aussiegeisha

Our Last Day In Himeji

2007-12-26T21:37:00.001+09:00

23rd of December, 2007

The day has come where our adventure in Japan comes to an end. It was a very sad day for us all. We had breakfast at Marie’s house with Lauren, Kyosuke, Richard and Harvey. It was a really nice way to spend the morning before it was time to leave.

Lauren was leaving first. So after we all cleaned our apartments we met Lauren downstairs to wave goodbye. Although we knew we would be seeing Lauren back in Adelaide it was still really sad to see her go and it just felt weird. We had one last photo with everyone before she left.

Steve, Marie, Richard, Shinya, Lauren, Sara, Karen, Kyosuke, Harvey and I.

After Lauren left, Steve and I rode our bikes for the last time down our favourite back streets and past the castle. It was a really beautiful ride. We stopped at the souvenir shop, bought some last minute things that we wanted and headed back home.

It was then time for us to leave. So we caught two taxis to the Himeji bus station. It was really weird to be leaving. We said our last good byes to the people in our residence and left the building. When we got to the bus station we were greeted by Chiaki, Eiko, Toshi, one of my uni students and her daughter. We were still receiving gifts from people too. It was really nice and totally unexpected for all these people to see us off. We had one last photo before we hopped on the bus.

Shinya, Marie, Eri, Keiko, Eiko, Chiaki, Toshi, Steve and I.

We got on the bus after a very teary goodbye and waved at our friends as the bus drove away. Good bye Himeji our home for the year.

We had such a terrific experience and so many memories that we will treasure for ever. I will never forget all the fantastic friends that we made along the way and how helpful and friendly everyone in Japan was. The culture, the music, the artwork, the scenery where ever we went was amazing and wonderful. I would have to say that 2007 was the best year of my life!!!

Our Last Dinner in Himeji

2007-12-26T21:19:00.000+09:00

22nd December, 2007

After spending the day packing and getting organised we had one more dinner out. We decided to go out and eat our favourite food - okonomiyaki at our favourite restaurant in Himeji. It was just what I needed. It was so delicious I loved it. After we ate we went and did our last purikura. It was awesome. That’s one thing that i really will miss in Japan.

Lauren and Kyosuke

Marie and Shinya

Steve, Richard, Makoto and I

Convenience of a Conbenie Store...

2007-12-26T21:09:00.000+09:00

Convenience Stores are found like vending machines on nearly every corner. There are so many different franchises in Japan. The main ones include: Family Mart, 7 Eleven, Sunks and Lawsons. They are open 24 hours a day and have been a life saver on more than one occassion. This is our local convenience store near Shirasagi.

Our Showcase

2007-12-23T13:14:00.000+09:00

21st December, 2007

Katie (one of the Americans in our apartment) has been teaching Marie and I a dance routine to Black Eyed Peas - Disco Club. We have been practicing once a week for about 5 weeks. We had a little showcase to present our dance to everyone in our residence plus a few other people that really wanted to see what we had been working on. Everyone was really impressed with our performance. It was really fun and I enjoyed our dance classes.

Katie, Marie and I before our show.

During the dance.

Our final pose.

After the showcase we went out for dinner with a group of people. We then went on to Nobu and then the Tiger Bar for our last time.

Half of us at dinner.

The other half of us at dinner.

Avi made us a shot to celebrate.

It was a fantastic night out!!

Our Last Day In Sapporo

2007-12-21T00:06:00.001+09:00

20th December, 2007

Today it snowed all day in Sapporo itself. It was very exciting for us to see snow when we walked outside our hotel. We could have just sat and watched it all day.

The snow falling outside.

We decided to go to the Sapporo Beer Factory to taste test the famous beer there. Well Lauren and I did anyway. The Sapporo beers we tried were exclusive to Hokkaido and could not be bought anywhere else. They actually tasted quite good for beer and only cost us ¥100 each.

The Sapporo Beer Factory

The beer and orange juice we drank.

Kampai

After the Beer Factory we wondered around the city for a little bit as the Botanical Gardens were closed during winter. It was then time for us to leave Sapporo and head home. It was really sad to think that this was going to be our last holiday in Japan. I really enjoyed skiing though and I am so glad that I was able to experience it in Japan. Apparently skiing in Hokkaido is ichiban as it has the best snow in the world!!

I Love Skiing!!!

2007-12-20T00:28:00.000+09:00

19th December, 2007

Today was another day for skiing. We headed to Kiroro Mountain to check out the ski fields there. When we arrived it was snowing and it continued to snow all day. It was a little bit colder than yesterday and by the end of the day my hands were frozen but I loved every minute of it. The trees were all white and the ski fields here seemed a lot more open than yesterdays ones.

I found the slopes a lot more steeper even though they were meant to be beginners but I enjoyed the challenge of them. Marie on the other hand was very scared and cautious to go down the mountain. She was skiing at snails pace so I kept waiting for her at the bottom of each hill. At one point she threw a tantrum and just stopped half way down the hill because she was too scared to go any further. She waited there for about 20 minutes not doing anything and then decided to sit down in the snow. Meanwhile I was waiting for her to come down to where I was. Eventually I yelled at her to take her skis off and to walk down but she was even too scared to do that so she ended up sliding down the hill on her butt like a slippery dip. It was pretty funny to watch but slightly embarrassing and I was just cracking up laughing at her the whole time. We made it down the bottom after about 45 minutes. That was the first and last time Marie tried that slope. I on the other hand had another 3 goes at it and condensed my time from 45 minutes to about 20 minutes. We then tried some easier slopes which were more fun and at Marie’s level so she felt much more confident skiing down them.

While Marie and I were skiing Lauren was practicing her snowboarding. She eventually worked out how to get up and managed to snowboard down a little slope.

Marie and Lauren then decided to have an onsen while I continued skiing for a little while longer. I tried some other slopes on my own which I really enjoyed. It was getting a little darker so the lights came on for night skiing and I took a really cool photo from half way down one of the slopes while snow was falling.

