Christmas in Japan

Kure, Japan the Yamato Museum –

The latter part of our short trip we went to Kure, the largest ship yard in Japan and walked the grounds of the Yamato Museum.  We were unable to enter the museum because it was a Japanese national holiday. But we were able to observe some of the submarines outside on the grounds and read about the Japanese naval achievements including the building of the Yamato and its history.

Yamato Museum - Kure, Japan

Submarine at the Yamato Museum

Matsuyama City -

We stayed in Matsuyama City and you could see Matsuyama Castle from out our hotel window. The castle was beautiful at night all lit up and glowing on the top of an island surrounded by a mote.

Matsuyama Castle - Ehime, Japan

Grounds surrounding Matsuyama Castle

Entrance to Matsuyama Castle - Ehime, Japan

The streets in town were all lit up with beautiful Christmas lights and ornate designs for the holidays. We enjoyed the Christmas music in the shops and holiday scenery a lot.

Christmas lights of Matsuyama, Japan

We road the Ferris wheel in the background perched upon the 10 story building. WOW what a view!

While in Matsuyama we toured the local shops surrounding the very popular Dogo Onsen. An onsen is a public bath house or hot springs and is very popular in Japan. There are gender specific bathing areas and the waters of the hot springs are often known for their healthful and healing properties. Most onsens have pretty strict rules and bathing suites are NOT part of the attire for visiting an onsen.

Our Dogo onsen experience...maybe someday

Dogo Onsen - Ehime, Japan

I have been invited many times to attend the onsens in our region but have not been able to get past the required attire - oh yeah - NOTHING! I continue to hear how this is one of the most amazing experiences in Japan and how when it is so cold and you just cannot get warm going to the onsen is wonderful.

I guess I just have to take their word for it because thus far I have not been able to bring myself to go. Many people have teased me and said oh yeah, like it must be a westerner thing and they think it is just too bad that I am missing out. Maybe one of these days I will get the courage to try it.

Christmas in Japan –

We had our first Christmas in Japan and thanks to Bob and my parents it had many of the same elements from the states. We skyped with my parents so they were able to see the kids open their presents and we were all able to wish one another Merry Christmas.

Christmas tree and a crackling tv screen?

We met with a few other missionary families and celebrated our savior’s birth with a wonderful potluck dinner and good fellowship. We are grateful for so many wonderful friends and family who have been so kind and generous to include us in their plans. Actually, we were really busy with Christmas activities during the month of December. KCS had a large Christmas program, Hope Chapel had Christmas caroling and we also had Christmas festivities at the Clark’s International Night.

Christmas day at the Sainio's with Mikako and Anniinia

We kept up a few of our family traditions by hanging a Merry Christmas sign on our front gate, stringing lights along our front flower bed and baking several kids of cookies and taking them to our neighbors. I even took a bag to the local post office workers who I interact with regularly. We were blessed by the opportunity to meet and talk with many neighbors as we delivered the treats. Many people were very surprised to get a gift and it was really fun to share a little bit of our family Christmas traditions.

Update Regarding Stephanie's Ankle Injury -
Thank you so much for your prayers and e-mails regarding Stephanie's biking injury. She is healed now and running again at full speed. It warmed my hear to see her take off across the open fields in Hiroshima running full speed without any pain or limping. I am still praising God for his mercies and that her Achilles is intact and she is able to run, dance and jump to her hearts content. This is a pretty recent picture of the injury. The top of the scar is filling in daily and is almost completely filled in as you can see.

So here is her ankle all healed and looking the best it has since the injury.

Once again, so much to share but too much for one entry.We are blessed to be a part of what God is doing at KCS, Hope Chapel and in Japan. Thank you for your words of encouragement, support and prayers. I am regularly overcome with emotion when I think of how God transplanted us here to KCS to invest in the lives of students for His greater purposes. To God be the glory, great things He has done for sure!

