My Chronicles From Japan

Summer's Gone!

2010-09-26T16:48:00.000+09:00

Yes, indeed. The weather has finally gotten cooler.

It was a hot one here in Japan this summer, and I hated every minute of it. I work at a school that is not fully air conditioned, and it's amazing how a hot and humid public school, packed with naughty teenagers, can really sap all the energy out of a man.

This week was the week the weather changed... and right on cue, it happened on the autumnal equinox - September 23rd. Banzai!

Work was tough this week. My class schedule is basically packed on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and on those days I have no time for anything but teaching and grading papers. Tuesdays and Thursdays are lighter, so I have time for planning lessons for the next week, making PowerPoint presentations, etc. However, this past week there were national holidays on Monday and Thursday. In addition, on Tuesday the school ran a Monday schedule. Therefore, all week from clock in to clock out, I was running around all day, trying to do everything with the limited time I had outside of classes. I'm still worn out from that.

Luckily I was able to unwind by doing some container gardening. In anticipation of fall, I planted some loose-leaf lettuce seeds a couple of weeks ago. The weather stayed hotter longer than I thought, but now that it has been cool for a few days, the first seedlings have popped out of the dirt. I'll share some pictures when they get a little bigger.

And if you were starting to question my manhood (Which sex do you think did most of the gardening in the history of mankind?), I saw some Falcons highlights on the Internet this weekend, too. Great game against Arizona. I'm looking forward to the Falcons-Saints game today.

Three Guys, Some Beer, and a Friday Night

2010-09-18T10:20:00.000+09:00

I need to do that more often.

For the first time in I-don't-know-how-long, this past Friday I went out with the guys - specifically, with a couple of expat guys who teach English at a school I used to work at. We went to a bar in Osaka, had a few beers, sat at one of the sidewalk tables and just enjoyed the Osaka night. I was buzzed after just two beers. Yeah, weak, I know, but I hadn't had any alcohol for two months before last night.

I forgot how much fun it can be to hang out with some expats. Before Friday I could count on less than two fingers how many times I've spoken in person to a non-Japanese person since March. I wasn't really bothered by that; after all, if you are going to live in Japan, might as well interact with Japanese people, right? But there's something about hanging out with people who fluently speak the language you are fluent in, who have common interests and somewhat common backgrounds. That is something I should try not to neglect.

Student's Pet

2010-09-15T21:35:00.000+09:00

At my school, most teachers basically shun the bad students if they can help it. They try not to talk with them or otherwise interact with them. I perfectly understand that and expect that to happen, because some of those kids are a real handful (not to mention their parents).

What I didn't expect was how much effort teachers put into interacting with the good students.

When teachers walk through the hallways at school, making their way through the sea of students, they usually have their eyes focused straight ahead, trying not to notice most of the students. But if they happen to see some of the good students, they will stop immediately and chat, sometimes to the point of having to run to make it to their next class on time.

But there's more than that. I've seen teachers compete against each other to get in the good students' good graces! The students stop by the teachers' office to chat, and a teacher will come up and chat with them. A few minutes later, another teacher will butt in, and before you know it, several teachers are around, trying to win their affection. In addition, some teachers are lurking in the background, hoping the first teachers clear out soon so that they can move in and have the students to themselves.

I guess that shouldn't be surprising. After all, teachers are supposed to like students, and good students make that a lot easier to do. Still, the sheer difference in behavior towards the good students, as opposed to the not-so-good students, is quite interesting.

Green Thumb Is Still There

2010-09-12T21:24:00.000+09:00

Did some container gardening today. Fall is around the corner, so I planted a long container of baby leaf lettuce. I'm very excited about that, because I haven't had (eatable) lettuce on my balcony since about May. Thanks to aphids and the brutal Osaka summer, it was impossible to keep the lettuce growing all year. That was sad, because I came to like going out on the balcony, picking some leaves, and making real fresh salad. Those days are almost here again.

So now my balcony container garden consists of a container of baby leaf lettuce (not yet sprouted), two containers of timothy grass for Hoppy, a container of oats for Hoppy, a container of lemongrass, some ivy, and a small tree (and I have no idea what kind of tree it is).

My Name Is Darth Vader!

2010-09-05T16:07:00.000+09:00

Here I am at the store, modeling what a lot of middle-aged and elderly women in Japan like to wear in the summer when they're outside on a bicycle. It's supposed to shield their face from those dangerous UV rays as well as keep their skin as light as possible. I have no idea what it's called in Japanese. I just call it the "Darth Vader Mask."

It's Too Damn Early For This!

2010-08-16T08:40:00.001+09:00

This is what I was doing at 7:30 in the morning.

I'm doing this at 7:30 in the morning? On a holiday? Man, what has happened to me.

Quittin's for Punks... So Is Tellin' Someone To

2010-08-15T17:25:00.000+09:00

Last week, while I was on the train to work, my wife, who was also on her way to work, sent me a bunch of text messages saying stuff like "I don't want to go to work," "I want to go back home already," etc. She's been dealing with a lot of stuff lately. A bunch of her co-workers have been giving her a hard time. So her job hasn't been her favorite place.

On that day last week, as the text messages came one by one, I became furious - not at my wife, but by the situation, that she was feeling so bad that she was dreading just going to work everyday. So I went off. I texted her a lot, saying, "Forget those fools. You need to quit. There must be a better job for you somewhere." I didn't get any replies.

Eventually I realized I was wrong. I was telling my wife to quit. First of all, in this economy you can't just quit and get another job right away, especially one that is less stressful. But this is the most important thing here: if there's anything I learned growing up, it's this: never let anybody get to you, or they win and you lose. If my wife quit, those punks at her job would be the winner. I was telling her to lose. I later told my wife I was sorry about what I said, and that she can always talk to me about what's going on at work. Lord knows I've dealt with my share of bad co-workers.

Still, I feel ashamed to have told her to quit. I should have told her to fight on, to win.

Update, August 13, 2010

2010-08-13T17:35:00.000+09:00

Ah yeah, it's Obon time. Obon is a Japanese "holiday" (not sure of the best word to use here... yep, I'm an English teacher) in August. Almost all Japanese have a couple of days off during Obon. This year it's today and Monday sandwiched around the weekend. Traditionally, Japanese people go back to their hometowns during Obon and pay respect to their deceased family members and ancestors. But my wife and I don't do anything like that. We just chill at home, rent some movies from TSUTAYA or something like that. So that's what I'm doing now... just chillin'.

Earlier I was looking at some other blogs on the 'Net, and I gotta admit, people have got a lot of time on their hands! It took me 15 minutes to write everything up to this point in this post - I'm not kidding. I take too much time thinking about what I want to write, then I write it. And my blog stuff is pretty crappy, if I say so myself. But some people put together these nice blogs, with long posts and a bunch of pictures and stuff. Must have taken them hours just to write one post!

Maybe that's my problem. Maybe I don't need to think about what I write. I just need to write it. I might end up saying something I really don't want to share with y'all, but hey...at least I would be able to update my blog every day.

1000 Things About Japan

2010-07-30T13:45:00.001+09:00

I'm beginning to really like this blog, 1000 Things About Japan. Great format, well-organized, and while I don't agree with all of the opinions listed there, I can certainly relate to a lot of them. For foreigners, living in Japan, like marriage, is not easy and requires a level of commitment to make it work.

Weekly Update (July 30)

2010-07-30T13:27:00.000+09:00

Ah... a nice day off to enjoy. That means I can update my blog.

Not much going on this week. My students are out for summer break, so things are easygoing at work. I can just sit, relax, plan future lessons and listen to music while I do it.

I've also caught up on some reading. I read The Beckham Experiment by Grant Wahl, and I just started re-reading A History of Japan. I read a lot of non-fiction. I've wanted to start reading fiction, but I'm not sure what would interest me.

Oh yeah... almost forgot. Technically this was last week, but I started a second blog, this time all about my rabbit Hoppy. You can go there by clicking below:

Rabbit Chronicles From Japan

I can't think of anything else interesting that happened this week. Let me know if you want to hear about something. Later.

In This Box...

2010-07-09T18:49:00.000+09:00

If you can guess what is sticking out of this grass box, you get the grand prize!

Rome Trip 2

2010-04-04T21:51:00.000+09:00

After a long delay, I'm resuming posting about our Rome trip over the New Year's. I'm going to be calling these posts Rome Trip 2, 3, 4.... because I'm just too lazy right now to think of a catchy title.

Here I am standing in front of the Spanish Steps, made famous by that Audrey Hepburn movie "Roman Holiday". I never saw the movie. In fact, I never heard of it until I moved to Japan. That movie is extremely famous here for some reason. Whenever I told someone in Japan that I was going to Rome, they would ask if I was going to eat ice cream in front of the Spanish Steps. When I asked why I should do that, they mentioned Roman Holiday. So I was going to do that, but eating ice cream is now outlawed there... oh well.

Trevi Fountain. This picture doesn't come close to capturing how beautiful and amazing this fountain is. Not only is it peaceful and serene, even with a bunch of tourists standing around, but the detail in the sculptures and artwork is unbelievable. One of the highlights of the trip, for sure.

Here I am standing in front of the Pantheon. This building is almost 2000 years old and dates from the Roman Empire, but is still standing. Talk about some good building codes. It was closed the day we took this picture, but we went back later when it was open. Pictures of the inside to come later.

Piazza Navona, only a few blocks west of the Pantheon. The piazza is so wide, it's hard to capture all of it in one photo. It's a very nice place to stroll around, maybe grab a bite to eat, or something like that. On the day we visited there, they had a carnival in the piazza with a lot of snack and game stands.

Goodbye to Facebook?

2010-02-27T19:39:00.004+09:00

Well, the past few weeks I've been giving Facebook another shot, but I don't know... maybe it's not for me. I guess I would like it more if I did mobile posting. I see a lot of my Facebook friends using their iPhone or Blackberry or cell phone to post messages about what they're doing. But it costs me every time I send a post via cell phone, so I don't want to do that.

But another thing is this: I don't really feel the need to tell everybody what I'm doing every hour, or what I eat or buy or wear. Facebook works well when people are giving details of every facet of their lives, and their friends can follow along. Me... I don't feel a need to describe everything I do. In fact, what is there to describe? My life is quite boring. Except for work and travel, I do nothing. My wife is the more interesting person in my marriage, but of course she doesn't allow me to talk much about her or post pictures of her.

