Shimokita

Shimokita is the furthest northern reaches of the main island of Japan. It is remote and wild. I love it. Here are some photos I took on a recent visit this winter. 

There is something really magical about the beach. I love it. I could go everyday and find new things to entertain me. I really love the beach in the winter with the snow. I love the relationship between the snow and the sand and the water. The water melts the snow leaving a mark of exactly where its been. The snow mimics the past shape of the water. And the contrast of the black sand on white snow makes an even bigger statement. No matter how much it snows there is still that black strip of beach where the water overtakes it. 

Snow Mixing with Sand on a beach near Misawa

 Something else really magical happens in the winter... swans from Russia migrate to Northern Japan to escape the harsh siberian winters. So everywhere you look near fresh water you find swans... they just appear... a few at first... and then hundreds... 

Swans swimming at Rokkasho

 The drive up the coast of Shimokita is one of my favorites... I love that stretch of 338. There are so many cool places and magical spots and of all of those magical spots this is my absolute favorite.

My favorite secret spot on the way up the coast

Squid fishing is really big up here in Northern Japan. In almost every small fishing village you can see squid fishing boats like this one... they are so interesting to me because of their giant lights! They go out at night and shine their lights to attract the squid! And I also find those giant lights washed up on the beach all the time... intact!  

Squid boat at Cape Shiriyazaki

All the way at the north eastern tip of Japan is Cape Shiriyazaki... and at Cape Shiriyazaki are "wild horses" these horses are less wild and more... not owned... they are super tame and super friendly. I love them. They are so fluffy cause they have to survive the harsh winters on the windy cape. I think this one should be a unicorn

"Wild Horses" at Shiriyazaki

Kona also loves the cape... she loves to be wild and run to the cliff tops and feel the wind flop her ears around... 

Kona roaming Cape Shiriyazaki

Shiriyazaki Lighthouse

Beachy Beach

Some pictures of one of our many family excursions to the beach... well, we left Sabastian at home... but he hates water anyways! 

I am going to be so sad when we don't live by the ocean anymore, especially a  freaking awesome ocean with great surf, great sand, and NO PEOPLE!

 I have a new found love of feathers... Someone told me once they were full of nasty bird bacteria... so I was always scared to touch them... but I have changed my mind and I always come home with at least one!

Kona loves her beach time! Her life is SO hard! 

I love our beach time too... my life is SO hard!

Derick... well... his life is SUPER hard!

Look at Kona's face! She loves to play fetch... especially when water is involved!

The waves don't even phase her!

I love how in this picture Derick is looking at Kona and Kona is looking at Derick!

Beach Love

I love Japan and I love the beach! I am going to be so sad if the next place we move doesn't have a beach... Well I am sure I will be fine... but I will miss it. Here are some photos from my latest adventure...

That is a lie... my latest adventure I took three dogs and decided to leave the camera... and I found a SHARK FACE! I want to go back and see if it is still there to take a picture... it was super gross and stinky and it still had one fin... gross... and it was oozing green!

Antlers

So I heard that antlers are great for dogs to chew on... especially dogs that inhale rawhides... so while I was in Colorado I was on the lookout for some.... I found this antler at an antique shop for $10 score... and I knew Kona would love it!

I am such a great Mom!

SPRING!

Kona and I went for a hike on the nature trail to see how the spring was going... it was going pretty good, I think these vines growing up the trees were super cool!
AND THEN WE FOUND THESE CRAZY PURPLE THINGS... Caitlyn I feel like these should have been growning at the graveyard you should have been married at. They were everywhere

BRIGHT GREEN! These were really bright, they grew alongside those crazy purple things!
And of course Kona had the time of her life... like she always does!

Bottle Hunting

Once again Kona and I headed up to Rokkasho to look for treasure! This time I was specifically looking for some cool glass bottles for my sisters wedding. She is wanting to put them in groups in the middle of the tables with a few flowers in each to create unique, simple, and interesting centerpieces!

The waves were pretty big and the tide was out! In the first 5 min I found a small glass float which was just the icing on the cake!

Kona was having a great time as always... you can see some snow covered mountains in the background, it was pretty cold, but once I was walking back with all that glass I got pretty sweaty!
Brand new tire with rims... how in the world did that get here? Oh and see that dark patch of sand behind the tire, that is all snow that is covered in sand, so you are just walking honkey dori and all of the sudden you sink into a giant snow patch!
One of the glass bottles in its natural habitat

And here is a picture of all the glass bottles I found on this trip... I carried those all off the beach for three miles by myself! And in the background you can see the sweet mirror I pulled out of the trash! I will post a better picture of the mirror later!

I hope you like them Becca, I will start shipping them home soon!

24 Inches in 24 Hours

Well we had a blizzard and got 24 inches of snow in 24 hours! So after the whole thing I tromped out in nearly waist deep drifts and took nighttime photos with my new tripod!
This is the little car I have been using (belongs to our deployed friend, THANKS MIKE!) buried in snow!
Looking down the street that our street runs into

Night time lamppost
The snow piled up on everything! even the tinyest branches
and Kona pooping in the middle of the street! HA HA HA you go girl!

Misawa Citizens Forestry Park

Well the Gee family decided to go snowshoeing at the Misawa Citizens Forestry Park. It really is right outside the base by north area... but you cant get out over there so you have to drive all the way to main base around the whole outside of the base and back to the north side to get there... lame... but it was pretty fun to snowshoe around! Here is a building on the way there... I really liked it. All the snow and its oldness and the power lines... i don't know I just really liked it.

Here we are at the park and Derick is picking up Kona and throwing her into snow drifts!
Once you kinda pat down an area its easy to walk but the first time through its like up to your knees
Kona LOVES snowballs

Aww... hes so cute! he hates having his picture taken!
OH NO! a GIANT snowball... KONA WAS FREAKING OUT!
and then she tried to eat it!
typical back of our car... we are always prepared to kick butt!

Misawa Beach in the Snow

Well I decided it would be really fun to see what the beach looked like all covered in snow! So I went... with my Kona! she is my adventure buddy! This is at sunset... I got off early one day so I just ran out to the beach! This is a little shinto shrine by the beach some sort of shack down by the beach!
the sky looked really cool! I love my new camera!
and here is the beach! I think it is so cool the white snow next to the black sand!

here is the adventure puppy!


and then back at the temple right before we left!