Underwater Hokkaido Pictures

These are photos I nabbed from my freind Kelly who has an underater camera... they are all from Hokkaido. 

This first group is from Shiritoko National Park, there is a "hot waterfall" where all the geothermal activity heats up water and it come up out of the ground and forms this waterfall... it was fun, although we couldn't hike as far up the waterfall as we wanted due to falling rocks. 

and we were the only people lounging in the pools of the falls... everyone was looking at us like we were crazy.. it was awesome

These photos are also from Shiritoko but from the very northern point you can drive to... we got out even though it was rainy and explored.. it was really cool

Surfing

I LOVE SURFING!

I love feeling the pull and swell of the waves... the rush of them crashing beneath you and the feeling of flying over the water when you catch one! I love the feeling of your arms being SO tired from paddling you can barely move them but you want to catch just one more... always just one more! I love fighting to get into my wet suit and then peeling it off when I am done like a banana! I love sitting and waiting for the perfect swell, and I love when I see my shadow on the bottom of the ocean and it freaks me out cause I think its a shark! IT IS AWESOME! I have done quite a bit of surfing this summer with my friend Kelly! She is fantastic and loves adventure just like me. AND she just got an underwater camera! here are some photos from one of our surfing adventures...

Here I am waiting for a swell... I look pretty serious

We went out after I got off work and the sky was gorgeous!

Catching a wave!

Kelly dug herself a hole and I am making a sand angel! What could be better?

and it finally got too dark to do too much more surfing

and we finished off the day with the perfect post surfing meal... SUSHI!

Tanbo Art

In 1993, the people of Inakadate, Aomori were looking for a way to revitalize their village. Archaeological exploration led to a realization that rice had been grown in the area for more than 2000 years. To honor this history, the villagers started a rice field behind the town hall. With the paddy as a canvas, the villagers cultivated and used four different types of heirloom and modern strains of rice to create a giant picture in the field. To allow viewing of the whole picture, a mock castle tower 22 meters high was erected at the village office. In 2006, more than 200,000 people visited the village to see the art. ~ Wikipedia

For the whole days adventures...

which include a Buddhist Temple and a drive up death road click HERE

Here is the view from the City Hall Tower... it covers multiple rice patties and is AWESOME

View of the tower from the ground

Close up of the rice

Directions to Inakadate from Misawa:

so it is right before Hirosaki, we got there by going to Lake Towada and then following 102. So just go out the POL gate straight (there is a small y when entering Towada stay left) until you get to a do not enter sign in Towada... turn left over a bridge. Follow the street signs for 102... it will be a right turn. When you get to the lake turn right to keep following 102. About 5km outside of Hirosaki is the town of Inakadate... its going to be on the right side of the road and look for a really tall black and white pagoda building... you cant see the paddies from the main road but there are flags and lots of cars! And its free but they take donations!

if you google map Inakadate Japan you can see the location on a map!

I hope this helps!

PHOTO UPDATE!

K... I am going to bring you all up to speed real fast... get ready for PHOTO OVERLOAD!

I am going to start with the oldest and move forward...

(just click on the title of the album and it will send you to a page with all the photos on it... then if you want to see individual photos larger just click that photo)

Destination: San Francisco

Well work sent me TDY (aka free vacation with stipulation of going to a conference) to CYFAR (child, youth & family at risk) conference to San Francisco... this is my journey to San Francisco and no sooner had my plane landed (at 7 am) and I dropped my bags off at the Hotel I hopped on the public bus and rode all the way to the Marin Headlands and went Hiking! It was awesome! AND then after the headlands I walked to Sausalito and looked at all the galleries and shops and took a ferry back to San Francisco!

The Grand City of San Francisco

all over the fanstastically interesting town of San Francisco... sorry the album is so big... but they were all so interesting!

Across "The Gate" and back

walking across the Golden Gate Bridge and back, who would have thought a bridge would be so much fun?!?

Nanohana Festival

Nanohana or "Rape Blossoms" are grown and harvested for their seed which contain Rapeseed oil most famously used in Canola oil. But here in Japan they are CELEBRATED! So we decided to check out the Nanohana festival about an hour and a half from Misawa.

Surf, Sand, and a Mutsu Monster

just another day at the beach!

Tsutsuji Matsuri (Azalea Festival)

Thanks to our great friend Beth we has SUPER directions to this great festival celebrating the ancient mountain azaleas at this shrine in Shichinohe!

Shipwrecks and Cherry Blossoms

just having fun exploring shipwreck beach with my family and pictures of our awesome cherry blossoms! I love Japan

Shimokita- Part 1

We drove up the east side of Japan up to "the hatchet" we visited the wild horses at Cape Shira and camped in the Yagen Valley. The next day we spent time at Oserezan the mythical entrance to hell and took naps in our hammocks... it was AWESOME!

