The Himeji Diaries

Sayonara Nihon {Goodbye Japan}

2007-12-15T10:38:00.000+09:00

Well, the day finally arrived, the day we had to say a final farewell to our new friends and head back to the Land of Oz.

Jono and I shared pancakes for breakfast with Katie, Joe and Taube before doing the final touches and moving our stuff out of our apartment. We hope Rob and Lyn enjoy living there as much as we did.

At 1pm the Japanese entourage arrived...Toshi, Mayumi, Naomi, Tomoko, Yumiko, Eiko and Chiaki all came to take us to the bus terminal to see us off. It was a very teary goodbye for me, as I have made some special friends in Japan.

We feel so blessed to have had this opportunity to come to Japan, let alone have all the wonderful experiences, meet fabulous people and arrive home safe to our families again.

So this is it...Jono and Jodi signing off on the blog which was a story of our life in Japan in 2007, what a FANTASTIC year! Japan, forever in our hearts!

"The Last [Japanese] Supper"

2007-12-07T13:24:00.002+09:00

After being very well looked after in our last week in Japanese (dinner cooked by Taube and Julian on Sunday, out for Chris' birthday on Monday, Miyuki cooked for us Tuesday, Merry and Mitch on Wednesday and Katie and Joe on Thursday) we decided to have out "Last Supper" at the local "Beatles" ramen restaurant.

This little ramen restaurant was a quiet little spot to enjoy a meal, that was until 8 of us rocked in after a few drinks! It is affectionately called the "Beatles" ramen restaurant because that's the music they always play. We asked the cook to turn up the music and very soon we were all singing to the words at the tops of our lungs! Not surprisingly, the music was slowly turned back down again! haha. At least we made the other patrons laugh! Crazy Westerners! I had a sesame ramen which was delicious and Jono had a garlic one.

We then went out to the local Irish pub, had a few more beers and had a few games of darts. It was a great way to farewell the city that's been our home for the last 11 months.

Saying Goodbye...Shiroyama JHS

2007-12-07T13:23:00.000+09:00

Shiroyama sent me off in style. My last day at this Jr High was close to my best!

Throughout the day I had massive lines of students at my desk for the last opportunity to speak to me and have a box on their communication card signed off. They were both really excited and sad, so was I. They are such great kids. I had 3 lessons during the day in which the classes presented goodbye cards and gifts. Very sweet.

After the last lesson for the day there was a special goodbye assembly held for me. Once again I had to make my bilingual speech to the school, this time standing on top of their podium on the track. Once I was finished, the school captain gave a speech to me in English and then gave me a present. I felt a bit special! The present included a cloth with the 7 Japanese Gods printed on it, a pretty clip for my hair to wear with a kimono and a New Year's decorative display.

After school I was invited to the traditional Japanese room for a tea ceremony. The girls in this club were very cute, playing junken to see who got to make the tea for me! I had the most yummy bean cake I've had all year and the tea was good too. After I finished we had a few photos taken and then I was offered another tea. With only 5 mins til I had to catch my bus, I said I'd eat and drink quickly!

Soon I was off...and for the last time I walked out of the staff room, all staff giving their farewell wishes and accompanied me to the front door. I changed my shoes for the last time, closed my shoe locker, and said goodbye. As I walked out of the school grounds I had my last "Goodbye Jodi"s from the track and field, volleyball and baseball teams and then it was all over. Another chapter of my Japanese life closed forever, and what a fantastic chapter it was.

Overt Your Eyes....

2007-12-02T19:53:00.000+09:00

Onsen ... a.k.a. "Lets go together into a public bath, naked with a whole bunch of other naked strangers!"

This experience was one that had to be done...sooner or later (we preferred later). The whole concept is quite strange to the regular westerners and we're certainly no exception. But we finally plucked up the courage and got naked! (and no, sorry. No photos of this one!)

Jodi's recount:

"I must admit I was pretty nervous, but going with Taube and Katie made me feel better. It was Katie's first time too, but Taube is an expert and is a huge fan of onsen. So, we headed to the Egret building, put our shoes in a locker, got our little towel, the girls said goodbye to Jono and Julian and headed for the locker room.

It was like something straight out of "Road Trip" with naked bodies walking around everywhere. Right about then, then floor was looking pretty good! But with mirrors and bodies everywhere you just didn't know where else to look! We found our lockers and started to disrobe. When I got down to my underwear I considered how I was going to do the rest without exposing too much of myself to my friends!!! But while I was contemplating my next move I got a case of the giggles, and it was contagious as Katie was soon giggling too! Well, I decided to just do it and soon we were all heading to the bathing rooms, or so we thought. We started following Taube (though she'd never been to this one before) but all of a sudden I felt like something wasn't right...as we poked our heads around the corner we spotted the entrance lobby of the onsen! Whoopsy! Wrong way!!! Giggling our heads off we also heard other women laughing too and pointing us in the right direction!

The first thing you have to do before you enter the baths is wash yourself, really well! So, you sat at a stall on tiny plastic seats with shampoo, body wash, a shower hose and a mirror set in front of you. After giving ourselves a wash we headed to the first bath. The room was really huge, tiled to the 2nd floor ceiling with a set of stairs at one end and plants scattered around the place. It was like a shallow pool, only the temperature was really warm. There were single people spa sections, which many women were enjoying. We just sat in the bath chatting and relaxing. After about 15 minutes were a bit too toasty so hopped out of the bath and went up the stairs (we could have caught an elevator) to the second floor. Here there was a sauna (complete with a plasma screen), 2 more shallow baths and 3 single baths overlooking the castle. After more chatting and relaxing we decided we had had enough and went back to the change rooms. It was certainly an experience to remember!"

For Jono's recount, stay tuned...

For those who were really patient, Jono's recount is now here! Onsen was really nice... though a little strange walking through a 2 story building starkers! Was definitely more confident walking around after sitting in a hot bath for about an hour... My highlight was definitely the extremely large plasma in the sauna... the low point was when the cleaning lady waltzed through whilst i was in the sauna... lucky the towel was close by! And I know the question all you girls are asking... and the answer is I don't know... though I can tell you that the towels they use are quite small...

Progressive Farewell Brunch

2007-12-01T08:11:00.001+09:00

With the end of our working holiday fast approaching (now only a week left) we had a farewell brunch party with our new friends in Japan. Katie, Joe, Taube and Julian were absolute stars and helped us organise a progressive brunch.

1. Place: Katie and Joe's apartment, #304
Food: Fruit and mimosa.

2. Place: Taube and Julian's apartment, #403
Food: Sausages, breakfast burritos and biscuits and gravy.

3. Place: Jodi and Jono's apartment, #302
Food: Pancakes, Pocky and brownies.

We had a wonderful time eating all the delicious food and catching up with everyone. Joe brought out his game "catch Phrase" and we all had a go. It was so funny watching our Japanese friends panic when they couldn't think of the right words! Very cute. Here is a picture of Eiko panicking on her turn! We received our first wedding gift from Eiko as well as some other beautiful parting gifts. We certainly are going to miss all the awesome friends we have made here and hope to meet them again in the future, whether it be America, Australia or Japan.

What The???? LAST EDITION 2007

2007-12-01T08:05:00.001+09:00

Last Day at Joyo Elementary

2007-11-30T18:40:00.001+09:00

I am still amazed every time I go to this school. They have a brass band which would easily rival the military bands that walk down the streets in city parades. Simple amazing. Remember, these kids are no older than 12 years old. Their band not only plays amazing music, but also does a marching routine while they play! The routine also includes dancers with flags and free dancing! Here they are practising before school.

I had my usual number of 3 classes for the day, nothing out of the ordinary. However, Mr Kosaka planned a Goodbye party for me with his 2nd grade class. This picture is him and written on the board is "Jodi sensei's farewell party". I really enjoyed working with him (he accompanied me to the other classes too), as he speaks really good English and has a great sense of humour. The class party was really cute.

First they all played a song for me on their (creepy) mouth organs. It was great! Then they sang a song for me. Next they had some time to make me a gift (mostly origami which I collected in a big bag!). Some students drew a picture of me. It was super cute. Last of all we had a group photo. It was such a lovely way to end my time at Joyo Elementary...easily my favourite school. Sayonara minasan.

The Last Japanese Cooking Lesson

2007-11-30T18:16:00.000+09:00

This was by far the easiest and quickest cooking lesson EVER!

Yumiko brought pre-prepared salads and mixed rice (made by herself of course) and the already cut and beautifully presented vegetable platter ready for the nabe pot, Shabu Shabu style. So all we had to do was turn on the stove, boil some water and then chuck everything in and wait for it to boil.

We had Chinese cabbage, carrot, leek, tofu, 3 kinds of mushrooms and pork. It was really delicious. An although we were only eating small amounts at a time, we were pretty full way before the shabu shabu was finished!

For a special dessert Yumiko baked a coffee cake for Jono's and my farewell. She took cake making classes for 2 years, so the cake tasted pretty good (even if it wasn't chocolate!). So thus ends our Japanese fortnightly, 800 yen cooking classes and dinner. It was a great opportunity and we are thankful for all Yumiko's hard work. We'll certainly think of her every time we use one of her recipes.

Himeji City Book of Records

2007-11-30T18:05:00.000+09:00

Category:
" Most bikes stolen from one household within a 7 day period"
Winners: #302 Shirasagi Residence

Jodi Whitfield & Jono Gardner...

RECORD: 3 bikes

So lightning not only struck once, but 3 times! Lucky us! All stolen from the identical spot.

Photos from the archives...
You may well be wondering where the third bike came from? Well, it was one we were borrowing from Katie and Joe!

I don't think i'm ready for that jelly

2007-11-29T20:14:00.000+09:00

For cultural reference see Destiny's child... Who would have thought the three song stresses (is that really a word?) who like to shake their butts through pure water (actually... wrong cultural reference, think that was British group All Saints, but I digress) would have written lyrics so profound. Though I would have liked them to be more definite... SO if I looked like Beyonce (and believe me there are plenty of of people that wish I did!) and was rewriting "bootylicious" I would have said "I am definitely not ready for that jelly!"

This blog started in February... When I say February that's when it started in my head... and has taken 11 months to make it this far. Upon visiting a convenience store I was looking for a drink. I didn't really want anything carbonated so went for the "Weider multi-vitamin". I thought it sounded delicious and quite nutritious. So imagine my face when after sucking on the straw I got lumps... I though maybe it was off (for Cultural reference see Wadey drinking milk from Jono's fridge at 3 in the morning)... but no, it was just jelly! At least a little liquefied but only due to the fact that apparently it was a phenomenal multi vitamin did I continue and eventually finish. As a side note I have prepared myself for that Jelly and have decided that I am ready, and in fact willing if it has the possibility of some health benefits.

Fast forward to September. Having spent some time in Kobe with Jodi, Ma, Pa and Verity we headed for the vending machine. For those of you who have been here you will know there is a vending machine on every corner. There is also a grape flavored drink in every vending machine. Jodi loves the sweetness of the grape so immediately headed. When she looked into the can (don't ask me why she was doing this) she realised she could see her reflection... mirror mirror in the can... who's the biggest jelly fan... Not Jodi! It was incredibly sweet.. not nice at all... would it have been nice if she was ready for the jelly... categorically no! In some cases it doesn't matter if you're ready for the jelly!

Fast forward to November... Having finished culture day or something like it a can of coffee appeared on my desk... ripper... until I looked closer and realised it was coffee jelly... So I downed it... kind of screwing my face at times... it certainly was different... Begged me to ask the question does it matter if you're ready for the jelly if it just shouldn't be made in the first place...

So, there is my appraisal on jelly in Japan. You can be ready for the jelly if it tastes alright... You won't ever be ready for that jelly if it tastes awful or is just wrong in principal! For those venturing east... Beware the can... read the labels at all costs... and beware that underneath the lid or ring pull could be a nasty surprise.

In Loving Memory

2007-11-26T20:42:00.000+09:00

This is to mourn the death of my bike... Yellow, fast and reliable... taken from the front of Bon Marche by the station... Survived by Jodi's silver bike... May you find happiness with your new owner... continue to be fast and yellow... though i hope you give the sod who took it all the grief in the world... punctures, gear failures and may your bell never ring true again!

Reading Record

2007-11-23T18:39:00.001+09:00

29-"In the Company of the Courtesan"

By Sarah Dunant

This is a story about a beautiful courtesan and her sharp-witted dwarf partner who escape Rome in 1527 and go to Venice to start a new life. It was an interesting read.

Only one more book and I'll have reached my GOAL of 30 books....

White Trash College Bash

2007-11-23T18:24:00.000+09:00

As a send off party for the Aussies (hmmm?) Katie and Joe threw a "White Trash College Bash". As we don't have quite the same 'college' experience back in Oz, it was a our first glimpse into the college party life!

Everyone made a great effort to dress up and I must admit that I had a lot of fun doing it...though the pictures will no doubt raise a few eyebrows! Katie and I went shopping for our "trashy" outfits and came away with some goodies from the 100yen shop! Where else would you go to get:

blue eye shadow

foundation

stick on nails (complete with diamonds)

hair rollers

glitter eye liner

fake glitter eyelashes?

I spotted a long sleeve denim shirt with some beautiful embroidery on the front (so early 80s. Honestly, do people see these items and think "yes, I love it!"?). I cut the sleeves off and tied the front in a knot under which I wore a flashy red bra! I paired this with my own jeans and a pair of apple slippers. Wallah! Jono had a flannelet shirt with the sleeves cut out, paired with a red long sleeve t-shirt, jeans, a truckie cap and a handle-bar moustache! We won the "trashy couple" award. We are so proud!!! hahaha

There was much entertainment including the notorious beer bong, flippee cup and beer pong. They were a lot of fun...Katie and I were the champion beer pong players!!! Woohoo.

It was a pretty classy night all up (*cough*) and we had an absolute ball!

Our First (and probably only) Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T18:08:00.000+09:00

As we are amongst many friends of American nationality, it seemed only natural that we joined them for one of their favourite holidays...Thanksgiving.

We all booked into a local restaurant called The Blue Plate for our Thanksgiving meal. It made life a lot easier not having to cook or clean up afterwards! Though, I'm sure it's all wonderful bonding time! Jono and I joined Katie, Joe and Luci on a small table.

The spread of food at the buffet was magnificent including macaroni and cheese, caramelised potato, green salad, chili con carne, stuffing, chicken stew, mashed potato, pumpkin and no feast is complete without a turkey and cranberry sauce. It was scrumptious. During our meal we went around the table and discussed the things we were all thankful for...such as family, friends and the awesome experiences we've had over the year in Japan. It is a really nice holiday and I wish we had a holiday of our own like this in Australia, a non-commercial holiday and a chance just to hang with family and friends over great food.

Japanese Cooking Lesson #5

2007-11-23T17:50:00.000+09:00

Yumiko is certainly keeping the standards high with what she teaches us during our cooking lessons. With fried chicken as the only request, she came with all the goodies to create a magical meal. The menu included caramelised sweet potato chips, pickled vegies, fried chicken, radish and miso salad, soup and of course rice.

