Okayama

Today we all ventured to Okayama to check out the sights. First we made our way to the Okayama Korakuen Garden, one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan which is a cultural heritage site and it was magnificent. It was constructed in 1700 and it has been retained its original appearance ever since. There were paths winding through the many different sections of the gardens with its 20 main features; Enyo-tei House, Noh Stage, Nishiki-ga-oka Hill, Kayo-no-ike Pond, Jizoo-do Shrine, Ofuna-iri-ato Dock Remains, Renchi-ken Teahouse, Yuishinzan Hill, Ryuten Pavilion, Yatsuhashi Bridge, Kako-no-ike Pond,Chaso-do Hall, Plum Grove, Chishio-no-mori Grove, Seiden (Rice Fields), Tea Fields, Jigen-do Hall, Sawa-no-ike Pond, Crane Aviery and an archery range paddock.. It was a wonderful walk. I'll just post some pictures as words fail to describe this place...
Next, we went to see the black Okayama Castle. This castle is usually nick-named "U-jo" (Crow Castle). Completed in 1597, its monumental architectural style is characteristic of the Azuchi-Momoyama Period of the late 16th Century. It was an impressive sight with its black roof and walls with gold corners. We saw it from the gardens and couldn't wait to see it up closer. As we approached, we heard some distinctly Japanese music. In front of the castle was a small performance. There were some traditional instruments being played and a few ladies dressed in costume. Inside the castle was not quite as impressive with only a few displays on each of the 6 storeys. The view of the gardens and city, however, were great!

For lunch we found a small Curry House recommended by the Lonely Planet. We all chose to dine on Chicken curry, dahl and saffron rice. It was delicious, except we felt a little gypped when it came to the chicken...we each got little more than a fifty cent piece (Jono says the size of a mutton's ball. I don't want to know how he knows!). After a very satisfying lunch we went to the Art Museum. The artwork ranged from traditional to Modern Japanese art and was very interesting. After a walk through we then boarded the Shinkansen back to Himeji.

VISITORS COMMENTS:

Lonely Planet describes Okayama as a modern, bustling city...and we would agree. We were impressed by the garden, museum and the outside of the castle...but the inside was a little bit of a dissapointment. Though perhaps we were slightly less disappointed than those watching the spectacle in Melbourne through teal coloured glasses.

The garden was incredibly beautiful and green...with a lawn so perfect it was just crying out for a game of backyard cricket. This was by far the highlight of my day.

Overall, it was an interesting and enjoyable day, though Jonosan-san's anxiety over the football threatened to boil over more than once. At 5 o'clock, when he finally plucked up the courage to look at the computer screen at the football score, our good day turned into a great day.

The Last of the Visitors

So my (Jono) parents (and Jodi's future parents in law) have arrived for our last lot of visitors for the year. Mum, Dad and Verity arrived Tuesday for 2 weeks of fun, frivolity, tourism and good times. We have lots planned for them, and when we don't they can nick off and find their own thing to do!!!! No, not really...

Anyways... we did make them hit the ground running. Having had next to no sleep on their red eye from Singapore we ventured to Himeji Castle on Tuesday night for the moon viewing festival. It was most spectacular to see the castle illuminated and just hanging above the city, with a large stage lit up in front of it. There was drumming, some Japanese flutes and guitars (koto), a bit of dancing... good times... There was however more twang than Billy Ray Cyrus' greatest hits, but you can't have it all I guess... The drumming was the highlight for me...

We also leaped straight into the Japanese cuisine. Dad got the chopsticks straight out, devoured some octopus balls (takoyaki, not octopus testicles, rather more like dumplings) and the rest of us ate Yakisoba. Mum and Verity provided entertainment with their creative methods of using chopsticks. Good times...

The Japanese people who we see around the place have been very welcoming... Toshi organised a castle tour for them on Wednesday and organised 5 guides to go with them! Possibly a little overkill but lots of fun had! He also took them around Himeji on Wednesday afternoon, showing them the sights and you'll never guess the 2 main topics of conversation he had with Dad... Japanese movies and ninja! Thankfully he was only discussing ninjas, and hasn't at this point donned the black suit and jumped of the castle wall to tackle those nasty enemies. Toshi and the guides showed them exactly where the secret spots for the ninjas are so if they need a ninja to repel to oncoming forces in the next 2 weeks, I'm sure Dad will enlist...

Tegara

Katie, Joe, Jono and I decided to explore a new part of Himeji, so we headed to Tegara. Tegara Park is across the road from my old Jr High School and although I had been there once, we found a whole other section I hadn't seen.

