Whizz Chefs

26th June, 2007

Yoko (Steve’s Japanese practise teacher) Hiromi (Lauren’s Japanese practise teacher), and Fumio organised to come over after aerobics and cook us a Japanese style dinner. 7:30 on the dot and there they were with all their cooking equipment and ingredients rushing into my apartment. They soon took over my tiny little kitchen and began chopping and mixing everything together. It was like a whirlwind and in a flash it was all chopped and mixed ready to cook.



We felt useless just sitting back not doing anything but we didn’t really know what to do or how to help so we just watched and took pictures. I was ok with that! ☺

They had 3 lots of cooking equipment going – 1 grill and 2 takoyaki machines. Takoyaki is little balls filled with octopus and basically anything you want to put in it. We had cheese, spring onions and maybe some other things too. On the grill they made okonomiyaki (a regular Japanese meal for us now). Everything was served with the right sprinkles and sauces and it looked and tasted delicious.









After we ate a mountain of food Lauren had prepared Tiramisu for dessert so we got stuck into that. It rocked!! It was a really enjoyable evening.

Yukata Matsuri

22nd/23rd June, 2007

I had been looking forward to the ‘Yukata Matsuri’ for a long time. Yukata means summer kimono and Matsuri means festival. In other words it was a festival in which everyone dressed up in Yukata’s. I was so excited because I had bought myself a really cool pink Yukata to wear and I couldn’t wait to parade around in it. I really did look like an ‘Aussie Geisha’!! The boys got dressed up too and also looked the part in their 'Jimbe'.







The hardest thing about wearing a Yukata is tying the obi into a bow. On the Friday night some of my students from the university came around to help Marie, Lauren, Jodi, Jess (Jono’s sister) and I into our Yukata’s. With the 4 of them dressing us we were ready in a flash!! Lauren and I bought men’s style Japanese shoes as the women’s ones didn’t quite fit. They were not as pretty as the women’s ones but I was ok with that because I think I was much more comfortable.



The festival was held over 2 days and our little quiet Himeji soon became very lively and packed with thousands of people. The atmosphere was amazing. The streets were lined with stalls upon stalls upon stalls with a HUGE variety of food, drink and games to play – all Japanese style of course!!

The first night (Friday) we decided to eat dinner in a restaurant. We had okonomiyaki – it was delicious. As there were so many of us we had to split up into small groups. Our table decided to order a JUMBO okonomiyaki – well it was jumbo alright. Check this out!! We didn’t get through it all.



Being in our Yukata’s we couldn’t go without doing purikura. Plus Jess and Liam (Jono’s sister and her boyfriend) needed to experience it before they went back to Australia. Well that’s my excuse for wanting to go anyway. ☺

At these festivals we had heard that there are many gangs that travel together trying to cause trouble. We had pretty much got to the end of the evening without seeing anything of the sort……until we spotted a big gang. There were many police trailing them and people with video cameras. It was crazy. We had heard that you are not meant to stare at these people or you could get arrested. Well anyway, all of a sudden just as the gang walked passed us a big commotion happened and everyone seemed to pile on top of this one guy. We somehow got caught up in it all and I turned around to see Lauren being taken around a corner. We ran up to see if she was ok and she was – she just had to run to get out of the way and from my angle it looked like she had been taken out. It was funny once we were out of the way and safe. By this stage people had started to clear and so we headed home.

On the Saturday we were heading to the festival again so we dressed in our Yukata’s once more. Lauren was very clever as she worked out how to tie the obi and so had the task of tying everyone’s obi’s for them. She did a really good job too. We had a little pre get together with the people from our residence before we headed to the festival. It was good to see everyone dressed up in Yukata’s.





Once we got there we decided to head to the castle to take some pictures. You’ve got to love the castle for a background. Once we were done taking happy snaps we headed back to the main area which seemed to have much more atmosphere than the previous night.