I much preferred todays slopes to yesterdays as they were slighty more difficult and challenging. Skiing is really fun and I hope to go a lot more often in the future.

Skiing At Resutsu Ski Resort

2007-12-18T23:48:00.001+09:00

18th December, 2007

We caught the bus for two and a half hours to get to the ski fields today. I was so excited and couldn’t wait to go skiing. I haven’t been skiing for 12 years so I wasn’t sure how I was going to go but I guess it’s like a bike, you just hop back on and it all comes back to you!!

We geared up in our snow gear and headed for the fields. Marie and I were wearing pretty neutral colours as we bought some ski pants before we went to the snow.

Lauren on the other hand looked like she had stepped back into the 80’s with her gear that she borrowed from Kyosuke. It was quite a funny sight really but at least she was warm and was not getting wet.

We all hired skis. Lauren had never skied before and was a little nervous and so were Marie and I as we hadn’t done it for a while, so before we went up in a lift we just went up a small slope to practice. We tried to teach Lauren how to ski and she was trying really hard to give it a go but decided in the end that she didn’t want to go up the lift and would just rather practice on small slopes. Marie and I were ready to hit the slopes - well the beginner ones anyway. They were big enough.

Lauren falling over.

Marie and I going up on the chair lift.

We were very nervous and worried at first because we didn’t want to hurt our knees so we just took it easy. It was really fun. After we had a few goes we became more confident and tried another beginner slope. I really enjoyed skiing and now that I feel more confident I can’t wait to go again tomorrow to a different ski field. I actually didn’t even fall over once - pretty amazing huh??!! Maybe I will try and challenge myself a little more tomorrow and try a more difficult slope. I will see how I feel I guess....

Me skiing

Marie skiing

Marie and I skiing down the mountain.

Some beautiful scenery.

The 3 of us in the snow.

After we were done skiing and had given our skis back we had some time to kill before the bus picked us up to take us home so we decided to go back outside and make a snowman. Such big kids!!! How cute is it though??!!

Snow Is All Around Us

2007-12-18T23:09:00.003+09:00

17th December, 2007

Marie, Lauren and I headed for our last trip in Japan together to Hokkaido which is north of Himeji. As Steve is afraid of flying he couldn’t make it which was a real bummer!!

We flew to Sapporo which is the major city in Hokkaido. As our plane landed we were very excited to notice that it was snowing and that it was covering everything. It looked so beautiful to see everything white and since we don’t get to see snow very often it made it even more exciting.

View from our hotel room.

After we dropped off our luggage at the hotel and changed one of our breakfast vouchers to lunch we headed outside to the cold streets of Sapporo. The ground was very icy and it was very slippery to walk on. We nearly had so many accidents but we managed to stay upright! It was really nice and refreshing walking around the city. We went to Odori Park during the day and then again at night as it was all lit up.

Odori Park during the day.

Me in Odori Park.

The park at night.

It was nice to walk along the streets and see all the trees and buildings covered in snow.

Trees covered in snow.

A car park roof and a hedge covered in snow.

Even bikes and cars were covered too. We saw the old Government Building and around the area was really pretty as there was a little pond, a bridge and trees all covered in snow.

The Government building

The bridge with the pond.

We then had a look at the clock tower.

After we walked the streets for a few hours we decided that we were too cold to stay out there any longer so we hit the shops. It was nice to be back in warmth again. We cruised around the shops for a while before heading to Starbucks for a hot coffee. I really enjoyed being in the snow and am still amazed at how one day we can be in Himeji with no snow and then next day we are in Hokkaido with snow all around us!!

Our Last Hiking Expedition

2007-12-17T23:54:00.003+09:00

16th December, 2007

I really wanted to go on one more hiking adventure before leaving Japan so Thomas took Marie, Shinya and I to a couple of mountains - Masui and Hiromine. We left at 7:30am and rode our bikes to the mountain that we were going to climb. It was early and cold but we were up for it. The hike was really beautiful - not too difficult so we were able to take it easy and enjoy the scenery around us.

Marie and I in front of a bamboo forest.

Thomas and Shinya in front of the bamboo forest.

All of us up the top.

One of the views that we saw.

During the hike we somehow got off the path and ended up lost in the scrub. We were walking around for about 40 minutes trying to figure out how to get back to the path - well Thomas was we were just following. Thankfully we eventually found our way back.

Along the way we saw some temples as well as have some really nice views of Himeji.

One of the temples that we saw.

Another view through a temple gate.

Thomas is a great leader and I really enjoyed going on hikes with him.

Sega World

2007-12-16T19:44:00.001+09:00

15th December, 2007

Marie, Lauren, Shinya, Kyosuke and I went to Sega World today which is a game place. It was very interesting as this was the first time I had seen anything like it. You could play pool, table tennis, video games, darts, read magazines, have a message, play tennis, basketball, air hockey and much more. We had so much fun going around to the different activities.

They even had a Segway which is like that machine that they had on Big Brother once. Of course I wanted to have a turn. It was difficult to get used to but it was fun trying it out. I accidentally crashed into the windows - oopsy!!

We spent about 3 hours here and it cost us around $12 each. Pretty good really. I wish I found out about this palce sooner so I could have come again.

Our Farewell With Our Friends

2007-12-16T17:51:00.001+09:00

14th December, 2007

We organised to have dinner at the Blue Plate a restaurant which we go to regularly and then head to our favourite karaoke place - Time Machine for the last time in Japan. It is very sad at the moment having all these farewell parties - I’m not sure how we are going to cope on the last day.

Everyone at dinner.

Everyone else at dinner.

Karaoke at Time Machine is always a blast. We booked an awesome room - the best one I have been in. We all enjoyed singing our lungs out before heading to the Tiger Bar.

Marie and I singing our lungs out.

Thomas and Marie - a great duet!

Lauren and I - jazz hands!

Richard and I - what a classic shot!

Thomas, Richard, Marie and I going for it!

The girls

Us with our favourite Japanese boys in Japan.

And that's how it's done!!