The entrance to the park included a waterfall that came down the side of the hill with winding steps alongside. It was really peaceful and beautiful. Joe discovered you could walk in behind the waterfall so of course we didn't deny this photo op!

As we meandered our way to the top of the hill we walked through a pretty impressive garden beautifully manicured, looking like something out of Notting Hill. My first thought was "I could imagine getting married in this garden". Don't worry Mum, I'm not going to!!!! It was just so pretty. At the top of the hill stands a war monument (I can't remember if I already showed you this back in April). The statue represents a sword which has its blade stuck in the ground. It is meant to symbolise peace and no more fighting.

Katie and I had fun exploring the castle which is in the gardens near the monument. We were disappointed to discover we couldn't climb up to the top bit, so we had to make do with the balcony! It was still pretty cool!

This afternoon of exploring goes to show you that new and exciting things can be only a short bike ride away!

Softo Creamu

While dining at a small retsurant in Himeji we found some interesting and funny ice cream flavours...Yummy!

Elementary School Sports Day

Jono was invited to one of his Elementary Schools to watch their sports day, so I tagged along. We arrived a it late so came in at the end of the student and parent part. The parents were giving their kid an arm and leg whizzy and then sat them on their shoulders. The kids looked like they were having an absolute ball with their parent! We soon met with the Principal who invited us into the VIP section to sit with all the other guests under a shade. Later we were even invited to come and have lunch with them. It was great and we felt like royalty.

Next came the relays. The kids all jogged onto the track in order and the first lot took their positions. They were soooooo little and so cute! The real littlies only ran 100m, while the older ones later on ran 200m. At the finish line were older students wearing bibs numbered 1 to 6. Their job was to watch for the results and guide the students to then sit behind the placement flags, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. It was very well organised and the kids knew exactly what was going on.

There a few routines performed by the different grades. This routine included students singing a song and then making 3-levelled human pyramids. It was quite impressive. All the students put in a lot of energy when they danced and looked like they were having lots of fun. I really enjoyed watching them.

The next relay involved the PTA members. Their relay included many different stations including:

-running

-blowing up a balloon and then sitting on it to pop it

-balancing a cock on a badminton racket

-ripping a bagged something (too far away to see what it was) hanging from a pole with teeth

-retrieving a sweet from a tray of flour with no hands (pictured)

The last event we saw involved trying to throw soft balls into a netted goal ring. Balls were flying everywhere and slowly filling up the net. To find out who the winner was (red or white team) a judge for each team would reach into to net and throw one ball at a time into the air as the crowd counted. It was amusing to watch the little kids play the same game, lets just say aim isn't their strong point! It was very cute and has inspired me to try and run a miniature Sports Day at my new school next year.

Taking it to the Streets

As our time in Japan is quickly come to an end, I have started opening my eyes a little wider and trying to see just how different Japan is (only because it's all so normal to us now). So I have taken my camera to the streets.

Cruising around on my bike is one of my favourite things to do and what better way to see everyday life?

There are many, many beautiful sights to see in Himeji. When you leave the paved streets you often find beautiful tracks running along side a creek lined with trees and the odd statue and permeating peacefulness. People often sit on the benches and read books, eat lunch and just relax (or is that rerax?).

And then come the back streets. While the main streets are wide, 2 laned roads, the back streets are somewhat smaller (just big enough for two cars to pass, let alone pedestrians and bikers) and you begin to realise just how closely the Japanese people live together. Not only are the houses tiny, but a front or back yard would stretch no longer than 2 or 3 metres from the front door. The house pictured can't even close its stretchy gates because the car is too big! Crazy. But, no matter how small the garden is you'll always see Japanese people watering, pruning and weeding with care.

It is quite common for people who own a business to live on the 2nd storey. Here is a drug store across the road from our residence. On the balcony you'll see the people's washing. Talk about living your work!

Tako land... and not the good mexican kind

So, it feels like only 2 days since we were on holiday. Actually it was only two days since a 3 day break but now we have another 3 days off... It's a tough life but someone has to do it. So today, having driven past Akashi and the great bridge so many times on the train we thought today would be as good a day as any to stop and breathe in the sea air.

Having dismounted at Akashi we headed towards the ferry where we would head to Awaji Island. Along the way we found a really good fish market, so we decided to peruse the contents... There were some really bizarre looking creatures... some still flipping or kicking or something... dried octopus that looked more like merchandise for the new Batman film(or even an old one), prawns, fresh octopus... You could smell the freshness, though that was not always a great thing!!! The only purchase made was some really great Japanese ceramics (as if you wouldn't find that in a fish market!)... we'll look to complete our purchases elsewhere!

