Margie in Japan

Dekita!

2008-07-03T23:11:00.000+09:00

So after three years I finally achieved my black belt. Here is a photo with me, some of the guys I train with and my sensei. For some reason my white gi makes me look huge. I'm really not that big!

Rice Planting

2008-06-01T22:10:00.000+09:00

Finally updated

2008-05-03T23:58:00.004+09:00

After not adding to this site for about 8 months, in the last week I caught up!! I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures. Sorry for the mistakes!

Hiking Houmanzan

2008-05-03T23:55:00.000+09:00

Although Golden Week is traditionally the time us JETs leave the country for another south eastern asian country, I had already used all but three hours of my paid holiday so stayed in Japan. And because every Japanese person and their dog goes traveling I opted to stay at home. That was until Ayumi and Kyonkyon from work invited me to go on a day hike with them. The shrine on top of the mountain is supposed to be where you pray for good luck in love/relationships. Not sure how much luck it gives you but what the hell....
The mountain is 830m high but was a tough rocky climb. It was easier than the Kirishima and Yakushima hikes only because I only had day pack and it was shorter in length. There were a fair few people but not as many as I thought there would be being Golden Week. But I was right about one thing... there were 2 families there with their dogs and also a dog who decided to belong to anyone who was friendly. The view at the top was nice although because it was around 1pm the Japan haze had set in. I am still surprised that they built a shrine on top of the mountain. That meant someone had to drag up all the materials. Poor buggers.

After the hike we went and got a ice cream/slushy/green tea float and headed back to Yukuhashi bypassing the airport where we had a foot spa for 100 yen ($1)!

Korea with the family

2008-05-02T00:04:00.007+09:00

Mum, Jetty, Poppy and Melva (grandparents and great aunt) came to visit me in Japan again. I was really happy that they could come because I hadn't seen any family for over a year since I was unable to home for Christmas. By this stage I only had 3 days paid holiday left so couldn't take off a lot of time to spend with them. I went to Fukuoka to meet them at their hotel and got them settled in. Lucky for me one of my monthly Monday meetings was scheduled in Fukuoka the next day so I stayed the night and spent the morning with them. We met up with Andria who took us to a shrine and a arcade area for lunch. We had to leave for our meeting but exploring the arcade area. After the meeting I met back up with them for dinner and to make sure they knew what they could do the following day without me being there, as I had to go back for work. They spent the day in Ohori Park and the museum there and had a great time. By the sounds of it, I must visit there myself before the 'year' is out.
Their request for coming to Japan was actually to go across to see Korea because they had heard how close it was from when I went. So as me as their non-Korean speaking guide we went there from Wednesday to Sunday, on the last of my paid leave. The first day was basically in transit, catching the 3 hr hydrofoil ferry to Busan and then catching the train to Seoul. Although there was warnings about hitting a whale, we made it there incident free. Once settled in our hotel we went out for dinner and gladly to me sneaky persistence we had "bulgogi', my favourite Korean food. While Poppy relaxed in the hotel, Mum, Melva, Jetty and I had a little look around the markets areas of Dongdaemun.
The following day we went to Gyeonbukgung one of the main palaces in Seoul. We were in time for the 25 minute changing of the guard ceremony before spending most of the day exploring the grounds and the National Palace museum. As coincidence had it we ran into a man that we had met on the train the day before who had talked to us. Pretty amazing in a city of 10.4 million. After that we headed to the famous Namdaemun Markets. These markets are pure craziness. There are so many people and so much stuff crammed into this area. We bought a few bargains but were soon tired of its intensity. We then headed back to the hotel and relaxed before finding another very nice but cheap restaurant for dinner.

On Friday we went to the War Memorial Museum. I would recommend this place to everyone. I have never seen such as extensive collection of information that is not only informative but interesting. Contrary to the information I was given before going, there is plenty of information in English. Even though I though we would only spend the morning here, we spent the entire day and we still didn't get to see everything. In the museum, they had not only information on the Koreans that had been in the Korea-related wars but from all countries. I had arranged that we would would come on Friday to see a military band performance. I had assumed it was one band playing but it included a display of a traditional music, a traditional military band, traditional swordsmanship, modern military marching band including a drumline performance and a gun drill performance with people from the navy, army and airforce. It was very entertaining. We ended up having dinner at the same place again after not being able to find a different place with a menu that was readable, ie. had pictures. That wasn't too bad considering it was great value for money. Again the four girls went looking at shops while Poppy was left stressing in the hotel thinking he had been robbed only to discover Jetty had moved all their things to a different place. Bit of a worry!

On Saturday, we went to the Insadong area, which was very nice. In hindsight, it would have been nicer to come here than go to the crazy Namdaemun markets, but it's all experience. There was a man there who did beautiful wood carving (see pics) and also a beautiful small gallery where we met the very talented artist. After we headed back to Seoul station for lunch before catching the train south to Busan where we staying the night.
Sunday, we only had the morning and after ruling out the first few possibilities I had of morning we decided to go on a boat ride around the coast of Busan. Unfortunately because of bad weather (too windy - big waves) it was canceled which gave us great enthusiasm for our journey back to Japan. A few people were sick on the hydrofoil on the way back but I was glad we were in a hydrofoil above most of the waves or else I may have joined them.

We headed back to Yukuhashi that night in order for me to work the next day. I hired a car, which mum drove down to Beppu where they got to see the hells of Beppu. Except for a few occasions of getting lost, one time actually finding an unknown castle, they went well by themselves. I think they would have enjoyed it a little better if I had only remembered to tell them how to shut "Mary" up, which is the name they gave to the Japanese female voiced navigation system. Before leaving we had an enjoyable dinner out with my work colleagues. Good times.
I must say if you go to Korea, you must have Pizza Hut! It was so unbelievably good. Not that I eat fast-food regularly, throughout my travel I have decided.... Pizza Hut is to be eaten in Korea, MacDonald's is to be eaten in Japan and KFC chips are to be eaten in Australia!

Thailand

2008-04-30T15:45:00.010+09:00

With only 10 dives logged, I was invited to go on a liveaboard in Thailand by Kim, a fellow diver who lives on Kyushu. With my new obsession with diving in full swing I couldn't refuse. I logged 14 more dives before the trip but was one of lesser experiences people on the trip, but not the least.

Day 1: Sightseeing around Phuket Island.
We rented a mo-ped and zipped around Patong and the surrounding towns. Traffic is crazy but I think its a little better than China. We went to visit Jamie at his shop Sunrise Divers to meet and thank him for planning the trip and also to get me a wetsuit (The only thing that I hadn't bought in my recent diving equipment splurge). Then we just relaxed by the pool waiting for our pickup. It was a pity that the pool was so chlorinated is could've disinfected a hospital. Paulo and Steve, our dive guides for the week, greeted us and loaded us in the van to meet the other people on our trip. Once on Colona VI, we had a run down of the boat and diving procedures for the trip and then watched the small fireworks display which blessed our coming trip as we left the harbor.
Day 2: Hin Daeng, Hin Muang and Koh Haa.
Paulo was our guide for the first day. Our first dive was at Hin Daeng. It was my first time diving with my new BP and harness set-up and camera so it was a new experience. (Now that I have got used to diving with the BP&H, I can't recommend it enough. Diving without a weight belt and the weight distribution is fantastic). Some of things we saw were moray eels, bat fish, nudibranches, pink and red anenome fish and a lions mane jelly fish. The only downfall of the dive was having my camera set in the wrong mode (the only one that is unchangeable underwater) and the razor plankton......OUCH!
Dive 2 was at Hin Muang and we saw a lobster, nudibranches, scorpian fish and cleaner shrimp. To our surprise 2 mantas turned up at the end of the dive. Divers went everywhere! The divers that were out of the water donned their fins and masks and tried skin diving to get a decent view or picture of them. Many divers who were still underwater went in hot pursuit.
Dive 3 was again at Hin Muang. Steve and Paulo decided that we would stick around where the mantas had arrived and it proved to be a fantastic idea. All other boats left and what resulted was 4 huge mantas swimming around us for an hour - no other group in sight. The current was really strong which made most people hang on the mooring line for the dive. A pinnacle covered with anemones sheltered those of us not on the mooring line from most of the current. The mantas kept on circling by as the pinnacle was a manta cleaning station. Watching the mantas get cleaned was great to be but I think the mantas liked the attention from us too. Apparently they left the area after we left the water. Definitely memorable.
Dive 4 was at Koh Haa and a sunset dive. It was a nice relaxing dive. Anemone fish, spotted and hexagonal patterned puffer fish and porcelain crabs. It was my first time to dive 4 times in one day so I was pretty tired by the end.

Day 3: Bida Nok (Phi Phi Island), Shark Point and Koh Dok Mai.
Today we dove with Steve and the first dive was at Bida Nok at 7am. We saw different kinds of soft corals, lots of puffer fish, a few table corals and scorpion fish. Dive 2 at Shark Point was cut a bit short by me losing my buddy. I looked behind waited till I got his attention and thought I saw him following but the next time I looked back he was nowhere to be seen. I was pretty worried so went up to see if he had surfaced. He had. Phew! Lesson learned. Dive 3 was at Koh Dok Mai which is a dive along a wall. My favourite part of the dive was a huge open cave area. There were heaps of life in this area. Very nice dive.
The dive at Koh Dok Mai was the last of the trip to the south so we headed back to Patong where we had a few hours to relax on land before joining the boat again with a new group of people. I had decided to do my Nitrox certification so while everybody was rushing around getting settled in, I studied a bit.

Day 4: Anita's Reef, East of Eden and West of Eden
We traveling through the night north to the Similans, where we were told the visibility would be better and it was. There wasn't as much stingy plankton around either. The dive at West of Eden was awesome for one reason in particular. I spotted a leopard shark!!! I was so excited, I am still surprised I didn't use all my air right there and then. I tried to get the attention of everyone in my group but because I had nothing to make noise with, so most people in my group missed it. Only Iggy, turned around to see why I had stopped and saw it too. I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the dive which in my case is a big problem as my mask fills up with water. The rest of the dive was very enjoyable. It was an interesting site as there are opposing currents.

After finishing the dive at West of Eden we headed to Mooring Bay where we were given the option of going ashore or staying on board and doing a bit of snorkeling. I went ashore and walked up the the lookout with Nuna and Kim. It was a beautiful view but man it was hot! When we returned to the boat I went snorkeling with Nuna and we watching a very cute turtle grazing.

Dive 4 was a night dive at Mooring Bay. It was interesting but there wasn't much to see. I felt very Indiana Jones-ish exploring around with torch light going everywhere. The only notable thing I saw was a huge parrot fish and the beautiful reflections of the boat lights. With different diving groups crossing over each other, we had an interesting time keeping tabs on our group. We lost a few people by the end of the dive but not to worry, they got back to the boat safely.

Day 5: Rocky Point, Koh Bon West Ridge, Tachai pinnacle and Koh Bon.
Today we were back diving with Paolo and the first dive was North Point of the Island affectionately known as Island No.9. There were heaps of cool swim throughs in the rock formations. Dive 2 was at West Ridge at Koh Bon. On this dive there was a feeding rock where there was an abundance of fish of different species and colours. You could've stayed there the whole time taking photos. Unfortunately I didn't get any decent photos of this. Dive 3 was a great learning experience and for me a very fun dive. There was a strong current on top so we used the anchor line to descend (pull ourselves down) and once on the bottom there was a huge surge. Once I relaxed and realised it was better to hover than to try and hold onto stuff, I really enjoyed myself flying around like a plane. I think some of the other divers thought I was crazy. I got to see a fair few things on that dive including multiple scorpion fishes and different varieties of anemone fish. There was a leopard shark but I didn't see it very well. At the end of the dive one of the guys ran out of air and borrowed some of mine. This doesn't usually happen but I was glad to be in the right place at the right time.
The last dive of the day was an afternoon dive at Torinla. It was my first dive of Nitrox (which for those of you who aren't divers it's air with a higher percentage of oxygen that normal air). I definitely like diving it as I didn't get a slight headache as I sometimes get diving. Some say this is from the nitrogen build up.

Day 6: Richelieu Rock and West Ridge
Diving again with Steve we dove our first three dives around Richeleau Rock. This is a very popular spot and because of this we were in the water around 6:30. The highlight was .... seahorses!! A brown male, a yellow female and yellow female baby. We also got to see nudibranches and moray eels. At the end of the dive I managed to pull off a air ring like Otis (my instructor from Okinawa)!! It's a pity I can't do them consistently yet.
Inbetween dives Steve (not dive guide), Iggy and I had a bit of a cool off. We jumped off the top of the boat which probably wasn't a great idea in my bikini but I didn't lose it (completely). Who would've known that I am scared of heights!?!? Paolo and Ann also joined us for a bit of a swim after our jump. It was nice to have a swim without all the scuba gear.
The last dive of the day was at West Ridge. There wasn't anything as exciting as the seahorses ath this site but it was still a very relaxing dive.

Day 7: Elephants Head rock. Shark Fin Reef
The first dive was at Elephants Head Rock with Paolo. This dive site has interesting boulder and rock formations so we were able to do multiple swim throughs. Interesting things we saw were anemone crabs and a huge barracuda. Apparently this barracuda has a huge mean streak so we warned to be careful of it. The second and last dive of the trip was at Shark Fin Reef where there was huge slab rock formations. We saw lots of trigger fish, puffers and anemones.
On our last safety stop, our group decided as a farewell to all inflate our markers. It's usually only one. We all got a bit of a laugh out of it.
We then had to wash all our gear, pack our cabin up and say farewell. It was such a fantastic trip. I will definitely do one (or many) again. Once on land I had the worst sea legs!

Day 8: King Cruiser, Anenome Reef and Shark Point - Day diving trip
Jason and Iggy from the liveaboard invited me to go out on a day trip with them so because I seem to not get enough of diving and I had my gear, I went.
The day started a bit stressfully. Our pickup was really late and then once we made it on the boat we found out none of the equipment we had hired had made it on the boat. Luckily there was some spare equipment on board that we could use.
The first dive was on a wreck of a ferry called King Cruiser. The visibility was bad and there was only a few fish. The good thing of the dive was I got my fingers cleaned by the cleaner shrimp. The bad thing was I lost my group. I probably didn't do the right thing by waiting a full minute at my exact position as I was inside in the wreck. I thought it better to get to open water in case something went wrong. I now know that it is much more stressful for the buddy with the group that the one who got lost. Anyway the guide was... in short.. very angry with me which is fair enough, but I didn't think it was too professional that for the other dives I became invisible even though I was always right there. I'm just glad I didn't get short on air or have any other problem. Even Iggy and Jason noticed I had completely disappeared from the guide's radar. ANYWAY, the next dive was at Anemone Reef, the visibility here was a little better. We saw lots of different coloured moray eels and nudibraches. The third dive was a Shark Point. This was a really nice site. We saw a group of baby eels (10+), 2 nurse sharks, scorpion fish, nudibranches, ghost pipe fish, banded shrimp and at the end of our dive, heaps of barracuda swimming along the surface.
After the diving Iggy, Jason and I went out for a bite which ended up being a huge meal of Austrian food and some drinks.
Please note: This day was booked via a different shop than the liveaboard. NOT Jamie.

Day 9: Sightseeing
On the last full day left in Patong Kim and I took at tour which took us off Phuket Island. We saw a buddha, monkeys, bats, floating villiage and James Bond Rock. It was a great day. We met 3 people for Ireland who were great quality.

It was a great trip all up and if money permits I may head back that way again. I was glad that I could experience both a liveaboard and day trip in quick concession. The difference in Thailand was amazing. Well it was in my experience. I can't recommend the liveaboard enough. The people on board Colona were great. The guides were friendly, helpful and cool to hang out with, the Thai captain and cooking staff were friendly, the two boat boys were a great help when getting on and off the boat and the food was awesome. What more could you ask for?!

Easter

2008-04-05T23:59:00.001+09:00

Again it was time for me to put on the bunny suit! We made bunny photo frames, decorated easter eggs, made crepe paper bunnies, had an egg toss competition and of course had the egg hunt. The kids had a really good time and it went really smoothly... all except for the overly helpful kid who collected the hidden easter eggs before we had a chance to have the egg hunt. There was a quick scramble to re-hide them. Like Halloween, I hope this annual event continues long after I return to Australia.

Graduation

2008-03-14T23:50:00.001+09:00

I attending graduation at one of my schools. Unfortunately I couldn't get to both because they are held on the same day. It was great to see the students that I had been teaching for nearly 3 years graduate. It's a pity that as soon as they get good enough to have some really interesting conversations, they head off to high school. But I guess that how it is. The two students in the bottom corners of the collage were the ones I had regular chat sessions with so they would be ready for the interview test to get into a high level English high school. I am sure they would have got in regardless but it was great to get to know them better.

