Day 3 - Hello Japan! (2 April 2019)

Crossing the International Date line can mess up your sense of time, but we made it!  My parents were waiting for us as we exited customs. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to see them. 😊

After driving a few hours, we got settled in to their apartment and went to bed. 

This morning, we headed over to the Navy base to have a quick tour.  It is a lot smaller than any other base I’ve been on, but there were some really pretty views!

I also loved the stop signs. Although they’re in the shape of a triangle, they’re red, so (I guess) they still count. 

After our quick tour of the base, we drove over to Nimitz Park and had a Sakura party!  Sakura is what they call the cherry blossom trees when they’re flowering, and families bring picnic lunches to eat under the trees. I definitely think they have the right idea. 

When we first decided to plan a trip to visit my parents, I was hopeful that we would be able to see the cherry blossoms. Because they can disappear after a rain storm or a strong wind, I wasn’t sure we would be able to see them. However, I think we must be living right, because the trees are just starting to blossom here and they are glorious! 

After a leisurely lunch and stroll through the trees, we got back in the car to drive over to Kujukushima of Saikai National Park. If you’ve seen the movie ‘the Last Samurai’ this archipelago introduced the beauty of Japan at the start of the film. 

They offer boat rides every 30 minutes, alternating between a colorful pirate ship, and a white cruise ship. We booked tickets for the pirate ship!  

It was a cruise where there was interesting commentary and a beautiful view, every direction you looked. I probably took 150 pictures, and not one of them were bad. It was like Mother Nature wanted to help those who love to capture gorgeous views, so she created Kujukushima. 

After the cruise, we drove up to the scenic overlook of Kujukushima.  When we arrived, we saw some tall cherry trees in full bloom, where we parked our car. Wow!

We had to hike 300 meters to the overlook, and most of the hike was climbing up stairs. However, it was worth the effort as it was stunning no matter where you looked!  

After soaking it all in, we drove to Ginza to buy some fruit in their mall. It is a long street that they covered over, and have several blocks of stores. It is also pedestrian-only, except for the cross streets. I was pretty impressed that they had stop lights for the pedestrians too. There was no button to press for the crosswalk. They are just synced up with the lights. 

My parents knew of a produce store, so we walked around for a bit before finding to it. What an interesting experience! I didn’t have a good grasp on what things were, but it was fun to visit.

I realized I made a rookie mistake as I had not looked at their coins I had, just the bills, so I held them in my hand and he took what he wanted.  It’s a good thing the people of Japan are trusting. Either that, or he gave himself a decent tip and no one is the wiser. 

It was another fantastic day!  I was so impressed with both Sakura and Kujukushima. It helped remind me how big this world is, and how much more there is to see and experience! 💕