Strawberry "Tabehodai"

After church on Sunday, a bunch of people from both church and Kaiwa Cafe went strawberry picking at a farm in Ishikari. It wasn't your typical strawberry picking adventure, but instead "tabehodai", which means "all you can eat"! So, for 700 Yen (approx. $7), you get a little can for the stems, and spend as long as you want in the fields and greenhouses eating! I'm not sure if I want to see another strawberry for a long time. But, it was fun while it lasted!


Getting ready to go....me, Eriko and Naoko


















Starting to get bored with the strawberries and instead having more fun taking pictures!

Day with the Girls

A fun Saturday afternoon with some of my friends from 'Kaiwa Cafe'. Kaiwa Cafe is the English conversation class that I help teach at my church. There are so many amazing students in our class, and we always have a lot of fun every Friday night. But, it's also super fun to hang out outside of class. It always amazes me how much people from all different cultures and backgrounds can have in common.



Naoko, Eriko, Susan (my pastor's wife), me, and Hae Young with our feast at a Chinese restaurant in Sapporo.


















And enjoying fabulous "Mango Tangos" at Tully's Coffee afterwards.

Hakodate

A few weeks ago, Momoko and Saori took me on a trip to Hakodate as a "Happy Engagement" present. Hakodate is at the very southern tip of Hokkaido, and is a beautiful older town with lots of history and interesting architecture. As well, it is famous for it's sushi, night-view and hotsprings. We enjoyed all of the above.


At a little roadside Japanese-style hamburger restaurant on our way to Hakodate...

















Welcome to Hakodate!

















On the side of Hakodate mountain, there is an old neighbourhood full of churches and temples of various denominations - Catholic, Buddhist, Russian Orthodox, and Greek Orthodox...







































After exploring the churches, we went up the Hakodate tower to see the view of the park and city below.

















There were also all kinds of great displays about the history of Hakodate.


















That night we went out for sushi, and filled ourselves with many many plates worth!


















And then we carried on to take the gondola to the top of Mt. Hakodate to see the famous night-view. This was what it was supposed to look like.....









But, unfortunately, we hit fog halfway up, and had no view at all! Oh well, the ride was fun!



And finally went back to our traditional Japanese style hotel, complete with futons, tatami floors and an onsen (hotspring)! Very very relaxing and comfortable!