Matsuri Local Style

Nothing says Japan like a good community festival, or matsuri. Every year, we go with my wife's family to a festival in my city in September. It is definitely a festive time. The people in each neighborhood build some kind of small wooden ark or something, put some red padding and decorations on it, and put a drum called a taiko inside. Then at the festival, the men carry the amazingly heavy thing up, down, and around a local shrine, while boys sit inside, pound the taiko, and chant. Every neighborhood has the same chant and virtually the same taiko design, but that doesn't matter. All in all, it is a good time for the city.

Of course, no Japanese festival is complete without many food stands (called yatai in Japanese). This one sells yakitori, or grilled chicken on a stick. They also have stands where you can buy fried noodles, octopus balls, okonomiyaki (a pancake-like food topped with pork, green onions, and good sauce), candy apples, fried chicken, and others. It's the best part of the festival, in my opinion.

More taiko-pounding fun. Note the colorful festive costumes some of the people are wearing to support their neighborhood.

2007 Hokkaido Trip - Part IV

While driving through Kitano city, we came across a unique place - a fox ranch! It was a fenced-in patch of land with foxes just roaming around. The place wasn't that impressive - the ranch was old, run-down, a bit stinky, and pricey. But there was something interesting about walking around foxes.

The foxes were shy and didn't want to be around people for the most part. However, I managed to sneak up on one that was sleeping and get a good picture.

2007 Hokkaido Trip - Part III

Oshinkoshin Falls in the Shiretoko area. Not that impressive, but the place was crowded with tourists.

A view of the north coast of Shiretoko peninsula.

It doesn't get any clearer than that. You would be glad to know that we didn't come across any bears, or vice versa.

A view of a tranquil lake in Shiretoko National Park.

2007 Hokkaido Trip - Part II

More food from Kushiro. There's a market near the train station where you buy a bowl of plain rice, then you go around to the various food stands and get a bit of seafood from each one put right on top of the rice! This bowl has crab, salmon, salmon eggs, and shrimp.

A view of the wetlands in Kushiro Shitsugen National Park.

A view of Lake Akan in the middle of northeast Hokkaido. I don't know what the big deal was about this lake, but apparently it is a popular resort area. This area is famous for little balls of algae called marimo.

While driving, we came across a rest stop with an old vintage train car. Upon closer inspection, we found that the inside of the car is now actually used as a hotel! I'd be afraid the thing would start rolling away in the middle of the night while sleeping in there.

2007 Hokkaido Trip Part I

In August 2007, my wife and I decided to take another trip to Hokkaido. We went to a part of the island we had never been before, the northeast. We first flew into the city of Kushiro, then drove up to the north coast and explored Shiretoko before returning home.

The sign on the right of this police station certainly reminds us about how close to Russia we were.

There wasn't much to see in Kushiro city itself, but the food was good. The fish on the left is called hokke, which is pretty good when barbecued. We also had a spare rib, chicken on a stick, and some clam.

Nothing like a rice bowl with salmon eggs and seaweed on top to finish off a good meal!

Hawaii Trip Part X - The last moment

On the day we were supposed to return to Japan, the flight was booked, and the three of us volunteered to give up our airplane seats and return the following day. In return, we got another night in beautiful Honolulu and a free night's stay at a hotel that was much better than the one we had stayed at. Here's the view from that hotel. We enjoyed a nice dinner at the hotel's restuarant, enjoyed the music, and swam - a nice way to end a great vacation.

Hawaii Trip Part IX

A view of the caldera that is Kilauea volcano, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, May 2007.

This is me on the edge of the top of Kilauea.

A road in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park that was covered by lava several years ago. Slowly-flowing lava is always coming out of Kilauea, but to see the live stuff, you have to hike a ways from this point, maybe an hour or so.

Hawaii Trip Part VIII

On our last full day in the Big Island, we made a tour of the southern part of the island. This is an exhibit at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park in the southwest part of the island. The hut, I guess, was common in Hawaii years and years ago.

Me and some friends at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau.

Some more friends, except this time the place was Punaluu Black Sand Beach Park, and the friends were sea turtles catching a few rays in the midday sun. What a surreal sight that was!

More of the black sand at Punaluu. Located in southeast Big Island, it's a must-stop for anybody driving around the island.