Strawberries, Sumo, & Castles in the Snow

Plus: otters, selfies, and funny texts from my friends.

BOY ARE YOU IN FOR A TREAT.

This is another photo-driven post, because they're worth a thousand words & y'all would HATE MEEEEEE if I wrote all those words instead of just showing you the darn pictures.

So, for that, you are welcome.

First, the strawberries. 

There were at least 4 varieties in this massive green house, so even though it was cold outside, it was like a springtime strawberry field in that large plastic house. #somuchyum Also, it was all-you-can-eat NOT all-you-can-pick-and-take-home so there's that small disappointment for the day...but also joy in the challenge to have a personal best in The Most Strawberries Eaten In One Sitting...which we did...duh.

                                                     

 And, yes, I posed his hands like that... 

 This green house was super hipster with all their upcylced seating arranged around a pot belly stove. 

That seat he's on? Pulled out of a bus. 

#whatastud

 Why is he wearing different clothes you ask?

Well, it's definitely not because we signed up for TWO ENTIRELY SEPARATE STRAWBERRY PICKING TRIPS BECAUSE WE ARE CRAAAAAZY ABOUT STRAWBERRIES.

So just don't even ask that. 

JUST STOP WITH ALL THE QUESTIONS.

 As you can see, my hand is in this picture...and those strawberries are as long as my pointer finger. wut.

This is like one of those game pictures: 

Can you find the strawberry in this picture?

Oh Oakie is pointing at it?

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

He's SUCH a cheater at games.

This adorable fluffy strawberry pin was a gift from a storekeeper who saw us wandering the streets looking for coffee (with me, this is a regular occurance...#allthecoffee). 

He had it pinned to his vest and now it's hanging from our rearview mirror.

Like I said, WE ARE NOT STRAWBERRY FANATICS.

Next, the Sumo.

Here's the thing about Sumo wrestling. Pictures DO NOT do it justice...like AT ALL. 

So there are videos too.

We watched about 60 matches and kept tabs of who chose the winning rakishi (wrestler) each time. 

I beat Oakie by 15 matches. I tell you, I am just FULL of the Holy Spirit.

Oh, and David & Hallie? These guys had NOTHIN' on you two. #familydanceoff

This first video is an announcement of the players.

Get to know them because you will have NO IDEA WHO IS WHO once everything gets going.

                                                                

This next one is a good example of a quick fight.

Most of them were less than 10 seconds.

And this last one is my favourite.

Oakie totally called that it would be one worth video-ing & it was the only one where somebody got flipped so...kudos to Oakie.

It's a bit longer, but gives a rough idea of the ritual they went through before each fight (a.k.a. throwing salt into the ring; the higher the toss, the stronger the challenge)

#kitchentips

This was by far some of the best, just plain fun we've had here.

Nothing like watching guys in thongs for a few hours to relax into your weekend.

And then the castles in the snow.

Because when you go tour the oldest standing castle in Japan, Matsomoto, it's incredible; but when you go in the snow...its SNOW incredible. #georgiagirl 

(writing tip: any time you're dealing with snow, just write about it using "snow" instead of "so" every time. People love that stuff.)

 OOOOH OOOOH here's another game picture!

Can you spot me??

STOP SAYING, "HER GAMES ARE TOO EASY" IN YOUR MIND.

 BONUS: Ice sculptures.

Also, my husband is like SO dreamy...& photogenic...& generally eye-candy.

This man...I CANNOT EVEN.

I have a very slim file of "Acceptable Pictures To Use If We Need Couple Pictures."

please pray for us.

And now a segment I call:

All The Stuff I Left Out Of My Other Blog Posts

like this video of a monkey riding another monkey from our day with the snow monkeys.

Or the fact that we went to an aquarium after strawberry picking one day & I got to see otters (no pictures waaahhhh), but my TICKET had an otter on it & I felt like I won a small lottery.

 And we saw a dolphin show with the Pacific Ocean in the background.

 And there was a seal riding a dolphin.

SO MANY ANIMALS PIGGY BACKING ON OTHER ANIMALS.

 GUYS. THEY'RE KISSING. dead.

 And a silhouette of a dolphing jumping that is 

EVERY SILHOUETTE OF A DOLPHIN JUMPING.

 And a school of fish that I just sat & watched for 30 minutes.

(why is it so fascinating?)

 And what about these high-fashion jellyfish?

#trendsetters

 See? 

I TOLD you he was photogenic.

#onlywhenheisnotlooking

And last, but not least:

Funny Texts From My Friends

Living in Japan has forced me to rely on text conversations for the majority of my keeping-in-touch. It's not always the easiest to communicate, but it sure does get the job done. This rise in text frequency has resulted in a lot of laughter that it seemed only fair to share. iKatie is my sister, even though it ironically sounds like a robot name. Meghan is one of my best friends whom we lived next door to in Columbus. #100footjourney

P.S. I ONLY SAY OBVS IN TEXTS IRONICALLY.

so you can stop judging me now.

obvs.

Life in Japan is good.

Adventure is at the door and we NEVER turn away a guest.

If she comes for a visit, may I warn you she doesn't always knock,

but she ALWAYS brings a hostess gift.