So, all I can really talk about is work or travel. And usually I have a lot to say about those things, more than the little box in Facebook is designed for. So this blog is probably better suited for that.

I will say one good thing about Facebook: because of it, I've been able to reconnect with a lot of people I've met over the years. Friends and co-workers I met in Japan, people from college, friends I had a good time with in high school in Hawaii, and a friend that really made an impact on me in my one year of high school in Atlanta (she probably does not realize how much). I even reconnected with a dude I was friends with in elementary school! How about that.

Rome Trip - The Start

2010-01-09T20:46:00.001+09:00

We went to Rome for four nights beginning on December 31, 2009. It was one of the best vacations I have ever taken.

As you can tell from the ground in this picture, Rome was a bit rainy at times, and it was chilly. It meant, though, that there weren't huge crowds.

This is the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, near our hotel in the center of Rome, near the main train station. We saw this on our first morning in Rome. Not a bad way to start the vacation!

On-goings in January 2010

2010-01-09T20:29:00.002+09:00

First up, Happy New Year, you all! Here's what's been going on in my life:

- We went to Rome around the New Year holiday. I'll post some pictures of our trip later.
- Forget the Crimson Tide, even though they just won the championship. I just don't feel it anymore. I'm hoping Hawaii gets there one day.
- Things are going so well at my school that they are lobbying for me to come back next year. (It's the Board of Education's choice, and they give me one-year contracts.)

By the way, if you tried to contact me on Facebook, I'm sorry... I don't feel that anymore, either. You can always leave a comment on my blog, though. My blog entries will show up on Facebook... for the time being.

Like the Day After Thanksgiving

2009-11-21T21:52:00.002+09:00

This morning, my wife and I awoke at 5:30 AM to do some shopping! And we did some shopping alright... this afternoon.

The reason we woke up so early is that the low price clothing store Uniqlo had a special sale starting at 6:00 due to the parent company's 60th anniversary. They were selling men's socks for 10 yen a pair! (For those of you in the U.S., that's about 10 cents.) I needed some socks, and we like Uniqlo, so we woke up earlier than we do on work days.

It takes about ten minutes to drive to the nearest Uniqlo store. However, our car never made it that far. We became stuck in a line of cars stretching at least four long blocks from the store (this at 5:40 AM)! We waited in line for another 20 minutes, moving only one block.

At 6:00, my wife got out of the car with my wallet and walked to the store. After 10 minutes, she came back with the grim news. What Uniqlo had failed to mention in the advertisement we saw, both on the Internet and on the morning news show we watch, was that the first group of customers at the store would be given tickets that would allow them to buy the items on sale. Without those tickets, you would not be able to take advantage of the sale, and that is what happened to us. They had already run out of tickets.

So my wife hopped back in the car and we headed back home to our still-warm bed. It was about 6:30 AM.

I did end up buying the socks I wanted at Uniqlo later in the day. However, I paid 990 yen for six pairs. (That's about $9.50 US.) A far cry from the 10-yen sale that morning.

I guess you can say that the day's events didn't really blow my socks off.

Cool Cats

2009-11-03T18:08:00.005+09:00

Today we went to a "neko cafe" (neko means cat in Japanese). Basically, you pay money to be in a room with a bunch of cats for a predetermined period of time. It was better than I thought.

We walked in, paid the money, and sat down on one of the benches in the room. There were about 15 cats scattered here and there around the room, and a few of them were friendly. Of course, all of them were friendly when we bought a small pack of fish to feed them.

We paid for 90 minutes. During that time, we sat and petted a few of the cats, took some pictures, and just watched the cats do what cats do. Some of them ran around the room, some fought each other, and others slept in the corners. But surprisingly, it was quite therapeutic. There's something peaceful about watching cats go about their business. It helps take one's mind off of the more stressful parts of life. It was money well spent, and I would definitely go back there.

As I write this, my wife is already talking about going to a rabbit cafe! Of course, the closest one is in Nagoya, so that would involve a long drive...

Anyway, if you are interested, we went to a place called Neko no Jikan in Amemura, near Namba in Osaka. The web page is in Japanese.

My babies!!!

2009-09-19T10:04:00.005+09:00

My garden, six days after sowing the seeds:

The broccoli and chamomile seeds were the first to sprout. I first saw green on Wednesday... just 3 days after planting the seeds. The rest of the seeds did not waste time catching up, though.

I think I noticed my first mistake in making this container garden: I used all the seeds in the packs. It's hard to realize it when the seeds and plants are this small, but using all the seeds in these containers will make it very crowded once they are mature. The broccoli, lettuce, and cabbage are going to be packed like an Osaka Loop Line train at 7:00 in the morning. Oh well... live and learn. Besides, the Internet says the fittest will survive, and the others can be cut and thrown away.

My Garden: The Beginning

2009-09-15T21:10:00.003+09:00

As promised, here are a few pictures of my balcony garden.

Not exactly green yet, is it? The hardest part of gardening so far is trying to be patient.

Weekly Update: Going Green

2009-09-12T21:01:00.002+09:00

I'm gonna have to reorganize my blog yet again. Nowadays I have no time on the computer during the week. After work and dinner, my wife takes the computer the rest of the night. In a sense she's not being selfish; she's often looking for ways to earn frequent flier miles so we can travel for free, or she's hunting for online discount coupons to help us save money. That helps both of us. But it means less time to blog.

So here's my latest grand idea. Long updates on the weekends, and short posts and pictures during the week when I'm able.

To begin this first weekly update on an exciting note... I'm starting a garden! Yes, I'm man enough to admit that. It's a balcony garden, to be exact, since we live in a condominium with no yard.

I'm starting off slowly. I planted baby lettuce, cabbage and broccoli, as well as thyme, chamomile, lavender and one tulip bulb. The tulip will not bloom until next spring, but I'm expecting results from the others within the next few weeks. The lettuce should start coming out of the dirt in two or three weeks. I'll try to keep you updated with posts and pictures. If I fail, it will be out there for all to see.

(News Dog) DPJ takes power in Japan

2009-08-31T18:24:00.000+09:00

In order to make this blog more interesting, I'm going to introduce some "segments" that I'll update on a regular basis. The first one I call "News Dog", which makes fun of the strange names that some Japanese news programs have, such as "News Bird", "News Zero", etc.

A historic event happened on Sunday here in Japan. The people elected the Democratic Party of Japan to power for the first time, knocking the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (which is anything but liberal) out of power.

How big is that? Imagine that after World War II, the United States' government was reorganized. Even though there is a multiparty democracy, one party - say, the Republican Party - has basically been in power ever since then. Then in 2009, the Republican Party is dramatically swept from power in a landslide. That is what happened in Japan yesterday.

Of course, I couldn't vote, being an American and all. But it's nice to witness it.

Link:
asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：DPJ takes power in landslide win - English

(Japanese TV rant) Dance club DJ + tattoo = drug user

2009-08-11T13:04:00.003+09:00

I like Japan. It's a great place to live, and it's fairly safe. The food is fabulous. So you won't hear me say too many bad things about Japan... unless it's about Japanese television.

I'm beginning to despise Japanese TV. Yes, there are some good shows, and terebi is partly responsible for my growing Japanese vocabulary. But there is a lot of ridiculous stuff, too.

Take, for example, the news about pop star Sakai Noriko being arrested for drug possession this week. (This BBC article writes her name the Western way, i.e. family name last. I'll write it Japanese style.) Sakai was a popular singer back in the late 1980s, in her teens, and then later added acting to her repertoire.

I tried to think who from the U.S. I could compare her to, but that would be impossible. Sakai was one of the many "idols" (aidoru) that were popular in the 1980s. "Idols" were female singers around 16 or 17 years old. They had carefully-manufactured girl-next-door images, meaning "cute". Everything about them was cute: their costumes (bows in their hair, fluffy lace dresses on stage), what they ate (no matter the idol, they always ate strawberry shortcake), even the way they held microphones in press conferences (with both hands).

Apparently, Sakai Noriko is more famous than most aidoru. She seems to be some kind of superstar not only in Japan, but in other Asian countries like China, Taiwan, and Malaysia. I never heard of her before this week, but my wife knew exactly who she was when she saw her on the news. You can imagine the shock around Japan when Sakai turned herself into the police. The story has been big for the media here.

Anyway, back to my rant. I was watching the news yesterday, and they were talking about Sakai. They showed some video footage of Sakai as a DJ at a night club. They also showed shots of the small tattoo on her ankle.

The message was loud and clear: "No wonder Sakai Noriko was doing drugs! She has a tattoo, and she DJed at a club!"

I burst out laughing when I saw that.

People in Japan, watch out. If you have two turntables, headphones and some vinyl records, you may be labeled a drug user. If you have a tattoo, they might think you're doing cocaine.

Reviving the blog... once again

2009-08-11T12:51:00.002+09:00

There's really no excuse.

Yeah, since my new job started in April I've hardly had any time to work on my blog (and believe me: with the way I want my blog to be done, it comes close to work). I spend more hours at work than my previous job. At home, my wife dominates the computer, spending hours looking for travel deals and ways to get frequent flyer miles. (Where would I be without my honey?)

So what this means is that it's hard to write regular blog posts. But that shouldn't be an excuse. I'm sure I can do at least one post a week if I put my mind to it.

I haven't been completely out of the World Wide Web since April. A few months ago, I decided to try Facebook. Through that I've been able to contact people from college and high school - people I haven't spoken to for years. That's a good thing. The problem is that Facebook isn't so good for writing the long posts I need to write every now and then.

And this Mafia Wars thing on Facebook... I still don't get it.

I'm not giving up on Facebook just yet. But I will spend less time there and more time working on my blog.

Life In the Happy Lane

2009-05-31T21:03:00.004+09:00

Before I begin, I must apologize about the long hiatus. I've spent the last couple of months getting used to my new job, which I'll talk about in a moment. The new job means I have less time on the computer, which means I've had to prioritize other things over this blog. From this point in time, I'm going to try to dedicate more time towards this blog, but we'll see what happens.

My new job is going well so far. I now work for the prefectural government board of education as a native-speaking English teacher (as differentiated from regular English teachers, who are all non-native-speaking Japanese). I teach at a school in the southern part of Osaka prefecture.

