Japanese Nutt House

Nagasaki

Went to Nagasaki to do some shopping with some friends this week. There's some great antique stores down by Spectacles Bridge which is about 1 1/2 hours away. It's called Spectacles Bridge because when you look at the bridge you can see the reflection of it in the water and it looks like a pair of spectacles. The drive to Nagasaki is gorgeous. You go over the Saikai Bridge and see all kinds of islands and oyster beds. Once you hit downtown, the driving gets pretty hectic. There are trolleys that run in the middle of the road so making a turn over the tracks can be a challenge.

The Chinese New Year celebration is happening soon so the city is getting ready for it by decorating with lanterns - and not just the round paper ones. There are lanterns in all shapes and sizes. They aren't lit yet but they are really impressive without being lit. We will go to the festival early next month so I'll add some night time shots then.

Dream House

Recently a friend of mine invited Dave to go on a fishing trip with a doctor friend of hers'. Dave was pretty sick with a cold so Brandon, Kaitlynne and I went. We had a great day!! First let me start with the home. Talk about a dream home! This house is situated on a little finger of land that sticks out in a cove near 99 Islands, a very picturesque area in Sasebo. The home has water on 2 sides with lots of windows to enjoy the view. In fact the master bathroom has a wall of windows that face the water and no curtains! In the living room is a screen that comes down so you can watch movies from the projector mounted at the ceiling. There is a controller that you use to lower and close the blinds on the wall of windows! And don't even get me started on the automatic bathroom! The toilet automatically flushes when you are done, closes the lid and turns out the light! The kitchen is like a restaurant with a huge stainless steel stove, counters and deep sink. In the back is a dock where the fishing boat is tied up. Some of the boards in the dock move aside so you can catch the fish below that are in a huge netted area. The kids had fun just catching the fish under there with some nets. They pulled our sashimi dinner from there. We did go out on the boat and the ride out to sea was lovely. Unfortunately, I got a little seasick when we stopped to fish. As long as I was horizontal on the bench I was fine, but standing up with the rocking of the boat made me feel awful! We were only out for a bit and then came home to fish at the pier! It was a great day. I would love to wake up to this view every day!

More Pictures of Saikai Park

Saikai Park

This has to be one of the most beautiful parks to visit. It not only has a great view, but there are all kinds of places for the kids to climb and slide. It has a huge roller slide - it's a series of rollers that propel you along and really vibrate your butt! I can only go down once or twice before my bottom is too sore! The kids have figured out how to go down with their weight on their feet so they can endure more. There is a rope swing, huge climbing pyramid, grass sleding and a completely vertical slide. You climb to the top and then hang from a bar. When you get your nerve up you let go of the bar and "slide" down. Garrett swings out on the bar so he kind of flies down the slide. Scares me to death!

New Family Member!

Here is the new member of our family - Hammie. Kaitlynne got Hammie, the hamster, for Christmas and is taking such good care of him. She recently spent her own money to buy him a 3 story house!

Shimabara

Shortly after arriving here we ventured to Shimabara. This area is known for it's bubbling "hells" and onsens. Onsens are super hot baths where the Japanese go to relax. Most are in country areas and connected to ryokans or traditional inns. You go into the bath naked after having showered. At some places you can reserve a private bath, but most are merely separate for men and women. We occasioned a private onsen during our last tour here and I can tell you that it was incredibly hot. So hot in fact that I had to turn on a cold water faucet for a while before I could get in. Merely dipping my foot in the water for a few seconds made it turn a bright red.

Back to Shimabara now. We headed down there to walk about the bubbling "hells" which are the holes where the hot water is bubbling from the earth. There are spots where they lower egg baskets into the ground so they can actually cook from all the steam. It's very beautiful down there.

Mochi Pounding

In December and January many communities around Japan have Mochi pounding festivals and we were lucky enough to be invited to participate in a few this year. So, what is mochi, you ask. It is pounded rice and I mean literally pounded. The process begins outside with a big batch of rice being cooked over an open fire and then poured into a big stone bowl. The rice is then kind of mashed a bit with a big wooden hammer. Then up to 4 people gather around the bowl and pound the heck out of the rice with the hammers. Every once-in-a-while they stop to dip the hammers into water since the rice gets really sticky. After the rice is pounded it is put onto a floured table where it is pulled into small balls and shaped into little patties. Usually the women and children do this task. Sometimes a bit of anko or bean paste is added to the middle of the patty giving the mochi a sweet taste.

Animal Safari

A few months ago the kids and I went to the Beppu Animal Safari. It's kind of like a reverse zoo. The people ride in a bus with bars and windows while the animals roam free. Under each seat on the bus is a tub of food for the animals including raw meat for the wild cats, big pellets for the buffalo and elephants, and oranges for the giraffe. As you can see from the photos, you get these big metal tongs that you use to pick up the food and put through small openings. The lions, tigers and bears (oh, my!) are all snarling and growling as the fight over their meal. It was really a good time!

We've Moved Again!!

I haven't written since we arrived here in Sasebo so I guess it's about time I get busy! We just moved yet again to base housing - the same house we lived in just over 3 1/2 years ago! Happy to be on base, but unpacking all these boxes is not fun. The day we moved in Dave's ship left so it's just the kids and I to open all these boxes. They like to open the boxes, but not put anything away so they are really not that helpful. Even though moving is a pain, it's great for the kids because they can now walk to school (and we all get to sleep in an extra 45 minutes in the morning). They can ride their bikes around the neighborhood and have friends visit. Here are some photos of the view from our Japanese house. The view from our new house is not quite as good, but at least we have central heating, a dishwasher and full size washer and dryer! Life is good!!