We live in Misawa near the Misawa Aviation Museum, which houses Miss Veedol. Miss Veedol was the first plane to ever fly across the entire Pacific Ocean non-stop. The plane took off from Misawa, Japan and landed in East Wenatchee, Washington in 1931! We went to the museum and had a great time!
The next night, we got a babysitter for the first time and had a date night. Painting with a twist!
Japan is known for its incredible festivals, filled with tradition and history. These festivals are also incredibly fun, with really good food and fascinating things to see. One of the largest festivals in Japan is in our prefecture, which is like a state in the United States.
This is called Nebuta festival, and we were fortunate to be able to come this year together. Last year only Leanne came since I got COVID but this year I could finally come!
From Wikipedia: “Nebuta” refers to the float of a brave warrior-figure which is carried through the center of the city, while dancers wearing a unique type of costume called haneto (ハネト) dance around in time with the chant Rasserā (ラッセラー) (shortened dialectal version of “irasshai”, calling visitors and customers to watch or join).
We got front row seats to see the float parade!
The floats are intricate and hand-made, each telling a story from old Japanese folktale. They are lit from the inside and hand carried through the streets of Aomori City.
Forrest celebrated his 100th day of life, which is a big celebration in Japanese culture. During this celebration, he had his first solid food: a grain of rice.
Of course, when you’re in Japan, you have to go to an animal cafe.
Hakone
Trains
Arashiyama Monkey Park
Osaka
Nara
Okinawa
Forrest had his first flight. Lucky kid! We are on our way to explore Japan with the family.
Every year in Misawa, there is a big celebration of the US of A! This year, all of the downtown area of Misawa was used for the festival. Of course there was Japanese festival food, but this time there was American festival food too (as well as some.. let’s say unique interpretations of American food)! I’m talking churros, funnel cakes, fries oreos, Philly cheesesteaks, and, of course, hotdogs and hamburgers. Bands played classic American hits ranging from Tom Petty to Disney (quite the range!).
He wasn’t sure at first, but after a few seconds he realized the warm water is actually pretty nice! Then he kept trying to scoot down into the water 🤦♂️
Forrest is so precious. I love everything about him, from his funny expressions to his beautiful smile. He was born so small, but he’s growing so fast! In less than 2 weeks I can see and even feel the difference! It’s time to weigh him and see where we are at!
Sakura are in full bloom, and one of the best places around to see it is Hirosaki Castle. This was a big trip with a newborn, but he did amazingly well. Walking through the tunnel of cherry blossoms was absolutely breathtaking.
With the cherry blossoms blooming and our baby just 1 week old, it was time to do a newborn photoshoot. I found a photographer who could take advantage of the cherry blossoms and take Japanese style photos!
These first photos were the ones I took of us in the park.
The photographer said it’ll take about one month for her to properly edit all the photos she took but here’s some preliminaries!
Of all the photos she took, this next one was my favorite!