Here are the boys of the group getting in on the action. Jono slicing and dicing the various vegies to be pickled and Mitch is using the cooking chopsticks to tend to the fried chicken.

As a special treat Yumiko made some caramelised chips, which were oh so sweet and too good to resist. Yummy, yummy, yummy. And so we dined on fine food and good company until we were ready to pop! Next lesson is going to be our last one...which is unfortunate. But, we have all the recipes so look out everyone...guess what you'll be eating when you come to our place for tea?!!!

Japanese BBQ

2007-11-21T06:27:00.000+09:00

Eiko organised a Japanese BBQ and so Katie, Joe, Steve and I went along. Too bad for Jono, he had to work!

We were picked up at 10am by Eiko, Toshi, Mayumi and Naomi and drove 40 mins out of the city to the base of a beautiful mountain which was a popular BBQ spot. On the way we stopped into the supermarket and picked up the food; beef, pork, vegies and snacks.

As always, our Japanese friends came prepared with everything but the kitchen sink... a picnic table, chairs, picnic rugs, coal, utensils and more! The boys started on making the fire for the BBQ, but very soon it was smothered when Toshi loaded more and more coal on top!! So, they moved in under a shelter with some more sturdy BBQs. As Katie and I relaxed on the picnic rugs, everyone searched for twigs and anything that could act as kindling to get the fire going. Then Toshi was banned from adding the coal! They surely got the fire going...it almost touched the shelter roof. Check out the smoke!

Soon the food was cooked and it was a feast including meat, corn on the cob, capsicum, mushrooms, onion and assorted other goodies that Eiko prepared. Just when we were ready to burst they started cooking yakisoba! The food just kept coming. It was great.

Then as some after dinner entertainment I pulled out my frizbee and we played with it. None of the Japanese people had ever thrown one before so they were fascinated and wanted to perfect the art (that doesn't sound Japanese at all!). Here is Eiko giving it a red hot go! It was lots of fun. Joe and Katie also taught us some chant games from back home...also a lot of fun.

We were certainly spoilt with the beautiful scenery...tall thin trees, a moss covered bridge over a creek and some gorgeous Autumn leaves. This tree had red, pink, orange, yellow and green leaves. Just too pretty!

Autumn Wonderland

2007-11-21T06:23:00.001+09:00

Autumn season is definitely here, and slowly deteriorating, that means the trees put on another spectacular show...this time with the gorgeous colours of the leaves.

We were invited to go back to Mt Shosha (w went there in Feb, all rugged up in beanie, scarf and gloves) by Chiaki and joined some of her Japanese friends and Mitch and Merry + the kids. We did it the hard way this time, we actually climbed to the top while the others took the rope way and met up with us! The road was really, really steep and we got a great lower body workout! Though I must admit that the treck back down was more painful. It took about half an hour to climb.
What we saw when we got to the top was pure beauty...leaves of red, pink, orange, yellow and green colouring the mountains. Just gorgeous. Though we had been to parts of it before, it felt somewhat different. This time around we set off early in the day and so had more time to explore and walk around. We got to see the building where "The Last Samurai" was filmed. So we have now walked where Tom Cruise has walked.

For lunch we packed our own lunch boxes which included salad, rice and tempura. V. yummy! We sat with Mitch and Merry and witnessed the challenge of getting a 4 years old and 20 month old to sit still and eat lunch! RJ was very generous and passed out some American candy to all the Japanese people, friends and randoms, and he actually came back with more candy than when he left!!! People had given him random sweets to take back! Sarah felt a bit left out so she grabbed the bag of carrot sticks and handed one to an old Japanese guy! So sweet!

After wandering around and seeing a few shrines it was time to go, and like I said, the treck down the mountain was a tiring one...but well worth it!

Winter Hawaiian Party

2007-11-21T06:21:00.001+09:00

Tina decided to have a Hawaiian party for her birthday...a very cool idea...but remember folks, it's pretty much Winter here!

So, the heater was cranked up and Tina, Lauren and Marie looked the part in their bikini tops, clam shell bras and grass skirts. Katie and I on the other hand went the bikini top over clothes!!! We called it "Hawaiian Party Winter Clothes Style"!!!

There were lots of people who dressed up for the occasion. There were a few sexy Hawaiian shirts, leis and a couple of guys wore their board shorts or wet suit! At least the wetsuit would have kept him warm!

Cocktails were flowing, as Lauren and others prepared blender after blender full of cocktail mixers for them abundant spread on the table. We all had to bring a bottle each, which was a great idea. I drank Illusions all night and they were yummy.

After Katie and I took some random photos of us hiding behind people (see me through the arm of the wetsuit guy?), we decided randomly to play 'dares'. This is where the hyperactive fun started (and other people thought we were mad!!!). The dares were pretty tame but hilarious to us both who were just about rolling around on the floor laughing.
Dares included...

Taking a sip out of one of a few abandoned drinks on the table.
Mixing a drink of Baileys, Midori, Grape juice and Coke and getting 3 people to taste test it.
Blowing a raspberry on some one's tummy.
Crawling though Tina's legs and look through her grass skirt (great photo op)...
and so on...

It was a lot of fun, and I liked getting to dress up. Happy Birthday Tina.

Vissel Kobe win again!

2007-11-11T18:54:00.000+09:00

Jono, Katie, Joe and I headed to Kobe for the soccer. Having booked it in Joe's calendar a while ago, we were excited when the date finally came.

First up we went to Harborland for lunch and a spot of shopping. I ended up buying a present for Beanie...a Santa suit! It is soooooo cute, and I figure he loves his Winter jacket so he'll probably prance around in this costume come Christmas day! Katie bought a reindeer costume for Joe's dog back home! Classic.

Next we went to Jono's and my favourite okonomiyaki restaurant. We had to line up and wait for a table and while we waited we watched the cook work his magic at the grill. One dish intrigued Joe so much he asked the cook what he was cooking..."omnisoba". So after having already decided on which okonomiyaki to eat, we added one of those to the list too! It was yaki soba wrapped up in a fried egg (or 3 mixed together). The cook simply threw 3 eggs straight on the grill, which cracked them open. He then removed the shells, popped each yolk on the head and then swirled them altogether! So simple but so effective...and delicious (of course!).

Then we rode the subway and made our way to Home's Stadium for the soccer. On our way through the crowds, past the souvenir shops and into the stadium we were stopped by a westerner. His name was Alan and he asked if we had tickets yet, to which we answered "no". It turned out that he has been living in Kobe for 19 years and is a member of an exclusive sports club. The club gets 30 tickets to give out to people at random for free (any money donated goes to charity). We happily accepted the 4 tickets and were impressed with the position of our seats... And of course, the free tickets left more money for beer!

The game was pretty exciting and we got to see our favourite player, 13 Yoshito, in action. He scored the last goal of the match. There was plenty of action, head butts, yellow cards and faked injuries. It was funny to watch the medics sprint out to the pitch with the stretcher only to be told they didn't need it and they sprinted back to the sideline. They almost looked disappointed! At half time the small ditches made by the players on the field were filled with sand by several employees. I could not imagine having to do that as a job!

After the game we headed to Sannomiya for dinner and more beer. We found a place called the Polo Dog. It was a cute bar with some friendly bar staff. Joe and Jono had fun mixing with the locals, speaking broken Japanese and Engrish! At one point they were all dancing! Very funny. After playing a few drinking games we decided that we had better head home and call it a night. On the way to the train station we stumbled across a Purikura booth and had some piccies taken! I think Katie and Joe enjoyed their first taste of Kobe.

Reading Record

2007-11-09T19:11:00.000+09:00

27-"The Tipping Point"

By Malcolm Gladwell

This too was a really good and interesting read. This book looks at how epidemics start by referring to something called the 'tipping point'. I powered through this one! But what do I read next?

28-"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan"
By Lisa See

A beautiful book set in nineteenth-Century China about two young girls who were made laotong, "Old Same", an emotional match that lasts a lifetime. It's about their lives, social standings and joys and tragedies of marriage and motherhood. A real eye opener.

5 Weeks to go...

2007-11-04T21:02:00.000+09:00

Enough said!

What the??!! November

2007-11-04T20:33:00.000+09:00

Cultural Day

2007-11-02T20:35:00.000+09:00

First up I'd like to say that I don't know why the schools call this event a Cultural Day, more like a drama and music day...nonetheless...that's what I had at my school today.

The gym was fit out with the floor coverings, curtains drawn and seating arranged for expected guests and students. There was a display of various art work by the students including snow dome collages, box collages and paintings. This Hello Kitty one was very cute, as were many of the others. Quite impressive actually. I was shown to my seat next to the teacher's table and then awaited the big event.

At 9am on the dot the proceedings began. First a speech from the Principal, then the head of PTA and lastly the school student captain. That was followed by a speech contest between 4 girls, one from each class of 2nd and 1st grade classes. Then the good stuff started...the singing contest. Each class lined up on stage. One student conducted the class and the student playing the piano. All pianists were amazingly talented. Every class sang 2 songs, one of which was sung by all classes. With 6 classes in the whole school we heard the one song sung 6 times. The harmonies were really good, WAY, WAY, WAY better than anything the Port Augusta town choir ever churned out!

Next was a play read by the 2nd graders. They started off by telling the story of the 3 little pigs, but half way through the story were interrupted by another group of students wearing all black and sunglasses who then proceeded to tell the story from the Wolf's point of view. There was a huge projection screen which showed pictures as the story was read, so then even I could keep up with what was going on! After this it was the teacher's turn to do our act!

During the week we had been practising singing in staff meeting everyday in preparation for the cultural day. We sang "Do-Re-Mi" in English and then Japanese and the "Puff the Magic Dragon" in Japanese. I was asked to sing "Do-Re-Me" as a solo which, surprisingly to the music teacher, I agreed to! So, we all headed back stage, mounted the steps and were then greeted by students handing out coloured card music notes and sticking them on our clothes! Very Japanese! So then we walked out on stage and waited for the curtain to rise. In the meantime I was handed the wireless mic and instructed to sing slowly! As the curtain was wound up I could hear several "Jodi Sensei"s from the students and then the piano began. I started out pretty well and in no time all the students were clapping to the song...it was so cute and I continued to belt out my lovely tunes and bop with their clapping! Next, we repeated the verse and this time the teachers joined in. The kids continued to clap for the entire act, which I found out later was not something they did last year!!! It was so much fun. After we finished the students called out "Encore, Encore".

The rest of the day included performances from the koto club and the guitar and mandolin club. They were great! There was another play and then the awards were given out for the singing contest. Once the festivities were all over we went back to the school building. I was then invited to go to the tatami room to enjoy a tea ceremony. I went with the Principal, Deputy, the janitor and Ms Hino. It was a lot of fun.

nervous

2007-11-02T19:10:00.000+09:00

So I've been heading to one of the primary schools all year and yesterday was the last time. Over the last 4 times however we have been preparing for a demonstration lesson. Originally I was told that a few local teachers would be coming to see the lesson. We had fiddled with the lesson for a few weeks and eventually prepared the final lesson plan.

So yesterday I took the bus out to Yamada, about 45 minutes. It's out in the sticks. I had asked about dress code and when told I didn't have to wear a suit but the other teacher would I knew something was up. Then I arrived and all of the other teachers were wearing suits. I asked if it was an open day and they said no. I was told to be in the room at 1.45.

So I ventured in at 1.45. I noticed a couple of teachers I knew, so I said hello. I started to get nervous. I was also a little hungry so I headed out and walked around to calm the nerves and eat some apple. When I came back the crowd had swelled. We were now at 15 with about 5 minutes left before the start. This was not looking promising, as I know many Japanese people like to rock up write on the start time. Sure enough, another 10 did, including about 5 from city hall... including my boss... The nerves were jangling, especially as a good portion of the lesson involved me wearing a paper crocodile on my head!

Well, eventually the nerves settled... the lesson was good, well I think it was anyway... Looking like a peanut with a crocodile on my head seemed to endear me to a few of the Japanese people... I wonder if we'll see them wearing crocodiles on their heads teaching English... I only hope they don't hae to do it with 25 other teachers and their boss watching them.

International Festival

2007-11-02T18:37:00.000+09:00

On Jono's birthday (on not for his birthday) we went to the International Festival held across the road from the castle. There were a lot of tents surrounding the grassed area with different goods and activities. There was a tent for Aboriginal Art and we'd been asked to pop down and help for a little while. At first we thought we'd be there about half an hour tops, especially as there wasn't a whole lot for us to do when we first got there. So I wandered around the grounds, checking out the different tents and down the row of International food, that looked and smelled great!

When I returned to the tent I took over from Jane (a fellow Adelaidian who stayed on after her contract last year doing private teaching) and just stayed there for the next 3 hours!! I had heaps of fun doing face, hand and arm painting on kids! We used a sponge to stencil either a turtle, snake or lizard first, then used a paint brush to outline and fill them with coloured dot painting. It was fun. I don't think I stopped painting for more than 30 seconds in the whole time I was there! The kids were super cute and some even managed to say colours and a thank you in English. I couldn't resist but get a turtle on my hand!

Reading Record (yes, I've slowed down a bit!)

2007-10-31T11:53:00.000+09:00

25 "Touch the Top of the World; A Blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther than the Eye Can See"

By Erik Weihenmayer

An amazing story about a man who was born with an eye disease and progressively lost his sight and at 13 was declared blind. This, however, has not stopped him from reaching his goals and is a world-class athlete: acrobatic skydiver, long distance biker and marathon runner, skier, mountaineer, ice climber and rock climber. He married his long time sweet heart at 13,000 feet of Kilimanjaro and has a daughter. Just an amazing story!

26 - "Blink"

By Malcolm Gladwell

An interesting read about how opinions and decisions are made in the "Blink: of an eye.

Halloween at Shirasagi

2007-10-27T10:53:00.000+09:00

It is an annual custom here at Shirasagi Residence to put on a Halloween party for kids in the local community, and who are we to mess with tradition? We all spent time decorating the apartment block with spider webs, skeletons, pumpkins, black cats, streamers and the like in preparation of last night's big event.

Everyone managed to rustle up some great costumes and I was told by a Japanese friend that this was the best effort yet. We had elementary and Jr High students, a workman, witches, cat woman, Cleopatra, Scream, Arabian night, the devil, a cowgirl, Lilo and Stitch, a waitress, a nun and one of the Blues Brothers and that was just the adults!!!!! It was actually my first Halloween to dress up so I was very excited to dress in my new costume and join in the fun.

At 6 the kids started arriving and they lined up at the door to collect their colour-coded wrist band and enter the party. The first part of the night included lots of games. The kids were split into their coloured groups and rotated through the following games:

fishing for points. There was a tub of green water with dry ice on top and small jack-o-lanterns floating. The kids had to hook a jack-o-lantern with a fishing rod and collected the points inside.
Trick or Treating bag decorating.
The Marshmellow Suck game. This was a relay where kids had to run to the table, suck up a small marshmellow from their cup and return it to the other end without dropping it. The first team to remove all of their marshmellows won.
Eyeball Toss. Kids had to toss the eyeball ping pong and bouncy balls into the jack-o-lantern container.