Before I started work there, my predecessor gave me a sort of "transition call" to explain about the school. He said the kids were downright terrible, and the teachers just go through the motions. That scared me a bit; it reminded me of my time at a similar school a few years ago. However, once I started working there and teaching classes, I began to think that my predecessor was wrong, or at least the school wasn't a good fit for him. It certainly seems to be a good fit for me so far.

How is it different from the school from a few years ago? First, I have my own classroom - a "language lab", they call it, complete with a computer system, projector, sound system and monitors for all the students. I don't have to go to the homerooms and wade through hair curlers or manga. Second, at this school the students actually call me by my own name! At the old school, they called me anything but my name. Third, while the teachers do have a hard time with some students, overall there isn't the depression and sullenness that was prevalent among the staff at the old school. The teachers at the new school are friendly, bright and generally happy.

The students themselves are quite friendly. When I see them on the train or in the hallways of the school, they greet me and usually chat a little bit - usually in Japanese, but sometimes in English. I can't say that about the old school; the only time the students talked to me was when they were making fun of me.

That said, the educational level of the school is quite low, and it will be a struggle to get them to learn any useful English for communication. But so far I'm off to a good start.

Moving On To Another Job

2009-03-22T20:55:00.002+09:00

Starting in April, I will have a new job. I will work full-time as a senior high school assistant language teacher.

For the past five years, I've worked for the outsourcing division of a well-known foreign language teaching company in Japan. I had a hybrid job; half the week I was teaching at public and private schools, and the other half was spent working in the personnel department of the outsourcing division. I enjoyed most of those five years. I enjoyed both teaching and personnel work.

However, I think it's about time for a change. I still like teaching, despite the various troublemakers I've had in my classes over the years. Personnel work, however, has started to affect me, I think. Personnel work is always stressful, but I think I'm becoming less tolerant of stressful situations. Maybe getting into teaching full-time will help me out... I'm hoping.

Anyway, I'm excited about my new position, and I hope it works out for me. I'll keep you updated.

Walk like an Egyptian...

2009-03-14T15:53:00.000+09:00

Me with some buddies on the wall at the Luxor in Las Vegas. (December 2008)

Start spreading the news...

2009-03-14T15:50:00.000+09:00

A shot of New York New York in Las Vegas. It does look a bit like the real city. (December 2008)

Ca va?

2009-03-14T15:48:00.000+09:00

I'm standing next to a scale model of the Arc de Triomphe at the Paris Las Vegas. One day, I hope to stand next to the real thing.

Bonjour!

2009-03-14T15:45:00.000+09:00

At the base of the Paris Las Vegas. (December 2008)

Ugh!

2009-03-14T15:44:00.000+09:00

This is me after tasting some really sweet cake at the Bellagio Buffet. (December 2008) Having lived in Japan several years, I don't have the tolerance for sweet American dessert anymore. The cake in Japan has far less sugar, and you'd be lucky to find cake in Japan with frosting on top.

Fountains!

2009-03-14T15:40:00.000+09:00

A glimpse of the fountain show in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas. (December 2008)

What are you looking at?

2009-03-10T21:23:00.002+09:00

It's a fact of life in Japan: if you are a non-Asian foreigner living here, Japanese people are going to stare at you. It's something that you can't change, and it's something that you have to live with if you plan on living here a long time, like I am.

I have to admit, it bothered me a couple of years ago. Nowadays, I don't let it bother me. The same can't be said for my wife, who is Japanese. Whenever we go out together, there will be at least one person we pass by on the street or see on the train that is staring at me. My wife will get upset, make an angry face, and stare back at the person, who quickly looks away! It's nice to have people stand up for you, isn't it?

Back when I was in elementary school in Alabama, there were a few times when a white boy or girl would stare at a black classmate. The black kid would say, "What are you looking at? You act like you ain't never seen a black person before!" To which the white kid would say, "Sorry." I thought at the time, I gotta use that if that ever happens to me.

But here in Japan, where 98 percent of the population is ethnically Japanese, that doesn't quite work. Imagine:

JAPANESE PERSON:
ME: What are you looking at? You act like you've never seen a black man before.
JAPANESE PERSON: Well... I haven't.
ME: Oh.

Just taking it in stride, man, just taking it in stride.

Freezing Las Vegas

2009-01-11T20:46:00.000+09:00

This is me in the courtyard at the Flamingo before heading out to the Strip on Christmas Eve 2008. Look at what I'm wearing; that should tell you how cold it was that day. Even that wasn't enough; I needed a bigger coat and some longer undergarments. It was freezing!

Disappointments - '08-09 U.S. Trip Pt. 2

2009-01-11T20:13:00.007+09:00

We woke up late on Christmas Eve, still a bit tired from the previous day's travel. Our excitement increased, however, after we took a look at the view from our hotel room in daylight for the first time. What a view! (Picture to the left.) We couldn't wait to explore Vegas.

We went downstairs to the courtyard of the Flamingo. It quickly became obvious to us that it was freezing cold. The night before, the hotel employee who checked us in told us that a few days ago there was actually snow in Las Vegas... snow!!! It was hard to believe. Also, we watched the weather forecast on TV before heading out, and it said it would be around 42 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius). But down in the courtyard, it felt more like 32 degrees (0 Celsius) with the wind factored in. The cold didn't seem to bother the hotel's namesakes (pictured left). It bothered me, though; I had my fleece jacket, knit cap and gloves that I usually wore in Osaka, but even that didn't seem to be enough.

The cold would remain with us the whole time we were in Las Vegas, which was the first disappointment of the trip (certainly not the last!). We left Osaka to go somewhere warm and comfortable, and we thought our U.S. trip in California and Nevada would provide that. But nope - it was actually colder in Vegas than it was in Osaka when we left. My image of Vegas as a hot desert area was out the door for good.

After perusing the Flamingo courtyard, we first headed to the Venetian, where we planned to ride the gondola there, but changed our mind at the last minute, in part thanks to the $13 price tag. (I'd rather save my money for the real ones in Venice, Italy.) Still, the hotel itself and the shopping areas were beautiful and luxurious.

After that, we were hungry, so we headed to the Bellagio for lunch at their buffet, which we heard was the Strip's best. I was shocked at how long the line was to go in - on Christmas Eve! And they had special holiday rates: $35 per person, compared with the usual $25 lunch price. Two more disappointments. However, the food was very good, and so was the service. You could say that it was worth it. They had a nice assortment of dishes. I enjoyed the meat, salad and some of the side dishes, while my wife enjoyed the crab legs and sushi.

We had plans for after the Bellagio, such as looking around at more casinos, enjoying some of the free shows, and perhaps doing some shopping. But after lunch, we felt too tired. Our bodies had not yet recovered from the long plane ride and subsequent car ride. So we just went back to the Flamingo and slept most of the afternoon.

We woke up around 5 P.M. or so, as Vegas turned dark. After eating instant ramen in our room (we brought a bunch of the stuff with us, along with a portable hot water boiler, to save money), we headed back to the Bellagio to watch "O", one of a few Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas. The title refers to water, which in French is eau, pronounced like the 15th letter of the alphabet. The acrobats did their performances mostly over a pool of water (sometimes they performed in the water). It was a good show - the performances were daring and exciting at times. However, the tickets were $150 a pop, and we felt that the show was not good enough to justify the price. We left somewhat entertained but a bit disappointed.

After "O", we started to (again) feel tired and sleepy, so we called it a night and returned to the Flamingo, hoping to rest enough so that tomorrow we wouldn't sleep most of the day again.

Beginning of a Long Vacation - '08-09 U.S. Trip Pt. 1

2009-01-11T19:24:00.012+09:00

In late December and early January my wife and I took a nice 12-night, 14-day vacation that took us to two countries, three states, and a number of cities, primarily Las Vegas, San Diego, and Los Angeles. It was the longest vacation that the two of us have ever taken together, even longer than our honeymoon to the Maldives in 2007.

While I was looking forward to the vacation, I was not looking forward to the first day of the trip, which involved me driving us from Los Angeles to Las Vegas immediately after flying from Japan to the U.S.

We flew from Osaka Airport, a.k.a Itami (the smaller airport in the Osaka area), to Narita International near Tokyo to transfer onto a flight from there to Los Angeles. The Japan Airlines airplane from Osaka to Tokyo had our hopes up for a comfortable airplane ride. The plane was large for a one-hour flight; it was a Boeing 747, I believe. The coach seats had a lot of leg room, comfortable seats with moveable headrests, and foot rests. Very comfortable. First class must have been heaven! We were thinking, if the airplane to Tokyo is this comfortable, the airplane from Tokyo to Los Angeles must be really good.

We were wrong. The seats on the second flight were cramped, somewhat uncomfortable, and the seats had no foot rests. So much for a comfortable airplane ride to the U.S. I brought a lot of stuff to help me get some sleep on the airplane: neck pillow, eye cover, earplugs, among other things. But I just couldn't sleep. I can never sleep on airplanes. So when we arrived at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), I was tired and sleepy - not exactly the state you want to be in when you have to drive six hours.

After getting the rental car, we departed LAX. I was happy that I could drive on the right side of the road without really thinking about it. However, I got lost trying to get to the freeway. Before the trip, I got driving instructions using Google Maps. But I had instructions from LAX to Vegas, not from Dollar Rent-A-Car, which was a few blocks away from the airport.

We spent maybe 30 minutes trying to find the freeway that runs right by the airport. Once we found it, we had to contend with massive traffic in the Los Angeles area, and that was around 11 A.M.! It took an hour for us to drive to the other side of L.A., where we stopped at a Wal-Mart to do a bit of shopping.

My wife and I always make it a point to stop over at Wal-Mart whenever we travel to the U.S. We can buy a lot of American foods and goods to take back to Japan, and at reasonable prices. During this Wal-Mart stop, though, we bought sandwiches, a salad and fried chicken from the deli for lunch, a lot of bottled water for our travels, and a six-pack of Coca-Cola for me to stay awake during the drive to Vegas.

And I definitely needed that Coke as we drove up I-15 through the California desert. I had to do all I could to stay awake. We had the radio blasting, and I sang along. I was drinking sips of Coke every opportunity I got. My wife would speak to me with a loud voice. It was difficult, but we made it to Las Vegas sometime before 8 P.M.

