Tanbo Art in Inakadate

In 1993, the people of Inakadate, Aomori were looking for a way to revitalize their village. Archaeological exploration led to a realization that rice had been grown in the area for more than 2000 years. To honor this history, the villagers started a rice field behind the town hall. With the paddy as a canvas, the villagers cultivated and used four different types of heirloom and modern strains of rice to create a giant picture in the field. To allow viewing of the whole picture, a mock castle tower 22 meters high was erected at the village office. In 2006, more than 200,000 people visited the village to see the art. ~ Wikipedia

We traveled to Inakadate today to see the rice field art or Tanbo Art.  We took the scenic route on the way there, it took about 3 hours.  This took us through gorgeous Lake Towada.  I should do another post of just pictures of it, it is that magnificent.  We took my sister there last year on her visit.  I got a fabulous shot of her near Oirase Gorge.  It is a huge area and a National Park.  We drove through the heavy forest and winding roads.  There are many places that cars stop because of various waterfalls and rolling streams.  There were many hikers, cars, tour buses, even motorcycles.  

Once we were close to Kuroishi (where we have gone to the Kokeshi Museum) and Hirosaki (where Hirosaki Castle is and we've been several times) we knew we were close.  I was surprised at the lack of signs to help guide us there.  Once we got there, there was quite a line to get in.  It is free, but they accept donations to help cover the cost of the Tanbo Art.  

The tower structure that you climb up was surprisingly small.  But it had a great view of the rice field.  There was two parts.  One side was 2 ladies fanning a third with a pretty yellow background.  They seemed to be floating on clouds.  The other side was 2 old men sitting down, with a background of bamboo and a sun.  Both sides had writing on the bottom...no idea what it said.  It was amazing to see, I'm glad we had the chance.  Of the 150 people that we saw there, we were the ONLY Americans!  Was pretty surprised.  But made me feel good that Berto and I are going "outside the box" and experiencing some Japanese culture.  (Although it is fairly new culture, I don't see it going anywhere).

On the way back we took the shorter way with toll roads.  There was two with a total of 2,030 Yen or $25.79.  Yuck.  We also found a great 100 yen store.  Then back to our city to go straight to the Misawa Tanabata Matsuri or Star Festival.  We had street food for our dinner.  Some delicious yakisoba, yakitori and a lamb gyro.  Berto and I shared everything, so romantic. 

=)  GREAT DAY!!!   (Will post more pictures on Facebook).

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Excited!!

Sooo excited!!!

We have a few ITT trips scheduled for May.  I'm especially excited because they cancelled lots of them after the earthquake/tsunami.  And since we moved to Japan, we took full advantage of all the tours the base has offered.  But then there wasn't any new ones, we had been to them all!  Was disappointing, but now they are making up for it.  :)

Kokeshi Museum Painting Tour 

Saturday, 7 May 
Visit Kuroishi City to see the Tsugaru Kokeshi-kan, or Kokeshi Doll Museum. There are over 5,000 traditional kokeshi dolls on display. Local craftsmen will demonstrate the making of these iconic dolls. Following that, you will have the opportunity to paint your own kokeshi.

*Very excited for this one!  I fell in love with kokeshis since we've been in Japan.  And to be able to see lots of them all at once in a museum is perfect.  CAN'T wait!  :)

Tony Roma's Taste of the Town Tour

Saturday, 14 May 
Perfect for date night or to hang out with friends from work, you will enjoy a special dinner menu at Tony Roma’s in Aomori City. The meal includes three appetizer plates, Mexican Chicken Salad, BBQ Baby Back Ribs, Fried Shrimp and all-you-can-drink beer, wine, cocktails and soft drinks.

*We've been to here before, but its worth it to us not to have to navigate there.  Our friends drove before and it was lots of winding streets, and we were lost for a good 45 minutes!  I'd rather haver peace of mind without being lost!*

Omazaki and Hotokegaura Cruise Tour

Saturday, 21 May 
Omazaki is located on the northern tip of Honshu, Japan. It is most famous for its pole-and-line tuna fishing practices. You will also take a cruise out to see the Hotekegaura, which are natural rock formations. These cliffs are believed to resemble Buddhas, and have been designated a national monument.