It was a really fun night and everyone had a good time!!

Omihachiman and Kobe Lights

2007-12-16T16:29:00.000+09:00

13th December, 2007

Today Yoko took Lauren and I to Omihachiman. It was about 2 hours away from Himeji but it was a really nice day trip. Omihachiman has a country town type feel. There is a river running through the town which is actually called Hachiman Moat. This moat is often used to film television shows or movies.

Me, Lauren and Yoko down by the river.

There were some shrines and temples which we visited while we were in the town. The first one was Himure Hachiman-Gu.

We also visited Chomei-ji Temple which was awesome. To get to it you need to climb 808 steps first. It was well worth doing the climb because the view was amazing - you could even see Lake Biwa!! At the top there is the main temple, a 3 story pagoda, a bell tower and a holy fire building.

Lauren and I ready to walk up the steps.

Some remaining autumn leaves covering the steps.

The buildings at the top.

The view of Lake Biwa.

After we did all of this it was time for us to head to Kobe as we were meeting Steve, Marie and Richard to see the Luminarie lights. These lights filled one entire street plus a little bit more. They were amazing. The lights are to represent the anniversary of the Kobe earthquake.

The amazing lights.

Steve and I at the lights.

All of us at the lights.

After the lights we grabbed some dinner beofre heading home. Another great day spent in Japan.

Farewell with Shogai University Students #2

2007-12-15T13:27:00.000+09:00

12th December, 2007

Today was my last class with the uni students. Before the last class one of my classes took me out for lunch. We went to a restaurant around the corner from the university which was really nice.

Masayoshi started off the party with an opening speech. I am amazed at how much his English has improved throughout the year. The party began with a song that the students had rehearsed using bells. It was really wonderful that they had gone to that much effort. We then sang some Christmas carols in English which was also really nice. I really liked the way the students went to an effort to make the party nice and special.

We had lots of food to eat. We started with an entree which was really delicious.

We then had some soup.

Next came the main - I chose steak. It was very tasty!!

We then had a choice of two desserts. I chose choc banana and cheese cake. They were both equally delicious.

Everyone then stood up and said a farewell message to me. It was really touching what everyone said. The level of English spoken was amazing and I managed to have a tear or two in my eyes. It’s really sad to be saying our goodbyes to everyone. I really enjoyed teaching at the university and I will miss my students greatly. They were a fantastic bunch of people to meet and I am very privileged to have met them.

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

All of us.

A Day At The Factory Outlets

2007-12-15T13:13:00.000+09:00

11th December, 2007

Miyoko, Shinako and Setsuko (my uni students) took me to some factory outlets. Something that was potentially VERY dangerous for me especially since we are on our way home - but I managed to control myself!! They were located near Akashi, just before Kobe. They were fantastic. There were so many shops to look through - it was awesome. I was in heaven. I just wish I had known about these shops sooner.

Huh? Episode 10

2007-12-10T10:18:00.000+09:00

Hi Everyone,

This is going to be my last Huh? edition. I hope that you have enjoyed this section of my blog. There are some pretty funny things out there hey??

This is classic

Ok then.

How funny?

Anyone for some Jass???

I'm not quite sure of the meaning of "White Lover"....

This is hilarious. Lauren actually bought this t-shirt for Kyosuke!!

Well that's it folks. This concludes the "Huh?" of Japan.

A Day In Kobe

2007-12-10T09:26:00.000+09:00

8th December, 2007

Steve has never really had the chance to explore Kobe yet so we decided to make a day trip there. On the way to the train station we rode through the moat area and took some last picures of the autumn leaves. They are all falling off now but they still look amazing.

When we arrived in Kobe we headed to the port area. I actually had never really walked around this area before myself so it was nice to have a wonder through.

We then headed to Harbour Land to have a look around the shops. Across the road was a big department store so we went and wondered through. The Japanese also get into Christmas decorations as they are everywhere and look amazing. This is a huge Christmas tree in the shopping mall. It looked awesome.

Steve and I then had dinner at an all you can eat seafood place in Harbour Land. I was in heaven: crabs, prawns, sashimi, octopus, seafood pizza, pasta, salads, muscles, desserts and all you can drink - YUM YUM YUM!!! It was THE BEST all you can eat I have EVER been to.

We then did purikura to end the day before heading home.

My Last Enkai

2007-12-09T12:51:00.000+09:00

7th December, 2007

An enkai is a teachers party and this was my last one! Enkais are usually quite expensive and this was no exception. It was ¥10000 (around $100), but this time the school paid for me as it was my last one.

The food just kept coming and coming and coming!! It was very delicious and I stuffed myself to the max.

Oysters

Salad

Sashimi

Beef

Egg pudding

Noodles

Tenpura

Fruit

Dessert

Many teachers came up to talk to me - even teachers who could not speak English. It was really nice because they all seemed genuinely happy to talk to me.

This teacher always helped me with my computer problems. He was such a nice man.

Shiota Sensei - One of the English teachers that I worked with.

Shimuzu Sensei - The other English teacher that I worked with.

Ken is the person who has looked after me all year. He has been fantastic to work with.

During the night the social club had set up a BINGO game. Everyone would chant “Let’s BINGO!” and then they would push a button until a number came up. They had hired a board to play the game - it was very professional. I joined in but found it a little challenging as they were calling the numbers out in Japanese. It was good practice for me anyway. The first person won and got a prize. I didn’t even know we were playing for prizes. To me it looked like he had won a block of chocolate. Well funnily enough I somehow managed to win the next round. I went to collect my prize, more chocolate - well so I though......I thanked them for the prize and went to walk away. Everyone seemed really excited that I had won - I thought what’s the big deal it’s only chocolate! Then someone asked what I was going to do with my prize. Well that’s a stupid question I though - naturally I would eat it! I then asked the English teacher what it was and he said it was ichi man - which is $100. WOW, SHOCK SURPRISE!!! I couldn’t believe that it was $100. Fantastic I thought. I was very excited and happy with my prize. Now I need to find some time to go and spend it before I leave because it is actually vouchers. The first prize winner got $200 (not chocolate).

