This morning, Blake took me on a little adventure to a place here in Japan that he had been to but I had not, which is a rare occasion here. Our destination today was the Kannonzaki lighthouse. The first lighthouse at this location, built in 1869, was the first lighthouse in Japan and designed by the same French engineer who designed the base for the Japanese that we currently use. That first lighthouse was destroyed by an earthquake in 1922, and the second by the great Kanto earthquake in 1923, so this structure is technically the 3rd one, built in 1925.
It's a short little hike from the bus stop and a climb uphill at the end, then stairs in the lighthouse itself, but the view of Tokyo Bay is incredible. Lots of ships and boats were out on the water today and even though clouds obscured much of the view on the other side of the bay, it was still lovely.
On the way down the stairs, Blake told me some of the best trivia I may have ever heard and was officially surprised I didn't know yet - why spiral staircases are usually clockwise. It's so that defenders of the castle would be able to use their dominant hand (usually the right hand) to wield their sword against attackers who would be forced to fight with their non-dominant hand or run into walls. I took stage combat in college and love sword fighting as a result and I love trivia, so this was great to learn!
In case I haven't made it clear, I love living here - learning both the ancient history and more modern and experiencing this fantastic culture. I also had a chance to practice my Japanese language more than usual today, since we helped clean the church before our outing and the sister missionaries are having a no English day today to work on their Japanese language skills. I responded a lot in English, but enjoyed practicing my listening skills!
It's been two years now since we moved here and it's gone by fast. We will still be here for a little bit, but it's not forever, so I still have more learning and exploring to do!
It's a short little hike from the bus stop and a climb uphill at the end, then stairs in the lighthouse itself, but the view of Tokyo Bay is incredible. Lots of ships and boats were out on the water today and even though clouds obscured much of the view on the other side of the bay, it was still lovely.
On the way down the stairs, Blake told me some of the best trivia I may have ever heard and was officially surprised I didn't know yet - why spiral staircases are usually clockwise. It's so that defenders of the castle would be able to use their dominant hand (usually the right hand) to wield their sword against attackers who would be forced to fight with their non-dominant hand or run into walls. I took stage combat in college and love sword fighting as a result and I love trivia, so this was great to learn!
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| Before catching our bus home, we shared a Coke in a limited edition Shonan bottle. The Shonan region is essentially our backyard and it felt appropriate to buy one on a day we were exploring it! |
In case I haven't made it clear, I love living here - learning both the ancient history and more modern and experiencing this fantastic culture. I also had a chance to practice my Japanese language more than usual today, since we helped clean the church before our outing and the sister missionaries are having a no English day today to work on their Japanese language skills. I responded a lot in English, but enjoyed practicing my listening skills!
It's been two years now since we moved here and it's gone by fast. We will still be here for a little bit, but it's not forever, so I still have more learning and exploring to do!
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| A cave with a few small shrines on the hike to the lighthouse |
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