In Christ,

K. Chadduck

Hiroshima, Miyajima Island and Matsuyama

Ride on the Shinkansen -

We did some traveling over Christmas vacation to Hiroshima, Miyajima and Matsuyama to visit historic landmarks and take in a few of the top Japanese tourist sights. We took our first ride on the Shinkansen or bullet train out of Osaka and really enjoyed the experience.

First ride on the Shinkansen traveling at 150 - 200 mph

We could not believe how quiet and smooth the ride was even though we were traveling at speeds of 150 – 200 mph.  The inside of the cars look and feel a lot like an airplane without the uncomfortable takeoff and landing. You could barely feel it glide to a stop and it seemed to start as effortlessly. There was not much of a view from the train because you are frequently traveling through tunnels and the track is partially enclosed for noise reduction through the cities. It is a fun trip, very comfortable ride and great way to travel a long distance in a short amount of time.

Picture with the world famous bullet train

Picture of the front car of the Shinkansen

We stayed in a traditional Japanese hotel with futons and tatami mat floor. I thought some of you might enjoying seeing the table and layout of a Japanese hotel.

Someone pretending to be asleep

A little Japanese TV anyone?

Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Peace Park -

We toured the Hiroshima Victims Memorial, Peace Park and other historic landmarks within Hiroshima city. We knew this visit would be somber and I am really glad we went. We all learned a lot touring the memorial and Peace Park and it had a profound impact on us all. 

Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall Peace Park  Hiroshima, Japan

Memorial Cenotaph in Peace Park with  the Peace Flame and A-bomb Dome in the background

Picture in Peace Park with A-bomb Dome in the back ground 

A-bomb Dome before and after

Closeup of the A-bomb Dome

The A-bomb Dome is a World Heritage Site and is the most famous landmark in Hiroshima. It was originally built as the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall in 1915. The dome was 328 feet from what would become ground zero on August 6, 1945 at 8:15 am. As you can see from the pictures, most of the building was destroyed in the blast.

Hiroshima is now rebuilt and Peace Park is beautiful. There is an awareness and commitment not to repeat history. The day we were there high school students were in the park near the memorial collecting signatures to abolish nuclear weapons worldwide. They were planning to send the signed petitions to the United Nations. A very memorable trip and one well worth making.

Miyajima Island -

Miyajima is a small island less than an hour’s ferry ride outside of Hiroshima. It is most famous for its giant orange torii gate which appears to be floating on the ocean at high tide. Miyajima is ranked among one of the three top views in all of Japan and is closely associated with its main shrine Itsukushima, which like the giant torii, is built over water.

Miyajima O-torri Gate

Low tide in front of O-torri Gate in Miyajima, Japan

Five story pagoda on Miyajima Island

We had a great time on this island hiking the ocean beach, petting the tiny deer, perusing the small gift shops and sampling a variety street food. There were many beautiful buildings and it was a really nice combination of beauty and culture.

Famous O-torri floating Gate on Miyajima Island at high tide

There was a sign at the entrance to the park warning tourists about the deer eating paper and being generally pesky. I was taking a picture of the torri in the water and a deer came up beside me and grabbed my park map. I was not willing to give it up that easy and yelled, “Hey, dumb deer, give me that!” My family thought this was hilarious and teased me about my half eaten map the rest of the day. The dear happily ate the other half and we joked about whether or not it would give him a stomach ache.

Dumb deer ate my park map!

The deer ate the most useful portion of the map leaving me with only the legend.

 Miyajima Island was my favorite place to visit on this particular trip. We had a great time as a family exploring the islands and interacting with Japanese culture. I have a lot more to write but will save the rest of our trip and Christmas in Japan for next week. 

Thank you as always, to our friends, family and supporters both near and far. We really appreciate you and enjoying hearing how you are doing via e-mail and letters.    

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and we wish you a wonderful, Christ centered 2016.

K. Chadduck