This weekend we decided to do something a little bit diffrent. Being a holdiday weekend (having Monday off) we decided to make a trip to the Towada Snow and Ice Festivel on Lake Towada. It was about a 2 hour drive away but we very much enjoyed it. One of the guys Brandon works with (Honeycut) is getting married sometime soon and Lana came up from Tokyo for the weekend to visit. We asked them to join us (no point in us driving 2 cars up there when we have a van with lots of empty seats). The drive was so pretty at times. Just before you get to the lake you drive through the Oirase Gorge. I heard that it was beautiful in the summer and fall but it was breath taking in the winter. The frozen water falls were amazing to look at. The road was very narrow and when a tour buss was
coming your direction you tried to get as close to the side of the mountain as you couls, stop the car and close your eyes tight hoping they made it by. It was a bit funny. The locals (and us after we saw it was okay) will just stop in the road
(again, no shoulder here) and put on their blinkers, then take off to get pictures of the falls. Joey didn't much care for it but I sure did. We had a good time at the festivle. The food options were a bit, um...odd? Joey settled for a cup of frenc
h fries and an apple about the size of his head. I ended up with "chicken soup" which was kind of like a cabage soup with a chicken leg boiled in it along with a bunch of tofu (which I learned I don't like). Brandon found himself a hot dog of sorts but didn't seem to like it too much. They carved characters out of the snow and it was neat to see how creative they could be. They made a huge hill for the kids to go sledding down and a few smaller snow slides for the little ones. One of the slides even looked like Thomas the Train (you know Joey loved that). Joey tried to talk to the locals kids (wanting them to play with him) but they obviously didn't understand him. I am glad that we thought last minute before we left the house to grab his snow suit. He would not have had as much fun if we had not taken it. On the drive there, Mr. Honeycut brought his PSP2 (urg..I think that is what you call the thing) for Joey to play. Poor kid had a rough time the first 10 minutes but then got the hang of it. Gee...thanks..yet another thing for him to now ask for. He had a blast cutting up with Honeycut and Lana in the back. She is from Israel and speaks with an accent so he kept asking her to repeat herself. We have a cd in the car that Joey loves (Howdy Town) singing kids cowboy songs about mannors and sharing and such. Poor Lana had a hard time understanding it. While Joey was going down the big hill on the sled, I went inside a little building they had (just to get warm) and found a craft thing that I thought I could try. They took a ballon, filled it half way with water and the clamped the top shut. You then would dip it into a pot of hot w
ax for one second and remove it for 10 seconds, then repeat like 100 times. After about 100 times (long after your arms feel like they will fall off) you put dried leafs and such on it, then dip it 2 more time. They then remove the water and the ballon giving you a bowl of sorts. Not sure what to do with it but it was pretty. I guess they don't see too many Americans in this part of Japan because everyone kept coming up and watching me. One woman got so excited because her daughter knew a little english and they asked her to sit and help me understand what I was supposed to do. Another man that was their with his family had been recording his daughter making her bowl before me and stayed behind after they left so he could record the American. After I was done he asked me (through the girl who spoke "some" english) a few questions like where I was from (when I said Texas he asked "John Wayne?" and did a little gallop for me) and recorded it. It was funny to see how they acted around me. When I went back outside I found the rest of the gang ready to take pictures and then head back to base (we didn't want to drive in the snow and mountains at night) and after going in and out of the igloos we were on our way. It was a nice trip (even though I had a good cold going) and we enjoyed getting away from the base and seeing Japan. I can't wait until we can get out and see more!
This weekend we decided to do something a little bit diffrent. Being a holdiday weekend (having Monday off) we decided to make a trip to the Towada Snow and Ice Festivel on Lake Towada. It was about a 2 hour drive away but we very much enjoyed it. One of the guys Brandon works with (Honeycut) is getting married sometime soon and Lana came up from Tokyo for the weekend to visit. We asked them to join us (no point in us driving 2 cars up there when we have a van with lots of empty seats). The drive was so pretty at times. Just before you get to the lake you drive through the Oirase Gorge. I heard that it was beautiful in the summer and fall but it was breath taking in the winter. The frozen water falls were amazing to look at. The road was very narrow and when a tour buss was
coming your direction you tried to get as close to the side of the mountain as you couls, stop the car and close your eyes tight hoping they made it by. It was a bit funny. The locals (and us after we saw it was okay) will just stop in the road
(again, no shoulder here) and put on their blinkers, then take off to get pictures of the falls. Joey didn't much care for it but I sure did. We had a good time at the festivle. The food options were a bit, um...odd? Joey settled for a cup of frenc
h fries and an apple about the size of his head. I ended up with "chicken soup" which was kind of like a cabage soup with a chicken leg boiled in it along with a bunch of tofu (which I learned I don't like). Brandon found himself a hot dog of sorts but didn't seem to like it too much. They carved characters out of the snow and it was neat to see how creative they could be. They made a huge hill for the kids to go sledding down and a few smaller snow slides for the little ones. One of the slides even looked like Thomas the Train (you know Joey loved that). Joey tried to talk to the locals kids (wanting them to play with him) but they obviously didn't understand him. I am glad that we thought last minute before we left the house to grab his snow suit. He would not have had as much fun if we had not taken it. On the drive there, Mr. Honeycut brought his PSP2 (urg..I think that is what you call the thing) for Joey to play. Poor kid had a rough time the first 10 minutes but then got the hang of it. Gee...thanks..yet another thing for him to now ask for. He had a blast cutting up with Honeycut and Lana in the back. She is from Israel and speaks with an accent so he kept asking her to repeat herself. We have a cd in the car that Joey loves (Howdy Town) singing kids cowboy songs about mannors and sharing and such. Poor Lana had a hard time understanding it. While Joey was going down the big hill on the sled, I went inside a little building they had (just to get warm) and found a craft thing that I thought I could try. They took a ballon, filled it half way with water and the clamped the top shut. You then would dip it into a pot of hot w
ax for one second and remove it for 10 seconds, then repeat like 100 times. After about 100 times (long after your arms feel like they will fall off) you put dried leafs and such on it, then dip it 2 more time. They then remove the water and the ballon giving you a bowl of sorts. Not sure what to do with it but it was pretty. I guess they don't see too many Americans in this part of Japan because everyone kept coming up and watching me. One woman got so excited because her daughter knew a little english and they asked her to sit and help me understand what I was supposed to do. Another man that was their with his family had been recording his daughter making her bowl before me and stayed behind after they left so he could record the American. After I was done he asked me (through the girl who spoke "some" english) a few questions like where I was from (when I said Texas he asked "John Wayne?" and did a little gallop for me) and recorded it. It was funny to see how they acted around me. When I went back outside I found the rest of the gang ready to take pictures and then head back to base (we didn't want to drive in the snow and mountains at night) and after going in and out of the igloos we were on our way. It was a nice trip (even though I had a good cold going) and we enjoyed getting away from the base and seeing Japan. I can't wait until we can get out and see more!
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