Summin' Up the Summer: Potlucks, Pottery Making & Summer Festivals

I won't lie, I have been dreading the last two weeks of summer. It means our last-minute, jump-in-the-car adventures are ending and it's back to the "real world" for me! With teacher workdays beginning August 15, I made sure to fill up the last two weeks of my summer break with as much local travel and fun as possible!

August 2: USS America Spouse Potluck

While the guys were off on another float, the USS America Spouse group got together for an "End of Summer" potluck! This was a great chance to meet some of the new spouses and get to know Jen, the CO's wife, and Jenna, the XO's wife. These two ladies planned a great afternoon of games, food, and fun!

meg, Ka

August 6: Shimabara Water Festival

While August marks the end of the American summer break, the Japanese schools are just beginning their break. This explains the rise in Japanese Festivals! The first one to hit the area: Shimabara Water Festival!

Being two hours away, Bryan and I jumped in the car and took off for a Saturday of fun! Upon arriving, we realized this festival was much smaller than we expected, so we parked and decided to explore the area. Within 10 minutes of walking around, I stubbed my toe and had to endure a half-mile walk to the nearest convenience store with a shoe full of blood. Literally. I'm not sure Lawson's bathrooms were intended for washing pools of blood from sandals, but that's what the Lawson bathroom was used for today! Bryan quickly bought me some alcohol wipes and bandaids so we could continue our exploration of Shimabara! Every day is an adventure, I tell ya!

Limping down the road, we made it to the Shimabara Castle and to the city hall, where they had tons of paper umbrellas on display for the Water Festival!

Shimabara is also home to an original Samurai Village, with several houses that have been restored to showcase 1600 Japanese living! By translating some of the signs, we learned that this Samurai village was well ahead of its time due to the thin trench that ran through the street, providing families in the area with fresh drinking water! Bryan and I even met a local who (tried her best) to explain the Torita Residence!

Before leaving Shimabara, we made sure to go through the Water Festival area, where the city hosted performances and school groups amidst their giant backdrop of paper umbrellas. While the festival was a small (and slow) event, Bryan and I found plenty to keep us busy!

After an uneventful 2-hour drive home, we cracked open some cold ciders and enjoyed an evening of board games!

August 7: Oogama Beach Exploration

Apparently, Bryan hadn't endured enough of my adventures for one weekend, so he agreed to check out a new, local beach. With a car full of beach chairs, backpack cooler, and shade tent, I entered our destination in Google Maps and we hit the road. Google brought us to a dirt road in the middle of a forest. Then to a baseball field. Then to an awesome overlook tower...but no beach.

Bryan was ready to abandon the day's adventure, but on the 4th try, we were able to find the parking lot for Oogama Beach!

After following the satellite view of Google Maps, we finally made it to the secluded, quiet beach! With a diving platform and tons of little fish to snorkel around, we both agree this is our new favorite beach in the Sasebo area!

And no, we didn't see any sea urchins or "dangerous octopi" during our swim! Bryan was extra cautious, though!

August 13: Pottery Making at Shidayaki Village Museum

Kaiti, Jaime, Meg, Tomo, and I headed to Arita for an afternoon of designing our own pottery lamps! One of the local pottery shops hosts creative workshops through the base's ITT programs, and with ITT's translation help, we were able to plan our own girls' day!

Over the span of four hours, we carved our own designs into the wet clay lamps. I took inspiration from our "water festival" adventure last weekend and carved koi fish, and then surrounded it with the Huis Ten Bosch fireworks, that Bryan, Hugo, Reynolds, and I enjoy watching from our bedroom window!

While we haven't received our lamps back yet from the firing process, I am looking forward to displaying my creation soon!

While this ends my summer break, I still look forward to delving into the Japanese summer festivals that are just beginning to start back in a post-COVID Japan!

'til next time,

Katie