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Kyoto Part Ni

2008-10-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

Last week I had about 5 days off in a row so I took advantage of that free time and went to Kyoto. This was my second time there but I was able to see things that I missed on the first trip. My first stop was Fushimi Inari (fox) Shrine. This is where you will find approximately 13,000 red gates lined up one after the other sprawled throughout a mountain of trees. It was really stunning. I was lucky that I had a sunny day so I was able to capture the sunlight streaking through the gates.

The next day it was rainy and I had planned on Kinkakuji, the golden temple. Despite the wet and cloudy weather the temple was really stunning. It was so brilliant. It was smaller than I had imagined but still quite breathtaking. The rest of the area wasn't that amazing, but I think the rain was a bit of a downer. After that I went to a zen rock garden. It was quite beautiful and simple. It's a garden that claims to have only 15 rocks and the small pebbles and sand. Not one blade of grass is included in this garden, but there is moss so I don't know if they include that as vegetation.

The next day the sun was out again in full force and I took off to Himeji. It took about an hour and a half by local rapid train to get there and it was well worth it. It was really beautiful. It is the most popular castle in Japan. I think because it is perched quite high above the ground and the city it is seen as very prestigious. It is six stories high and has plenty of detail in every corner of the castle. Next door to the castle was a traditional Japanese garden with pine trees and a coy pond. Some of the maple trees were already turning colours which made for a beautiful sight.

I had a nice time in Kyoto and I was happy that I got to see Fushimi Inari Shrine and Kinkakuji and Himeji was a really special bonus.

Mochi Festival

2008-10-11T20:47:00.001-07:00

I know I am the laziest blogger ever but here's one.

Last weekend in Hekinan City, close to Okazaki, I attended the annual mochi festival. Basically we went to a local shrine and a top the structure with the red and white banner stood men who threw wrapped mochi at the crowd below. This may sound like innocent fun however the crowd was less than innocent. I saw old men shoving young people over and vice versa just to get these pieces of mochi. Why? Well, inside the wrapped mochi is a coloured piece of paper which pertains to a prize. The top prize is a TV and maybe 2 or 3 bicycles however the most common prizes were boxes of tissues, saran wrap and full size bottles of soy sauce. There were about 3 or 4 different groups of men who threw mochi. I was able to catch one piece during the first round and 5 pieces in the last round. I couldn't believe how crazy people were going over this stuff. Some people even brought long butterfly nets to catch the mochi before it got close to us using plastic bags or our hands.
I couldn't believe how much some people walked away with. This happens twice in the month of October and I guarantee that some people went back for the second week. Who needs a grocery store when you have a mochi festival?

Sakura 2008

2008-04-19T20:22:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago in Okazaki it was Ohanami season, which translates to cherry blossom viewing. This is a very popular time of the year for friends and family to gather underneath the cherry trees and enjoy afternoon picnics and evening walks underneath the trees which are lit up with small lights. During this time there are stands of food set up around the castle in Okazaki and they serve everything from fried octopus balls, to turkish pita sandwiches to candied apples. There are also carnival games like scooping up goldfish with a small bowl and there was also a haunted house. The end of the season was capped off with a parade through Okazaki in celebration of Ieyasu Tokugawa, one of Japan's most important shoguns who happened to be born in Okazaki. Along with the parade, which features men and children dressed as samurais, a show of artillery from the Edo era and beauty queens, there were also dance teams putting on shows.

Since this was my second Ohanami season there weren't any surprises however when I was walking around the food stands I came across something that took my breath away... Safeway Select lemon lime soda!! I have no idea where the stand owners purchased the soda but it did have a sticker on it with a Japanese translation of the ingredients and such. Maybe Safeway is expanding to the Japanese market, just in time for me to return back to Canada.

Chunichi Dragons

2008-03-13T06:42:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday I had the good fortune to attend my first professional baseball game in Japan, possibly first professional game ever. I think the only game I've gone to that wasn't mine or my brother's was the Vancouver team. Anyways, this lived up to and exceeded what I was expecting. The stadium wasn't full but there was a lot of people there and they were all dedicated fans. Almost everyone was wearing some sort of Dragons paraphernalia or carrying something with the teams logo. This team is probably so well supported now in the pre-season because they were the 2007 Japan Series champions. They lived up to their hype as they won this game 2-0. Their official name is the Chunichi Dragons and their home field is the Nagoya Dome in Nagoya.

Fun Fact: The Dragons was the team featured in the Tom Selleck smash hit "Mr. Baseball." Also, part of Mr. Baseball was filmed in Okazaki, so I will definitely be watching that again when I come home. I've mentioned the movie to some Japanese people and they've never heard of it, but maybe that's because it's a 90s movie starring Tom Selleck.

I went with 2 girls from work (left to right: Heather, Milla and myself).

Hiroshima

2008-03-07T19:33:00.001-08:00

So this is more than a month late, but apparently someone (i won't name names) is still interested in what I'm doing over here, so here it goes. Near the end of January, Kelsey and I took a night bus from Nagoya to Hiroshima. It took about 8 and half hours and I barely slept a wink. After finding some food at the bus station we went looking for our hostel but on the way we stumbled across the A-Dome site. The weather was cold, wet and dark which suited the somber site of the attack quite well. The sight of the building didn't quite make the impact on me that I was expecting until we walked through the Memorial Museum. At first glance the A-Dome looks like any dilapidated building but once seeing pictures and reading stories about what actually happened, it is amazing that it is still standing. Near the A-Dome in the park is the children's memorial site and that is where we found the paper cranes. These were first created when a young survivor developed Leukemia and remembered an old Japanese legend that says that anyone who makes 1000 paper cranes will be granted a wish. She completed over a thousand before her death and after her passing her friends created book of her letters and the memorial site for Sadako and children of the attack.

