Closing Out 2013: Retrospective & December Recap

Enjoying a fine day in Nagano, December 2013

The year 2013 has come and gone very quickly. Looking back, I would say it was a successful year. When writing this I was thinking about what I achieved last year and what to aim for next year. As a result, this post is one of the more reflective I've written and won't appeal to everyone. Invariably, it may sound a bit self-serving.

One of the most obvious successes for me was that I began writing this blog and stuck with it. For too long, I was apathetic about making a journal like this. But I recognized that I was loosing touch with family and friends back home. I also recognized that I was missing an opportunity to self-reflect on my life here and record my experiences in a way that I could appreciate later in my life. Well, finally in the spring of 2013, I pushed myself to get serious about keeping a blog and I’ve been able to average a little over three solid updates per month since I started. I still have to work much harder at keeping in touch with family and friends, but at least anyone interested has an easy way to see what’s going on in my life. And at the same time, I’ve found a way to look back on my own life.

Successes in 2013

In 2013, I vowed to get out and do more, see more, and experience more. I made up my mind that I was going to stop making excuses for avoiding certain aspirations of mine. Here are some of the notable successes I achieved in 2013:

• Despite living in Japan and having a desire to travel to more countries, I hadn’t found the confidence to really do so. But that changed when I made a trip to South Korea, Taiwan, and The Philippines. It was fantastic and now I can’t wait for my next trip.
• I was also eager to see more of the region where I’m currently living, but previously felt like it was too difficult to do without a car. But I said to hell with that and decided I would just use my bicycle instead of relying on others. Subsequently, I took bicycle trips in Aomori Prefecture to the far northwest, northeast, and southeast corners. And now I plan to do more in the new year. 
• I had wanted to climb Mount Fuji for a long time, but never took the initiative to do so. In the summer, I made it happen and enjoyed a hard-earned view of the sunrise from the top of one of the world’s most famous mountains.
• When I heard about a wild, crazy, colorful samba festival in Tokyo, I made a trip out to see it—expensive for a weekend trip but totally worth it.
• I made a real effort to get back into a consistent weight training routine. As a result, I increased my strength and achieved personal bests in such lifts as bench press, squat, and deadlift.
• I finally took the initiative to take the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficient Test). I won’t know the results until February but regardless of the outcome, it’s was a good step in breaking away from the language-learning plateau that I’ve been stuck on.
• For many years, I wanted to get serious about photography, but I never felt like I could justify spending the money on it. Finally in 2013, I made the leap and invested in much better photography equipment than I ever had before. Although it’s not the best gear, it has enabled me to progress my photography skills in ways which simply weren’t possible previously.

Looking Forward in 2014

I may have accomplished some good things last year, but I know that I still have a lot to learn and much to improve upon. I already have a list of new places I want to go and things I want to try. But I'm not going to get into those specifics here. Rather, as corny as it sounds, I also want to seek progress in strengthening my mind, body, and spirit. Tony Robbins, well-known life coach and motivational speaker, always talks about raising your standards, seeking progress, and focusing on your rituals to reach your goals... all as keys to finding true happiness. One of my favorite things Robbins said is, “it’s not what we get that makes us happy, it’s who we become and what we’re able to give.” That's a pretty good motto if you ask me.

Last year, I began making an effort to avoid negativity in my life. I want to continue making progress towards this ideal in which I can wake up every day with a positive outlook and spread optimism to others around me. I hope to spend less time getting distracting by things of little value, and instead use that time to read, learn, and strengthen my mind. One of the real habits I wish to develop this year is opening a real book instead of Facebook when I feel bored. In 2014, I want to step up my physical fitness goals as well. It's not just about lifting weights, but I need to focus on eating healthier again. And athough my current standards of exercise are decent, I think there's definitely room for improvement there too.

Lastly, I think it's time that I start thinking more seriously about my next step in life. Where do I go from here? What's my next passion in life and how can I prepare myself to reach it? There's a pretty famous lecture by Alan Watts in which he poses the simple question, "What would you like to do if money were no object?" He goes on to say that whatever you truly want to do in life (without regard to money), is exactly what you should do because otherwise you're just wasting your life doing something you don't like doing. Life may not be so simple, but it's good advice nonetheless and something for me to think about moving forward.

Happy New Year, 2014!

Recap - Final Weeks of 2013

In the final weeks of December, the weather grew cold and snowy. Schools finished up the term with closing ceremonies and work parties. I enjoyed Christmas parties with friends. And I left Aomori for a compact but fun, little vacation within Japan. I'll figured I'd let the pictures do the talking here.

Koda Junior High School

Closing Ceremony Before Winter Break

Making Christmas Cookies with Nozomi (pictured below, left)

Christmas Party with Friends

Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Salad, Bread, Fruit, and more!

