So here is a very cliche but absolutely necessary shot of the famous OMF sign on the side of the main office... I just had to take one!
My trip up to Itayanagi (the town where the Ghent's live) took around 6 hours and included three different trains and one bullet train (Shinkansen)...Here is a pic of me in front of the bullet train! 
My ride up on this train was fabulous! It is very spacious, clean and smooth. I had a great time praising God with the help of my ipod. The view was also really awesome which I will show you below. This is a picture of my first doughnut in Japan. My favourite part is the adorable 'Peanuts' bag it comes in that says: "Happiness is...". To be honest, the doughnut was a bit strange, but yummy. hehe...
So this ultra cool Japanese business man was wearing these rockin', bumblebee inspired, knee highs, so I just had to take a picture of course... LOL!
Here is a picture of the bathroom/storage area. You can see the rows of seats through the window.
One of the views from my window! I just love the background of mountains.:)
WELCOME TO ITAYANAGI! It continued to get snowier and snowier as I made my way to my final destination! The further you get up north, the less and less English there is. There were definitely some moments where I had NO idea which train to take or which platform to wait on. Thankfully, the Serve Japan Coordinator, Chris gave me a cell phone so I could call Martin and ask for some help! I also managed to use my VERY broken Japanese to ask other locals where I was supposed to wait. Haha...I finally made it to my last stop and was delighted to come down the stairs and discover a Christmas Wonderland! It is very snowy but absolutely beautiful here in Itayanagi. What I love is that while it is cool, there is not that extreme chill you find in Canadian winters. Praise God! haha... Most of you know I have horrible circulation and being cold was one thing I was a bit worried about, especially since Japanese homes have no central heating system. Eek!
The room given to me is the most amazing room I've ever had! It is by far the largest and most adorable. I feel like I am at the beach every time I look at this little sitting area! I love the bright windows and wicker accents. sigh... This makes me smile!
My bed which is EXTREMELY warm and comfortable!
I love that my desk is right by another window. I have a thing for natural light. It always makes me feel more positive...
AAAAAND one of the most AWESOME parts of my room: MY HEATER! hahahaha...It heats up this big space amazingly. Even though I turn it off at night, it heats up fast in the morning and to be honest, I have felt a lot colder this winter in my house back in Markham, ON! LOL... :) The Lord provides!
Sorry for the lengthiness of this post. I just wanted to tell you all how amazing God is for leading me here and include you in my adventure! I can honestly say I felt His light walking beside me the entire way, and it was a blessing depending on Him during times of feeling unsure. The moment I walked into the Ghent's house I got teary-eyed. There is just such a genuine sense of His spirit in this place. A still, pure, humble presence lingers, and I am praising God for giving me this gift of being here. Thank you guys for reading along, and I send my prayers and love to you all...
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Welcome to Aomori! I am not a fan of Japanese donuts (especially from 'Mister Donut'). I think you will find that most desserts and snacks here are much less sweet than you would expect. Most people's palates here have developed to favor things with smaller amounts of sugar than common snacks in North America. BUT, there are some pretty delicious cookies at the Ghent's cafe if you can find them.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the pictures you post, Jess! Makes me feel like I am part of your journey there somehow. It's great to see what life is like in Aomori!
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