The Memorial Museum was breathtaking. If you ever get a chance to come to Japan I highly recommed going to Hiroshima. There is an endless amount of information, pictures and items from the attack. There are things as simple as dishes that had been fused together because of the extreme heat. At the point of explosion the bomb temperature was about 300,000 C and at the hypocenter above ground level the temperature exceeded 6000 C which is about the same temperature as the outer layer of the sun. There's also simple artifacts such as the piece of sidewalk that is turned into a horrifying piece of history because the simple shadow burnt into the pavement which marks the body of the human being who was sitting there as the bomb was dropped.

The next day we went to Miyajima. This is an island that is about a 5 minute ferry ride from Hiroshima. You may have seen pictures of the great torii or gate in adds for Japan, as it is one of the most photographed sites. On the island we saw the great torii and it was really beautiful, however the tide was out and it would have been a nicer view if the tide was in. Also, on Miyajima deer roam free, much like Nara. For lunch Kelsey and I splurged and had the local delicacy of raw oysters. They were presented very beautifully and they were huge. The rain had stopped so it was nice wandering around the island and checking out the sites such as Itsukushima Shrine which is partially built over water and had great views of the torii.

We also checked out an art museum, some tasty restaurants and some shops while were in Hiroshima, however the Memorial Museum and Miyajima were the highlights and memories I will keep with me forever.

Lembogan

2008-01-13T20:45:00.000-08:00

After spending a few days in Kuta I decided that it was time to see something different and take a break from all the craziness in Kuta. I went to Lembogan island for a couple nights. The shuttle bus and the ferry tickets together cost $10 and once I arrived on the island I was taken to beach front bungalows. The price per night was more expensive than in Kuta but well worth the extra $3. I was in a bungalow with an ocean view, a huge clean bed and maybe 20m away from the beach. It was a lot quieter on Lembogan, which was really nice. After I settled into my place I went the the beach and layed in the sun for a bit and then went swimming. After that I sat a restaurant while having a coke and reading my book and enjoying the sunset. After the sunset I cleaned up and went to find a restaurant for diner. I had a delicious curry and rice dish. After diner I walked along the beach back to my place and did some more reading until the power went out. The rain was setting in along with thunder and lightening storm. The next morning the rain was gone and after breakfast in front of the beach I went snorkeling. I ended up going with an older Dutch woman. The snorkeling was really beautiful and after that our boat driver took us to another beach on the island where we could have lunch and enjoy the beach for 2 hours. Unfortunatly after that the rain set in. When the weather is bad there isn't much to do, especially on Lembogan. I think I spent the rest of the evening reading. Actually, after spending too much time indoors I went to a restaurant for dessert and tea and I met some other travellers on Lembogan. Two of the people were studying in Japan and two other were from Vancouver Island, so it was kind of weird to meet 2 different sets of people whom i had that common ground with.

The next morning I left to catch a boat back to Kuta. Once we arrived on Bali the rain set in and it was a torrential downpour that took about 4 days to finally stop.

Bali pt.1

2008-01-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

Over the Christmas holiday 2007 I spent 10days in Bali, Indonesia. I was nervous about going on the trip because I went alone. As luck would have it, I met a guy on the plane from White Rock and he also lives 30min away from me in Japan. He had been to Bali before so it he was helpful in showing me around. Anyways, once I got to Kuta I had to search around for a place to stay. I went to the guesthouse that Kelsey had suggested to me, however they were asking more than she told me so I kept looking. Two doors down I found a place for $5 a night. It looked quite nice from the outside (the picture with the pool), however the inside, espcially the bathroom, was another story. I had to borrow the green mosquito (in the picture) from Todd, the guy from the plane, because I was eaten alive my first night. The hotel wasn't the nicest but I went to Bali for the beaches not the hotel rooms, so it was ok with me. Also, there was a free breakfast in the mornings. On my first day I went to Kuta Beach and rented a surfboard. I had tried surfing in Japan before but I was never very successful because I was using a shortboard and it was hard for me to stand up as a beginner. I tried a bigger board in Bali my first day but I was still unsuccessful, so the next day I took a lesson with an instructor and a proper longboard and had success within the first few waves. After being at the beach for a few hours I wandered the streets back to my place. Along the way I was called darling by men and women hoping that I would come and buy something from them. The constant "hello darling, good price for you" was a little annoying but i later figured out that they weren't so bad if you finally took a look in their shops, however some would follow me around as if i was about to steal something. Kuta has a lot of energy and activity however I wanted to escape that for more peaceful surroundings. So I went to Lembogdan Island......to be continued

Matsumoto

2007-12-12T23:14:00.000-08:00

Over the past weekend I took my first business trip for Peppy and i went to Matsumoto in Nagano prefecture. This was my first time in Nagano and it was great. The first day I taught 3 classes in Matsumoto which is about an hour outside of Nagano city. I stayed in a hotel for the first time in Japan and it was great! A nice little business hotel right next to the station. On saturday I went into Nagano to work in the office for about 5.5 hours. Unfortunatly right when my works hours were completed I had to run for a train to back to Matsumoto, but I think most of the sights are in Matsumoto anyways. I arrived in Matsumoto and went to my hostel. The place turned out to be a really cute Swiss Alp inspired place. I was the only guest there that night, so it was a little boring because there was no one to talk to and nothing much around, but I was able to get some reading in, which was nice. The owner was very nice and actually drove me back to the station in the morning. After having some breakfast I went to Matsumoto Castle which is one of Japan's national treasure, along with Himeji, Hikone and Inuyama castle. I have now seen Inuyama and Matsumoto castle, and I plan on seeing Himeji before I leave Japan. I was very lucky with the weather. It was a beautiful sunny clear day and the temperature wasn't much colder than Okazaki. The mountain air was very refreshing. After the castle I checked out the museum which housed local Matsumoto artifacts for all generation. Nothing too spectacular but interesting none the less.
After the local museum I went for some tasty ramen (noodle soup) and then went to the Matsumoto City Art Museum. The picture of the flowers is taken at the entrance of the museum. There was some very interesting art on display. I think most of the art was by locals or inspired by local scenery. After the museum I wandered the streets and local shops. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon in a new city. I took the train back to Nagoya around 5pm and was able to be back home before 8pm.
It was a nice weekend away; a little work, stayed in a hotel and saw some new sights.

