Koya-san

For our final days & 1 night in mainland Japan, we chose a very impressive & unique Japanese experience at Shojoshin-in, a fully working Buddhist temple which accepts lodgers (for more than we normally spend but the experience was worth it). It's actually the 2nd largest temple of about 100 (about 53 of which offer overnight lodging to travelers like us) on Mount Koya (or Koyasan) in Wakayama Prefecture, which turned out to be a very scenic & intensely cultural experience of Japan. We especially enjoyed the delicious vegetarian shōjin ryōri cuisine (2 meals were included in the price of the lodging) that they served. A side perk was the nice crisp mountain top air (especially at night from our comfy, fluffy futon bedding). It was good for us to feel the cool-to-cold fall weather & get us ready for life back in the U.S. that was fast approaching!

Yes, that's right! We took a LOT of photos of Koyasan:

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Nara, home of the Kusumi-sama

After thoroughly enjoying our visit to Hiroshima, we spent 2 nights in the home of our dear friend Masayo's parents in Nara, just outside (biking distance as we proved) the former capital of Japan, actually very well known for their giant Buddha statue & the many free-roaming Sika deer in the parks & temple grounds. We felt thoroughly at ease & very welcome in their home; we were definitely honored guests. Aaron & Masayo showed us all around & delivered excellent weather to go with the many fantastic sights, sounds & tastes that they had to show off. We were very glad that we had saved a visit to this city for a time that they could be there to rendezvous with us! Thanks again, guys!!

Photos from our fun-filled 3 days in Nara:

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Miyajima / Itsukushima - Shrine Island

On the 2nd morning that we awoke in Hiroshima, we decided to venture to the renowned Miyajima Island, home of one of "Three Views of Japan," the "floating" torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine, yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site. After catching the cheap & convenient cable car near our hostel, the very comfortable Business Ryokan Sansui, to rendezvous with the local train that took us to the ferry port for the short trip across the Seto Inland Sea to the picturesque island, we were soon avoiding the deer & looking for monkeys along with the rest of the many tourists. Having plenty of time after strolling thru the town & then viewing the famous shrine, we decided to inspect the peak of Mount Misen also. But we decided to skip the uber-expensive ropeway (cable car) & hike the steep kilometer instead. With our hearts pumping quickly, we did manage to catch glimpses of monkeys (thru our camera's 10x optical zoom) begging for food outside of a cable car stop that we didn't feel like hiking out of our way to. Instead we admired & inspected the shrines, temples & lookout point at the summit before making our way down the other side right to the very gorgeous Daishō-in at the foot of the mountain. All in all, a very full day of sight-seeing but WELL worth every minute!

Photos of our day & plenty of 'em:

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Hiroshima, our first time in Chugoku

The next stop on our western Japan tour was in Hiroshima, known by most of the planet as the first city ever subjected to an atomic bomb detonation. The Ryokan Sansui where we lodged was located within a nice walk of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park so it was, of course, a highlight for us. After first approaching its southern side, we were approached by a kindly woman who in very good English offered her services as a tour guide FOR FREE!!! We'd like to believe that our understanding & appreciation of the site's significance could have been nearly what it was even without her, but we just don't see how that would be possible. She made sure to detail every one of the highlights of the site & her own personal story (at the tender age of 8 at the time, both of her parents perished in the aftermath while she survived living with her grandmother not far outside the city). Honestly, this was not just a highlight of our trip, but of our lives. The sentiments clearly expressed were not condemning or biased in the least, but rather presented a very clear picture of the history & all factors of the conflict that preceded & the devastation that proceeded the nuclear bomb. We add our desires along with many others in hoping that our planet never again sees the death & devastation of such a device.

Of coure, we took a lot of photos:

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Himeji castle in western Kansai

For our final beyond Okinawa travels of our time living in the subtropic Pacific, we visited mainland Japan for a final tour. Our very first stop was in Himeji (of Hyogo Prefecture) to marvel over the much-lauded & extolled feat of history, Himeji-jō, an official Japanese National Cultural Treasure & a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of Japan's "Three Famous Castles" (the other 2 being Matsumoto-jō & Kumamoto-jō), and is the most visited castle in Japan.

It was very ornate, grandiose, impressive & photos do not do it full justice (do they ever?) but here is a slideshow of the hundreds that we snapped during our day in Himeji:

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LD Adventure, Day 2: Picnic Lunch

After checking out dams & views & hiking at Aha Falls & lifting the van's front tires out of a hole, we were ready for a nice picnic lunch in a small village (Sosu?) along the NE coast, where they were doing some land reclamation in the bay using some large heavy machinery.

