it's beach time!!

I went to the ocean with my hairdresser and his family the other day. They are incredibly sweet and kind people. I don't see them that often, but they always go out of their way for others, and think of fun things to do together.
So, I actually didn't know what to expect, since they just said we were going to the "sea". . . I took my swimsuit. They brought pics for prying shells off of rocks! :-b It was my first experience of hunting for shells, as in, the full kind! Having grown up right along the sea, Misao (right) knows about everything in the sea (well, at least it seemed that way to me). . . what you can eat (which is pretty much everything), what it looks like (from a standing position -- I couldn't even find them half the time squatting down) and how to prepare it (most of them you just dump in a big pot at home and boil). This is me with Marie (another girl who goes to the salon and I met through Misao and her husband) and Misao.
Maybe it's just prairie girls like me, but the ocean is fascinating. Everything is alive!! Everywhere you step and everything you see is like a new adventure of something mysterious and unknown. I feel like I'll see the ocean in a new way next time I go, though! Oh, in addition to shells, we also got one crab and quite a few "clumps" of seaweed. We boiled that up at home as well. . . definitely a new perspective! Anyone for some algae from Killarney Lake?! ;-)

We also stopped at a fresh fish market on the way home. . . and picked up this specimen. It was my second attempt at making fish myself (first was a piece of salmon), and I honestly do not know why it took me so long. Good does not say enough. . . it was delectable!! ;-) (I know you're proud of me mom and dad!)

Shikoku. . . here we come!! :-)

. . . or went, as it is! (haha)
So, Chiaki and I left at 4 in the morning, and I thought we were making great time. . . that lasted until a little after 6, when we noticed the road had gotten "bumpy" really suddenly. . . and ended up standing out in the rain beside this emergency phone (ok, at least I had an excuse for not having an umbrella being "foreign", but you'd think that a Japanese would know better -- :-b) as we were warned it was too dangerous to sit in the car, while we waited for the JAF (Japan Automobile Federation) truck to come. The guy who came felt sorry for us and let us sit in the truck, while we watched (and took pictures of) him changing the tire. . . aah, what a start to the trip!!
After we got all the tires replaced, and took a ferry over to the island (Shikoku is the smallest of Japan's 4 main islands -- and it literally means 4 countries, as there are 4 prefectures on the island), we were pretty excited to explore. It was fun (well, at least most of the time) to just go wherever we wanted and find lots of interesting places along the way (I think at least half of our trip was those spontaneous stops!)
We finally found the entrance to this quaint little old Japanese village. . . how inviting!
And once we got "inside", there were these old-style buildings -- white-washed walls, with darkened wood and stone covering the lower half. . . tiled rooves, and ornaments decorating the ridgepole to protect the house. (Ok, I don't even know if we use ridgepole anymore, or if it's even a word to be quite honest, but that's what Anne of Green Gables says, so I'm going with it. . .)
Spontaneous excursion into the rice paddies to take pictures with the hundreds of flying carp streamers for Boys' Day. The ones in the front were made of fabric and decorated by kids. How cute! :-)
Day 2, after we left the place where we stayed for night, we drove along this river, and were completely awestruck by how gorgeous it all was (we arrived in the dark the night before, so had no idea what we'd missed!) The picture can't possibly do it justice, but the fresh new green, and the blue-green of the water. . .
And, as we turned onto the main road, and left the mountain and stream we had so enjoyed, we caught sight of. . . the ocean!! I just had to run in it, and the bus wasn't coming for another 20 minutes, so we pulled in at the bus stop, and ran down to the water. . . I was drenched from waist down, but it felt so good!

This is a "guide book" stop -- a suspension bridge made entirely of vines, which you can see in the background, behind Chiaki. It was neat to see for ourselves but, being a tourist spot, there were a lot of people, so in the end, we opted to just watch everyone grasping the sides as they treaded across!
Aaa - aeaea - aaah!!
How would you put Tarzan's holler / call / trademark "sound" into words?!

Apparently the oldest hot springs in Japan, we had fun walking around by "Dogo-Onsen". The atmosphere definitely made it special. . . people walking around in yukatas and geta (the casual cotton kimono and sandals), outdoor concert, and lighting around this hundred-some year old building. It was like walking in history, imagining how the Emperor and his family used to come here, and be entertained in some of the upper rooms. . .
Shikoku is maybe most well-known for "O'Henro". This is a spiritual pilgrimage to 88 Buddhist temples on the island of Shikoku, which has been continued on for hundreds of years by those apparently seeking spiritual clarity and enlightenment. These days, instead of walking, many people take bus tours to representative temples among the 88, or work on it a little at a time. We saw quite a few of these white-clad pilgrimers, donning a straw hat, and walking stick, along our travels.

where to start?

Hey! Sorry. . . I do apologize for the lack of "communication" lately. I'll try and give you a quick idea of what I've been up to lately. It's definitely been a fun month, one of many opportunities, and a few realizations. So, here goes. . .
This is Sara and I. Sara is a British friend that I met when I lived in Osaka -- we went to a Bible study together at the International Church there, and I can't tell you how meaningful it has been to get to know her, and share together with her and Aya (a Japanese Canadian friend). It's amazing how God brings people together, and how you grow through / with each person you meet.
Having powdered green tea and sweets wrapped in leaves (you don't eat the leaf, at least this time ;-) while looking out onto the Japanese garden (sorry I don't have a shot of that for you!!)
I heard about this waterfall nearby, so we attempted to find it, asking people along the way, getting higher up into the mountains on skinnier and skinnier roads, and finally, there it was! :-) I'm sorry, but I do live in a very beautiful place here, I must say!
Carp streamers flying for Boys' Day on May 5th. Many families with boys put up these poles and string up these beautifully coloured windsocks. It's sometimes difficult to see them in the city, so it was neat to catch them flying here.
Isn't this neat? It was actually on our way to the waterfall. . . and I was just overwhelmed by the beauty of Japanese countryside, and the fact that there were surprises like this along the way. I have no idea what these buildings are used for, but the cliffs dropped into the river below, and it was so picturesque!