Ryusendo Caves tour

Yesterday we took a day trip offered through the travel office on base to Iwate prefecture (the Japanese "state" south of Aomori, where we live). We got up early (once again on a Saturday- I think sleeping in is a thing of the past for us) and after a very scenic 3 hour bus ride, we arrived at one of Japan's largest stalactite caves (and a National Treasure). (Sorry for the overuse of parentheses.)

Here I am looking goofy at the entrance to the cave. 

There are amazingly clear, deep lakes inside the cave, as well as totally awesome stalactites and rock formations. As you might imagine, the light inside of a deep, dark cave isn't very conducive to picture-taking, but here's a sample of what I got:That's Corey looking over into one of the pools. These pictures suck, but in real life these caves were completely awesome! Walking through some parts were a little dicey, I will admit. The ground was wet and slippery, and there were spiral staircases built in odd formations around the cave walls that required you to crouch in very awkward positions while climbing up and down STEEP, slippery stairs such as these:After seeing the caves, we explored a pretty little trail by a creek:and walked around some shops. We also got ice cream cones, which made me a happy little cave-explorer. I love ice cream. Oh boy, do I.

Our next stop was to Kitayamazaki point, which is along the Rikuchu coast- famed for its views. I can see why- it was GORGEOUS!! There were 3 different lookout posts (although one was closed) that afforded totally breathtaking sights. The lookouts were connected by millions and millions of stairs (I exaggerate a bit, but there were a lot!), and between them and the tricky stairs at Ryusendo Cave, my legs are pretty sore today.We got back "home" (it's so weird to be calling Misawa home, but it feels more and more like it every day) tired, but happy. It was a great day! I'll leave you with a picture of my favorite view from our trip: