Akita! 🐕

Holiday weekends are always a great excuse to travel. Especially when it is a holiday that is not celebrated in the country you are in. Labor Day weekend gave us a great excuse to head across the country to Akita and explore. However, the drive itself was anything but relaxing. 

Highways in Japan are different than one would encounter in the US. The only 'highways' are purposely constructed straight, flat roads that are more than likely a toll road. And there aren't that many. Most of the time, this isn't an issue, but for this particular trip, the drive itself was about the same time, but the tolls were around 50 dollars. So, we decided to embrace the adventure and drive right over the mountains. It was a choice. Good choice? Debatable, but a choice we made. 

The mountain roads were terrifying. Between the blind corners and tight roads, it was an anxiety-ridden drive. The drive home was even worse. Since we drove home from a different starting point from where we drove towards on Friday, the drive home was slightly different. We ended up going up this mountain where we had a whole stretch where every corner was a one-car-length wide road, except there were about 12 different curves tightly placed together. We were just crawling around the edge of the mountain. 

FRIDAY

Arriving in Akita on Friday, we were both exhausted from the drive. We had a late start getting on the road, so by the time we got there, we ended up getting some Udon for dinner and heading in for the night.  

SATURDAY

As Akita is both a city and a prefecture, we decided to travel around the city on our first day and visit a few other locations in the prefecture on the other days. In the morning, we ended up at the Kubota Castle Ruins. We walked around the historical location of Akita's government and saw shrines and statues. It was so beautiful. We also lucked out because it started to rain just as we finished, so we went back to the hotel for a little break before heading back out that afternoon. 

We went and saw the Museum of Art, a local Market, and the Folk Arts Center (which told us all about the various festivals that are held every year in the city. There is a festival where people balance these giant lanterns on their backs and shoulders. Even young kids do it. It was really interesting to see in the photos and videos. (We were unfortunately a few weeks late to see it in person). Of course, one thing that is absolutely necessary to do when you go to Akita is to see the Akita Inus. Unfortunately, they were closed when we were there, so I wasn't able to see any of the puppies. The Inu is very popular here in Japan, so I see them out for a walk a lot. 

SUNDAY

Sunday consisted of a lot of driving for us. The first stop was Lake Tazawa. This is the deepest lake in the country. There are a bunch of beautiful stops to make on the drive around the lake, including shrines, the statue of Tatsuko, and views of the lake. 

After this, we drove to the opposite side of the prefecture to the Oga Peninsula. The first stop was the Namahage Museum. It was a beautiful part of the history of the area that I had never heard of.  The Namahage were creatures who came down from the mountains to take lazy children and interrogate the families about what they did over the year, like their harvests and making sure no one was lazy. This is a tradition that some villages still do each year (without the kidnapping, of course). Next, we continued around the water to stop at the Oga Aquarium. I got to see this adorable polar bear get fish just chucked around his enclosure, and he was running around for it. The final stop before heading back to the city was this really cool rock formation that had naturally been produced to look like Godzilla. We got there right around sunset, so the head against the sky was beautiful. 

MONDAY

Before heading home on Monday, we visited a samurai village, where there are multiple preserved samurai houses. It was enjoyable walking around the historic area and learning all about the families that used to live in the area. 

Heading to the West- Tsugaru Peninsula ⛩ 🦊

 Last Saturday, I was fortunate enough to get to go to two locations in North Western Japan that were absolutely stunning. And strangely enough, for the first time since, I have been traveling, not absolutely swamped with people. I went on a bus trip through the base travel office. 

The first stop on our trip was the Takayama Inari Shrine, known for its 1000 shrines. It was absolutely beautiful. 'Inari' shrines are all over Japan, having the place where the fox spirits settle. The most famous is probably in Kyoto. The Fushimi Inari Shrine. It is the one known for having all the Torii gates going up the stairs. I visited it when I was in Kyoto back in 2020. But I think this one was actually a lot nicer. While there were some stairs initially, getting up to the beautiful shrine, I didn't have to climb a mountain this time. And it was much less crowded. 

The shrine itself was really pretty, and going up a path just past it, there were several much smaller shrines and a memorial to an American Merchant Ship that sunk just off the coast of the peninsula in 1889, in a corner where you could see the water. 

The Torii gates were down the other side, past the shrine. Said to be 1000 (not actually) Torii gates; they were lining a path just past a pond. I think what really makes this place unique is that when you get to the end of the path and look over the line of the gates, it resembles a Chinese dragon, with its head at the far end, facing away. 

There were also dozens of fox statues lining one edge of the area and more scattered around the shrine. It was really interesting. They were all dressed up. I assume due to the recent holiday, this was a way of honoring the spirits that rested there. 

That wasn't all we were going to be able to see, though. After the shrine, we stopped at a local mall to get lunch and then headed off to the Tsuru-no-Mai Bridge. On our way through the area, we drove through an area that translated to Rice Rice Road. It was completely covered on both sides by rice fields, the local crop. With the cranes flying past, it was something out of a movie. But now to the bridge. 

While not as impressive as the shrine, it was still a piece of Japanese history. Tsuru-no-Mai Bridge passes over the Tsugaru Fujimi Lake with a reflection of Mt. Iwaki. With the bridge's total length being 300 meters, it is Japan’s longest triple-arch wooden bridge. The bridge view looks as if a crane is flying in the background of Mt Iwaki. Also, it is said that visitors who walk across the bridge will have a long life. Mt. Iwaki is known colloquially as Mt. Fuji of the North due to its shape. While we couldn't see the whole mountain due to cloud cover that day, we could still see portions of it. 

After we crossed, we stopped at the shop on the other side and got soft serve ice cream. Grape flavor for me and Apple flavor for Charles. While it sounds strange, it was actually really good. Apples are what Aomari province is known for, so be prepared for some apple content coming your way in the next few months as they are getting harvested. The trip was a good one, and I was glad to have gotten to go when I did. The Shrine is going to be going under a rolling renovation for the next three years, so the view I got today wouldn't be visible for the rest of the time I will be in Japan. 

Driving in Japan 🚗🔰

I have never really enjoyed driving. I was the first of my friends to drive and have a car. Even in college, I often was the one who ended up driving, and I am not sure if it was due to this or has always been the way. Still, driving tends to give me a lot of anxiety, especially in areas I am unfamiliar with or there is a lot of traffic. 

When I started thinking about moving to Japan, I fully expected to be able to walk everywhere or take public transportation. But Misawa doesn't seem as easy to get around as Hwacheon was. That means I have to drive. Which ordinarily wouldn't be an issue, but in Japan, they drive on the left side of the road. This means I get to learn a new country's driving laws and signage while remembering that I need to be on the other side of the road, driving from the other side of the car. 

The first time I got to try this, I drove around on base, which is a little easier as the roads are wider, but it was still nerve-wracking. Once I was driving around for a bit, I got more comfortable. It's not as bad as some might think. The hardest part is turning right through intersections and using my turn signal. Now stay with me for a second. I'm sure turning through intersections makes sense since I have to make sure I go far enough through the intersection to turn into the correct lane. 

Turn signals, however, may not sound like something that would be difficult, but the turn signal lever is actually on the opposite side of the steering wheel. So I keep accidentally turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal. Well, guess I will just have to practice, and I will probably get decently good. After all, I am going to need to drive in order to get to the base for work, or literally anywhere, not to be stuck in the house. Well, here's to a licensed Kristy and a new car. Isn't it cute!

I'm Back!!

Ever since I left Korea in March 2020, I've wondered if I will ever get the opportunity to return to the life I had, teaching abroad. Living abroad. Having those experiences that I loved. 

Well, I'm getting that opportunity again. 

My fiancé is a civilian who works for the US Air Force. He has gotten a job at a base in Japan. And I'm going with him!

My hope is that I will get a special education position on base at one of the DODEA schools on base. I'm so excited to spend the next three years exploring and living my life in a place completely different from my own. 

The last days of work at my school were bittersweet. I was so excited about the prospect of moving to my next adventure, but at the same time, I was leaving all of the relationships I had made over the last three years, especially the last year. COVID was an extremely isolating time, so I didn't make a lot of relationships within my school. This past year, I feel like I have become closer to significantly more people than before. 

I am really excited to start this new adventure. I'm packed; I got my ticket and am ready to go!

Things I'm excited for:

1. All the natural beauty
2. Temples and Shrines
3. Stationary!!
4. Learning to drive on the left
5. Adventure