Our last day on Sado Island proved to be more fruitful than any of us expected. As we had explored much of the southern part of the island, we decided to follow the coastline north to "see what happens." It wasn't too long before we pursued the notion of driving to some breathtaking beaches on the northern tip of the island. If we played our cards right, we could fit in a couple of fun pit stops, stop by the northern beach, and make it back to Ryotsu Port just in time to catch our jetfoil back to mainland Japan.
Much to our surprise, the other side of the hill lead to two natural, ocean-fed, crystal clear, sun-warmed pools! One was twice as large as the other and both were easily 8-10 feet deep. Immediately, my brain went into overdrive as I tried to rationalize reasons to not jump in. My swim suit was in the car....I gazed up at Katie, Nancy, and Hal as they all agreed "well, you pretty much have to!" I leapt out of my clothes until I was in my underwear. I did one more quick check for sharks or jellyfish and then, as they say, 'the rest is history.'
I changed after we got back to the car, then we hit the road again. The following hour long stretch of pavement was the craziest, curviest, narrowest, blind-corner-est road I've ever driven. When I proceeded through the things such as blind, single lane bridge crossings into blind hairpin curves there was a deafening silence. Often times the only indicator of oncoming traffic were strategically placed, one foot diameter, convex mirrors. Although it was hair raising at times, we made it safely to Ohno-game (turtle).
We had the option to hike to the top of Ohno-game, but we were still sore from Fuji-san. It was almost lunch time so we ate at the Ohno-game lodge before we drove down the road to Futatsu-game (two turtles).
I cursed the fact that I didn't have goggles, but decided a swim was utterly necessary. The surroundings were like something out of a movie. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my life. However, as we were on a tight schedule to catch out jetfoil, I couldn't swim for very long and we left.
We made our jetfoil in time and had an event-less trip back to Tsukuba. We had made it!
We decided to pull over at a spot where some stairs had been made to go up the side of a hill. I headed down by the water and quickly started yelling at everyone else to come see what I had discovered.
Much to our surprise, the other side of the hill lead to two natural, ocean-fed, crystal clear, sun-warmed pools! One was twice as large as the other and both were easily 8-10 feet deep. Immediately, my brain went into overdrive as I tried to rationalize reasons to not jump in. My swim suit was in the car....I gazed up at Katie, Nancy, and Hal as they all agreed "well, you pretty much have to!" I leapt out of my clothes until I was in my underwear. I did one more quick check for sharks or jellyfish and then, as they say, 'the rest is history.'
I swam around for only a couple minutes, but it felt fantastic.
I changed after we got back to the car, then we hit the road again. The following hour long stretch of pavement was the craziest, curviest, narrowest, blind-corner-est road I've ever driven. When I proceeded through the things such as blind, single lane bridge crossings into blind hairpin curves there was a deafening silence. Often times the only indicator of oncoming traffic were strategically placed, one foot diameter, convex mirrors. Although it was hair raising at times, we made it safely to Ohno-game (turtle).
As you can see, there is a small strip of beach connecting Futatsu-game to the main coastline. Both beach fronts were beautiful.
Once again, the water was incredibly clear.
Dippin' our feet
I cursed the fact that I didn't have goggles, but decided a swim was utterly necessary. The surroundings were like something out of a movie. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my life. However, as we were on a tight schedule to catch out jetfoil, I couldn't swim for very long and we left.
We made our jetfoil in time and had an event-less trip back to Tsukuba. We had made it!
Hal and Katie at Tsukuba station. Wait! Where is her hiking stick!?
Ahhh, yes....the hiking sticks....you remember them from Mt. Fuji, right? Well as it turns out, we had carried them with us the whole 12+ hours of traveling since leaving Fuji san. Right as our train stopped at Tsukuba station we all agreed, "FINALLY, we can relax and not worry about catching trains, ect." It was at this vulnerable instant that Katie walked off of the train, leaving her hiking stick behind.
Moments after the above picture was taken, we realized what had happened...CRAP! Katie and Hal frantically ran down the stairs to see if they could quickly retrieve it. They were too late. The train had already started back toward Tokyo. I reasoned that somebody would turn it into lost and found and we could retrieve it in the morning.
Revenge of the hiking stick.
The next morning I went to the station early. After 30 minutes of confusing back and forth Japenglish with the train worker, I got my point across and he left to check the lost and found. He came back and told me that they had it...in Tokyo...double crap!
So, that night (after the Lewins had caught their flight) I rode the train 50 minutes to Tokyo, grabbed the stick, got on the same train, and rode it another 50 minutes back to Tsukuba. In retrospect, I probably could have sent the stick with one of the conductors, but I was just ready to go get it and be done with it. Well...if those sticks didn't have sentimental value before, they sure do now.
I'm so grateful that the Lewins decided to visit us here in Japan and was sad to see them go. I had a blast and am stoked to have done several once in a lifetime things with them. It was a trip for the record books and I will never forget it.
-Seth
September 10, 2010 at 2:49 PM
Seth and Katie, I just love your blog! It is one of the few websites I visit everyday, and I'm so excited whenever there's a new post. Thanks for sharing your awesome adventures with me, I'm so happy for you guys!!!
September 11, 2010 at 5:29 PM
Thanks Shelby! That means a lot to us. We try really hard to keep them interesting. I hope everything is great in Denver!