Sunset in Akiya

Sunsets here have been.. well.. lacking for what they should be living on the coast. That's due to the cloud cover we normally have. Usually, you get little to no color, and I just want to cry for the sunsets we would have at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego. The past two days have put me to shame. They have been absolutely GORGEOUS. Yesterday, I missed most of the sunset, but I caught it after the sun had already gone down.. It was almost mystical with the clouds surrounding Fuji.. See? Just beautiful.

Tim was fairly mad (well, not really, but you know that "you suck" mentality). It seems that lately, EVERY time you can see Fuji, he's on duty. It was visible nearly the entire day last Saturday while he was on duty, and then I could see it again last night! So this morning when I woke up and could still see (what I assume is) Endoshima like I could yesterday, I told him that I was fairly certain we'd see it tonight. Sure enough, on our drive home from the NEX and Blue Street (a trip that was only supposed to take two hours took about five.. LOL), Kadie pointed out Fuji. :) We got home and I instantly pulled out my camera and headed downstairs to snap some shots of it. :)

I headed back upstairs where Tim (my bartender for the night) was getting some drinks ready. I was just sitting down to upload the pictures when we heard a big boom. Keep in mind that while we were in AOB, they told us to that during the Summer, they shoot of fireworks and have shows on the beaches constantly. When we found this place, one of the things we instantly pictured was us sitting on our deck, watching fireworks being shot off all Summer long. I was SO excited. So Summer comes around, and nothing happens. We don't see any shows. :( I figured we were in the wrong area - I wasn't sure how as the Emperor has a Summer home in the same city we live in, but you know, it was just one of those things I thought wasn't going to happen. Anyhoot, we hear a big boom and I look at Tim and say "fireworks." I headed to the window in time to see a few of them going off in the sky and I could see that they were shooting them off from the marina. Tim and I went outside (Molly stood at the window, and Kadie was getting ready for a shower). It took me a good few minutes to realize I needed to grab my camera, so I only got shots of one set, but it was beautiful! Right at sunset, so the fireworks were visible, but there was a world of color behind them! Just beautiful!! It occurred to me as we were watching the fireworks go off that Summer is JUST starting here in Japan. Their Summer vacation is much shorter than ours and is just beginning. I can only assume that this is the first of many shows to come for us! (YAY)!!
We came back in after that, and I noticed that the OCEAN was red from the colors in the sky.. Ohhh so beautiful. I couldn't grab that through the lens, but here are a few more pictures of the colors overall...





Ok... So maybe I did get the pink/red water better than I thought I did.. LOL :) I just love it..

I also love that if you look at the bottom of the picture, you can see how the Japanese will stop on the side of the road to take pictures of Fuji when they can see it. Shortly after I snapped this shot, another car pulled up behind them..









I really do love the colors.. They are just so pretty tonight..

To top if off, the moon was very clear, so with all the colors, you also had a great view of a crescent moon..





Plus.. Yesterday marked the end of the rainy season!! WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!! Could it be any better than this?!