Asa-ichi Fish Market

Before I move on from Hakodate, I need to show some pictures of the main fish market. It's hopping early in the morning, when all of the vendors are selling pretty much everything that ever lived in the ocean. Kind of shocking, actually. It was freezing cold, but I was warmed up when a young merchant handed me a hot-off-the-grill chunk of crab to eat!

Link to all Japan photos!



Breakfast! (It was actually great on a cold morning, and kept me full all day!)

Japanese adventures - Part 2

Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan

So I finally arrived in Hakodate, after a massive snowstorm that shut down the airport, thus diverting us to Sapporo airport. I didn't understand what was really going on, as most announcements were not in English. However, when we landed on a runway covered in packed snow (I mean, absolutely no exposed concrete anywhere - they groove the snow instead for traction in winter!) I figured it out. They gave us free train tickets to Hakodate (about 3 hr trip), so I got my train trip (and sightseeing from the window) started early! One big bummer, though: everyone also was traveling by train (due to snow), on Sunday afternoon, so the train was packed with people - my glasses immediately fogged up to major-dork level! Oh well...

So, the Pacific Seabird Group meeting was well underway by the time I finally got to Hakodate, but luckily there were still 3 solid days of talks. My talk was scheduled for the last day, very last session of the conference, which is great for re-working the powerpoint slides, but horrible for stress levels! There were a number of very good talks, a lot of interesting Japanese and Asian students, and great networking. I met some really great scientists and had a really fun time! (If you want to know more about my talk, ask sometime - no need to delve into it here). The highlight for me was on the final night, at the closing banquet. I had just used my last two drink tickets to negotiate getting an entire bottle of Asahi (large bottle) and spun around to announce this to my friends when right in front of me was one of the most preeminent seabird biologists, Dr. John Croxall (working in UK, former leader of British Antarctic Survey). I gracefully offered him a refill of beer (he was drinking sake) and before I knew it he said "I wanted to come over and tell you that I really enjoyed your talk today. Your work is very important and you should really publish these results. You mentioned at the end that you are now in Oregon - what are you doing?" To which I responded, "Um, thanks!" And blathered for a bit about my work, how great he is, etc. It was so surprising and exciting! We ended up having a great conversation about seabird bycatch in commercial fisheries (that was the topic of my talk) and it got me inspired to keep up my work!

After the conference, I had a couple of days to travel. It was great to be in one place for a couple of days and settle into Japanese culture, but I was ready to sightsee, too!

Downtown area of Hakodate, Hokkaido (after the snowstorm!)

Views of Hakodate, Hokkaido

Japanese adventures - Part 1

Gosh, I don't even know where to begin. I've been decompressing from my trip to Japan for about two weeks now, and still haven't organized my thoughts enough to post a neat blog!

Oh well, I'll give it a go. I traveled to Hakodate, Japan, a "small" port town on the southernmost part of the Northern island - Hokkaido. By small, I mean 250,000 people. That's nothing compared to Astoria (pop. ~10,000)! To get to Hakodate, you can fly from Tokyo, take a train (and go thru the 53.9 km underwater Seikan Tunnel - world's longest submarine transport link), or take an overnight ferry. Given that I was traveling alone and had never been anywhere in Asia, I opted to fly to Hakodate after arriving in Tokyo (quickest, convenient). I figured I'd work out the rest of my plans once I got to Hakodate.

Did I mention I was going for a seabird conference? The 2009 Pacific Seabird Group Annual Meeting, to be exact. This was the first time they were holding it in Japan, and when I heard about the location I immediately knew I had to find a will and a way to get there. I saved up my Alaska Airlines frequent flyer miles, my money, and went for it.

Here are some pics from the arrival - although Japan is similar in latitude to Seattle, the northern island gets a lot of Siberian storms, and therefore tons of snow and veeery cold temps.



Sapporo train station (my plane was diverted from Hakodate to Sapporo due to heavy snow, so we had to take a train after all!)

The train timetable...go ahead...read it...

Those are actually the train tracks! The train arrived by we got delayed again due to a "snow bank blocking the tracks". The Japanese are actually pretty blunt with their translations (e.g. "Don't use cell phones on the bus, as they annoy your neighbor")

Snow storm in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan

Japan, man!

Speaking of travel, I just returned from 9 days in Japan. So fun! I have many many pictures and stories to share, but you must check back. I need to organize my pictures and life a bit first...

Suffice it to say the land of snappy dressers, automatic toilet/bidets, raw fish, highly efficient trains, amazing temples and karaoke is a land of fun and adventure. Not to mention amazing birds and science (I was there for a seabird meeting after all)!

Best Travel Day Ever.

So, I am a card-carrying member of AAA (American Automobile Association). More specifically, California AAA, since I signed up when I lived there. It's great for random towing, flat tires, etc. I also get their lovely quarterly magazine - Via. There's actually some good travel articles, however they're primarily California-centric. I didn't take issue with this until I moved to Oregon and now I don't want to hear about any more @#$!# wineries or spas in Northern California! Like rubbing salt in the wound...

Anyhoo, in the last issue there was a Via Dream Vacation Contest - write an essay on your best travel day ever and win a $2,500 certificate for travel! 200 words or less. Easy...right? I got the creative juices flowing and worked on my little essay for a couple hours over two nights, really working on tweaking the words, clarifying my statements, etc. etc. I was feeling pretty good about it. I went to submit it online and quickly glanced over the rules of the contest, with one in particular glaring at me: "Contest only open to residents of Northern California, Nevada or Arizona". Whah!? This is like a bait and switch! I spent so much time on my essay (okay, not really), I felt it actually had a chance of winning! It was a sad day. So, now for the one and only time, I will submit my essay online here instead. I still think it's good.

One Day, Day One

I turned to wave one last goodbye as my mom smiled, tears streaming down her face. Confidently, I boarded the plane with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness. I had dreamed of this day for years, and at twenty I was finally going to study abroad. As the reality of my departure hit like a tidal wave and loneliness set in, I focused on the immediacy of my travel, navigating through three countries with two large backpacks. My resolve strengthened the closer I moved towards my destination, with each friendly face, each stranger’s kind gesture. I became independent, engaged, and fascinated with far-flung countries with exotic names. I cried my eyes out, made new friends, laughed like a child, and discovered my character. The first day I set out to explore the world on my own, one day at a time, is my best travel day ever...

...beth

I've seen fire and I've seen rain...

But I never thought that I'd see - SUN - again!

Oh yes, it's still cold as ever (upper 30's during the day) but it's been sunny! And warm (sorta)! I've been soaking up the radiation whenever I can, even if it's through windows at work. My plants have all survived the dark winter and cold temps, and are going strong. I think I'm kinda like a plant, I need water and sun to grow. Luckily, the sun is coming up earlier and staying up later, and there's plenty of water around here! I'm a happy camper...

Let it snow!

Some pics from the last couple weeks around the Oregon Coast and Pacific Northwest...




My home all pretty and snowy (including barn across the street and bamboo surviving the freeze!)





Highway 30 along the Columbia River towards Longview, WA...




A lovely view from I-5 in Seattle of two buses that slid down a hill from Capitol Hill and gave freeway-goers a scare!