After BINGO a group of us headed to the second party which was karaoke and darts.

Singing at Karaoke

Playing darts

I had a lot of fun singing and playing darts with the teachers. It was very enjoyable.

Farewell with Shogai University Students #1

2007-12-09T11:44:00.000+09:00

6th December, 2007

I teach 2 classes at the university and tonight one of the classes decided to have their farwell for me. It is really sad to be having all these farwell parties but nice of everyone to be organising them for us.

I was picked up by Hatsue and taken to the restaurant. It was Japanese style where we sat on the floor but the good thing was there was a hole in the ground! The food was very tasty and was very well presented.

Group 1

Group 2

Everyone

Sasada opened the party and then everyone said a farewell message for me.

The entree

Main

Dessert

Everyone said a really nice message and I was very impressed with the improvement that my beginner class has made. I really enjoyed talking with my students and will miss them all very much.

Omurisu Yum Yum

2007-12-08T23:58:00.000+09:00

5th December, 2007

Yoko has given us a few cooking lessons throughout the year and tonight was Omurisu. This is a popular dish in Japan and consists of rice wrapped in egg - kind of like an omlet. It was surprisingly easy to make with hardly any ingreients needed. Of course you can add extra things to it - we just made the basic recipe which was delicious!!

Yoko doing her magic.

Mixing the onion, chicken, rice and tomato sauce together.

The hardest thing about making this meal was flipping the egg. Yoko tried to teach me but i don’t think that I did a very good job. She managed to somehow fix everyone to make it look appealing :-) Here is the end product.

This is definitley a meal that I will be attempting back at home. We’ll see how my flipping goes. It can only get better hey??!!

Makoto and Kyosuke Cook Up A Storm

2007-12-08T10:43:00.000+09:00

4th December, 2007

Makoto invited us over for Nabe - which is a Japanese meal cooked in a pot. It contains many vegetables, seafood, chicken, dumpling type things tofu and some other things.

Makoto and Marie cooking.

The chicken nabe.

The seafood nabe

After we were full on Nabe, Kyosuke and Makoto made some rice and egg in the left over juices of the nabe.

Steve, Marie, Luci, Makoto and me.

Julian, Taube, Richard and Lauren.

Once we were full on that we ate the tiramisu that Lauren made and the Tim Tams that Marie bought. I was stuffed after that that’s for sure. It was a very enjoyable evening spent with our friends. Time is running out so we have to make the most of it.

Koda Kumi Live In Concert

2007-12-08T00:39:00.000+09:00

1st December, 2007

We traveled to Tokyo once again but this time our purpose was to see Koda Kumi (a Japanese pop singer) live in concert. Lauren and I caught the overnight bus while Steve and Marie took the shinkansen. Lauren and I arrived at 7 in the morning which gave us enough time to shower, have breakfast do some shopping before we had to meet the others.

Once we had a quick look around Shinjuku we got ready and headed towards the Tokyo Dome. We really wanted to buy t-shirts this time and didn’t want to miss out so we arrived nice and early.

The dome

When we arrived we discovered that there was a shopping complex next to the Tokyo Dome. There was also a mini side show area which contained a ginormous roller coaster. How could we resist...we couldn’t!

Marie and I were excited to ride this monstrosity of a roller coaster as it went 130km/hour and went through the building! We managed to convice Shinya to ride it too. It was awesome and I would say it’s up there with one of the best I have been on.

The only problem was that I was dressed for the concert so I was wearing a dress and high heeled boots. Not so appropriate for riding roller coasters but I guess I just fit in perfectly with the Japanese.

Once we got our thrills we lined up in the huge line to get our t-shirts. We finally got to the front and once we had bought them Marie and I couldn’t resist wearing them straight away. They were awesome.

All of us before going in

The concert was brilliant. Koda Kumi was full of energy and was genki for the entire 3 hours that she played for. Everyone had bought glow sticks and as soon as the concert started everyones glow sticks were moving for the entire concert. It looked amazing and gave the dome a really good atmosphere. Koda Kumi started by coming out of a water tank. She had a mermaid theme going. It was an excellent opening and grabbed everyones attention. Even though I only knew a few of her songs it didn’t matter. She put on such a good show that anyone would have enjoyed themselves and I am really glad that Steve pushed us to go to it.

The next day we went to a new area and wondered the strees as they were lined with shops. We then headed back to Yoyogi Park for the last time as it was such a beautiful day. Everyone seemed to be out enjoying themselves with whatever took their fancy - dancing, juggling, playing instruments or just relaxing. It was nice to see the park in autumn too.

The 3 of us just hanging around.

Autumn leaves in Yoyogi.

People utilising the park.

The pond area.

It was a whirlwind trip to Tokyo but an enjoyable one. It’s great that we have been able to go so many times.

Autumn Surrounds The Castle

2007-12-07T15:11:00.000+09:00

As I have previously mentioned each season in Japan is very distinct and the decorations, fashion and trees change accordingly. We have seen Himeji Castle in winter, spring and summer so now it is time for the autumn version.

I decided to ride my bike along the moat as I do everyday but this time I was going to take some pictures of the beauty that I pass. I absolutely LOVE riding along the moat - it doesn’t matter which season it is, it is ALWAYS beautiful.

This is inside the castle grounds.

I LOVE autumn - such a beautiful season don't you think???

Colourful Autumn in Kyoto

2007-12-07T14:13:00.001+09:00

29th November, 2007

Marie and I took a nenkyu and headed to Kyoto for the day. There were a few places that I really wanted to see before I left and time is dwindling so we took our opportunity and went. We actually fit quite a bit into our day which was fantastic!

Our first stop ws to visit Sanjusangendo which is place that Steve recommended us to visit. It was amazing. Inside the temple were 1000 golden statues which were known as “mercy Gods”. They were all so perfectly placed and lined up. It was interesting wondering through the temple. You couldn’t take any photos inside so I only have the book we bought and my memories of the temple.

