Fukui: Day 3

On Sunday, we woke up to no snow, no rain, but cloudy gray skies. We decided to brave it and head to Tojinbo which is along the Sea of Japan, northwest of Fukui. We got on a train in the morning a little before lunch. I laughed when I saw the train, because this was it-

Just ONE car! The stations we stopped at were so small that the ticket taker actually rode the train up and down the coast and took your tickets as you got off. No need for someone at each station! It was pretty cute though.

When we got off the train, we headed towards the beach and to the hiking trail. We started near the red dot on the map and hiked along the coast up towards the island in the NW corner of the map. We hiked across the bridge and then headed back south to the train station. Along the way we saw beautiful cliffs and rocks. It was really cold, but still nice enough for the daffodils to be blooming and us to have a picnic!

Tojinbo is actually infamous for the number of suicides committed here each year. Sadly, in Japan, suicide is still considered an honorable thing to do in certain circumstances. In the phone booths along the coast, we saw stacks of 10 yen coins to make free phone calls to the suicide prevention numbers also listed in the phone booth. Hillary was telling me about a NY Times article about a man who patrols the coast in the evenings to stop people from jumping.

Once we had gotten to the island and the bridge, we headed back south towards the train station. Of course, before we could get back, the skies opened and the rain started to downpour! I had to break a rule I have with Glenn though (long story) and we got a ride from a stranger! Thanks random J lady for giving us a ride. We would have been soaked otherwise!

Once we got back, we dropped our stuff off at the apartment, checked on Stella and went to dinner at a ramen restaurant. A rainy day is perfect for a giant bowl of noodles. The day was an adventure alright. Check hitch-hiking in Japan off my list!

Fukui: Day 2

We woke up on Saturday to sunshine! Thank goodness. It was so ugly on Friday. We planned on heading down to Obama today. We mostly went just to take pictures like these:

but we got lucky and got extra fun pictures like these!

Obama was a cute little beachy town though. Probably even better in the summer when you can enjoy the beach. We stopped at a restaurant where we could enjoy the view of the ocean over octopus and noodles. Yum!

After we headed back to Fukui (pronounced foo-koo-ee by the way) we met up with Tessa, Kim, Rob and Tessa's bff and and brother that arrived the same day. I've lived in Japan for 18 months now give or take, but since I have the luxury of an "American" grocery store, I don't make a lot of Japanese food. Since Hil and her friends have to shop at the Japanese grocery store, they taught me lots of fun things that they make. For dinner, we made nabe (nah-bay). It's pretty much a stew, but you purchase the broth part and servc it over rice. Delicious!

It's pretty cozy in a Japanese living room! Stella enjoyed our dinner party as well. Thanks for the hospitality Tessa!

Fukui: Day 1

I arrived in Fukui on Thursday night and was greeted by Hillary and her friend Kim. It takes about 4- 4.5 hours and 4 trains to get to Hillary's. Two somewhat local trains, the bullet train and another limited express train to her town. It probably wouldn't have seemed so long if I hadn't arrived to the bullet train 90 minutes early because I misread my ticket. Oops. Oh well, Stella got to walk around Shin-Yokohama station and have dinner.

 Hillary lives in a small but very cute apartment that is only about a 5 minute walk to the station. The only difference between my house and her house- well a lot of things, but most noticeably- the temperature! Fukui is in the mountains and is still getting snow occasionally, but Japanese homes don't have insulation! That means when it's cold outside, it's cold inside! When we were home, we had her heater running, but when we were gone, we had to leave an electric blanket on just so Stella wouldn't freeze! For example, Hillary said her olive oil in her kitchen FROZE over the winter. WTF!

On Friday, the weather started out snowing, then turned in to an all day rain storm. Not really ideal weather for sightseeing so we headed over to her friends' apartments. Kim and Tessa live in the same building so it's very convenient! We lounged most of the day and watched Gossip Girl and the Office. For dinner, we went to Kim (and boyfriend Rob's) apartment upstairs to make sushi!

I thought it turned out pretty well! At least it tasted good!

I love that even though I only see Hil every 6, 12 or 18 months, it's still the same friendship. I wish she lived closer so we could see each other more often!

Why dogs are better than children (for now/me)

After a really hard weekend the other weekend, I was thankful that I was headed out of town and Stella was coming with me! People in Japan love their dogs so I was allowed to bring her on the train too!

My ticket cost me $300, but Stella's? Just $3. Plus to get her ticket, all I had to say was "Dog ticket". So much easier!

Stella had to stay in her bag on the train which she is not a huge fan of, but it makes life simpler for me! I can put her in, carry her around and shove her under the seat during the ride!

It would be nice if she weighed a little less though! My shoulder was tired!

Stella and I made it 400 km to Fukui Prefecture!

I think this is why we're friends...

Not only did we buy matching I heart Obama shirts from the city of Obama, Japan (the back says "the Obama loves Obama"), but we both wore them sightseeing the next day. That's a good friend.

Hillary is Moving!

My friend/sorority sister/pledge daughter, Hillary, is moving to Japan this summer and we just found out where today! She's not as close as we had hoped, but a 5 hour train ride is closer than any of my other friends! Hillary will be working for JET, teaching English. She'll be located in Fukui Prefecture.
Hil and I usually manage to see each other randomly and in various cities depending on where we are. Here we are at breakfast in Minneapolis the weekend of Megan and Nate's wedding. She had just returned from the Peace Corps in Ukraine a few weeks before. Hillary is the second from the left. I can't wait for you to get here Hil! I'll come visit you this fall!


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