The kids were really well behaved, though there was one really feisty princess who kept kicking and shoving people! Next there was the jack-o-lantern carving viewing an the costume competition. They all looked just gorgeous. The last activity of the night was the much anticipated "Trick or Treating". Jono and I were on duty for this one so we waited in our apartment for the doorbell to ring. Jono, in his Scream costume simply stood in the doorway and slowly opened the door. One little girl opened the door, took one look at Jono standing there and screamed her lungs out as she hightailed it down the balcony!!!! Poor kid, though it was classic!

All in all a pretty successful party.

Ikebana Take 2

2007-10-25T20:24:00.000+09:00

I enjoyed my first taste of ikebana so much that I had to go back for more...this time Katie joined in too.

Once again Eiko picked some beautiful flowers for us including gladiolas, daisies and some pretty pink flowers (forget their name). I was surprised at how much I had actually remembered from last time including measuring the flowers across the diameter of the dish.

Once again we looked at the 'depth' of our triangular arrangements and followed Eiko's instructions carefully. I think Katie was concentrating really hard (well, I think the tongue gives it away!). Once again, I really enjoyed putting it all together and in a flash it was all done. I just can't wait for the red gladiolas to bloom.

Nada Festival

2007-10-24T16:49:00.000+09:00

Jono and I took a half day off work so we could go to the Nada Festival. We had been invited by one of Jono's elementary school teachers to sit with her family on the mountain. We met Murakami at the train station and made our way through the small town. There were people everywhere as well as many portable shrines awaiting their time in the lime light. They looked very relaxed as these guys casually lean on their 1 ton shrine drinking beer and smoking cigarettes!

Next we made the small trek to the mountain, and they weren't kidding when they called it that! As soon as we rounded the last corner I could see the very tall mountain with levels cut into it and many people sitting on their picnic rugs awaiting the action. It was quite a hike up the steep side of the mountain, trying not to step on people's blankets or slide down the dirt paths! About 4 levels from the top we were invited to sit down. Murakami's daughter, father, sister and niece were there and soon came her husband (who brought us some much appreciated extra jumpers!!). We were provided with a bento for lunch which had many yummy bits, and not so yummy bits, and pieces in it. Soon the action began. To the left of Jono's head you can see a small patch of red...that's where it all happened. Luckily my camera has a big zoom!
To begin the action the many different groups from different towns (identified by the different coloured pom poms and outfits) brought their smaller shrine made of wood in the arena to fight. It was crazy. The shrines were carried by men and held up by the long sticks you can see. The two shrines would crash into each other and the last to crash to the ground won. We saw a couple of people being carried out of the mass of people looking worse for wear as they were carried to the waiting ambulance and taken to hospital. Jono saw one guy with his leg bent the wrong way! Ewwww! You wouldn't want to be trapped under those things that's for sure! Once the fighting was over the small shrines were hauled up the side of the mountain to the top.

Next came in the large, more beautiful and heavy shrines. They did not fight with these, more like dance around. The crowd would clap and cheer when two shrines were lifted and bounced up and down next to each other. At one stage the shrines were heading towards the crowd and one tipped up...luckily it didn't fall over...but we got very nervous. After some showing off, they eventually made their way up the mountain too. By this time we had been sitting and watching for 4 hours and Murakami decided we needed to go to her home to rest before climbing the hill to view the shrines.

It was a short walk away and we were soon sitting in a tatami-floored guest room being offered fruit, cookies, pretzels and drinks. They were very kind. After a short relax we went the short-cut way up the mountain (through the scrub) and made it to the top. It was an interesting sight. The 6 shrines lined up in a line and their carriers drinking beer and eating lots of food. There was a bit of a stench up there too, so we didn't hang around for too long...the mix of body odour and urine was a bit over powering! Soon the shrines were carried back down the mountain and back to the bottom. After having drunk a lot of beer it was quite scary to see these guys head downhill with a 1 ton shrine on their shoulders. Needless to say it took one particular group 8 attempts to pick the thing up and get going!

After we had seen enough we headed back to the family home to collect our gear and go home, but they invited us to stay for dinner! We had sukiyaki and it was great. We felt really spoilt and glad we had the opportunity to enjoy Nada Festival in such great company.

Aboshi Lantern Festival

2007-10-21T21:40:00.000+09:00

Tonight we headed to Aboshi for their Lantern Festival. There were the usual stalls lining the streets with great smelling foods and games for kids and some more portable shrines beautifully lit up for night time. After battling the crowds we made our way down the other end of the road to where the festivities were.

Rising above the crowds were some bamboo sticks with lanterns hanging from them, but only for a short time. Soon there were many bamboo sticks hitting each other and smashing the lanterns to smithereens! It was pretty full on! There was then a giant lantern that everyone attacked and smashed into tiny pieces.

Next came a huge banner and giant pinata (well it reminded us of one anyway!). All the men formed a circle with the banner in the middle and chanted while hitting their bamboo poles on the ground, then they all ran in for the kill, but because of the height of the banner, only destroyed the bottom half of it!

To finish our viewing for the night we saw the giant boy being lead into the middle of the circle. After the chanting and hitting of sticks on the ground, again they went in for the kill! The poor boy had his head ripped off and face pulled apart! Meanwhile there was a Japanese man standing behind us laughing his head off! We were glad that there are some Japanese people who find these things as amusing as we do!

Fushimi-Inari Taisha

2007-10-20T08:48:00.000+09:00

This is certainly in the top 5 of my favourites in Japan so far. The entire complex, consisting of fine shrines, sprawls across the wooded slopes of Inari-Yama. A pathway wanders 4km up the mountain and is lined with hundreds of red torii. Apparently these torii gates have been donated by many different towns and they vary from the very new, vibrant red colours to the very old faded ones. There are a scattering of stone torii too. This place just felt magical to me.

As Phillip, Lesley, Verity, Jono and I made our way up the mountain I couldn't help but stop often to take more and more beautiful shots on my camera! I just couldn't take enough! There were lots of people wandering both up and down the mountain as well as one guy who used the path as his running trail. What an awesome place to workout!

About 3/4 of the way up Lesley, Verity and Jono retreated back down the mountain but Phillip and I continued up. At the very top was a shrine at which there were a sprinkling of people preying to their Gods. The feel up there was quite different to the one I experienced climbing up. There were many mini torii gates put here and there with messages written on them. It made me think of a graveyard...like a torii gate graveyard. A bit creepy really!

The trip back down was very easy and we met up with the others ready to head to our next destination.

Japanese cooking Class #4

2007-10-18T21:40:00.000+09:00

Well, another 2 weeks have passed so that means it's time for another Japanese cooking class with Yumiko.

Tonight we made:
Kentinjiru (miso and sesame paste soup with vegetables)
Hamburger steaks (with bamboo, shitake mushrooms and sesame)

The hamburgers was the fun part. All the ingredients had to be finely chopped and then mixed in with mince meat! Yumiko got this job and squished it all together with her hands! These steaks were humongous but absolutely divine to eat!

The soup was also very tasty, a slight variation on the miso soup we previously learned how to cook. Once again Yumiko came armed with all of the equipment and ingredients. The meal was delicious and really simple.

Maikos for a day

2007-10-16T21:06:00.000+09:00

The time had finally come...I had been waiting all year for this...as I kidnapped Verity (who put up no resistance at all) we headed to the streets of Gion to a little studio to be made up as Maiko (Geisha).

First off we had to strip to our underwears and put on a white robe. With all jewellery removed we went up to the 2nd floor for stage 1...the make-up. Well, I wouldn't call it make-up, more like paint! First our faces were massaged as we had some sort of moisturisers put on our faces, then a wide brush was used to paint our faces and necks white. Next came the red eyeliner, mascara and then the lips. The lips were so beautifully done that I actually looked like I had some!! haha (My Aunty calls me chicken lips for a good reason!) We were asked to smile with our mouth closed as a thick, smooth brush was pushed in between the lips. When I opened my mouth to smile I looked like I had been sucking some one's blood! It was all over my teeth. But I sucked it off, so it was all good! Next came the wig. They actually used the front section of my own hair to stick to the wig so I had my own hair line. They used a wax to make it stay and spray painted it black to blend in. I hardly recognised myself in the mirror. It was surreal.

Secondly we went to the 1st floor for the kimono. We had a rather large selection to choose from so after some ooohing and ahhhing we chose our outfits and waited to be dressed. There were a few other girls there at that time, 2 were westerners too! After lots of layers, padding, tying, pulling and sucking in (hehe) we were dressed and ready for our studio photo shoot.

They seemed to have a routine of poses because the two westerners in front of us did the exact same poses we did. Which was actually quite handy because then we could see what way we had to face and what way to tilt our heads. I found it really hard to smile without showing my teeth (a yellow colour compared to the make-up). I was also trying to go for the Japanese style! Soon we were done and headed downstairs to surprise Lesley who was waiting for us. We hit the streets...

I really wasn't sure how the local people would react to seeing some western girls dress like this. Their reaction really surprised and delighted me. Everyone had to do a double take as they realised we weren't Japanese! "Kawaii" (cute) and "Kirei" (beautiful) were words we heard over and over along with many smiles, waves and cameras pointing in our direction. I felt like a movie star.

Our choice of footware was perhaps not the best. We went for the really high thongs, which look really cool but are pretty hard to walk in, especially downhill! We had to lean on Lesley for support! After an hour on the streets in was time to de-maiko ourselves and meet Jono and Phillip. Our studio photos are absolutely gorgeous, we were both really happy with them. It was an awesome experience.

Curves - In Japan

2007-10-16T20:38:00.000+09:00

Now that the cooler weather has arrived, as if someone has just flipped a switch, I am much more motivated to do some exercise. After Katie commented on how much fun it is at Curves, a short bike ride down the street, I decided to check it out.

As soon as we entered through the doors there were happy and loud greetings from all the staff members and waves from the gym members working out! The staff were really cute and helped explain each of the machines in the circuit. For those of you unfamiliar with the Curves way of doing things...It is simply a circuit room set up with 12 machines and exercise mats in between each one for you to jog, squat or do whatever your little heart desires. You do two complete circuits, stretch and then you're done. The whole thing takes about half an hour. So, after my introductory visit I decided to join up.

Here are some rules of Curves...I wonder if they have these in America and Australia?

1. Say "Hi, hello" to your fellow members when you jump in the circuit, and "See you" when you leave.

2. Welcome new members and help them get familiar with the circuit.

3. Bring your sports shoes separately (inside sneakers), and do not use your street shoes.

I am really enjoying working out at Curves I just regret not joining earlier!

Skipping Class for a lesson!

2007-10-12T14:37:00.000+09:00

Confused by the title? Well, let me (Jodi) explain.

Last week the head of the PTA came and invited me to join the mothers in a cooking lesson for today (Friday). I knew I had 4 lessons but 3rd period was free so said I'd come then. My English teachers then informed me this morning that we had to record the listening exam in 3rd period, so I thought I'd miss it.

At the end of 1st period the deputy principal told my English teacher about the cooking class downstairs and suggested that I go. Ms Morimoto said it was OK for me to go and if I finish early to come to class afterwards. Woohoo!

When I arrived in the Home Ec room (a double classroom with 9 large work benches) there was a man in a chef outfit mixing some flour and water in front of an attentive audience of mothers sitting and watching wearing aprons and head scarves. They all looked so cute. For the duration of the 2nd period we saw him mix, knead and roll the special flour which was soon to turn into SOBA! I was so excited! He used the longest rolling pin I have ever seen and managed to roll his blob of dough into a large, flat, square sheet of soba which he then folded in half and half again. To finish off he used a scary looking knife to cut the 2mm strips. That was all I got to see because the chimes rang and I had to go.

I managed to get some extra time and went back to the Home Ec room for 10 or so minutes. The ladies had formed 4 groups and each group had made their own soba dough. They were up to the rolling part, beauty! The group which invited me to join them formed a circle around the table and took turns doing the rolling. Once your turn was up you moved around the table to the other side, everyone making their way around the table and back again for another shot. The ladies were impressed that I knew what to do. I told them (in Japanese) that I couldn't understand the chef speaking Japanese but I watched him. I think this surprised them, but hey, that's what I've been doing all year! Watch and learn!

At lunch time I was half way through eating my lunch when the head of the PTA came and asked if I wanted to taste the soba. Hmmmm, let me think about that...yep! I went down and was instructed on how to prepare the soba and then joined the other ladies in eating the soba dipped in a soy sauce, rice and tea. It was just delicious.

Ginkakuji

2007-10-07T19:16:00.000+09:00

To end Jono's family's holiday on a high we headed to Kyoto for 3 days. Though this was the third time for Jono and I to visit Kyoto, we managed to do things we haven't done before. First stop was Ginkakuji.

You approach the main gates along a path lined with tall hedges. You are greeted straight away with a beautiful zen garden. It consists of a sand cone with the top cut off and the characteristic parallel lines in the sand.

The rest of the gardens were beautiful and I went hell for leather with my new camera! I am starting to get really excited (as the Japanese do) because the leaves are starting to turn beautiful yellows, oranges and reds for Autumn. I don't think I have ever been this excited about the change in seasons, aside from the temperature!

The temple itself wasn't all that special (in my opinion). It looks like a little tired old thing and seeing at made me wonder why it's called the "Silver Pavilion". However, the visit to Ginkakuji was a very pleasant one indeed.

Japanese Cooking Lesson #3

2007-10-05T08:13:00.000+09:00

For our third cooking lesson we nominated to cook tempura (battered and fried meat and/or vegetables). As per usual, Yumiko arrived with all the goods and chattels needed for the lesson. First we read through (and corrected) her recipe for tempura and hiyayakko (a soft tofu salad). Then we set to work.

Yumiko instructed us on how to prepare the different dishes and we learned a few new tricks of the trade. My favourite was learning that the carrots (which are in a flower shape) are actually cut like that by using a type of cookie cutter! Verity had the honour of cutting those for us! Merry experienced whisking with chopsticks for the first time (that's very Japanese) to mix together the batter for the vegies and meat.

Yumiko brought an impressive range of vegies and meat for us to cook including mushroom, sweet potato, egg plant, carrot, green pepper type things, lotus root, a leaf type plant as well as shrimp, white fish and chicken. They were all cut into thin slices all ready to go.

The process of tempuring is quite simple...pick up the food, dip it into the batter and stick it in the oil. Yumiko was our 'chef' and told us that if you go to a restaurant the chef would cook the tempura for you at your table. We ate as she cooked, so everything was freshly cooked and piping hot. It all tasted soooooo good. My favourite was the lotus root. Verity loved the lotus root for a different reason, she could stick her chopsticks through the little holes to pick it up!

I (Jodi) was not a big fan of the tofu salad. Merry, knowing that I don't like the squishy tofu, was laughing the whole time and watching closely to see if I would eat it. She on the other hand loves the squishy tofu! I gave it a red hot go, mixing the shallots, ginger and soy sauce together and dipping the tofu in. The taste was really good but it's the texture I can't get past!