Takayama

2007-11-14T04:44:00.001-08:00

About a week ago I took another day trip to Takayama which is located in the mountains of Gifu prefecture. This time I went with my friend, Etsuko, whom I met through a friend from work. Gifu is next to my prefecture (like a province or state) Aichi. It should have taken us 2.5 - 3 hours on the bus, however we encountered traffic and it took about 4 hours. Once we arrived we had ramen for lunch, which apparently Takayama is known for. After that we wondered the streets on what was a beautiful fall day. We walked through some shrines and were able to see all the beautiful colours of the fall leaves. We actually didn't do much there expect explore the shrines and local shops, but it was a really nice trip. At one shrine we went to I was able to get my fourtune because this time I had someone to translate for me. I was quite pleased with what's apprently in store for me. After reading your fourtune you are supposed to tie it to a string which is usually tied between two posts or in our case, two trees.

Unfortunately there isn't much else to tell, but it was a really beautiful little place to see. Really neat shops and we went at the right time because the leaves were so beautiful. Hopefully you can see in the picture with the big tree, there are about 3 different colours on that tree alone.

The ride back was nice and it went by fairly quickly because there was no traffic which was surprising being that it was a Sunday evening.

Osaka

2007-11-14T04:22:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago I took a one day trip to Osaka. I think I spent more time on the bus than I did in Osaka, but it was still nice to see a different city. Osaka doesn't have many cultural spots like Kyoto does, so instead I checked places that I was interested in seeing. I started with the Osaka Aquarium which is famous for it's whale shark. It looks more like a shark, but it was neat to see. The aquarium had a neat set up. The main tank was in the middle and then you start at the top and walk around, slowly going down to the bottom of the tank. While walking around the main tank you I was able to check out other smaller tanks on the opposite side. The aquarium featured creatures that live in "the ring of fire"; basically from the southern tip of west side of south america, up to Alaska, around Japan and then down to Australia.
After the aquarium I walked to the Suntory Museum, which is right next door. I viewed a Toulouse Lautrec exhibit. I remember seeing his exhibit a few years ago in Vancouver (remember Dad?) but I thought it would be nice to see again.
After the exhibit I went to see the castle. The castle was quite beautiful. Mostly I was taken by how shiny the gold was on the sides. It looks as if someone comes and shines it everyday. There were many tourists there and school kids aswell. It was a beautiful day, so lots of group pictures being taken. I didn't go inside because I was more interested in just sitting and enjoying the scenery and after being in few already, they are starting to look alike. Also the view from the top would just be city skyline.
After the castle, I headed to a temple but got lost in all the traffic and at that point I was tired of wandering, so I headed back to Osaka train station and then got lost there. I some how managed to find the spot where the bus was going to pick me up and I still had some time to kill. After having a juice and cookie at starbucks (i know I'm the only person who doesn't order a coffee when they go to starbucks, I go for the cookies) I headed back to the bus and back to Nagoya.
It was a nice to spend the day in a different city, but i've heard that Osaka is known for it's nightlife so I will have to head back sometime to check that out. I will be heading back there in December because my flight to Bali is leaving from Kansai Airport in Osaka, maybe I can check it out then.

Note: The strange looking building with the christmas tree on it is the aquarium.

Nara

2007-09-13T07:24:00.001-07:00

Images: Me achieving enlightnment,

Todaiji Temple,

The Daibutsu (Great Buddha),

Cute but vicious deer.

I recently took a day trip to Nara. It was about 2.5 hours on a highway bus from Nagoya and I had a great time. Nara is a very beautiful city. It's quite small and easy to get around. I arrived in Nara around 10am and headed to Todaiji Temple. On the way there and upon my arrival I was able to see deer roaming the parks and temple grounds freely. They are very tame animals until you purchase waffer cookies to feed them. The second I exchanged money with the vendor, they knew it and started to attack. They surrounded me and one bit my shorts! I saw a little girl running away from them screaming and crying. It was quite cute.

The Todaiji Daibutsu-den hall is the largest wooden structure in the world, and I believe it. It was huge. Inside is one of the largest bronze figures of Buddha, the Daibutsu. The statues were really breathtaking. In the back of the hall is a column with a hole in the bottom. The hole is believed to be the same size as one of the Great Buddha's nostrils and those who can fit through are able to achieve enlightnment. Of course I was able to fit through!

After spending time looking around the grounds of Todaiji Temple I went for lunch and then took off to another temple. I took a short train and bus ride to Horyu-ji Temple which was founded in 607 by Prince Shotoku, who is considered to be the patron saint of Japanese Buddhism. The entrance fee was 1000 yen and that included fees for 3 seperate areas. Sai-in, To-in and the Great Treasure Hall. The statues in the Great Treasure Hall were very beautiful, lots of Buddha statues and images of Prince Shotoku.

After a couple hours in Horyu-ji I returned to Nara and took some time away from the temples and Buddha's and looked around the local shops. It was a nice way to end a long day of walking and luckily the rain arrived about 40min before I had to catch my bus back to Nagoya. It was a great day and I enjoyed being able to come back to my own bed at the end of the day.

Okazaki Fireworks Festival

2007-08-06T20:14:00.001-07:00

On the first weekend of August, Okazaki hosted a very big fireworks festival. The river was lined with people hoping the catch a look at the big show. Some people even paid upwards of $100 to reserve seats along the river to get a close up look at the show. During summer festivals it's common for women and men, young and old, to dress in yukatas, the light summer kimono. So I decided that I would try it too and luckily I was joined by some friends. There is no way I could have dressed myself properly in the yukata without the help of a Japanese person who knew what they were doing. Folding it and making sure it lay properly was harder than I thought and tying the obi, the sash around the waist, also looked harder to do than I imagined.
Once we were dressed we went to the health club where myself and some other friends are members and we watched the fireworks show from the roof where there was a party being hosted. It was a great view until it started to rain. We had to retreat a bit but we were still able to see the show. I ran into one of my students at the club and he looked surprised to see me dressed in the yukata. It was funny.
It was a fun night and I'm really glad that I wore the yukata, but it was such a nice feeling taking it off at the end the night!