This time instead of sitting in a restaurant we decided to just roam the streets and check out all the stalls. I really enjoyed just watching everyone dressed so beautifully in their Yukata’s. I didn’t even see any of the same one which was amazing considering how many people there were. Over the 2 days many students from our schools called our names and got excited when they saw us. I felt like a celebrity. I took a couple of photos with a few students and made them happy.



I had a fantastic time at the Yukata Matsuri and I can’t wait for another opportunity to be able to get dressed up again.

Shikama's School Festival

June, 2007

Every year there is a cultural festival held over 2 days at my school and it was that time of year. Obviously I was experiencing this for the first time and so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The students are involved in various club activities (which are like extra curricular activities). Many of the clubs prepared something for the festival. I belong to the ESS club (English club) and so we were preparing an Australian display. Each year level had to prepare an item to present at the festival. First graders had to sing, second graders performed a dance and third graders set up stalls selling different types of Japanese foods including okonomiyaki, yaki soba, takkoyaki, twisters, hamburgers, popcorn and many more things. On top of all of that the students in the brass band also performed. These band students are amazing – the level of their playing is unbelievable.







At home it is pretty much up to the teacher to organise the item, but in Japan it was basically left up to the students. Can you imagine what sort of performance you would get if this was the case in Adelaide? Well here in Japan it was amazing. The students worked so hard to perfect their performances and they were all quite professional. I was very surprised at the standard. Of course I enjoyed watching the dancing the best and I have now got many ideas for my dance routines for when I return back home. I even videoed some of the performances. The kids were very into it –boys and girls and performed enthusiastically. It was fantastic to watch. The food stalls were also very well set up. Each stall had the required cooking equipment and the students just got to it. I even got to watch a Koto performance by some students and got to take part in a tea ceremony. It was a very exciting 2 days for me as it was something very different to what I was used to. It was good to see all the students happy and involved in the happenings of this festival. At the end of the 2 days everyone helped to pack up and before you knew it the school was returned to it’s normal state. That’s one thing I love about Japan – as soon as a festival finishes, you blink and everything’s been put away.

A Relaxing Weekend

16th June, 2007

We left Himeji early Saturday morning to head to Shiraishi Island which is a small island off of Okayama. Travel time was about 2 hours and consisted of 2 trains and a ferry. We eventually reached the island and were ready for some surf, sun and sand. Well not exactly sure about the surf but sun and sand were on my list!! ☺ Steve was still sick and so he stayed at home but I went with Marie, Lauren, Jono, Jodi, Jess, Liam, Taube, Julian, Chelsea and Karen.





There were some Villas which could be hired out that slept 10 people. It was a very cute little villa. There were 5 rooms a kitchen/dining room, a living room, 2 toilets, 1 shower and an outside patio area. It was a fantastic set up. We unloaded our belongings and lazed about outside on the patio until lunchtime. The view was amazing and I was enjoying sitting out on deck chairs admiring my surroundings. Everything on the island was within walking distance so when lunchtime came we walked along the beach which was 5 minutes away from our villa to a little café.

During lunch a magician came up to us and started showing us these amazing magic card tricks. I LOVE card tricks and so I was very impressed with his selection of 10 or so tricks. We all watched in amazement at his tricks. I wish he would show me how to do them.

After the magician finished we headed to the beach. The beach itself was beautiful but the sand was kind of grainy and it hurt my feet. That didn’t stop me from jumping in and going for a swim though. The weather was perfect – just the right temperature and I figured that I couldn’t go all the way to Shiraishi Island and not go for a swim. There was this little island that looked fairly close to the shore which had a little shrine sitting on it so Marie, Julian, Jono and I decided to swim out to it. Well the distance sure was further than we thought but we made it and I was glad because it was so cool.