Good luck class of 2008.

Snowboarding in Hiroshima-ken

2008-02-24T23:18:00.002+09:00

I was invited to go snowboarding with a family from karate up in Hiroshima-ken and jumped at the chance as I hadn't been this winter. We left at about 10pm and got up there about 4 or something. I spent most of my time with Mayu, who I played snow chasey with and had numerous snow ball fights! At about 4pm we packed up and drive back. Pretty tiring but very enjoyable "day out".

This is me and Mayu on the chairlift and some cute penguins.

White Yukuhashi

2008-02-13T15:58:00.001+09:00

Jono's visit

2008-01-28T00:08:00.008+09:00

Jono, one of my best friends from university came to to visit after traveling in Europe. I went up and met him at Kansai Airport (Osaka). We both had a bit of trouble. I initially went to the wrong airport. STUPID! Jono had a fair bit of trouble clearing immigration. A single male coming from Amsterdam who didn't know the exact address where he was staying didn't exactly go in his favour. Jono also said if he had shaved then it might have been a bit easier to get in. Luckily Jono's phone worked so he was able to get my address from me. After meeting up we took the train to Kyoto. We found our hostel and went exploring in the Kinkakuji area. Kinkakuji is a must see when going to Kyoto so I think I've been there 5 times now with different friends and my family. After we went to a Zen Garden I had not found before. The next day we made a trip to Kiyomizudera, another must see in Kyoto. At this time of year the trees aren't very picturesque but the building is still impressive. We then caught the train to Himeji to see the very impressive Himeji Castle.

Within 36 hrs Jono got to see the 3 things to see in Japanese - a temple, a shrine and a castle!! And probably the best ones there are to see too! That night we headed back to Yukuhashi as I could only get 2 days off work. From Wednesday to Friday Jono went on a train ride adventure to "God know where" and chilled out in Yukuhashi. It was great to have someone to talk to when I came home.

On the weekend I hired a car and drove to Mt Aso, the largest active volcano in Japan. Around Mt Aso is one of the largest craters in the world. It's actually really hard to know when you have entered in it because it's so big. The are a few town within it.

On the Sunday, Yuki drove us to the newly built longest pedestrian suspension bridge in Japan (390m long/173m high). Little did we know it was pretty much where we had been the day before. Oh well! We had really good udon (noodles) there. We had to come back so Jono could catch the train up to near Osaka airport before his JR pass ran out. He didn't have any trouble getting back up there are spending a day fending for himself because he made it made to his flight to Oz.

I was glad Jono got to see Japan and Yukuhashi where I live, so if I tell him a story when I get back he has some reference. The funny part of the trip is that we went to the Kaiten sushi (sushi-go-round) in Yukuhashi 3 times in the week he stayed as he loved the sushi there. I do too. By the 3rd time, they were all smiles for their regular customers.

NOTE: All the photos used in this entry were taken by Jono. Thanks Jono!! Mine have gone missing. :(

New Year's holiday in Okinawa

2008-01-07T23:59:00.009+09:00

I was hoping to go home for Christmas like I had done the previous two years but unfortunately the tickets to Australia nearly doubled in price... and I was looking for tickets early. So instead I spent Christmas with Steve and his family in Yukuhashi and then escaped the cold as best I could by going down to Okinawa again. Considering last time I went, I dove practically the whole time, I wanted to have a look around. I stayed at Hamby Resort and was really happy they remembered me and were happy to see me. The first day I visited the dive shop and went riding up the steepest hill in the area. Not on purpose and not a good idea unless you are trying to get fit. I wasn't keen to go diving straight away as I was still recovering from a cold. On the second day i hired a car the first day and went up to the Chiraumi Aquarium, the world's second biggest aquarium. Around the grounds there were creatures made from plants. Very well done. Some were still a work-in-progress.

I must say not only is it the biggest I have been to, it was the best. The variety they had was amazing. Of course the massive tank that held the whale shark, rays, sharks and others was awesome.

After spending a lot of time in the aquarium I went and saw the dugong and turtle enclosures. The dugongs and turtles were cute but it was a pity that their enclosure weren't a little better. I then headed to the dolphin enclosure. There they not only have dolphins but also a false killer whale. They were all so cute and there were singing and showing off as they knew the show was coming up soon and they would be fed. I have some cool footage of them all doing their tricks. I also got wet from the false killer whale's final display... We were warned.

After the very entertaining show I had a look around the traditional Okinawan village. They must have had very small horses as the stables were not even up to my shoulder. I took a spin around the botanical garden but by this time my stomach was eating itself.
After some lunch I went to the Butterfly House which was in the area. As you can see there were many butterflies. After I went to the Busena Underwater Observatory but because the sea was rough the lady told the visibility was about 2-3 metres. I decided I'd save my money. Instead I took photos of the hibiscus that were there. From there I went to Cape Maeda and to some castle ruins. I got the car back in time which is always a good thing.

On the 3rd day the diving began. We went up to where I had been the day before which made me feel a little counterproductive but it was one of the only places we could go diving. The dive site we did is called Gorilla Chop. Because it was my first dive back I was a little rusty and didn't take down enough weight. Lesson learned! Thicker wetsuit, more weight. I left my common sense at home that day! The fact it was a shallow dive didn't particularly help. Anyway enough excuses we saw fish such trumpet fish, moorish idols, emperor angelfish, triggerfish, speckled sandperches and black spotted puffer fish. The second dive was the same site and much the same.
The next day was New Years Eve so we only did one dive finishing on sunset down on Oda Coast the southern most of the island. We had to go down to the south of the island as there were storms out at sea which were making most of the island un-diveable. The dive is called Channel Crevices, which is a very accurate description. The rock formations were interesting. We swam through the rock formations and saw parrot fish, different soft corals, butterfly fish and chocolate dipped damsel fish. Cute!

That night I stayed around Hamby Resort and we had a big feast. Miho (Otis'wife) and her brothers had gone out on a fishing charter and caught heaps of fish. Lots of yummy sashimi! Thanks guys! Fireworks went off at midnight at the nearby American Village
New Year's Day I had a big sleep in and relaxing day.
On the 2nd we went back down to the Channel Crevices dive site as the weather was still crappy. On the 3rd the weather settled down enough for us to get to the Kerama Islands. These islands are famous diving spots. Although it had settled down enough to get to Keramas it was still choppy and silly me sat at the back cramped up. Yep... I got boat sick! So, I started the day with a hurl over the side. Ewww! The best thing is that no one gave me too much slack over it. Apart from the bad start, the dives out there were great. We saw a large cuttlefish, an octopus, sea snakes, large staghorn coral, Nemo and his relatives and a huge turtle with a remora attached to it.
One of my dive buddies Greg and I got talking and he invited me to go out sailing with him on his yacht. I was thinking of taking a break from diving so it was a great opportunity. So the 4 th, after lunch I went sailing. If only I had money I'd spend my life sailing and diving! Oh yeah, Greg let me steer for a little bit which was cool. I must say I was nervous being in charge of steering his home around.

Back in the water on the 5th, we just went to the Sunabe Sea Wall, which is the place closest to the shop and where I did some of my dives when I was first learning. Actually in our group there was a some beginner divers so it was a good dive for them. We got to see heaps of sea snakes, long-spined sea urchins (which look cool), groupers, bubble coral shrimp (I found it myself this time!), balloon fish and wrasse. That night Otis, Greg and I hit Naha to check out the nightlife. They introduced me to soft Tacos which are soooooo good. I am a big fan of mexican food now. We went to a few spots including a Brazillian Bar (I think) where we had some Brazilian bourbon. It was good but strong. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to Chatan. Because Otis and I hadn't seen a certain movies, of which I forget now (sorry Greg), we bought some snacks and watched the movie in Greg's yacht. Otis fell asleep about halfway through, I managed to watch it through. The next morning Otis and I had to get up early to get back home, get our gear and then come back to the wharf to go out on the boat. A bit tired but after getting into the water, I was totally awake.
On the 6th, my last full day in Okinawa, we went out to the Keramas again. It wasn't as rough and I didn't squish myself at the back of the boat so no sea sickness. Yay! The first dive was mainly for the other divers to do some training. I used the time to practice my buoyancy/breathing. Because of this dive, Otis said he felt bad because I was just waiting around for everyone. I didn't mind but the dive we went and had was AMAZING! The best I have had so far. After our entry with the group, we swam out to a pinnacle. The pinnacle had huge drop-offs and looking out to sea all you could see was blue. We saw a top sail drummer (probably the biggest fish I had seen underwater) and schools of blue and yellow back fusilers circling far above us near the surface of the water. We also saw 2 firefish and a beautiful pacific lobster in a cave. Once we had joined back up with the rest of the group, we were swimming through a crevice when Otis turned to me and told me to wait. We were the leaders of the group. The people following asked me why of which I had no answer. I started to doubt he asked me to wait when I saw them..... 3 white tipped reef sharks swimming at me with Otis chasing them down. It was so cool and not at all scary. They swam about a foot from me!!
On the way back to the boat we saw two large white mouth eels, something else I hadn't seem before. Oh, and while we were diving we could hear whales calling!
The last dive was a drift dive so Kumi led us and Otis stayed on the boat. We got to see 3 green sea turtles. Kumi had given me her camera to play with.
On the way back we met up with all the whale watching boats and watched the whales!! Value for money! It was a perfect last day of diving.

Yuki & My Bounenkai

2007-12-22T23:59:00.002+09:00

Yuki and I had I own bounenkai in Kokura. Yuki found a really nice restaurant and the food was AWESOME! Of course we did nomihoudai (all you can drink). After dinner we walked around the River Walk area where all the Christmas lights were set up. I still believe that the organizers at the station got everything upside-down. I think the one on the top right is supposed to be a bell with a heart in it and the blue V thing (on the bottom row) is supposed to be a Christmas tree.
Anyway... after our Christmas light viewing we return to Yukuhashi and went to our favourite hangout - Angel. Ryuya, the owner, is really cool and makes really nice original drinks. Yuki found amusement in the piggy bank. SEXY!

Karate Bounenkai

2007-11-23T11:59:00.001+09:00

Halloween for the kids

2007-11-10T23:59:00.004+09:00

Halloween for Yukuhashi's elementary school students went really well this year. Many of us dressed up and we played Halloween music to set the mood. Even I was a bit scared of Ikegami with the blood flowing skeleton mask and Steve in his scream outfit. We made woolen spiders, photo frame, played pin-the-bone-on-the skeleton and had the traditional pinatas. I wish I had got a photos of them as this year I made them into ghosts (with toilet paper) and spiders. They looked cool! I hope the tradition continues after I leave.

Halloween

2007-10-20T11:59:00.001+09:00

Chris and Kenji planned Halloween for all the adults at Sai, a really nice Izakaya (restaurant) in Yukuhashi. Kenji especially was adamant that we wear costumes. I guess he knew that the foreigners were more likely to dress up that our Japanese friends. I didn't derss up a great deal, although all my friend seemed shocked. Tony and Michelle came to pick me up and man did I get a surprise. You can see Tony below wrapped head to foot in toilet paper oh, and wearing one of those beauty face masks. What a pisser!! It was a really cool night and we all had fun. I managed to go very Japanese in all the photos. PEACE! The honorable mention goes to Tim who decided is was a great idea to spray paint himself yellow and come a Jaundice. He stunk of paint. I'm surprised he didn't get sick.
I don't know why but I can't find photos of Kenji and Chris. Kenji dressed as a can of Asahi beer and later dressed in a nurse's uniform. Very funny as his legs are quite hairy.

The week after this Chris, Tim and I went out to a Halloween party in Kokura. Chris gets a special mention because he went as DORAEMON. So cute!

Okinawa

2007-10-03T11:59:00.006+09:00

I finally bit the bullet and committed to doing something I had been wanting to do for a really long time. Learn how to scuba dive! I asked if my friends wanted to come too but either had already learned, didn't have money or the spare paid leave. So, yet again I set off by myself to learn to scuba dive in Okinawa. I contacted Reef Encounters in Chatan and they organized my accommodation (at Hamby Resort). All I had to do is get there.
I flew down and spent the afternoon in Naha mainly going to the Shuri temple. You can see a distinct difference from the Japanese temples there, and a large influence from other parts of Asia. As you may know Okinawa was an independent country until it was invaded by a clan from southern Japan 400 years ago. Anyway the Shuri temple was beautiful. Afterward I went to find a karate dojo, the "home base" of the style I first learned. After walking for ages and going through the back streets, I asked a lovely Japanese lady if she knew of the place and luckily she did. I arrived at what looked like (and was) a house and entered. I entered and got completely stared at by all the kids, I asked the sensei if it was alright to watch, of which he said he was happy if I did and he went to explain that it was the kids class. After some watching he started asking some questions and I explained the karate I had done and so then we had a huge conversation about the differences in katas (formal routines/patterns) that I had learned in Australia among other things. Although I didn't recognize him at first, I started to realise that there was something familiar about him. He was one of the chief instructors! It was such a great experience. If only I had time to train with him. I stayed in Naha City that night as I got a flight hotel package. Cheap cheap cheap!
In the morning I caught the bus out the Chatan where Reef Encounters is situated. Otis, cool guy originally from Philadelphia, came to pick me up from near the bus stop and took me to the shop. He was my instructor for me Open Water. He is such an awesome teacher. I felt relaxed learning the whole time, even in the not so good situations of taking you mask off underwater, clearing or the problem I had most not being able to find my regulator (thing you breathe from)... which is a bit of a problem. Anyway back to the beginning.
At first we ran through the some of the basic and before I knew it we were heading to the beach gearing up. Sticking your face underwater while still breathing is one of the eeriest feelings. We went out on a fixed rope and did some skills underwater, then we had a little look around. That night I studied the book.
The following day was my first official dive. We went up to Maeda Point and dove off a boat. Otis and I were joined by Miho (Otis' wife), Frank (an American who now live in Tokyo) and two Japanese divers. The were all on a fun dive. Roll diving off the boat was fun except for the fact I smacked my head on the bottom of the boat when I came up. For safety my BC was inflated and for some reason I roll under the boat. We went to the Blue Cave which was so beautiful. The reflection off the water turns the cave blue. It is a really popular spot for divers and snorkelers as you can reach it without a boat. We were lucky that there were only a few people in the cave when we went. Our second dive was at Yamada Point. There was so much life. Moorish idols, bat fish, flute mouths, lion fish, pink anemone fish, blue/green chromis, five banded sergeant majors.. to mention a few. Obviously at this point Otis was teaching me the names of all the fish. more study that night.
The next day I did the next two dives at Sunabe Sea Wall (the place where I first donned scuba gear. Unlike when last time we went, it was rough. We managed to swim out but doing the skills underwater was really hard because of the surge and limited visibility. It's very hard to know if you are neutral in the water when you can't see the ground.. or anything else. We had to pull ourselves in with the rope as the surge was ripping now. I had no idea where the end of the rope/chain was so collected Otis up at the end. Whoops! Sorry Otis. The second dive was more rough, we had to pull ourselves in and out. I did some underwater navigation which was difficult again because I couldn't see much but I did it with a few compass sticking problems. Even though we had to pull ourselves in and out, it was really fun. When the surge was in our favour we flew along! So after completing the test I became a PADI Open Water Diver.
I had a few more days in Okinawa so wanted to dive a little more before leaving. Otis suggested I do my Advanced Open Water certificate. Even though I though it was a little sudden, he said I'd be fine and well I did that too.
Advanced was 6 dives including a skin dive, rescue skills, low visibility dive, deep dive, fish identification dive and a navigation dive.
Frank had decided to do his advanced too and we joined two American soldiers of which one had already started his advanced course. The other had already completed it. We did the skin dive, rescue skills and low visibility dive at Junk Point as it was a little sheltered. The sea was a bit rough from an outlying typhoon. The visibilty was terrible but we all got through the dives. The next day Frank and I went out with Otis and Orlando (a American military guy) to do the deep dive and navigation dive up at the Maeda Point area. For the deep dive we went to Manza dream hole. It's a vertical shaft that you swim down and come out at about 30m. The exit area was beautiful. At about the 36 m mark we did our narc test. My result...... SSSSLOOOOOWW! I don't mind having that effect. Other people want to take out their regulator!

