Stuck in the Snow

Friday, February 22
I left Miki in the afternoon, on a train to Tamba, where Chris met me at the station. We picked up a cheesecake at Tokiwado, then drove north to a lodge in Yabu City, where a large group of us celebrated Dan's birthday over food, drinks, conversation, and video games.

We stayed overnight and left in the morning.

Saturday, February 23
Since we were already up north, Clay, Chris, and I decided to hit local Michi no Ekis. We drove into yet another day of heavy snow, though when we began, it was none too bad.

Moo.
Tajima is famous for its delicious beef.

It was icy cold throughout most of the journey. At this odd agricultural park, which was empty for the winter, we heard a sheep bleating.

We drove along the Sea of Japan, where the waters were tempestuous! In some places, all we could see was foam.

Due to the poor weather, a road was closed, and we made our way to a lookout. It was cold.

Another ocean view.

We passed through the fishing village of Ine, stopping only for Clay to step into the winds and snow for a picture. During the summer, the area is a popular tourist attraction.

For dinner, we stopped at St. John's Bear, a restaurant that Chris and I had visited last May on our Amanohashidate anniversary trip.

We then attempted to head home, which took four hours (or more?) with a combination of traffic and snow. We dropped Clay off in Kasai, then returned to Miki for hot baths and sleep.

Altogether, we admitted to defeat by Mother Nature that day. We were taken far off our driving path, and Clay and I had to dig paths for the car through the snow using only our hands and feet. Still, we're thankful that we returned home safely, and from now on, we'll place our travel goals much further south.

Sunday, February 24
We returned to Tamba in the morning, amidst more snow. We joined several members of Chris's adult English conversation class for lunch at the Miyake home. They prepared beautiful makizushi and handmade gyoza. We ate until we were stuffed, and stayed chatting (in a mix of Japanese and English) until the early evening.

We stopped by Chris's place to pick up his suit for graduation and discovered that the housing was blocked by a deep path of snow. Chris piggybacked me through the snow!

We returned to Miki, where we ate a dinner of fish and leftover sushi.