Next on the agenda was kayaking. The kayaks were double ones so we paired up and took the kayaks out into the ocean. Marie and I were together and our first stop was a little island that we could see from the shore. It took us about 15 minutes to kayak to it. It was pretty cool. There was nothing much on it and the rocks hurt my feet so I couldn’t stand on it for too long. We then kayaked around the island when Marie had a suggestion of changing kayaks. So we all rafted up together and one by one we changed kayaks. This was a lot harder than I thought and not everyone ended up participating. I ended up partners with Karen in the end and pretty much rowed back to shore on my own. It was ok though – I was just laughing at her.





After we finished Kayaking we went for another swim. While we were in the water a couple of Japanese people came up to us in an old style Japanese boat and asked us if we wanted a ride in the boat. Of course we jumped at the chance and hopped in. This boat had no motor and looked like hard work getting it to move. We enjoyed just relaxing and being taken for a ride but the poor Japanese boy who rowed it looked like he was working hard. We didn’t go for very long but at least now I can say that I have experienced being in one. After the boat ride it was time to head back to the villa and shower. We relaxed out on the patio while everyone showered and got ready for dinner. The sunset was absolutely magnificent and so I took a million pictures.







When everyone was finally ready we headed back to the beach for a BBQ dinner. This was my second Japanese style BBQ and I enjoyed it equally as much as the first time. What could be better than eating BBQ and drinking beer on the beach in beautiful weather on an amazing island? It was perfect.

When we had finished stuffing our faces we headed back to the villa where we played Jenga and card games. This was the best Jenga game I had ever played. Some people were a little tipsy so I didn’t think that we would be able to get very far but for some reason we just kept the tower getting higher and higher and higher. As it got higher we got more nervous. We got it to the 33rd tier before it came tumbling down. Poor Jess was the one who set it off. How fantastic is the photo Marie took of her? She must have been waiting for this shot for a long time.

The next morning I woke up to scrambled eggs on toast already cooked for me. Jono and Lauren organised the breakfast. It was just what I needed. After we cleaned up the villa Marie, Taube, Julian and I headed for a hike up the mountain. The others went for a bike ride and headed for the beach. The hike was great. I felt a lot better than the last time I went for a hike. The view of the island from the top of the mountain was wonderful. We didn’t get to go all the way to the top because we ran out of time but we went a fair way and then on the way down we stumbled across a temple. I really enjoyed hiking and next time I come I will make sure I get the chance to hike for longer.





This weekend was fantastic. I enjoyed every minute of it. I would love to be able to go back again. I hope that I get the chance to!! At least then Steve will be able to come.

Happy Birthday to Steve

14th June, 2007

Steve met me at the station after work so that we could go out for dinner for his birthday. We decided to go to a place that we go to quite regularly which is in the mall. I don't know the name of it but their main dish is ‘omerisu’ which is like a kind of omlet wrapped around rice. You can sometimes get a burger or shrimp on top and there is some kind of sauce as well. They also serve spaghetti and gratin (which is like some kind of bake – usually creamy!). Steve and I both decided to have the spaghetti with meat sauce – (Steve’s favourite!!!). We both ordered a melon soda too which is my favourite soft drink in Japan. After tea we headed to Starbuck’s for a coffee, then it was time for Steve to head to his Japanese class so I caught the bus home.

I had bought a chocolate cake so that when Steve arrived home from Japanese we could sing happy birthday to him. We rung mum and dad over the internet and Steve’s mum was there too so we all sung happy birthday together. It was good because we could see each other through the video. Even though we were in Japan we still managed to celebrate Steve’s birthday with the family back home which was nice.