The next dive was in the same area and was the fish identification dive. It's so hard to remember exact details about the fish, what colour, how many stripes or spots, whether the stripes were vertical or horizontal, etc, etc. Only when we got up, I was trying to ask Frank if he remembered what colour a fish was, he replied, "I don't know, I'm colour blind!" I must say I have it a bit easier, not that I can remember them. I did make nicknames up for the fish such as "SpongeBob", as the fish is square and very yellow!
The last dive of the course and the trip was navigation which made me a bit nervous. not my forte but it went well. The highlight of this dive was at the end when I was stuffing around swimming upside-down Orlando spotted two sea snakes under the boat. AWESOME!
We obviously saw other things on the dive but the snakes were a real highlight.
Otis worked out over the course of us diving together that it was easy to make me laugh and at that time water would go into my mask. Needless to say I got good at clearing my mask.
So after 10 dive I completed both the PADI Open water and NAUI Advanced open water certifications. I can say now that 2 of my greatest hobbies have been because of Okinawa... karate and diving!

As I have mentioned before in my blog, traveling by myself definitely has its advantages. I got to meet some awesome people while diving and at the hostel.

Because I have digital cameras I don't often get to take pictures out of the plane. this time I had a disposable. The pictures are of leaving Naha and the northern area of the main Okinawa Island.

Hiking the Kirishima-yaku National Park

2007-09-23T11:59:00.009+09:00

After Matt (a fellow Muni ALT) had a mix up of planned hiking weekends, I decided to go hiking to the Kirishima ranges anyway (3 days weekends don't come along too often). After 3 trains, 2 buses and a taxi ride, I finally made it to Ebino Kogen. One surprising thing on the way was..... tea fields. I had to look twice to make sure. Although Japan is famous for green tea, the only tea fields I had seen were in Sri Lanka. Anyway...... After going to the visitors centre for a map, which ended up being diagrammatic not topographic, I walked around the Ebino Kogen area. This area has a few beautiful crater lakes surrounded by woodlands. This area is made for all walkers, i.e a gravel level path... sometimes cobblestoned. I went bush a few times which proved to be very rewarding. Knowing I had time, I trekked off to Koshiki-dake (1301m). Walking through the woods I saw a few deer and depended solely on pink take markers on the trees. Otherwise, the track was indistinct. Climbing up the mountain was tough but the view at the top was beautiful. I could see all of the area that I had just walked including the beautiful blue of the crater lakes. After having a little rest on top, 3 other hikers in the 60s (I guess) told me that I could go through "there" to see the crater/grass plateau. It was very beautiful and proved to be a great resting stop. In Japan you don't often get to lie down in lush green grass and stare at the sky hearing nothing but the wind and crickets. I returned and checked into my very cheap tatami cabin. If anyone goes here make sure you buy your food before the shops shut as by 7 or something its like a ghost town.

I set off at 6 to try and get as far up Karakuni-dake (1700m) as I could before sunrise. I missed sunrise from the top but was glad I didn't have to trek up in the dark. One man at the top showed me his sunrise pictures with me. Looking at the kanji of Karakuni-dake is translated to Korea Mountain, this is because on a clear day you can apparently see Korea. I obviously didn't get to see Korea but could see Sakurajima and Kagoshima City and everything else in between. Quite breathtaking. The sheer drop from Karakuni-dake into its crater was scary, but it didn't stop me from bum shuffling to get a good photo. My fear of heights is still around but I think it would get the adrenaline pumping in anyone. From Karakunidake I walked down across Shishito-dake (1429m), Shinmoe-dake (1421m) and Naka-dake(1332m). Within this one hike there were so many different terrains. Loose rock/dirt, slippery dirt/clay paths with wouldn't have let anyone very big pass, gravel type paths, some awkwardly spaced boardwalk steps towards the end that's not to mention the leg muscle building ascents. It was rewarding looking back across all the mountains. By 11:30am I had made it to the foot of Takachiho-dake where majority of the people were starting from.

After some lunch, a much needed foot rub and a water refill, I set off up Takachiho-dake (1574m). It was a little harder going up this mountain knowing that I had to come back the same way. That and my legs were pretty sore by this stage. The loose rocky soil wasn't easy. There were people of all ages trudging up the mountain. I had a good chat with some people at the top of the mountain who couldn't believe that I had come from Ebino Kogen that morning. They thought I just couldn't remember the mountain names until I pulled out the map and showed them. Oh well, I was pretty beat by this stage but was determined to get up the last mountain. We had to walk along the crater wall which connected to Takachiho-dake. On the side of Takachiho-dake the ground had turned from red and rocky to black and soft. My socks are stained a great colour now from this combination. The wind had picked up and even thought it was not much passed midday the fog rolled in and reduced visibility to basically nothing. The only indication that the top was approaching was a flag that was flapping hard in the wind. No view from the top but it was surprising to see a shrine there. The way back was tough not seeing and the wind was really strong. Walking across the crater wall knowing the each side dropped away was something out of a movie and a test on the heart. At the bottom I got talking to a their High School hiking club . They had seen me before going up Takachiho-dake so wanted to have a chat. Their teacher ended up leaving me in to take care of them while he went and got the car from where I had started. They had done the same hike without the last mountain. They did buy me an ice cream which was nice of them. I was waiting for the bus anyway. As luck would have it the teachers arrived back when my bus pulled up.

Throughout the day I passed a fair few other hikers who were all surprised that I was hiking alone. I must say there are advantages and disadvantages to it. More people will talk to you along the way if you are by yourself, it is also tranquil and great that you can set your own pace and stop whenever you like. I daresay I would talked and scared of the deer and other wildlife had I been with anyone. The disadvantage is not being able to share the experience and beautiful things you see with anyone.

A bus and train ride got me back to Kagoshima to stay in a ryokan. If you ever want to really appreciate a hot shower go hiking for 8 or so hours before hand.. it's heaven!
Considering it was a long weekend, I had some time left in Kagoshima, I went to Iso area where there is a beautiful garden, old villa for a lord, ruins from a steel factory and the factory of the the famous Satsuma cut glass. You also have a beautiful view of Sakura-jima from this area. A great weekend away. I definitely recommend the hike to everyone with some kind of fitness.

English in the 'Hash

2007-08-31T23:59:00.006+09:00

This year we organized the English Summer Camp for the students of the Yukuhashi Junior High Schools. I say we, but Steve did the most of the organizing. 12 students came from 5 different schools. We had lots of fun activities for the students including jeopardy, video and poster making, sentence balloon popping, water balloon toss and a camp fire while they improved their English. We even made T-shirts for everybody. Even though there were a few raw communication problems in planning, the camp went really well.

Here is the invincible "In the 'Hash' team Kuririn, Miyagi, Stove and Andy. AKA Chris, Me, Steve and Andria.

Yukuhashi Cosmoppe

2007-08-25T23:59:00.003+09:00

My last summer festival in Yukuhashi. :( Good time watching the fireworks and hanging out with friends.

Sri Lanka

2007-07-30T10:04:00.000+09:00

Sri Lanka 19th - 29th July.
Kate and I decided that we wanted to meet in a country somewhere between the UAE and Japan. Sri Lanka was our final pick.
Day 1: I arrived the night before Kate in Colombo and luckily befriended a Sri Lankan guy, Mani, on the flight who arranged me a taxi to Colombo. Kate met me in Colombo the following morning after being stopped at the many military checkpoints. Because on the unrest in Sri Lanka the military presence in Colombo was strong and therefore scary. No matter how long I was there, I don't think I would ever get used to soldiers standing on every corner with machine guns. Needless to say we didn't stay very long in Colombo long. To make things worse the prime minister was in town to there were road closures and heightened security in some parts. We had lunch at a restaurant which I think was part of the YMCA. We were a little bit skeptical about the food but it was fine.
We were happy to leave Colombo and caught the train to Kandy. At the station many people stared at us, they probably haven't seen two (unaccompanied) white girls with massive backpacks for a long time, or possibly ever in Colombo. The trains were interesting. They were at least 50 years old. Possibly even the original trains! It was a great novelty being able to sit in the doorway and watch the scenery go past. Many young boys were hang out the side of the train, hitting branches as the train passed. In Kandy we stayed with Mani, his wife and family. They were so kind and introduced us to some Sri Lankan customs and eating etiquette.
Day 2 I woke at 5:30 thinking I was still in Japan. We had a large breakfast and went to see some of the sights of Kandy. The most notable was the Temple of the Tooth, which is the most sacred temple in Sri Lanka as the tooth of Lord Buddha is said to be housed there. It was strange that to enter the temple we hard to go through two lots of security, but to be honest I am glad they did. Kate and I caught the train to Nanu Oyu and then got a taxi to Nuwara Eliya. The train ride was beautiful as we climbed up into the hill country. The hill country is where most of tea in Sri Lanka is produced. Before even leaving the station there were drivers hassling us to ride with them, and obviously trying to rip off the foreign girls. We got that all around Sri Lanka, but Kate was a champ and didn't let us get ripped off.

Day 3 We went to a tea factory to find that because it was Sunday they weren't running any of their machines. We happened to meet a European guy and his Sri Lankan guide, who we eventually went driving with to find a tea factory that was running. It was very interesting seeing the simple and old equipment still used to produce the tea. After the tea factory we went to a waterfall, where a befriended a leech! Luckily I got him off before he attached himself. In many of the tea plantations there are Eucalyptus trees. It was so strange to see them in Sri Lanka.
Day 4 We got up really early to go out to the Horton Plains for a hike. It was so beautiful. We timed the hike perfectly as we got to World's End (a 800m vertical drop) whilst it was still clear. The view was amazing. About 5-10 minutes after we got there we saw the infamous fog rolled in and the view was lost. Horton Plains is home to a lot of wildlife including leopards, but unfortunately we didn't get to see any of them. We then caught the train back to Colombo. Unfortunately we had to back track, but it did save us a lot of money.
Day 5 We caught the train down the west coast to Hikkaduwa. The rail line in pretty much on the beach so the view was beautiful all the way down. Hikkaduwa was hit badly by the 2004 Tsunami and still some parts have not been rebuilt. We stayed at Hotel Moon Beam which was right on the beach. I never thought I would like a tropical holiday where you just sit around but I could definitely do it here. Sunset at Hikkaduwa was amazing.
Day 6 We decided to stay in Hikkaduwa for 2 nights as it was so relaxing. Unfortunately because of the Tsunami the snorkeling was disappointing, and because it was too rough we couldn't go to the place people said was the best. I have a sneaking suspicion that it also hasn't recovered from the tsunami. Still it was a very beautiful place to visit.
Day 7 We caught the train back up towards Colombo to Aluthgama/Bentota. We stayed at Terrena Lodge. The people were really nice there and the food was great. The lodge is set on the Bentota River on which you can do many water activities. After we arrived we walked around Bentota and walked through some of the expensive hotels. I much preferred where we were staying. In the afternoon Kate and I hired a kayak and paddled around. We paddles down river near to the inlet and went to the beach. We attempted to play cricket with a coconut and the kayak paddle but stopped as we thought we might break the paddle. The river was a little muddy to swim in but I thought it would be a good idea to swim out to a buoy and back. When I got out there, no matter how hard I swam I couldn't touch the buoy. The current was so strong. Maybe I just can't swim so well anymore. Kate thought it was very funny! She said she had no intention of saving me! Thanks Kate. I did smell a bit like mud after! We took a tuktuk out to a turtle hatchery and found that we could release them. We decided to wait until Matt came to release some.
Day 8 In the morning Kate and I hired the kayak again and paddled around. We made good time and came back way too early so we paddled off again and although we didn't know it we stopped and walked through the prime minister's villa to get to the beach. The security guy just let us through the gate, waited till we finished swimming and shut it back up. I wondered why he thought it was so amusing. At about lunch time Matt rocked up after a grand tour of Bentota. We had some food, and then went wake boarding. It was my first time to wake board so I was only slightly better than hopeless but Matt and Kate had done it before in Australia and Dubai (I think) so were really good. After, we hired some boogie boards and went to the beach. Unfortunately we couldn't surf as the waves were choppy at best. I successfully proved to everyone how not to use a boogie board so in the end gave up on it and just jumped up and down in the water. YAY! Body surfing wasn't too easy. That night we went back out to the turtle place and released three 3 day old turtles. I do hope they survive! After we went to have dinner and splurged! We had lobster and prawns and curry. It was expensive for Sri Lanka but still a lot cheaper than Australia or Japan. We were invited to a party back in Hikkaduwa by Thilanka, one of the guys that works at the water-sports boat shed, and so took Tuktuks down there. The tuktuks are scary during the day, so at night it was just insane. Luckily we made it though. At the dance party it was the biggest collection of people we had seen, except of course the jampacked trains. There were all kinds of people: aidworkers, engineers, teachers, and of course locals. The entrance fee was a bit strange. Locals free, females free, but foreign guys had to pay! I hadn't danced in a long time. I had so much fun!
Day 9 We woke up late because of the late night and took it fairly easy for the day. We relaxed around the lodge and read. We went for a walk along the beach. Oh, by this time I had successfully burnt my shins! They were perfectly red. That's what happens if you go kayaking and forget to put sunblock on your legs. At the end of the beach near the river mouth there is a Buddhist shrine. It was very beautiful and peaceful. In the afternoon we went wake boarding again but I lost the plot. I totally forgot the basics and then after a while my legs were too sore to stay up. That night we had dinner on the river, and Matt taught the restaurant how to make a banana split. Very amusing!
Day 10 We woke to take a trip on a catamaran with Sara, who is a local guide. The catamaran wasn't what we expected but the tour was very nice. Very tranquil. We got to see a lot of wildlife as well as learn a lot about Buddhism. After we returned, I had to say goodbye and catch the train back to Colombo for my flight. Kate and Matt stayed another few days. It was weird not having Kate around to ward off the few pesky people, but I coped. I made it back to Colombo with lots of time to spare so decided to take the scenic bus. It was very interesting, although apparently I was the interesting one for a lot of Sri Lankans.
Sri Lanka was a great place to visit aside from the security in Colombo. The people are very friendly. It was awesome spending time with Kate again. I hope we can have many more fun adventures together.

African Safari in Japan!!

2007-06-16T11:55:00.000+09:00

16th June - Ikegami san and his wife drove Chris, Michelle, Tony, Josaphine and I to the African Safari. It was set up so that you drove through the enclosures. There were also large buses decorated as hippos and what not to tour people around. People were able to feed the animals if within the bus. Afterwards we went to Monkey mountain in Beppu. I have never seen so many monkeys. There were many cute baby monkeys. After we had lunch and went to an onsen (hot spring). Oh yeah we got to pat lion cubs!!! Very cute.... but their teeth are very sharp!

Korea

2007-05-04T23:00:00.000+09:00

Commentary to be added later!
29th April (Sunday)

30th April (Monday)

May 1st (Tuesday)

May 2nd (Wednesday)

May 3rd (Thursday)

May 4th (Friday)

Koi no Bori

2007-04-17T15:47:00.000+09:00

These are koi no bori (Koi flags). They are flown around April by families for their sons. It is a good luck charm to wish that their boys become strong, healthy and happy.

P.S. Those flag are approximately $500 each. Well the small ones are anyway!

Mum's visit

2007-04-15T15:46:00.000+09:00

7th~15th April: Mum and my adventures. Mum decided to come to Japan again to visit me, but this time by herself. I was allowed 5 days off which was great, allowing us to do some traveling around. I hired a k-car for a week which was very convenient but without GPS we made a few adventurous side trips. Masa, a Japanese friend, came with me and I picked her up from the airport. We drove back to Yukuhashi and I walked with mum along Imagawa River. Because it was the cherry blossom season (hanabi) many families were having BBQs along the bank. In the first photo you can see my apricotty/red apartment building. The next morning I picked up the hire car and we drove the hilly way over to Dazaifu. You can see me with our lovely little k-car.
At Dazaifu we visited Tenmangu which is one of the famous temples in Japan. It was the first of several thousand shrines to be dedicated to Tenjin. It is a very significant shrine to the Shinto faith.

Leading up to the shrine there are many shops. Mum was particularly amused by the Japanese-ation of the modern telephone box. I must admit it does fit in a lot better. In the shrine ground there was a man with a trained monkey. No sure I agree or not. I can't drink coffee but a hot chocolate this big would be awesome!

We then visited Kanzeonji Temple. It used to be one of the most important temples in Kyushu. It is still home to Japan's oldest temple bell. This temple only had a few visitors unlike Tenmangu. I think the only reason there were a few people was because there was an art club/class painting there. It was very peaceful.

After eating some delicious chikin karage (fried chicken) we decided to take the local roads all the way to Takachiho. This is quite a distance but mum said she would rather take her time and see things on the way, rather than miss everything because you have to travel fast on the express way. It did save us a lot of money too.

