Day at the Beach, Aya Suspension Bridge, and Cherry Blossoms

Like I said, it was a busy weekend for this fam! After our Obi adventure on Friday, we went to the beach with friends on Saturday! Casey's buddies Chad and Paula invited him to try his hand at surfing, and Bridger and I decided to tag along and play on the beach. Chad lived in Hawaii for a while, and Paula's from Fiji, so Casey was definitely the surfing "rookie," but he didn't do toooooo many face plants (er, I mean he didn't do any??) and he really enjoyed it.

Meanwhile, little Bridge and I collected some beautiful, mostly purple and white seashells. I collected them for the keeping, while my little one collected them for the eating (at least that's what he hoped to do when Mommy wasn't looking.) He sure loved it, although he did have to get used to the sand between his toesies. He's pretty much having an issue with anything stuck to his hands, face, or feet these days, so I wasn't too surprised.

I've noticed that people at the beach like to take pics of their feet (er???) so I decided to join in. Like the moccasins I'm sporting? Perfect beachside footwear...

No idea where my hubby is in this mix

Thinkin' that hot dude on the right is my guy. If it's not, don't tell him I said he was hot! ;)

Random pic for photography practice's sake.

Future surfer?

"Agh, Mom! This sand won't get out from between my toes!"

"Also, I think I'll eat this seashell now."

Tired, happy surfin' man

Later, we decided to visit the Aya suspension bridge. Um, can I just say "Freaky!!" Okay, I feel better now. From what I've researched, it's 250 meters long and 142 meters high (or about 820 feet long and 465 feet high for the American crowd.) It overlooks the Aya Evergreen Forest and a river that runs through the middle. It was so high! Parts of the bridge were also grated where you walked, so you could see underneath you. I nearly hyperventilated, but I actually made it all the way across the bridge! Go me! Casey thought it was a little crazy too, so I didn't feel too bad. ;)

We got there late in the day, so we only had time to look around for about a half an hour. There is a shrine at the other end of the bridge, and a few other sites, which we might go back to see if we have time.

We then decided to head to Aya Castle to see if it was still opened, but it wasn't. We walked around the entrance area for a while, which was beautiful. Look at the cherry blossoms! In Japanese, they are called sakura. Plan on seeing more posts with these, as they should all be in full bloom over the next week or so. Japan is full of beautiful plants and flowers in general. 

Our friend said these are called peach blossoms. I LOVE the bright pink!

Obi Day Trip

Whew! We sure have had a busy weekend! We started it by getting up at the crack o' dawn to get to Sun Messe (see previous post with giant statues with giant heads...yeah) in order to see a sunrise that was supposed to be pretty cool. We had read from the pamphlet we got on our previous excursion that the sunrise on the day of the spring equinox would come up and go directly through a tower, which has a slit in the middle. It would then direct the sunlight up the mountain of a hill in a stream, which would light up stairs that led to the Earth Appreciation Bell.

We were excited.

So we packed up at 5:00 in the good ol' a.m. and headed out. As you might be able to guess from the wording above, we didn't actually see it. As it turns out, we may have had some wrong info. That's the best, isn't it? Anyway, not quite sure what happened, but the place was closed. Drrrrrr..

Lucky for us, the entire drive is along the coast, so we just decided to get some scenic shots of the ocean instead. We then headed out to Obi, which is a small town with castle remains. But this isn't any ol' town, it is actually a Samari City. The buildings and homes are older and seem to be more traditional.  We were able to go on a tour of five different buildings that showed history of the town, including a merchant shop, which included some of the first bikes they had, tools, and household appliances from the time; a museum with armor, weapons, and carriers (word??) for nobility; and homes of noblemen. 

The castle itself was fought for between two different clans, named the Shimazu and Ito clans. The Ito won out, apparently, and lived there for many years. 

We spent a good 2-3 hours traipsing around the city, visiting the different sites. Having a little toddler (the name makes so much more sense to me now) "toddling" around with us definitely added a little time, but he sure enjoyed it!

Oh, and we got to shoot some arrows. We got a little wooden award for being so awesome (don't tell us if they actually give them to everyone who tries. We thought we were pretty great...) and the worker there also gave Bridger lots of Kit-Kats, so he was a big fan of the stop as well.

Flooded rice fields. We passed several on our journey.

Just had to add this one...

Castle entrance

This kid sure loves rocks. Both playing with them and trying to eat them...

Throwing money (perhaps for good luck?)

Awesome garden area. Japanese yards, in general, are all about the manicured bushes, plants, and flowers.

Playing in the bamboo trees

Hina doll displays (short version explanation: these dolls represent a wedding party and are brought out during February and March as a good luck for girls, particularly those getting married.)

Walking around town

Haha! That face! (Bridger's, not Casey's) ;)

Carriers of Nobility (I think?)

Japanese homes often have these sun halls or sun rooms like this.

We are archery champions.

Traditional eating area