Hirado and Ikitsuki Island

Hirado and Ikitsuki are a short hour drive away from our home. They are two little islands that have played a role in Kyushu history. Ikitsuki is one of the major historic whaling communities in Japan. They still survive mainly based on their fishing industry. Mostly bringing in squid and flying fish. One of the main landmarks of this little island is the beautiful blue bridge connecting it to Hirado. 

Ikitsuki is mainly natural areas and scenic cliffs with only a small populated area on the coast by the bridge. One amazing feature in the Basalt column cliffs called the Shiodawara Cliffs. I've always wanted to see Giant's Causeway so it was neat to get to view these. 

Ikitsuki also boasts Japan's largest bronze statute, the Daigyoran Kannon. Being an image of compassion, this Kannon represents world peace and prays for those who are out to sea, as well as morns for those lost at sea and the sea mammals. It has an alter underneath that you can visit and pray at when your spouse is out to sea, something us Navy wives have in common with the local fisherman's wives. It's the only Buddhist statue that I've seen holding a basket of fish. 

We got a little lost on our way out and ended up on some REALLY narrow neighborhood streets. Our car is tiny, it is the size of a little VW bug, but we were still scared we were going to scrape the walls on either side, and it was a two way street! At one point we have to back into someones driveway to let a large truck go by. We were really relieved to get out on the to main road and back over the bridge again. 

Afterwards we headed back over to Hirado Island. Our first stop was one of Hirado's catholic churches, St. Francis Xavier Church. These islands were known for harboring secret Christians and keeping them safe in the past. It is really weird to see this type of structure in Japan and it really sticks out. 

Our very next stop was a buddhist temple, Saikyo-Ji, I thought the contrast and similarities between these holy mother statues very interesting. 

Saikyo-Ji is famous for its fine Buhhist art, leading up to the temple is a path with 88 Jizo Statues. Eisley LOVES them!

The temple also hosts a "crybaby" sumo tournament every February which I think would be fun to attend. It is where two toddlers dressed in Kimonos are sat on cushions facing each other the referee taunts the babies and wears a scary mask. The baby who cries the longest and hardest is the winner. This is a tradition that goes back 400 years and is intended to scare away evil spirits and ensure a strong, healthy life for the babies. It is based on a Japanese proverb that translates to "crying babies grow fast". I've always noticed the Japanese are more amused by crying babies than they are annoyed, maybe this is why, they are just seeing a future Naki-Zumo champion in their minds.

Our final stop was the Hirado City Castle. It takes you back to the age of fierce warlords and old feudal Japan. The keep has an excellent view of the red Hirado bridge and the surrounding bay and city. The castle has been converted into a little history museum.

You can see the catholic church we visited in the upper left.

An outdoor sumo stadium on the castle park grounds. 

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Hawaii Part 2

One of the days David, Eisley, and I took a day to drive around the island to just see what we would come across. 

Our first stop was just by chance we saw it while driving. It was the Valley of the Temples and is a huge multi-religious cemetery. It had separate areas for each religious group and it was interesting to see the different headstone/memorial styles. We loved seeing the mountains covered in huge waterfalls.

In the back of the park is a really cool traditional style Buddhist temple. This is a common sight in Japan but not so common for the states. You pay a little admission fee, but it was worth it to walk around and take in the peaceful beauty. The backdrop of the pines and the mountains is stunning. 

Eisley loved all the Koi fish

Next we drove up near the Polynesian Center on the north shore to the BYU campus and our church's Hawaiian temple. It is gorgeous and the grounds are a great place to walk around and spend some time as a family. We didn't have a sitter to do a session inside but we would love to go back someday!

Jesus is one of Eisley's favorite people to point out. She started saying his name when she was just 9 months old and my mom taught it to her while she was watching her for us at the San Diego temple. The second we walked into the Hawaii visitor's center Eisley yelled "Jesus!" and all the sister missionaries swooned.  

The view from the temple steps goes all the way to the ocean.

After enjoying the temple grounds we drove on over to the Bonsai Pipeline. A popular surfing spot for locals. The waves were impressive and there were a ton of people surfing. It was really cool just sitting there and watching them. 

I loved this dad teaching his little boy how to surf by watching the big boys do it. 

Along the way back we made a quick stop at Waimea Valley. We wished we had time to stay and go through the park because it looked interesting. They have a lot of cultural exhibits and waterfalls, along with Waimea Valley being a very historically important place culturally and religiously to the Hawaiian people.

One of the best parts of traveling and being in the Navy is because we have a lot of great friends scattered all around the world. We were able to catch up over dinner with the Sponseller family since they are currently living on Oahu. We were finally able to meet their adorable girls! Eisley and Ruby are very close in age so it is fun to see the similarities in development and personality.

The next day we stopped by the Disney Aulani resort to meet Mickey Mouse before some beach time. They didn't catch it on camera but Eisley was so anxious in line to see him, and then she ran up and gave him a big hug. 

Nearby is Paradise cove where Aaron told us we could find some sea turtles. There were six wild turtles swimming in the shallows. It's always neat to see them in the "wild" even though they are so used to humans. There was a lady just standing in the water and one swam right into her. 

Afterwards we met up with David's parents at our resort so Eisley could play in the water some more. She loves swimming and playing in the sand. She's lucky that we always live near a beach. 

I can't get enough of that cute little toddler belly!

I love those sandy little feet!

So that was our Hawaii Vacation. It was a lot of enjoying the weather and beach and seeing the sites. We are really glad we were able to go as a family and get some much needed vacation time together.

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