We arrived in Takachiho in time to go to a Kagura performance. It was very interesting. I had already visited Takachiho before but loved it and really wanted mum to visit there too. The Kagura performance was different so still interesting for me. The story the kagura performance told was very funny. Basically the two gods got together and got drunk!
The following day we went to see Takachiho Gorge. Last time I had visited it had been pouring rain so it was great to be able to take our time. The rock and lava formations still amaze me. In the pond with the numerous MASSIVE koi was a butterfly shark. It was my first time to see a freshwater shark. We actually went and asked the aquarium to make sure it actually was a shark!

We then went to Takachiho Shrine and Ama no Iwato Shrine. At the shrine there are some very old (and large) trees. What?!? I am bonding with nature! There is a legend that the sun goddess hid at near the Ama no Iwato shrine in a cave after been bullied by her evil brother, and therefore the world was plunged into darkness. All different methods were used to lure her out but it wasn't until one of the gods did a dance so comical, that she came out to see what the noise/laughter was all about.
There are 6 statues of the gods around Takachiho and considering we had some free time we decided it was our mission to find them all. I can tell you its not easy. I took a picture of the map to guide us around. As you can see its not very detailed! Actually when we arrived back at the youth hostel for dinner, the owner was really surprised. I don't think anyone has done it before. We had help finding the 3rd one by a guy who walked in the Takachiho City Hall. He then interviewed us, and took our picture. I will be surprised if we didn't end up in the paper. The last two were close to impossible to find. We drove around for ages and were on our "ok, this is the last try", and we found them. I don't think I have ever been so excited to find a cement statue! I must admit that on the way we got to see many beautiful things. The views were stunning.

The next day we headed back towards Yukuhashi. We passed through Mt Aso area, but didn't visit Mt Aso as mum had seen it on her last trip. It was quite good as we happened to pick roads we hadn't driven on before. From Mt Aso to Yukuhashi we decided to take a road that looked good on the map, only to find out the reason people never take it. It looked like someone's driveway for majority of it. Hard driving but we got to see some very beautiful rivers and countryside areas. And there was absolutely no traffic!!! We came and had an enjoyable dinner with my karate sensei and his wife. We stayed at my house. Nice and cheap!

We drove down towards Beppu by the local roads and decided to drop into Usa Shrine. It had been recommended to me by Chris an Aussie ALT who used to live near there. He is the guy I traveled to China with. The shrine was beautiful and very well kept. As you can see it was an absolutely beautiful day too. The only thing that spoiled it was that there was a lady on her mobile phone who obviously decided that everyone wanted to know what she was talking about! We had lunch nearby. The Japanese ladies who ran the store were very nice and probably amazed that we would eat all the different kinds of Japanese pickles and things they gave to compliment the rice. I was actually impressed that mum ate them all. Even the gross looking one. Actually the gross looking one ended up being the tastiest!

After lunch we headed to Beppu to see the 9 hells. I've only put the photos of the more interesting/photogenic ones!

They had some wildlife at a few of the hells. I am not sure if the sulfur would be very good for them though. That flamingo is actually real! No matter what they always look fake, maybe because of the rigidity. I didn't take a picture of the horny monkeys. And you think I am kidding! It was a bit gross. I do recommend that you eat the eggs that are boiled/steamed at the hells. Oishii!
That night after some getting lost in the hills in Beppu, I took mum to an onsen which has a view of Beppu. It was very beautiful. Because the youth hostel looked abandoned, we went in search of a hotel. We avoided the hotel which had R-rated stuff out the front, and stayed near the station. Mum was the one who noticed the things not me!

In the morning we caught the ferry to Yawatahama (Shikoku). It was expensive to put the car across on the ferry but it gave us so much freedom having the car there. From Yawatahama we drove to Kochi. We were following the river most of the time which was beautiful. We stayed at the Kochi Youth Hostel which was very nice and new. Definitely great for the price.

The next day we went to Katsura-hama, which is one of the most famous beaches in Japan. The 'sand' is more like pebbles than anything which was very interesting and fun for mum when she decided to take a photo. She ended up on her bum. Very funny! There is also a statue there of Sakamoto Ryoma, who was one of the most instrumental people to force Japan out of isolation and into modernisation. It was strange to get t the beach through as there was a huge military type fence to stop you going directly to the beach. Instead you had to go through the souvenir shops and past the aquarium.

Afterwards we went to the Kochi Maniko Botanical Gardens. This place was so beautiful. It is situation on the top on a mountain and is landscaped really well. In the gardens there was a green house of which mum and I got lost in. There were so many things to look at. Everytime we turned around there was something we had missed that was amazing. From the gardens we had a fantastic panoramic view of Kochi. The rice paddies at this time were full of water as you can see.

We then went to Kochi Castle. Near the castle grounds there were many old men playing Shogi, a traditional game. They were very friendly and wanted to know all about us. I couldn't help myself and had to get a photo in the board!

After that We then drove to Kazura-bashi in Tokushima-ken. It is one of the last vine bridges remaining in Japan. I had heard about this bridge and was very excited about going there. It was spoiled a bit by a really rude man, but was still interesting. The road ran along the river again, and we were able to get some spectacular views. I think the replica in Shikokumura in Takamatsu, is really good. It's definitely a lot easier to get too that this one. (Metal cables are running through both, so its much of a muchness in my opinion.
It just so happened that the touch football tournament was on at the same time as mum's visit. And because I really wanted to play, mum okayed it. It was quite a novelty having mum there. Many people were confused but my team was happy to have a cheerleader mum. I had a great time playing touch. It had been a long time since playing it at Uni. Somehow we came 3rd, which was great. It's a pity that most of the team is returning home.

This is the famous Seto Ohashi . It the worlds longest two tiered bridge system. It connects Shikoku and Honshu. It was a long drive back to Yukuhashi but we made it. Amazingly I didn't get any speeding fines!

All in a day's work

2007-04-06T15:45:00.000+09:00

Chris and his suporvisor Ikegami-san invited me to come with out to see a Tulip Garden. On the way there we dropped into a lovely shrine.

After visiting the shrine we went to the tulip garden and spent a fair bit of time just looking around at the flowers. A lady had brought you grandchildren. All dressed the same with kitty-chan ears, they were so cute.
Chris couldn't resist himself and became king of the mountain!
The cherry blossoms were still out at this time so the trees were also beautiful.
Not a bad alternative to sitting in the office!

Sakura

2007-03-31T23:00:00.000+09:00

The cherry blossoms in Japan are always beautiful. About 15km out of Yukuhashi on the side of a mountain covered with cherry trees. Sachiko had organized a bbq lunch and invited us. The weather was perfect.

Long Time No Blog

2007-03-27T11:57:00.001+09:00

Hi All,

It's been nearly 6 months since I updated this blog. The computers at blogger even listed this site at a "spam site" and removed it.... but it's back. I hope that I won't wait another 6 months to update it. For those of you who have looked at this before I sent out an email, I am gong to upload pictures from the time I have missed. I just found out I can back-date the entries so the new ones are from November 18th. I hope you are well and enjoy looking at the site.
Take Care. Margie

Yukuhashi Easter Party

2007-03-25T09:41:00.000+09:00

March 25th We have now made Easter in Yukuhashi an annual event! This year we had 49 elementary school students attend the day. They decorated Easter Eggs, made Eater cards, participated in the Egg and Spoon Race and Easter Egg Hunt, and they also helped cook/prepare their own lunch! It was a very fun day. Yuku and I dressed up only at the end this year but Ikegama was a egg/rabbit hybrid the entire time!

Niseko Trip

2007-03-21T09:37:00.000+09:00

Matt, Me, Chrissy and Andrea (clockwise)

March 17th - March 21st
Andrea, Matt, Chrissy and I flew to Sapporo from Fukuoka. At the airport, Andrea and I took the train into Sapporo to meet up with Pete while Chrissy and Matt took the bus onto Niseko. Andrea and I looked at a few of the sights that are famous in Sapporo and because she was equally unimpressed with the "magnificent" clock tower (house) and TV Tower (mini Eiffel), I took her to the Sapporo Beer Factory. These are all the same places I have visited last year. By the time we taste tested three different Sapporo beers, Pete had finished work and we went to meet him. We went up the (little) TV tower and the view was quite nice. For dinner we had Jingisukan, a famous food in the area. It is mutton cooked on a mini BBQ. I think it is only the second time I have lamb/mutton in Japan. It was good!! It happened to be St Patrick's Day so we headed off to a Gaijin (foreigner) Bar to celebrate. And being St Patrick's Day we did some Scottish dances. EH?!?! They were fun anyway. At midnight we headed back to Pete's house and I met Clare, Pete's girlfriend. I had missed meeting her when she had come to visit when Pete lived in Buzen. We went to bed at 2 and got up at 6 to catch the train to Niseko. Unfortunately I woke at 5, so was really tired. Because the peak season had finished so had the express trains to Niseko. We took a local train, then a one man train (one carriage train) to get there. There weren't enough seats so I had to balance on my pack. No sleep for me! Once at the station we met two Canadian guys whose hotel courtesy bus driver took us to our hotel. We stayed at the North Field Hotel, and it was really nice. The owner was very friendly and helpful in getting us hire gear and me a lesson.
After much debate of whether to have a fun time skiing or a painful time trying to learn how to snowboard, I kept my promise to myself and learned how to snowboard. I had said to myself that next time I went to the snow for an extended time, then I would learn snowboarding.
I booked a lesson for 1:30 and before that time Andrea came with me to the top of the mountain. I then said, she was free to leave, as knew it would take me a long time to get to the bottom. It did! The lesson was great and I had some spectacular falls. I successfully gave myself whiplash and by the end of the day, my body was punished. It actually rivals what I go through sometimes at karate, which is saying a lot. That night due to the lack of sleep Andrea and I crashed and opted not to go out. Chrissy and Matt went out for drinks.
The following morning I went out by myself again as I didn't want to slow down the others. I just tried to practice all the things that my instructor had said. I met Matt, Andrea and Chrissy for lunch, and then skied with Andrea in the afternoon. She is very good on the skies, so still had to wait a fair while for me. She entertained herself by trying to follow some people training to be snow paramedics down a black run (I think). That day we returned early and rested so we could go night skiing. Night skiing is a lot of fun as is more relaxed as there aren't as many people. That night we were all tired and didn't go out. On the last day we did some skiing together and Chrissy and I did some easier slopes while Andrea and Matt did some harder ones. After lunch we all skied together and went back to the hotel for a short rest before night skiing again. By this last day I had got roughly the hang of snowboarding. I still stacked it every now and then when trying to turn on the steep slopes but nothing like the first day or two. That night we went to the bar Chrissy and Matt had found the previous night. Unfortunately, we happened to meet the Canadian guys from the station, who were extremely drunk. They had met an Aussie who was even more drunk. Then they tried to debate politics and country supremacy which was shambles. Too drunk to listen to anyone else's opinion and in the Aussie guys case, too drunk to even make a solid point. The guy even told me how much better WA is from the rest of Australia and they contribute the most the countries economy with little return, so should be financially separate. I chose not to listen when he said he was born and raised in Wagga Wagga. It was his girlfriend who was from WA and obviously her or her family's opinion. Nor did he want to listen to what the Eastern States contribute to Australia's economy. ANYWAY!!! So the night ended in a bit of a shambles. But aside from the amusing but frustrating last night Niseko was amazing. We were lucky to get such great snow after a warm season. I recommend it for everyone who likes the snow, and will be going again next year. The only question is whether I will be snowboarding or skiing??!!

P.S. I will add more photos later.

Iwakuni-Miyajima-Hagi-Akiyoshido Cave

2007-03-04T09:36:00.000+09:00

Masa, a Japanese friend and I went on a road trip to Yamaguchi-ken, which is the southern most ken (state) on Honshu Island. It also makes it the closest Honshu ken to where we live. We drove to Iwakuni, where we saw this beautifully crafted Samurai bridge called Kintaikyo. Iwakuni is also famous for shirohebi (white snakes)! After that we went to Miyajima. It was the 3rd time for me to go there, and Masa's second time. It is one of the 3 recommended places to see in Japan, so didn't ming going again, although I do think it is my last time. That day proved to be an unusual day as there were many people digging for some kind of shellfish. It was quite a sight. Because the tide was so low we were also able to walk up to the Tori. The following day we drove to Hagi which in on the north coast of Yamaguchi-ken. Hagi is famous for being one of the first towns (or the first) to stand against the Shogunate rule. It is also famous for it's pottery. In the time of the samurai, only the samurai were allowed to use pottery bowls, cups, etc. The potters would cut a notch in the base of the pottery, "damaging" it, and then this "spoiled" pottery was then free to be used by commoners. Needless to say, now most of the pottery have notches cut out. I bought way too much!! After that we went to Akiyoshido Cave, which is the largest cave system in Japan. It was quite beautiful and peaceful. Unfortunately my photos didn't turn out too well.

Nagasaki

2007-02-12T09:36:00.000+09:00

February 10th-12th Andrea and I jumped in her little sardine-can van and drove to Nakasaki. We didn't leave Fukuoka until after lunch so we reached Nagasaki at about 4pm. We had only enough time to go to the Peace Park before it got too dark. As well as the main statue, there were peices of art donated to Nagasaki in recognition for the need for peace. This one is one of the most beautiful ones there. There was also some very abstract ones too. We then drove up to Mount Inasa to take in the night view of Nagasaki. It was very beautiful, but was incredible windy at the top of the building. Nagasaki had a huge influence with the outside world and has a large connection with China. Chinese food has become the famous food in the area. I ate Champon which was delicious although I did regret it after as the pork in it wasn't kind to me! For those of you who don't know I haven't been able to eat a lot of pork for a few years. No idea why! Anyway Nagasaki also had a very strong history with the Dutch sothere are many Dutch buildings and churches built by French missionaries.
The following day we looked at some temples, a series of famous bridges. One is called Megane Hashi or Spectacles Bridge, you can see why in the photo. The lanterns were displayed along the famous areas in preparation for a lantern festival that was to being a week after we went there. The lanterns were spectacular. After that we caught a ferry to Ioujima. Ioujima is an island 20 minutes from Nagasaki City. It had a lovely hot spring which overlooks the harbour that we soaked in. It was very relaxing but some people were a little shocked when some boys ran past. We could see the top of the heads, I doubt they could see any of us. I just thought it was funny. We then drove to Shimabara which is the main city on a large peninsular. Ten years ago a volcano exploded above this town. We stayed the night there and the following day went to Shimabara Castle, and learnt about the history, the volcano and the religion rebellion. On this peninsular there was a resistance of Christians when the religion was banned. It was very interesting. It was interesting to see the melted items from the heat of the lava flow. The volcano is very different from Mt Aso, the one I have visited multiple times before. It continues to steam out of the top.
We then drove to Unzen Jigoku. Jigoku means Hell or hells, Unzen is the mountain. Heating gas and steam from the volcanic activity comes up from the ground. It also has that lovely smell of sulphur. During the condemned time of Christianity in Japan, some Christians were brought here and boiled. Not a very nice death.
If you ever go to an area with hot springs/hot hells, you must try the eggs. Even though the sulfur stinks, the eggs cooked there are delicious!
After that we drove back to Fukuoka and I caught the train back to Yukuhashi. I was only 30 minutes late for karate.

Samukatta!

2007-01-20T09:35:00.000+09:00

January 20th- Imagawa no Renshu. At this time in Australia it was probably a lovely time to go swimming, but in Japan it is one of the weekends closest to the coldest days in Japan. In Japanese, this tradition is called Kangeiko. It is training that is "good for your heart" or possible encouraging a heart attack! Just kidding, it wasn't that bad. We ran from a place to near the dojo (training hall) to the shrine where the priest prayed for us and blessed us for a successful and healthy year in karate (I think), and then we ran to Imagawa, where we did some training. The water is somewhat comparable to the Victorian surf, so is not too much of a shock, although I didn't go swimming in it like the boys. After we ate a huge feast to warm us up. Oishikatta!