It was amazing to see the lights of the Strip, the place I had heard so much about ever since I was a kid. We saw the MGM Grand, New York New York, the Bellagio, and Caesars Palace as we drove up to the Flamingo - our home for the next five nights. We checked into our room, and the only thing we did before quickly going to bed was take a good view of the north Strip from the window. It was beautiful - we had a great view of the Mirage, Treasure Island, Harrah's, and the Venetian, not to mention the Stratosphere in the background. A relaxing way to end a tough and busy day.

Biking in Kyoto - Part II

2008-12-01T21:27:00.005+09:00

Here's a shot of some beautiful yellow and red and green leaves. The scenery was indeed nice.

And here's more leaves for you.

After Nanzenji we decided to ride over to Heian Jingu, which was nearby. The red shrine is a beautiful place.

Here's another part of Heian Jingu.

Biking in Kyoto - Part I

2008-11-30T15:36:00.007+09:00

Yesterday my wife and I visited Kyoto. It's the time of the year when the leaves on the many maple trees at the shrines and temples and parks in Kyoto change colors, and we wanted to enjoy the many beautiful sights.

We took the train there. It takes about a little over an hour from where we live. Once we arrived in Kyoto, we rented two bicycles and we were on our way.

The first place we visited was Nanzenji, in the eastern mountains of Kyoto (pictured left). As you can tell from the pictures, the red and orange leaves were in full force, as were the crowds. One thing you have to prepare for when you go to Kyoto in the fall to look at the leaves is dealing with the crowds. It seems that everyone in Japan loves to view the fall leaves.

To the left is some aqueduct-looking thing on the grounds near Nanzenji. It's popular for some reason.

Here 's me standing next to another temple-looking building.

Latest Update

2008-11-28T22:18:00.002+09:00

I just noticed that my blog has gone over 200 total posts. This is number 201. Congratulations to me!

Sorry about no recent posts. There hasn't been any exciting news from the Japan front. My wife and I will be visiting Kyoto tomorrow to peruse the orange, red and yellow leaves as well as check out some of the temples and shrines. My camera will be in tow, so I'll make sure to post some pictures about the trip when I get a chance!

Saipan Trip - Day 4

2008-11-16T13:29:00.000+09:00

On Sunday, November 2, we woke up, had breakfast, and prepared to check out of the resort. We called the front desk to get one of those guys with the golf carts to come and pick us and our luggage up and take us to the front desk. We planned to catch the bus to town to do some last-day shopping after we checked out. But the golf cart guy was running late, so I ended up pushing the luggage to the front desk, which made me sweat in the humid Saipan heat. However, we made the bus on time.

We didn't do too much in town, it turned out - just ate at McDonald's and looked around a bit. I was happy to see the soda machines there where you can get refills; they don't have those in Japan except at the family restaurants with the drink bars. What they also don't have in Japan are the promotional games where you have a chance to win money, and a much better chance to win a free drink or something. They had a Monopoly promotion when we went, and I won a free McFlurry. However, the M&M McFlurry that I ordered was far too sweet for me. I guess I'm getting used to Japanese tastes.

After shopping, we went to the airport to return to Japan. The wait in line to check-in at the airport was the longest I've ever been in, because they had security there checking every single bag and suitcase. Seriously. They opened each bag and checked everything, from underwear to eye drops. I've never seen such thorough searching before. I asked one of the staff if it is always like that, and she said, "Security is always tight in Saipan." Indeed.

We felt a lot better, though, when the Northwest Airlines counter lady gave us each a $5 gift certificate for use in the airport snack shop because we checked in online. We got $10 worth of snacks free. That's a very nice parting gift!

On board, the flight attendants handed out these cookies to the left. If you click on the picture to make it bigger, and you look carefully at the top, you can see my name. Why did they go through all that trouble to personalize my cookies? :)

Overall, the trip was okay. It was relaxing and enjoyable. If you want an active vacation, though, don't go to Saipan. There's not that much to do besides relax.

Rain in Paradise?

2008-11-09T21:16:00.000+09:00

While the trip was nice, we weren't without occasional rainstorms, such as this one around breakfast time one day in Saipan. Still a nice view, though.

Saipan Trip - Day 3

2008-11-09T21:05:00.002+09:00

On this day, we woke up to partly cloudy but beautiful skies. To the left is a picture of the villa grounds - so pristine and beautiful.

We continued to do what had become routine: we went to eat a buffet breakfast at 7:30 AM. After that, we went back, dressed in our swimming gear, and once again went to the beach for some snorkeling and swimming. We hadn't reserved a Nature Beach BBQ lunch that time, but around noon the grill was going and the crowds were coming. So my wife asked me to ask if there was enough for us as well. Luckily, there was. One good thing about the Mariana Resort and Spa is that the staff was friendly.

Well, maybe too friendly. There were two Japanese girls there that had lived in the U.S. for a while. They chatted with the local guys manning the barbeque grill, and the staff responded by going into the sea with the girls and swimming (and flirting) with them. That's life, huh?

Anyway, we swam a bit more after lunch. While snorkeling, we came upon this fish, in the picture to the left. Can you see the fish? You might have to click on it and see it close up. Just another of the many, many fish we came across off of the Saipan coast. Amazing. We saw everything except sea turtles (my wife said she saw on the Internet that Tinian, just south of Saipan, is the place to go for finding turtles). That was some of the best snorkeling we've ever done.

That afternoon, we went once again to the spa and enjoyed it one last time. We had a frugal night: a Cup Noodle and instant yakisoba night in the hotel room. We watched TV and relaxed. This was the core of our Saipan trip: relaxation. When we travel, we usually are running around all day seeing the sights. It was nice to take it easy for a change.

Saipan Trip - Day 2

2008-11-03T18:41:00.005+09:00

On Friday, we woke up and ate a buffet breakfast at a restaurant with an ocean view. The breakfast was okay, but not worth the $18 price tag they put on it. (Luckily we had the Lady's Plan.) After breakfast, we headed down to the beach for some snorkeling.

At first sight, the beach looked disappointing. There wasn't much sand at the beach; the coast was very rocky there. We had to slowly climb our way into the water, so that we wouldn't fall and break our heads open. However, once we made it in, we could see immediately that it was worth it. Take a look at this picture:

My wife and I had been snorkeling before in Hawaii and the Maldives, but we don't remember ever seeing as many fish in one place as we did in Saipan. There were schools everywhere, even close to the coast where the water was only a few centimeters deep. We spent hours swimming and looking at the various fish.

Here I am with a few of the friends I made while snorkeling.

We snorkeled for the rest of the morning. At lunchtime, we ate a "Nature Beach BBQ" meal - just chicken, pork chops, weiners, a potato, a kabob with onions, scallops, and a rice ball, all barbequed. It was good, though, and we enjoyed the ocean view while eating.

After that, we did some more snorkeling, then headed back up the hill to go back to Mandi Asian Spa.

This is a shot of the jacuzzi. Immediately to the right is the wading pool, which was not too cold. You can see the ocean view in the background.

My wife loved the mist sauna there; she literally spent hours in that thing during our stay. I tried to go in there with her, but saunas are not my cup of tea. She says that sweating makes her feel good. But me, I don't need a sauna to sweat, and in Saipan, I was sweating enough. And when I sweat, I don't feel good. So that didn't work.

That night, we thought about eating at the restaurant at the resort where we were staying. One quick look at the menu changed our minds; the prices were too high! It was about $50 a meal per person. So we took the free shuttle to the DFS Galleria in Garapan, which is basically Saipan's downtown. We ate at - of all places - Capricciosa! If you don't live in Japan, Capricciosa is an Italian restaurant chain here, a bit similar to Olive Garden. Capricciosa must get a lot of business from all the Japanese tourists that visit Saipan. (They certainly got ours!)

Once we were full on pasta, we went to the DFS Galleria to look around. We didn't buy anything (not at those prices), but I did get a good picture of the world-famous (?) Saipan-da!

This memory will remain with me forever.

Chillin' In the Villa

2008-11-03T18:34:00.000+09:00

Here I am, enjoying the living room part of the Saipan vacation villa.

A view of the villa from the outside. A bit run down, but not too bad.

Saipan Trip - Day 1

2008-11-02T21:27:00.011+09:00

On Thursday my wife and I went to Saipan for a three-night stay. The flight was free, as we had saved up enough miles through Northwest Airlines to go there. But I was wondering if this trip would be anything like the trip we took a few years ago to Guam, when we felt like we never left Japan. The conclusion: it wasn't bad in that respect, but probably because there weren't as many tourists around as we had expected.

After leaving the small, old airport, our first impression of Saipan - other than the old concrete Japanese WWII military bunkers just outside the airport grounds - was that the buildings and houses seemed run down. A lot of buildings hadn't been painted in years, and some looked like they needed repairing. It looked more like what we saw in Malaysia during our honeymoon. The driver of the van we were in quickly drove past all of that, and we were on the other end of the island in a short 20 or 30 minutes, at our hotel: the Mariana Resort and Spa.

At first glance, the resort also looked run down, if the front entrance was any indication. Things looked better once we made it to the Center House. We checked in (with explanations given in Japanese), then a busboy in a golf cart kindly took us to a villa: a small cottage that would be our hotel room for the weekend. We didn't spend much time there, though. We unpacked a bit, then headed over to the spa area, called Mandi Asian Spa.

The spa was part of a package called the Lady's Plan (their spelling, not mine!). For $65 each, you can get unlimited usage of the spa area for up to 7 days, plus free buffet breakfast every morning. I was able to get a Lady's Plan, too, because I was with a lady.

The spa was nice. They have a jacuzzi, a wading pool, a flower bath, a warm reclining pool with a great ocean view overlooking the cliff that the resort sat on, and several massage rooms. That night my wife and I had a "cream bath" massage, where they put a bunch of scented cream stuff in our hair while massaging our head, neck, shoulders and arms. It was a good massage, but they made us sit upright on bamboo stools - quite uncomfortable, if you ask us.

The villa was a bit run down on the outside and in need of painting, but inside it was good. The bed was situated on a loft above the ground floor, and there was a nice stand-in shower as well as a bath for Japanese tourists. The room came with slippers, robe, toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, razor and lotion. There was also a hot water heater for tea (although we used it for instant noodles that first night, to save money). There was also a refrigerator with drinks and cola, but if we wanted to drink a can, it would cost at least $3! Needless to say, we didn't touch them at all during our trip.

Work Week Recap (Ho-Hum)

2008-10-26T16:53:00.003+09:00

This past week was only ordinary. At the junior high school I work at...