Sumo

2007-08-06T20:00:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I went to Nagoya to watch a sumo tournament. We watched for about 4 hours and it was a lot more exciting that I am expected. Each round starts off with the wrestlers coming out and walking around the dohyo, or ring, as their names are called. After they exit the opponents do the same thing but they come in from another entrance in order to avoid contact with their opponent before the match. After the walk about is finished, the dohyo is purified with salt and then the first competitors come out. There is no weight class in sumo, the opponents are pitted against one another based on how many tournaments or matches they have won. I found that for the most part the competitors appeared to be of the same weight. There were also Western competitors and some of them didn't appear to fit the sumo stereotype look. One of the westerners we nicknamed Jean Claude van Dam because he looked more like a karate type guy than sumo.

The fights were pretty quick. The goal is get your opponent out of the dohyo or to make them touch the ground with any part of their body besides their feet. The matches were pretty clear cut when deciding the winner but at one point the judges had to confer and decide the winner.

Sumo isn't just a sport for the competitors, it's a lifestyle. They must dress in their yukata (light kimono) when out in public and they usually live all together in a place referred to as a stable. The life span of a sumo wrestler is shorter than the average Japanese because of their lifestyle. They eat irregualry and large portions, they also drink a lot of beer and their physical injuries has a toll on their bodies.

Tokyo!

2007-06-28T22:16:00.001-07:00

On the weekend of June 23rd and 24th I took my first trip to Tokyo and it was a lot of fun. I left Okazaki around 12pm on friday night/saturday morning on a night bus and I arrived at Tokyo station around 5am. The night bus was ok. I didn't sleep much, but I think I have an inability to sleep when I'm supposed to sleep. Once I found the closest subway station I headed to the fish market which is world famous for the auction of fish that takes place early in the morning. I didn't see any of the huge tuna that I was hoping to, mainly because I wasn't entirely sure where to go and I didn't want to wander somewhere where I wasn't wanted. After checking that out I headed off to Disney Sea! Disney Sea is in the same resort as Disneyland but I think it's geared towards an older crowd, but still very family oriented. I was able to skip so many lines because I was a single rider, so basically I was a seat filler. I left Disney Sea around 2pm and headed to Roppongi. I was going to check out a Monet exhibit that was in town but the line up was about 50min and I was going to be meeting a friend in about an hour and a half, so instead I wandered to the closest park and took a much needed rest. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep on the grass and it was just what I needed.
Around 6pm I met up with my friend Sybille who I met in training for Peppy. I met her in Shibuya at a famous statue, which is a popular meeting place but because it is such a popular meeting place it is very difficult to find the person you are looking for because there are so many other people looking for their friend at the same time. Once I found her, we found her friend Nick. We then headed out for some food and then wandered around Shibuya for the rest of the night. It is definitely a city that doesn't sleep. Since we missed the last train we ended up wandering the city till 5am and then we caught a train to Nick's neighbourhood and managed to get 4 hours of sleep and then I headed out for another day of sightseeing.
My first stop of the day was Harajuku. This area is famous for unreal fashion. I saw a few crazy clothes, but nothing that shocked me too much. Since i've been living here for a while now, the unreal fashion doesn't affect me the same way it did in September. After Harajuku I went back to the art museum in Roppongi and I was able to see the Monet exhibit. We were packed like sardines in there but luckily I was taller than most and I was able to look over most of their heads. After the art gallery, I grabbed a bite at Subway, which was very exciting because the last time I had Subway was in Thailand; there isn't one anywhere near me. After lunch I headed out to Uneo. In Uneo I wandered an outdoor market for an hour or so. After that I went to Asakusa and saw a shrine, pagoda and giant lantern. After that I went my first onsen. This onsen I think was more like a bath house. It can be a bit uncomfortable at first, cause you have to strip down and shower with a bunch of other ladies and then you soak in the scolding water. It was nice though because I was so sore from walking and hadn't showered in a day and half or so. After that I had a delicious diner at the cute little restaurant across the street from the onsen. My last stop before heading to the train station was Shinjuku, but at that point I was kind of out of it and tired, so i didn't see anything worth noting. I made my way back to Tokyo station and with some help from people around the station I managed to find out where my bus was leaving from. I got on the bus around 11pm and pulled up to my stop around 5am. I came home, unpacked a few things, went to bed till noon and then went to work a few hours later.
The weekend was a packed and a lot of fun. I look forward to my next trip, I just need to figure out where it will be.

Bugs!!!

2007-06-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

ok, i had my first encounter with a cockroach about half an hour ago. Oh my god!! i was washing my dishes and i noticed something big and brown moving around. luckily i had my rubber gloves on, so i grabbed some paper towel to try to catch it, but those little buggers are fast! so as it ran around my tiny kitchen with me screaming and trying to catch it, it managed to escape me by hiding under my fridge. I tried wiggling the fridge to see if it would come out, but it didn't, so i was sat on the opposite side of my apartment trying to convince myself that the last 10 min never happened. my phone rang and i picked it up and looked up to the ceiling and there it was! so naturally the freaking out started again. i was going to throw my heaviest book at, which i'm pretty sure is my lonely planet book, if it worked, i would have let them know that not only will the book help you get around but it will keep the bugs away too. anyways, i thought before i acted and realised my aim at trying to catch it wasn't working, so tossing a book at the ceiling probably wouldn't work either, so then i took out the vaccum cleaner. i sucked the bugger up, put a plastic bag on the end and tossed it on the balcony. as i put it out there i noticed either another cockroach or the same one that happened to fall out of the vaccum cleaner. either way, i don't want to open my balcony for a while. I just pray that while it was in my apartment it didn't lay eggs!!!!