We invited Jono's parents to come and taste the tempura and Phillip was all very keen! So for his second dinner of the night he dug right in and loved everything! I think this made Yumiko very happy. Yumiko kindly made us dessert, a fruit gelatin which was magnificent. It had grapefruit, pineapple and kiwi fruit in it. Yummo!

Another successful cooking lesson and more dishes we can't wait to cook for everyone back home.

Arakawa Elementary School

2007-10-04T17:57:00.000+09:00

Today at Arakawa Elementary School there was a dodgeball competition on during home room time. Everyone made their way out onto the track and lined up on their classes. The kids were put into teams (and one team turned their cap inside out to show the red colour) and when the whistle blew there were about 12 games of Dodgeball all going at once! It was crazy. I was surprised at the force in which the 4th graders, whom I was watching, threw the ball at the other team! Quite violent and I even winced when kids were hit anywhere below the neck. Apparently you're not out if you get hit in the head (well that's alright then!).

Today I taught all of the 6th grade classes. I was asked to tell them some of my childhood memories and then teach them the vocabulary for McDonald's food. Well, I drew pictures on the blackboard, did over exaggerated gestures and sound effects to explain the story of how I broke my arm, how my Dad fell on top of me when a friend jokingly pushed him in the pool, that I always wanted to be a teacher and that my hobby is photography. On the last point I ask the classes if I could take their picture. Of course they said yes, they love having their picture taken. I had them on their edge of their seats and laughing their heads off, so making a fool of myself paid off. So then I taught them some vocab from McDonald's. The English teacher had prepared some cups and burger wrapping to make them look like burgers, which was great. I had to draw a few other food items, but the kids recognised them straight away!

Eating lunch at Elementary school still cracks me up when I see the kids wearing their little face masks and coats while serving lunch. Today's lunch included tuna and carrot spaghetti, my favourite salad (cabbage, carrot, con and bacon) and a bread roll. Not bad for free!!!! I had another fun day!

What the ??!!?? October

2007-10-04T17:41:00.000+09:00

Universal Studios Japan

2007-10-03T12:34:00.001+09:00

Jono and I happily took a day off work to go to USJ with Jono's family. We set off for Osaka nice and early and seemed to beat most of the crowds. As I (Jodi) had already been to USJ in March, I was keen to go back and do some more exploring. This time around the whole place was decorated in a Halloween theme. Street flags, souvenirs, drinks, ice creams, lollies, staff uniforms and a stage performance. "Happy Halloween" was the popular phrase of the day.

Jono, Verity, Phillip and I headed straight to the roller coaster called "Hollywood Dream". It was a REALLY COOL coaster, with at least 4 parts where you lose your stomach and a scream creeps out of your mouth. A unique feature of this coaster was the personal stereo. There was a control panel on the safety guard where you could choose which song you wanted to listen to on the ride. I chose "Get Back" by the Beatles as it was quite fitting. The music made the ride that much more enjoyable and gave you something else to think about other than the massive drop in front of you (well, maybe).

The other rides we went of for the day were:
* Jurrasic Park (another hilarious photo came from this)

* Jaws (This was really good and even shocked me a couple of times. At one stage there was a fair amount of fire and I felt ans though it would singe my eyebrows!)

*Spiderman (I didn't go on this one, but everyone said it was just incredible)
We also caught a number of shows:
*Backdraft

*Waterworld (This was both very impressive and hilarious. The show started with the hosts trying to wind up the crowd. If they weren't happy with the crowd's involvement they sprayed a bucket of water on them! So many people were sopping wet and it was hilarious because it wasn't us! The drama show was all in Japanese but we were excited by the boat chases, jumps and stunts. Brilliant.)

*Monsters Live Rock N Roll Show

*Blues Brothers Show (Verity and Lesley were pulled up on stage and did about 15 seconds of dancing! Very funny.)

We had lunch at Mel's Diner which is in the theme of the sixties rock 'n' roll. Burgers were the menu choice which were delicious. Other treats which we couldn't go past were the long donut sticks (pumpkin flavour), orange and strawberry muffin, ice cream and melon soda!

There were many different characters wandering around the park and we took the opportunity to have our pictures taken with them. We met Woody Wood Pecker, Popeye, The Pink Panther, Betty Boop and Hello Kitty. They were very cute and thankfully not being mobbed like Mickey and Minnie at Disneyland.

It was a fun day with the family and after okonomiyaki for dinner we headed home for some much needed rest!

VISITORS COMMENTS:

Initially I (Phillip) was a little cynical, Theme Parks are Theme Parks the world over. But gradually USJ won me over. The roller coaster was great, but Spiderman was the most fun. Checking out the food was interesting, because it was American Theme Park food transformed into a Japanese style. Sometimes great, other times just plain weird. Still a great day.

Okayama

2007-09-29T18:38:00.002+09:00

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

2007-09-29T18:38:00.001+09:00

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

2007-09-28T19:19:00.000+09:00

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

2007-09-28T19:14:00.000+09:00

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

Elementary School Sports Day

2007-09-24T08:46:00.000+09:00

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

2007-09-24T08:15:00.000+09:00

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

2007-09-22T18:19:00.000+09:00

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

2007-09-20T21:50:00.000+09:00

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

2007-09-19T12:42:00.000+09:00

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...

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2007-09-19T12:24:00.000+09:00

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.

Post Sports Day Enkai (Party)

2007-09-17T17:52:00.000+09:00

After a long day in the sun it was time for a nice dinner and a few drinks (or a few too many in some cases!). The staff from Shiroyama and I went to a famous Japanese restaurant in Himeji and had a great time. The food seemed to just keep coming and coming, and so did the beers! Here are some piccies I took of some of the dishes we ate...

One of the dishes I regret not taking a picture of was the very first one. I actually ate a sea snail! It was quite rubbery in texture and salty (surprising?) in taste. Not my favourite dish of the night! But I was proud that I managed to swallow it down.

It is a Japanese custom that you cannot pour yourself a drink, so people are always keeping track of when others need a top up. This is a very dangerous custom because it makes it near impossible to keep track of how much you've consumed (for those who care about those kinds of things). The beer flowed all dinner long and everyone became a bit looser in their disposition! The baseball coach finished two bottles of sake all to himself and funnily enough found it hard to walk! Even though for the most part of the party I had no clue as to what people were saying, I enjoyed reading people's body language, facial expressions and tone of voice and couldn't help but laugh when the group did! The Principal made a speech to welcome me to Shiroyama Jr High and so did a couple of other teachers. At 9pm the 1st party was over and I happily toddled off home to bed as some of them kicked on to the second party which was karaoke!

A Japanese Sports Day

2007-09-17T17:14:00.000+09:00

The day finally arrived and so I spent my Sunday at my school's Sports Day. Despite the fact that I had seen most of the events during practise sessions, I was still really excited to see the students competing in their red or white head bands. They all did really well and put on a great show for the parents who came to watch. The opening ceremony went off without a hitch and the students did a great job of the announcements over the day. Above, you can see the student leader standing in front of the Principal who is wearing his white sports outfit (pants and t-shirt), sneakers and a suit jacket!! What's wrong with that picture?

All day I saw the most amazing display of sportsmanship I have ever seen. Even when a bad call was made on certain competition, we simple heard a chorused "eeeeeeeeeee?" and then that was it!

I took part in a couple of events over the day which I loved. The first one was the 100m relay. The teachers had a team against the first grade girls. I managed to keep up with the youngsters and even bet 3 of them! Before each race, the participants were introduced and they would raise their hand in the air. When I was introduced they said my name, my role at the school and that I came from Australia. I waved my white batton in the air proudly which was followed by a round of applause from the spectators!! It was great! The second event I took part in was the women and children Vs men tug of war. We all had to congregate at the end of the track and then when the music turned on we had to jog onto the track, along the rope and into position. It was really fun but I ended up getting rope burn!

With the threat of an approaching typhoon looming all day, we managed to get through the closing ceremony as it started to sprinkle and then came a downpour! Some students decided to make the rain into a good thing and played junkin to see who had to run from the tent and slide across the high jump matresses like a slip and slide! It was hilarious. But very soon many more boys joined in! Good to see kids are just kids no matter where in the world you are.

A Casual Tea Ceremony

2007-09-17T13:22:00.000+09:00

On Friday night Jono and I joined Taube and Julian in going to a very casual tea ceremony. It was held at a Japanese lady's house who is always inviting foreigners and other friends to her 'open house'. She was very welcoming and friendly and even came to get us from the train station.

On arrival we made ourselves comfortable on a bench outside in the garden, and by this time it was dark. Scattered lights showed off the gorgeous Japanese garden and the many students dressed in yukatas taking part in serving us our sweets and green tea. The sweet we ate (which you eat to counteract the bitterness of the green tea and isn't always terribly tasty) was homemade and served on a pretty plate. It tasted pretty good, and so did the tea.

We then ventured into the house and joined a group of foreigners who were all living in nearby towns. George and "Melon" (Mary-Ellen), from England, Joy and Gabrielle, from Canada, and Susie, from Perth and Colm. They were all so friendly and we had a great time chatting, drinking beer and wine and eating various sweets. I also had a chance to see some ikebana students creating beautiful arrangements. Truth be told, I like mine better! It was a really great night.

Julian's Art Exhibition

2007-09-17T08:36:00.001+09:00

Katie, Joe, Valery, Eiko, Taube and I went to a little gallery not far from Shirasagi Residence to see Julian's (Taube's husband) art exhibition. Julian's area of interest is ceramics and had a display of various cups, plates, bowls and the like on show. I love the style he has adopted in that he pinches the sides of the cups to give them a unique look and feel.

There were many other pieces of art work on display including clay sculpture, oil on canvas and one was a photography piece. I'll let you see for yourselves...

Magic & Kimonos

2007-09-17T08:16:00.000+09:00

All of the ALTs, new and old, were invited to the community centre for a special event, just for us. First we all had to introduce ourselves in front of the Japanese community members (speaking Japanese where we could) and then we were treated to a magic show. It was performed by 4 Japanese women who were very cute and at times had us absolutely scratching our heads and wondering "How did she do that?".

This trick involved cups being tied with different scarves and then a liquid of the same colour was poured into it, all three colours came from the same bottle. What the?

This lady had a Mary Poppins paper bag. She showed us it was empty but them proceeded to pull scarves and plastic boxes, like the one pictured, out of it. This was very clever.

This trick involved a woman sitting on a small seat and then the supporting bi-folded wood was removed from underneath. The lady then thread a hoop over and under the floating seat. This was impressive.

The final act saw this lady spinning multiple spinning plates on top of an umbrella, a fan and then she spun 4 at once. Even little RJ got in on the act. He was so adorable.

Once the magic show came to a close we were invited into a different room which had a table covered in different kimonos. Katie was only too happy to pose in her first casual kimono! The community members were very generous in giving one to each of us as a present! The Japanese community members helped dress us in our kimonos and obis and then we had a fashion parade. It was lots of fun.

Ikebana (The Art of Flower Arranging)

2007-09-13T21:46:00.000+09:00

I have now had a first experience doing ikebana. You may remember when Eiko did a presentation during Summer classes, well tonight she gave me a one on one lesson.

I must admit I wasn't sure what to expect. I am not known for my patience, especially with things as fiddly as flowers! Eiko brought the flowers for me as well as a beautiful bowl and ikebana spikey thingy-me-doobie that you stab the flowers into. Eiko brought some sun flowers and 2 other types of flowers, a beautiful mix just for me!

Eiko gave me careful instructions on the different lengths of each flower as well as the angles they leant on and looking at the shapes. Ikebana is all about making 3-D shapes using height and depth. I must admit that I was really impressed with what I created and so is everyone else who has seen it! I am definitely booking myself in for another lesson. I really enjoyed it and now I get to enjoy looking at the beautiful flowers on the table everyday.

Sports Day - Of a Japanese Kind

2007-09-12T13:47:00.000+09:00

The past 2 days have been dedicated to practising for Sports Day, which is this Sunday. They practised the opening ceremony routine, the games and relays. I tell you, what we know in Australia as Sports Day is mighty different to what they call Sports Day here. It's not so much track and field events but more team games and fun relays. My camera has been working flat out! Here are some of the events they have practised.

A relay around the track which included different sections...riding a uni cycle, walking on stilts, doing a 3-legged bit, pushing a giant ball around, skipping rope and rolling in a loop of tatami to make it go like a tank!! Very amusing.

There was also a water relay where kids went in teams of 4, 3 of them carried the other person who was holding a cup of water. They all had to climb through a ladder, jump rope, do three-legged thing, crawl under a net and run with the water. At the end they tipped their water into a bottle. The team with the most water won.

Teams of 8 have their legs tied to the people next to them. They race another team to the other end of the track. They then all flop onto the high jump mats!

Teams of 8 stand in a line and have their feet joined together by an ankle strap which has a length of rope thread through it. They race from one end to the other against another team.

Teams of 8 bounce a ball from one end to the other but each person cannot bounce the ball two times in a row. They form a type of circle around the ball as they guide it along.

Teams of 4 boys, 3 carrying the other one, fight other boys. They win by either removing the other person's hat or making them fall over. There were some spectacular spills.

2 teams of boys compete against each other. They form a line and bend over so their hands are on their knees. One student walks on their backs and as the student has walked across, the boys run to the other end of the line to create more backs to step on to get the the other end.

This is the biggest jump rope I have ever seen! Each class competes against each other to see who can skip the most. Some classes didn't even make it to 1, while others got to 12.

I'm looking forward to the real thing on Sunday. And then the after party Sunday night! Don't worry, Monday is a public holiday!!!

Head first into the culture!

2007-09-12T13:32:00.000+09:00

A group of Americans arrived 2 weeks ago now to start their life in Himeji, and more importantly, at Shirasagi Residence. On the weekend we all decided to show them what Japanese culture is all about...drinking and karaoke!!!

We started the night at the Egret Beer Garden, right in front of Himeji castle. For ￥3000 you can eat and drink all you want for 3 hours, which can get a bit messy! I got stuck into the beers (which may actually shock some of you!). I had a great time chatting to the new Americans and getting to know them better. Merry and Mitch have brought their 2 kids, RJ who is 4 and their daughter is 18 months. RJ came to the beer garden with us and he was not shy about meeting a whole bunch of new people. He is fascinated with the Japanese people and he spent the night being a mini social butterfly, chatting to different Japanese people (some friends and some random people). Down at the park some fireworks were being let off. He learned the name for them...hanabi. I also taught him how to say his age in Japanese. He was a little star and so cute!

Once 9pm had rolled around and we were asked to leave, we all headed to the Time Machine Karaoke bar. We had a party of 25 people, but the biggest room they had was meant for 18. We all fit! This was the biggest karaoke room I've been in and it was awesome. There were two long tables and then at the end of the room was a little stage. There were two monitors, one for the singers and one fore the audience. Jono and I kicked off the night with a dodgy performance singing "Shape of My Heart" by Backstreet Boys! It got a lot better as the night went on..that might have had something to do with the beer!

