Fall Photos

[Taylor]

Leaves in Oirase Gorge

This weekend Julie and I hit the road to catch a glimpse at the fall foliage before the leaves all fell to the ground.  Our trip included stops at Mt. Hakkoda, Oirase Stream/Gorge, and Lake Towada.

We took a ropeway up to the top of Mt. Hakkoda. We missed the peak of the colors by a couple weeks but it was still amazing.

View from the tram.

View from the top of Mt. Hakkoda. In the distance is Mutsu Bay and Aomori City.

Another view from the top, this time facing inland.

After the mountain we took a stroll down to the Oirase Stream/Gorge.

Our last stop was Lake Towada, the deepest lake in Japan.

We also did a fair amount of driving on the trip.  Here’s a video of us careening through a mountain road looking at foliage and listening to Alphawezan.

Click here to see the rest of the photos.

Trivia Weekend

[Taylor]

Last weekend we ventured South to the Oirase Gorge to participate in the annual Aomori trivia contest.  Fun was had before, during, and after the actual contest.  Here are some pictures of us exploring famous Lake Towada before the competition on Saturday afternoon.

Swan and pink dinosaur paddle boats.

Our friends opted for the swan boat.

Oh, and our team tied for third.

Lake Towada and Oirase Stream

[Taylor]

Today I went with some friends to Lake Towada and the Oirase stream pictured above.  Several photos were taken but the highlight of the day was something unrelated to water or foliage.  As we waited to board a bus by the lake, we met the first student from Japan to participate in an exchange program with the United States at the university level.  She was in junior high during World War II and recalls drastic food shortages and fleeing to the mountains to escape bombings.  Her anger over the war led to an affiliation with a group that eventually started a peaceful international exchange program.  She met her future husband in the U.S., who we also met, and they continue to travel back to Japan from their home on the West Coast of the U.S. to visit friends and family.  It was an honor to meet them.

If you would like to see 33 more photos of our day in the woods, please click here.

I tried to embed the past two flickr slideshows on here but just couldn’t get it to work.  Please let me know if you know any tricks.