30 weeks and winter in Hachinohe

 

It snowed all day yesterday. Today it has been off and on snow and sunshine.  We ventured out to do some shopping and felt inspired to take photos of my growing belly and the river path that we enjoy walking along.  I am looking forward to warmer weather and longer days to resume my daily walks.  

 

Here's to ten more weeks and spring!  I hear my due date is right about the time when the sakura or cherry blossoms are blooming in this part of Japan.

Sapporo Yuki Matsuri

Sapporo is one of our favorite Japanese cities so we were happy to get a chance to return for the annual snow festival.  Hachinohe is a 9 hour ferry ride from Sapporo (about an hour outside the city).  On the way there, we took the overnight ferry which has lots of space to sleep on the floor.  We went for a long weekend with our friends Adam and Renae.  We had a great time seeing the snow festival sculptures, visiting a chocolate factory and a nearby town called Otaru and then SHOPPING (Renae and I ditched the boys). 

We arrived in Sapporo on Thursday morning and spent the day exploring the festival. The large snow sculptures, festival food stalls, snowboard jump and ice slides are in a long park in the center of the city.  We wandered and enjoyed the sculptures, people watching and food. 

A little Japanese fashion and festival food - soy sauce roasted Hokkaido corn.

This snow aquarium was pretty impressive!

A sculpture of the Japanese women's soccer team captain. 

The Taj Mahal and the character from "One Piece," a very popular manga with my Japanese students.

My favorite part of the snow sculptures was this section of themed sculptures sponsored by "sister" countries and U.S. cities. The above right is from Portland.

This one is for our dragon baby.

The sphere was my favorite, I like how minimal yet complex it is. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a nap in our hotel room we enjoyed an Italian dinner and the ice sculptures in another part of the city.  It was neat to see the sculptures and city by night. 

Another dragon for our little tatsu たつ.  Couldn't pass up a seat in the ice car.

On Friday we spent the morning at Ishiya Chocolate Factory, they specialize in making a white chocolate cookie that they call the "Langue du Chat."  We got to see the workings of the factory and taste the cookies.  They are one of the most famous omiyage to give in Japan. 

Then we took a train an hour northwest up the coast to Otaru.  It is known for blown glass, music boxes and a brewery.  It also has a small snow festival along the river.  It snowed all day while we were there.  We warmed up with some delicious ramen for lunch and attempted to shop and walk around the town but freezing toes got the best of us so we spent most of the early afternoon and evening at the Otaru brewery. 

Otaru beer and fresh pretzels! Yummy.

We took a COLD snowy walk through the snow lanterns along the river and then returned to the brewery for dinner before taking the train back to Sapporo.

Saturday Renae and I shopped all morning/afternoon.  We got lost in the maze of shops under Sapporo. I found a few cute momo outfits and a diaper bag.  The boys went to warm up at an onsen (Japanese bath) and enjoy fresh sashimi at the Sapporo fish market.

That evening we went to the snow festival to see the big snow sculptures all lit up at night.  We caught a few Japanese performances including AKB48 wannabes (AKB48 is a VERY popular, only in Japan, girl band).  We also attempted to go up the Sapporo tower to view the festival from above but we opted not to wait in the LONG line.  Instead we had dinner in the restaurant and toasted to Sapporo. 
Kanpai かんぱい

きゅうしょく japanese school lunch

Everyone eats the same lunch.  There isn't a sack lunch and teachers don't bring leftovers from home.  In each homeroom classroom there is a rotating group of five students who serve lunch.  Students wait for everyone to be served and then they bless the meal in a unison bowing of the head and choral ittadakimasu! 

Milk, raisin bread, vegetable soup, cabbage, and fried potato pocket.

The food is prepared in local kitchens and brought to the school.  Most of the meals include local and seasonal ingredients and occasionally vegetables grown by the students.   Everyday lunches include milk, rice, noodles or bread, a soup/stew/curry, fish or meat and a Japanese style vegetable or salad and an occasional fruit.

Curry and rice, cauliflower/broccoli, and apple.  There was meat in the curry that I ate around.

A few weeks into my school visits in Japan I decided I would like to join the teachers and students in eating the school lunch or kyuushoku.  Every teacher and student in the school eats the same lunch so I wanted to be part of their system.  It is also a great time to interact with the students in awkward English conversation. 

Bread, Minestrone soup, a piece of chicken and pineapple.  I gave the chicken away

Most days I enjoy what is served to me.  They rarely have a completely vegetarian meal but I knew that when I committed to eating the school lunches. Often I will offer the meat or fish to a hungry boy at my table. The fish tends to be very fishy tasting or include the head still intact.  I also have to pick out or eat around the meat they put in the soups.  I'll even drink the milk once in a while.  I think my pregnancy has helped me get over some of my vegetarian finicky tastes (but I am by no means embracing a carnivores' diet.) 

Fish, rice, miso vegetable soup and a tofu/carrot/diakon salad.

 

Gyoza, seaweed salad, noodles, stew and mixed nuts. This was a special setsubun lunch (they celebrate the day by throwing beans at bad luck spirits to make way for Spring).  I didn't really eat the stew, too meaty.

At a time when childhood obesity is a common problem facing American school children I can't help but wonder why America wouldn't take some advice from Japan on how to run a healthy school lunch program on a big scale. In fact after WWII I think Americans helped Japan establish their current school lunch program.  So why do we feed our kids pizza, french fries and hamburgers for lunch? Why do children even get a choice in what they eat?  In Japan there is one nutritious meal and if you are hungry you will eat it (for the most part).  There has got to be a better way to feed American school children and I see one in Japan.  