Sapporo Tour

27 - 30 May 2011 

*THIS TOUR IS PENDING.  Gilberto needs to get a request chit approved.*  Cross your fingers!!

Points of Interest: Otaru city tour & Shopping in downtown Sapporo. Tour includes, roundtrip transportation, side trip to Otaru city, three nights hotel accomodation, dinner at the Sapporo Beer Garden Restaurant, three breakfasts and an english speaking tour guide.

*This would be a great getaway vacation.  I would rather go over to Hokkaido for a beer garden and shopping than snow festival and cold!  :) *

Misawa Port over a month later

Update :)

I said I would update, so here I go!  :)

We had another kinda big earthquake on Thurs/Fri morning.  That's one thing that does trouble me, a late night earthquake.  Just the thought of being half in a dream state and shook out of bed to the house shaking is no bueno!  I was watching a movie in the living room, while Gilbert was in bed.  The power immediately turned off.  This quake seemed to go on and on.  Since the big 8.9, we have had hundreds, and I mean well over 900+ aftershocks.  Some are so small, we don't notice, others have been more powerful but still don't really phase us. I started my way to the bedroom in the pitch black, didn't even think to grab my phone for light.  Was actually pushed around from the shaking and had a hard time walking the path to the room.  Gilbert of course was awake and on his way to me.  Our first thoughts were of the last quake.  But we knew it wasn't as strong as "the big one".  We wondered how long the power would be out.  Maybe 10 minutes pass, and Berto went back to sleep.  :)  We are ole' veterans at this earthquake stuff!  I was too wired now and was wide awake.  Then we hear honking at our driveway.  Our friend, Arsenio came by.  His wife and son are in Florida on the voluntary evacuation.  He ended up sleeping on the couch. 

Now, just so everyone knows.  I do not fear another big quake.  I don't think one will happen, I am not under stress about it.  I had a voluntary evacuation available to me, but chose against this.  I had a few reasons for my decision.  Mainly, I didn't want to be away from Berto.  (We have spent many months of deployments away from each other over the years.  I just couldn't go, willingly.)  I had also already spent a month in MN back in November, it just seemed too soon to go again.  I love my family and would love to see them.  But it's somewhat difficult to live out of a suitcase and not be at home for a whole month.  Another issue I had was that they would extend the month long voluntary evacuation.  And now because of this last quake, they WILL be extending.  Two months is way too long, and exactly what I thought might happen.  I'm glad I stayed with my hubby!  I would have gone crazy without my Berto! 

We're pretty prepared when an earthquake happens.  We have enough bottled water,  candles, food, etc.  On Friday we automatically thought about getting our friends together like we did last time.  Last time it was a tough experience, but I'm not gonna lie, we had a lot of fun despite the situation.  We grilled and made delicious foods, pulled together and entertained each other.  There was cards, Monopoly, some music until our sources drained of power.  So, we talked about getting together again.  The power ended up kicking on in the mid afternoon.  But we had already planned to get together.  So, we grilled "Stevie Special" Bertos famous chicken, hot links, my grilled seasoned potatoes and veggies.  Brats, Velvetta shells, rice.  Simple food that the guys would like, they're NOT fancy!  HA!  The guys played Playstation then we broke in to two groups for Taboo.  Never played before but realized I am GREAT at this game!  And also was glad Berto was NOT on my team because he is NOT great at it!  HA!  :)


We're fine.  Please don't worry about us.  Misawa still isn't the same, but is trying to get back to normal.  We can't travel more than 15-20 miles, but that is just a precaution.  We had a GREAT day out today!  The first time that we have been out to eat since the big earthquake.  It had been over a month.  We had a wonderful  day and I will write about it tomorrow with some pictures.  

