Oshima Island

So the adventurers are back! ... with a long weekend to boot! The only sad part of our weekend adventuring was that Natalie forgot to put a memory chip in the camera! So what few pictures we could capture on the iPhone are not the best quality.

To start we decided to take a drive south along the water. Our final destination was a Mr. Max about thirty minutes away. I would compare Mr. Max to a Walmart. Cheap prices with pretty much everything. We wanted to grab some new snacks (can't get enough of Japanese chocolate), look for some small furniture pieces, and check out some neighboring cities along the coast.

It was a nice day albeit very chilly. We got caught in construction so what is usually a nice drive became a painful stop and go. After slogging some 30 minutes through one lane construction we made it to Oshima Island.

Now we had never been on this island, but a coworker got lost on it one time and said the view from the top the mountains was worth the winding road up. We crossed the bridge and found a small fishing village with tiny roads. I never had to back up to let anyone through, but we had to wait a couple times for people to come around blind corners. Definitely thankful for mirrors on trees and garages.

After winding our way though this tiny town we started climbing one of the mountains. Now if you don't remember our car, let me remind you that it's engine would be good in a golf cart. Lugging two adults up a steep mountain road was pushing 6500 rpms. I thought we were going to start rolling backwards.

At the top we were rewarded with an (eh-eh, not as phenomenal as she talked it up) view.

The biggest surprise was in this small park. CARPET SLEDDING!

Hope nothing here says 'Kids Only'

That's right! Astro-turf carpet sledding! Take a good-sized hill, add non-molding turf, and put out some sleds. Fantastic!

If you need some extra slick there is a water hose at the top to wet everything down before you slide away. It was so cold outside, but we couldn't stop. Something about sledding makes the long walk back to the top worth it.



After driving around the island we were both pretty hungry so we decided to continue to Mr. Max. Yanai is the next largest city near Iwakuni and is home to many bigger stores and better shopping. We found Mr. Max and wandered through ever aisle for almost two hours.

Dustin picked out chairs

Inside the store is a McDonalds (see, I told you it was like a Walmart). After all these months we have never eaten at a McDonalds so I gave in.

The only difference was the size of the patty was a little bigger than the bun - which was a nice surprise. Otherwise, fries and burger tasted just like back home. Satisfying ending to a fun day!