My Own Circle..............

A few weeks ago I did a MWR trip, Morale Welfare and Recreation, through the Navy base to Iki Island. After this horrid rainy season, seriously I would be here for one of the worst ones in years, I needed a beach vacation. The trip was basically all families and then me and a counselor from my office (who just happened to be on it). Iki Island is an island lying between the island of Kyūshū and the Tsushima islands in the Tsushima Strait, the eastern channel of the Korea Strait. It is currently part of Nagasaki Prefecture of Japan. To get to Iki Island we took a bus from main base to Hario, which is the family base about 20 or so minutes away, then we took the bus to the ferry and then a ferry across to the island; it was a long day but so worth it.

It was a fantastic trip! We spent the day at the beach and then had free time at nite then the next day we went to the monkey rock formation and back to the beach. The first day we were there we grabbed all of the umbrellas, I mean parasols because when I said umbrella they looked at me like I had 5 heads and said parasol?!!? There were only about 6 umbrellas and so the next day when we got there the Japanese snatched them all up so there were no more. Since I couldn't sit in the sun all day, according to Bridget my skin is afraid of the sun, I ended up sitting under a hut and then renting a kayak for 20 minutes. I have only been kayaking at the lake and wow what a difference. Also, this water was sooooooooooo blue but it was also so salty. I got some salt in my mouth when I went under and wow that was the saltiest water I have ever experienced; if you have ever gargled with salt water it tasted just like that.

The counselor who went from my office is extremely nice but a little odd; it was hot and about 90 degrees and she was wearing jeans, sneakers, and a sweater. We went out to dinner together and we decided to go to Yakiniku, BBQ. I love it because I always know I can get some good grilled veggies. When we walked in I tried to ask if they had a veggie option since I didn't eat meat and the lady didn't understand. So the counselor then proceeded to say NO and then make pig sounds (with making her nose into a snout), cow sounds, and chicken sounds and then pretended to eat the leaves of the plant. Now, if you know me (well of course you do who else is reading this) you would know that as far as vegetarians go I am not picky and I don't like to make a big deal about it but O.........M..........G............I was mortified and did not hold back the expression with huge eyes and shock on my face. She still quite didn't understand. I was MORTIFIED! Other than that, well that included because now I have a story, it was a fantastic trip and my freckles started to merge together!


Our Boat to Iki Island, our bus went underneath the boat. The Japanese just laid down on the mats throughout the boat and slept.

My umbrella, aka parasol. Seriously, I don't know how they expected this to sit in the sand without a base. Well, it basically didn't and spent half the day falling over.

The kids were finding all different sea creatures in the water!

Look at that water!

Out in town after the beach:

I can't get away from the drums! This group was made up of all young girls, they were amazing.

That's our bus!!!

A little girl from our tour, we have something in common with our names.....her first name is Ivory (her mom is above with the umbrella and her name is Ebony)

Monkey Rock Formation:

Rainy Day in Hirado

Awhile ago I went on a tour through the Navy base to Hirado. Hirado is an island that is part of the Nagasaki Prefecture. It was a port of call for ships between the Asian mainland and Japan since the Nara period. It was an awesome trip; however, in true Japanese fashion it poured! Our tour guide was atually one of my coworkers Eriko, she is amazing and is a walking Japanese encyclopedia and is so excited about everything.

We went to the grave of William Adams, who the TV show Shogun was based on.

Hirado Castle: was the seat of the Matsuura clan, the three dots in the first picture represents the Matsuura Clain.










<strong>As we were walking along the street we came across a bath. Seriously, in the middle of the town on a little side street there was this heated bath filled with mineral water and you could just sit there and soak your hands and feet. The only thing that could have made this better was sitting there with a glass of wine and staying there all day. Your skin immediately feels softer and nicer. The last picture is like that because of the steam!





St. Francis Xavier Memorial Church, formerly known as Hirado Church. This church was built in 1931 and has become one of Hirado`s popular tourist spots, as it looks out over the town and the harbour. Formerly known as Hirado Church it was renamed St. Francis Xavier Memorial Church in 1971 to honor the missionary’s visit to Hirado in 1550. You couldn't get into the Church but could peek through this little window in the foyer.







At one of our castles you could try on the Kimonos:

Best Castle Thus Far...............

Before the Drum Festival began we walked around the town and went to Kokura Castle, which is right above the festival. After awhile you start to feel the way about castles as you do with churches in Italy, it is just another castle. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this castle. It was awesome! It was interactive and had so many fun things part of it and amazing views. I think this is my favorite castle thus far!

Views of the Castle and from the top of the Castle:











You can get into the Palanquin and take a ride; however, it is a small space and I don't know how I fit! It didn't move when I was in it so I just thought I weighed too much, I didn't realize until I got out that you had to hit a button to make it move!! OOPS!




This was me getting out of the Planquin, let me tell you I was not that graceful getting in that little box!!


I love some of their signs!



They had some awesome cutouts, please see that this round face is definitely not geisha material!