Sasebo getaway

My first trip of the new year was to Sasebo, a city in Nagasaki known for having a large US Navy base. What was originally just me accompanying Sheridan on a day trip to get a new tattoo, turned into an impromptu weekend getaway, with Olivia and Simona joining in on the action. It wasn’t the most eventful and jam packed of trips, but it was the change of scenery we needed.

That weekend Sasebo was almost dead, to my surprise, but that was because all but one of the Navy ships were out at sea. 

I’m sure that once all the Americans are back in town, the atmosphere changes completely and that’s something I’m wanting to see.

 It was still pretty damn cold, so after a day of mooching we had a decidedly chill night in, complete with face masks, Netflix and eating about 3 days’ worth of sodium in one sitting due to a badly judged beef jerky binge. Living in Japan makes you crave the oddest foods, especially when you have access to all the goodies from the US base. 

We had our first taste of the famous Sasebo burger, which honestly was nothing to write home about, but the cowboy hats at the restaurant definitely make it feel like I was in 'merica.

The next day we became complete tourists and visited Kyujuukushima, or the group of 99 (but officially 208) islands. The cruise on a pirate-esque ship took about an hour, weaving its way through the shallow channels. 

Some of the islands had an array of ladders into the water, which I can imagine would be great to canoe out to, and spend the day swimming in the clear water slightly away from the busier areas. 

 

Being January, obviously we didn’t do anything quite as exotic, but we did have lots of laughs. It goes to show that sometimes you don’t need to have a crazy schedule somewhere, and the right company can make for the best retreat.