i think now that it's warmer outside, the bugs are coming out and apparently they're pretty damn big here. anyways, i hope that was my last encounter with that and any other similar bugs

Surfing in Japan

2007-05-08T23:44:00.000-07:00

Last week was Golden Week in Japan, maybe the equivalent of spring break back home. I didn't really do too much that week, but I did try surfing for the first time! Well, I didn't actually surf, but I was out there trying. It is soooo much harder that I had ever imagined. First off, getting that wet suit on was a bit of a work out for me and then paddling out was really hard too. All in all, it was a lot of fun being in the ocean on a beautiful, sunny morning. I'm pretty sure I'll be trying it again soon and hopefully next time I will catch a wave and if that happens I have a feeling that I might get hooked. With my peppy schedule, surfing is the perfect sport to pick up. The surf is best in the morning and the earliest I start work is 3:45, so that's enough time to get to the beach and back in time for work.

Soon I won't have to deal with the wet suit struggle. Today the temperature reached 32 degrees, so soon I'm sure I'll be running into the ocean with just a bathing suit trying to escape the sauna that is already beginning to heat up.

Hanami

2007-04-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

These are some of my pictures from Hanami, or Cherry Blossom season. These are scenes around Okazaki Castle in Okazaki. The blossoms have been out for about 2 weeks now and on sunday there was a big festival with lots of food and entertainment. There was a parade which involved children and adults dressed as samurais. They rode horses, shot guns and re-inacted battle scenes.

The most popular activity during this time of the year is to have picnics under the cherry blossoms with friends and family. Lots of food to eat and lots of liquor to drink.

My first earthquake

2007-03-24T23:26:00.000-07:00

On sunday morning around 10am I was lying in bed and I noticed a swaying feeling, as if I huge truck had just driven by outside my building. However, the swaying continued and escalated to the point of my wall making a slight noise and then nothing. I never heard a big truck outside and then I realised that I had just felt my first Japanese earthquake. It was a weird feeling because it wasn't scary, but when it escalated I started to wonder if it would continue to escalate and that thought scared me. It felt like a small one, but I later discovered on cbc.com that it was approximately a 7.0 and it was centered in the Sea of Japan, approximately 200km north from where I live. I hope that is the biggest earthquake that I will experience in Japan.

Bike troubles

2007-03-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

For the past few months my bicycle has been making the weirdest noises and I have just kept putting off fixing it for one reason or another. However, in the last few days whenever I would ride my bicycle without listening to my iPod, I would hear how horrible it really sounded and understand why people in front of me would look over their shoulders to see what was making so much noise. So I finally went back to the place where I bought my bike and with the help of a dictionary I was able to tell the man working at the shop that I wanted a tune up for my bike and he told me to come back in half an hour. So, after the half hour passed I returned to the shop only to find that they didn't fix my bike, but they were going to give me a brand new one! Because of the language barrier I wasn't able to find out why they were going to do this, so I just smiled and had a really surprised look on my face. I thought that maybe I'd have to pay something, I mean the bike didn't look in the best shape when I brought it in, but he never approached the cash register and he just let me take it. I'm guessing they have a policy about bikes that break after a certain time, but maybe it just seemed easy to give me a new one, rather than fix the junker or maybe he didn't want to deal with the language barrier either.

Snowboarding

2007-03-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of the hill where I went snowboarding for the first time. This was at the end of a warm sunny day, so a bit of snow has melted but it wasn't the most impressive place at the start of the day. This is in Gifu which was about a 2.5-3 hour bus ride from Nagoya.

My day started at 5:30am when I woke up and then took a train to Nagoya with a friend and my boss. We met up with some other teachers and hopped on a bus. The first place we stopped at looked great and it looked like we were in for a great day, but it wasn't our stop. The next place was just as nice, but that wasn't our stop either. Then we got to our hill and we all had a good laugh at the sight of our location. Anyways, once I got the board and boots we headed for the chair lift, which was quite challenging for me. I fell trying to get on and off it the first time! The first little bit of snowboarding was hard to get used to and i kept falling every couple seconds, but then i was given some good pointers and i was on my way. I made it for a good junk and then my first big bail happened. But I got back up, which surprisingly was the most frustrating part of the day, and I kept going.

I had fun and look forward to trying it again. I doubt I will have another chance here, at least for this season, so next time in Alberta or BC I'm up for it.

Kyoto

2007-03-01T08:05:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics from Kyoto. The trip went really well. I took a highway bus there and got for Nagoya to Kyoto is 2.5 hours. Upon arrival I walked through Kyoto station and came across an event that involved people dressed in all sorts of costumes running up many stairs. It was hilarious because it was so random. After that I took the subway to Nijojo Castle and walked around the grounds. The picture of the rainy pond is at the castle. It was sooooo rainy that day and kinda cold, but what can you do? I'm from the west coast so i could handle it. After that I found my hostel, which was a bit of a struggle in itself. I didn't really have directions, just a vague idea. Well after being frustrated because i couldn't reach them on the phone I asked the man working at Family Mart for directions and he pulled out a map and helped me out. Once I arrived I saw the lap of luxury that I was staying in for the night. It was basically bunk beds with curtains. It wasn't much, but it was all I needed. I happend to meet some other Canadians there, one was actually from Surrey. A few of them were teaching in Korea and on a break with family. That night I went through downtown Kyoto, which was very cool. Lots of hip shops and happenin night life. The next day I went to some temples and I was able to spot the first sign of springtime. After the temples I went to the Kyoto Museum of Modern Art. There were some really beautiful pieces on display. The feature was Japanese art that had western infuences. On the 4th floor was the modern art from artists of varying cultural backgrounds. After that I wandered around the grounds and visited another temple. I caught my bus back to Nagoya around 6pm and made it back to my apartment by 930pm. I will definitely go back to Kyoto because I have to see it in it's peak season which is either spring or fall. Mostly I only saw browns and greens, so it will be nice to see the gardens with all sorts of colours.