Thanksgiving in Japan

Many delicious dishes

Christmas may be right around the corner, but I still wanted to finish a quick writeup about Thanksgiving in Japan. Although it’s not celebrated in the country, the local community of English teachers and other friends put together a nice Thanksgiving dinner to celebrate for ourselves. We had a big turnout this year and it was a great time!

We agreed to do a pot-luck style dinner and all brought something to share. I wish I could say that I spent hours cooking some amazing dish, but limited time forced me to simply bring ice cream to share. But others were nice enough to cook a variety of good stuff. We even had a turkey, which is really difficult to get around here. The party took place at the house of one of our older Japanese friends in the JET community; she often likes to be involved with the international community and is willing to help us out with things like this.

At the party, we put all of the food on a long table and grabbed whatever we liked. We chowed down on the delicious meal and chatted with our friends. At some point everyone started playing some casual party games too, like Catch Phrase or Taboo (word games). Maybe next year I'll be able to actually contribute something more worthwhile than vanilla ice cream!

The feast begins!

Playing some games after eating

Annual ALT Skills Conference

Guest Speaker from Akita University

Another quick update from November I thought I’d touch on is about the Annual Aomori ALT Skills Conference (ALT meaning, “Assistant Language Teacher”). The two-day conference is held every year for JET participants (Japan Exchange and Teaching Program) working in Aomori Prefecture and includes guest speakers, workshops, and training sessions with the goal of improving our teaching skills. In some ways, I think it’s also a good refresher for those of us who have been here multiple years, even if much of the information seems repetitive at times.

Break time between sessions

One of the challenges I have in my teaching context is promoting more classroom English. It's difficult to try to advise Japanese teachers when living in a society that places high value on hierarchy (I'm not sure this is the right word, but...); I often feel like teachers here don't think I have much to offer since they've worked in the system longer, are older, have more experience, etc. I was hoping to get some perspective on this issue at the conference, which was maybe half-successful. I may have heard some viewpoints but when it comes to taking action and making real changes, I still feel like it's an improbable feat. Yet for me personally, the conference reminds me that there are some success stories out there, I just have to keep working towards my goals.

The Annual Oirase Salmon Festival

In the third weekend of November, I went to the 8th Annual Oirase Salmon Festival (おいらせ鮭まつり). I heard all about it so I just had to check it out for myself. Oirase is a small town in southeastern Aomori Prefecture, near Misawa and Shichinohe. The family-friendly, salmon-themed event features the usual things like food vendors (especially salmon cuisine), live music, and festival games for children. These are great but the best activity is definitely the salmon catch.

Salmon Festival Grounds

The salmon catch is a fun activity which challenges people to catch feisty salmon with their bare hands, and then keep their catch and bring it home. It’s set up at a shallow pool filled with large adult salmon, and takes place a few times throughout the day. Anyone can join, regardless of age, by purchasing tickets for one of the time slots (In 2013, tickets costs 1000 yen each, or about $10). Buying one ticket allows you to catch and keep one salmon, two tickets allows for two salmon, and so on. A single individual may buy multiple tickets for him/herself if desired. Besides the tickets, boots and gloves rentals are available for a cheap price and necessary unless you bring your own.

They have no idea what's coming

In regards to the actual salmon catch, it lasts just five minutes. Needless to say, the goal is to successfully catch a salmon for yourself before time expires, but there are also extra rewards for catching the largest fish, smallest fish, and catching with the most style. Once the five minutes is up, participants must exit the pool whether they were able to get a fish or not. However, unsuccessful participants can later exchange their ticket for a salmon, just the same. Lastly, fish cleaning is available (again for a small fee) and recommended unless you really want to do it yourself.

Running out into the pool at the starting bell

On the day I went, I bought a single ticket and walked over to the pool area. I was lead over to one side of the pool and waited for the catch to begin with the other participants. On the opposite side, spectators watched in anticipation. The starting bell rang and I hopped into the pool. Most of the poor salmon went into panic mood and frantically swam around looking for and escape. I’ll admit that I felt a little bad about the whole thing as it doesn’t seem very humane, but at least they aren’t getting a sharp hook through the mouth. On the flip side, it’s pretty entraining to see many of the participants screaming and prancing around as they try to catch a salmon.

Man catching three salmon

For the first few minutes I was looking for the biggest fish possible, but then decided just to grab whatever I saw because I didn’t want to be left empty-handed. Personally, I didn’t find this to be difficult, despite what others had said. The pool is shallow enough and the salmon are plentiful, so it was just a matter of quickly grabbing one as they swam by. I ended up with a relatively-small salmon, but I was thrilled with the catch and it was such an interesting experience when all was said and done.

Here's my catch!

Apparently, Oirase has an Annual Baby Salmon Release every March. During this event, people release baby salmon into the river so they can breed and return as adults in autumn, when they can then be caught for the Salmon Festival. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find much about the origins of the festival. Nevertheless, it was a unique experience!