The maracas and tambourines were passed out and the touch screen menu pads were working overtime. In no time at all we were all dancing on the chairs, singing at the top of our voices and having a great time. We all had a go at karaoke which was often accompanied by dancing. Katie blew us all away with her impressive voice and Jono had fun playing MC all night. Who knew Japanese culture could be sooooooooo much fun!

Shirakawa-go

2007-09-08T11:29:00.000+09:00

On the second day of our Japanese Bus Tour we visited Shirakawa-go. It is on the World Heritage List. This picturesque village is tucked away in a valley and surrounded by hills covered in pine trees. The many, many thatched-roof houses are separated by gardens and rice fields and was very beautiful.

The thatched rooved houses are called a "Gassho" style house. The idea is to have the roof sloped steep enough to provide space inside the roof structure. These houses have a multi-storey attic which they use to raise silkworms. The way the roof is put together is quite amazing as they used only rope to join all the bits and pieces together.

What the??!!?? September

2007-09-08T11:20:00.000+09:00

A Japanese Bus Tour to Toyama

2007-09-08T10:25:00.000+09:00

Jono and I were invited to go on a Japanese bus tour with 2 of our Japanese friends, Mayumi and Naomi. It was a great deal, we certainly got our moneys worth. All I have to say about it is that it was VERY JAPANESE!!! And by that I mean that we spent a lot of time travelling and not so much time off the bus (18 hours bus time in 2 days). Mind you, it was worth it and there is no other way to see what we saw in 2 days! It was amusing to me to be part of a tour group because our tour guide held up a flag which we had to follow. I have seen many tour groups being lead around Himeji following their guide's flag and finally we got to be part of it!

After being picked up at 6;20am on the Saturday morning (ouch) we headed for the bus and left Himeji at 7am. Our first stop was at Lake Biwa, the largest lake in all of Japan. It was a really pretty place to stop for a rest.

After many rest stops along the way we arrived at our destination at 5:30pm. The small town of Toyama was swarming with people mainly piling out of the hundreds of tour buses there. The traditional styled streets were all lined with lanterns and looked amazing when the sun went down. We were there to for the Owara Kaze no Bon Matsuri (a dancing festival). The style of dance is very slow and graceful with lots of arm movements and slow walking. The dancers consisted of men and women, boys and girls wearing kimonos, wooden thongs (with socks naturally) and straw hats bent in half covering their faces. The little kids were really cute.

We made our way up the main street which was lined with people awaiting the parade. We were able to watch the dancers from up close. They would do their dance, move down the street a bit more and do another dance. After that dance they'd move down the street a bit more and repeat. By the time the dancers made it down to the other end of the street to the main building a mob had formed and I saw some very aggressive Japanese people trying to get a glimpse at the dancers. At one stage they blocked the street entirely and we had to find an alternate route to get around them! Unfortunately we were too slow making our way down to the main building to see the final dancing performance. All we could see were the dancers' shadows in the walls and occasionally their hands! We enjoyed it nonetheless.

A Change is as Good as a Holiday

2007-09-08T10:06:00.000+09:00

After 6 weeks of Summer vacation we headed back to school. This semester everyone has been appointed to a new school, mine being quarter of the size of my old school. The thing that sucks is that I have to leave home at 6:45am and ride to the city to catch my 7:15 bus. I ride the bus for 25 mins to the countryside and then I walk for 5 mins up a hill to get to my new school. It's really pretty and a nice change.

The school has 2 English teachers, one of those being part time. They are both really nice and speak great English (yay)! So far this week I have been up to my ears in marking...exams and summer homework. I am glad for something to do but I almost killed myself the other day trying to get a huge stack done before I went home.

We have sports day here next Sunday so the kids have been out practising everyday in preparation. On Wednesday it was over 30 degrees, with 80% humidity and we were all outside practising the opening ceremony where the kids march around in different formations (I'm yet to see them practise any form of actual SPORT!!!). I was just standing under my umbrella sweating up a storm. Then after standing out in the sun for 40 minutes we had to do some weeding!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?????? I kept telling the kids that I was hot and asked how much longer we had to do it. The teacher asked why? I said cos I'm hot. Then she said, but it's hot in Australia too. Then I said Yeah, but we don't stand outside!!! It's a frustrating Japanese cultural thing...Samurai thinking...if you think it's not hot, then it's not hot....though the beads of sweat running down my back tell me another story! Thankfully I was allowed to stay in the air conditioned staff room on Friday to finish my marking!!

After 1 week there I have taught 3 classes! One class was painfully quiet and I had to keep asking if they were awake!! The other two classes were great. I had to give my self introduction for the 100th time, which I love doing because I get to draw lots of pictures on the board to help them understand. The kids were really engaged and had the opportunity at the end to ask me some questions. The kids come into the staff room at cleaning time and vacuum, dust and empty the bins. There are a few students that take this opportunity to talk to me which I find hilarious and very cute. At one stage I heard some students talking outside the staff room and heard them refer to me as the "Koala Teacher"! At least they have the right country! The kids and teachers at this school are a lot more relaxed about things, share jokes and get along really well.

Our Sports Day is next Sunday so the next week will consist of lots of Sports Day practise. It is meant to be a great day (pity it's the end of a 7-day week for us).

Tokyo

2007-09-03T21:28:00.000+09:00

A trip to Japan wouldn't be complete without a trip to the capital. Having arrived back from Thailand and then taught summer classes for a week we headed north for the metropolis that is Tokyo. Neon, people everywhere, train stations bigger than airports, subway lines that intertwined everywhere, the sublime, the ridiculous... you name it, Tokyo has it.

Having arrived in Tokyo we headed for our hotel, or rather hostel. The metropolis is, or maybe was the most expensive city in the world. I was stoked to grab some cheap accommodation for a few days so we could stay longer!!! We headed out to Asakusa, which is a little way out of the main areas of Tokyo, but still really accessible to other areas. Asakusa's main attraction is a temple. It's pretty impressive too, but as speed sight seeers we saw it rather quickly and then headed for other areas. It is a common belief that inside this temple is a golden Buddha. Is is just that, a myth, because no one has actually ever seen it. This was a popular temple to visit, with both locals and tourists flooding there everyday to pray, play some side show games and look around.

I think you can get to a stage where on a holiday you are rather over sight seeing. Thus the Tokyo trip was more about getting a feel for the place and checking out what people do and where they are rather than seeing anything in particular. We did however make our way to Tokyo tower. We went all out and bought the multi ticket (a total rip off but had to be done) which gave us access to many different sections; The Guinness World Records Museum, The Wax Museum (which included a section on torture), a hologram museum, a museum on optical illusions and of course the 150 metre observatory (You had to pay even more for he 250m observatory). Certainly a tourist trap but an enjoyable few hours spent.

There were some amazing districts. Shibuya and its crazy intersection (also one of the most fabulous record stores with the best listening post section I have ever seen!), Shinjuku and its sort of cool shopping areas, great restaurants and seedy red light district. It's kinda weird, at home you see things and kind of turn the other cheek. Since our ping pong experience of Thailand I've become really disturbed by the whole adult industry. I went for a walk at one stage through the red light district on Saturday night and felt as uncomfortable as I ever have. It's just not nice. Maybe I need a t-shirt that says I don't want a massage, or more of an aura!

Having said that, one of the best things we did whilst we were in the area was head out to a really nice Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu restaurant. The staff were really fantastic and the food was the equal. A really kind waitress who explained everything really well and engaged us in good conversation. It was a really great experience.

Back to the districts... Probably my favorite area was Ginza... clean, classy, really expensive. According to the guides they say Ginza is to Tokyo as Park Avenue is to New York. It didn't disappoint. One of my memories is the row of neon billboards along the street that started with Dior and continued with Gucci, Prada and the like. I looked and smelt like money... and lots of it! Still, I don't understand how teachers are turning up to work with the genuine Louis and Dior bags. Maybe we teach in the wrong country!

Disneyland has been covered in previous entries and took up a fair bit of a time. Overall, I thought Tokyo was a really big city (stating the bleeding obvious). Possibly for me the wrong time to travel there as I was a bit over the life of travelling. It had a nice feel to it but it wasn't an oh my goodness city. Not something I need to rush back for. Is that too negative... ah blow it! I felt better when many Japanese people I know have shared my opinion (Not that it really matters what other people think!)! So all in all, good trip... glad I did it... I know there is so much more to see, but I'm in no rush for me to do it again!

Kawaguchiko

2007-08-30T14:09:00.003+09:00

After spending time in the big city we headed for the countryside in search of Mt Fuji. Kawaguchiko is the city at the base of Mt Fuji, and on a clear day you can see the grand mountain itself. Unfortunately when we arrived in Kawaguchiko Fuji-san was covered in clouds. Despite this fact, once we were settled into our very cute hostel "K's House", we headed up the cable car for a bird's eye view of the town.

At the top we could see the nearby coasterpark, Fuji-Q, and the beautiful town surrounding the lake. The town had a relaxed feel to it and we enjoyed walking around soaking it all up.

As time became more limited we had to make a hard decision...climb Mt Fuji (to station 6) or go to the coasterpark? After a long hard think and deep discussion we decided on the latter!!! We are suckers for excitement! So, we boarded the bus and took the trip to Fuji-Q. It was surprisingly busy but that didn't faze us...hey we just got back from the Disney worlds!!! First we headed up the sky eye to take a good look around and see what the park had to offer. All up there are three coasters, all insanely scary! The first one is the tallest coaster in the world with a 70m drop, the next one has a pin head up and down part and the third one has a 90 degree drop! The park also had paddle boats and other assorted amusement park rides.

We headed straight to the tallest coaster in the world, and after lining up for an hour, had an exhilarating ride! There were about 5 stomach-tingling drops and lots of twists and tight turns. It was lots of fun. We then went to ride the one with the pin drop but were told that the operators were out to lunch!!!! So we went on a few other rides and wandered around the park. One ride which cooled us down a bit was called the Tsunami (a very appropriate name!). We both bought a sexy blue poncho to wear as we saw many people who didn't wear the poncho come off the ride drenched through to the skin. This ride was a small boat that travelled up a ramp, did a 180 at the top and came speeding down the hill at great speed into a pool of water. The view from the inside as you dive into the water is quite spectacular but then it all folds in and comes crashing on top of you! I had a wading pool in my lap and my hair had a second rinse!

To our delight we could actually see Mt Fuji in the back ground, with clouds creeping in from the left. We were happy that we could at least see it for ourselves and take a few piccies. Despite the Japanese people claiming that the top is always covered in snow, it looked very black. After being inside the night before listening to and watching a spectacular thunder and lightning storm we were happy not to climb it after all. Well, we have to leave something to come back again to do!!!

Community English classes

2007-08-30T13:49:00.000+09:00

This Summer vacation Jono and I were able to choose to teach English classes for community members instead of going to school and staring into space for 4 or so hours (in between holidays that is)! They have been so much fun and the older Japanese students have been so cute and keen to learn. Jono and I have also been teaching with fellow Americans Taube, Karen, Cecy, Steve, Lexi, Heather and Suvanya. (Pictured: From left to right is Cecy, Taube, me and Steve and probably the smallest class we've had all Summer behind us.)

To make things simple we worked together on a schedule which saw the same type of lessons done each week; Monday - Conversational English, Tuesday - Cultural, Wednesday - Cooking / Music (alternate weeks), Thursday - Movie Day, Friday - Games / Student presentations (alternate weeks).

One of our favourite activities was one Jono and I prepared and it was based around expressions; facial and verbal. We gave each person one facial expression and a clump of clay. They had to keep their expression a secret and mould the clay to portray the expression. They all had such fun making them. Then we assigned a number to each face and we had to guess what expression each face was. There were some pretty interesting models around! Jono modelled "sick" and even had the spew coming out of its mouth!

Cooking was a very popular and fun lesson. First we gave them a taste test of some different foods we eat as snacks including tomato and cheese on crackers, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, popcorn and Coke and we also introduced them to Vegemite. Here is Eiko getting stick right into it. One of the older Japanese women LOVED it and called the taste "divine"!!! She was so cute.

For the cooking lesson Jono ran one recipe; buschetta and I ran the other; peanut butter chippers. We had lots of fun cooking with everyone and watching their reactions when they tasted the food that they created. Bruschetta was a huge success.

This week we had a music lesson and for the warm up we got everyone (23 students plus teachers) doing the Macarana for 5 minutes!! It was so much fun and so funny to watch Toshi, a sweet older man with no rhythm, giving it a go. Bill had us all singing the backstreet boys "Shape of my Heart" and Eiko started doing the Macarana during the instrumental part of the song! Classic.

At our Last English lesson for the Summer Vacation some students gave presentations on topics of their choice. They did so well and impressed us with their language skills. Eiko spent over an hour preparing her ikibana the previous afternoon (flower arranging) in this traditional style and then spoke about it. Toshi showed photos of his time teaching Japanese in Sydney for 10 weeks. Keiko read us a story and talked about the importance of reading to children. After class the many Japanese students were busily flittering around the room decorating it for the "Thank you" party they are putting on for all teachers tonight. It should be a great show.

Kobe Port Tower

2007-08-27T15:54:00.001+09:00

Our last touristy destination for the day was the Kobe Port Tower. I'm sure that Paul and Nat were disappointed that we didn't take the stairs (or maybe not) to the very top. It was a great view and perhaps one of the prettier cities to look at in the day time! The harbour was busy with many tour boats and jet skiis and many people were out and about shopping and enjoying the sunshine.

It was very hard to believe that just 12 years ago, this city was all but flattened in the Earthquake of 1995 (which was also felt in Himeji). Therefore the city is very new and well designed.

Throughout the day we enjoyed walking down malls and buying random things. This has been the most Nat has bought going shopping in the whole of their 2 month trip! We introduced them to the fabulous 100 yen shop and they were shocked when they saw heaps of Disney merchandise in there. They will continue to keep their eyes peeled for more of these shops when they're in Tokyo I'm sure!

Kawasaki - Good Times Museum

2007-08-27T15:42:00.000+09:00

We had "good times" in at the Kawasaki museum and were surprised to learn just how many different types of machinery Kawasaki has actually produced over the years...including fans, turbines, jet skiis, trains, an intelligent robot and even a plane!

We were blown away with a great display of very shiny motorbikes, from the very old to the very new. There were bikes of all shapes and sizes and we even got to pose on some of them for photos. I thought the green 'Night rider' type bike looked pretty cool where Paul opted for the dirt bike with very bouncy suspension!

As mentioned above, Kawasaki make intelligent robots and there was one in the museum. The robot was a whiz at solving the Rubik's cube in 20 moves! It would pick one up (pre-mixed), study it and then proceed to twist and turn until all sides were made up of the same colours. It was impressive.

We also stopped in at the Maritime museum but there wasn't that much to see.