Valentine's Day

2007-02-16T04:48:00.000-08:00

So Valentine's Day here is a bit different than back in Canada. On Valentine's Day in Japan it's only the men who receive chocolates. Yes, only men! When I heard about this I thought that it seemed a bit backwards from what I know back home because it seems like women are the only ones who remember or really care about Valentine's Day (I apologize to those guys who love Valentine's Day). But women aren't left out completely, we get White Day on March 14. I learnt from one of my students that it is called White Day because it has something to do with sugar, makes sense.

At the end of most of my lessons, we do a 5min bit called Cultural Awareness and and this month is explaining our Valentine's Day versus theirs. When I finish explaining it I usually tell the students that Japan is special because they have 2 days in the year meant for love whereas we in North America can only handle one day in a year.

22

2007-02-08T21:30:00.000-08:00

Last night I was asked to sum up my year of being 22. I didn't realise that it has been such a big year until I started listing off some of the major events. I've had a few different jobs as a 22 year old. Babysitter, candy shop worker at a water park, liquor store worker, english teacher in japan. I also graduated from university with a Bachelors degree in English literature. I've lived in 3 different locations, Calgary, Tsawwassen, Okazaki. I made the move over to Japan and into the the unknown. I travelled to south east Asia for the first time and went to Thailand. I got my first tattoo. I found out that I was going to be an aunt.

All in all it has been a great year. One that has flown by and I look forward to what the future has in store for 23.

My first run in with the Japanese Police

2007-02-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, it finally happened....the cops are onto me, but I'm not sure why. So the other night I was biking home from work with another teacher because she was teaching with me at my school that day. I was around 7:30pm and we biked past a local police box or Koban. I went through the green light and the other teacher was behind me when the police man started running after her and throwing his arms in the air. I stopped to see what was going on and they were pointing at her bicycle seat. I was wondering if maybe her seat was too low, but I think it had something to do with the fact that she doesn't have the regular bicycle lock that is permantly attached to the back tire. i don't have that type of lock either, but I have a fold up bike and I don't think that kind of lock would fit my style of bike. Anyways, it was really confusing and finally they asked if we were travellers and they asked for our passports. Or course I didn't have my passport on me but I did have my ARC (alien registration card). That card has my address, my passort number and I think it has my company's info on it as well. After he looked at my card I was pretty sure he made a remark about how old I was and then they apologized for stopping us. So it was quite random, but I thought it was kinda funny. I'm still not sure what they were looking for or who they thought we were.

Pieing Party

2007-01-28T06:51:00.000-08:00

So I took part in my first pieing party last night and it was quite hilarious. So, it all started with having some casual drinks at Ragslow, which is just down the street from my place. I was there with Brent and someone approached us and asked if we wanted to watch someone get a pie thrown in their face. It was a strange question to ask and I thought maybe it had something to do with the dating party that happened to be going on that night at the bar, but we said yes and went with these guys. So we got in this one guy's van and we all had little paper plates with whip cream on them. I was still confused as to who was getting pied and why. So we drove for about 5min to a parking lot in Okazaki. Once we got to the location we found out that they were gonna pie their friend because it was his birthday. One girl asked me if it was my first pieing party and I said yes. That question made me think that this may be a birthday tradition among friends over here. So we got to the parking lot and then we hid and waited for the guy and when he showed up we all ran and pied the guy. I felt kinda bad pieing someone I didn't even know, but it was pretty hilarious and I think I may have found a new way to celebrate someones birthday. So I can't wait till i get home, cause who ever has the first birthday may be getting a delicious surprise for their birthday! The guy had a really good laugh about it too and his friends brought lots of towels and water to help clean him off.

Japanese beach

2007-01-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken with my cell phone camera at Hamamatsu beach. This was on December 28th, a day after I got back from Thailand and I can definitely say that I loved this beach as much as I loved the beaches in Thailand. The weather wasn't as warm but I believe that the sunset was nicer than any that I saw in Thailand. I was going to try surfing this day but as you can see the waves were very choppy so it wasn't the best time to try and learn. With the wind it was really quite cold. I went with some other teachers for the afternoon. We bought some tacos and some drinks and hung out on the beach for an hour or so. I look forward to visiting some more beaches when the weather heats up in the spring and summer.

Monkey Beach, sharks and then some

2007-01-08T05:53:00.000-08:00

Monkey beach was exactly what it sounds like. There are monkeys roaming free all over the place. This beach was our first stop on our snorkeling tour. We got there right before all the other tourists arrived. Just as we were leaving a boat pulled up and the owner started tossing bananas and they were going wild. That guy is pictured in the second picture. After this we took off to do some snorkeling and that was really amazing. The coral and the fish were really beautiful. Our other water adventure was swimming with sharks. We went out at about 730am with a guide. The funny thing was that he took us only 1 min away from the beach, so basically we didn't really need him or pay him for that matter, but i think i felt a bit safer with him there. We didn't see any sharks at first, but after about 10min we spotted our first one and it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. It felt like we were in an aquarium and so we were safe. We swam with reef sharks, so they weren't that big but I think some of them were around 6ft. Honestly, the scariest part about the whole shark experience was the tide around the reef that wouldn't let me swim towards the boat, it kept dragging me in.
When we got back to Phuket we rented a scooter and drove around the island for a few hours. Brent drove and I rode on the back. I was pretty freaked out for the first 20min or so. The driving in Phuket is a little crazy, so I wasn't so much worried about Brent's driving but the other drivers. But it was all good and a lot of fun. I tried driving it but that lasted less than 100m.