The temple from the outside

The inside of the temple (this picture was taken from a book)

This shrine was said to bring you good fortune.

This water fountain is said to stop crying babies who cry through the night.

By this stage it was lunch time so I took Marie to a little park area which Steve showed us previously so that we could eat our packed lunch. It was very pretty in the park and we were able to eat our lunch peacefully.

A lantern in the park

Beautiful trees in the park

Marie and I - we took about 5 photos before we got a good shot!

From here Marie and I headed to Ginkakuji. This temple is meant to be the silver temple but they apparently never got around to coating it in silver. Marie and I still thought it was amazing even so. The gardens surrounding Ginkakuji were awesome and made up for the temple. The autumn colours made it even more impressive.

There was also an area where they made a mound out of sand which was mean to represent Mount Fuji and the sand in front of it was meant to represent a wave. I thought this was pretty impressive and amazing how they actually make it so perfect. I really wanted to run and jump on top of it but didn't think anyone would have appreciated this!!

The surrounding gardens.

The view from the top.

Words can't describe this.

From Ginkakuji we found the “philosophers walk” which was very impressive. We walked along a river which had beautiful autumn trees lining it. It was such a beautiful relaxing walk which we enjoyed taking our time along. Many other people were also enjoying the trail. Along the way there were many temples that you could stop off at. We were looking for one called Eikando which was recommended by Yoko. We eventually found it and it was magnificent.

The river which we walked along.

Eikando Temple

The area around the temple.

This temple had amazing autumn trees.

Here are Marie and I.

Check out these leaves

By this time it was 5:30 and time for us to head home. We jammed in as much as we could into the day as this was possibly the last time that we would be visitng Kyoto. I had a really enjoyable day.

Aerobics - No More!

2007-12-03T15:15:00.001+09:00

27th November, 2007

As I mentioned previously Marie and I started up aerobics classes at the community centre. When we first began we only got around 13 people, but week by week the numbers grew and we ended up with between 20 and 30 people each week. It was fantastic to see so many Japanese people regularly attend our sessions.

Everyone that attended the last session.

On the day of our last class they put together a mini party for us. Everyone bought cakes to share and they gave us flowers to show us their appreciation. It was very nice and very sweet of them to go to all that trouble for us. We felt like celebrities. They all wanted to take their photo with us and they kept thanking us over and over again! It was a nice way to end our last session.

All the food we had to eat.

This was a delicious cake that one of the ladies made for us. It had mine and Marie's name on it.

Marie and I also received these beautiful flowers each.

After the aerobics party a group of us came back to the residence to eat a yummy curry that Lauren had cooked for us.

Japanese Lessons

2007-12-03T15:11:00.000+09:00

During the year we have been attending Japanese lessons once a week. We have had the same teacher for the entire year and she has been fantastic. I have definitely learnt a large amount of Japanese through out the year which I am happy about. I can read and write hiragana and katakana and I can very basically get myself around. This is a HUGE improvement from the beginning of the year where I knew nothing. This was our last class for the year.

Kyoto Markets

2007-12-03T14:57:00.000+09:00

25th November, 2007

Steve, Lauren and I headed to Kyoto to check out the markets that only happen twice a month. The markets were at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine. It was a great experience and I am glad that I was able to get there to see them. There were many things to look at from old kimons to plates, pots and paintings. It was interesting to see the types of things they were selling. It was very busy and trying to get through all the people was a challenge in itself.

The markets

Once we had a look at the markets we wondered through the shrine area. I still can’t get over how different each one is. This shrine had beautiful gold lanterns around it.

The shrine

The gold lanterns

The gold lantern up close.

Once we had finished here we headed to another shrine but found that it was closed. As it is getting colder the shrines and temples close earlier than usual. We decided to just wonder around the area that we were in and discovered a beautiful park which had many autumn trees in it and was just stunning. We roamed around for a while admiring our view.

Around the park

Beautiful autumn leaves

A bell surrounded by beautiful autumn leaves.

We then headed to the mall to do some shopping before we ate dinner at a restaurant that Steve, Marie and I ate at the very first time we went to Kyoto. It was just as delicious the second time round. I really enjoyed this trip and am looking forward to going to Kyoto again maybe one more time.

Amazing Sand Dunes in Tottori

2007-12-02T22:51:00.000+09:00

24th November, 2007

Shinya drove us to Tottori where the most amazing sand dunes I have ever seen are. They were huge and apparently they spread for 16km. We have been wanting to go there all year and we finally got the chance. It was a beautiful day and perfect for going to the beach.

Steve, Marie, Lauren and I amazed at how big these dunes were.

Shinya, Marie and I took our shoes off and hiked up the steep part of the sand dunes while Steve and Lauren took the easy way out. It was a pretty steep slope to climb but the view from the top was well worth it.

Marie and I climbing the hill

Steve and I at the top of the dune with an awesome view of the ocean.

Shinya, Marie and I then copied everyone else and ran down the dune. It was so much fun. When we got to the bottom we put our feet in the water and was surprised to find that the water wasn’t all that cold. Almost swimable!!

Marie and I running down the dune.

We then hiked back up the hill and ran down the other side. It was awesome - I really enjoyed playing around in the dunes.

Marie, Shinya and I hiking back up the dune.

Me doing angels in the sand.

After we ate lunch Steve, Lauren and I bought pear icecream. Pear is the thing to buy in Tottori. The icecream was delicious!

Shinya then drove us to Yubara which is a spa town. Shinya told us to pack our bathers as there was an outdoor onsen where men and women sit in together. Lauren and I were excited as we were allowed to wear our bathers. As we got closer to the onsen we realised that everyone in it was male and that noone had their bathers on, they were all naked! We couldn’t believe it and were quite shocked. They were all just happily sitting there in the nude with the whole world to see them. There was NO chance I was joining them that’s for sure. We were a little disappointed as we really wanted to go in but I just felt way too uncomfortable.

The outdoor onsen.

