Summer Vacation on the Sea of Japan

With the kids finally out of school and transfers over, we took a one night two day trip to the Japan Sea. The kids will be leaving for part of the summer so this was our only time to do something together as a family. Jeff Evans was visiting as well so we were happy he could join us. He will put in his mission papers in a few weeks. We travelled a few hours by car to Toyooka City and the little beach town of Takeno. We stayed at the Seaside Hotel and enjoyed the beach and hot springs baths.

The countryside was beautiful in this very small town. They did not even have a convenience store which is really strange for Japan. The hotel was pretty nice for a small Japanese style place. The kids had a great night of fireworks on the beach after we drove into Toyooka city for dinner and visited the local bowling alley for a few games. That was our Monday FHE. We then drove back to Takeno and our hotel and we all enjoyed our second trip to the onsen bath. Very relaxing.

This is the hotel behind us in the picture above.

We visited the Marine World located about a 20 minute drive away from Takeno. It was very nice with all kinds of shows and activities.

This was the penguin walk. They just marched around the courtyard and had a great time. Sister McIntyre thought they were cute.

Julie and the kids getting a shot of the little guys.

Mom and Dad out by the ocean at Marine World.

The giant sea lion show was very nice. They loved to dive off the rocks.
An action shot.

They also had a little fishing place where you can catch fish and then they will prepare them for you by making them into tempura right there. We had them for lunch. Real fresh fish and chips!

Everyone caught a couple. It was not very hard.

They were small but great for tempura.

The men with their catch.

Cutting and cleaning.

Batter and fry.

Watching the whole process.

Enjoying the fish. Some of the kids are not big fish eaters, but everyone tried it and actually liked it. Although you would not know it by some of their faces!

The highlight of the trip for Rika was the interaction with the dolphins. She loves dolphins and had a couple chances to touch and play with them.

She got to pet these two in one of the shows and pose for some photos.

They would not let her take them home.

Petting real dolphins was not enough for Sister McIntyre. She had to climb on this statue and pose for a picture as well! A nice family shot by the dolphin.

Mom and the boys.

Being around the dolphins seems to have caused mom to be in a really good mood.

We had a chance to play dolphin trainer as well. Here Julie and Jeff are ready to go.

Ricky shaking fins with a dolphin before getting in the water.

Julie feeds one after he did a trick for her.

Jeff getting ready to give a command.

James takes a turn.

They also had a pair of huge walruses there. This are how big his underwear would be if he wore them! The trainers are feeding the big guy here. He was so big and friendly. Although he is 27 times the weight of Julie.

There was some time for the kids to play on the beach as well. They buried James. That is what you get when you are the youngest.

The boys try a little body surfing.

Yes, we conquered the sea. Way to go Jim!

The water was still a little cool, but very clear. The beach was nice as well and not crowed at all yet. Japan summer season does not open until late July after the rainy season. We are in the rainy season now, but the weather was beautiful. On the way home, we timed our drive to stop in Kita Rokko around 7:45 pm just in time to see the fireflies near the little creek behind the church. It was a great day and a half and the kids enjoyed it very much. They are off to Utah tomorrow. Julie will be back in BYU and the boys at summer camps. Jeff will be getting ready for his mission.

Summer Family Mission Tour Tanabe and Shingu

Family at Ogigahama Beach in Tanabe, Wakayama, Japan - August 2008

It is hot and humid here in Japan. It is the middle of summer and Obon time. Oh - bone is how it is pronounced. That is the summer holiday when Japanese traditionally visit the graves of their ancestors. There are various ceremonies and rituals associated with Obon, but for most Japanese today it is simply summer vacation time. Many people go back to their home towns from the city and visit relatives and honor their ancestors by cleaning the grave sites and offering flowers.
As this is the last week we are all together as a family for a while, we decided to take a trip to see the two areas farthest from the mission home, Tanabe and Shingu. They are located in Wakayama prefecture and both are on the coast. Shingu actually borders Mie Prefecture and the Nagoya Mission boundaries. We left Tuesday morning (preparation day for the missionaries) and drove down to Tanabe (about 3 hours by car). We did not schedule to meet the missionaries until 6pm (at the end of their prep. day) so we visited the nearby beach called Ogigahama until late afternoon. We all had a great time. It was a nice beach with white sand, clear warm water, and not too crowded.

All four of our kids in the water! Don't know where Jeff is? Underwater?

President and Sister McIntyre also enjoyed a swim and time with the kids. As we have children with us on the mission we are allowed to participate in normal family activities and are not under all of the same restrictions the missionaries are. "When we are with our kids in a family activity, we can be normal parents." Whatever normal is...

After the beach, we checked into our hotel and went to the church and met the Elders and Brother and Sister Enomoto. Below is picture of our family with Elders Ruesch and Smith currently serving in Tanabe. After meeting with the Elders we ate dinner and visited the beach again where they were having a summer festival (Matsuri) and fireworks show. We took pass along cards and other tracts with us and spent some time "finding" as a family. We talked to several young people and I was able to demonstrate the principle of "talking to everyone" and "opening your mouth."

A view of the village called Minabe from our small (and not so nice) hotel in Tanabe. We had some study time and prayers with the Elders in the morning and then we were off to Shingu. That is another 3 hour drive along the coast the whole way. It was very beautiful country. We stopped a few times for pictures and exploring.

At this stop the boys were excited they found a little squid. They wanted Sister McIntyre to eat it but she was not hungry.

The boys catching sea creatures at Hashigui Iwa. These are beautiful rock formations jutting out of the sea. At low tide you can walk out to them.
Some of the creatures they caught. Hashigui Iwa at low tide. The tide came in on our way home the next day. As in the above picture and below.High Tide coming in.
Also, on the way home all the kids jumped in the water at this pretty little beach between Shingu and Tanabe and James and Erika were stung by jellyfish. Can you see the stings? They decided to catch the small critters and wanted to take them home. They caught two, but we decided that it would not be a good idea to take them home. Erika's knee got stung. They were cute little things, but packed a strong sting.
Above are the Shingu Elders (Elder Melluish and Elder Maeno) with our family in front of the little church.
Here is shot of the whole building. The church is right behind everyone. The missionary apartment is upstairs on the 2nd floor.
While in Shingu, we had a small fireside to which 3 non-members came. There are only 3 active members in the branch so that was an exciting thing for everyone. With our family and the missionaries, we nearly filled the room. The next morning we visited Sister Shimamoto who lost one leg and cannot come to church. The missionaries take her the sacrament each week. We also visited the Iwamoto family, who are less active and invited them back to church. We spent an evening with Brother Tsuboi, the most active member and one of his friends he invited to the fireside, Mrs. Wada. We have heard since she is willing to hear the lessons.
The trip was a lot of fun for our family. The purpose was to visit the missionaries and members in these small areas and learn how we can better grow the church there and support the small groups of members. We felt blessed to meet these faithful few, who despite small numbers, remain faithful and true. We all loved Shingu and Tanabe. Though it may look like we had a lot of fun (which we did), our goal was to bless the lives of the members and we are grateful we were able to accomplish that.

Here are a few more fun pictures!