Patong Nightlife

2006-12-30T21:24:00.000-08:00

Just before sunset the markets start setting up their booths and the bars beign filling up. We walked by this area in the morning on the way to the beach and they must be open 24hours a day because there were people already having a casual morning beer. At nighttime however the atmosphere gets crazier. There are so many people walking the streets and all the street vendors become your friend, or at least that's what they hope. Walking past a market, they yell "Hello my friend!" and they ask where you're from. I'd ask them where they thought i was from and a few people thought that I was Australian. Most of the bars in Patong are open like you see in the pictures. It's just a big area with all these bars and they are all selling the same thing, booze and women. Patong is really fun, but the atmosphere can get old really fast. Definitely the place to go if you are looking for a good time. Oh and I didn't expect the shopping to be what is was there. They have so many knock offs there and most of them looked really good, but I just wasn't interested in spending the money and there was too much to choose from, it was kind of overwhelming.

Phi Phi Island

2006-12-29T19:35:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taking on and around Phi Phi Island. This island is truly paradise. The beaches, the weather and the atmosphere were everything that I was expecting island life to be. Phi Phi is much more calm than Phuket and I think that is why I enjoyed it more. Phi Phi has the buskers like Phuket but they are not as persistent. A normal day for us on Phi Phi was to wake up around 9 am, go for breakfast, then walk around the island for a while, spend from noon to sunset on the beach and then go for diner and wander around the streets at night and see if there were any parties (which there usually was) or just spend the rest of the night sitting on the beach with a drink and getting to know someone from Europe. For a while we were meeting someone from a different European country every night. First Sweden, then England, then Austria, and then Switzerland.

There is still a lot of visable evidence of the tsunami. One restaurant we ate at one night was basically a tent but it was some of the best food that I ate the whole trip. It's hard for me to say what the differences are because I am not sure how it was before the tsunami.

I'll post some more later about all our adventures, ie. swimming with sharks, Patong nightlife, scooters and what not.

Ice Skating

2006-12-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

On sunday I had my first experience of Japanese ice skating. I went to Toyohashi with friends from work for a get together with other teachers. Toyohashi is about 20min south east by train from Okazaki. I hadn't been skating since high school so I was expecting to be a bit rusty on the skates but I managed to stay on my feet the whole time. The rink was new and it was full of people. It was kind of funny and unnerving to watch the Japanese skate because I have never seen so many people fall on their butts at once. In one lap around the ice I would pass about 5-10 people who fell. When I first stepped back on the ice after a break there was a loud collision of two people who slammed into each other and the boards. It made quite a loud noise. The best part was that the people that fell down usually had a smile on their faces and let out a good laugh. At one point the other english native teachers and I decided to make a conga line and all hold onto each other as we skated around. I'm not sure if we got looks because we looked so different or because we managed to make about 5 kids lose their balance and fall down! oooops!

Anyways, I hope all of you in uni are getting through exam season ok. christmas will be here soon enough. I'm off to Phuket, Thailand in about 5 days, so I'll be sure to post some pictures when I get back and fill you all in.

Another note on transportation

2006-11-18T20:05:00.000-08:00

A few things I forgot to mention.　Over here people don't lock their bikes to anything when they leave their bikes, instead they just lock the bike. I put a lock on my back tire and I hope that that is all I need to prevent theft. It didn't really make sense to me when I first got here and it still doesn't cause if someone wants the bike bad enough, they can figure a way to get ride of the lock. Oh well, do as the Romans do I guess.

Another reason why biking is kind of scary here for me is the fact that some of the drivers are kind of crazy here. It is very normal to see people run red lights, in fact I think it's expected that they will run the light right after it turns red. So when I was crossing the street here in the first month it was frightening because not only would i look the wrong way out of habit but i wouldn't expect a car to be going through when it wasn't supposed to. Riding in a car here for the first time was a bit weird. I'm looking forward to being a passanger when I get home cause it will probably feel just as weird after being here for a year.

Transportation

2006-11-15T19:19:00.000-08:00

My main form of transportation in Japan, like many others, is my bicycle. I use it everyday to go to work, get groceries or just do whatever. So many people ride bikes here but no one wears a helmet which seems a bit crazy coming from a place where wearing helmets is the law. I enjoy riding my bike but sometimes it feels like a bit of a death sport since the sidewalks are very bumpy and not very well lit. I don't know how some of the ladies ride their bikes with tons of groceries strapped on the back or a couple of kids on each end of the bike, now that's talent.

Taking the bus here is pretty much backwards from what we know about buses back home. You get on the bus in the back and take a ticket. If you do not have the right amount of change there is a change machine at the front. When you leave the bus you toss in your ticket and your fare will be shown. So you pay for how far you travel, you don't pay a standard rate. Also at the front of the bus they announce each stop and have it displayed in lights in Kanji and Romanji (Roman letters) if you're lucky.

The subway is quite an experience. When you know which subway you want to catch you line up in a specific area and wait for the train. It's not like the C-train or Sky train back home where you would just wait on the platform. If you were to do that here it would be considered cutting in line. During rush hour things can get a little pushy. I remember thinking that I was getting shoved on the subway only to look behind and see some granny shoving me on. They kind of shove you in like sardines, so if you have a long way to go it can be rather uncomfortable.

The trains are pretty much the same as the subways only the trains have reserved cars for people who have purchased tickets ahead of time. The same rules about lining up apply and shoving etiquette is pretty much the same too.

Miso Soup

2006-11-15T19:13:00.000-08:00

Last night I made some Miso soup. The picture on the right is the before. That is the past that I purchased from a local market. Basically I took about a tablespoon of the paste and let in dissolve in about a cup of boiling water. Add some chopped up green onion and you got miso soup. Miso soup is usually served with breakfast but I perfer it with a lunch or diner. Also it is served in a small laquered bowl, as shown above on the left. It was very easy to make and very delicious.