Mochi-Making

After my last update in Autumn, my free time has diminished so it’s been harder to update my blog recently. Work at school has picked up; I’ve been working on new projects for junior high school students and preparing more materials for elementary school teachers. As winter has also strengthened in the past few weeks, it takes me longer to get around town on my bike. Nonetheless, I’m keeping active and still taking part in a some interesting events, such as mochi-making.

freshly-made mochi

Mochi (餅, rice cake) is a popular Japanese food traditionally made by pounding warm, cooked rice with a large wooden mallet until it becomes a soft, chewy substance. A short-grain glutinous rice is used to give it the sticky, highly-elastic quality that characterizes it. There are many ways to eat it, such as with sweets, soups, and more. It’s also used as decoration during the New Year’s holiday season. Nowadays, mochi-making machines exist, but the culture is not lost. The traditional "mochi-pounding ceremony," Mochitsuki (餅つき), is still fairly common, especially around this time of the year.



I’ve have the opportunity to participate twice at elementary schools, and I've really enjoyed each experience. The yearly event draws the local community together, and many of the students' parents or grandparents come to help out. During my first time last year, I meet some very friendly grandfathers. This year, I had chances to meet more of the students’ fathers. This kind of friendliness has been a really nice aspect of the events.

Hammering rice into mochi

Of course, the actual process of making mochi by hand can be pretty fun too and involves three basic steps. First, the rice is soaked and cooked overnight. Second, the rice is pounded with wooden mallets in a heavy wooded mortar. And lastly, the gooey mass is formed into small round balls or other shapes. Based on my personal experience, it seems like the second step of mochi-pounding is traditionally reserved for men, whereas women take on the third step of forming the mochi into shapes. Certainly anyone is free to participate in any step they wish (and all kids at the school--boys and girls--get to swing the mallet a few times), but I’ve never seen a single Japanese women pounding mochi nor a Japanese man rolling it into balls. I don’t think it’s sexist, I think it’s just based on preference. Men generally like to puff out their chest, flex their arms, and smack mochi with the heavy mallet, while women generally like to chat and gossip around a table with their friends.

Students' mothers rolling mochi balls

At the elementary school events I attended, there were a few different kinds of mochi to choose from when all was said and done. Last year we were a but spoiled; for example, we could make a ice cream and mochi dish with a variety of toppings like red bean paste, sprinkles, even chocolate chips. It was awesome! However, this year was slightly less extravagant and was limited to kinako mochi (roasted and slightly sweet with soy flour coating) and ozoni (a kind of mochi and vegetable soup). But both are traditional New Year’s specialties and very delicious.

Left: ozoni, Right: kinako mochi

The Brilliant Colors of Autumn in Aomori

Autumn is a special time of the year in Japan. The season of kōyō (紅葉), or changing colors of the leaves, provides one of the best opportunities to truly appreciate the natural beauty of the country. A colorful complement to the white landscape of sakura (桜, cherry blossoms) in the spring, kōyō gives people a chance to experience all of the bold yellows, oranges, and reds of fall. Furthermore, I think living in Aomori where the viewing period is so brief tends to emphasize the importance of cherishing such a pretty season.

Fall Colors around Aomori Prefecture

The changing colors start in mid-September on the northernmost parts of Japan and arrive in the lower regions of the country by late November. In Aomori Prefecture, it starts in late October and finishes in mid-November. Although Kōyō can be seen throughout much of Japan, I feel fortunate to be living in Aomori Prefecture where a great number of excellent viewing spots exist. And even though I've only had the opportunity to see a handful of the best spots in the region, I think I've been able to see a nice variety.

Aomori City - 青森市

A quiet street in the middle of Aomori City (青森市)

The most convenient place for me to see the Fall colors is right in the city where I live. Throughout the year I often cruise around town on my bicycle, and Autumn is no exception.

Mount Hakkoda - 八甲田山

Spectacular views from Mt. Hakkoda

One of the most popular destinations is Mount Hakkoda (八甲田さん) in central Aomori Prefecture. The Hakkoda Ropeway is available to take passengers to the summit for some truly spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and thousands of trees spread throughout. In the winter, the same ropeway is used to take skiers and snowboarders to the top (I'll be sure to write about my own snowboarding experiences later in the year). Public transportation is available from Aomori Station to the Hakkoda Ropeway via JR Bus.

Oirase Gorge - 奥入瀬渓流

Feeling refreshed at Oirase Gorge, just days before the leaves changed

Southeast of Mount Hakkoda is the Towada-Hachimantai National Park (十和田八幡平国立公園). One of the most scenic parts of this is Oirase Gorge (奥入瀬渓流), where a beautiful stretch of river characterized by crisp rapids and various waterfalls flows. Not surprising, it's designated as a National Special Place of Scenic Beauty by the Japanese government. Following the river leads to Lake Towada (十和田湖), a large caldera lake on the border of both Aomori and Akita Prefectures. It's another very nice area to explore. It's worth noting that a main road and walking trails exist alongside the stream; the road makes it very easy to get there but can be potentially distracting while trying to appreciate the natural scenery. Personally, I've never found this to be a huge issue since the sounds of the river and falls do a pretty good job of overpowering traffic noises. To get there by public transit, ride the JR bus bound for Lake Towada from Hachinohe Station or Aomori Station and get off at the Yakeyama stop.

Shirakami Mountain Area (白神山地)

Shirakami mountain area / forest in Fukaura 

Shirakami-sanchi (白神山地, lit. White God Mountain Area) is another special place to visit during the fall--or any other time of the year, for that matter. It's a large area stretching across southwestern Aomori Prefecture and into Akita Prefecture. The central core of the region is comprised of the last virgin beech forests in all of Japan, and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This protected region is not typically visited by tourists as it requires a permit to enter, but there is plenty of beautiful areas to explore outside of this section. One of the unique features I saw on my recent trip was Aoike (青池, or "Blue Pond"). It's one of many small ponds/lakes in an area of Shirakami called Juniko (十二湖, or "Twelve Lakes"). The pond is famous for it's naturally deep-blue color; I've included a picture  below but it's one of those things you just have to see in person to fully appreciate.

Blue Pond, part of Juniko in Shirakami Sanchi

There are some really impressive views to see in the Shirakami forest area as well. One such view is overlooking the Nihon Canyon (日本キャニオン, "Japan Canyon"), which is said to be like a miniature version of the Grand Canyon in the USA. In the picture below, part the canyon can be seen on the right side and in the distance.

Looking out towards the Nihon Canyon

Nakano-Momiji Mountain (中野紅葉山)

Nakano-Momiji Mountain (中野紅葉山) in Kuroishi City 

The last place I'll talk about here is Nakano Momiji Yama (中野紅葉山), located in eastern Kuroishi. It's another amazing place to see the Fall colors, with hundreds of varieties of Japanese maple trees (もみじ) spread around a small temple and winding river. I had the opportunity to go there at night when the whole area was illuminated by various colored lights. I definitely recommend trying to see kōyō from this perspective (at night) if you get the  chance, as it just "feels" a lot different and the atmosphere is really cool. Unfortunately I haven't been to Nakano-Momiji during the day, but I've heard it's incredible so I'm sure that's worth checking out as well.

Get out there

The more I explore Aomori, the more I realize what a beautiful place it is. Whether it's during the Fall or any other season, traveling around to see all to wonderful spots has become a bit of a growing addiction for me. I hope my photos can showcase some of the beautiful places in Aomori, but I hope it also inspires you to get out and explore wherever you are living too.

Final note
I realize that one of the places I should have included in this post is Hirosaki, since it's right next to Aomori and also has some amazing autumn colors. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to go this year. But still I might update this post later with at least a brief description about it.

Annual JHS School Festival

The opening ceremony begins

Back when I was a junior high school student, I can remember my school’s annual "open house". It always happened on a weeknight for a few hours, when parents could stop by after work and check out what their children had been up to at school. Teachers decorated the rooms with selected projects and students' work. Parents could casually chat with teachers. As a student, I don't remember having to do anything in particular—besides perhaps eavesdropping on what my parents and teachers were chatting about hoping the discussion stayed positive. In Japan, the rough equivalent to this is the annual school festival. Similarly, the festival gives parents a chance to see what their children are doing in school. But compared to my junior high school experience, it's carried out in a completely different way in Japan.

Students watching an informal quiz game

Here, the school festival takes much more preparation. Teachers and students start getting ready for the event many weeks in advance. Teachers plan which projects they want to showcase and how they want to decorate their classrooms. Teachers also have to manage and oversee the preparations related to the various student organizations and activities at the school. Students are very busy with all sorts of things, including making decorations for their classrooms, creating class newspapers, planning performances for the festival, practicing for the chorus competition, and more. The festival spans a full weekend, starting early in the morning on Saturday and finishing late in the afternoon on Sunday. The ceremonies, performances, and activities take place in the gymnasium; students work and projects can be viewed in the school's classrooms and hallways; and lunch is eaten in classrooms on a designated floor. 

This year, the event started with a typical opening ceremony, including several speeches and singing of the school song. Next, students tried some activities like quiz games and watched some performances such as a fun glow-stick dance routine.

Glow-stick dance performance

For lunchtime, students had to stay at the school and eat during specified time slots, one for each grade. Various food and drink items could be ordered, including a variety of items that the students' mothers cooked/baked.

After lunch, the first- and second-grade chorus competition began. Each class sang two songs; the first was a standard song which every class was required to sing, the second was an original selection chosen by each class. In regards to this system, hearing the same song over and over got old really fast in my opinion, but still I really enjoyed listening to the original songs. And more generally-speaking, the simple fact that Japanese schools are able to get virtually all students to participate and take the competition seriously, is nothing short of amazing. Looking back to when I was a junior high school student, there's no way that would ever happen--especially for us boys who were "too cool to sing".

