Tsukuba-Dooba-Doo

With about 10 years of fishing in multiple leagues simultaneously, he has essentially turned recreation into profession.  My dad's wall full of plaques, awards, and trophies are proof positive that he is one of the most talented bass fishermen in the southwest.  For him, the lake is the best kind of therapy.  Being that I am his favorite son (right, dad?), I catered to his love of the lakeside by planning a trip to the second largest lake in Japan, Kasumigaura Lake.  Firstly however, we had a relaxing breakfast on the top floor of the Ninomiya House. 

Sunning by the windows.

I'm pretty sure Louis hustled me.

We were amazed to find that we could see the Big Buddha from so far away.

After breakfast we all piled in the rental car and drove to the nearby town of Tsuchiura.  It is the nearest access to Kasumigaura Lake and has many parks along the lakeside.  While walking around, we spotted an area where the locals were feeding a whole gaggle of geese and some seagulls.  As we approached, Katie booked it across the street and refused to come within 100 feet of the "disease-infested, disgusting, terrifying, flying balls of evil."  She did manage to get some photos of my dad and I feeding them our of our hands.

See...?  Harmless.

We did have the good fortune of coming across a man who was doing some fishing.  My father was content with observing from afar.

Waiting. and wishing. and hoping. and praying.

We got back in the car after having a picnic and playing on Japanese playground equipment (which is of the awesome, dangerous, lawsuit inducing variety).  Dad swore up and down that he had spotted a Cabela's Outdoor Shop on our way to the lake and he HAD to stop by to check it out.  Sure enough, we pulled in and snapped the photo below.

Our crew walked inside, half-expecting to find a totally different variety of bait and tackle....we were disappointed.  Sure, there were some Japanese nuances, but nothing was 'souvenir worthy' for my dad, so we left. On our drive back we decided to go to "Tsukuba You World" for bowling. I hadn't tried bowling in Japan yet.  It was essentially the same as in the US, save for the fact that I had to write our names and age on a piece of paper so that the staff could enter our names for us.  Apparently, the most technologically savvy society in the world has a difficult time entering letters on a bowling computer. After we glanced up at the score screen it was apparent that my five year old handwriting had finally caught up to me.  Instead of reading "Sam, Mary, Louis, Katie, Seth" it read:


Hmmm.....well at least they got "Mary" right, right?  Oh well, we put on our shoes and headed around in search of a ball.  I couldn't put my finger on it at first, but there was something different about their bowling balls.  Then, I could put a finger on it, or rather, five fingers IN it!

Five finger bowling ball for maximum control.

Picking up the spare with immaculate form.

After an enjoyable (and regretfully expensive) bowling session, we went back to the Ninomiya House for the ceremonial, vacation-ending tako yaki dinner.


The next day Katie and I took everyone back to the airport.  I couldn't believe how awesome Mary, Louis, and Dad's trip had been.  They all did amazing when it came to foreign foods and customs.  I was very happy that they were able to experience Japan.  Not to mention the fact that they took half of Japan with them in their suitcases.

Perhaps the most surprising/enjoyable thing for me was how we all connected on a much deeper level than we have in a long time.  For some reason, in this completely unique setting, we managed to have truly meaningful conversations.  I'm forever grateful for that.

-Seth