We settled on a foot spa instead. It was much more relaxing and comfortable and we had amazing scenery to look at while taking the foot spa.

After we relaxed for a while Shinya drove us home. It was a long drive maybe 3 hours each way but definitely worth it.

White Trash - College Bash

2007-11-30T18:02:00.000+09:00

23rd November, 2007

The Americans decided to hold a “white trash” party for the aussies. It was held at the residence and everyone made an effort to dress up which was fantastic. The americans organised games to play such as flippie cup, ping pong throw and there was also a beer bong. I guess it was meant to resemble a “college party”. People enjoyed playing the games and getting into the theme. It was a pretty funny theme and everyone had a good time. Here are a few photos of the night.

Lauren and I in our trashiest outfits.

Kyosuke, me, Makoto and Lauren

Maya and I

Jono and I

Jodi, Katie and I

Maya, Taube, me, Julian and Lauren

Biking Through The Countryside

2007-11-27T23:25:00.001+09:00

23rd November, 2007

We hired a car, packed our lunch and headed to Okayama to bike along the Kibi trail. We picked a perfect day to do this trail as the sun was shining and although it was a little bit cold it wasn’t anything a jacket, beanie and scarf couldn’t fix. We spent the day riding along the trail taking in the magnificent view that surrounded us the entire way. Autumn is still here which made the bike ride even more picturesque.

All of us ready to ride.

The scenery that we got to see.

A cute little restaurant that we saw along the way.

More countryside.

We stopped along the way a few times when we came to different things. The 5-storied pergoda was amazing and could be spotted a long way away. It was surrounded by autumn trees and mountains and was just beautiful to look at.

On the way to the pergoda.

Steve, Marie and I in front of an awesome tree.

We then spotted a little cemetery in the middle of no where. It had a beautiful yellow tree to the side of it. Shinya told us that these graveyards weren’t looked after so it was kind of sad.

A little further on was a large temple with big grounds surrounding it. We went in and explored the area.

Steve walking through the long passage way to the temple.

A beautiful autumn tree surrounding some orange shrines.

A beautiful entrance way in the temple grounds.

Autumn leaves surrounding a lantern inside the temple grounds.

Across the road from the temple was a garden area with a big pond. It was very pretty so we spent a little time in there before riding back.

The beautiful pond.

Steve and I on the bridge.

I love autumn leaves as a background. May as well take as many photos with them while they are still here.

Autumn makes everything look amazing.

I really enjoyed biking along the Kibi trail. It was a very relaxing fun day. It would have been great to have done this in the spring time too to see all the cherry blossoms. I definitely recommend this bike ride.

Thanksgiving in Japan!

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

22nd November, 2007

As I have previously mentioned we live in a building with many American ALT’s and as Thanksgiving is a BIG holiday in America we decided to celebrate it with them this year - Japanese style! We headed to the Blue Plate which is a restaurant that we have been to many times this year to get stuck into a magnificent buffet consisting of a delicious suculent turkey.

This was the first turkey that we have had all year and it was tasty as!! Pretty much everyone from our apartment attended the dinner as well as a few of our other friends. We celebrated with around 30 people.

Everyone was pretty stuffed by the end of it. I myself had 2 and a half plates of food PLUS dessert. That didn’t stop me from having a few cocktails back at our apartment afterwards. It was a good night celebrating with our friends in Japan.

Happy Birthday To Me!!

2007-11-20T23:01:00.000+09:00

19th November, 2007

Being able to spend a birthday in Japan was fabulous! Having fantastic people around me to spend it with was even better. I went to work for the day which was not too bad considering work is pretty easy going around here. After school I had English club with 2 girls and we played scrabble. They had just been to Okinawa for a school trip and had both bought me a little present. They didn’t actually know it was my birthday that day but we can just pretend that they gave me a present for it. One girl gave me some biscuits and the other one gave me a snoopy sticky note pad. Very cute and very nice!

I asked Makato to book an Izakaya for dinner. Izakaya’s are the best way to eat with lots of people. There were about 11 of us for dinner and I enjoyed every minute of it. We had good food, good drinks and good company!

After dinner we went back to our house to sing “Happy Birthday!” Lauren was kind enough to bake me a delicious, yummy, tasty banana cake - my favourite!! It even had chocolate icing - YUM-O!! Everyone had a piece and then people went back for more. The whole cake was eaten in one go - that’s how tasty it was.

The delicious cake Lauren made me.

Singing "Happy Birthday"

Cutting the cake.

I'm now 28......

Everyone!

I got some really nice presents from everyone and was totally spoilt!!!

Let's Enjoy Autumn

2007-11-20T10:58:00.000+09:00

18th November, 2007

I have heard very good things about the Himeji Castle Gardens and we have been meaning to go all year but have never seemed to have the chance until today. It was the perfect opportunity and being autumn made it even more appealing, so Steve, Marie, Lauren and I headed to the Castle Gardens.

Steve and I in the entrance next to this amazing tree.

The gardens were magnificent and just as stunning as everyone kept telling us. The autumn leaves were absolutely gorgeous and I couldn’t stop taking photos.

The pond with beautiful autumn trees surrounding it.

Steve and I on the bridge.

There were so many gold fish in this pond and they were HUGE.

I love autumn.

So does Steve!

Beautiful yellow leaves.

Wow!

The four of us enjoying the amazing trees.

So beautiful!

Love this photo.

We even got to see a little performance with some very differnt musical instruments. The sound was beautiful.

What an amazing background.

I would loved to have had the chance to go more than once to these beautiful gardens. They are definitely well worth visiting.

Cocktail Party - Hawaiian Style

2007-11-19T14:37:00.000+09:00

17th November, 2007

Well, anything goes in Japan!! Freezing cold or not, it was time for a hawaiian cocktail party. This was the theme that I decided upon for my birthday this year. Lauren’s mum was kind enough to bring over some grass skirts and shell bras from Adelaide so how could we resist!!

Best friends!

Everyone bought a bottle of alcohol to share and the mixing and blending began. It was a night of Pina Colada’s, Illusions, Mudslides, Balieybu’s and more. The Captain joined in as always too.