Chorus competition

The second day of the school festival started with the English speech contest participants presenting their speeches again. Several months ago they had participated in a city-wide contest (see my blog post here), but for most of their peers it was the first chance to listen to their speeches. As an English teacher, I was delighted to see them give their speeches again. Following a short break, the drama club then came on stage to present their original play titled, Yakusoku (約束, meaning "Promise"). Starring an all-female cast, the play was a teenage-girl drama which revolved around a group of friends attending a dance school and preparing for a big event. The story may have not appealed to me but no matter, I just walked around and snapped pictures. Unfortunately for the boys on the other hand, they were required to sit and watch the whole thing.

The drama club presents their play, Yakusoku

The play took up most of the morning, and then the students ate lunch. The schedule for the afternoon began with the third-grade and school-wide chorus competitions. Being the final year for the third graders, their songs were more difficult than those of the younger grades and students really seemed to bring their voices together powerfully. Shortly following the impressive competitions, an awards ceremony took place. During this, the school principal formally gave out various awards and trophies to a selection of student groups/classes, such as the chorus competition winners. Upon winning, the students cheered and shared high-fives in celebration.

Left: the school principal gives a speech; Right: award ceremony

Once the gold trophies and stylized glass plaques were all handed out, the festival started to come to a close. Students representing each class came on stage to give small speeches about the school year, important life lessons they have learned, and what they hope for in the future. For many of the third graders, it was emotional and some of them couldn't help but shed a few tears as memories of their past three years undoubtably rushed through their minds. Finally, all students and teachers stood up straight, and sang one last song together to finish the year's school festival.

I think the school festival is a special time for schools in Japan. It marks a halfway point in the school year; it happens just as the leaves are about to change colors and the temperatures start to drop. For the strained third graders, it's a fresh reminder that graduation is around the corner and the pressure to get into a good high school is building. For first graders, it's a bit of a turning point in which they have now adapted to life as a junior high school student. Perhaps second graders may realize that just a year later it will be them on the stage with tears running down their faces. What are teachers thinking? Is this damn thing over yet?

Aomori Autumn Festival & Horseback Archery

2013 Event Flyer

The 7th Annual Aomori Autumn Festival (Aomori Aki Matusuri, 青森秋まつり), took place on a warm sunny day on October 14 in Gappo Park (合浦公園). It featured a fun variety of things to see and do. Families and children could try activities like balloon art, making bopan (棒パン, bread on a stick or “bannock”), riding up high in the basket of a cherry picker (basket crane), and more. Entertainment included live musical performances such as shamisen (三味線, traditional Japanese three-stringed instrument), as well as lively dance performances like yasakoi (よさこい, a unique style of Japanese dance). The variation was great and it was nice to see lots of families out enjoying the festival, but the best part for me was the yabusame (流鏑馬), or horseback archery event.

Like so many other times this year, I was fortunate to go on a day when the weather was fantastic—lucky considering the previous days had been filled with pounding rainstorms. As such, the fresh blue skies and slight breeze provided me with a pleasant bike ride to the park, located on the east side of Aomori and less than half an hour from my apartment. Once there, I spotted the yabusame event on the beach and quickly rode over. I had heard about this kind of Japanese archery before, but never had any chances to see it. I was amped and excited. I parked my bike, pulled out my camera gear, and walked up to the horse lane set up for the event. But when I took a closer look I was surprised to see an old man riding slowly atop a horse, gingerly shooting a bow at a close target, and missing badly. I said to myself, “are you kidding me?” I though must have missed the show and I felt deflated. 

As it turned out, I had arrived early before the actual event started. And a friend I ran into there told me the organizers were letting ordinary people try, and that we should too before the main event began. Needless to say, we jumped on the opportunity and gave it a shot (literally!). With several organizers guiding us along the beach, we slowly rode the horses and shot rubber-tipped arrows at three consecutive styrofoam targets. Even at a slow pace, it was awesome! I hit all three targets easily, but honestly it wasn't much of a challenge at that speed. After hitting the targets, we then rode back to the starting place, unmounted the horses, and said thanks for the unique opporunity. 

Me trying yabusame; very fun!

With an hour before the main yabusame event would start, I walked to the main festival area to see what has happening and caught the last few minutes of yasakoi. This is a type of Japanese dance that originated in Japan more than 60 years ago from a fusion of traditional dance and modern music. Dances are generally choreographed by large teams of men and women of all ages, and popular during various events. The high-energy dance is perhaps most importantly characterized by the colorful costumes participants wear, and the small wooden clappers called naruko (鳴子) used during the dances. Unfortunately I missed most of the dance performances that day at Gappo Park, and I still have yet to see yasakoi in all its glory. Hopefully I'll get another chance to see it soon.