After the fish market adventure we followed the signs to the takoyaki shrine. Hardly a god that I would offer praise to, it was a kind of comical photo op so we grabbed that and boarded the ferry. The ferry took us under the world's largest suspension bridge. Here's a photo of its belly!

Across the island we weren't really sure what to do. We'd heard about the whirlpools over at the Shikoku end of the island, but that turned out to be a really long way!

So we headed to one of the other main attractions, the earthquake museum. So it turns out the fault lines that run along Awaji were pretty much responsible for the Kobe earthquake. How guilty would you feel if that was your fault! Would one island say to the other, "It's your fault!" Anyways, enough bad jokes...They have done a great job of preserving the site. It showed really well the destruction of the earthquake. Roads 2 metres from where they should be, hedges no longer in line, overturned kitchens... and if you thought your salt damp and termites were bad, you should see the cracks in the houses that are still left standing!

The best part was by far the earthquake simulator. Jodi and I were sat in a room, with the furniture bolted down and shaken for about 45 seconds. I can only imagine what it would have been like to have that sprung on me!

With so many weekends at the moment I feel a bit tired. I can already feel the warmth of the readers out there... Anyway, the point is that I had had enough for the day and wanted to go home, so we did...

By far one of the best museums I have been to in Japan... well worth the trip. Hopefully we'll get back for the whirlpools, but if not, the stop at Akashi filled in the day well.

Japanese Cooking Class #2

Yumiko came to teach us for our second Japanese cooking class. This time Taube and Merry (a new American) joined us. We made:

• Misoshiru (Miso Soup)


• Tonkatsu (fried pork)


• Hourensou no Gomaae (spinach with sesame)

First we sat down and proof read Yumiko's recipes. We noticed she took on board suggested words from last time like "mix" and "add", so we were impressed.

Yumiko showed us how to make all of these dishes and they were so simple, using a lot of the same ingredients as last time.

The meal was amazing and Yumiko was delighted to see me eat up every single thing on my plate (as last time I sort of picked around a few things!). It was oishi so!

A Hairy Adventure

It was time once again to venture to the hair dresser and get our mops cut into some thing resembling a style! I know I always love going to the hair dressers and I think this new salon called Rasics is my new favourite. Let me step you through my experience...

1. Sat down in the chair and had a mink blanket and bean pillow placed on my lap to rest my arms on. Plastic sheet over of course.


2. I looked at some magazines and pointed out the style I wanted.



3. My hair was washed and I had a beautiful pressure point massage and a thorough scalp scrub.


4. My hair was dried and then I got a head, neck and shoulder massage. V. nice!


5. Next I had my hair cut, and cut, and cut and trimmed and thinned out until the hair dresser was happy with it.


6. My hair was washed again to make sure I didn't keep shedding.


7. My hair was dried again and then had mousse, wax and hairspray added!


8. Whalah!

The funny thing was that Jono had his hair cut at the same time and it took just as long! The cost of both of us having our hair cut plus some hair wax cost the same as just me getting my hair cut and coloured at another salon! Awesome.

Tigers 5 - Giants 4

Jono and I were lucky enough to get our hands on two tickets to the Tigers Vs Giants baseball game. So once again we headed to Koshien Stadium in Kobe. This time around we had much better seats and the stadium was just about filled to capacity. The Tigers have been doing very well lately and so this game against the giants was an important one.

There are many things about the baseball that we like, and some things in particular at Japanese games. You are not allowed to take your own cans or bottles of alcohol in to the stadium....but...you can take your drinks to the staff and they will pour your drinks into plastic cups for you. Now that's service!

Unlike last time, we were packed into the stadium with limited room to move. We were right in the thick of the action...the cheering...the chanting...the clapping of sticks (of course we brought ours)...even the heckling! We were especially excited when the Australian pitcher, Williams 54, took to the pitch. One Japanese guy who sat in front of us kept letting us know what the chants were about and proudly showed us the Australian badge on his cap. It was very interesting to learn they have a song to sing when the opposing pitcher retires!

It was an especially close game, one innings lasting over an hour! The whole game went for over 4 hours, which is too long to be sitting cramped up on miniature metal seats! However, it was a really exciting game and we went home happy after the Tigers won, 5 to the Giants' 4.