Jazz Festival

2006-11-09T19:43:00.000-08:00

Over the past weekend (November 4th and 5th) Okazaki had the Jazz Street Festival and it was exactly what it sounds like. There was music being played at every corner of the streets. There were solo artists with their guitars, school children with violins, or older gentlemen with saxaphones, drums, tubas and trumpets. One of the main stages happened to be behind my apartment in the park which was where I saw a really good jazz band perform. One of the guys in the band said that he noticed me right away. I guess I never really thought about being noticed in a crowd like that but being tall, with blonde hair and wearing shorts and a tank top when everyone else in shorter, with black hair and wearing fall clothing, it's not that hard to see how I get picked out of the crowd. Over at the castle they had other performers and the flower of the season, chrysanthemums, on display as well as children performing dance numbers. It was a beautiful day and it seemed like everyone in the city was walking around enjoying all the sounds and food of the weekend.

The day after that I went to watch a Japanese teacher from Peppy Kids perform flaminco dancing with her club at an arts centre in Anjo. It was neat to see all the costumes and the music was great but the performance was about three hours and some of the material seemed a bit repetitive. After the show I went out to diner with other english teachers and some Japanese teachers as well.

Apparently Okazaki has a lot of festivals so I will be sure to update you about the next one that I visit.

Beautiful Afternoon

2006-10-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

I have a day off today and I am currently sitting in Nagoya underneath the TV tower where I am able to get free internet access on my laptop. It's a warm fall day and there is piano music playing overhead and the sound of water fountains in the background with the smell of delicious food in the air. I came to Nagoya today to look into getting internet hooked up in my apartment but the guy that speaks english wasn't in today so I might have to come back in the next few days to do that. Not much new to report.

Currently I'm teaching a halloween curriculum to the students, which is basically games centered around halloween vocabulary ie. black cat, broom stick, witch, bat......etc. Next week I pretty much have off except for the big meetings that I have to attend. It's a gathering of about 60 teachers and I will be part of a group, me and two other guys, and we will make a presentation about teaching the way children learn. That meeting will be on the 1st and 2nd of November. I can't believe it's November already, time is really flying here.

Taiko Drumming

2006-10-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

The other day I took part in a Taiko Drumming event with the Okazaki International Community Centre. I boarded a bus with some other international students and we took off to the middle of nowhere, or at least that's what it seemed like, and we watched and learnt how to do Taiko drumming. Taiko drumming used to be used in warfare to motivate the troops with a steady beat or it was used to summon an ally to battle or it was used to act as a call on when to advance on an enemy. It was a lot of fun to do and I wasn't that bad! The instructors were really nice and it was a great afternoon.

Okazaki

2006-10-14T23:54:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted anything for ages because the computer that I was using at City Hall wouldn't let me post anything or send out emails. Today I found the Okazaki International Community Centre and it's great. It's close by and it has internet and english books that i can borrow. So far things in Okazaki are great. I'm in a great part of the city. Close to the train station and close to a lot of cool shops. I'm also close to the castle. I visited Okazaki Castle yesterday, the birthplace of one of the Japanese shoguns, and it was beautiful. I can't wait to visit again when the leaves have changed. It's still warm here and feels like pleasant summer weather. Shorts and t-shirts are a must on some days. Teaching is going well too. Some students are really sweet and some are not so sweet. Kids are kids wherever you go in the world. Next week I will be coming back here to meet up with a group of other international people and go to a Taiko drumming event. So I'll fill you in on that later.

Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens

2006-09-24T06:09:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens. The zoo was horribly depressing. The animals were in small cages with cement and they did not look very happy. So, we quickly walked through and headed for the botanical gardens and they were beautiful. We saw all sort of flowers, plants and surprisingly there was a lot of cacti. The park was huge so we were pretty wiped at the end of walking through there but before we left we went up the Sky Tower. It was really cool and it gives a great view of Nagoya. From high up you can see apartment building, bridges and sky scrapers for miles.
Tomorrow is my big move to Okazaki where I will finally be able to unpack and start my normal life in Japan. My performance supervisor, Vince, will be meeting me at the train station and he is going to help me move in and get things like a bank account and a cell phone in order. On tuesday I will begin teaching. I believe that I will be team teaching for the first week and then I will be off on my own! I'm lucky with my move tomorrow because Okazaki is roughly 35km south of Nagoya. Some people have to be on a train by 8am and will be travelling for several hours.
I will be in touch soon when I am settled in Okazaki with my new life. talk to you all soon

Kent in Japan

2006-09-19T06:21:00.000-07:00

This is a special post for Kent. I saw these in a vending machine and thought you might like to see them. Oh and apparently you have a restaurant named for your b ball team as well. I think there is something you're not telling us, Kent. Enjoy.

Costumes in Japan

2006-09-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

I recently went to a store called Tokyu Hands and it's about 9 stories high and you can buy pretty much anything there. I stumbled across the costume section and couldn't help but to take some pics of what they have to offer. The Japanese really seem to have a sense of humor like no other. So hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

I'll let you figure out what the costumes are on your own. I would love to see some of you wearing these this halloween. Maybe you'll see a pic of me in one of them.......

Hi All

2006-09-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

So this is my blog. I'm still new at this so please be patient. I'm sitting right now at the train station a few mins from my place and i'm scaming wireless internet. I'll just wait till someone says something, but I doubt they will, so far the Japanese are very polite and nice people. So the pics that i'm gonna try to add will be from the first weekend that I was here. I went to Nagoya Castle with a group of girls that I am training with. The castle was amazing and very beautiful. Shortly after we left the castle a huge thunder storm hit and I got caught in the rain. It was actually kind of refreshing on such a hot and humid day. The first one is a close up of the roof and it is adorned with 2 gold dolphins. the second is the group of us. the third are school kids leaving school after archery practice and finally another view of the castle.

Anyways, hope this works.

First Post

2006-09-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

So this is my first blog. Thanks to Kent. I'm currently in Nagoya, Japan. The weather is really hot and humid but there are lots of neat things to see. Yesterday I went into the city with some other teachers and we were being guided around by a married couple who currently works for Peppy Kids. They are friends of one of the teachers who I met in the Vancouver airport, Erinn. Erinn actually graduated from U of Calgary the same day that I did. I start my first day of training tomorrow. Today I'm planning on visiting some of the local shrines and temples. I'll let you know how it goes.