A Little Trip Northwards
Girlfriends and hot spring spas are a great combination. whale_girl and I shot north on the bullet train to the tranquil mountain resort of Sakunami. The past few weeks of grueling work melted out of us into lava-heated water. We lay, liquefied, in open rocky pools, looking down on the icy mountain river flowing past us through the forest.
Matsushima bay is filled with a thousand mushroom islands: white rocky stems with green pine caps. The clean, clear, shallow waters are filled with oyster farms, producing famously delicious mollusks bigger then your whole hand. We hiked the islands, cruised the bay, and feasted.
10'000 is a good number for the city of Sendai. That's the number of fireworks they launched on Friday night. That's the number of giant paper mobiles hung for the Tanabata Star Festival, each with long colored streamers dangling down into the streets. That's the number of people who arrived every single minute of the festival, for three straight days.
We watched the fireworks from the park, breath catching with each rising rocket and expelling exclamations of wonder with each explosion. Beautiful colours cascaded across the sky as we sat, drinking cold beer in the hot summer night.
In the morning, we walked the town, mile upon mile of festival with toys and games and delicious street food. We looked at the giant mobiles, delicately hand made by every local family, business, and school class in the city. In the heart of the festival, we were mesmerized by the Hiroshima anniversary message: a thousand, thousand paper cranes, suspended before us as a wish for peace.
Matsushima bay is filled with a thousand mushroom islands: white rocky stems with green pine caps. The clean, clear, shallow waters are filled with oyster farms, producing famously delicious mollusks bigger then your whole hand. We hiked the islands, cruised the bay, and feasted.
10'000 is a good number for the city of Sendai. That's the number of fireworks they launched on Friday night. That's the number of giant paper mobiles hung for the Tanabata Star Festival, each with long colored streamers dangling down into the streets. That's the number of people who arrived every single minute of the festival, for three straight days.
We watched the fireworks from the park, breath catching with each rising rocket and expelling exclamations of wonder with each explosion. Beautiful colours cascaded across the sky as we sat, drinking cold beer in the hot summer night.
In the morning, we walked the town, mile upon mile of festival with toys and games and delicious street food. We looked at the giant mobiles, delicately hand made by every local family, business, and school class in the city. In the heart of the festival, we were mesmerized by the Hiroshima anniversary message: a thousand, thousand paper cranes, suspended before us as a wish for peace.