Shimokita-Part 2

we found paradise in northern Japan... it was awesome

Spring Hakkoda Day Hike

Well I just had to take my family on a hike in the Hakkoda's we rode the ropeway to the top, summited two peaks and made our way back down to Sukayu Onsen and had a soak... it was fantastic... and we had surprisingly great weather... which... equals AMAZING views!

Leafy Green Goodness

Day hike with the family!

Used & Modern

Took my mom and sister to the Used Kimono shop and Modern Art Museum in Towada

Like the Sea After a Storm

Left on a gorgeous sunny day in Misawa arrived to a super foggy beach at Shirihama... no worries we had fun anyways and then next time we returned with wetsuits!

Goin out WEST!

My mother, sister & I went on a 1 day road trip all the way to the Western coast of Japan by the Sea of Japan and up the peninsula up north on the western side... very cool!

4th of July weekend AWESOMENESS!

Well it was Dericks last weekend before he deployed... the 4th of July... and cherry season... so we picked cherrys... the fireworks got rained out so we had our own on the beach... real fireworks the next day... and a trip up north to the "wild horses" and oserazen... overall successful weekend!

The Farm

Caitlyn and I only had a few hours to spend together... and what better way then the farm? Let me tell you now... there is no better way on earth!

Beccas Wedding Weekend

Well Becca got married and it was Magical! I dont have many pictures of becca... she was very much in demand or of the ceremony since I was the maid of honor... I can't wait to see the real pictures but here is a sneak peak!

Colorado-ish

I stopped by Dericks Mom's house in Kansas on my way to Colorado... had a great night there, then a couple awesome days in boulder with Malinda and then a great week in the mountains... unfortunately my camera died after the first couple of days (I forgot the charger in Japan)

WE PLAY IN TEAM! ocean edition

basically i love living 5 k from the ocean... and i love kellys new underwater camera!

So as you can see... I havent been posting because I havent been doing anything... I havent been posting cause I have been so freaking busy!

Sumo Tournament

I went to a Sumo Tournament in Hirosaki with my girl friends Shannon and Suzie! After 3 and half hours of driving in a bus... this is what we saw... Sumo dude statue outside of the sumo stadium!

This is me with one of the sumo wrestlers... he is high ranking as seen by the white diaper... the lower ranking guys have gray ones... these are their practice diapers.. they have colored ones they wear in the real tournament.
Side view...
Practice... these dudes were actually pretty muscular... and some didnt really have big bellies... I asked what they eat to get this big... compared to other Japanese... they said soup... hmmm
Best view of the day!
Me with the two nerdiest sumo wrestlers ever! Ha ha they cracked me up!

I cant figure out why this picture is turned I have uploaded it like 5 times... its not turned on my computer... anywho... this was our bento box (lunch box) it was some tempura fish on a peice of seaweed on top up rice with some pickeled ginger... on the side was a meatball, a dumpling sort of thing... and a tomato... it was okay... it would have been better warm... it was all coldBefore the real tournament started the big sumo guys wrestled the little learning sumo kids... it was HILARIOUS! and super cute!
The first little kid squatted and stomped his feet and everything and then when the big guys stepped towards him the little kid turned and ran away... This little kid however tried so hard but the big guy just picked him up and carried him away on his shoulder... it was really funny
The stadium was pretty big, the sumo floor was in the middle, then a whole bunch of asian people sitting cross legged on the floor for 6 hours... thats pretty amazing to me, and then we were on the second story in stadium seating... thank goodness... and my butt still hurt
They had this big ceremony where they would all come out in thier little skirt with butts showing and all sing...
This was the final match... the one that decided that grand champion... I dont remember who one... but what happened was they both went at each other and at the last second on stepped out of the way so the other went fly out of the ring cause he had so much momentum... the crowd was so angry they all started booing... they apparently were expecting more from the grand championship!

More Randoms

Here are some random photos that I have been collecting for a while... I painted the kitchen! The left wall is a sea foam greenish teal and the right wall is a deep jewel green with blue undertones... It looks great with the black frames! Oh and these hydrangea lived in this vase for 4 weeks... I think they have crack in the soil here.
And I did the light green and the far wall in the kitchen too... Kona said "rooks great momma"
New project I started with all of this sea glass I found at shipwreck beach
I am gluing it to the sliding glass door with hot glue making a sort of sea glass mosaic. It looks soooo cool!
This is at "Hachenohoe Childrens Land" It is a ghetto pretty lame amusement park for kids, but these old horses on the merry go round took cool pictures.
They are so old and sad but full of character...
This on the other hand I am pretty sure is full of mange.... You put a couple hunderd yen into this thing and it moves around and you steer it... Like a giant wind up toy... it was really really really creepy
This is another ride a the amusment park that would never fly in the states... it is a bike on a track... you pay money to wheel yourself around on this track... we had this little fat kid with us and he went on it once and was going so slow he had all the other carts backed up behind him... he was all red and huffing when he got off... it was pretty funny.
Derick after his naming ceremony... that means the pilots got him really drunk and gave him a call sign... he is now "OAR".... so he is now OAR Gee.... say that out loud together... hmmmm.... not amused... no I actually think it is pretty funny... as you can see Derick was in rare form that night!
After the naming went to a "roof stomp" its where you welcome a new commander by showing up at his house in the middle of the night and eating his food and drinking his alcohol... I did not realize that "roof stomp" was a literal term... but he actually got his roof stomped... via this tree... you can see Joker climbing down...
Driving home after we went camping on the beach, Kona was in the back with all of our gear... she wanted so bad to be part of the fun up front but she was soooo tired...
this is normal...
after running after her ball down the ski hill on base Kona thought this pile of ice was a very nice bed!
at a farewell picnic at the base ski lodge
Japanese sunset
The rice is getting big, its really cool to watch it grow