Mountain Climb Number 2

10th June, 2007

As you all know I love outdoor activities so any opportunity I get to do it I definitely take it. I was very reluctant to wake up this morning though due to my BIG night the previous night but I forced myself to get out of bed at 7am to go and conquer this mountain. I tell you what I wasn’t feeling very ‘genki’ that’s for sure. For those of you wondering ‘genki’ means healthy/fine. We had to sprint to the train as we were running a little behind schedule and we just made it by 2 minutes. I definitely didn’t need to be using the little energy I had to sprint to the train. Anyway we got the Kobe station and got off and went to find Paul the guy we were meant to be hiking with. Anyway we couldn’t find him. Marie left her phone at home, I didn’t have his number so we were off to a very bad start. We eventually managed to ring Steve to give us his number and we rung him. We told him we were outside Mister Donut waiting for him. Well when 15minutes had passed and we still hadn’t heard from him we rang him again. He told us that he was at the wrong Mister Donut. So we waited a while longer. We then get a phone call from him saying that he was at Mister Donut and that we were not there…….we were both confused for a while until he finally asked us which station we were at and we figured out that we were at the wrong station. He told us where to go and we were on our way again. We finally made it to the right place and found Paul, but geez that was an effort. So much of an effort in fact that Paul had to stop and have a coffee before we started our climb.

We eventually got to the right place to start climbing by about 10am. It was only the 3 of us as everyone else bailed out for one reason or another. Just as well Marie and I were still able to make it. We bagan the climb up Mount Maya which is the other side of Mount Rokko. I am still yet to see Rokko by the way, but I will make it my business to see it. The climb started out steep as we had to walk up what seemed like a million steps. I couldn’t wait for them to finish but they just went on and on for ever and ever. Eventually they stopped when we got to a beautiful waterfall. I could have sat there for ages just looking at it. There were lots of things to look at along the way of the hike apart from the amazing scenery. Some of the things included a big lake and an awesome bridge. We then reached a Herb Garden which was filled with beautifully presented herbs and plants. There was also a fantastic view of Kobe from here. We had a wonder through the glass house and then realised that it was pouring with rain. It was such a shame because the morning was so fine. We decided to head to the cafeteria where we ordered scones and caramel lattes to while we waited for the rain to settle. Well it didn’t look like it was going to ease off. So Paul rang his friend who we were meant to be meeting at the top of the mountain to come and pick us up in the car. I was slightly disappointed that it started raining but at the same time I was kind of glad because I was feeling very tired.







It took a while to meet his friend but we eventually found him and he drove us to this place where we could eat our bento lunches. What is a bento lunch you may ask?? It is a Japanese style lunch box which includes rice, usually veggies or some sort, sometimes fish or meat – there are many types of bentos that you can buy in Japan. After we ate lunch Paul’s friend drove us to the train station and we called it a day as the rain was on off for the rest of day. I am really glad that I decided to go ahead with the climb – it was so beautiful. I definitely want to go back there again and have another go. It wasn’t actually too difficult but because I was tired to begin with I think anything would have been difficult! I can’t wait for my next climb.

Happy Birthday to Jodi

9th Jun, 2007

Jodi’s birthday is officially on the 18th of June but since June is so full on with exciting things happening she decided to take the opportunity of a free Saturday night and celebrated on the 9th. She had booked the beer garden on top of the Egret Centre.

What’s a beer garden you might ask?? It’s the roof of the Egret Centre which gets decked out with tables and chairs and a buffet which included an all you can drink bottomless stein which you could refill with Asahi Beer, Shochu, Chuhai and of course soft drink and orange juice all for ¥3000. You also get the privilege of an amazing view of the castle at night. It is so beautiful so of course I had to take a billion photos ☺







The buffet and all you can drink lasted from 6pm-9pm so you can imagine the state we were all in by the end. We had a lot of fun and ran a muck with people from our residence as well as new Japanese people that we met along the way.



After the beer garden kicked us out we headed for some traditional karaoke. Some people went bowling while others like me sung their lungs out to a mixture of songs. I never thought that I would love karaoke so much, but I LOVE it!! Look out people because when I come back I will be dragging you to karaoke bars so be prepared to sing sing sing!!!





After we had a blast at Karaoke we headed to our third party which took place in a little bar. It was so tiny but we certainly made it full when we entered. I’m sure the barman would have loved our business. We ended up staying there until 2:30 am which was WAY past the time I wanted to be out to as the next day I had a mountain to climb. What was I thinking??!! I had a blast though.