Australian Adventure: Australia Zoo and Adieu

We spent our last day in Australia at the Australia Zoo.  It was the BEST zoo I have ever been to.  It is owned by the Irwin Family, maybe you remember Steve Irwin the crocodile hunter.  Actually he died as a result of a sting ray sting while diving off the coast of Port Douglas in the Great Barrier Reef (we heard the story while on our sunset cruise.)  His wife and children are still active in running the zoo.  While we were there the crocodile show was presented by his wife and son. 

The reason I say it is the best zoo I've visited is because of the interaction and proximity you can get to the animals.  They have several shows throughout the day with trainers feeding crocodiles, elephants, and tigers.  You can feed and pet kangaroos, observe and hold koalas without a fence barrier and most of the animals in enclosures are still very close to you often with a trainer in with them feeding or caring for them.  The animals are active.
The Australian animals we saw include the echidna, kangaroo, emu, koala, cassowary, Tasmanian devil (pictured), wombats, and crocodiles. 

Up close and personal with the kangaroos!

They have a small selection of Asian and African animals.  We just happened to be standing at the tiger enclosure when the trainer began giving the tiger some milk while showing off it's feline behaviors. 

Here we are practicing for our family portrait.  We paid to hold a koala and got a souvenir photo!  You can pay to pet and hold lots of animals including a tiger, cheetah, or a dingo.  All of the money they make goes toward programs they have to protect animals and an animal hospital connected to the zoo. 

We read about a koala who has been through three surgeries at the hospital due to being hit by cars.  Silly Koala needs to learn to look both ways before crossing.  

After the zoo we drove to the Gold Coast, where we were flying out to Japan the next morning. We didn't make it to the beach until the sunset had nearly set but we enjoyed a walk on the beach and an amazing Thai dinner.  Finally,  we got to enjoy Starbucks on the beach for breakfast before we headed to the airport.  Wow, what a great three weeks!  Adieu Australia. 

Australian Adventure: Port Douglas

As we freeze in Northern Japan, it is nice to remember our warm days in Port Douglas.  We flew into Cairns but decided to stay in Port Douglas, a smaller town about 45 minutes north up the coast.  Port Douglas had a big beach and closer access to the Daintree rain forest.  We lucked out with our tropical sporty ride and our frog friend, he hung outside our bathroom most days and explored at night.  We intentionally spent our last four days in Port Douglas to enjoy a tropical vacation before returning to frigid Japan.  As our tan fades I visualize laying on the warm sand in hopes that the image will warm my frozen toes! 

We stayed in a small family run vacation rental apartment.  The couple who owned it were so friendly, helpful and welcoming.  We enjoyed cooling off in the pool and having a kitchen and big T.V. for lazy evenings.  The "four mile beach" was a 10 minute walk and town was only a 2 minute drive.  We were warned not to go into the water at the beach except for the designated netted off swimming area because it was jelly fish season.   The first day we walked to the beach and swam in the swimming area, the water was like bath water.  Later we found out that even in the swimming nets the jelly fish get in and there were a few stings which resulted in swimming nets being closed.  Good thing we had the pool! 

We hiked at the Mossman Gorge and enjoyed a cold river swim afterward. The rain forest tree roots were like sculptures in nature.

Every Wednesday evening at the Port Douglas yacht club members offer free sunset sails on their boats.  You show up, order a drink and wait for someone to invite you on their boat.  Captain Chris offered us a ride on his 38 foot sail boat, Frieda (handmade and named after his grandmother).  Todd explained that he owned a boat in Seattle and Chris had him steering the boat the whole night.  We enjoyed the views from the water and getting to know our captain and the other Australian women invited on the sail.  Chris had lot of stories about locals, building boats and sailing along the coasts of Australia.  In order to support the yacht club the captains invite you to stay for dinner and drinks.  During dinner Todd ended up getting an invitation to stop by Chris's place and see the boat he is currently building.

Captain Chris's work in progress.  I can see this in our driveway in 20 years!? 

A luxury sail to the Great Barrier reef for unforgettable snorkeling and a gourmet lunch on the ocean, yes PLEASE! The snorkeling in the reef was our highlight of the trip.  At first, we explored on our own before lunch amazed at the size and colors of coral.  I caught a glimpse of a reef shark and got a jelly fish sting.  Then after lunch we were guided to an even better area of the reef with giant clams, tropical fish galore and so many textures of coral.  It is so difficult to give an accurate description because every turn of the head is an amazing picture.  I regret forgetting to pick up an underwater camera before the trip.  Oh well, someday we'll have to go back. 

On our last day in Port Douglas we drove further north to the Daintree rain forest, only accessible by river ferry. The ferry was pulled along by a huge cable, why not build a bridge we asked?!  Todd really wanted to see a cassowary in the wild (a big flightless bird).  But all we saw were lots of signs warning to look out for them.  The same was true of crocodiles, we didn't meet any lurking in the water.

We stopped for tropical fruit ice cream. We tried unique flavors of mango, wettleseed and jaboticaba (like chocolate).  Then we went to a tropical fruit winery and tasted pineapple, mango, ginger, etc wines and ports.  They had a saying, "our wines aren't sticky and sweet,"  and it was surprisingly true they had a good dryness to them.  We bought a ginger wine that we plan to enjoy with spicy Thai food and a mangosteen port.  We ended the day with a relaxing swim and taco salad dinner with homemade pico de gallo (no cilantro in japan!?) 

I leave you with a dreamy beach scene, but watch out for crocodiles and jelly fish.