Cristina's Birthday Weekend
And yet another exciting and thrill seeking weekend has come to a close. No more crossing state borders and being chased by the local authorities. No more people turning one year older within the span of a day. No more sweet potato or stuffing. No more I say, no more…until next weekend (maybe). This weekend began like any other weekend. Cristina and I met with Laura to be educated in the language of the country in which we live. Our sessions are usually one hour long, so was this one. The only exception would be the first 20 minutes it seemed that we paid to listen to our teacher talk to us about her trip in English. After the session, we went to Jill’s house so that Laura could ride in Jill’s car and we could ride in Cristina’s. We drove then to Nichinan in Miyazaki-ken to spend the weekend doing touristy stuff and being pampered by two of the most amazing hosts, Osa and Tata. (If you are ever in the Miyazaki area you should look them up.) On the way there, we passed about 20 to 30 love hotels which I will explain on a day when I have nothing to talk about. In any case, we arrived at Osa and Ta’s and spoke some and drank some.
The next morning we woke up and headed to north Nichinan to the Udo Shrine, a shrine frequently visited by honeymooners or newlyweds. Back in the 1970s Miyazaki was a hot spot for honeymooners, until the Japanese realized that it was much cheaper to go to Hawaii. So now, Miyazaki is not as visited by lovebirds as often, but still remains a great vacation spot. After looking for the parking lot right next to the shine, we ended up going to the parking lot at the trail you have to take to the shrine. So we all got out of Jill’s car, and took a shortcut through the exit to the shrine lead by our lovely tour guide Osa.
The shrine was simply amazing. It is just the thing that I have wanted to see since I have been in Japan. The shrine grounds are on the side of a cliff and are adorned with numerous red tori gates and the most amazing details all over the place. I will not describe it too much, because I feel that the pictures will do the job much better than I. The actual heart of the shrine is in a cave that faces the ocean. The cave is huge and holds the temple with prayers all over. The cave drips water from the ceiling as you walk around the temple. There is a place at the very corner where you can even drink the holy water that comes from the cave drippings. At the front of the cave, there is a place where you can buy 5 clay balls from a priestess/worker/sales-type person (I was surprised at how commercial the whole thing was). You then take your balls and throw them from the cliff to this rock near the cliff but in the middle of the ocean. There is a rope in the shape of the circle in the rock. If your pebble stays within that circle, you are supposed to have good fortune. Within the circle of rope, there is a small pool of water that is easier for your pebble to land in. I actually made it in this pool of water and thought I was really cool until someone read the sign that said males throw the stones with their left hand and until Laura made two.
After the shrine, we continued driving north to Miyazaki City where we wanted to look around and do a bit of Christmas shopping. On the way there, Cristina was sitting in the trunk of Jill’s car which is a bit like a station wagon. Being stopped in traffic and Cristina needing to entertain herself, she decided to get up and do the donkey thing in Shrek 2 when he pops his lips in between Fiona and Shrek. However, she did this when we were in front of a cop. The motorcycle-riding cop drove next to our car and started saying there were 6 people in the car. We understood, but pretended not to speak any Japanese because we have heard from everyone that it is the only way you are not going to get a ticket. The cop had us follow him out of traffic until there was a place where he could stop and explain to us in the English that he knew that you could not do that. Story ends with us not getting the ticket, but Jill scared shitless and making Osa and Tata walk the remainder of the way.
We arrived in KFC where I had a great fajita wrap. I had forgotten how long it had been since I’d had a flour tortilla. After KFC, we played in Toys’R’Us for a bit. After Toys’R’Us, we had some Baskin Robbins, which I have only had a few times in my life but proved to be a great investment. After indulging ourselves, most of us got in the car to head to the main shopping area, while Osa and Tata walked.
The shopping area was much like the one in Kagoshima City. The only difference would have to be that this one was more manicured with tons of Christmas lights and potted flowers all over the place. So we shopped some, and then everybody jumped in the car except Cristina and me who took the 80 minute train ride back to Nichinan. For dinner we had some pizza and some fish that Ta cooked. I think the most exciting part of dinner was watching Osa highlighting Laura’s hair.
The next morning was Cristina’s birthday. We celebrated by getting up and watching some Friends episodes. However, while Cristina and I were watching Friends, the rest of the gang was busy blowing up balloons, picking up some cake and cooking pancit (an amazing Filipino dish made with noodles that promise long life). Cristina opened her presents that included a jug of Downy (by far her favorite, from Laura), a pumpkin soup cup, fleece socks, some Harry Potter candy, hand lotion and an incense kit. After her small birthday party, we drove (in TWO cars) to a small part of Nichinan called Obi that is subsidized by the government to retain its old-world, traditional Japanese charm. It is home to several old houses, a castle and a soap opera (that is filmed there). The castle and homes were really cool. Again, I have really wanted to see something like this since arriving in Japan. After touring the castle and the houses, we went to the koi “pond”. I was simply awe struck by it. The so-called pond is really the town’s gutter system that is a bit wider than normal and houses tons of huge and colorful koi. There were several this yellow color that I had never seen before as well. It must be amazing to live there and simply stroll around and see koi at either side of you.
After Obi, we went to HomeWide where Laura got her fix in plant purchases. (She is addicted to plants and greenery.) After, we went back home with some bentos to eat along with some sweet potatos (still left over from Thanksgiving, I know, we went a little overboard on the food). After dinner, we returned home to Higashi-Kushira where we saw Anasatasia (which I had bought for Cristina in the HomeWide) while laying on the hot carpet. It was so cold last night; we ended up just sleeping there.
And that bring me to today.
The next morning we woke up and headed to north Nichinan to the Udo Shrine, a shrine frequently visited by honeymooners or newlyweds. Back in the 1970s Miyazaki was a hot spot for honeymooners, until the Japanese realized that it was much cheaper to go to Hawaii. So now, Miyazaki is not as visited by lovebirds as often, but still remains a great vacation spot. After looking for the parking lot right next to the shine, we ended up going to the parking lot at the trail you have to take to the shrine. So we all got out of Jill’s car, and took a shortcut through the exit to the shrine lead by our lovely tour guide Osa.
The shrine was simply amazing. It is just the thing that I have wanted to see since I have been in Japan. The shrine grounds are on the side of a cliff and are adorned with numerous red tori gates and the most amazing details all over the place. I will not describe it too much, because I feel that the pictures will do the job much better than I. The actual heart of the shrine is in a cave that faces the ocean. The cave is huge and holds the temple with prayers all over. The cave drips water from the ceiling as you walk around the temple. There is a place at the very corner where you can even drink the holy water that comes from the cave drippings. At the front of the cave, there is a place where you can buy 5 clay balls from a priestess/worker/sales-type person (I was surprised at how commercial the whole thing was). You then take your balls and throw them from the cliff to this rock near the cliff but in the middle of the ocean. There is a rope in the shape of the circle in the rock. If your pebble stays within that circle, you are supposed to have good fortune. Within the circle of rope, there is a small pool of water that is easier for your pebble to land in. I actually made it in this pool of water and thought I was really cool until someone read the sign that said males throw the stones with their left hand and until Laura made two.
After the shrine, we continued driving north to Miyazaki City where we wanted to look around and do a bit of Christmas shopping. On the way there, Cristina was sitting in the trunk of Jill’s car which is a bit like a station wagon. Being stopped in traffic and Cristina needing to entertain herself, she decided to get up and do the donkey thing in Shrek 2 when he pops his lips in between Fiona and Shrek. However, she did this when we were in front of a cop. The motorcycle-riding cop drove next to our car and started saying there were 6 people in the car. We understood, but pretended not to speak any Japanese because we have heard from everyone that it is the only way you are not going to get a ticket. The cop had us follow him out of traffic until there was a place where he could stop and explain to us in the English that he knew that you could not do that. Story ends with us not getting the ticket, but Jill scared shitless and making Osa and Tata walk the remainder of the way.
We arrived in KFC where I had a great fajita wrap. I had forgotten how long it had been since I’d had a flour tortilla. After KFC, we played in Toys’R’Us for a bit. After Toys’R’Us, we had some Baskin Robbins, which I have only had a few times in my life but proved to be a great investment. After indulging ourselves, most of us got in the car to head to the main shopping area, while Osa and Tata walked.
The shopping area was much like the one in Kagoshima City. The only difference would have to be that this one was more manicured with tons of Christmas lights and potted flowers all over the place. So we shopped some, and then everybody jumped in the car except Cristina and me who took the 80 minute train ride back to Nichinan. For dinner we had some pizza and some fish that Ta cooked. I think the most exciting part of dinner was watching Osa highlighting Laura’s hair.
The next morning was Cristina’s birthday. We celebrated by getting up and watching some Friends episodes. However, while Cristina and I were watching Friends, the rest of the gang was busy blowing up balloons, picking up some cake and cooking pancit (an amazing Filipino dish made with noodles that promise long life). Cristina opened her presents that included a jug of Downy (by far her favorite, from Laura), a pumpkin soup cup, fleece socks, some Harry Potter candy, hand lotion and an incense kit. After her small birthday party, we drove (in TWO cars) to a small part of Nichinan called Obi that is subsidized by the government to retain its old-world, traditional Japanese charm. It is home to several old houses, a castle and a soap opera (that is filmed there). The castle and homes were really cool. Again, I have really wanted to see something like this since arriving in Japan. After touring the castle and the houses, we went to the koi “pond”. I was simply awe struck by it. The so-called pond is really the town’s gutter system that is a bit wider than normal and houses tons of huge and colorful koi. There were several this yellow color that I had never seen before as well. It must be amazing to live there and simply stroll around and see koi at either side of you.
After Obi, we went to HomeWide where Laura got her fix in plant purchases. (She is addicted to plants and greenery.) After, we went back home with some bentos to eat along with some sweet potatos (still left over from Thanksgiving, I know, we went a little overboard on the food). After dinner, we returned home to Higashi-Kushira where we saw Anasatasia (which I had bought for Cristina in the HomeWide) while laying on the hot carpet. It was so cold last night; we ended up just sleeping there.
And that bring me to today.
posted by Jesse Montano at
10:16 AM
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