My Birthday! - Day One in Nagasaki

We're finally calming down after lots of traveling in January. Over the weekend, we went to Nagasaki on an ITT (Information, Tours, and Travel) trip through the base. It was about a seven-hour trip by bus but they showed movies and I am pretty talented at falling asleep anywhere, anytime. 

One very unexpected highlight was that a lady sitting behind me recognized me from this blog! How thrilling! Hi, Melinda!

People unfamiliar with Japan's geography (me) might find it interesting that Japan is comprised of a few very large islands. We live on the biggest one - Honshu - and we were traveling south to Kyushu.

A mom and baby looking over the bridge to Kyushu at a rest stop.

Our Iwakuni bus and a hotel with a fun graphic behind it.

Our first stop on the trip was to see the Nagasaki Peace Park and Museum. As most people know from history class, America bombed both Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 with atomic bombs. This led to the end of the war with Japan, saving countless American lives, but these bombs devastated entire cities leaving almost no survivors at all. The stories we read in the Peace Museum were incredibly moving and brought many ethics debates into question. The most emotional artifact I saw was a clock that must have been in a basement because it had not caught on fire or simply melted from the heat of the blast. 

Image from this site

I think it symbolizes how time and life as Japanese knew it stopped and could never be the same again. There were other artifacts like a helmet with skull matter in it, melted glass bottles, Christian church remains, and more that were also horrifying to see and think about. 

Standing in the Peace Park with Peace Statue. The statue's right hand points to the threat of nuclear weapons while the extended left hand symbolizes eternal peace.

All in all, very informative, guilt-inducing, and not a great way to begin celebrating a birthday. 

So, the bus finally took us to our rooms at the Comfort Hotel Nagasaki. *Quick review: Tiny room with a hard bed and even tinier bathroom. Clean, comfortable, within walking distance to the train station even with luggage.*

We changed out of our bus clothes and got ready to hit the town for the Chinese New Year festival in Chinatown. Since I can't read Chinese, I told Joe it was for my birthday party. 

Much better! Chinatown is looking festive for my birthday!

Very pretty paper lanterns!

My favorite dude at the entrance to Chinatown

I love these lanterns!

We tried some steak on a stick, yum

Stacks of slightly sweetened pretzel-like treats

Possibly zero sugar in this steamed marble cake

Nice lanterns under the tent

Welcome to the year of the dragon!

Nice light display made of ramen spoons

Disgusting display of pig heads with candle sticks everywhere. Perhaps a sign of thanks for all the pork belly sandwiches being sold?

I love these lanterns!

Traditional dragon dance

A dragon dance in the festival square!

Festive panda: fun for kids, disconcerting for me and Joe.

A quick zoom around the square:

Tilt your head to see a lantern

Nagasaki has a rich history as the only port in Japan to allow foreigners to trade. British, Portuguese, and Dutch traders brought bits of culture over as you can see in the next video:

These acrobats were incredibly talented! I kept bracing myself every time this young man would throw a pot in the air.

Adorable:

I loved this Asian Jimmy Kimmel look-alike!

Jimmy Kimmel-san adds more nonsense to balance on top of:

"Oh, I'm just standing on my friend's head, wearing a leotard, doing the splits in the air, and balancing a pot on my head. What are you up to?"

 Putting your one-armed push-up to shame. 

We tried so many crazy Chinese foods (potstickers, pork belly, "bacon" sandwiches, and more) and saw so many great parts of Chinese culture on our trip to Chinatown in Nagasaki! It was very cold but braving the weather was worth it to see all the sights. 

When we got back to the hotel, Joe even surprised me with a bottle of Layer Cake Shiraz since I'm trying to stay away from sugars (even in birthday cakes!). This effort was made so much more special by the fact that you can't just go to a specialty shop for wine in Japan. He brought it all the way from his training exercise in North Carolina! What a sweetheart!

Toys R Us

On a recent Hiroshima adventure with my friends Jackie and Malania, we shopped in "thrift stores" that have designer handbag sections! Jackie and Malania are connoisseurs of quality leather and taught me how to inspect a bag to ensure it's authenticity and how to appreciate a good bag!  I was thinking the designer bags would be under $100 since they're used and in a thrift store, but I was surprised to find them in glass display cases with price tags of up to $1000! Wow!

We found so many cute shops on this adventure and tried some real Hiroshima okonomiyaki (layers of egg, cabbage, and other veggies grilled in front of you) for lunch. 

The only picture I thought to take was at Toys R Us. I'm really interested in games kids play and the cultural significance of them. I didn't see any dollhouses in the store, but did see these: 

The pricetags on these were in the $500-700 range, so don't expect any as souvenirs. :) Isn't that a strange doll house though? I'm not sure how to play with them, but I did notice that the flowers are removable, maybe for kids to practice ikebana (flower arranging)?

MCCS Spouse Meet & Greet

A great part of being a military wife is that you keep making friends even though you're out of school and oftentimes, not working. One way I've met some great people in Iwakuni is by attending the Spouse Meet & Greet events. Last week, MCCS (Marine Corps Community Services) hosted a sushi class for us and I had a great time making California rolls and spicy tuna rolls.

Lay out your bamboo mat, measure your seaweed, pat down your sticky rice

Roll it up and press hard on the sushi roll. Also, smile for a picture :)

California rolls have seaweed inside because Americans typically don't like seaweed.

My finished California roll! The saran wrap over the bamboo keeps the rice from sticking.

I'm excited to start making sushi at home now! I think Joe will be excited too.

L Style Cafe

One of my favorite dates in Iwakuni is going to L Style Cafe with Joe to chat, have a cappuccino, and be surprised by what kind of design will show up in my coffee. 

Tilt your head to the right to see a sleeping bear

 Joe got a fun design too: 

Classic latte art

I'm always on the lookout for cafes in within driving distance of Iwakuni. If you're reading this and have found a good one, please leave a comment so I can visit too!

Back in Iwakuni

We've made a few resolutions for the new year and one of them includes taking trips every other week - even just day trips! It's too easy to stay in Iwakuni all the time and feel trapped when you're accustomed to being a short trip from a thriving metropolis. Anyway, we've been seeking out more day trips and enjoying the mild winter here.

We had a chance to check out the Otake Oyster Festival two weeks ago, but got a late start that Saturday morning. The festival was advertised as being held from 10am to 3pm, so we arrived at about 2pm hoping to catch the tail end. Well, we showed up and all the fried food was cold and every other vendor was packing up. The oysters had run out already! Lesson learned: show up early or on time even for Japanese festivals!

I think this is an interesting Japanese festival food. From what I understand (PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong!), these little white blobs over the fire pit are mashed sticky rice that is shaped into balls, skewered, and then roasted. I've seen colorful balls in the summertime, but just plain ones at this festival. Personally, I'm not a huge fan. They taste bland and somehow dry and too sticky at the same time. I'd recommend trying it once because it's a big Japanese tradition, but I've never been too thrilled with them.

Russians!

I was so happy to see two of my favorite Russians! Jenya and Kathy met me at another one of my favorite hometown bars, Uptown, and it was the first time I felt 100% okay to drive home after spending time with them. :) It was so good catching up with them and seeing Jenya for the first time since she got married! Congrats again, Jenya and Ryan!

Love you girls!

JDs Key Club in Pontiac

Somehow JDs has become a ritual experience for my friends back in Michigan. The appeal is not just for a great bar; it's for drunken debauchery and sing-alongs. All you have to do is tip the singers/pianists with a few dollars and a song request, and they will belt it out for you. You might also be insulted/embarrassed/forced to sit on the stage, but that's part of the fun. 

It was awesome to see this group at JDs right before Gloria (and Josh!) left for Minnesota. 

Katie, Katy, and Glo!

Josh astounding us with his vocal skills right before his British Turret's outburst

Joe was there too!

 I also got to see Danielle and hear lots of juicy stories! Thanks for making it such a fun night!