Hong Kong

2007-01-14T09:35:00.000+09:00

Hong Kong the second time was not clear at all. Again I had 9 hours to explore Hong Kong and didn't want to go shopping. I didn't have any spare room anyway. I went to Hong Kong Park and watched people to Tai-Chi and other forms of slow pace martial arts. It was very calm there. A big difference compared to the rest of the city. There were a few sparrow (like) birds around that kept me amused for a while. Only later when I tried to go to the Aviary, did I found out there had been an outbreak of bird flu less than 7km away. But I wasn't worried for my sake as I wasn't handling them. I then went to the Zoo, but because majority of the exhibits are birds there wasn't much to see apart from a beautiful orchard green house and some interesting seating! Cute hey?! By this time I was really tired as I had only had 2-3 hours of sleep (on the plane) and so then fell down some stairs. It was less dramatic than that.. I just sank to my knees, whilst going down the stairs. Some people behind me just looked... I think the were surprised that even though I clearly looked like someone who spoke English I said "Ite" which is short for "Itai" or Ouch in Japanese! I just headed back to the airport then and had a nap before my flight... oh and I ate Maccas. I will still say that the McDonald's in Japan is the best I have had. Fresh!

Home Sweet Home Part 2

2007-01-13T09:35:00.000+09:00

After New Year's I had drinks with some more Uni friends at "The Rege", a place we frequented while at Uni and for some still frequent. It was great to see faces and understand all the conversations that were going on around me!!!

I then flew to Victoria to see Kath, Barn, Dad, and Dad's side of the family. Sorry family there's too many to list. After staying a night in Bendigo we drove through to near Ballarat to meet one of my best friends from school, Lucille. On the way to Birregurra, we stopped into see Rambo, our little (now gelded) boy. He had grown so much and reminded me how much I would like to get back into riding. The pictures are of Lake Corangamite (near Colac) and a paddock close by. Even though it is the middle of summer there is usually some water/feed around. The lack of water can easily be seen. It was a bit of a shock coming from Japan to see this as Japan has a lot of rainfall.
We drove onto Birre and stayed there the night. Kath was breaking in Lara, and re-educating Elle (pictured) to be sold. I was able to have a ride on Lara, but because it was her first day with a person on her she was unsure of what to do. She was a sweety anyway. After that we went down to Apollo Bay and had a BBQ with REAL sausages!!! It was sooo good. Tess though so too! I got Barns to stage some good BBQ pictures for school. I don't think they will ever look close enough to see what kind of drink he is holding! Kath entertained us with a bit of broom guitar, and will probably kill me for putting it on the website. The next day I had my first try at surfing. It is something I would like to try again when I return back to the land of drought and beach!
I only had three days in Victoria before heading back up to Sydney and Nowra.
Mum, Melva, Jetty and I took a trip up Cambewarra Mountain lookout (pictured) and over to Kangaroo Valley. It was very nice there. If only I had a spare 1/2-1 million I would buy some property.
Before leaving Australia I had another bash with my friend in Sydney and had a great time. I had forgotten how different it was to hang out firend you have known for a long time. Thanks guys for a great time and reminding me what great people you are!

Home Sweet Home Part 1

2006-12-31T09:34:00.000+09:00

I returned to Australia via Hong Kong for a 3 week holidays. I decided to stay a long time as last year 2 weeks didn't seem enough. As we flew into Hong Kong, it was clear and from the plane it was a beautiful view. Apparently this is rare occurrence. I had about a 9 hour stop-over so I went and did a bit of shopping. It was a little strange that everyone spoke English there. I guess that's the result of living in Japan too long. I was surprised at how cheap things were and kept on double checking my currency conversions. Apart from shopping I didn't do a great deal as I was worried about the time it would take me to get back to the airport. Arriving at Sydney Airport I thought "Wow, look at all the foreigners!!!" I guess I had got used to seeing Asian faces all the time. I probably forgot how different I look. Cam, my brother, picked me up from the airport, which was great. I had not seen or spoken to him for such a long time.Over the next week I spent time with my Mum, Grandparents Bern and Elva, Great Aunt Melva and a bit of time with my sister and her boys. At least the youngest one Matthew remembered me this time! I was also able to spend time with Milly!!! I miss having animals around in Japan.
Mum, Poppy (Bern), Jetty (Elva), Melva and I took a road trip down to Mogo Zoo near Bateman's Bay. Mogo Zoo is known for is white tigers and I think also for some species of monkeys. It was very nice.
Again this year Mum and I went to the Nowra Rodeo. My pictures were a lot better last year. It was kind of disappointing to see small kids put up on large quarter horses to do the barrel race. It was clear that the horse had good training rather than the kid being in control. The little Australian pony with a 3 year old was awesome. The horse just walked the whole barrel race. She ended up getting the biggest applause of any event! Her 5 year old brother with a similar horse managed a trot. It takes me back to Kerry, a pony we borrowed who only ever went the speed he wanted to.
For New Year's I went to Sydney and spent with friends from Uni. We went down to the Coogee Bay. Nice and relaxed.

OTSUKARESAMA! GOOD WORK!

2006-12-03T09:30:00.000+09:00

This was a demonstration at a Karate Tournament I attended. Please click the link.

Takachiho - Miyazaki-ken

2006-11-27T10:14:00.000+09:00

Friday 27th. Drove over the mountain to get to Takachiho. We tried to visit Mt Aso but it was closed because of the amount of gas coming from the volcano was at dangerous levels. We got out of the car for only 5 minutes at the bottom of the hill and were effected by the gas. I wouldn't want to have been any nearer. It was a little disappointing for Andrea as she has not seen Mt Aso before. Me, on the other hand have already seen it twice. We finally got to Takachiho at around 3pm. Finding anything in this town is a challenge. First there is only one sign to reach things and generally you have to turn a few times to reach your destination. So we got extremely lost. The maps of the town are atrocious. The only show the main roads and the landmarks are few and far between. Finding the Youth Hostel was close to impossible. We ended up asking a lady who drove us there as she couldn't describe how to drive there. It was down this little back alley. Even though it was hard to find the youth hostel is really nice. It is run by a lady and her two sons. We then went to watch the Yokagura, which are traditional dances of the area I think to thank the gods for the harvest season. This was even harder to find. We asked two old ladies the direction. The first one obviously doesn't ever deal with foriegners as she spoke normal speed Japanese to me. It was also strongly tainted by the "ben" (dialect) of the area. When we eventually arrived at the Yokagura, it was fantastic. There were to two 5 year old boys, that took a liking to the "eigo no hito" (english speaking person). When they saw Andrea they shouted at the top of their lungs "KOWAI!" which means scary. Even though I look different, Andrea's red hair took them by surprise. They were so cute. They actually sounded like the children from anime films. At the Yokagura they served out food and shochu (alcohol). I love shochu but because I was the responsible driver I couldn't drink any.

Saturday we woke up early to climb Mt. Sobo. The road up to the mountain was very narrow and rough. It gave the little car a good work out. It was good to do some driving reminding me of my family's 4x4 days and driving with my brother. The hiking track wasn't disappointing. Unfortunately at the top, the cloud hadn't lifted so you couldn't see more than a metre down. It was actually quite scary not being able to see how steep the mountain was. At the top we had lunch and met some Japanese guys who thought it was great that they could practice their English. They also gave us some hot tea, which was fantastic since it was freezing at the top. Andrea also befriended some other Japanese people that when we reached the bottom invited us to go hiking with them next month on a mountain in Kagoshima prefecture. I hope we can go, even though we hardly know them. The generosity and the friendliness of Japanese people still amazes me. After the climb we found a local onsen to relax in. Unfortunately there wasn't an outside pool. We went to Iwato Jinja Shrine and Yasugawara Cave. The cave is famous because the sun god was supposed to have hid there and had to be encouraged out by the other gods so there could be sunlight. All over the place there are little mounds of rocks. We then returned to the youth hostel and were invited to drink shochu with the lady owner, her two sons and other guests. It was great talking and answering questions about the different countries and different impression we have.

Before leaving for the trip we had looked at the weather it had said that Sunday was going to be sunny. We woke up and it was raining, and continued to rain heavily for the rest of the day. We had decided to have breakfast at the youth hostel which ended up being a feast. It was so good. I lost a bet with Andrea because the egg was actually raw, but then I went onto to shock her by eating it ALL! (You eat it mixed with rice and a bit of soya sauce). We went to the Takachiho Gorge which is absolutely beautiful even in the rain. It was very interesting as it was created from lava flows from Mt Aso. On a nice day you can row a boat up the gorge. We then went back to Yasugawara Cave to try and get some better photos but the light wasn't much better. After eating pancakes we drive over to Mt. Aso area to have an onsen. After driving around a bit with the informative (very sarcastic) Japanese signs we found a great onsen. We then drove back home via the express way. The only bad thing about the trip is that I lost my keys. I then had to break into my apartment. It's fairly hard when you are on the fifth floor and there are bars on the window. But where there is a will, there is a way. It would have cost $120-$200 to have the locksmith come out so I'm glad I am a good at "break and enter". Maybe I missed my calling. hahahaha!
Anyway, it was a fantastic weekend away. Takachiho is really beautiful and definitely worth a visit but you definitely need a car, and you definitely need to know how to ask and understand directions. Oh, and I found my keys..... I had dropped them getting out of the car near my apartment, so no worries!

Sumo

2006-11-18T10:09:00.000+09:00

I went to sumo again this year, and again it was fun. My pictures from last year were much better maybe because I took many more. The Sumo's keshomawashi (aprons like things) and the judge kimonos were still very beautiful and definitely very expensive.
After the sumo we went to eat at a Korean restaurant. The gave us bibs to wear so we wouldn't get our clothes dirty!! This is Jared, Joy and me at the restaurant.

Kuju Mountain

2006-10-22T18:30:00.001+09:00

Sunday 22nd. Andria invited me to go hiking to Mt Kuju with people from her office. Andria is a new ALT who lives in Yukuhashi but works in Miyako Town. Kumi, Andria and DJ picked me up at about 6 am, we then picked up Yuko and drove to Kuju-san. The hike was very busy with people and for the start of the hike we had to go at a very slow pace. A huge change to the pace of the Yakushima hike, plus I didn't have a heavy pack. The last section was a little difficult as the ground was loose, and with many loose rocks. It was difficult to not slip on the way up, but much more difficult not to slip on the way down. We reached the peak at about 10:30. There is a photo of the group I hiked with and one of Yuko and I at the top signpost. The Autumn leaves are starting to change, which made the walk quite beautiful and scenic. The wind was also quite strong, which made seeing the clouds swirling around and flying past the mountains quite fascinating. The peak you can see in the distant behind the other mountain is Mt Kuju (where we walked to). It looks quite far, but didn't seem we walked that far. Afterwards we went to Onsen. It was the first time I have visited an onsen twice. I had visited this onsen when I went a bbq trip with my karate sensei and his family. The trip back seemed long but we were back by about 6. A long but very nice day.

5 Month Break

2006-10-11T15:28:00.000+09:00

It has been 5 months since I have updated this thing, one excuse is laziness, the other is that I haven't had a computer for a long time. My old (only 2 yrs old) computer decided to catch a virus or 100, and then after being reprogrammed catch another one which went onto destroy it. The message "Operating System is not found" gave a good indication that the computer was BROKEN! After saving money, researching and getting annoyed for various reasons, I bought one and it finally arrived TODAY!

In short, Japan has been great. I have got through another HOT season of Japan where you sweat doing nothing and your electricity bill doubles from using the airconditioner. Now it's nice aside from the typhoons. We've had two so far. I wasn't impressed when a typhoon came on a long weekend. We've also had a few earthquakes too but nothing to worry about. As usual I am still doing karate and passing the time at work.

Please read down to learn about things I have done in the last few months.

SHIKOKU

2006-10-09T23:59:00.000+09:00

This long weekend Joy and I went to Shikoku. Joe is a fellow Alt from the next town. She is originally from Hawaii. We caught the ferry from Beppu to Yawatahama. And then caught the train to Uwajima. Uwajima is famous for Bovine wrestling it's Sex Museum. We caught a cab to the sex museum, and when we told the driver our destination he laughed. We understood why after we went there. The museum was very interesting but it was somewhat disturbing as well. I don't think I want to see any drawings or models of private parts for a VERY long time. After that we went to the Youth Hostel. It was very out of the way, but had a fantastic view of the city. The following day we caught the train to Matsuyama. It was my second time to Matsuyama but last time I had no time to enter the castle or go to an onsen. The castle was good but because of the restoration of the main section the view was not so good. Lower down the view was very nice anyway (picture). On the way down we went to a garden, which are the old footings of the samurai's residence. That night we went to the famous Dogo onsen. It was so busy... people were waiting to wash and in the onsen we were all pretty close. I can't say I enjoyed it very much but at least I can say I went. After dinner Joy and I went to a game arcade, and threw a few balls, raced mario cars, bashed out Taiko and whacked the heads of some squirrel looking things. After that we went to Karaoke. It was my first time to do karaoke sober! It was quite fun. The following day we went to another onsen which was much nicer. It was less crowded and therefore a lot more relaxing. Sitting in an onsen on my birthday was great, much better than being a work. After some MORE shopping we made our way back to the ferry at Yawatahama and returned home. Happy Birthday to me!

September - nani mo nai!

2006-09-30T23:59:00.000+09:00

Not many notable things happened this month. I was busy back at school, and organising this computer. Joy and I organised all the new JETs to meet each other and eat curry. I was hoping to go travelling to Nagasaki on the long weekend (16th-18th) but a typhoon came and I spent the weekend watching DVDs and doing craft. The next week the weather was beautiful too.

I ended the month by going to a BBQ in Fukuoka at Andrea's jitaku. I saw Kanapu who I hadn't seen since the Yakushima hike. At night I went to Kokura, and met up with Joy, Jared, Gavin, Desi and a whole load of Kitakyushu ALTs. The night was good. Unfortunately I feel asleep on the train and missed my stop, waking up in Nakatsu (2 major stops past Yukuhashi). WHOOPS!

A feast Yuki made for Airi's Sports Festival. OISHII!

August - English Class, Chris, Cosmoppe, Yukuashi Karate Competition & English Camp

2006-08-31T12:59:00.000+09:00

This month is school holidays, so instead of doing nothing Yuki organised for me to do some after school care English classes with elementary kids (K-3). It was really fun but teaching young kids definitely takes a lot more energy than my usually junior high school student. They were all so cute though.
Chris (Powell) came and stayed before returning to Australia which opened my eyes to the different world of relationships in Japan. Everyone thought he was my boyfriend and even though I said he slept in a different room, they said it didn't matter. In Japan guys never stay over at girl's places unless they are engaged. Why not? The answer I got was "Guys cannot be trusted not to come in during the night and jump into the same bed"!!!! Also girls and guys can't be friends... there always has to be something going on. Although I think this thinking is very backwards, it has made me aware that I better be careful about when guys visit that I might get myself a bad reputation for doing nothing at all. Anyway it was great to have Chris here for a few days before he returned to Oz. Karaoke is also great when he is around.
On Saturday 26th it was Yukuhashi Cosmoppe. Unfortunately the weather wasn't too great, we had a storm come. The rain was heavy and the lightning over us. Chris and I got shocked my the static electricity which was quite scary. It shows don't hold metal, or an umbrella in a lightning storm. Pretty stupid actually. But the rain did stop and like last year the fireworks were really good.
The following day was a karate competition my sensei organised. Jared (new ALT), Joy, Yuki, Airi and my next door neighbours came to watch. My aim was do improve on the last tournament. The photo is of Shiori, Rika and me. We all won our divisions. Next tournament in December 3rd. That night there was a enkai (party) for everyone who helped organise the event. The beer and shochu flowed steadily. We went to a snack bar afterwards and sang karaoke. Lots of fun!
The 28th to the 30th was an English camp. The first day was a bit of a struggle considering I got home at 1:30 or something. I think I was still a little bit effected in the morning. The camp went really well and the group I was in charge of were great. I taught them how to make lamingtons which they loved. We had a small and we toasted marshmallows. Oishii!!!

July - Farewells and Miyazaki Trip

2006-07-31T12:59:00.000+09:00

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!

June - Karate Comps, Demos and Proms.

2006-06-30T23:59:00.000+09:00

This month was my first experience of getting a fever. Not pretty. I made it home Wednesday and then had to crawl around the floor to get places. My world was spinning. To sleep I put my head on an icepack. Not sure if that's what I was supposed to do but it was the only thing to give me relief. I had to change my clothes about 3 times during the night as I would wake up wet. I think I lost 3kg or something. Obviously on the Thursday I couldn't do karate and lucky for me on the Sunday I had a karate competition. I slept and lay down before my fight. My warm up was only 1 minute long as I got too tired. My fight went pretty well I went 2x2 minute rounds with a black belt, and only lost because I weighed more. Not bad considering my condition.

Lucille, a friend from school, came and visited. Unfortunately I couldn't get off work but she travelled around a little. On the weekend (10th/11th) we went to Himeji and Kyoto. It was great seeing her again after such a long time. In Kyoto we went to Kinkakuji (my 3rd time) and to Fushimi Inari Shrine which has an uncountable amount of tori gates. It is very beautiful. The only bad thing about this visit was that I lost my wallet or had it stolen. Arrr! You all know how annoying it is... It's even worse in a foreign country.

