Down Unda: Sydney Days 1 & 2

In March we did something that I've been wanting to do for 12 years!  We visited Australia!!!  Ever since coming home from my mission in June of 2004, I've wanted to go back and visit, and to take my family with me!  Being here in Japan has opened up so many traveling opportunities for us, and Australia was one of them.  It is so much more affordable to fly to Australia from Japan than from the states, so we figured that if we didn't go now, who knows when we ever would.  And because the prices are so much less flying from Tokyo, we figured out that we could fly all 5 of us (well, we went 2 weeks before Bennett's second birthday, so technically we only had to pay for 4 tickets ;)) for the same price as if only Peter and I were to go from the states.  So, in short, it was too sweet of a deal to pass up!  And even better . . . once we arrived in Japan and conceived of this plan to visit my old mission country, we began accumulating Marriott points on our credit card so that we would have enough built up to pay for all of our lodging!  Mission accomplished!  By March we had enough points to stay at Marriotts in Sydney and in Brisbane for 8 nights for free!  The hotels were unbelievable--they were in beautiful and ideal locations.  It was absolutely perfect.

The flight from Tokyo to Sydney is LONG.  About 9.5 hours.  We took a redeye (with 3 kids--super fun btw) and arrived very early the next morning.  Even though the flight would be rough, we thought it would be worth it to have a full day ahead of us that wasn't eaten up by traveling.  Which turned out to be true, for the most part.  We dropped our bags off at the beautiful Pier One Sydney Harbour Marriott, which is essentially right beneath the Harbour Bridge!  The back of the hotel is on the water and it was gorgeous.  

After walking around the Harbour a bit, we were starving, so we decided to pop into a burger place that looked pretty good.  And, I don't want to brag or anything, but we happened to pick the best burger joint ever!!!  Seriously, it was amazing!  The place was called Ribs and Burgers and it was at The Rocks right by the Harbour.  Peter and I each had "the burger with the lot", which in my opinion, is the only way to eat a burger when in Australia!  The burger came loaded with beets, a fried egg, bacon, cheese, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, and pickles!  Soooooo delicious.  This is the food I have been missing since my mission!

After eating lunch, we opted to take a red, double decker Hop On Hop Off Bus.  This was a great way to see the city, especially since we didn't have a car and there aren't really any trains.  Sydney is so beautiful and there is so much to see, but let me tell you, sitting in the hot sun on top of a bus the day after taking a 9 hour redeye flight with kids can make you quite sleepy!  Hahaha, we may have struggled to stay awake, and more than a few us dozed off for a bit as well.  Needless to say, we didn't "hop off" as often as we'd planned on doing!  But, it was great nonetheless and we took it over to Darling Harbour, which is a really cool area and has a super fun playground and water/splash pad area for kids.  It was the perfect way to end a hot day of sightseeing.  Well, the playground plus the yummy ice cream bars and Aussie treats and drinks that we snacked on of course!

At the end of the day, we strolled back past the Sydney Opera House to our hotel exhausted, and ready for sleep.

Day 2 in Sydney we woke up and check out of our hotel and had a taxi drive us about a mile over to the Sydney Harbour Marriott where we checked in to stay the rest of our time while in Sydney.  Overlooking Circular Quay, this hotel was incredible!  We had a great view of the Harbour and of the Opera House from our window.  Gorgeous.  

After checking out our new room, we loaded up and headed out to catch the ferry to take us across the bay to Manly.  

We had a fabulous day in Manly!  We rented bikes, one with a half-wheeler attached for Will and one with a trailer attached for Bennett and Clara.  Then we took off to explore!  And, let me tell you, with 3 kids under 6, biking is so, so, so much better than walking!  We rode over to Manly Beach and to the cliffs on the far end to explore "the wormhole".  This was the perfect, short hike to do before soaking up the sun and playing in the water.

We hopped back on our bikes and found a little beach cafe after climbing on the rocks and through the wormhole.  We ate delicious fish 'n chips, my very, very favorite Aussie meal, and then rode over to Shelly Beach to camp out for the rest of the afternoon.  

Our day in Manly was absolutely perfect!!!

Our Weekend in Sendai - Yamadera

A trip to the Sendai area isn't compete without hiking up the 1000 steps to Yamadera, a mountain shrine in Yamagata.  Yamadera is about an hour from Sendai, but it's worth it even just for the train ride!  The tracks run through the mountains and it's absolutely beautiful, especially in the fall.  Benny was being so funny on the train; he just kept hugging Clara and cuddling up to her!  

