Camping?? Are you kidding me?

We wanted to go to the West Coast of Japan and explore the Juniko Lakes area (sort of like a National Park) and check out the Sea of Japan. So, we call to reserve this little weekend trip since we want to stay in these darling, fully furnished and efficient cabins, but they are booked for the first night. We really wanted to stay there....and Jason says...."We'll just camp the first night." Well, for those of you who know me well....especially my Mom who had to endure several years of hearing me complain, drag my feet, and sabotage weekends at Girl Scout Camp as a kid....I don't camp well. Never have. And now with a one year old??? "Jason, you HAVE GOT to be kidding me!"

Luckily, my hubby talked me into it. I mean, we just had to "rough" it for one night, and then we could stay in the cabin the second night...how hard could it be?

Well, we had a wonderful weekend! I dare say we could even try it again. No surprise to any of us, Jacob was a champ camper and didn't mind smelling like bug repellent or sleeping in the tent with us. He even happily took long hikes with us in the baby backpack carrier. Jacob made camping more fun than a burden.

So, here are "some" pics. We have SO many pictures. This is just a small sample.

We left Misawa on Saturday Aug 15 with such a car load of things you would have thought we were leaving permanently. The drive was a scenic 3.5 hours.

















We made a few stops along the way to snap some pics. This was the view from a rest stop.















Our pals Kourt and Mis had already been the pioneers of this adventure as they had made the trip twice previously. They had recommended stopping at this temple...which we did!

















Looks like there is an extra Buddha!

We arrived at Juniko Lakes in the afternoon. Juniko Lakes Park is a collection of ponds and lakes in the shadow of Japan Canyon and just on the shore of the Sea of Japan. After we set up our camp site, we ventured out on our first hike. We explored a few of the ponds.














































Here are a few pics of our campsite Sunday morning at breakfast.






























After we cleared out and packed up our car (we had to vacate our campsite as we were staying in a cabin that night), we went on a morning hike to see Japan Canyon. How beautiful!































(Jacob had fun drinking out of the Camelback)








After seeing the Canyon, we were ready for lunch. We drove back up the coast a few minutes to a lookout to enjoy our turkey sandwiches. We had a perfect spot!


















































After lunch we found a spot on the shore of the Sea of Japan to do more hiking. As I said earlier, Jacob was a champ in this carrier. Jason earned his keep by lugging Jacob around! I just took the pictures. =)







































Jason wanted to explore all of these rocks and a couple of the caves. "Unfortunately" (I was not interested in the caves), we had changed into our flip flops (mostly because I was ready to find a spot in the sand and work on my tan). So we weren't able to climb on the rocks for long, but we did capture several great pics!





































Finally! Beach time!!!

"Oh Good, I was thirsty. Let me take a sip...."

"Ewwww! S-A-L-T-Y!"

After relaxing in the sand, we headed back up the hill to Refresh Village at Juniko Lakes (this is the same place we camped the night before) where we checked into our cabin. Now, this is my kind of camping!!






























I get to sleep in my own bed tonight!!




After settling in, we had one more adventure. We drove back up the coast to the WeSpa Onsen. This was the perfect way to unwind after our eventful day of hikes and sun. The onsen sits on a cliff and overlooked the Sea of Japan. The onsen showers and pool have a large picture window seperating us from the outside air, but since it was such a beautiful summer evening, the window was wide open. I took Jacob with me for his first REAL onsen expierence (when he was younger, I would leave him in the crib in the locker room). Even though the view was breathtaking, most of the Japanese women enjoyed gazing and playing with Jacob. After we showered, we just sat in the hot spring pool and watched the sunset. Jason did the same thing on the men's side, just without Jacob and all the Japanese women staring at him.

Don't know what an onsen is? Refer to our blog post in January 2008.






























Night #2, tucked in nicely in our cabin with AC, a kitchen, shower and toilet, sleeps up to 6 comfortably in Japanese stlye loft beds, table and chairs, and a tv...where we watched the Women All Around Gymnastics Competition....in Japanese of course!

















Well, what a weekend!! How could I complain? Beautiful scenery, weather, expierences, and a perfectly well behaved little boy! I have to admit, I am a bit more sold on camping than I was when we were planning this trip.....but let's not get carried away now. 'Til next time.