The seven-onsen-in-two-days trip!

(This is a sampling of all 7 onsens...)

So the gurls (Bethany and Stephanie) and I went on a brilliant weekend adventure to the lost lands of Shimokita. The purpose of the trip was to visit as many onsens as possible, of course to enjoy ourselves with some Godly fellowship, to see Luke & Yuko (and soon-to-be Emma), and to squash as many frogs as possible. Seriously, we drove through a freak frog storm on Friday night. It was raining madly, causing huge pools of water to form on the roads, and this in turn attracted hundreds of little hoppers to frolick happily across the pavement until squashed by a passing car--mainly ours. We also saw an abundance of other creatures, viz.-- a red-faced monkey, a fox, a Japanese pheasant, a bird that flew alongside our car in a rather strange fashion, the before-mentioned frogs, beware of bear signs (but no bear), and a foreigner on bike (this being the most uncommon sighting in the far reaches of nowhere land hahaha). So for all of you that are a bit leery of the Japanese onsen or "public bath", you may be missing out on one of the best parts of Japanese culture. And in case you can't enjoy them at the moment, maybe some of these pictures will inspire you for the future!!

(Inside of a couple joyful onsens.)

(A lovely view of the bay, strait, and ocean farther off.)

(Can anyone say trash? The Japanese coastline...impossible to keep clean as garbage daily washes up from Japan, China, Korea, Russia....)

(Enjoying some gyoza, tofu donuts, and strange ice cream that I believe was really herb flavor!)
(And of course hanging out at the Elliot's...lil' Emma is getting QUITE big now, but Yuko is as energetic and joyful as ever!!)

Rice seedlings, ready for the taking...

So the fields are glistening under the sun. They water has been poured in, the dirt tilled underneath, and the baby rice seedlings are ready to meet their master. This is my favorite time of year. The rows of fields reflect everything that lies above and beside them. Here's a sampling of the greenhouses and transport of these precious seedlings...they are after all a national treasure in some respects.

Tomomi ちゃん shows off a spry little sprout....
...while I attempt to not trample the babies.
( I had thoughts of jumping onto the fresh, soft "grass" with bare feet and frolicking around joyfully. But I believed the Takahashi family would've had most unhappy thoughts of this adventure and banished me from their farm forever.)

The real festival...

...is enjoying the beauty of God's creation.

So the Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival is packed up, leaving behind garbage, empty stalls, and the best part- the cherry blossoms in brilliant bloom. The park is particularly beautiful now that the tourist mobs are gone, the rambunctious noise is lifted, and you can hear the soft pad of feet upon gravel as the admirers drift lazily by. The wind softly blows petals to the ground or into the moat creating a pink polka-dot dreamland. It being my last "hanami" time in Japan for the near future...I'm going to indulge you with all the pretty pictures I can.... Diviertete!

The after effects....