Journey to Japan

Packed and Ready to Travel!

Overnight Stop in Beijing with Friend Nancy

 August 26- 31, 2014...

 In order to share favorites of returning, first I must go on a journey...
This time my travels took me to visit a friend in Shimonoseki, Japan. My friend Marcia has been asking me to come visit her for a few years now and so I was delighted when our schedules worked and I was finally able to make the trip.

Marcia shows me around her home...

Welcoming Coffee

 Marcia and her husband Tony have been living in Japan for about 28 years church planting and growing in the Shimonoseki area.  I had to smile as I considered the various friends through the years who have lived in Japan and y'all for the record you were right Japan was a wonderful, beautiful, experience!

A local specialty called Karasoba is noodles cooked on a roof tile.

 One of my favorite days was spent seeing more of the countryside with this beautiful group of women from the church...I had the privilege of hearing each of their testimonies and loved the opportunity to see their country from their perspective, the shops they love, the places they enjoy visiting-

 Sitting on the cliffs watching the crashing waves, sushi on tatami mats over looking the ocean, and coffee at the hotel...

 Orange ice cream in the "Badlands"  I could have stayed there and sat breathing in the fresh air for hours

A visit to a traditional Japanese garden... I thought of my mother when I saw the beautiful red of the Japanese maples just like the ones we had outside our front door growing up in Napa. 

There was a bride and groom having wedding photos done in the garden and she invited us to stay and watch and take a few photos of our own!

This area is famous for the fugu fish (Blowfish) that can be taken from the waters and they are very proud of the fish...it is a trademark everywhere you look.

 I was able to join them as their church hosted an English Bible Camp in the mountains at a beautiful lodge...of course I HAD to find myself a Japanese baby to hold!

 Our days ended with a last look of the Pacific Ocean and Japanese Sea from the vista point and then what better way to finish it off than to walk on the beach squishing my toes into the sand and letting the water lap at my feet as we watched the sunset...

Bags packed and at the station for the train trip back to Osaka and the flight back to China.