Finally, a scavenger away from home, and an adventure where food, fashion, and drinking is taken very seriously- Japan. I was fortunate enough to spend a week in Japan with my family over summer, flying to Sapporo and finishing our trip in Tokyo. Before I start, a warning should be put out- I probably had soft serve ice cream almost everyday here in Japan. Japan's ice-cream is absolutely creamy and fresh that I couldn't' resist it. So, if you see a lot of ice-cream photos, you know why.
Sapporo- Now, this vacation mainly resided in the countryside, besides the first day in Sapporo. Quiet, peaceful, and most importantly breathtaking. Every scenery was naturally photogenic. The ambiance of each different atmosphere seemed to release a sort of freshness and colorful environment. On our first day in Sapporo, we made our way to the Otaru Canal. Before having time to walk around, along the canal, we had dinner at a seafood barbecue restaurant. Smokey? Yes. Delicious? Absolutely. So many varieties were given to grill such as, scallops, claims, sausage, corn, and different sorts of vegetables. After a good meal, we took a walk along the canal. Now what amazed me the most was along this canal, there were a few vendors selling little items. One particularly caught my sister and my eyes. This middle-age man was hand making name necklace or rings. So delicate and elegant we decided to get one for ourselves.
Now, what I always loved about these Japan vacations with my family is that every hotel we seem to stay at provide buffet style breakfast- my favorite. (Probably because no one pressures you to order things that seem to be foreign to you). No matter what hotel we seem to be at, my plate always seem to come back colorful.
Noboribesu Onsen- Next stop, Noboribesu Onsen. Due to my poor memory at this time, I only specifically remember attending the Winter Sport Museum, where at the very top of the Museum we were able to see a phenomenal view.
Hakodate- Spending only a day in each city can be quite exhausting, but I think it's worth it. The next day, we managed to make our way to Hakodate. Starting our day, we visited Onuma Seminational Park. Better known for its picturesque, island dotted lakes and majestic dormant volcano.
Yunokawa, Aomori, Lake Towada- How we managed to cover all three of these places in one day baffles me. But we managed. What I forgot to mentioned is after our first day in Sapporo, each hotel we stayed at after all had Hot springs. Hot springs are a spring of naturally hot water, typically heated by subterranean volcanic activity. Sounds relaxing- right? We were so fortunate that one night, one of the hotels had hot springs inside the room. Each room had their own hot springs facing a private beach. Absolutely amazing. And the fun part is, our rooms were tatamis where we would sleep on bamboo floor.
Morioka, Kakunodate, Tsunagi Onsen- After arriving at Lake Towada Onsen, we made our way to actually visiting the lake. One word- breathtaking. the water was so clear and clean that I could easily dip my toes in and see everything. The fish swimming around were all visible, and the richness of how blue the lake was, was unreal. It was so peaceful that it made you just forget everything.
Hiraizumi, Matsushima- Our last night in Japan, and we visited a few historical sites include Chusonji Temple. We spend some time doing more site seeing, and my favorite ice cream eating.
Sendai, Tokyo- Unfortunately, we weren't able to spend more than an hour or so in Tokyo (
so another blog post will be saved for Tokyo- eventually). But we were able to take the Bullet Train from Sendai to Tokyo, as we took off from the country side, to the city.
Even though I can't recall every details of our trip to Japan, overall I would say it was a success and an inspiring trip. Never had my taste bud been happier. It opened my eyes to different forms of beauty, freshness of foods, and most important the wonders of spending time with my family.
Every time I am back home (in California), my dad always emphasizes the importance of eating healthy and rebukes my current, inexcusable diet. Fortunately, every morning (when I am home) my dad will blend vegetables and fruits for me in his current blender obsession- Vitamix. Ever since, I have officially hopped onto this healthy bandwagon and decided to create a healthier diet for myself during the school year here in Seattle.
Our souls can only replace so much of what use to be there. The generations and gaps that are now filled with luminous lights- they are just unaccountable. We have scavenged our lives to color this immense freedom that we all have longed for. Our desires have driven us to think in such vast, repetitive rounds that we forget how to take a step back and remember what it means to slow down. The tiny cells that have engulfed inside our imagination and creativity continue to run. There is nothing that can stop it now except for that pull. I no longer drive myself to the other side. I drive myself to where my hands happen to take the wheel. The mischief behind every doors. The secret is to be quiet. To be quiet of where we're going. To be quiet of what lies ahead of us. There is no designated path. It's just what happens to have fallen in front of us. It's the way we perceive it and who we see it that will affect our emotions towards it. It's not others. It's ourselves.