On the Saturday 24th, we had a prom for the JETs returning to their countries.... but I went anyway. I was a fantastic night. Because I was doing a demonstration at a junior tournament the following day I didn't stay out late of drink.

My sensei picked me up and said something about breaking a bat after finishing my kata demonstration. I brushed it off as a joke, but it was not joke. Norimatsu Sensei did a demonstration of breaking the bat... and then proceeded to jump about shouting "Itai", which is "It hurts". Not impressed! The kata went well and I wasn't nervous about it at all as the bat was more concerning. I broke it first go, much to surprise of myself and many others especially when they found out it was my first time. I'm officially CRAZY!

I will try to add a video of the breaking. Matte kudasai!

Yakushima

2006-05-23T13:05:00.000+09:00

20th May Ian, Kanapu and I set off for our Yakushima trip at 6:40am Saturday morning from Futsukaichi (near Hakata). We got the Shinkansen and Tsubame to Kagoshima and the Toppy Ferry from Kogashima Port to Yakushima. We got a taxi to take us to the start of our climb instead of a bus to give us more daylight hours. Our taxi driver was hilarious. After he agreed to take us, he looked at me and said "Are you from India?" We weren't sure why he asked me that until he said that India was the only country he had been to. He was the Japanese equivalent to driving Miss Daisy (hopefully more than my family understand that expression). He was more interested in talking to us than driving us where we wanted to go. His conversation gave us great amusement for the rest of the hike. The start of the hike was through tourist nature area but it wasn't long before Ian said "Here's the track". Compared to what we had been walking on it was nothing more than a water runway, but off we went. I didn't take many photos during the first part of this hike mainly because I was trying not to die. It was definately one of the few times I have pushed my body to its limit. I wasn't worried about my life flashing before my eyes, I was worried that there would be trees flashing before my eyes as I tumbled back down the mountain. Some of the steps up were huge and I wished at this time that I had inherited height like my brother. Between the three of us we have decided that the best hiking body would be long legs to get up and down the steep steps and a short body so you can get under the trees and branches. One the following photos, that looks like tree roots.... that is actually the track of an easier section. Much to my amazement I made it through the first day and still managed to easily finish the day's hike easily within the time required. The first 3 photos are of us on top of a rock, on top of a mountain, not too far from the first hut. When we stumbled across the hut we were a little surprised. It was like a tool shed, and not like what we had seen on a video on the ferry. Luckily no one was there so we weren't required to put up the tent. Half an hour later we were joined by a Japanese hiker who earned the nickname Chainsaw during the night. Hmmm! Very funny but I would've preferred more sleep. 21st May. We set off hiking at about 6:45am in search of Miyanoura Dake. On this section we saw many more people and were surprised at the amount of Obaachan, and Ojiisan's there were. Obaachan-s and Ojiisan-s are grandparents... so people in their 70s (about). After some very slow hiking on the up-hills from me we made it to the top of Miynoura Dake. This mountain is 1935m high making it the highest mountain in Kyushu. After a well deserved break we made our way down and came across the lodge we firstly intending on staying at but it was only 11am, so we continued past Joomon Sugi, the oldest tree in Japan. It's age is estimated at about 7000 years old! Around this part of the trail there were boards and steps which made the day alot easier to handle. We passed many tourists and I got both a "sugoi" and a "sazaesan". "Sugoi" is "wow!" and I think it was because of my pack, and, "Sazaesan" is a famous Japanese comic stip of a lady who is always rushing because she is running late. We soon met up with a small railway track and walked along that for quite a while. We then broke off from the track and proceeded up another steep hill (root track photo). I was fine for all about 5 minutes and then my body started to give up. I think it was nearly 3/4 up I surrendered and gave the tent poles to Ian. Getting up the rest of the hill was still hard but definately easier. After that there wasn't any more steep hills, luckily for Ian who had bet his Kit-kat on it. The walk down was really difficult but easier than the up hills. On the last day we managed to hike 11.5 hrs. It is supposed to be two 7hr day hikes. Our motivation was a hot bath/shower and a good feed. Our intention was to stay at the campsite but when we got there, we were very disappointed. There was absolutely nothing there... I am not sure if there was even a toilet. We asked the taxi driver if he knew of a place. He took at to this lady's house who was absolutely amazing. She poured us a bath, and whilst we were at dinner she made our beds (futons). Yukushima is a must! I am tempted to return there as there are many beautiful waterfall around the island.

China - Beijing, Xian and Shanghai

2006-05-08T14:15:00.000+09:00

CHINA 29th April - 7th May. Chris and I decided to do a guided tour around China. In our group there were six people, Bob and Ruby, a retired New Zealand couple and George, Marjon, Jeroen and Floris, a Dutch family.

We went for nine days and was quite an experience. I was surprised to see what a huge difference there is between Japan and China. Japan and China are as different from each other than Australia and China.
I have found it difficult to write this entry because there were some fantastic aspects of China but also some bad aspects too, that I was unprepared for. One such aspect is the living conditions of the poor. It is one thing to see poverty on TV and another in person. There also seems to be a huge distinction of class between the people. The lower class are treated inferior by the higher classes. I am not sure if it is so distinct but it definately felt as if it was. Anyway....
Beijing was covered in dust/sand. This was because a few weeks previous to our trip they had sand storm which you may have heard about. At Beijing we went to Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden Palace, the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, a silk factory and a pearl factory. My favourite places were the Great Wall, for obvious reasons, the Summer Palace, as there was many beautiful paintings on all the structures, and the Temple of Heaven. At the Temple of Heaven we were able to see some Chinese traditional culture. People played music, sang and played traditional games. Whilst in Beijing Chris and I went to a Kung Fu show (recommended by Ria and Terry) and it was amazing. It was one of the best performances I have seen. You may think I am biased because of the martial art aspect, but Chris really enjoyed it too!
At Xian we saw the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, Wild Goose Pagoda, The Bell Tower and the city wall. The Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses were fantastic. There has been so much work done and still being done to restore them. Only one soldier wasn't smashed. The Warriors and Horses were only discovered 30 years ago. I am still quite amazed that something that legendary was forgotten. One quirky thing was most of the road signs to the site say "Terra-cotta Worriors". You would think someone in the government would know! Inside the city wall there were some markets and more traditional housing/shops which were lovely to see. Many houses in other areas have been replaced by large unattractive apartment buildings. We also went to a beautiful traditional dance performance from the Tang Dynasty.
Shanghai is the most modern city I have ever seen. There are many new building and so it is obvious to see the economic status of the city. Influences from all over the world can be seen there. In Shanghai we saw The Bund, the Shanghai musuem, the Yu Garden and an Acrobatic show. The Yu Gardens were very nice. Most of the gardens were rock and stone. It was amazing to see the "cement" of the time. Sticky rice! The Acobatic show was great. There were many fantastic acts, too many to mention but four motorcyclist in a cage will always amaze me.
I had mucked up our flight which worked out well as it gave us an extra day to go shopping. We went to the markets and bartered our way through. It's so CHEAP in China! It was very tiring but enjoyable. Only after we had bags of things did we return to the hotel. On the Thursday and Saturday night in Shanghai we went out and danced about the town. We met two Chinese guys who were really nice. Seeing that we didn't know Chinese, and they only knew a little bit of English, we actually talked in Japanese. It was so very cultural! On our way back to the airport Chris and I chose to go on the fastest train in the world! It only holds its top speed for a few second because by that time it is time to slow down again.
I forgot to mention taxis in China are incredible cheap. When Chris and I first got in a taxi we thought it was wrong. So for about 15 minutes in a taxi it cost about $3 (AUS).
Favourite quote from China "Don't buy the watches here as later I can tell you where to buy a real fake watch". Obviously there are levels to fakeness!

Family Visit - Kumamoto and Shikoku

2006-05-08T14:14:00.000+09:00

Kyoto - 14th/15th April. Mum, Jetty and Poppy (grandparents) and Melva (great aunt) came to Japan for 2 weeks. They flew into Osaka and I went up to meet them in Kyoto. I only went for the day and I am glad I did as there was a mix up at the hotels. The travel agent in Australia had mucked up their coupon and put them at the wrong hotel. I guess there will always be a problem when there are two hotels of the same name. After some muck around, some talking in Japanese, (yes, sometimes I can bluff my way through), they were sent by taxi to the correct hotel. The following day I took them to two of my favourite places in Kyoto; Kinkakuji and Nijo Castle. It was quite cold but very beautiful as it was the time of the cherry blossoms. Nijo Castle was freezing but the squeaky nightingale floor always keeps you moving and amused! As I had a karate grading the following day back at Yukuhashi I got the Shinkansen back home. It was somewhat nerve-wrecking leaving your family in a country you encouraged then to come to with no guide, but they did spendidly as they made their way down to Yukuhashi over the next 3 days. Unfortunately I had to work that week so was unable to meet back up with them after my grading.

My grading was good. I attained my purple belt, and as you can see I got purple arms. I've added this so everyone know that you MUST ICE BRUISES. I did it once for about 5 minutes. Definately not long enough!

Yukuhashi 19th, 20th 21st. Thankfully my family arrived safely to Yukuhashi on the Wednesday night. That night we went out to dinner with my karate sensei, his wife and one of the karate students, Jiro. Jiro had studied English at University so was a great help during the dinner converstation. There was a lots of different Japanese food ordered and we ate a great deal of it. Poppy and mum tasted and loved sashimi! It was a fairly amusing night and my karate sensei even asked my mum if it was OK if I married a Japanese guy! He is constantly trying to find me a boyfriend/husband so I will stay in Japan, although I was a bit surprised, and very amused that he asked my mum's permission. On the Thursday night we went to dinner with Yuki and her family. I was very glad for them to meet as Yuki is my closest friend in Japan. We ate Yakiniku. It's where you get little bits of meat and cook it yourself on a hot plate in the middle of the table. Unfortunately I had karate so couldn't eat very much. After the dinner my family watched my karate practice. My karate sensei was very pleased they watched and liked it. He even had all the student line up and introduce themselves to each of my family members. On the Friday night it was my work's turn to take my family out for dinner. The bosses of my department, the three elementary teachers and even the chief of education came. It was a great night and with lots of translating we were able to have converstations about politics, the pension, tax and much more. Not exactly the usual Japanese-English table conversations.
During the day on Thursday and Friday Terry was kind enough to be their guide and took them around the countryside. I am still not sure where they went but they covered a lot of miles and both Terry and my family had many stories to tell.

Kumamoto - 22nd April. I decided to take my family to one of my favourite places in Japan... Kumamoto. I hired a car as I wanted the flexibility to go to Mt Aso. At the castle it was interesting to see the advance they had made in the restoration of the other buildings surrounding the castle. Maybe next time I go they will be finished. It was fairly cold at Kumamoto but Suizenji is beautiful no matter how bad or good the weather is. There was even mist/steam rising off the water! After the garden we lost Jetty and Melva in the shops! There decided it was a great time to buy many souviners. For dinner we had Yakiniku.

Mt Aso - 23rd April. In the morning we drove out to the Mt. Aso area. After driving around the crater for a while (yes, a little lost), we made it to Mt Aso. The first photo is Aso from a distance and the other up close in to the crater. Aso was more active/hotter than the last time I went and were able to see the green surface when the wind blew the right way. Mum and I were trying to get good photos inside the crater and I happened to find a good spot so I shouted "Quick mum, come here". I never knew I had so many mums. I think 4 were female, 2 were male and were of all different nationalities. We got some great shots anyway. At Aso you are able to ride up on horse back. I felt sorry for the horses that were there, they looked so exhausted. It is obvious they aren't in good condition and/or the sulphur in the atmosphere effects them greatly. I wouldn't expect they would have a long life expectancy. Jetty decided to check out the bunkers. Luckily she is short enough that she wouldn't hit her head. When we finished looking we made the decent. The fog was SO thick I could only see at most 10 metres ahead of me. I even complained that the car ahead should put on his light.... He did have his lights on! At a section the fog cleared and we all jumped out to get pictures of the view. Within 2 minutes you couldn't see a thing as the fog had caught up. From Aso we drove over the mountain towards Yufuin on oue way back to Yukuhashi. On the mountain a man grew scultures. They were amazing. I am a fan of the car we hired. Over the whole weekend of driving I used about $40 (AUST) in petrol!!!

Matsuyama - 24th April. We caught the train from Yukuhashi to Beppu and caught the ferry across to Yawatahama. You can see that the ferry ride was very relaxing, especially in the massage chair! On arrival to Yawatahama I was amazed to see the farms on the side of the mountains. I hadn't seen this in Japan until then. Yawatahama is mostly mountains so the people there haven't got a choice but to plant things on the sides of the mountain. We then caught the train to Matsuyama. By the time we got to the castle it was near closing time so we decided not to go to the main part but walk down the mountain, past the garden and along the 'moat'. They are currently trying to rebuild the castle and its walls. I was amazed to see that each of the rocks were numbered. I don't think you would see this kind of thing in Australia. On the moat they had small houses for the swans and each pair were penned off from the other pairs. There were some cheeky little ducks that decided to race me along the water way. They could swim surprisingly fast. By the time we had finished this walk we were desperate to eat food. I decided to go to a small place down a little roadway. The lady said it was OK if I brought 5 people and in we went. I could see the shock of Jetty and Melvas faces of what we walked into and it wasn't a good shocked look. The entire restaurant would be considered a smallish room in an Australian house. The kitchen floor space was about 1.5 metre by 3 metres. The lady spoke no English and somehow I managed to order food and understand what we were about to eat. She then began to prepare our meal. Jetty was amazed how this lady could possibly prepare 5 meals in a space so tiny. We got rice, 3 peices of tempura fish, tempura sauce, pickles, boiled vegetables and miso soup. It was very delicious. Poppy was amazed at how good the tempura was. I am actually glad that I was able to take my family to a very traditional place to eat while they were in Japan.
Takamatsu - 25th April. Again we got up and caught the train. On the train we saw much of the landscape including these workers in the rice field. We dropped our bags off at the hotel and went to Ritsurin Park. It was very beautiful. This garden is worth a trip to Shikoku. There were many pre-school kids there which was very cute but had the carers and/or parents worried they were getting in the way. Kids that cute are never in the way. One little boy decided that the little steam was a good place to have a pee. We thought this was very funny but his teacher was really embarrassed. The last picture is of a mall we found. The bicycles definately had right of way. It was quite scary at times. I took Jetty, Mum and Melva into the 100 yen store ($1 store) and they were amazed at the things you could buy. They are very different to the $1 stores you get in Australia which just have junk.
Takamatsu - 26th April. To prevent having to walk back to the hotel we mangaged to squeeze 5 peoples' luggage into 3 lockers at the station. We then took the JR to Yashima. There, we went to Shikokumura. This is a village were they have brought residential houses from all over Shikoku to be viewed. In the villiage they have a theatre, a vine bridge and many beautiful gardens. The vine bridge is an imitation of the ones in central Shikoku. Don't look too closely at this one as you will see the vines are wrapped around steel cables. Jetty and Melva were the first ones across and they were camplaining about how hard to was to walk across with their little feet. I think that were a little worried about breaking through it. Poppy, on the other hand, stomped across at lightning speed. This place was very interesting from the way the buildings were held together and by what materials to the way they extracted sugar from the sugar cane. This place was very popular with pre-school kids. One was nice enough to pose for me infront of the tulips. The fishing boats were also very interesting. I don't know how they worked in them considering there is no way they coud've stood up. Squatting inside would have been a problem no matter how short you were. After we finished there we went across the famous Seto Ohashi Bridge. It is the longest two-tiered bridge system in the world at 13.1 km. It is quite amazing. That night I farewelled my family and caught the train back to Yukuhashi. They stayed the night in Okayama and caught the train to Narita Airport near Tokyo to fly home.

Hinamatsuri and Sakura

2006-05-08T14:13:00.001+09:00

Hinamatsuri is a dolls festival celebrated for girls on March 3rd. The dolls are displayed for about a month before the festival, and on March 3rd they are put away. It is believed that if they aren't put away on this date then the girls will not be married until they are older (30+). March is also the time of Sakura (the cherry blossoms) and lucky for me there are lots of them along the river that I live on. It is considered good luck to go eat (and drink) whilst sitting under the cherry blossoms.
I finally had my camera with me when the man was walking his cat. He carries a brush with him although I have never seen him brushing it along the river. I don't particularly like cats but I think this one is rather lovely.