Really guys?

Surf Camp

Shirihama Beach... Gorgeous... a beach south of Hachinohe... only about 50 min. total driving away... we are technically not allowed to swim in the ocean right by us because the tide and current are so strong, (a group and special forces died doing ocean exercises a few years ago) anywho... its still pretty strong down south but legal... (I went back a couple weekends after this and it was warm enough not to need a wet suit and I was body surfing... I am pretty sure I almost died... I got pounded pretty good a couple of times against the bottom... thank goodness its sand break not reef break or I would be really destroyed... I came out with huge rash burns on my back and bum from the sand... and when we tried to surf dawn patrol the next morning... we were camping on the beach... the waves were so strong that after I caught my first wave I spent forever just trying to get back out past the surf, and eventually had to give up cause my arms were so shot from paddling... oh and Derick went swimming in the ocean for the first time in his life and got hit by his first wave... remember these are really strong waves... had no idea what to do, go beat up, face full of saltwater and when he resurfaced he threw up... ha ha.. poor kid... and then another wave got him and same thing happened... I dont think he has the same love for the ocean as I do... I feel a connection with the earth while I am out in the water, the raw, dangerous, pure energy of the earth... I would go surfing and body surfing everyday if I could... ) anyway back to surf camp...
We drove down the coast to different beaches looking for the best surf, this is one spot we scouted... It blows my mind... huge coastline, gorgeous surf... not a soul in sight... score for us! Geoff (my boss and surfing guide) said had this been down south there would be hundreds of surfers out there even on weekdays... so what if we have to wear wetsuits...
Is this really surf camp appropriate... I dont know but it smelled great, and we would be dead without it!
I had a 9 foot plus board... way to long for my with the type of waves we had... but as the adult you have to make sacrifices and the kids were even shorter then me so it was all good... the waves broke in a tunnel you know like in the movies... so with a board this long you had to stay way back, my entire legs were hanging off the back or else the board would do a nose dive off the front of the straight drop down of the wave, that was pretty scary, I nose dived about 5 times probably before I figured out how far back I needed to be and I am pretty sure I almost died about 5 times. I would fall forward into the crashing wave with my board crashing on top of me... and so I had to just curl up into a ball protecting my head until the wave decided to spit me out... one time when we were just learning how to paddle out and huge... huge... wave was coming and I knew I could not go over it, I looked over at Geoff with what I am sure was a panicked look on my face... and he just said "hold your breath"... so I did... it was pretty scary... after that he taught us how to "turn turtle" if I big wave is coming that you know you cant go over (and you have a longboard) you have to roll over on your back underwater the board over you upside down... it is way more effective then just holding your breath...
The whole gang practicing "popping up"... I guess it payed off becuase everyone of us caught a wave the first day! IT WAS AWESOME! You can see how thick the sea fog can be here... sometimes its crazy thick
Pumped after our first round of surfing!
Body surfing after we all tired our arms out... these were our learning waves... the waves the next day (the ones at that beach I was talking about earlier) were two to three times this size... like if I was standing they would be probably six feet over my head!
HA HA... this makes me feel safe...
Snorkeling... we had to find stuff to do while waiting for the surf to get good! we also went sea kayaking!
Just to prove I was there!
We stayed at this little Japanese bead and breakfast... we had traditional tatami mat rooms to sleep in with futon mattresses in the closet that folded out... it was super cool and surprisingly comfortable... and we got dinner, choice of ramen or curry... the ramen was AMAZING! I LOVE RAMEN!
the last night we had a fire on the beach with smores and everything... it was great! We even star tripped... Becca you would be jealous! Star tripping is where you look up, pick a star, stare at is and spin in a circle as fast as you can for 15-20 seconds and then somebody turns on a flashlight and you have to run to the light... most people take one step and fall flat on their face... its the best game ever... best played before you eat 10 smores... ugh
And the last day the sun finally made an appearance... and even though we basically forced sunscreen on the kids... we had some major burnage... I guess maybe it was a good thing it was cloudy the first two days!