Yasakoi at the 2013 Aomori Autumn Festival

Back at the beach, the real horseback archery event was about to kick off. This part of the festival was called the Uto Hama Yabusame Taikai (善知鳥浜流鏑馬大会, or the Uto Beach Horseback Achery Tournament). The organizers of the event came from a relatively small but diverse yabusame group from Aomori City, consisting of young amateurs, old veterans, and both women and men. As the participants prepared and did some target practice, I found a good viewing spot near one of the targets. Soon after, the event began.

Sequence of female archer, direct hit

Yabusame is said to have it's origins from the Kamakura Period (1192-1334), which at that time was used as a way help train and prepare samurai for war. Today, it's purpose has obviously changed, but it still follows the same basic principles. As such, horse-mounted archers race down a narrow track (about 250 meters long) on a galloping horse and attempt to hit three consecutive targets while passing by. It's nothing short of impressive and clearly takes a high level of skill.

Although the event was called a "tournament," it wasn't really a competition. Instead, it was a showcase of a really cool part of Japanese culture. I'm thrilled to have tried it myself, and realized how difficult it must be to quickly and accurately shoot multiple arrows at targets while bouncing around on a running horse. Yet this is a defining part of the culture which I've seen many times before--Japanese have an amazing ability to choose a craft or specialty and truly master it.

Tanesashi Coast & Gonohe Music Fest

In the last weekend of September, my friend Patrick and I took a fun day trip to a couple towns in the southeastern area of Aomori Prefecture. Starting from Aomori City, we put our bikes on a train and took the nearly two-hour ride to Hachinohe City (八戸市). Once off the train, we jumped on our bikes and headed out towards our first destination, the Tanesashi Coast (種差海岸, Tanesashi kaigan). We were very lucky to have excellent weather once again.

My friend Patrick (right) and I (left) at Hachinohe Station

Riding through the city had a much different feeling than I'm used to experiencing. Whereas other areas I've seen have been characterized by commercial business, local fishing operations, vast rice patties, or uninhabited places of beauty, Hachinohe City is a stout industrial city comprised of large steel, chemical, and fishing industries and a big international shipping port. But as we approached the eastern coast the atmosphere transformed and the natural landscape exposed itself to us. One of our brief stops was at Kabushima Shrine, a quaint little Shinto shrine located up a tiny hill on the coast. 

Kabushima Shinto Shrine in Hachinohe

We then proceeded to the Tanesashi Coast, about 20 kilometers from the city center. The coast is vast with great variation in its terrain, including sections of rough coastline with large jagged boulders, an immense sandy beachfront, and expansive grassy areas. My friend and I spent most of our time in the more rugged stretches of coast. We watched the powerful ocean waves crash down and rapidly sweep up the sandy shore, then gently recede back into the ocean before the next big wave came--the heartbeat of the ocean, perhaps. There was something very relaxing about it and honestly I wish I could have spent all day there.

Chilling on the coast; perfect weather

We also stopped at a massively-wide sandy beach a little further down the coastline. We played around a bit, attempting a epic frisbee throw in the process. Unfortunately we couldn't quite complete the challenge successfully since we only had time for one attempt (but we did get close). We took in the impressive views a bit more and snapped a few photos, then decided that we better get on our way. It's worth nothing that expansive grassy areas of the coast exist just a little farther south that we couldn't explore that day. We simply didn't have time to see everything, but based on pictures I've seen it also looks stunning (you can see some images on Trip Advisor here). Next chance I have, I'll definitely be checking out that area in more detail. But on this day we wanted to get going to our next destination, a music festival in Gonohe (五戸), about 30 kilometers away.

Massive sandy beach on the Tanesashi Coast

The Gonohe International Music Festival (五戸国際ミュージックフェスティバル) took place at Kowatari-Koen Park (小渡平公園) from late morning until dusk. The whole event was created, planned, and organized by two classy JET participants, Dave Herlich and Michael Warren. According to the event website, it was created as "a celebration of the music, the food, and the people of the world."

Gonohe International Music Festival stage

The event featured a variety of performers and artists, including the following: Axé Capoeira, The Hatsukoi Four, Kyle & The College Try, Zodiac Nova Pop-Machine and Contemporary System, Michael Warren's Honest People Band, Satomi Okazaki + Kazuma Sotozono. There were also two traditional music/dance performances in both Japanese and West-African flavors. Notably, both organizers participated; Dave Herlich in Axé Capoeira, and Michael Warren in his self-titled band (above). Members from Kyle & The College Try are also well-involved with the JET community (although are not specifically JET participants themselves).

Kyle and the College Try performing on stage

Gonohe International Music Festival Flyer

In addition to the music and performances, there was also food and drink vendors present. People were also playing frisbee and kicking soccer balls around throughout the day too. Otherwise it was a good chance to see old friends and make new ones. The festival wasn't massive in scale, but I don't think it had to be. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the event and everything went smoothly as planned. Hats off to Dave, Michael, and everyone involved in making the music festival possible.