Easter Party

2006-05-08T14:13:00.000+09:00

Easter Party - 25th March. Yuki (mostly) and I organised an Easter party for elementary students. It involved telling the story of Easter (in a nice non-horrific way), making easter baskets, decorating easter eggs and the best of all an eater egg hunt. To be in the spirit of things Yuki and dressed up as easter bunnies! Shint splint of not I still jumped and skipped around the room like an Easter bunny!

Sapporo

2006-02-22T10:24:00.000+09:00

Friday 3rd.
I have to start this holiday on the Friday as I thought I had thrown my plane tickets in the rubbish. After a msn session of "where'd you put it last" with mum and Fiona, my aunt, and making Yuki take me into the office, I finally found them. They were in a very logical place and even though I'd looked exactly there possibly 6 times I managed to overlook them. I have decided that from now on I am going to get organised. (Yeah right!)
Saturday 4th.
After a very short sleep, I woke up at 5 am to catch the train the airport. I actually got to the airport way too early and had a bit of a nap. To make a long story short, It happened that this day was the coldest for the winter and as a result it snowed alot. So much so that Sapporo Airport was closed for most of the day. All but one flight into Sapporo were cancelled (The only flight to get in was from Tokyo). Luckily I met up with Lalindra a fellow Auzzie and his friends, Kathy, Heather and Steve. Kathy lived close by so we all crashed at her place. Her apartment is amazing so I am not surprised she is staying for a 3rd year.
Sunday 5th.
Finally flew to Sapporo. The snow was amazing. I had never seen so much snow. Cars and some houses were completely buried. You can get some idea of the amount of snow by the pictures. At Sapporo station I said good bye to Lalindra, Heather, Kathy and Steve and went and had lunch. I went to a small restaurant and this lady decided I was nice enough to talk to. Because I was able to understand the start of the conversation she must have thought that I was fluent in Japanese so she just talked away for a good 15 minutes. I caught a grasp of the conversation every now and then but most of the time I had no clue! After the 'conversation' I found my accommodation "Sapporo Kokusai Youth Hostel" (1st photo). Although it was a youth hostel is was really nice (better than all the business hotels I have been to). I would recommend this place to everyone. After I dropped all my stuff I ventured out to see the snow sculptures. They were quite spectacular. There were sculptures of just about everything, even Wallace and Grommit! It was a little strange to see not only the Royal Exhibition Building (ice) but also Spencer Street Station (snow). You can get an idea of how big some of the displays are by the height of the people that are in front of them. My favourite exhibit would have had to be the one for Narnia, the chained bears were amazing. Also at the snow festival was a competition between numerous countries (20+) to make a sculpture in 40hrs. You can see one of the sculpture's "before and after shots". Oh, yes, at Odori they have a replica of the Eiffel Tower, which they call TV Tower. Who knows why they built it. My fingers froze a few times before I decided to call it a night. Oh, yeah, I bought a new camera too, so I could take it skiing. It's pretty cool.
Monday 6th.
I had found out that skiing in Japan was cheap so I headed off to Sapporo Kokusai (International) Resort. It was about an hour and a half bus ride to the mountain. While catching the lifts I met a Japanese guy whose name was very long but he said to call him Hiro. Hiro had gone to college with an Australia girl so his English was really good. He took me down the black run, which wasn't too bad except for the bumpy section. Not sure what the technical name is but it's where you have to keep on turning REALLY quickly around mounds. So, in the end I had skied every run on the mountain. I left pretty tired but happy to know I'd skied the mountain. There's a photo of me next to the map of the mountain runs (in my pink jacket)! Unfortunately I hadn't realised that I had changed the settings so the photos are really blue. That night I met Ria, Terry, Charlie and Te Akonga for dinner. For the second time I had tempura udon. It's so good! Afterwards I was taking the escalator down to the subway and to my surprise; going up the escalator was Tom, a friend of mine from Birregurra Primary School. Tom, Clare (his girlfriend-I think) and I had a quick drink and caught up. It had been 6 years since we had seen each other last so we did a quick six year summary.
Tuesday 7th. (Photo of train - photo of mountain scenery)
Because of the cheapness of skiing I decided to go to Niseko, which is THE place for Australians to go for skiing powder. Powder I have decided is really hard to ski but great to fall over in. It's like falling into feathers. While trying to work out how to swipe my card for the lifts I met 3 guys from Hong Kong, Chris (?), Andrew and Michael (I'm bad with names)(Photo is of Chris and Andrew). They were an Englishman, American and an Australian. They convinced me to seeing/snowboarding with them. I warned them that I was pretty bad and we set off. We skied/boarded through trees and down impossibly steep sections, of which had warning signs. Every now and then I'd get leg tied and crash spectacularly but overall it was really fun. When we reached the bottom, they said "So.... how'd you like your first black double diamond?" Well it wasn't too bad as I was still alive and said so. They then took this as an indication to go on another. So that was my day. I had the plan to ski all the beginner and intermediate runs but ended up doing black. It was so much fun. I even managed to hit a tree... with my head! Whoops. I was skiing behind Michael and was gaining on him and in my bid to slow myself down I hit the tree. So, yes, my aim was achieved... I slowed down quite a bit. Oh well! Seeing that we were pretty tired from the snow boarding/skiing, we stopped off and had two beers. The guys tried to convince me to stay and have sushi with them but I opted out. Oh yeah, the Aussie guy Michael it turns out that he went to the same school as me. He left at the end of grade 6 and I came in year 7 so we knew a few similar people. When I got back to Sapporo I went and saw some ice sculptures. They were really beautiful (as you can see). I was pretty exhausted that night as you would expect.
Wednesday 8th.
I went to the Sapporo Beer Factory and had a bit of a look. I didn't taste test the beer as I hadn't had breakfast and didn't think it was the best idea to drink at 9:30 am on an empty stomach. I did buy some beer chocolate for Yuki which actually tasted like beer. After I went to a shopping mall which was over-rated, walked back to the Snow sculptures and to the Clock Tower that is famous in Hokkaidobut very small and unimpressive. I then caught the train to the airport and bought an amazing amount of omiyage (presents) for friends and co-workers, and flew home. Explanation of 3rd last photo - alot of people manage to see the Virgin Mary in bits of toast, stains on walls and what not.... Who do I see in the snow (on a tree)???? BATMAN! (Yuki thiks it looks like a cat!)
Hokkaido was amazing and I definitely want to go back again next year during the snow season and possibly also in summer as there are many national parks there to explore.

Weekend 28th and 29th

2006-01-30T09:18:00.000+09:00

Saturday 28th. Instead of the sleep in I so desperately needed I went for a leisurely(!?) 7km run with Ria and Lisa. Afterwards Ria invisted me to breakfast and ate butter chicken curry, and lots of pancakes. It was a huge change to my usual breakfast of 'Banana Solo' (Banana only). After wasting alot of time at home I went into Kokura to find some snow gear for next weekend (Hokkaido!!!). I ended up spending way too much money and then had to rush back to Steve and Nao's housewarming party. Their new apartment is so nice and Steve made lots of Hawaiin food for us. Unfortunately some of it was pork so some looked good too! It was a really fun night and I was again reminded how much Japanese I have to learn to maintain a conversation.
Sunday 29th. Chris arrived from Ajimu and we went to Charlie's 6th birthday party and ate a great deal. We then went to Hiroidai Mountain to see some caves, that I had been recommended to see. After some slight 'detours' due to insufficient signs and/or our inability to read kanji we made it there. We paid 800 yen to put on little plastic shoes and enter the cave. It was not what we expected but after the section of the cave they had cemented both the floor and the roof we got to the interesting part where we walked through about 20cm of water (average). The limestone on the floor was a clean light blue. The cave was quite small in places, even for me so it was a struggle for Chris. Right near the end (approx 900meters inside the mountain) there was a really small hole we had to go through. The last photo is Chris fitting through the hole, unfortunately I was laughing so much I missed the best photo opportunity but got this one before nearly falling over. Despite being winter, the water wasn't that cold. Chris and I had both got only one pants leg wet in the cave so we decided we'd make a new trend. So cool! Well, that was about my weekend. Next weekend is my 5 day Hokkaido trip!!!

Christmas, New Year's and a Wedding.

2006-01-17T11:24:00.000+09:00

On December 21st I flew back to Australia for a two week visit. Matthew, the blurry boy and my nephew, didn't recognise me when I got back but after some convincing he believed I WAS actually Margie, the same person as in the photo on the piano. Both he and Thomas have grown so much in the past six months it is quite amazing. I spent majority of my time with my family. Christmas was low key but very enjoyable. On the 27th Nowra had a rodeo. It was enjoyabe to see and to get back into the feel of country Australia. Seeing my horses were about 1000km away it was good to see other peoples' horses. For New Year's I went to Sydney for a BBQ Matt and Dane had organised. It was great to see alot of friends from Uni. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so there are no pictures. I flew out on January 4th and arrived on the 5th. I got picked up from the airport and went straight to my landlord's daughter's wedding. It was very beautiful, very formal and must have cost the earth. In Japan the usual gift is 3 man yen, which is about $350. So, it was very expensive to go but a good experience. The food would have been easily over $100 per head. It was amazing. Also, we also got a gift bag!

December

2006-01-17T11:12:00.000+09:00

December in Japan was taken up with Bounenkai(s) (end of year parties) so there isn't any interesting travel photos of that time. Seeing it has been the coldest December for many years in Japan we were blessed with snow. My 'blessed' is very sarcastic as the same morning I took this picture, I had to go to karate training. As you can imagine the floor boards of a gym aren't exactly nice on your feet when it's this cold. The other photo is of the amount of beer you can sometimes get at Japanese resaturants. Steve waiting about 20 minutes for this beer so we had a good laugh when it arrived. We soon left that restaurant. The food was quite nice though.

Beppu Karate Tournament

2006-01-17T11:02:00.000+09:00

4/12 Beppu. I went in my first Japanese karate tournament with not much success but it was good for the experience. I only went in the kata section but watched what would be my division in the sparing for future reference. I watched many bouts of different division and they all very competitive and tough. The men's open division I must admit was very brutal as they only wear groin protection and that's it. The guy pictured was the winner and as you can see there was a little blood spilt. It's normally just from knuckles as head punches aren't allowed, head kicks are but most of the time the kicks are blocked of deflected in some ways. Anyway enough of the blood and fighting. Karate is a really good sport! Really!!!

Kyoto in Autumn

2006-01-17T09:43:00.000+09:00

26-27/11 Kyoto. I set out on Friday night and caught the Meimon Ferry to Osaka. The ferry took 12 hours from Kitakyushu to Osaka but it is a very cheap way of getting to Kyoto. From Osaka I caught trains to Kyoto. Kyoto was madness, there were so many people there but there is enough public transport to get everyone around. First I went to Kinkakuji Temple, the golden temple. It is very spectacular. Afterwards I went to Ginkakuji Temple, which is the silver temple (it's the brown/wooden one in the photo). The intention was to make it silver but it never got that far. By this time it was getting dark so I met up with Lisa and some of her Hawaiin ALT friends. They were really nice and let me stay. The following dayI went to Ejo Castle and Kiyomizudera. Ejo Castle is very different from the typical Japanese castle as there is only one floor. It is famous for its nightingale floor. Apparently you cannot walk up the castle hallway without the floor boards squeaking. This was a defence used to alarm the samarai when the enemy had entered the castle. I did not go in as I hope to return with Mum, Jetty, Poppy and Melva when they visit in April. I went to Kiyomizudera and it was very crouded. It is one of the most famous temples in Japan. If you want luck, this is the place to go. Kyoto was very spectacular with the Autumn leaves. There are so many places to see in Kyoto. This is a place I definately recommend. The only advice is: If you are going in a busy time, Autumn or Spring, be prepared for crowds and be especially wary of the older Japanese ladies as they will push and elbow their way to a vantage point.

Sumo

2005-11-20T21:00:00.000+09:00

19/11 Sumo. Fortunately the sumo championships came to Fukuoka City (close-ish) so we got the opportunity to go watch it. Sumo is alot more interesting and exciting than I had expected. It was very exciting even though the bouts don't last very long. The great thing about sumo too is you can go really close to the athletes. You can go watch them warm up and they just walk around before and after they compete. Most are really tall. One I saw was definately 7 ft. One thing I was really surprised at is how much muscle these men have. The last picture is the best display of this. Look at that muscley bum! Also their flexibility is amazing. Look at the second last photo. If only I had that flexibility, I'd be a gun at karate.

2005-11-20T18:39:00.000+09:00

Kinma ChampionsThese are the champions EVERY year. They do it way to easy. Maybe they should pull 600kg

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Hard Gay contestants

2005-11-17T19:25:00.000+09:00

These are the hard gay contestants that were in the race. They were actually very quick!
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ALL JAPAN KINMA CHAMPIONSHIPS

2005-11-17T16:32:00.000+09:00

13/11 Kinma Race. We travelled 3 hours to compete in this national event. There is two part tot he competition, a performace and the race. These championships are serious stuff! For our performance we made plastic hula skirts, sang and did the hula! Actually we were sensible compared to some of the others. There were many "Hard Gay" impersonaters as you will see in the video. "Hard Gay" is a Japanese comedian (??) who dresses up in tight/short leather and runs aounr thrusting his pelvis saying "Fuuu!" I have no idea why it so popular or even why it is amusing but it is amazingly popular with Japanese people of all ages.
The race: 5 people drag a weight 21 metres up, around a pole and back. Obviously the people with the best times win. Men drag 400kg, women drag 200kg. Alot of time actually goes into the sled set up. Thanks to Terry for our sled. We came 5th out of everyone in Japan!!! Pretty good for the few times we practiced. My team was called Ohana 5, which in Japanese is "flower five" and in Hawaiin it's "family 5". We had a Hawaiin, Canadian, Japanese, New Zealander and me (Aussie), so it was very international! Terry had a team, made of NZers and an Aussie (I think). Unfortunately they didn't place either but they did a great Haka. Scary!
Ok Ok, confession: For this national event they were about 20 teams in the womens division and 40 in the mens. Many people in my town haven't heard of it! "You drag what???? Why????" We had a bit of a laugh when we rocked up and there was a massive sign "ALL JAPAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS". Oh, the reason you do it. First prize for the women's division is 200000 yen which is about AUD$2350. Men's first prize is 500000 yen or something. Not bad if you can win it.
I didn't put many photos on about this as the videos are the best display. 1st photo - emergency servces group, 2nd- oboetanai (can't remember), 3rd photo - "He" men, 4th-7th the dance group. It was traditional Japanese dancing and looked really fun. The dancing is unlike any other Japanese dancing we had ever seen. It looked like it was influenced by a few other countries. A man who sang/spoke during their performance was very strange the only words he said were "Hoi Hoi Ziga Ziga Ziga Heeeeeeeey." Well that's what it sounded like. Look at the bend in the flag pole!

Izumi township Bunkasai

2005-11-12T12:00:00.000+09:00

12/11 Izumi township bunkasai. Steve, Nao and Nao's mother took me to this bunkasai mainly for the tea cermony. The tea ceremony was organised by Nao's tea ceremony teacher. It was very interesting to see the precise movements and care taken to perform this tradition. I am sure I would break something if given a chance. Luckily we were seated on chairs. not the traditional "sitting on your knees" as I am sure my legs would have fallen off. Because I was the foreigner, they even gave me a second 'tea'. The green tea used in these ceremonies is thicker and stronger than 'normal' green tea. There was a small display of Japanese art. Japanese art is very beautiful and unique. Nao's mother learns this kind of painting. The first picture is of some men making a basket from vine (??) ... unfortunately it was sold when we returned to have another look at it. There were stalls of fresh vegetables and Nao's mother bought me some vegetables even though I had just met her. Japanese people are so lovely. One funny thing was some Japanese ladies commented how nice it was of me to teach Steve English. We had a bit of a laugh about it. Steve from Hawai, I think it was his great grandparents that came from Japan.