If I'm leaving anything out, please let me know!  :)

Missing my familia and friends!  Special love to my M-O-M, Ana and Lisa.  xoxo


Kristina & Gilberto

Thursday, March 17th

 Store front with a Pray for Japan Heart


Misawa Donations-Youtube video

Happy St. Patricks Day!  We swung by our local McDonald's to try to get a shamrock shake.  They weren't open like most of the businesses in Misawa.Which is okay since it was kind of cold and started to snow.  There are strict restrictions on energy usage. Most of all stores/ businesses are closed.  The town is dark.  Even the Pachinko Parlor right by our house is barely lit up. 


There is also restrictions on gas.  You can only get 10 gallons, and only if you have 1/4 a tank or less.  The lines have been crazy, and Gilbert was finally able to get some yesterday.  So, because of this most people are home bound and getting bored.  We went to the BX today, since I was getting a little stir crazy since I hadn't been out of the house except to a local store for 30 minutes.  We looked for some board games, but the selections are limited.  I guess I will have to learn to love Monopoly!  We also bought some much needed candles.  I was down to only tea lites.  So now we are set in that department.  There has been scheduled blackouts all over Japan to help conserve energy, but so far we have not been affected.  (For those wondering about the nuclear plants, we are about 230 miles away from that, we are in NO danger whatsoever)

Gilbert has been working at the school on base collecting donations of warm clothes and blankets.  They are sending these items off to Hachinohe and Sendai. They have been able to collect a lot of stuff, it feels good that our city is pulling together to help!  

We're still having a lot of aftershocks.  They are soo frequent that we always feel like we're moving.   (Sometimes they are just phantom quakes!)   Today we had 2 quakes that were 6.1.  Those shake us pretty good, but nothing is like that 8.9. I guess I feel lucky in the fact that Gilbert and I don't stress out.  There's not much you can do, mother nature will strike when she feels like it.  And we feel that experiencing the worst earthquake in Japan's recorded history (and 5th strongest in the world) that the worst has come and gone.   My glass is half full!!

We are in great spirits and looking forward to our weekend together.  :)


 Click these links...

Misawa Port area after the tsunami

Hachinohe Port area

Military begins voluntary evacuations-Misawa  This was announced a couple of hours ago.




Much love,
Kristina and Gilberto

9.0 Earthquake--March 11, 2011

I normally don't blog very much, but under Japans circumstances it's probably a good idea. First of all, we are fine. There weren't any reported injuries of anyone here in Misawa.



The earthquake happened at 2:46 pm on Friday. I was home only with the cats. We aren't strangers to earthquakes, we've had many in the past year and 8 months. This one knocked down various things in the house. Gilberts sword cases and other stuff broke. Lots of my kokeshi dolls fell, but are fine.

The whole house was shaking. The ceiling fans were swaying back and forth. This was the only earthquake that scared me so far. The cats were freaking out, poor things didn't understand what was going on. Gilbert tried calling me 45 times!! But no calls went through. I was relieved when he was home a couple of hours later.

Our house was temporary lodging for our friends, we had 9 people at our busiest. We all pulled together our resources of food and candles. We pulled out the grill and had some great food. Having a side burner really helped. Then were able to use our stove when we found out it was safe. That really helped to keep our house warm. after a day and a half the power kicked on as well as phone service.

The commissary was open on Saturday, but was crazy busy. Also, really long lines to get gas on base. We got some things that we needed yesterday. They put limits on water and bread. No candles were left.

They have power on base now, but no heat. They are limiting the power to family housing, so none for barracks and other buildings. Gilbert sponsored a newcomer to Misawa, Rose, she's been here 2 weeks. She stays in barracks,so we went to get her yesterday and she spent the night in our spare bedroom. We told her she was welcome anytime. Her and another newbie will be over later to do laundry.

Our Internet connection has been horrible the last few months, but has nothing to do with the earthquake. So, we still can't really use Skype to call our families yet. We have 3G Internet access on our phones. I will continue to update on this blog and of course on Facebook.

Thank you friends and family for your concern!! But please don't worry about us!! We're fine. :)

Much love,
Kristina and Gilberto


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What's Berto doing now?

Berto is deeply involved in creating a "futuristic" city on 3D Max. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:２丁目,Misawa,Japan