Oh yeah. I need to think of a nickname for that school as well, to compliment Controlled Chaos Senior High School. Well, the junior high students I teach are, for the most part, very smart, and many will go on to some of the best universities in Japan. However, they are 13 years old, and they have been pressured to study, study, study and be good students and good Japanese children. So some of those kids tend to lose it every now and then, and that includes in my class. So, let's call this school Wild Brainiacs JHS.

OK, now where was I...

At Wild Brainiacs JHS, things were easy. We just gave back the midterm exams and went over the answers. An easy two days for me.

At Controlled Chaos SHS, things were... well... chaotic. There were prospective students showing up in class unbeknownst to me (sometimes while I was teaching), there were students who usually don't come to class coming to class, students who usually come to class not coming to class, students who usually come to the morning class switching to the afternoon class all of a sudden... you get the idea. The nice curriculum plan I worked out at the beginning of the term is completely shredded now. A rough two days for me.

At the HR office, things were easygoing, but we did receive a teacher resignation, meaning I am going to have more work to do on my office day for the next couple of weeks. A not-so-interesting day for me.

Oh Deer

2008-10-20T21:08:00.005+09:00

Saturday, October 4th, was a mild and beautiful day, so the wife and I decided to drive up to Nara and go to Nara Park. You may remember that a few years ago I blogged about Nara Park here and here. This is one of my favorite areas in the Kansai area. With all the trees, open grass fields, and, of course, lots and lots of deer, Nara Park is a very relaxing place, even when it is crowded.

Did I mention that there are deer at Nara Park? Here I am below with two of the main attractions:

Weekend Recap

2008-10-19T20:49:00.003+09:00

Recaping the weekend, on Saturday I did a little training in preparation to occasionally do young kids' English classes on weekends. My company has a division that has a few young childrens' schools and several in-home schools. I'll keep you posted on how those go.

Today, we did basically nothing except watch a few Grey's Anatomy episodes and some soccer. A nice weekend overall.

Controlled Chaos

2008-10-17T21:16:00.001+09:00

Strange things keep happening at the senior high school that I talk about.

I'll get to that in a moment, but isn't it confusing that I talk about the senior high school I go to part of the week, and the junior high school the rest of the week? I need to think of some good nicknames for them... let's see...

Okay, the senior high school is now called Controlled Chaos SHS. That is how I will refer to it in my blog posts. Now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

You might remember my English Buddy post and how I tried to make a challenging lesson for the new morning class student, but it was way too easy for her. One of my co-workers at the company office yesterday handed me a book with conversation ideas and role-play topics - perfect for students with a high level of English. I thought of a good high-level lesson and prepared it. All seemed well.

This morning, I went to class confident in my lesson, but when I got to the classroom, the girl wasn't there. Instead, there was another girl, another new student! After talking to this girl for a few minutes, I knew that there was no way she could do the lesson I prepared. I had no choice but to think of a lesson out of my head. I thought of as many games as I could to do with her for the first hour, until we took our 10-minute break and I could sneak up to the office and grab a more suitable lesson.

During that first hour, I felt so underprepared, with no lesson plan to refer to. I'm sure the games I did had no connection, but the girl was a good sport, participated well and had no complaints.

I suppose the problem is this: It seems that at Controlled Chaos SHS, it's okay if the staff brings a new student to my class, introduces him/her to me, and expects me to take care of him/her for the next two hours without any prior preparation. Handling classes containing students with varying levels of English ability, I need to be more prepared than I would at, say, a public senior high school.

Yeah, Controlled Chaos is a good nickname for this school.

English buddy

2008-10-14T21:26:00.003+09:00

It was a dark and stormy night...

Nah, I'm just pulling your leg. But it was raining today.

As with every Tuesday, today I worked at the small private high school in Osaka city I told you about before. In that post, I also told you about the infamous morning class. That class had a new student today, a 17-year-old girl with amazing English skills! I guess living abroad for several years will do that to you.

I was actually at a loss as to what to do in that class. I prepared a lesson I did previously with other students, but made it a bit harder for her (I had some knowledge of her level before class, but obviously not enough). That lesson was way too easy for her, and she finished it up only halfway through the class. I was left with nothing to do except talk, which she had absolutely no problems doing in English.

But I wonder if I actually taught her anything, or if I was just her "English buddy" for the day.

This small senior high school is really keeping me on my toes, I tell you.

A Monday Holiday

2008-10-13T20:52:00.006+09:00

Today was a national holiday, so we didn't go to work. We decided to go to the IKEA store in Osaka. My wife went to look at the furniture and the household goods; I went for the hot dogs with the fried onions. :o)

The IKEA in the port area of Osaka is one of only two in the Kansai region and one of four in the entire nation. It seemed to have the same layout as the one we went to in Kobe; I'm glad we don't have to go that far anymore.

We didn't spend too much time there. We bought some red and white pillow covers for our couch pillows, a few dishes, a plant, some potpourri, and a shade for our bedroom (although once we came home we found out it didn't come with any screws!).

After that, we stopped for some kaiten-zushi (a sushi restaurant where the sushi goes around on a conveyor belt and people grab what they want), then we went home and watched some TV. All in all, it was a relaxing day. Back to work tomorrow!

A Ho-Hum Saturday

2008-10-11T17:21:00.003+09:00

Today my wife and I haven't done much. We did laundry, made yakisoba for lunch, and watched a bunch of recorded Grey's Anatomy episodes. Speaking of which, getting a digital television with a hard drive recorder has changed our lives! We look on the on-screen TV listings for shows or movies we like, press a few buttons, and presto! It's set to record. No videotapes to mess with, no worrying about if the tape is rewound or fast-forwarded to the correct position. The shows record on the hard drive for our perusal at any time, and in glorious high-definition! How did we live with VHS tapes before?

My Life Unplugged

2008-10-10T20:04:00.002+09:00

In order to keep this blog active, I'm going to (try to) talk about something that happens to me every day, whether or not it is interesting. So get used to it, Bub!

Today, like every Friday, I worked at a small private high school owned by the same company that owns the outsourcing division I work for. By small, I mean VERY small: there are probably 30 students total in that school. It's a sort of alternative school, attended by kids who want to or need to be challenged in their studies. I teach two English conversation classes there. The classes are formerly called Gaikokujin Eikaiwa ("Foreigner English Conversation"). Not so subtle, huh? Can you imagine a class in the U.S. called "Foreigner Spanish"?

Anyway, the morning class consists of two students. One of them, a boy, has only shown up twice since the start of the academic year in April. The other, a girl, does not want to be the only student in class, so she often does not come to school for my class. That was the case today - or so I thought at first. After waiting 20 minutes for students to show up for the morning class, as is protocol, I went down to the staff office and discovered that the girl was talking with one of the staff members, who didn't seem to be in a hurry to shoo the girl upstairs to my classroom.

That's not the first time that kind of thing has happened there. Back in May, there was a student coming to the morning class, and unbeknownst to me he was not supposed to be in the class. One day, a staff member came up to my classroom, apologized to me first, then turned to the student and quietly told him in Japanese, "You are not supposed to be in this class." The boy, who is very good at speaking English, turned to her and cursed at her in English, using some choicy four-letter words. I don't know if the staff member understood, but she abruptly left the classroom, leaving me to teach a boy that was not supposed to be a student of mine.

No More Mr. Nice Guy?

2008-09-06T14:25:00.002+09:00

For a while now, I've been thinking about two things that people commonly say about me:

"You're nice, but you're too nice."

"You're a serious guy."

These things bother me, especially the whole "too nice" thing, which goes back to high school.

One day back then, I walked into English class a few minutes early. Waiting in there was a girl that sat at the same table as I, and we struck up a small conversation. Then the girl breaks out this line: "You know, Herman, you are a nice guy. You are nice to everyone around. But you're too nice. You need to be a little meaner; you need to tease a little." I was taken aback; I had no response.

That line stuck with me for years, especially because since that time, both here and back in the U.S., other people have said similar things. What the hell is wrong with being nice? I thought to myself. The world is full of mean people and people that don't show other people respect. Now you're trying to tell me that in order for me to be more popular, I have to stop being nice? I have to insult people to win their favor? I began to resent such people. Maybe they're upset because I treat people nicely and they don't. They want me to come down to their level.

Since I started working in schools here in Japan, I've heard the "You're serious" line a lot. I don't know; maybe it's because I concentrate on my work and try to be professional. But my bosses say I'm serious, and so do some co-workers. And I thought, What's wrong with being serious? Isn't that what you want out of a teacher, or any employee? What's wrong with being serious about a job, or a task, or anything?

Then the other day, it finally hit me. Those people were not really saying that I was too nice or serious. They were saying, in a nice way, that I am boring. They were trying to tell me, without hurting my feelings, that I'm not an interesting guy.

I wonder why I didn't notice that before. I do try to be nice to everyone. I'm careful about what I say to people, to minimize the risk of getting on the wrong side of people. I do that to make friends with people, but those people seem to hang out with other people, including some that tend to be jerks. How come they want to hang out with that jerk, who calls people names and say bad stuff about people behind their backs, but they don't want to hang out with me? I used to think. But it had nothing to do with being nice; it had everything to do with being interesting. To them, the jerk was more interesting than me, Mr. Nice Guy.

I guess what they say is true: Nice guys do finish last.

Since then, I've been wrestling with myself. Do I change myself, or do I say, "Forget those losers and punks!"? How would I make myself more interesting, anyway? Tell jokes? Pull pranks? Wear bright clothing? This has messed me up, big time.

Sweet Home Ala... England?

2008-08-18T20:49:00.000+09:00

Oh, man... this is hilarious. It's not often my birthplace ends up on the BBC, but this is worth it:

BBC NEWS UK England West Midlands Chiefs admit Brum skyline mix-up

Watching Medical Interns

2008-08-17T13:49:00.002+09:00

...sounds like an X-rated movie. Anyway, my wife and I spent the past holiday weekend watching the first two seasons of the American TV drama Grey's Anatomy on DVD. My mom told me about that show way back in 2005, but for some reason I wasn't interested. However, during the obon holidays, we were bored, and we saw Grey's Anatomy sitting there at the video rental store and decided to give it a try. I must admit... I am not a big fan of hospital dramas. But this one is very interesting.