Lauren and Marie mixing the first lot of drinks.

More mixing and blending.

The captain up to his no good tricks...

Heaps of people got into the theme and made an effort to dress up which was great! Lauren made some cool flowers so that we could decorate the room and it looked awesome. We spent the night drinking cocktails, dancing, hanging loose and drinking more cocktails.

Aloha

Love everyones outfits

Always buddies

My other buddy

Take it easy girls

PART.....Y because I gotta!!

Lovely

We then headed to Karaoke to sing the rest of the night away. It was a really good theme and a lot of fun! A great way to spend your birthday in Japan!!

My Radio Debut

2007-11-19T09:09:00.000+09:00

17th November, 2007

At the Nada festival we met Hitomi who works for Genki FM a Japanese radio station. We randomly bumped into her again at Miki’s wedding where she asked if we were available to come to the radio station and do some recordings. We weren’t exactly sure what was expected of us but we politely agreed.

We arrived at the radio station still unsure of what to expect. Hitomi and Hiroshi took us into their office to explain what they wanted of us. We were to read out some phrases to promote their radio station all in English.

Us with Hitomi and Hiroshi

We each had to sit in the room and put on the headphones to read out the phrases. It was really funny and a great experience. If they didn’t like the way we said something they would make us repeat it until it was perfect.

We then found out that throughout the week they will play our voices between songs. We will be played everyday for who knows how long. So we are now famous in Japan!!

Huh? Episode 9

2007-11-13T11:15:00.001+09:00

Huh? Is back everyone. I have been back on the look out and this is what I have found.....enjoy!!

How about this for an idea....a box to put your banana in so that it wont smell!!

I wonder how exciting it actually is???

Check out the size of this thing....

Anyone for Pain?

This is a sign explaining all the different kinds of poo....

Who would like some "Sod Water"?

Until next time......

Shodoshima - where are we going??

2007-11-12T14:47:00.002+09:00

11th November, 2007

Steve and Marie had to work today so Lauren and I decided to head to place which we had never been to before. Shodoshima was that lucky place. We did some research and found out that we had to catch a ferry to this island which was situated about an hour and a half away from Himeji. We worked out exactly what we wanted to do there and we set off for the day.

We arrived at the port ready to catch the ferry across to the island. We didn’t actually realise how big the ferry was actually going to be. It was HUGE - a monstrosity. I couldn’t believe it. Lauren and I were first to board and our mouths just dropped. It was amazing. I had never been on such a big ferry before. There were lounge chairs, a cafeteria, video games, big carpeted areas - it was unreal. We grabbed ourselves some comfortable lounge chairs so that we could relax and enjoy the ride.

The HUGE ferry

Inside the ferry

The ferry was quite full and as room was running out the area where we thought was just going to be us sitting soon wasn’t. A tour group came up and invaded our space. It was quite funny really because at first noone wanted to sit next to us but then eventually there were about 5 old people that did. They were prepared with their little bento boxes and just started talking to us in Japanese the entire way to the island. Lauren and I were just laughing so much as this was just totally unexpected. We used the Japanese that we knew to try and have a conversation with them. One of the men was really drunk and he just kept giggling and trying to speak to us. He kept telling us that we were beautiful. His wife was telling him off and trying to calm him down but he wouldn’t listen to her. They kept getting their tour photographer to come over so that they could all have pictures with us. It was quite entertaining and I think we were the talk of the boat especially since we were the only gaijin on it.

Once we reached the island we said goodbye to our new friends and set off to do the things that we wanted to do. The main things were to see the gorge via the ropeway and to see the olive park. Well this proved to be more difficult than expected. Our main priority was the ropeway so we asked how to get there and it just seemed very confusing to everyone. Buses were very infrequent and so a lot of waiting was involved.

We finally hopped on a bus not really knowing where we were going but hoping it was to the ropeway, It somehow ended up being a tour bus - who knows how or why but it was. They kept stopping at different places where we could get off and look around, but because we didn’t really know what was going on or where to go we just stayed in the area. The scenery from the bus was beautiful. The coast was amazing but because we were on the bus we couldn’t get many photographs.

One of the stops was a look out which was amazing. The autumn colours made it so much better. We were absolutely freezing though so luckily we were only there for about 5 minutes.

We eventually made it to the ropeway after about 2 hours of getting to the island. We couldn’t believe it but the main thing was that we got there. The cable car ride was fantastic as the view of the mountains combined with the autumn trees was magnificent.
The view on the way down

The view at the bottom - I just love the autumn trees, so beautiful!!

Once we got to the bottom we had to wait another half an hour to catch the bus back to the ferry. We were on a very strict time limit as the ferry and busses were very infrequent. We bought a coffee and enjoyed it sitting in a gazebo type thing while we waited for the bus. We never made it to the olive park but at least we did one of the things that we wanted to do. We got to the ferry just in time and were able to relax for the rest of trip home.

Although it felt like we spent a lot of the day on transport and waiting around it was a beautiful island and we saw some fantastic things. I think it would be good to go in the summer time so that you could actually swim there. Also I think spending a night there would have been better.
Lauren and I had a great time trying to figure out what was going on and where we were going. It will definitely be a day trip that I wont forget in a hurry.

A Trip Down The Hozu River

2007-11-12T09:10:00.000+09:00

10th November, 2007

Marie, Lauren, Shinya and I (Steve had to work) headed to Kyoto to experience a traditional Japanese style boat ride down the famous Hozu river. About 30 people piled into the boat to enjoy the amazing scenery that surrounded us the entire way down the river. As it is autumn the colours around us were just beautiful.

The boats

Shinya, Lauren and I at the beginning of the ride

Beautiful scenery

More beautiful scenery

Some moments of the ride were a little rocky and rapidy but there was nothing to be worried about. It was very relaxing and good fun.

Some small rapids

Before the end of the ride a motorised boat came up to us selling and cooking food incase anyone was hungry. We were in fact a little hungry so we bought a couple of things to eat. The Japanese people think of EVERYTHING!!

