July - Farewells and Miyazaki Trip

I didn't do much this month, but had to say farewell to Ria, Terry, Charlie-chan, Te-chan, and Lisa. We had a oishii (delicious) Japanese style dinner with Lisa and Ria and Terry put on a concert for all their friends. It was a good concert but sad to had to say good bye to them all.

At the end of the month I went on a trip to Miyazaki with my karate sensei and his wife for a junior tournament. I originally thought we were going to Nagasaki but was wrong. It was a bit confusing as we were going as Miyazaki and Nagasaki are very different directions.

We arrived Saturday and went for lunch at restaurant next to a beautiful river. The food was served to us by floating it down on trays on the outside of the building. Very unique. We then went to Otsuribashi, the world's tallest suspension bridge. In places the walkway was just grate, so you could see down to the rocky river below. It definitely gets you heart racing. We stayed in a beautiful ryokan type place, and went to the onsen before dinner. Unfortunately I couldn't hide my bruises there and the lady's were quite shocked at how bad they were. At dinner with all the parents they discussed my bruises and I was asked who did them. I said I didn't remember. Some of the boys think that because I am a girl they can't hit me anywhere on the chest, so hit only my arms. I am sure anyone would bruise the same way from that.

The tournament the next day was quite good. It was at a fantastic facility which was built for Japanese sports. There are areas for sumo, karate/judo and kyudo (archery). The first photo is of the winners and about half of the competitors. Many people left when they lost. The second photo is Souchi receiving his winner's certificate and trophy. The final photo is Yuuki having a serious coversation with Soushi and Aki. Yuuki won his division and I think Aki came 3rd. My camera ran out of batteries so I didn't get a picture of their presentation. On the way home we had dinner at Nakatsu with my sensei family and as usual my sensei, his brother-in-law and I drank a lot. Fun times!