Just as the festival was wrapping up and the sun was going down, Patrick and I left the park. We had to bike about 20 kilometers to get back to Hachinohe, where we could board a train returning to Aomori City. It had to be one of the fastest paces we've ever biked, as a combination of factors seemed to really push us to ride fast. We were tired from the long day, it was getting dark and cold very quickly, and we were in a fairly rural area with narrow roads. Our timing was so good, that we actually managed to catch an much earlier train than we had expected. A couple hours later we made it back to the city. 

It was a great day. The weather was fabulous, and I got to see a lot of new and interesting places. Tanesashi Coast was incredible, and the Gonohe International Music Festival was fun. It was a nice way to finish off the month, and take on another nice bike trip before the weather makes doing so impossible.

Tokyo: Fun at Disney Sea & Disneyland

I've been to Tokyo many times, but a couple weeks ago I finally got the chance to enjoy Disney Sea for the first time. The charming theme park sits right next to Tokyo Disneyland; both of which are conveniently located just 15 minutes away from Tokyo Station via public transit (JR Keiyo Line). Whereas Tokyo Disneyland features a storybook-fantasy aesthetic perfect for young children, Tokyo Sea is aimed more at adults with a nautical, worldly theme. Prior to this recent trip, I had also been to Tokyo Disneyland. So even though I'm going to focus on my new experience at Disney Sea in this post, I will also briefly touch on my past experience at Disneyland as well.

Tokyo Disney Sea (東京ディズニーシー)

I went with my friend, Nozomi, during "Disney's Halloween" special

My visit to Disney Sea was really great and a lot of fun! I went together with my good friend, Nozomi, during the park's annual Halloween event season. "Disney's Halloween" features festive decorations throughout the park, unique food and gift items, and special Halloween-themed shows. I was impressed how the park incorporated this theme throughout while keeping it fun but classy. I think the balance between the original themes and Halloween decorations was good and I never felt like it was overdone. Indeed, I have a lot of positive things to say about the fabulous park. Tokyo Disney Sea is nicely decorated, feels spacious, and is a truly pleasant place to spend a whole day exploring. Whether people come with significant others, friends, or family, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Nozomi and I visited the park on a breezy, blue sky day. The main entrance of the park opens up to Mediterranean Harbor. It's a picturesque area, themed as an Italian port city, that has various shops, restaurants, and a couple attractions. It's a nice place to relax and catch some of the special shows presented there. Disney Sea Hotel MiraCosta is located here as well, which is a particularly neat addition as it blends seamlessly into the park and even has guest rooms that are facing the inside of harbor (just be prepared to spend a lot of money to reserve one of these amazing rooms).

Mediterranean Harbor at Tokyo Disney Sea

Mediterranean Harbor is just one of seven main areas, or "ports of call" in the park. From here, visitors can walk around either side of the harbor to reach the different areas, each featuring a distinctive theme. Walking to the left in a southwest direction will lead to the American Waterfront (20th century eastern seaboard) and Port Discovery ("marina of the future"). Walking to the right in a northwest direction will lead to the Mysterious Island (mythological volcano fortress), Mermaid Lagoon (based on The Little Mermaid), and the Arabian Coast (based on Aladdin). The last area, Lost River Delta (Aztec ruins and jungle), is located in the back of the park and can be reached a few different ways.

Modified Disney Sea park map | © Disney All rights reserved

One of the first things Nozomi and I did was get "fast passes" for the Tower of Terror  ride. These passes allow visitors to effectively reserve a time slot for certain rides, return later, and skip the regular long lines to board quickly. Obviously, this is highly recommend since popular rides can have regular wait times of 1-2 hours (see my tips below for details). In the next couple hours we casually walked over to the Mysterious Island and then went on the ride, Journey to the Center of the Earth, a light roller coaster ride built inside of the volcano located there. We continued walking around for a while, taking some snapshots and eating some yummy Halloween-inspired, pumpkin-flavored churros. 

Our next stop was at Mermaid Lagoon. This is mostly a large indoor area with rides and play areas designed for young kids; but for adults it's still worth checking out as the underwater feel of the place is really neat. There's also an amazing Little Mermaid show we watched at the theater there and is recommended. By mid-afternoon, we returned to Mediterranean Harbor to watch the big, colorful daytime show called "The Legend of Mythica". Afterwards, we went the Lost River Delta and ate at a restaurant for a real meal. We took our time, and then hopped over to get a fast pass for the park's looper roller coaster, Raging Spirits. We continued on to the Arabian Coast and explored the area for little while; I though it was neat that it looked straight out of scenes from the movie [Aladdin].

