Excuses, excuses right? But I'm back with tales of Labor Day weekend!
Last weekend was Labor day weekend and Nick and I went to Oshima Island, a smallish island like a 2 hour drive away. (It is the A on the map from Google.)
We rented a cabin at a resort there with 2 other couples (one of whom has a 7 year old kid) from Sunday-Monday. It was really fun! It was so interesting to stay at a Japanese style resort because you just expect it to have, like, American style cabins because that's what you're used to but nope! Japanese style! (Ours is the red roof farther up the hill.)
You can't really tell in the photo but it was teeny! It was 2 1/4 stories- (the top 1 1/4 being lofts). The first floor had a single open room about the size of a small living room, that had a kitchenette complete with a one-burner stove, sink, mini-fridge and some counter space; the TINIEST bathroom you have ever seen; a super small fireplace; and 2 couches and a coffee table (well what we think of as a coffee table but was really just a Japanese style dining room table). The bathroom was so ridiculously small that the toilet was at an angle so your legs would still fit between the wall and the toilet when you were sitting down, the shower faucet was just a hose that you hooked up to the bathroom sink, and the tub was only long enough to sit in with your knees bent up but still had enough of an edge so that you could probably fill it up passed your knees. They are very serious about their bathing I hear.
Half of the upstairs was just an 8-mat tatami loft and there was another loft about 2 feet over and 2 feet up to the side of that one with all the futon mattresses and bedding for 8 people. So it slept 8 people but if this was in America, they would probably only allow 4 people tops to sleep in it. (Fire codes? Pish- who needs those?) I wish I had taken more pictures to show you just how tiny and compact it all was. Very Japanese! But cozy and fun!
There was also a balcony/deck that was lovely to sit out at-until the giant bugs came out! (The view of the resort/beach from out balcony.)
Being an island resort, we spent the majority of the time swimming the Inland Sea and just hanging out on the beach. Since the Japanese obviously didn't have Labor Day Monday off the place was dead except one other cabin of about 6 japanese people. They went swimming too- but just in their clothes! Like jeans and everything haha! It was great weather and a beautiful sunset.
The next day we went to another beach and saw lots of jellyfish washing in! I guess August is when the current is just right so that jellyfish are always in the beaches. (Our friend with a mini jellyfish on a stick.)
(Nick with a giant jelly fish on a stick.)
Nick and I underwater- so blue!
And now Nick and I have the travel itch- we realized we really haven't done much since being here up until last weekend and how much time we have wasted! We are starting to plan lots more adventures so stay tuned!
(Although, we might have to wait quite a while to climb Mt. Fuji because I guess it's going to erupt again!! I read here that the pressure inside Fuji-san is rising and it's now 16 times more higher than the last time it erupted! It is so likely that it will erupt in the next 3 years that they are planning for evacuations in 2014!)
Also. there was an earthquake here today (4.6 on the richer scale) but Nick and I still didn't even notice! We really should have because we were talking to our (American) neighbor who lives just a few blocks away and he felt it but Nick and I missed for some reason making us 0/2 for feeling quakes here and making me 0/3 in my life.
What a place to live!
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