Ikuta Shrine, Sannomiya Kobe

2007-08-27T15:19:00.000+09:00

The four of us headed to Kobe for the day. After our 40 minute train ride we arrived and, with a little help from the locals, found a beautiful shrine, the Ikuta Shrine. We were pleasantly surprised at the size of this shrine as it not only consisted of one large shrine, but there were also smaller shrines to find in amongst the large surrounding gardens. We saw many people throwing money in the box, bowing, clapping, shaking the big rope to ring the 0ver-sized cat bell and preying.

The most interesting thing we saw was in the car park as we approached the shrine. A man in traditional costume was shaking a giant white pom pom on a stick in front of each car. Hmmm. The grounds were really peaceful and it was an interesting place. Certainly one of the better temples I've visited.

It also had a mini version of the long line of torii gates in Kyoto (from Memoirs of a Geisha). Sorry Mer, I could hardly get a jog up in this tunnel, I'll wait for the real one!

Okonomiyaki - and the food critics

2007-08-27T15:11:00.000+09:00

Jono and I decided to cook our favourite Japanese dish for our visitors...of course we cooked okonomiyaki (affectionately known as a cabbage pancake). I think they were quite surprised by the taste and actually liked it...But here's what they had to say:

NAT: "The cabbage pancakes were fantastic and we'll definitely be cooking them at home! We'll be taking a trip to the Adelaide Central Markets to find the special sauce for them. If all Japanese food is like this, then bring it on! Jono and Jodi have been great hosts. Thanks guys. "

PAUL: "That dinner were awesome!!! Tastiest and Healthiest meal I've had in a while! Thanks heaps for having us. Hope you guys have had as much fun as we have (even though you'd seen some similar stuff before)."

Nat and Paul Are Here! Yay!

2007-08-25T16:46:00.000+09:00

Nat and Paul have arrived safely in Himeji as the final leg on their 2 month holiday. We sat up chatting and exchanging travel stories and then they settled into their apartment.

Today we had a low key day, a nice sleep in and a casual lunch at our favourite local restaurant where we introduced them to the local cuisine. They both tried miso soup, hot green tea, sticky rice, pickled vegies, Paul had croket (a creamy, potatoey hash brown with gravy) and Nat had ton katsu (pork snitzel with gravey) and eating with chopsticks! Paul managed to snap one of his chopsticks, the first time I have ever seen that happen!!!!

Next we caught the bus into town and went for a stroll through the Himeji Castle grounds and climbed some more stairs (not so many as the Eiffel Tower which had 681 steps) to the top of the castle. The strong winds through the windows were a welcomed relief from the heat. My picture of the castle was inspired by Paul and Nat's shot in Egypt!

Disney Sea - More for the adults!

2007-08-23T16:19:00.000+09:00

Disney Sea was much different to Disneyland in that it is much better suited to the adults. There's not so much 'kiddy' stuff around. Jono liked this much better and I agree that the rides were much more exciting. The atmosphere was again alive with positive vibes as we took in the views...a volcano...mountains...city buildings and a pirate ship in a lake.

Disney Sea was also sectioned into themed parts; Mediterranean Harbor, American Waterfront, Port Discovery, Lost River Delta, Arabian Coast, Mysterious Island and Mermaid Lagoon.

Again we wasted no time in jumping on the ends of the lines awaiting our new adventures. We went on;

1. 20,000 Leagues under the sea

2. Journey to the centre of the Earth - a small coaster that zooms in and out of the volcanic mountains and twists and turns.

3. Indiana Jones Adventure

4. Raging Spirits - A very cool coaster with a 360 degree loop!

5. Sinbad's Storybook Adventure

6. The Magic Lamp - A 3-D animation which interacted with the crew on stage.

7. Flounders Flying Fish Coaster

8. Tower of Terror (pictured)- THE BEST RIDE!!! You sit in an elevator, strap yourself in and then they turn out the lights. The elevator lifts high, stopping at several floors and then going up again. The anticipation of the fall is overwhelming! When you reach the top the window opens and you can see the whole of Disney Sea and everyone can hear you scream! The elevator drops (remember it is pitch dark) and then goes up again and then falls and then goes up again! You get the idea! We were both shaking for a little while after we got off from the rush! There was nothing to hold on to except a small handle on the chair next to your legs!

In Arabian Coast we saw Mickey and Minnie wandering around in costume. They were surrounded by many, many children trying to have a photo with them calling "Mickey, Mickey". It was getting rather aggressive in the mob there so I managed to just take a picture of them rather than with them.

We also caught a stage show which was called "Dream Cruise" which involved some Disney dancers and all of the well known Disney characters. I really felt sorry for them because as we found out later that night, the temperature had been the highest in 75 years! No wonder we were a bit warm! Luckily we had our portable shade (umbrella) and were lining up for rides in the shade (and sometimes air conditioning). The dancing was quite entertaining.

We ate dinner back in the Arabian Coast section and had a yummy curry and naan bread. We sat in a food court which was beautifully decorated with tables and chairs that had tiles on them, the floors were also patterned with tiles and there were little eatery counters cut into the walls. Very thematic. There were also street vendors outside, alley games and gift shops in the same theme. It was just so much fun to feel like you were in the cartoon!

Last of all was a night performance (pictured). A Japanese host introduced the stars Mickey and Minnie who were dressed up in kimonos and then out came their special guests...Aladdin and Jasmine. There were many other dancers who danced on the two storey circular stage. At the end of the performance they taught the audience a dance and as they repeated it, the music got faster and faster and in between each repeat the crowd moved around the outside of the circular stage. It was so much fun to watch! We had a great 2 days living in the world of Walt Disney!

Reading Record...

2007-08-22T19:39:00.000+09:00

22- "The Other Side of the Story"

Marian Keyes

She is fast becoming my new favourite author. This story follows the lives of three different women and sets out to prove that there always are two sides of the story,the other side not always being what it seems. A fun read. (My holiday book)

23-"Water For Elephants"

By Sarah Gruen

A gorgeous book about an old man remembering his time working with the circus. Thanks for the read Taube.

24-"Into Thin Air"

By Jon Krakauer

Compliments of Joe! This was an intense recount of the 1995 disaster on Mt Everest where many people lost their lives. Very interesting.

Disneyland - The happiest place on Earth!

2007-08-22T16:09:00.001+09:00

Jono and I headed to Tokyo for a week and of course that had to include a trip to both Disneyland and Disneysea...first up was Disneyland.

It was every bit as exciting as I was expecting, it certainly brought our my inner (or maybe not so inner) child! The entrance was elaborate and colourful and included a picture of Mickey in flowers. As soon as we stepped through the gate I could feel the vibe...excitement...anticipation...happiness...a step back into my childhood.

The first character we saw was Mickey Mouse and there was a huge line-up of people wanting a picture with him...possibly 50m or so! I was amazed!

We spent the whole day wandering around the massive grounds, sectioned into different themes; Westernland, Adventureland, Critter Country, Fantasyland, Toontown, Tomorrowland and World Bazaar. Each section had themed buildings, rides, shops and characters. It was so much fun to be in the thick of it.

Over the day we became more and more patient about lining up, and with our trusty portable shade (Disney umbrella) we were happy to chat away the time it took to get on the rides. We went on many rides and to many attractions including;

1. The Swiss Family Treehouse

2. Country Bear Theatre: Vacation Jamboree (pictured)

3. Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. This was my favourite ride for the day. We travelled around in a space capsule through different glowing scenes shooting glowing targets with our laser guns.

4. Space Mountain. A fast roller coaster inside a pitch dark dome.

5. Pirates of the Caribbean

6. A Micro Adventure. This was a 3-D featuring the scientist from 'Honey, I shrank the kids', except this one was 'Honey, I shank the audience'.

7. It's a Small World

Being the middle of Summer and unbearably humid, Disney had some attractions in stall to keep everyone cool. The first one being a water show at the castle. Water cannons shot water into the air accompanied by music. It was quite impressive and I'm sure the people sitting near the castle came away a little damp!

The second attraction was Goofy's Water Works truck. This cartoon looking truck drove slow;y around the grounds and it appeared to have several leaks and unpredictable hoses! Even the characters couldn't keep them under control and 'accidentally' drenched the people who stood by watching! I hid behind Jono! hehe

The third was a series of misty sprinklers. They intermittently sprayed people who walked underneath them.

The fourth and final one was called a 'wet zone'. In front of a warehouse-looking building was a TNT box with a push lever. Kids would pump the handle and then water would shoot out of the building. It looked like lots of fun.

Toontown was my favourite part of Disneyland. Everything looked like it was straight out of a cartoon. The stop light was wonky with hands coming out the sides to signal 'stop', the town tram had wonky wheels so as it made its way around went up and down too!I got to meet Chip 'n' Dale in the street (very exciting) and we visited Mickey's house. After a lengthy line up we were able to enter his house and wander around. We sat and posed on his furniture, watched some cartoons and then met the Mouse himself. He was very friendly and seemed to understand English!!! hahaha

Of course there was the ever famous street parades and I madly took pictures as the many characters passed on their floats. The one thing we noticed was that all of the major characters were played by Westerners! Very interesting!

That's just a glimpse into the 10 hour day we spent at this Magical land.

What the??!!?? August

2007-08-21T19:16:00.001+09:00

Nara - Festival of Lights

2007-08-10T22:39:00.000+09:00

I was lucky enough to be invited to go to Nara for the Festival of Lights by a Japanese friend Mayumi and her friend. She also invited the two new teachers to Shirasagi Residence Heather, from Arizona, and Suvanya, from South Africa.

We were picked up in the early afternoon and set out on the 2.5 hour drive to Nara. Nara was a buzz with many people dressed in yukatas (as they like to do for festivals) and the first place we visited was Big Buddha. Before we entered the temple Mayumi showed us how to wash our hands and rinse our mouths using the fountain outside. This was the first time for me to do this, being shown what to do by a Japanese person made me feel more comfortable. Big Buds was still there as big as ever and both Heather and Suvanya were impressed at his size. Around the back of the Buddha both of them crawled through the hole in the pillar, so are blessed with good luck and fortune.

Next we stopped in to have some tea. First was a cold barley tea (which was a welcome relief from the heat), followed by a jelly type sweet topped in sweet bean dust and sitting in a dark, sweet sauce. Last of all came the green tea (yep, a 3-course tea). Heather and Suvanya were quite excited about being in the traditional style tea house and can't wait to attend a tea ceremony as they had a crash course in drinking it.

After wandering around for a little while we noticed that the festivities (candles) were being set up all around the town...white cylinders half-filled with water with a floating candle. They would be lit when the sun went down. We then had dinner at a vegetarian curry restaurant, a really small nook down a few crannies. The meal was delicious and consisted of a salad, lentil soup, curry vegetables, saffron rice, a poppadom and fruit and yoghurt. Thankfully when we left the restaurant the temperature had dropped a bit, and so had the sun...candle time!

There were candles just about everywhere...lining the pond...paths...the streets and throughout the parks. Once the sun was down we were surrounded by beautiful candlelight. It was magical. We visited the 5-storey pergoda and then made our way to the park. The three of us bought a lantern which had a candle inside, glowing along with the many thousands of others around. There is just something special about candlelight...

Creature Comforts

2007-08-10T22:28:00.000+09:00

After living in Japan for 7 months (wow, has it really been that long?) we have finally got ourselves a TV and microwave! This is very exciting and I'm sure that very soon we will wonder how we lasted so long without them. These are many thanks to Chelsea (our American friend who is returning to America). Ahh, the memories...walking down the stairs with frozen meat in hand to visit anyone who was home and had a microwave so we could cook our dinner...ahh, the memories of one of us being bored out of our mind as the other was using the computer (just about our only source of entertainment because you can only read for so long)...Here's to Japanese TV and defrosted meat!!!!!! Compai (Cheers)!

Like a bridge over troubled water...

2007-08-05T21:04:00.000+09:00

Well, thankfully no crappy song, the original or the Australian idol copy, but a trip out to see the bridge over the river Kwai. The purpose of this site is not to be educational, at least on my behalf, so if you don't know the significance of the bridge, watch the movie. Actually, that's not very nice on my behalf so I'll tell you what I know. This area of Thailand was a key section for the Japanese to move across Thailand to get to other countries, (I think maybe Burma) forgive me if I'm wrong. The story we were told was that Thailand was not really wanted for any other reason than it connected to lots of other places. It was also a key site for a really large prisoner of war camp, where many of our Aussie forefathers were held, along with British, Dutch and Thai soldiers.

So, the day started at 6.30am... guess who wasn't thrilled by that early start... yep, you got it, Jodi... I was bright as a spark! Only one of those things is a lie! So, we headed out of Bangkok until we reached one of the major war cemeteries. I didn't realise how many Aussies went down there... Having seen war memorials, I found this the most moving thing I have been to... It wasn't just plaques commemorating sacrifices made for the benefit of the country, these were real graves. The number of deaths under 23 were horrific. The saddest part was the graves that simply mentioned the country they fought for. Bought back memories of that old Steve Grace song, "The Unknown Hero". One of my favorite recent Aussie songs is the Herd's version of "I was only 19". Puts it in a whole new perspective!

Having been sobered by the cemetery, we headed to the bridge by boat. A lighter moment was a westerner who "forgot" to close his river doors while he changed. I didn't think it was that cold... but anyway... We visited the museum. The story is really sad. Realising the bridge really needed to go the allies sent in bombers. Unfortunately, the Japanese knew they were coming so they sent the POW's out onto the bridge to try and stop them. Unfortunately, this didn't stop them and the bridge and everything on it were obliterated! Not really a nice thought!

After this we headed to the "death railway". This was built by the POW's. I think some 20,000 people died whilst building the bridge, hence the name. It would have been some sort of building expedition, as some of the cliff faces are extraordinarily tight. You would definitely need an even spread of people on both sides of the carriage! The scenery was unbelievable!

I can't say that a good time was had by all. Unless Harry Kewell or Lleyton Hewitt are involved I'm not usually too patriotic. The sight of Howard in the wallabies tracksuit makes me positively sick. But it did inspire some of those "Johhny loves OZ" feelings, and made me want to learn more about what went on all those years ago. Maybe we shouldn't throw jaffas at Cornesy when he goes around in the motorcade. Actually I have never done that, nor seen anybody else. It also made me understand views that our older generation have and why they have them. I can't stand the Italian soccer team and all they did was take a dive in a game of soccer. Pretty petty really! But if a game of soccer can make me that disappointed I can only begin to imagine the feelings when real countries and real people were involved.

Siam Niramit - Dinner and Show

2007-08-05T13:48:00.000+09:00

Siam Niramit was a stage show that came highly recommended by our tour guide and it sounded great, so we went along.

The night started with a buffet Thai dinner. The food was really yummy and we tried lots of different dishes and weird looking fruits.

On our way from the restaurant to the theatre we came across some people in costume and an elephant who was picking people up off the ground with its trunk! This girl obviously wasn't phased by it all as she had time to pose!

On entry to the theatre we had to surrender our cameras (damn, no sneaky shots of this show) and took our seats. The stage was massive and even included a pool along the front.

ACT 1 took us on a journey back through history and included 4 different scenes:

1) Religious Faith...Ancient Kingdom of Lanna.

2) The South Sea...Trade from overseas.

3) Issan...Heritage of the Khmer Civilisation.

4) The Mighty Capital, Ayutthaya.

ACT 2 took us through a journey beyond imagination through the three realms:

1) Fiery Hell

2) Mystical Himapaan Forest

3) Blissful Heaven

The costumes were colourful and sparkly, the props and lighting were very impressive (it even rained on stage and boats cruised along the river) and the many actors, including animals such as chickens, goats and elephants, were of many different ages who danced, did sword fights and even flew in the air. There was lots of interaction with the crowd, actors appearing from no where and dancing in the aisles as well as pulling one poor guy up on stage to join in a band. Jono had his hands washed with 'holy water'. It was all very cleverly done and a lot of fun to watch.

What the??!! Thailand Ed.

2007-08-05T07:57:00.001+09:00

Transport in Thailand

2007-08-05T07:35:00.000+09:00

There are many ways to get around in Thailand...

-bus (with natural air conditioning and sometimes not even a door that opens and shuts to let you on and off!)

-taxi (some with running meters and some with drivers that charge you a random amount, often way too high)

-tuk tuk (a vehicle similar to a 3 wheeled motorbike with a roof)

-car (remember, the lines on the roads are simply for decorational purposes! Drive wherever you want as long as you don't mind being cut off. BEWARE...the Bangkok traffic jam)

-motorbike (you don't have to wear a helmet and you can ever drive where ever you like including the footpath!)

-river taxi (a really old boat which has a roof, natural air conditioning and have 1/4 capacity of seating so you end up having to stand and hold on to the rails. I think these old boats pollute the atmosphere more than the cars).

-sky train (really easy and convenient. Stalls at the stations sell the best fresh juices)

-rickshaw (yep, they still had a few of these around)

-Walk...I think Thai people just don't understand that sometimes you just want to walk. So we were always telling "No thanks" to drivers of taxis and tuk tuks who would either call out "hello" or beep at us wanting our business. Our favourite line from our holiday..."We walk for FREE!"

Beautiful Temples

2007-08-05T07:10:00.000+09:00

Thailand is home to thousands of Buddhist temples, as well as many Buddha statues. On our first day in Bangkok we visited many of the Buddhas and were amazed by the beauty of many temples we saw.

The first Buddha was probably the most spectacular. It is made out of solid gold. In WWI the Thai people covered their 3 solid gold Buddhas with cement to protect them from thieves who stole anything of value from the Thai people. Years and years later this Buddha was found accidentally when they tried to move the statue and the cement cracked to present a crack of gold. The other two Buddhas are still undiscovered to this day.

The other Buddhas we have seen are the reclining Buddha, the standing Buddha, praying Buddha and the Emerald Buddha. All spectacular and significant in their own right.

Here are some pictures of temples we saw that blew us away (mind you, the photos don't do them justice).

Back to School

2007-08-04T20:39:00.000+09:00

So... One of the things that I (jono) was keen to do was catch some culinary tips off the Thai people, and so whilst in Chiang Mai we headed to celebrity chef Solomon (don't worry, I hadn't heard of him either) school to delight in the marvel of Thai food...

We were picked up from our hotel and driven to the office. Upon picking up people from 15 different countries we headed to the markets. AT the markets we were shown different vegetables, meats, fruits and rices. My favorite smell was the jasmine rice. It is really different to the stuff we have in Japan but it smells so good, especially when so fresh. Unfortunately for my palate and nose the smells of the drains (or lack of) surrounding the markets out stenched some of the other fresh goodness!

After the markets we headed out of Chiang Mai to the actual school... Here we were set up with our own aprons and work stations... We were given a cook book with the days work (and the rest of the week as well... some people do 5 days) and we went inside to watch the first demonstration. I think from memory it was a chicken in coconut milk soup, but I shan't be quoted on that... We did a few more stir fryish kind of things, some curries, a salad and a desert. We also learnt about garnishing food. Over here they say a meal isn't finished without some garnish (please note Jodi's rose she made for our salad. I shall be expecting that every night for the rest of my life... How lucky am I ... owww...). Overall it was about 6 courses one after the other.

The thing I liked most is how fresh the ingredients were, despite the obvious concern about where some of the stuff had probably come from... Although as westerners we were the but of many a Thai joke (ahaha... they can only do 2 chillies, I can do 15!), we had a lot of fun. The food turned out really well and it worked out really well for the school, as we were so full they didn't drive us back on the bus, we rolled back! We can't wait to cook some of this goodness for you all!

A Night Out in Chiang Mai

2007-08-03T21:48:00.000+09:00

As part of what has become almost a daily ritual, we went for a meander through the night markets (more about those in another blog entry). This time we decided to turn left at the main street instead of right and explored some new areas of Chiang Mai. We didn't end up buying anything but stumbled across an entertainment area. It was a like a dead-end street lined with bars. We figured we may as well stop into one of the bars (when I say bar I mean there is a bar and about 4 seats at it!) called Piggy Bar.

We played a few games of pool (the longest ever) and were convinced that either the balls were slightly warped, the table was wonky or we are really clever and can put lots of spin on the ball!!! The bar lady was really friendly and we got to talking to her. She told us about her family and Thailand and then she started talking about lady boys. "They are prettier than us!". We thought, is she referring to what we think she is? Short answer=YES!

Soon some loud music started blaring from the stage next to the bar and she pulled us outside and said "Look, lady boys". And there we saw some very glamorous "ladies" on stage doing a choreographed dance while one mimed into a microphone. But something just didn't look right. The bar lady told us that most of them have had the full operation! Ai Karumba. But I did agree with her, they were very pretty. I don't know many Aussie blokes who could pull it off as well as these Thai dudes. After about 15 minutes of costume changes and singing and dancing, the "ladies" started to wander through the crowds. One "lady" said to Jono in a very deep voice, "Would you like a photo?". He had to try and control his natural reaction to giggle and said yes. So, we "made a picture with them", (as the Thai would say). It was hilarious.

The show continued on after the short interval but we had seen enough and broke into the games that were on one of the tables outside the bar. First we played Connect 4, and Jono won every time. Then we played Jenga, that was a lot of fun. Last of all the lady brought out a tangram puzzle. By this stage we had had a few drinks and did not quite have the focus to solve any of the shapes!

Next we started heading home when Jono noticed a wine tent of the University of Chiang Mai selling a variety of wine by the glass. The strawberry wine especially caught his attention, so we stopped for a drink. There were 3 customers there already, sitting on small stools, who recommended their favourite flavours. We pulled up some stalls next to them and started chatting (and drinking) away. We met Nathan from Australia, Melissa from Canada and her fiance Ronald from France. We were happily sitting and drinking until the lady informed us that the wine was all gone and she started to pack up her stall. We were all buzzing quite nicely so we moved on to another bar.

At our new resting place we were soon being hassled by little kids trying to sell us flower necklaces and roses. Closely behind them was a woman who had a basket of her own nick knacks to flog off. We had already bought some earlier and were not going to buy any more. Soon the kids lost interest ans just started having fun! They were really cute kids, but I felt for them having to be out at all hours of the night working.

We crept into the hotel at 2:30 am. A great time was had by all.

Jim Thompson House Museum

2007-08-01T18:26:00.000+09:00

The Jim Thompson House Museum was fascinating. We joined a guided tour which took us around the westernised Thai style house that Jim Thompson designed himself. He was an American businessman who helped revitalise Thailand's silk and textile industry in the 1950s and 1960s. He took the ideas of Traditional Thai houses and put his westernised touches on them.

Traditionally Thai houses are made up of different rooms that are all built separately from each other. Jim had them built close to each other and joined them with verandas. The outside of the walls were usually patterned, as were the window sills to represent wealth, but Jim had the walls reversed so that the pattern and architecture could be enjoyed from the inside. He was also sure about installing a western toilet inside the house. The house was decorated beautifully with many pieces of furniture, ceramics and art from places all over the world including a crystal chandelier and french doors from China. Many Buddha statues adorned the garden area which was also filled with lush greenery. It would have been a spectacular mansion in it's day. Jim Thompson was born in the year of the horse and the Thai people say that people born in that year have to be careful of their health when they are 61. It turns out that when Jim was 61 he went to Malaysia for a holiday, went for a walk and never returned. To this day his disappearance remains a mystery.

Nice Little Puddy Cat

2007-08-01T18:05:00.000+09:00

We got up close and personal with a few tigers and a cub at the Tiger Temple, Bangkok, another thing high on our list of places to visit.

It was a really hot day, but we braved the heat and headed on a one day tour which included a visit to the tiger canyon where there were about 6 tigers sleeping peacefully at the bottom of a canyon. When we climbed down the steep hill we saw many industrial fans and umbrellas to keep the tourists comfortable. We had been told not to wear the colours red, orange and pink because tigers don't like those colours and the ticket officer wouldn't let you through the gate. Unfortunately one of our tour members wasn't aware of this because he was wearing a nice red and white striped t-shirt. Our guide told him to swap his t-shirt with the driver (Yummy) to save him having to buy a souvenir t-shirt.

When we got to the little partition we were each taken by the arm, one at a time, and lead around to the different tigers. We gave our leader our camera and they snapped quite a few pictures for us with the tigers. I was a bit nervous at first but they kept saying, "pat the tiger, pat the tiger", so I did. Their fur was quite course and I was only game enough to touch their rump. They were all happily sleeping, which in turn made us happy! One guy in our tour group jumped a metre in the air when the tiger flinched, and his camera clicked just at the right time to catch his reaction! Once he was back behind the partition he thought it was all very amusing! The tigers were all positioned in the shade of small trees and drenched in water from time to time to keep them cool. What a life! We could have paid $40 to have a picture taken with the tiger's head on our lap, but we were happy with the pictures we already had.

Before we knew it, it was all over and we were told to go behind the partition again. It was an amazing experience. Next we went to find the baby tiger who was at the nursery with the monks. He was so cute and cuddly, and sleeping too. Jono got to hold his head and I got to hold up his paw. It's not everyday you can do this and it was amazing.

Bamboo Rafting

2007-07-31T21:01:00.000+09:00

Bamboo rafting was next on our itinerary and it required us to wear some really silly hats! 6 of us from the tour boarded one raft in pairs and the two drivers (one up front, one at the back) pushed us off with their bamboo sticks. The ride was more of a cruise as we gently rode down the river passing green countryside, reeds and a waterfall. The many small houses we saw were actually occupied and I found it hard to imagine living in such isolation. It would definitely be very peaceful.

At one stage Jono got to have a go at pushing the boat. We noticed the other raft from our tour group was doing the same. A scream caught our attention as we saw one of the bamboo poles splash into the water in front of the raft and down the river, at quite a fast pace. The race was on to catch their pole. The poor driver at the back of their raft had to work hard and after a minute they had it safely back on the raft, not to be passed to the girl again!

After a half an hour cruise we reached our destination...a small village. We were quickly ushered through market stalls full of brightly coloured bags, bottle holders, necklaces and clothing. I stopped and bought a bag with embroidered elephants on it. It is very cute.

Ox Cart Ride

2007-07-31T20:47:00.000+09:00

After the elephant ride we swapped a wooden seat for a wooden cart, pulled along by 2 oxes. They are so weird looking with a big lump on its back and really long neck flab! The cart had an umbrella so that was nice, seeings we weren't travelling through the shady jungle anymore.

We went for a 20 minute ride through rice paddies and lush green countryside. The cart made me really appreciate rubber tyres! It was a very bumpy ride. The traffic was a bit hectic at times, when we went onto the roads, with other ox-carts and motorbikes zooming everywhere. We were dropped off to the restaurant for lunch. And when I mean restaurant, I mean the large hut with lots of tables and chairs and a long table with different food on it!

The buffet lunch was yummy. We had many choices of Thai food from rice and noodles to curry and chicken drumsticks (or little elephant legs as our guide told us!). Jono and I sat on a table with an Israeli couple who were really nice. They've told us we must visit their country. Maybe one day.

We rode elephants!!!!

2007-07-31T20:26:00.000+09:00

This was one thing at the top of my list to do while in Thailand...ride an elephant. Ever since I saw a photo of my Auntie Chris looking petrified while sitting on an elephant's knee and seeing Jono's parents' picture of them riding on top of an elephant, I have wanted to do it too. We booked into a 1-day tour which included not only an elephant ride but also a ox-cart ride, bamboo rafting, buffet lunch and a quick visit to a small village. More on those later, let's stick to one topic at a time!!!!

After picking up a van's worth of people, we headed to the "jungle" and on arrival at the elephant park we caught the elephants having their bath in the river. Very cute. Next was an elephant performance. Different elephants performed different tricks including kicking a soccer ball, shooting hoops, giving a Thai massage, stacking logs, playing instruments (tambourine and harmonica), swinging a hoop and painting. Though all the tricks were entertaining we did stop for a moment and ponder animal rights and how these animals are treated out of hours, especially when we saw their instructors use sticks. At the end of the show the elephants came up close and personal with us all, looking for food! I got to sit on one elephant bare back. He was young because he still had long bristly hair on the tip of his head. WE are told elephants are like men, the older they get the less hair they have on their head!!!

Soon we lined up, bought some bananas and Jono and I were sitting in a wooden seat on the back of an elephant. It was really cool but uncomfortable. As we were being jostled back and forward with every step, we were also worried that we were slipping down the left side of the elephant so Jono had to keep moving in his seat to even us up! The elephant (and instructor sitting on his head) took us on a muddy track through the jungle, up and down hills, through the river twice and to a small village community. We also met quite a few other groups on elephants as we went along. As we hopped off Jono rewarded the elephant for it's hard work and fed it 2 bunches of bananas (it would have been 3 but one lot fell in the first river and the elephant couldn't find them!).

First Impressions

2007-07-30T23:19:00.000+09:00

We finally arrived in Bangkok after a 2.5 hour bus trip to the airport (which included some running to a taxi because we didn't check the time table! Whoopsy)...a 3 hour wait for the plane...and a 5 hour flight. Aside from the waiting...which we filled with a nice session on the massage chair...all went well. As soon as we stepped through customs the claws were out and we were fair game!

The first counter we passed was for town cars. We thought, yeah, we need to get to our hotel. But when the lady jacked up the price and encouraged us to ride in a Merc we decided to move on! At the next counter were some very friendly and polite people who helped us out (or so we think). We ended up getting some taxi advice from them and booked into a half day private tour of the city for the next day for 500 Bart (about $20 for both of us). It was just the two of us in a private car with our own English speaking guide...Perfect. We figured we may as well just get straight to it.

Once we got to our Very Nice Hotel, Nai Lert Park hotel, we checked in, settled in and decided it was time for dinner. It was already night time and we had no idea where we were so we played "eeny, meeny miney moe" and went left. The first thing we noticed is that there were lots of not so pleasant smells in the air...followed by heaps of feral dogs everywhere. They made us nervous when we saw them but they didn't bat a closed eyelid as we passed them sleeping soundly on the footpaths and in the gutters. Next we had to cross the road. Hmmmm. Lot's of traffic plus crazy drivers plus nervous foreigners...not a good mix. We managed to find the traffic light count down and crossed quickly when the lights turned green (no pedestrian crossings here). We spotted a pizza shop but when we saw the spray painted images on the walls inside we kept walking. All of a sudden Jono grabbed me and pulled towards him as I heard a motorbike shoot past...on the footpath!! Geez. The food vendors weren't too far away which spelt divine but on approach we saw raw meat hanging on hooks in an open cabinet, other food laying open on trays and dodgy people sitting on chairs all along the footpath. We hightailed it to the one place we knew we could trust the food...yep, that's right...on our first night in Bangkok...for our first meal...we had...McThai (McDonald's). Don't worry, you couldn't get us to eat there and miss out on all the yummy Thai food now if you tried!

We Are in Thailand

2007-07-24T13:51:00.000+09:00

Hi everyone. We are happy and safe here in Bankok and currently in an Internet cafe.

We have been having a great time. Did some sight seeing yesterday and just slothing around today. I started the day with a yoga session at 7:30!! Might take a dip in the pool later on.

It's pretty humid here, but no worse than Japan at the moment.

Tonight we are going to a dinner and Thai show which is meant to be spectacular.

The tiger temple is on the list for tomorrow and is going to be a very long day, but well worth it we're sure.

Well, will blog properly soon when we can access the Internet at our hotel. Bye for now.

Our Natsu Yasumi Itinerary

2007-07-21T12:02:00.000+09:00

We are finally on actual holidays (though most of you are convinced that we've been on one long holiday this whole time!!) and we are taking off during this Summer Vacation (Natsu Yasumi).

Sunday July 22nd - Fly to Bangkok

Saturday July 28th - Fly to Chang Mai

Satuday August 4th - Return back to Himeji

August 13th - Bullet Train to Tokyo

August 19th - Go to Mt Fuji

August 22nd - Return back to Himeji

We then have a week with no plans, so we"ll keep you posted.

Thailand here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last Day at Sanyo Jr High

2007-07-20T18:34:00.000+09:00

After two 14-week terms and 2 weeks of holidays (during which we had to go to school) my time at Sanyo has come to a close. Being the last day of school before Summer Vacation (Natsu Yasumi) we had the Closing Ceremony.

All of the kids were ushered into the gym, the whole 1000 of them, and soon the proceedings started. First was the speech from the Principal (which took a good 10 minutes) and then it was my turn! Ms Kawarai introduced me in Japanese and explained what I have done over the year so far. While that was happening I climbed the steps to the stage and awaited my cue. Unlike on my first day at Sanyo, I was quite nervous! I had my speech written out and translated into Japanese weeks in advance so I have had time to practise. I gave my speech, both in English and Japanese, and even if I do say so myself I aced it! After which I received a huge round of applause and then the student council president gave me a speech on behalf of all students. He too spoke in English and Japanese. It was very sweet. Next they all sang the school song followed by more speeches and awards. One student was awarded "The Best Teeth" award! Everyone was trying hard not to laugh!

After the Closing Ceremony, the students went home and the teachers had a very long and very boring meeting. And of course we all know how much of it I actually understood, not that I really minded this time cos it was my last day! Next...lunch!

Today's bento was much more appetising than ones previously, probably cos it wasn't all that Japanesey.We had steak, crumbed prawns with tartare sauce, plain rice and salad. Yummo. We also got a little side assortment of lollies. Apparently they are old school lollies, lollies most of them enjoyed when they were children! May and I finished ours relatively quickly and had to leave early because we were due to visit my new school, Shiroyama Jr High.

Shiroyama is a school in the countryside, on the side of some hills. The student population is 1/5 of that at Sanyo, so I'm going from teaching 24 classes across 3 grades, 2 just 6! The school is quite impressive with a large white school building, a track (Japanese version of an oval), Kendo gym, tennis courts, sports gym and a swimming pool. It will take about 20 minutes by bus from the city, which will mean leaving home at 6:50am to ride to the city and catch the 7:15 bus! Oh joy!!!! Never mind. The English teacher I met was lovely and spoke really good English (a huge bonus) and I'm looking forward to starting there after the holidays.

When we arrived back at Sanyo I still had about 40 mins until I could leave. I packed up my desk including the presents I had received from the teachers and the gear I had accumulated during the two terms. I was afraid it was going to be an anti-climax departure from my school until it was 3:57pm and a teacher asked me what time I was due to leave. I told them in 3 mins time and they asked me to wait because the art teacher was painting me a present. All of a sudden everyone started talking to me, saying they'd wished they had more time to speak to me before and we all looked on as the art teacher finished my present. She had drawn a picture of Jono and I (in the form of the school mascot) in front of the Himeji Castle with cherry blossoms falling down, to represent how Jono proposed to me. It was VERY cute. Then as I started to get ready I realised it was raining!! Nooooooo! All of a sudden Yamaguchi handed me an umbrella and another teacher handed me a new waterproof outfit for my ride home! Ms Kawarai then lead me down the middle of the staff room and everyone started clapping as I passed. It was so cool. They were classic. A handful of teachers came down stairs to see me off and waved to me as I rode off home.

When I got home I opened the presents I was given. From Ms Kawarai I received a letter and a beautiful cloth you use to wrap your lunchbox in. From Ms Uemura I received a potted plant of Morning Glory. From the English teachers I received a photo frame and a make up bag. I also received some letters from students and cards from other teachers (some of which I had never really spoken to!). I felt quite spoilt. And looking back at my time at Sanyo, I really enjoyed it and will miss the place.

Miyuki's first recital!

2007-07-16T18:37:00.000+09:00

With the letdown of the typhoon not really hitting, or if it did the effects not being visible, actually that's a good thing so stop complaining whinger, there was only one last adventure to look forward to for the long weekend... Miyuki's first recital...

Miyuki is a good friend of ours who teaches us Japanese once a week... well, we don't really study Japanese, she practices her English which is fine by us! So she has been learning the violin for about a year and today was her first recital. She told us some time ago and invited us to go... jokingly at the time we thought that'd be great... we'd get t-shirts with "Go Miyuki" on it and stand out like sore thumbs... That was 6 weeks ago...

So today was the day... 6 weeks had passed... we got t-shirts with "Go Miyuki" printed on them, in bright red so we looked like really sore, sunburnt thumbs... Miyuki was stoked with the t-shirts... it is now her favorite tshirt... the funniest part I think is seeing her wear a shirt that says "Go Miyuki" on it... we should have made it "Go Me!"

So, we arrived and met Hitomi, Miyuki's housemate. As we walked into the theatre the people backstage could see us on the monitor... and yes we stuck out... They to were impressed with the t-shirts... Miyuki's teacher, Tomoko asked if we could make a t-shirt with "Go Tomoko" on the front... maybe later...

The concert itself was a mix of the young and old, little and tall, good and the well, very good, and the, poor kids who forgot what they were supposed to be playing half way through the songs... Poor little fellas... Violins can be such a mix of the pure and the drowned cat!

Miyuki for her part did really well... She was really nervous and worried that her hand would be shaky... If it was I didn't notice...

I think by this time next year she will be even better!

When the typhoon is outside... take the beach party inside!!!!

2007-07-16T18:23:00.000+09:00

So, as you knowledgable Aussies have reliably informed us there was a typhoon going to hit Himeji on Saturday night... As tis the season to be jolly (AKA Summer) there are many a beach party happening on the beaches of, well... Japan. The trouble is when a typhoon is on its way it may be a little dangerous... so the only thing left to do was take the sand from the beach and dump it inside a bar! And then it's still a beach party! Here's a picture of Jodi making a sand castle!

So, having finished the farewell potluck for the Americans, we donned our flowers, thongs and shorts and headed for "Coast", a local bar... actually ironic that the beach party was there! Anyways... We were greeted at the door by 2 lovely young chaps... it turns out they were to be the reggae entertainment for the evening... put our shoes outside in a plastic bag and headed to "the beach"...

Much what you would expect from a beach party... at times i thought the cameras from "Ibiza Uncovered" were going to follow British tourists to see what adventures they were getting up to... but no... this was Beach Party Japan and no such shady characters... actually, that may be a lie but we don't know what they were saying if they were being smarmy...

I guess what a beach party needs most is water... As none was being consumed by the patrons the owner of the bar decided it was time to turn a hose on everybody... so she did... everybody sopping wet and thankfully no one electricuted...This was one of the barmen who enjoyed spraying us all...He was looking remarkably like Jack Sparrow (don't know how that fits in with the beach theme but we are in Japan and anything goes!)...

Having had a grand old time at the beach or the coast or whatever it was it was time to hit the road jack... well actually, jono... so we did... hopped in a cab and cruised off into the sunset... actually that's a lie... it was night time...

And for those who were concerned about what might happen to us if the typhoon hit lil old Himeji... nothing did! In fact, I'm not even sure if the typhoon hit here... What a let down! All the excitement and hype about a tropical weather pattern... and it was about as successful as the Socceroos first adventure into the Asian Cup!

Wet Season Blues

2007-07-13T22:38:00.000+09:00

The wet season has well and truly set in and we can't wait for it to be over. Everyday this past week it has been raining in the morning and most of the day too. And you know what that means...I (Jodi) have to ride my little bike Japanese style.

Rainy season is somewhat inconvenient because there are more things to add to your morning routine.

1) Allow an extra 5 mins to 'suit up' in the wet weather gear.

2) Pack an extra pair of socks, cos the ones you wear are guaranteed to be sopping when you arrive at school.

3) Wrap your bag in a plastic bag for the journey.
4) Make sure you have your umbrella.

Then it's time to ride one handed through the rain, allowing for a longer stopping time, puddles, streams of elementary school kids walking in 2 lines with umbrellas and passing bikers also with umbrellas. School kids are always prepared for wet weather, wearing their pastel green or yellow water proof gear and their school bags wrapped in garbage bags. When you arrive at school you...

1) Hang up your umbrella on your handle bars.

2) Take off your wet water proof gear and hang it over your bike.

3) Run from the bike shelter to the school building.

4) Change your socks and put on your inside shoes. Ahhh, much better.

Rain, rain go AWAY!!!!!! (and go to Australia!)

ダブル　ろる　ピザ　（Daburu Roru Piza）

2007-07-13T22:20:00.000+09:00

We've seen the picture...and the TV advert...and now we have tasted it for ourselves.

Jono, Lauren, Chelsea and I took a chance and ordered the crazy Double Roll pizza from Pizza Hut. We went the whole 9 yards and got the Double Roll Set which included an 'L' size pizza, 4 spicy chicken drumsticks and some wedges. I must admit that it all looks a lot bigger in the pictures! The pizza came with some sauces which were sticky-taped to the box. They were 1) Green Spicy Sauce, 2) Fruity Ketchup and 3) Honey Maple. The Fruity Ketchup was delicious (much the same as chutney) on the sausage roll. The Honey Maple was too sweet for such a savoury food (much better on pancakes) and I wasn't game enough to have the Green Spicy Sauce, the chicken was spicy enough for me! The pizza was surprisingly good. The wiener sausage roll was my favourite and even the small hamburger patties went down a treat. The tomato, corn, bacon, beans and cheese combo was tasty, but I wasn't a fan of the very yellow cheesy rolls. Overall, a pleasant surprise!

In an effort to somewhat re-create the TV ad we have the following picture for you...

Double Roll Pizza anyone?

HAI!!!!!!!!!

Drumming Lesson at Oichi

2007-07-12T18:14:00.000+09:00

At my latest visit to my itty bitty Elementary School in the countryside, Oichi Elementary, I had the opportunity to visit, and participate in, the year 4/5/6 drumming class. The drums were wheeled out into formation and the students took their places. I was amazed at their precision and their rhythm. Their routines were carefully choreographed and I just watched with keen interest. They played with two different types of sticks, plain wooden ones and sparkly ones with pom poms on the ends! I even got to play the drums. Two girls showed me how and I had a great time. I was proud when I mastered the criss cross drum pattern. Oh such fun and to only think these kids are 8, 9 and 10 years old!

A message for Taube

2007-07-10T17:00:00.000+09:00

Taube, just for you... you can now put comments on our blog... again... that is not to say that no body else can... but becuase you asked Taube... we listen... That's what we do here at the Himeji Diaries listen... actually we write normally... but most of all... we listen...

Yashiro-Ohtoshi Shrine

2007-07-08T11:36:00.000+09:00

Lauren, Tina, Steve and I attended the "Yudate" and "Chinowa Kuguri" services at Yashiro-Ohtoshi Shrine. It is a ceremony that promotes good health and happiness for the next 6 months (to charge up again there is another ceremony in December!).

First we took part in the "Chinowa" (passing through the ring of thatch grass). You do this by standing in front of the ring, walk through it and turn left going back to the start. Then you walk through it again and turn right going back to the start. Last of all you walk straight through to the shrine to pray. People in the shrine would hold the long rope, hit the bell with it and then pray to the gods ( didn't do this part). After wards we were given a small ring of thatch grass to take home and give us god health.

We were encouraged to join in the games which included scooping fish into a bowl with a paper scoop (scoop as many as you can before your scoop disintegrates) and hook a balloon. The hooks were attached to a thin string of paper and we had to hook the loop attached to a balloon before the string broke. Tina caught hers first and was a little disappointed when she pulled it up and it was 80% deflated! It was a cute game.

Next was the "Yudate" service. A man in a purple kimono, a black sequined hat and very big, black shiny shoes read out the service. He did it in almost a song-like style (no not J-Pop style!). After this everyone shuffled forwards. The man held two bunches of bamboo grass which had been boiling away in a pot and brought them over to everyone. He then swung them from side to side and the crowd were sprinkled in droplets of a Japanese version of 'holy water'.

Last of all was the "Chinowa Kuguri" service. Everyone played follow the leader and, lead by the guy in purple, the whole crowd did the figure 8 formation through the ring. Many people were handed a branch of the bamboo grass for a keep-sake and to display at home. We looked pretty funny riding home with baskets full of grass!

Reading Record (cont...)

2007-07-05T18:43:00.001+09:00

21-"Anybody Out There" (Thanks Lauren)
By Marian Keyes
AnnaWalsh is a mess. After beingin a horrific accident she is desperate to leave the care of her parents and return to her much loved life in New York, which of course includes the most fabulous job and Aiden. Unfortunately Aiden seems unwilling to regain contact with Anna. The book documents Anna's journey as she struggles to replace all the pieces of her puzzle, missing since the accident. This book made me cry. That'll do.Oi!!!! HEHEHEHE! scoff... scowl... silence...hehehehehehehstop!

22-"Disgrace"
By J.M.Coetzee

This was the most disappointing book so far! It is about a middle-aged college professor who has an impulsive affair with one of his students. This affair turns ugly and he is summoned before a committee for an inquiry. He openly admits his guilt and takes off to his daughter's farm. At the farm he and his daughter are the victims of a savage attack which puts even more strain on the father-daughter relationship.