Left to Right: Mermaid Lagoon, Legend of Mytica Show, Arabian Coast 

Finally, our time slot for the Tower of Terror was approaching. We had time to make a quick stop at Toy Story Mania, and then walked a few minutes over to the ride. With the fast passes, we were able to skip the regular 90-minute line and get on the ride within 15 minutes. Personally, I think this is the best ride in Disney Sea because it's the most all-around fun. The building's decor is detailed and the ambience is cool; but the best aspect is that the free-falling elevator ride is really suspenseful since you don't know when it's going to drop.

View of Tower of Terror from across Mediterranean Harbor

Our timing was really perfect that night. After the fun ride we had just enough time to find an excellent viewing spot for the big nighttime Disney show, Fantasmic! The theme features Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice, who, "creates a magical world through the power of imagination". It's a must-see show. It's packed with lively entertainment and cool visual effects including lasers, fire, etc. Then, just as it ended, we had enough time to walk over to the Lost River Delta to ride Raging Spirits. Again, we could skip through the long lines using the fast passes we obtained earlier. This is probably the park's best roller coaster, and I loved that it had a fun loop. That being said, keep in mind that all roller coasters in Disney Parks are very mild. There's really no comparison to other parks' coasters I've ridden. Nevertheless, you don't come to Disney Sea or Disneyland specifically for the coasters, you come for the whole experience.

Disney night show, Fantasmic!

Another photo from Fantasmic!

Indeed, my experience was really fantastic! Nozomi and I enjoyed the whole day there and were able to do a lot of things without having to rush at all. Visiting the park, you may feel like you need to go on every ride and see every show, but it's much nicer to take your time and enjoy the overall experience. Perhaps the best aspect is not even the attractions and entertainment in the park, but the people you can enjoy it with. 

By the time we finished riding the roller coaster, Disney Sea was getting ready to close so we made our way to the front of the park to the exits. We captured a few more pictures and quickly browsed a gift shop before walking out through the gates. We were tired, but happy that we could have such a nice time at the theme park. 

For more information, please see the official website: Tokyo Disney Sea (English) / 東京ディズニーシー (日本語) .

Daniel's Tips:

• Fast Pass: instructions in English / 日本語; fast passes are free and allow you to skip the regular long lines for select popular attractions. Each fast pass admits one guest only--and can only be obtained about once every 2-3 hours from my experience. My advice: go early and get fast passes as early as possible!
• You are allowed to board most rides with a small backpack, purse, etc. I could ride the roller coasters with my small backpack, for example. So this shouldn't be a concern but obviously use your own discretion.
• Be sure to check out some of the shows, not only rides.
• Camera tripods are not allowed. My bag was inspected and passed security with a mini tripod inside, but inside the park, staff asked me to put it away. If you are sneaky, you can probably get away with using it--but the better solution may be to not bring it and instead just ask the staff to take pictures for you when necessary.
• Bring sunscreen; the stuff sold at the shops wasn't good quality yet still expensive.

Getting there:

From Tokyo Station, take the JR Keiyo Line (towards Sogo) to Maihama Station. Get off and walk to the Disney Resort Line (monorail). Take this to the Disney Sea entrance.

************************************************

Tokyo Disneyland (東京ディズニーランド)

In February of 2009, I visited Japan for the first time. Looking back now, I realize that I was really fortunate to have good people around me at the time, because they introduced me to their country and really helped me enjoy my trip. I went to some of the most popular cities, including Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, and of course Tokyo. There in Tokyo, I was able to spend a day at Tokyo Disneyland during their 25th Anniversary.

Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983, almost 20 years before Disney Sea. Interestingly it was the first Disney park built outside the U.S., yet is not actually owned by the Walt Disney Company (instead the theme is licensed to another company). The theme park was built just like it's American predecessors--Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom (Disney World) in Florida--and honestly feels pretty much the same. I had been to Disney World a long time ago when I was about 10 years old, and walking around in Tokyo's version seems nearly identical in my opinion.

It's fun just like Disney Sea, but as I previously mentioned, it's definitely aimed much more at children. There's much more of a fantasy motif throughout the park. There are many more cute-looking designs and decor present. And Disney characters are much easier to see and interact with here.

The park has seven distinctly-themed areas, and are nearly identical to the same areas found in the American Disney Resort Parks. They include the World Bazaar (20th century America),Adventureland (New Orleans/jungle themes), Westernland (old American west), Critter Country (forest theme), Fantasyland (home to Cinderella's Castle), Toontown (cartoonish-styled area), and Tomorrowland (futurist theme).

Comparing both Tokyo Disney Parks, I could appreciate Disney Sea a little more from an overall perspective. For young people or adults, I definitely recommend Disney Sea if you have to choose one park to visit. If you are with your family or young children, it's more of a toss up. But ultimately, both parks can be a lot of fun!

For more information, please see the official website: Tokyo Disneyland (English) / 東京ディズニーシー (日本語).