I wanted to spend today watching Season 3, but since those DVDs are considered "new", they are not half-price, and you know how much my wife loves saving money. Thank goodness for her, because that money would be gone by now, and I would be watching Grey's Anatomy now.

Hanshin Tigers! Fure Fure Fure Fure!

2008-08-07T23:17:00.000+09:00

Tonight, we went to see the most popular baseball team in the Osaka area, Hanshin Tigers, take on the Hiroshima Carp at Kyocera Dome Osaka. It was a good game for us to go to because (a) usually Hanshin plays their games in Nishinomiya, halfway between Osaka and Kobe, and far away from where we live; and (b) it's very very hot and humid in Osaka in August, so an indoor baseball game is good. Here, a Hanshin batter in white takes on the Hiroshima pitcher. By the way, Tigers lost 4-3.

Every baseball team in Japan has an official cheering section called an ōendan in Japanese, and the Hanshin Tigers are no different. Here you can see the ōendan waving large flags. An ōendan also features a horn section and a drum section, which play simple songs and cheers that everyone can - and does - sing along to. It's more festive than a baseball game back in the U.S., but all of the songs have the same beat to it (Dat... dat... dat-dat-dat...).

One of the Tigers mascots, LUCKY, working the crowd.

A shot of the dome. If you look carefully, you can see fans holding long colored balloons. In the middle of the 7th, instead of singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" like they do in the U.S., Hanshin Tigers fans blow up these long balloons (which they buy before the game with their own money!), sing a little cheer, then everyone releases the balloons at once. The balloons fly up as the air goes out of them. The funny thing is that after this, several workers come out on the field and quickly pick up the thousands of used balloons off of the field with their hands! It must stink to have that job.

Fireworks in the Sky

2008-08-01T21:51:00.000+09:00

This is a picture of the PL Fireworks show tonight as seen from our balcony. Too bad the lens on our digital camera isn't powerful enough to take a clear picture of the fireworks, which were about 15 kilometers away.

Beach Shot

2008-07-21T19:46:00.000+09:00

This picture, taken from TV, shows how crowded a typical beach in Japan looks during the summer months.

I've Got Da Fee-vah... I've Got Da Fee-vah...

2008-07-19T20:15:00.003+09:00

Well, seriously, I did have a fever - for three days.

I first noticed common symptoms of fever this past Tuesday night: chills (at a time when it is very hot and humid in Japan, and we are trying not to use the air conditioner), sore muscles and joints. My wife put this type of cool pad on my forehead, and I went to sleep - or tried to. I really couldn't sleep well that night. I was either too cold or too hot (typical fever symptoms, my doctor later said).

I woke up Wednesday morning, still with a fever and with a decision to make about going to work. I had never missed a day when I had classes to teach, and my intention was to go to work. So I popped some pain medicine and went to help my wife make breakfast.

But my body ached so much that I had trouble even standing up. Then I felt dizzy and nauseous. That decided it for me; I couldn't work that day.

I stayed in bed all of Wednesday, my fever not getting any better, despite taking Bufferin. My temperature was a little over 38 degrees Celsius. It became slightly lower that night, and being that my past fevers never lasted more than a day, my wife and I felt that I would be better in the morning. We were wrong.

Again, I had an almost sleepless night from being too cold or too hot. I woke up on Thursday again with a fever. Although I wasn't feeling dizzy or nauseous like I was on Wednesday, I thought I should stay home again, rest, and get over this thing.

By the time my wife came home Thursday evening, I still had a fever, and she was freaking out, worried about my health. She almost immediately took me to a nearby family clinic. The doctor was very friendly, trying to say most medical terms in English so I could also understand. What the doctor really couldn't understand is why I had such a high fever for a few days, yet otherwise I was basically fine. I didn't have a cold, and I wasn't in any great pain, just discomfort from the fever. He guessed that I might have an intestinal infection, but he wasn't 100% sure. He sent me home with a few pills to keep my fever down if I had to.

I took one of the pills that night to get some much-needed sleep, and it worked - up until about 4:00 am Friday morning, when the fever came back. My wife, still freaking out, wondered if I should stay home. But I insisted on going to work that day, so I popped another pill and headed off.

For most of the morning at work, I was groggy, but fine. But after lunch, the fever came back. The pill had worn off. The doctor hadn't given me that many pills, so I was worried about taking another one. So basically I suffered through that afternoon. My boss in the office must have know I was suffering, because with 5 minutes left in my shift, he said, "Herman, it's time to go home." (That was very un-Japanese!)

When we came home, my wife again took me to the clinic, and she had them do more this time: a urine test, blood test, and a chest x-ray. All the x-ray showed was that I had "nice-looking lungs", according to the doctor. The urine test just showed I had a fever (duh!), and the blood results wouldn't come until the next morning.

After leaving, we stopped for some KFC, then went home. My wife was surprised at how much I was eating, since my appetite had been so small the last few days (it's because KFC was finger lickin' good!). She took my temperature, and my fever was almost gone!

When I woke up on Saturday morning (this morning), my fever was completely gone! We had to go back to the clinic, though, to get the blood test results. I told the doctor that I had head and neck discomfort, and he said that was basically "fever leftovers" and would go away. The blood test revealed that I had a virus, and the fever was because my body was fighting it. That was it. Not exactly earth-shattering.

Anyway, here it is, Saturday night, and the fever still hasn't returned, although the "leftovers" are still around and I have to take it easy. I hope I'll be alright soon, though.

Why the Small Face?

2008-07-13T21:13:00.002+09:00

As I (probably) mentioned earlier in this blog, this academic year I'm working two days a week at a prestigious junior high school located south of Osaka city. The kids there are very enthusiastic about learning, especially the girls. When they see me in the hallways, a lot of the girls try their best to speak to me in English.

However, some of those same girls have told me something I find peculiar:

"Your face is so small!"

You know, I don't know how to take that. That is something I never heard back in the U.S. Is it good or is it bad that my face is small?

INSTANT EDIT: Just a few seconds ago, while writing this post, my wife told me that in Japan, a small face is good. So I guess I can take that as a compliment.

However, it is another episode where I hear something I wouldn't hear back in the U.S. The learning, the experiences, they never stop, even after more than five years here.

More Stormy Times, and the Road to Lahaina

2008-06-14T12:08:00.000+09:00

I told you earlier about the troubles between my wife and her mother at Disney World in March. Well, get ready for Part II. In Oahu and Waikiki, everything was fine. But almost from the moment we arrived in Maui, there was tension between my wife on one side, and her mother and sister on the other side.

I won't go into too much detail, since these are my family matters, after all. I will tell you this, though: my wife has different views on travelling from her mother and sister. My wife likes to go exploring, go driving, see as many sights as possible in the time that we have. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law, however, like shopping and relaxing, taking things at a leisurely pace. (If you are wondering, I'm somewhere in the middle.) That was the crux of the problem.

Things came to a head the morning after our arrival in Maui, when the three of them had an argument. To take my wife's mind off of things, we took a drive up to Lahaina - a beautiful drive, mind you! Take a look at the pictures below and tell me if I'm wrong.

Welcome to Maui

2008-06-14T11:29:00.000+09:00

After spending a few days on Oahu, we spent the rest of our 2008 Hawaii vacation on Maui, my first time on the Valley Isle. A view of the airport terminal building is above.

Driving away from Kahului Airport, you are welcomed by this sign right outside the airport grounds.

Believe it or not, the very first thing we did after leaving the airport was stop at Krispy Kreme and grab some doughnuts. I think we're too crazy about Krispy Kreme. The bad thing was that the doughnuts we had were not "hot and now" - not made fresh and piping hot.

After our doughnuts, we drove across the big valley in the center of Maui on our way to the beach resort town of Kihei.

Du~de!

2008-06-14T11:18:00.001+09:00

Driving around the North Shore of Oahu in April of this year, we stopped at this beach called Turtle Beach. It was recommended by a guidebook called Oahu Revealed. The book said that you are virtually guaranteed to see a sea turtle here, whether in the water or on the beach itself. So we gave it a try, and we weren't disappointed. There were two turtles resting on the beach.

There were "turtle volunteers" keeping an eye on the turtles (a protected species) and making sure humans didn't get their dirty little hands on them. There were signs and ropes around the turtles (including a bilingual English-Japanese warning sign, seen above - very necessary, as the Japanese tourists were trying to get as close as they could).

A close-up view of one of the turtles.

Upcoming Trips

2008-06-09T21:12:00.002+09:00

Here's a list of some of the places I will be traveling to in the not-so-distant future (thanks to my beautiful wife for this idea):

Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture (late summer 2008)
Saipan (fall 2008)
Hawaii (islands yet to be determined, winter 2009)

Look out for posts and pictures regarding those trips.

Costco: A Big Disappointment-o

2008-06-01T11:40:00.002+09:00

After our journey to IKEA in Kobe yesterday, we decided to stop by Costco in eastern Hyogo Prefecture on our way home. I had heard nothing but good things about Costco. A lot of the foreigners I talk to said that Costco is good because you can get a lot of Western food. Also, my wife and I heard that because of Costco's wholesale format, you can buy food in bulk and save money.

When we went there, we found that neither of those things were true.

I went to Costco hoping to buy a lot of American things I usually can't buy in Japanese stores: American cereal, dry fruit mix, flavored coffee creamer. None of that stuff was at Costco. In addition, we found that buying goods in bulk at Costco didn't really save us much money compared with what we usually pay for single goods at the supermarket we usually shop at. It's not worth it to make the trip to Costco if we don't save money or if we can't get those American snacks and goods that we are looking for.

To top it off, the place was EXTREMELY packed. Yes, it was Saturday, but even with very wide, American-style aisles, it was very difficult to maneuver a shopping cart around Costco, making the whole experience unpleasant. As soon as we paid for the few things that we did buy, we went straight back to the counter where we signed up for membership, and requested our membership fee back. We do not plan on going back to Costco any time soon.

IKEA: Home Away From Home

2008-06-01T11:18:00.002+09:00

Yesterday my wife and I went to the IKEA furniture store... for the third time since we moved in April. IKEA opened the first store in the Kansai area of Japan that month over in an area of Kobe called Port Island. It's the largest IKEA store in the world thus far. My wife just loves it. She likes the Western style of the furniture and goods, and a lot of Japanese people must feel the same way, because that place was extremely packed every time we went there.

