Day 11
| John & Hiromi's Virtual Vacation to Hokkaido | |||
| Day 10th - September 5th, 2001 | |||
| Day 9 |
Day 11 |
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If you are having any trouble accessing the "Rising Sun School"
web-site, where all the pictures are stored, click on this: http://zingchurch.com/adventure/hk/index.htm There are about 85 pictures up so far, so if all you are seeing is one or two...you are missing the boat! We didn't miss the boat...we are currently aboard the Ferry Victus Hakodate, and it is rough outside! This is a little ship, and most of the cargo is trucks hauling cattle. So, in addition to the rock and roll of the ocean, there is a faint hint of the "toro fecundo", if you gather my drift... I included a picture of the last view of Hokkaido which was taken in pitch darkness. It is a little shaky, but the clouds are very visable, and I was kind of happy with the shot. I was disappointed with the picture titled "Furano Sunrise",because, even though it is a beautiful picture, it fell short of capturing the moment. Please spendan extra few seconds with this one and try to feel it. I was very glad to get the picture entitled Martial Arts Expert...one of those photos where everything just came together at the right time! |
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Driving to Tomakomai |
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Sunrise at Furano | |
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Red bridge | |
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Sorachi River | |
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River dam | |
| Around
Tomakomai City |
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Martial arts expert at a hamburger stand | |
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Ship at sea | |
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Driftwood | |
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Ferry Victus Tomakomai | |
| From
Tomakomai port |
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| We left Furano and headed south for Tomakomai, rightdown the "backbone"
of Hokkaido. In fact, Furano has a "Navel Festival" and they're
not talking about ships! Furano is just about the "bellybutton"
of Hokkaido. We stopped at Mukawa for another onsen...I have never been so clean! But the onsen is not about clean, it is about what the Japanese call "karma"...we can call it "peace as the world gives". While that's not bad, it is nothing like the peace that passes all understanding. We still have a couple more days to go, and tomorrow, at 3 am, we will dock at Hachinohe. Hachinohe means "eight doors". There are a number of "no he" towns,10 or 12, I think. I don't know why they named them that way, but look at the funny town names in Oklahoma! Wewoka, Weleetka, Wetumka, just to name a few. We will drive from Hachinohe to Kuji, and tomorrow is "amber" day. We hope to find amber on the beaches of Kuji, and we may stop at the amber museum, if time permits. I would put our actual chances of finding any amber at "slim or none", but, like I have always said, "when your chances are slim and none, go with slim!" We must be back in Fujisawa by Saturday, because we have a leadership training seminar starting on Sunday. Our calender is growing, little by little, and we are enjoying the challenges that are being presented to us. We are refreshed and ready to get back to work! We appreciate all the nice "kudos" that you all have been sending, and hope you will continue to bless us with your messages. It is nice to know that while we may be gone physically, we are still close, and all this modern technology is just great for keeping in contact. I think you're going to like today's pictures..let us know what you think! And tomorrow...all about our encounter with the famous Hokkaido bears! Love,John and Hiromi PS: It is getting really rough out, and we are taking a pounding! Reminds me of the year I spent on the South China Sea, riding out the monsoons around Viet nam! |
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All aboard! | |
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Last view of Tomakomai | |
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