Izumi Bunkasai

2005-11-06T12:02:00.000+09:00

6/11 Izumi Junior High Bunkasai. This is one of my schools. An earlier posting showed all the students making these models and posters. Un- fortunately on this day it was raining, so I couldn't get good or many photos of the models. And due to the rain, they weren't burnt either. I am not sure what happened to them in the end as I spend the next week at my other school. 1st prize for the model was the vending machine. 2nd was the Majii Ranger (red) and it was either Stitch or Sponge Bob for 3rd. Stitch was my favourite. Out of the posters I cant remember who won but they all did a great job with them. At the bunkasai they also had a chorus competition where each class sings a song. There is little or no teacher involvement in the preparation, one student plays the piano and one of the students conducts the class. The groups were fantastic. At the end the whole school sang together. Approximately 500 students... it was a great sight and sounded great too.
P.S. Bunkasai = school festival

Kanda Technical High School Bunkasai

2005-11-06T12:01:00.000+09:00

5/11 Kanda Technical School Bunkasai. This is the school that Ria works at once a week and is the high school for all the student that basically want to do a trade. These students are extrememly smart and learn to do things that I only starting learning about at uni. They built their own go-karts, work actively with lathes, built their own smelters, and compete in stuff like the robo-cup. (Sorry for those of you who don't about some of things I mentioned. Uni course people should). Ria mentioned to one of the teachers, Mr Tadashi, what my degree was and he invited me along to this day. It was very interesting to see what the student did and the Mr Tadashi was very interested in my thesis project (the apple picker). We arrived a little a little early and went up to this lovely man-made lake (Picture 1). Don't look too close or you will realise this beautiful scenerio also has smoke rising on the left and an open cut mountain on the right!! The second picture is of the smelter the students made for producing aluminium. It was amazing to see this is how they "made" metl back in the day. This 3rd picture is of a Go-Kart made by the students. The other three pictures are from the PAIPA- KURAFUTO KURABU.. the "paper craft club". They had models of so many things. I made a WW2 fighter plane... dont ask me the proper name of it! Sorry JB & Gary.

My First Halloween

2005-10-31T12:00:00.000+09:00

30/10 Halloween. We celebrated Halloween a day early but no one here knows what Halloween is anyway. Actually, I don’t know much about it either. I made it over to Ria’s a few hours earlier to paint some posters while Ria and Lisa were busy preparing food. The haunted house in the picture turned out pretty well which was a great combined effort from Team 1, Team 2 and Team 3 (Lisa, Me and Ria). The kids were all so cute and most managed to dress up. One of my favourites is the acorn boy. The enjoyed themselves even when it started raining. One game they played was… find the eyeball (grape) in the brains (dyed noodles). The game worked well even when Te-chan decided the eyeballs were yummy. After the games had finished and the rain started, Ria and Terry took all the kids “trick or treat”-ing. It was basically to the parents’ and the local ALTs’ houses. It was quite a successful event considering only one of us actually celebrate it on our home country (Lisa-Hawaii).

Photo explanation: 1. Te-chan struggling to become an elephant. 2. Te-chan…giving up and Princess Charlie. 3. The kids playing scary bingo. 4. Little Flamingo. 5. Acorn boy (So cute). 6. The sword wielding elephant. 7. All the kids around the sPoOkY hOuSe.

Yukuhashi City Softball

2005-10-29T12:00:00.000+09:00

29/10 Shiyakusho Sofutobo-ru. Yuki and Airi picked me up on a glorious Saturday morning to go watch employees from the Yukuhashi City Hall play softball. You can see you glorious the day was by the pictures. The shirts in the team photo were made by Yuki. The “words” mean "Let's Lose!!" Yuki’s husband is the man on the right. The play of the day would have to go to one of the outfielders… the ball was coming down on him and he tripped over but still managed to catch the ball. It’s something you would see on Channel 10s, Play of the Day. Even though I told them I was terrible at softball they still made me have a go. I was stoked that I actually hit the ball but they could’ve caught me out if they wanted to. It was pretty fun but I think I’ll stick to karate. The last photo is of Yuki and Airi.

Sunset and Sunrise in Yukuhashi

2005-10-27T00:00:00.000+09:00

Yukuhashi Sunset. At the moment this is the beautiful sunset that I have been experiencing. Pictures speak a thousand words so I'll stop now.

Yukuhashi Sunrise would have to be even better than the sunsets, although due to the time of the morning I sometimes don't feel like its beautiful. Instead I would prefer the view of the back of my eyelids. The picture doesn't really do it justice but again I'd rather be in bad than taking photos.

Preparing for Bunkasai

2005-10-25T00:00:00.000+09:00

Izumi Bunkasai. Bunkasai is the school cultural festival that is held once a year. Each class is to make a banner and a big paper mache model. On the bunkasai weekend they do a big parade and the classes win prizes for the best model. The following day the have a big chorus competition. Everybody sings. A student even conducts the class. After that is finished, guess what they do to their lovely models? Anyone? Yes, the put them in a big pile a BURN them. I have been told that they do this as there is no space to store them. As you can see some of the banners and models are amazing. The are all designed and coordinated by the students. Every day for two weeks there are no classes in the afternoon. The students work on these projects. The models that are building are Stitch (Lilo and Stitch), Spongebob, Tigger, a drink vending machine (??) and many Japanese cartoon characters that I am slowly starting to recognise. It is all built of bamboo, tied together with plastic, paper mached and painted. The boy in the top left corner of the first photo is the coordinator of his class and is a very funny boy. Apparently he "loves me". The boy in the bottom left of that picture likes to be called "Johnny". Those two together make teaching this 3rd year class very enjoyable. The banner of this class is the girls posing with pink flowers in their hair. The banner is of Snow White, Cinderella and Ariel. It's simply amazing! The class painting the Sponge-Bob is really good too and this is only an 1st grade class. The group of five girls (peace-ing) are some of the ones that invite me out to play chasey and volleyball. The girl beign hugged on the left has told me she want to marry a foreigner! Anyway... I've probably gone on enough about this. The bunkasai is on the 5th and 6th of November.

Minamikushiyama and Shimabara

2005-10-24T00:00:00.000+09:00

22/10 Minamikushiyama and Shimabara. On the Friday night Terry, Ria, Charlie-chan, Te-chan and I left for Nagasaki prefecture. It was supposed to be a 4.5hr drive but it was extended a little by a vital things forgotten and by missing a turn-off. The latter was probably my fault as I was gas-bagging too much. Luckily Ria woke up and asked where we were and why were we there. Overall it was a pretty good trip. We stayed at Monica's place who is a NZ ALT that come over at the same time as Ria. Seeing as we stayed up late chatting, I slept in a bit. Unfortunately for Ria, Te Akonga and Charlie woke up at their usual early time. Seeing as there were no plans to do very much I thought I would go for walk down to the wharf. Minamikushiyama is a small fishing town. As you can see I took many photos of the wharf, the boats, the falcon (like) birds that were stalking the fishermen. I thought the mini tractor/trailer vehicle was quite unusual and took a photo of it, mostly to show Cam (my brother). I was returning back to Monica's and every person I walked past asked me where I was from and the other usual questions. They were all so friendly. As I was walking past one the fishing sheds a man came out and signalled me to come over (at first I thought he was waving but then remembered their come here hand signal is upside-down to the western way). In the shed were about 8 fishermen all drinking and eating. It was 9:30 in the morning! They offered me a beer... and obviously it is rude not to drink it. They asked heaps of questions and with my limited Japanese skills we all managed to have a fairly decent conversation. I found out such things as; they get up every morning at 4 to go fishing, this day the weather was too bad to go out and that these men drink this early every day! They asked if I like sashimi. When I said yes they got some fresh fish and made it for me. I watched (and took a picture) so now I will be able to make it myself!! It was soooo good. After that, they asked if I liked lobster. Stupid question. They went and got 2 small lobsters for me. In Australia you'd be fined if you got them this small but in Japan I guess anything goes. They brought up the fact that in Australia it is not allowed and had a good laugh??! So, I had sashimi lobster, which I must say isn't that great but then they cooked one up for me. Oishii!!! Delicious!!! (The photo is of them preparing the lobster sashimi). The head/top half the lobster was still moving as the sashimi was being prepared and even when I ate some it was still moving somewhat. Ewww. After that they made me miso soup made from lobster and then yakiniku. Yeah I was stuffed full. I didn't ask for any of this food, people kept on having short conversation is very fast Japanese, leaving and then returning with all this food. During this whole time they drank copious amounts of shochu and were legless by the end of it. Seeing as they kept on feeding me beers I was not particularly sober myself. I had gone and got Ria and she had some of the Yakiniku and luckily she used the kids as an excuse to return home, it also gave me an opporunity to leave (and sober up). In the afternoon we headed off to Shimabara to where Terry was performing at a charity concert for New Orleans. Terry's performance was great. It was good to hear him sing at a formal occasion rather than singing to the kids while they are in the bath. Afterwards I went out with some local ALTs (from South Africa) and did karaoke. It was such a great night. That night we stayed at Jenny's house. She is an American ALT, we met for the first time that night.
23/10 Jenny made us pancakes for breakfast! She's such a nice girl. The pancakes were really good too. Shortly after breakfast, we headed back towards Yukuhashi. We stopped off at this huge food warehouse called Costcos. It's like a Bunnings but for food. You obviously have to buy things mostly in bulk but they have testers for their meat and fish. Yes, the meat was cooked and the fish wasn't. The Aussie beef was delicious. Aussie beef is the main beef that is here as the Japanese beef is (more) expensive and because of the mad cow disease (I think) they still don't allow American imports. Australia has a big monopoly here at the moment. After that we went home and I had dinner with Ria, Terry, Charlie, Te Akonga and Lisa. We all were pretty exhausted, although Ria was the first to get shut eye as she took a cold a flu tablet and it completely knocked her out!

Autumn is here

2005-10-19T00:00:00.000+09:00

Autumn is setting in but the weather is more like the start of winter. We went from sweatville to jumper town within about two weeks. I think the weather will even out a little. As you can see the leaves are turning up it their toes and falling off. No, sorry, they are turning red which is very beautiful. I am waiting until the leaves in Kyoto turn red/orange/etc. as it is supposed to be very pretty. Kyoto is one of the most famous places in Japan. I am hoping to go twice. Once within the next 2 months and again in spring with mum to see the cherry blossoms..

Maybe I am training a little too hard!

2005-10-18T00:00:00.000+09:00

I am now training three nights a week. The night before I took this photo I got stuck into the bag work possibly a bit too hard. The skin off my knuckle is logical but I have no idea how I got the bruise although it looks pretty cool. (No JB, it's not as cool as the bruise I had 2 years back - I'm sure you remember). My sensei said "Rub salt into it", I replied "WHAT?!?!" (Do you think I am stupid?) He said "It will get better quicker" (Obviously this was in Japanese). Anyway I went home, gritted my teeth, and did as he advised. OUCHY MAMA! Anyway I think I over did it because after that the whole was bigger. Now, 10 days later it still hasn't healed, maybe the salt, maybe the fact is the bag work hasn't stopped if you know what I mean.

Our little train ride!

2005-10-17T00:00:00.000+09:00

16/10 Choo choo! I went walking with Ria on this Sunday morning and she told me that one of the local train lines were 100 yen for as far as you want (max about 50km). 100 yen is about $1.20. So I decided to join Ria and her family on a train ride. We went to a small town called Aka as there was supposed to be a carnival of some kind. When we arrived everyone lined up to buy tickets for a little train which we thought would take us to carnival area. We waited for about an hour and a half for our turn on this little train, we realised that the same people that went down came back. After all the waiting the train took us about 1km to a ............. man made tunnel!!! Actually I'd say 60% of the ride was in these tunnels. The attraction in the tunnel were these really tiny bats. There were quite interesting as they were so quick it seemed like you were watching shadows. Freaky! But I guess the whole point is we waited soooo long and paid a heap for this dodgie little train ride. Terry was far from impressed which just made me and Ria laugh more. Charlie and Te Akonga had their hands on their ears most of the time because the racket the train made going through the tunnels. There was this interesting 'straw' hut made from the spent rice stalks (I can't for the life of me remember what the proper name is). After the disappointment of the choo choo we went to Saigawa where there was a jumping castle and FOOD! I was hungry bum by this stage. We ate, at the few stalls and came home.

Japanese people LOVE fires!

2005-10-14T00:00:00.000+09:00

Anytime, pretty much anywhere, there are fires. Japanese people LOVE to burn everything, especially when it's green. So there is a lovely stench in the air and no matter how careful you are your clothes will get smokey. For a week or more there were fires along the river out the front of my place. Such a beautiful aroma to ride my bike through when I am going to and from work.
Another thing in Japan is they are very specific about rubbish collection. We have green bags, blue bags, yellow bags, and brown bags. Apparently there is another colour aswell. WHAT FOR??? Green is for household rubbish, Blue is for aluminium cans, yellow is for plastic bottles (but never the lids) and brown is for ceramics. I have been told that even though we separate them, guess what happens??? Anyone?? Yes, they burn them all! They separate them because they burn them at different temperatures. HEY?? We also have big rubbish day!!! Rubbish collection and the abundance of fires are about the wackiest cultural difference I have experienced.

A bit of everything

2005-10-12T14:22:00.000+09:00

8/10 Yukuhashi. This weekend unlike the last I actually did something while I stayed put in Yukuhashi. Ria played in a volleyball tournament on Saturday morning so I went along to watch. Her team did fairly well put was out played by a serious team from another school. It was fun to watch. Volleyball is a really polpular sport here. Afterwards Lisa, Ria, Charlie, Te Akunga and I went window shopping. On our way home from the shopping centre we came across a field of cosmos. I had heard about them but this was my first time to see one. It was very beautiful and we couldn't resist sitting among them for some photos. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera so these photos were provided by Lisa who is also in one of the shots. That night I hung around Ria and Terry's house untill they fed me and played some comedy. I actually felt really bad for staying so long but they still say it was OK.
9/10 Birthday. So what wold you like to do on your birthday? Sleep in? Relax? Well I started mine by going to a 4 hour karate training session!! Well, it wasn't as bad as it sounds... for me anyway. It was a blackbelt grading and we were spectators for about 2 hours of that. Among other things, the three guys who were going for their black belt had to fight 10 people in a row. So 10x2 minute sparring rounds and they weren't taking is easy on these guys. Crazy! Oh yeah as part of the black belt you have to do 50 knuckle push ups and 50 finger push ups. I didn't see them do it, so I'll just pretend it doesn't happen. Yes, we have to do knuckle push ups at the dojo. I can only do about 2x20 girly knuckle ones, I'm just thankful I'm start to get caluses on my knuckles coz on the wooden floor IT HURTS!! Not very beautiful on your hands but its better than the alternative. Anyway after that I raced home and tried to clean my house before Ajimu Chris arrived. Didn't happen. We had lunch and did some shopping. It was great shopping with Chris as noone stared at me anymore they all stared at him as he is so tall (about 6'4"). We had time for lunch and a beer and then it was time to go out for dinner. The photos are of the people who came to my dinner. The boy in the first photo is Te Akonga (Ria and Terry's son). The next photo is of Terry and Ria, the NZ. (Just like being back at PM.. surrounded by NZers!) The next one is of Steve and Nao (Steve's wife). Steve is the ex ex JET from Hawaii. He is now an elementry teacher in Yukuhashi. The next is Charlie playing with Yuki. Charlie is Ria and Terry's daughter and speaks fluent Japanese. She's unreal! The last is one of those embarrasing eating photos that Lisa, Ria and Steve will kill me later for. Ajimu Chris was there too and I didn't manage to get a photo of him. Sorry Chris! After the delicious Japanese dinner Yuki, Chris and I went to karaoke. Chris set the tune by picking really daggy songs like Xanadu and The Locomotion. Yuki followed with Pacori Nights. So the night was set! Yuki left and Chris and I stayed for one more hour and then set off to find a bar. Chris in a bid to get a ride attempted to talk to everyone and we managed to meet a guy from the Yakuza (Japanese mafia), well at least he said he was. We got into town eventually (by taxi). We ran into 3 random guys that were heading to a Snack Bar. Snack bars are places where you pay for a girl to come and talk to you. I thought that was a waste of money (obviously!) but they recommended another place. Half way there we heard "Chotto matte" (Please wait) and they came running after us. They joined us and we had some very funny conversations. Chris kept on saying in Japanese that I was drunk, then just kidding, then he was drunk. Repeat 10 times! Overall it was a great birthday.
10/10 The day after. Didn't feel like getting up but Chris' story deserves a mention. Chris for some reason got off his comfortable futon opened all the doors and went back to sleep on my tiny couch. This couch is about a 1.5 seater. He has no idea why, and well I'm exactly the same. Ria, Terry, Charlie-chan, Te-chan and Lisa came to pick us up and took us to an all your can eat Japanese restaurant. Don't ask me how to get there... I think you have to take every back street to find this place. The food was great tho. Afterwards we went to an onsen (hot spring). Always nice! This one was REALLY hot too. I had to get out after only a little while. Only when I got home did I remember I had karate again. Even tho I had a short sleep my eyes were hanging out of my head the whole training session. Needless to say I slept well that night. A very eventful long weekend!