When you enter IKEA, you are led straight up to the showroom, where you follow a winding one-way path taking you past displays of furniture, goods, etc. You take a pencil and a small form and write down the serial numbers of the stuff you want while you peruse. Next, you go downstairs where you can buy small stuff like curtains, light bulbs and lamps, dishes, etc. After that, you go to the warehouse where you get your unassembled furniture yourself, wrapped in flat boxes. You pay, then you go home.

I'm not as crazy about the store as my wife is. The furniture and goods are all European, so, for example, if you get a bed from there, like we did, you can only get bed covers that fit from IKEA. You can't get it from Japanese stores. Also, curtains may or may not fit Japanese-made windows. If you can get past that, though, they do have some good things. We especially like the comfortable pillows, IKEA 365+ FAST (pictured above). They also have a range of futons, from thin for the summer to thick ones for the winter.

Going up to Diamond Head

2008-05-10T22:02:00.000+09:00

While in Hawaii this Golden Week, we did something I never did when my family lived in Hawaii: we went to the top of Diamond Head. Here I am near the start of the trail leading to the summit.

The trail starts to take you uphill, turning sharply at hairpins as you make your way up. The more altitude the trail takes, the more uneven the path becomes, so make sure you have sturdy shoes when you go. Also, be sure to take a lot of water, as you will get hot and sweaty.

Just when you think the trail's coming to an end, you lay eyes upon this beauty: a long, steep staircase. I didn't count exactly, but there must be over 100 stairs in this stretch along. After this, you go through a tunnel, up a narrow, spiral staircase, then you arrive at a park worker at a desk inside a foxhole stamping certificates. They cost $2 and say that you made the trip up to Diamond Head. Past that, you go up through a narrow opening to the top, and you are presented with this view:

Lovely, isn't it? Definitely worth the trip. It does get windy up there, though; my sister-in-law almost lost her precious brand-name hat. Be careful.

A View To Kill For

2008-05-10T21:57:00.000+09:00

While in Waikiki at the end of April, we had dinner at a restaurant called Hanohano, located at the top of the Sheraton Waikiki. These pictures were taken from up there. The night view of Diamond Head below is amazing!!!

Do You Take...

2008-05-10T19:28:00.000+09:00

During Golden Week my wife and I took another trip to Hawaii, this time with her sister as well as with her mother. Among the things we did was have a small wedding ceremony at a beach in Honolulu - an opportunity to take some lovely pictures. This is my wife and I with the minister during our vows (which my wife did completely in English - what a trooper!).

M-I-C-K-E-Y...

2008-05-07T06:30:00.000+09:00

When you stay at Disney's Pop Century Resort (one of many hotels on site at Disney World), you never forget where you are, as evidenced by the imagery on the bars of soap, shampoo and signage in our room.

Seeing so many Mickey Mouse faces had me a little too excited.

If you aren't tired of seeing Mickey in your room, just look at the front of your building. There he is, making a phone call.

On The Road... How Does That Song Go?

2008-05-07T06:20:00.000+09:00

Enjoying a car trip around the Tampa Bay area. The bottom picture shows Tropicana Field in the background.

Hot And Now

2008-05-07T06:10:00.000+09:00

When traveling back in America, no morning is complete without a trip to the nearest Krispy Kreme. There is no doughnut like their original, "Hot and Now", just-baked glazed variety. If you ever take a trip to the U.S., do your best to go to Krispy Kreme, if there is one near your locale. This one is in Brandon, Florida, outside of Tampa.

Birds! Birds!!!

2008-05-07T06:05:00.000+09:00

A flock of birds taking flight early in the morning behind my parents' house in Tampa Bay. Wow, I usually don't see flocks of birds (other than pigeons)... or trees... from behind my house in Osaka.

Mom-san

2008-05-07T06:00:00.000+09:00

Here is my mother, enjoying the yukata that we brought her from Japan. She was definitely happy with that.

Stormy Times in the Sunshine State

2008-05-06T10:42:00.002+09:00

(A view of the Tampa skyline.)

In late February/early March, I took a trip to Florida with my wife and my mother-in-law to visit my parents, who have lived in the state for about three years. Before the trip, I was worried about how things would go. I heard stories about in-laws not getting along with each other, so I was hoping things would go well in Florida. I never expected that I would have to deal with a different kind of battle.

(Me and my mother at a Tampa Bay park.)

The trip started out well.　Even though there were obvious language barriers, my parents and my wife's mother were very nice to each other. My mother-in-law really loved my parents' house in the Tampa Bay area. One thing my mother likes to do is decorate the house, and my mother-in-law was amazed by it, saying to me, "Why did you ever come to Japan?" (It seems to me that during my time here in Japan, none of the houses I've seen have been decorated - no pictures in frames on the wall, no paintings, no sculptures. etc.) My mother-in-law, my wife and I spent time in the large backyard, something that doesn't really exist in the Osaka area. We spent a lot of time in Tampa just relaxing and taking it slow, which suited my mother-in-law just fine.

(Entrance to Walt Disney World, Orlando.)

Things changed, though, once we drove up I-4 to Walt Disney World. One thing you have to know about my wife is that when we travel, she keeps busy, trying to do as much as possible in the time we have. That was the case at Walt Disney World, where she was almost running from attraction to attraction. That didn't go well with my mother-in-law, who wanted to take it slow and easy. It came to the point where we would separate for hours at a time, and it eventually came to the point where my mother-in-law decided to just stay in the hotel while my wife and I enjoyed the parks.

Tension developed between my wife and her mother, and I was caught in between, serving as a "messenger" between the two during the times they wouldn't talk to each other. It was bad.

Well... at least Pooh and I had a good time together. Still... I must say that it was good to get back to Japan and leave Orlando behind.

On The Slopes

2008-04-23T20:20:00.001+09:00

Still proving that a black man can ski, here I am on my fourth ski trip ever, in Niigata Prefecture in December 2007. I have to admit, I'm starting to get used to this thing we call "skiing".

Letting Off Some Steam

2008-04-23T20:15:00.000+09:00

One of the highlights of any visit to Beppu, Oita Prefecture, is a tour of the several jigoku, very hot springs with certain "themes" to them. Take this blue one in the picture above; they call it umi ("sea") jigoku.

The Japanese name for this jigoku escapes me, but it means "blood jigoku".

This one looks like concrete oozing out of the earth.

And this one is something like a clay hot spring. Definitely not for bathing, unless you want nicer skin or something.

Long Time No See... Again

2008-04-23T19:57:00.003+09:00

Hmmm... it seems I'm never going to catch up here.

Anyway, things have been going well so far. A few weeks ago I started working a few days a week at a fine private junior high school in southern Osaka Prefecture. After four years of problematic students at public schools who do not care about school, working at this school, where students regularly go on to some of Japan's top universities, is a blessing.

In addition to that top school, I also work at a small private senior high school in the city two days a week. So far, so good. Life seems to be on cruise control right now.

Beach View

2008-03-20T13:02:00.000+09:00

A shot of the small beach next to our hotel in Beppu, Oita, November 2007.

How to Pray at a Shrine (Express Version)

2008-03-19T21:26:00.000+09:00

This is a shot of the shopping arcade leading up to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, Fukuoka, taken in November 2007. At shrines like this one and Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto, there are always a bunch of shops on the road leading up to the shrine. You can buy all kinds of omiyage (souvenirs): snacks, dolls, food, T-shirts, key chains, crafts, ice cream, and so on.

While each shrine in Japan is different, the setup is basically the same. Usually there is a grand gate like this one. Enjoy the architecture, the greenery, the stone gardens, and enter the premises.

Of course, before you go in, be sure to stop by the water well and purify yourself. Rinse your hands using one of the many ladles provided.

After purification, walk over to the actual shrine. You will see some kind of box where you throw in an offering. Five or ten yen will do. After that, if there is a rope hanging nearby with a bell at the top, shake it and ring the bell a couple of times. Put your hands together, silently pray, bow, and you're done.

Gettin' Stress Off My Chest

2008-02-16T12:43:00.002+09:00

This past academic year (April of last year to now) has been stressful for me for some reason, more so than usual. Little things that I used to be able to brush off have recently started to really make me irritated. The high school that I work at has always had its fair share of bad kids, but while the crap they always pull (calling me names, throwing things in class, etc.)was easy to combat in the past, this year it has irritated me to the point where just looking at them makes me angry. I come home at night, trying to relax after dinner, and I'm still thinking about crap the students did at eight in the morning that day. I'm sure they weren't thinking about me, but I was thinking about them.

Not only that, but I also had to deal with crap at the company office as well. Again, I brought that stuff home with me, letting it stew in my mind and giving me stress. This has gone on all year, and recently it started to affect my marriage. Last night I had a senseless argument with my wife, taking out my frustrations on her. She still hasn't forgiven me, and rightfully so. It took that for me to realize that I need to seriously find a way to get rid of my stress.

This morning, I thought back to college, when some roommates of mine had an idea for getting rid of stress. They had various problems, so they decided to take an aluminum baseball bat and take turns whacking a telephone pole outside. They hit the thing so hard that the end piece on the bat flew off in rage. They laughed and named the bat "Liberty Bat". They were free from their stress.

With that in mind, this morning I took a few pillows from the bedroom, grabbed a stick, and started hitting the pillows as hard as I could. I visualized the faces of all the people, students, and idiots that did me wrong over the past year, and hit the crap out of them as hard as I could. Man, what a feeling! I felt much better after that.

My advice to you if you have stress: hit something. Don't hit somebody; that would give you more stress. But hit something.

The Road to Dazaifu

2008-02-11T12:57:00.000+09:00

This is a picture of the arcade leading up to Dazaifu Temple, during our trip to Fukuoka last November. Notice the many torii along the way. Beautiful stuff.

Japan's lovin' it

2008-01-06T16:27:00.000+09:00

Today I was driving around with my wife, and we passed by a McDonald's. The drive-thru line was terribly long, with a line of cars stretching out onto the main street and taking up one of the two lanes. That was very funny to me.

One thing foreigners in Japan - especially Americans - hear about is how we eat so much fast food. Once at the high school I teach at, I started a class by asking the students, "Tell me, what American food do you know of?" The first three responses were Big Mac, french fries, and hamburgers.

It is ingrained in many Japanese brains that foreigners love to eat fast food. And they are not wrong; too many Americans ruin their health by eating fast food too much. But some people say it as if Americans are the only ones doing it. As I saw today, Japanese people love their fast food as much as Americans do.

