been hard to do date night with AJ this summer. I don't necessarily know why, but this week we decided to pick up the pieces of date night. 

We were dropped off at the Seiyu... We had some errands to run. We ended up sitting to chat at a kitchen display. It was like IKEA, but in the middle of the arts and crafts section of Level 4. 

Then we wandered... Here and there and everywhere. I desperately wanted to go down streets I hadn't be before. aj agreed. 

We found another chain of the cafe (cafe du jardin) and got a little treat to tie us over until we found a suitable restaurant for dinner. Across the street we saw an ADORABLE skinny house that I loved. Keep in mind that I am 5'2" and my arms can almost reach across. 

After following signs for a specific restaurant, we ran into a different one that looked delicious. udon noodles! 

We walked in and the main chefim editable noticed that we were out of place. He hurried around the counter and in English helped us order!! He made sure everyone in the kitchen knew our order well and  got us settled at the register. 

When our food came out, AJ put some mix-ins in his noodle bowl. boy does he love those green onions.

The chef came over with a second bowl of noodles made the way AJ ordered them. Whaaaaaaat? He then took AJs original bowl and mixed the correct mix-ins in the proper order. last but not least, he added the massive amounts of green onions. 

I know it looks exactly the same, but it was done properly and he made us smile! 

As we were leaving, I pulled out my phrase book and let the chef know how grateful we were for his help! Then I asked if we could take a picture, and he understood what I was saying! Wahoo. 

Thank goodness for the phrase books.

Anyways, happy date night to us! 

We have some great plans for tomorrow... I'll post again! 

C: 

G

Hiking Trails and Hospitals

This last few days in Japan were... interesting. 

Wednesday night around 10pm John Cope, from the ward, came over to talk about potential hiking plans. We were going back and forth debating when would be best and we settled on leaving at 5am the next morning! We knew we would be tired, but it was the only time we could make it work. So as soon as he left, we promptly went to bed to catch a few zzzzs before it was time to get up! 

We drove a few hours to Nikko, a really beautiful area north of Tokyo. On our drive to the trail head, we saw two wild monkeys sitting near the road! It was amazing! I didn't have my camera out- bummer! We looked and looked the rest of the day for any more, but there were none to be found. 

The hiking trail we went on is rated one of the most beautiful trails in Japan! and boy, was it beautiful! Here are some pictures of our trip! 

                               Happy birthday, Sarah! 

                               we got our hopes up... 

                         our trusted guide

                               I wanted seconds!

                 I can't express how deep this canyon/fall are

                           School trip ahead. 

We passed a lot of school trips during our hike. My absolute favorite was a group from a special education school. I've noticed in Japan that I don't see people with disabilities often. It is custom to keep them away from everyone else as much as possible. It makes me so sad. The very few times I have encountered someone with a disability, everyone else in the area stops and stares as if they are entirely uncomfortable. I hope someday soon that the country will accept it more freely and lovingly. Needless to say, I didn't take any pictures of the school group, because I didn't want them to think I was being rude. I didn't know how to explain to them in japanese that I teach special education... oh that darn language barrier! 

We had grandiose plans to tour Tokyo on the weekend, but then I got sick (bladder infection, bleh!). We tried to go to the hospital on base, but they wouldn't accept my insurance. So then we had to go to the Japanese hospital!! I did say i wanted to experience all aspects of the culture, didnt i? A member of the stake presidency (AJs boss, and our friend, Nathan Frost) had to come and be my translator. It was awkward, but I felt so grateful that he was willing to serve us. That took up all of Friday and then Saturday I was ordered to rest-up. weekend trip spoiled! 

          see the card? It has my name in Japanese! 

Aaanyways, long story short: Japanese hospitals are very nice, smoked fish at the top of a mountain is delicious, and ALWAYS have your camera ready for a monkey photo-op when traveling in the mountains! 

Love, 

G

Fussa: Solo Style!

Since I have been here in Japan, I haven't done a great job at going off and doing things by myself.

don't get me wrong, i'm not scared... 

I just always wanted to experience things with AJ... or I had to babysit... or this... or that... I kept thinking, "I have more time, next week I will do something by myself"- but it just never happened. 

Then our passes to get on/off base by ourselves expired. The paperwork was supposed to get put in a month ago to make getting an extended pass a piece of cake. any guesses on whether or not it got turned in? Correct.. it didn't get turned in and so now we don't have passes any longer. Every time we go off base we have to make sure someone is there to sign us back on when we are ready to come home. It is SUPER inconvenient... to say the least. 

That night, AJ and I sat talking for a while. We were both pretty mad about the passes... but we decided that if we wanted to have freedom, we just needed to be more proactive about going off by ourselves. We decided to borrow cell phones from members in the ward so we can communicate while we are out and I set a date on my calendar to go out and explore...solo style! 

First I went to the Seiyu... a Japanese department store that has pretty much everything you could possibly want. I spent a long time there and only went through the first floor. I had tried some rice fix-ins at one of the places I babysit... I was hoping to find it at the Seiyu!
success! 

can you believe this whole aisle is rice... oh Japan! 


I saw this hash-brown looking thing... I didn't know how to get it out of the case, so I tried to stop a lady and ask her. I did NOT have the right words to ask her and we were both undoubtedly confused. Eventually, she understood what I meant and told me what to do. thank goodness for body language, without it i would not have known what she was saying in lightening-speed japanese! 

looks yummy! 

NOT YUMMY!! seafood medley surprise. nasty crap! 
i still smell like fish... 

Then I went a-walkin' around side streets and alley ways. I just wanted to see what most people don't see when they are driving to and from the train station. I got to see a lot of cute shops and a LOT of bars... I had no idea so many bars were warranted in such a small town.

I ended up getting lunch at a place I've seen multiple times and have actually been meaning to try. Yoshinoya is a chain restaurant and it was pretty decently priced... I don't know if I would go again, though. too many other places to try! On my way out, I decided I needed to say something in Japanese. I asked the waitress where the nearest bathroom was. It sounds like a small feat- but it did feel good to communicate something! 

eeeeeeeeel. i was feeling adventurous

At this point in my solo day I was exhausted. It is super hot and humid in Japan and I was definitely feeling dehydration coming on. I tried calling for someone to come pick me up, but no one answered. I knew then that I had to stick it out until 3pm, which is when Sarah and I planned to meet up. I looked for a place to sit and rest, but there really wasn't anywhere to go! Finally, I stumbled into a cute cafe, Cafe du Jardin. The waitress was so nice, I was able to practice Japanese with her and she let me sit down and drink much needed H2O while I enjoyed a blueberry tart.

oishii (delicious)

look at my view of Naples... c:

Once I had my energy back, I walked around some more and met Sarah for dinner. We went to Coco Curry! Apparently this place has 10 levels of spice in their curry. we ordered level 0 and it definitely had a kick to it! On the menu it says that you have to sign a waiver to eat any level higher than 5! What a crazy way to live! c:

           gotta love English mix-ups! 

All in all, it was a great day. I am glad that I didn't go home when I wanted to after lunch. I was tired and hot and grumpy. If I had gone home then, I wouldn't have remembered my day in such a positive light. Because I had to tough it out I was able to rehydrate and explore some more.

i will definitely be doing more solo days... no doubt.

c:
G

      I would have died without this glorious thing.

            Pink cell phone!!

        The trucks here are tiny. Gotta love mini-things.