Just before our lunch stop Josh was turning the van around in the yard of a community building & simultaneously reading a map, he managed to find the only 2 broken drainage ditch covers with the front tires of the van. That got the van firmly stuck in the ditch! So while Betsy drove in reverse, Ana, Robin & Josh lifted the front wheels with all their might. Fortunately, it worked & the van was successfully freed. Here is a photo of the mock re-enactment for the camera:

LD Adventure, Day 2: NE Coastal Views

We saw several lovely pieces of the NE Okinawa coastline, including an exploration at the large windmills (where we stopped on our bike ride around the area a few months back & saw the whale crest). We were getting pretty hungry for lunch though!

LD Adventure, Day 2: Aha Falls

After inspecting the recreational facilities at Aha Dam, we drove thru Aha Village & up the hill, taking the left-hand turnoff (indicated by the "Ahano" white & blue road sign) onto the narrow road (actually a circular way). We should have taken the first paved turn but instead took the 2nd dirt trail (which is were I think the sign is located) & had to skillfully squeeze by a few fellow expats leaving the locale. But we found the parking area & ropes leading down to the river & falls. And we enjoyed the views & coolness of the water (ok, so only Josh actually enjoyed the coolness of the water).

Betsy & Ana race down the zipline at the ropes course area:

Robin got a turn too:

LD Adventure, Day 2: Aha Dam

After appreciating the facilities at Arakawa Dam, we turned off at the next dam sign to inspect Aha Dam, a place Betsy & I had been before. This time we didn't walk around the scenic area overlooking the water (near the buildings), but we drove over the dam & followed the road up into the hills overlooking it. And we found this great recreation facility. They had a nature trail (2-300 yen per person) that we considered but voted against & instead inspected the "ropes course" (a big, fun glorified playground) & the campgrounds. We also noted that they boasted kayaking (around the reservoir?) & there was a cafe in the main building. Definitely a reasonable camping weekend option!

LD Adventure, Day 2: Arakawa Dam

Invigorated by the delicious coffee, we decided to check out Arakawa Dam for the first time. We inspected their tent camping & bathroom facilities (seems like a good option) before checking out the dam itself & depressingly low reservoir level. We followed the road across the dam & found ourselves meandering through agricultural plots (a common feature of northern Okinawa).

LD Adventure, Day 2: Hiro's Coffee Farm

UPDATE: This cool little place just got a write-up in Stars & Stripes!

After packing up camp at the Higashi Beach (& getting a friendly American 4-wheel vehicle driver to pull us out of the sand), we continued north along the east coast on Hwy 70. Our first stop was at Hiro's Coffee, an awesome little coffee farm (we aren't the only ones that think so), where we had some delicious fresh brewed organic hot coffee. As we waited for the beverages, we were entertained by the free ranging chickens (were 1 or both roosters?). The very friendly owner struck up a conversation with us & graciously agreed to appear in our photo collection! It was so yummy & delightful that we even purchased a bag of dark roast beans (which we're currently enjoying using in our espresso maker), despite being natural penny-pinchers that too often end up supporting the coffers of the coffee giants.

The flier that came with our bag of beans:

Hiroshi Adachi, owner & proprietor of the establishment & a delightful man:

The menu - short & simple & pretty:

Despite the name, those are just coffee plants:

Slideshow of full photo set:

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Being entertained by the chickens (hens or roosters?) as we waited for our delicious coffee:

Labor Day Adventure: Day 1

We came up with a plan to explore the northern reaches of our fair island (not nearly as small as many people think) & camp out for at least 1 night with friends Ana & Robin. The van was basically loaded to capacity!

We began our Labor Day weekend adventures with Ana & Robin by driving north on Hwy 58 up the west side of the island & cutting across from Onna-son to Ishikawa & then continuing north on Hwy 329. In Kin Town, we explored a few beaches, got some bug spray & a water refill at Camp Hansen, visited the agriculture, paid a visit to a shrine & had a picnic Family Mart lunch at a park boasting a natural springs.

A huge banana spider on its web in the yard of the shrine:

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One of the day's highlights was a kayaking excursion through the Gesashi Mangrove Forest near Higashi Village. We took our inflatable kayaks but soon realized that the bike foot pump we borrowed wasn't going to be fun to use to pump them up. While Josh worked on one orally, a fellow inflatable raft owner in the parking lot offered us a space manual pump that he wasn't using. And much sooner than otherwise, we were on the water & enjoying the serene beauty!

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As the daylight waned on us, we began exploring beaches around Higashi Town in search of the best one for pitching a couple of tents.

Hermit crab witha really cool shell moseying along:

Eventually we found a gorgeous beach with soft sand & plenty of room for a van, 2 tents & 4 adults. We highly recommend this beach to anyone else out there that can handle a night without toilet facilities or running water!