Welcome to 2008!

2008-01-05T20:41:00.000+09:00

I want to take time out to wish everyone who reads my blog a Happy New Year. Enjoy 2008! I will.

Our Honeymoon Trip Pt. 3

2007-12-28T16:14:00.000+09:00

A massage table in Vilu Reef. We made our way over to the spa and massage building on the other side of the island four times to enjoy various oil massages. That was one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip.

While at Vilu Reef we ate three buffet meals a day at the island restaurant. We didn't eat any Maldivian food; rather, it was European and Japanese style food, perhaps to cater to the Europeans and Japanese tourists that regularly frequent Vilu Reef.

I believe I was the only American on Vilu Reef during our stay. Americans usually do not go to the Maldives, probably because it's too far away, and there are closer options like the Caribbean and Hawaii. Of course, I don't think there are any island resorts like Vilu Reef in those places.

Now, Vilu Reef seems to be quite remote. A few hundred people on an island not even one kilometer in length, far from any decently populated area (not counting the island of about 800 villagers close to Vilu Reef - more on that later). But if that is just too much for you, Vilu Reef has an option - a trip to another, more remote island that can accommdate only four couples! This is a picture of Fandhoo. For no extra charge, we were invited to stay here instead of the "crowded" Vilu Reef. We did some swimming and snorkeling, but other than that, we just enjoyed the scenery. There wasn't much else to do.

A picture of the cottage we stayed at on Fandhoo.

Our Honeymoon Trip Pt. 2

2007-12-28T16:00:00.000+09:00

This is me standing in the middle of Vilu Reef. Unlike the first day, the rain was starting to clear out by the second day.

A view from the deck outside of our suite. Notice the view in the background - nothing but sea. By the way, if you were wondering, this trip did set us back a little. We won't be enjoying any more lavish trips for a while.

Here I am, standing outside of our cottage.

Several overwater cottages, neatly arranged. This picture was taken from the front door of our cottage. As you can see, there was a nice lagoon in the middle. We actually swam there a few times, doing some snorkeling and looking at the fish.

Our Honeymoon Trip Pt. 1

2007-12-28T15:52:00.000+09:00

To celebrate our marriage, my wife and I took a honeymoon in the islands of the Maldives. This picture is a view of the capital city of Male. We had arrived the night before and stayed in Male for a night because the seaplanes, which take people to the many island resorts in the Maldives, do not operate at night. This picture was taken as we headed back to the airport the next morning.

A view of the seaplane we took to Vilu Reef, an island resort about a 45-minute seaplane flight away from Male.

An overhead picture of Vilu Reef. On the right, you can see the rows of overwater cottages. We stayed in one of them for five nights. It was just amazing.

Here I am, stepping onto Vilu Reef for the first time, and beginning five days of nothing but relaxation.

Matsuri Local Style

2007-10-27T22:05:00.000+09:00

Nothing says Japan like a good community festival, or matsuri. Every year, we go with my wife's family to a festival in my city in September. It is definitely a festive time. The people in each neighborhood build some kind of small wooden ark or something, put some red padding and decorations on it, and put a drum called a taiko inside. Then at the festival, the men carry the amazingly heavy thing up, down, and around a local shrine, while boys sit inside, pound the taiko, and chant. Every neighborhood has the same chant and virtually the same taiko design, but that doesn't matter. All in all, it is a good time for the city.

Of course, no Japanese festival is complete without many food stands (called yatai in Japanese). This one sells yakitori, or grilled chicken on a stick. They also have stands where you can buy fried noodles, octopus balls, okonomiyaki (a pancake-like food topped with pork, green onions, and good sauce), candy apples, fried chicken, and others. It's the best part of the festival, in my opinion.

More taiko-pounding fun. Note the colorful festive costumes some of the people are wearing to support their neighborhood.

2007 Hokkaido Trip - Part IV

2007-10-27T21:54:00.000+09:00

While driving through Kitano city, we came across a unique place - a fox ranch! It was a fenced-in patch of land with foxes just roaming around. The place wasn't that impressive - the ranch was old, run-down, a bit stinky, and pricey. But there was something interesting about walking around foxes.

The foxes were shy and didn't want to be around people for the most part. However, I managed to sneak up on one that was sleeping and get a good picture.

2007 Hokkaido Trip - Part III

2007-10-27T21:46:00.000+09:00

Oshinkoshin Falls in the Shiretoko area. Not that impressive, but the place was crowded with tourists.

A view of the north coast of Shiretoko peninsula.

It doesn't get any clearer than that. You would be glad to know that we didn't come across any bears, or vice versa.

A view of a tranquil lake in Shiretoko National Park.

2007 Hokkaido Trip - Part II

2007-10-27T21:41:00.000+09:00

More food from Kushiro. There's a market near the train station where you buy a bowl of plain rice, then you go around to the various food stands and get a bit of seafood from each one put right on top of the rice! This bowl has crab, salmon, salmon eggs, and shrimp.

A view of the wetlands in Kushiro Shitsugen National Park.

A view of Lake Akan in the middle of northeast Hokkaido. I don't know what the big deal was about this lake, but apparently it is a popular resort area. This area is famous for little balls of algae called marimo.

While driving, we came across a rest stop with an old vintage train car. Upon closer inspection, we found that the inside of the car is now actually used as a hotel! I'd be afraid the thing would start rolling away in the middle of the night while sleeping in there.

2007 Hokkaido Trip Part I

2007-10-27T21:34:00.000+09:00

In August 2007, my wife and I decided to take another trip to Hokkaido. We went to a part of the island we had never been before, the northeast. We first flew into the city of Kushiro, then drove up to the north coast and explored Shiretoko before returning home.

The sign on the right of this police station certainly reminds us about how close to Russia we were.

There wasn't much to see in Kushiro city itself, but the food was good. The fish on the left is called hokke, which is pretty good when barbecued. We also had a spare rib, chicken on a stick, and some clam.

Nothing like a rice bowl with salmon eggs and seaweed on top to finish off a good meal!

Hawaii Trip Part X - The last moment

2007-10-27T21:28:00.000+09:00

On the day we were supposed to return to Japan, the flight was booked, and the three of us volunteered to give up our airplane seats and return the following day. In return, we got another night in beautiful Honolulu and a free night's stay at a hotel that was much better than the one we had stayed at. Here's the view from that hotel. We enjoyed a nice dinner at the hotel's restuarant, enjoyed the music, and swam - a nice way to end a great vacation.

Hawaii Trip Part IX

2007-10-27T21:21:00.000+09:00

A view of the caldera that is Kilauea volcano, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, May 2007.

This is me on the edge of the top of Kilauea.

A road in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park that was covered by lava several years ago. Slowly-flowing lava is always coming out of Kilauea, but to see the live stuff, you have to hike a ways from this point, maybe an hour or so.

Hawaii Trip Part VIII

2007-10-27T21:12:00.000+09:00

On our last full day in the Big Island, we made a tour of the southern part of the island. This is an exhibit at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park in the southwest part of the island. The hut, I guess, was common in Hawaii years and years ago.

Me and some friends at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau.

Some more friends, except this time the place was Punaluu Black Sand Beach Park, and the friends were sea turtles catching a few rays in the midday sun. What a surreal sight that was!

More of the black sand at Punaluu. Located in southeast Big Island, it's a must-stop for anybody driving around the island.

Hawaii Trip Part VII

2007-09-29T23:18:00.000+09:00

Ancient Hawaiian carvings called petroglyphs, near Kailua-Kona, Big Island, Hawaii.

Ah, nothing like good American-style seafood and pasta. The Kona Seaside restaurant was fabulous!

Some coffee beans at the Royal Kona Museum and Coffee Mill, south of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Now do I really want to go in there? There might be monsters or something...

Amazing Views - Hawaii Trip Part VI

2007-09-29T23:09:00.000+09:00

Each of the islands in Hawaii have different climates and vegetation in different areas on the island, and the Big Island was no exception. It took us about four hours or so to drive from Hilo to Kona, but it seemed like we drove from one world to another. Check out the above picture, taken north of Hilo on the east side. The trees and grass are green, due to the rain that side of the island gets.

Now this is the same road, on the other side of the island near Kona. No trees, and the grass looks dead. The climate is drier on that side. Amazing, huh?

A few kilometers later, we start seeing this stuff on both sides of the road. It took us a few minutes to realize that it was old lava, which came from volcanoes anywhere from 20 to 100 years ago. At one point, we got out of the car and took a look around. Nothing but dead grass and lava - a surreal scene.

Another view of dead grass and lava, as far as the eye can see.

On the Big Island - Hawaii Trip Part V

2007-09-29T22:56:00.000+09:00

A sign near Hilo Airport letting us know where we are. Having lived on Oahu for three years before and never been to any of the "Neighbor Islands" before, our trip to the Big Island (properly called the Island of Hawaii) was the part I was looking forward to the most.

Some scenery north of Hilo on the east coast of the Big Island.

Me in front of Akaka Falls, north of Hilo.

Hawaii Trip - Part IV

2007-09-23T23:25:00.000+09:00

A view of the beach at Waikiki. Before the trip, I had memories of Waikiki Beach being a crowded place, with people all around. I guess living in Japan has changed me, because it didn't seem that crowded this time around. My wife and her mother thought it was quite spacious, actually.

Performers at the Polynesian Cultural Center, about an hour and a half by car north of Honolulu, Hawaii. The exhibits were interesting, but the part I liked the most - the dinner - was the part my wife hated the most. I don't understand why; that luau food was pretty good.

An exhibit of Hawaiian items in a hut at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

A view of the Pacific Ocean from our hotel in Waikiki.

Hawaii Trip - Part III

2007-09-08T22:59:00.000+09:00

If you ever go to Haleiwa, North Shore, Oahu, you should check out the landmark that is the Matsumoto Grocery Store. Here I am enjoying a shave ice (that's what they call a snow cone) purchased inside the store.

That shave ice, good as it may have been, was nothing compared to one of my favorite foods in the world, Spam musubi. A slice of Spam cooked in soy sauce, placed on top of sticky rice, and wrapped in seaweed, there's nothing else like it. Ummmm.... one of the highlights of my Hawaii trip, for sure. After 11 years without it, you can't blame me.

A shot of Chinaman's Hat, off the coast of the Windward side of Oahu, Hawaii.

A statue of King Kamehameha, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii.