Back "Home"

We all slept a bit better in our "private" bunks on the ferry.  Again we were up early with the "wake up, good morning" announcement over the speakers.  We deboarded about 6:30 and took the trains back to Dad and Mom's house.  All in all, the trip went very smoothly and we had a great time.  Now we're back "home" settling into a routine here before we head off on another trip on Monday.

Ami was a great trooper with all the train changes, carrying her own backpack, and lots of walking.

I bought some old fashioned ramune soda in the glass bottles with the glass marble inside.  You punch down the cap to release the marble and create the fizz.  It's kind of messy, but fun for the kids and nostalgic for me. 

 

The kids have enjoyed playing the games from the game closet at Grandma's.  

 

 Elijah helped by taking apart and old vacuum cleaner and figuring out how to get it working again.

There is a beautiful cherry tree in front of Dad and Mom's house.  The sun was setting behind it, so pretty.  Hopefully we'll get some sun in the next day or two while the blossoms are at their peak so that we can get some great pictures.

Beppu

For our night in Beppu, we stayed at a youth hostel that Mom had reserved.  We had two "family rooms" that suited our group just fine.  It was a bit nostalgic to stay at a hostel because I stayed in many a one during my two travels throughout Europe.  We were pretty tired from getting up so early on the ferry, so went to sleep pretty early.....which made us wake up around 5 am again.  A vicious cycle!  I think we're still a tiny bit jetlagged and the ferry schedule hasn't helped us with that.

Ami helped strip the sheets from the beds to take to the designated laundry sack.

Another breakfast from Lawson's.  Grandpa has been collecting promo stickers off the bakery packages for a gift for another Clark grandchild.  He wouldn't let us visit any other convenience store until he had his sticker chart complete.  We played along with his obsession and whooped and cheered when the chart was finally full.  :)

So my well-trained bargain shopper of a daughter had already perused the Internet for 100 yen shops (like our dollar stores) in Japan. Turns out there is a major chain called Daiso.  We had some time to kill, so pulled into the parking lot of this store.  It was HUGE!  Michaela was going crazy, loving all the cute Japanese things, the detailed packaging, etc.  We spent a good bit of time there, but she only got through half of the store.  Good thing there is a Daiso close to Grandpa and Grandma's.  :)

Unfortunately it was a cool and misty day, but we made the most of it and visited the "hot pots".  The area of Beppu is known for their natural hot springs, kind of like a miniature Yellowstone.  Despite the poor weather, it gave us the advantage of seeing all the more steam coming out of the ground.  Ami didn't care much for the sulfur smell, but this hot pot was cute enough to pose by....looked like Mickey. 

Too bad it was too cold and wet to take our shoes off and soak our feet in the springs!

I sure hope we get a nice sunny day to view the cherry blossoms before the trees leaf out!

Thank you, Dad and Mom, for the special treat of this trip.  We will have great memories of the family time together.

Ha!  The Japanese call these natural springs the "hells".  We weren't sure we wanted to enter this "hell emitting gas" green house, but it was worth it to see the beautiful flowers inside.  :)

For 100 yen you can buy a prayer from the vending machine and tie it onto a bush.

Beautiful typical Japanese garden area....if you throw a rock and get it to land on the tori, then you will have good luck....or so they say.

So we ended up at McDonald's for lunch.  :)  It was bound to happen sometime.  But I still got some Japanese food.....instead of Shamrock Shakes, they had green tea shakes.  It was SO good! 

Chris opted for something more his style.

It was too cold to spend much time at the beach, but we strolled out just for a few minutes.  

Cracked up at this map!  Who in their right mind would want a "hell tour"???

So after our day of venturing around Beppu, we bought some dinner and got ready to board our overnight ferry for Osaka.  This time Grandma had some coupons for an upgrade and we all got to stay in our own bunk room instead of a community room.  Nice!

There was a short bit of entertainment in the evening....a juggler/variety show.  

Takachiho Gorge

We had a decent night's rest on the ferry, but awoke early to the lights being turned on by the staff shortly after 5am.  The ferry was to dock around 7am, so they wanted to make sure you had your belongings together and plenty of time to eat breakfast at their expensive restaurant.  Again, we ate our own breakfast that we had taken on board.  We love the convenience stores in Japan.  Lawsons, Family Mart, and 7-11 are seemingly on every corner.  You can pick up snacks, drinks, and other food about any time of day. 

From the Land of the Rising Sun, a beautiful view atop our ferry as we were pulling into port.

I don't know why, but the "peace" sign is so popular when taking pictures for Japanese.  Somehow my kids have gotten into this habit...I guess it makes them think they are acting appropriately.  :)  It's been fun to hear Michaela, Benjamin, and Johanna try to use their Japanese.  They've each studied for about four years, so they have lots in their head making its way out into conversation.  Johanna is especially trying to read everything she sees and is constantly asking me what something means.  Elijah and Ami are picking up a few words.  Chris will ask what something says, not because he's curious, but because he needs to know instructions.  It's funny to me to have to explain because it seems natural to me....like doesn't everyone know that's the symbol for water?  I love that it's second nature to me, but I have to remind myself that it's definitely not second nature to the rest of my family!  Even though my Japanese is choppy and rusty, it's easy to use and get around my second home.

There is funny English on signs all over Japan.  I'm sure I'll be posting lots of pictures like these!

 So after we docked in the morning, we walked down the road just a bit to our car rental shop.  Dad and Mom generously rented a 10-passenger van so that we could explore more of the island.  We drove about three hours away to see a famous Gorge.  The roads in Japan are narrow, to say the least, especially in a 10-passenger van.  It's also very mountainous, so we were in and out of tunnels, around many hairpin turns, and not on many express ways at all.  It was neat to see some countryside, the terraced rice paddies, typical Japanese farms, and cherry trees dotting the hillsides.

This isn't a great picture, but Jeremy, wouldn't it be great to have Okonomiyaki delivery?!  Amy could have pizza, and you could have Okonomiyaki.  :)

There are vending machines all over Japan.  They sell cold and warm drinks in cans.  The kids are enjoying the Calpis (yogurt drink), and Chris is enjoying the coffee. Yum!  I think half of the kids' spending money is going towards Japanese drinks and snacks!

The gorge really was beautiful.  It was very narrow and deep with amazing volcanic walls along the sides. We opted not to rent a row boat, but it was great entertainment to watch from above as others tried to navigate down the river.  You could definitely tell the experienced from the inexperienced.  Lots of laughter from us!

We enjoyed a hike along part of the gorge, then a stop for lunch with yummy curry rice, ramen, and udon.  Mmmmm.

For dinner we stopped at a Western style restaurant.....here you go, as much straight MSG as you like.  :)