The hike, even though it's straight up a mountain and consists of 1015 steps, really wasn't too bad.  Clara actually walked more than half on her own before we stuck her in the backpack, and honestly, I think she could have made it the whole way had we just slowed down a bit.  And Will was a champ.  He had no problems getting up to the top with energy to spare.

Before the real trail begins (so after only one or two sets of stairs), there is a shrine with a large Buddha out front.  You can tell where he's been rubbed and patted by thousands of visitors over the years :)

The scenery along the path, the trees and foliage, stone carvings, and tomb stones were all so beautiful and interesting.  It was a really cool hike, with a lot to see all along the way, not just at the top!

But, as pretty as the hike was going up, the views from the top were unbeatable.  It's not possible to capture the breadth and scope of all that the eye can see from the top of the mountain!  And it's just mind-blowing that this temple was built hundreds of years ago on the mountaintop! 

After we got our work-out, we were plenty hungry and very cold, so we sat down for a delicious meal of mountain vegetables, soba, and tempura!  Oishii!

Okinawa Getaway: Pineapples, Waterfalls, and Whale Sharks!

While we were in Okinawa, we set out from our awesome hotel at Okuma a few times to do some exploring.  Okinawa is such a beautiful island!!!  It's this crazy mix of Japan countryside and tropical trees and beaches.  It's really an incredible place, and the culture is rich and there is so much to do!

We had heard great things about the hike to Hiji Falls, so we went for it!  And it was super hot and muggy!  Haha!!  And there were about a million stairs on that hike!  The whole time we just kept telling ourselves that it was worth it just to see the beautiful surroundings and that it would be even more worth it once we got to the end and could jump in the water at the waterfall.  But . . . we got there and there were signs and chains all over preventing us from being able to get wet!  Boo!  We were a little disappointed, and super hot, but the waterfall was still a pretty sight!  

After resting for a minute at the waterfall, we started heading back, but alas!  Peter spotted a sign pointing to the river which said "Riverside Course".  We decided to check it out, hoping that it would be a little more exciting and easier (with less stairs) than the hike going up had been.  And it was!  It was awesome!  Luckily, we were all wearing flip flops so we were literally able to just walk in the river the whole way back.  The water was only ankle deep, shin deep at the deepest.  The kids loved splashing around, no one was sweating, and everyone was happy!  A total success--and totally worth it!  So, if you go to hike Hiji Falls, skip the regular path and keep on the lookout for the signs to the Riverside Course (and be sure to wear sandals, flip flops, or water shoes!).  I think going up, you can access that path were there's a small sign for the waterfront play area.  The hike ended up being a lot of fun, and something I totally recommend--but mostly for the fact that walking along the river was so much fun!

 

Another fun, and totally wacky, place we visited was the Nago Pineapple Park.  Whimsical and wacky.  And maybe a tourist trap???  But, still totally unique and fun!  The whole place is essentially a pineapple farm and the largest souvenir shop I've ever been to!  You pay a small fee to enter, and then hop into a pineapple golf cart where you're taken on a guided (in Japanese) tour through a bunch of pineapple fields.  

Then, you get out of the cart and go to a pineapple robot show!  Which was surprisingly cute, but very quirky.  Two little pineapple robots sang and danced and pretty much just cracked us up for about 10 minutes.  And, then . . . well that's it!  Haha!  There is a *free* sea shell museum near the end of the tour (super weird), but otherwise, you just continue on to the enormous omiyage (souvenir) store that sells everything from pineapple wines and juices, to pineapple cakes and chocolate, to pineapple stuffed toys and about a million other gifts and souvenirs.  And somehow we got sucked in to it all--we came home with pineapple chocolate, a stuffed pineapple, magnets, and a couple of Okinawan dragon stuffed animals!  

On our last day in Okinawa, we went to the Ocean Expo Park to visit the Churaumi Aquarium.  This aquarium was unbelievable.  The best aquarium I've ever been to, and it's all because of the gigantic tank with the THREE (!!!) whale sharks!  I seriously could have sat in front of that tank for hours.  It was just so mesmerizing and awe-inspiring.  

 

The rest of the aquarium was pretty remarkable as well, and outside there were dolphin, manatee, and sea turtle pools.  We had a great time seeing all the different types of sea life and exploring the property--the Ocean Expo Park is huge and beautiful.  It was a great day and end to our trip!