2 hours later we arrived at the end of the river. It was such a beautiful day that there were people everywhere taking boat rides in the river, walking around or just admiring the scenery.

Our boat and our 3 tour guides.

We had a quick bite to eat before heading to a couple of temples which we had never been to before. It surprises me just how many temples and shrines there actually are in Kyoto and although I have been there many times through the course of the year I can still manage to go to some that I have not seen before.
Tenryu-Ji

Beautiful autumn

Yasaka Temple

Maruyama Park

Some girls dressed up as Maiko

All of us with an amazing background

It was a really enjoyable day and I would recommend this trip to everyone. I think spring or autumn would be prime times though.

A Traditional Japanese Style Wedding

2007-11-06T21:33:00.000+09:00

4th, November, 2007

Steve, Marie, Lauren and I were very lucky as Miki a student from my university invited us to go and watch her Wedding ceremony. It was a traditional Japanese style Wedding and was held at a shrine close to our residence.

Miki and her husband were dressed in traditional kimonos and looked amazing. It was very interesting to watch as close family and friends were able to join Miki and her husband in the shrine while everyone else had to watch from just outside the shrine.

Miki being walked in by her mum. Her husband is walking in front of them.

The ceremony went for half an hour.

After the couple were married they rang the bell which was by the shrine.

Then it was time for some photos. We were actually asked to be in the group photo with all the friends. We felt really special and glad to be apart of Miki’s day.

Happy Birthday Harvey and Taube!

2007-11-06T21:15:00.001+09:00

3rd November, 2007

Harvey and Taube two of the Americans who live in our building had a joint birthday party. We had a few drinks at home before heading into a few bars. Here are a couple of pictures from the night. It was a fairly tame but fun night.

Happy Birthday Harvey

Happy Birthday Taube

The Gang

Chubbas

Taube made this beanie for Julian - I LOVED it and really want it!

A cute place called Izushi

2007-11-06T14:34:00.000+09:00

3rd November, 2007

Yoko drove Steve, Spencer, Lauren and I to Izushi which is about 2 hours north from Himeji. Izushi is a small little place but very cute and relaxed and it was very enjoyable spending the day there.

There was a festival going on during the day so we were lucky to be able to see some children parading the streets and then watch some adults doing some kind of performance. It was very different to anything we had seen before so it was quite interesting to watch.

The men with their Japanese style wigs on

As there was a festival on we were able to see some markets selling a variety of foods and other things. We could taste test some of the things for sale. I was lucky enough to have a go at making mochi - sticky rice filled with bean. It's actually quite tasty!!

Izushi has a castle grounds where basically just some of the walls remained and there are many torri leading up to a shrine within the castle walls.

Yoko, Steve and I on the bridge leading into the castle grounds

Autumn is here. These are some of the beautiful autumn leaves.

Me with some leaves

The torri within the castle walls

There is also a famous clock tower which is built in the middle of the main area.

Soba noodles are famous in Izushi and Yoko took us to her favourite restaurant so that we could try them. The restaurant was situated over the water - very peaceful and beautiful.

Steve and I getting stuck into our soba noodles.

The view from the restaurant.

We walked along the main street and got to go inside a traditional style house which was amazing and very big.

We then reached a temple which we had a walk around. This was also amazing.

Lauren and I couldn't resist our chocolate coated bananas. Delicious!!

Izushi was a nice place to visit and I am glad that Yoko was able to take us there.

Halloween Tradition

2007-10-29T14:21:00.000+09:00

26th October, 2007

Shirasagi holds a Halloween party every year for the children in our community and it was that time of year. The apartment was decorated with Halloween decorations and many activities were set up for the children to participate in. All the kids came dressed up which was fantastic and participated in 4 activities before watching a pumpkin carving and having a costume contest. They then got to experience trick or treating around the apartment. They LOVED it!! All the kids who came were very well behaved and very cute.
Some kids arriving

The group of kids who attended the Halloween party at Shirasagi

The costume winners

After the kids party we had been invited to go to another party which was held at the Mitsubishi Boys apartment. This was also a Halloween party which was perfect for us since we were already dressed up. We had been looking forward to this party for a while and were excited about going to it. Everyone was dressed up and looked amazing!! Here are some pictures throughout the night for you to check out.
A Cat, Cleopatra and a Witch

The hosts of the party

Marie and I

Marie and Shinya

Caesar, Cleopatra, an Arabian guy and a Cat

Kyosuke, Marie and I

Greg, Peter, Lauren and I

The aussies

Katie, Joe, Jono and I

Yeeehaaaa

Tango anyone?

We had a HEAPS good night. It's always fun hanging out with your mates!!

Carving a Pumpkin!

2007-10-26T09:49:00.000+09:00

25th October, 2007

First of all welcome to Himeji Tessa and Dan!! I am sure you will have a great time here.

As we have many Americans in our residence we are having a Halloween party for the local children in our area. We have set up activities for the children to do and decorated our residence with all sorts of things. One of the jobs was to carve some pumpkins. Well I got to do one of them. As we are not American we needed to do a little research to find an awesome design so that our pumpkin would look the BEST. We checked out several different sights and finally decided on a bit of a combination. Here is the process of what we did.......

Dan and I cutting the top off

Tessa, Dan and I taking the seeds out

Marie, Tessa and Dan still taking seeds out

Dan performing the surgery after drawing a picture of what we wanted onto paper and sticking it to the pumpkin

Almost done....

The end product

Check out the end product!!

How scary does it look??

The pumpkin carving committee

Seppico - A Hard Core Climb!!

2007-10-23T21:36:00.001+09:00

21st October, 2007

We did it! We managed to climb our way to the top of this mountain! It wasn’t easy I can tell you that much but we soldiered on and made it.

Here is Marie, Harvey, Thomas and I before our climb up.

We caught the bus at 7:40am to begin our 1 hour journey to the bottom of the mountain. The actual climb took us 5 hours in total. The first 20 minutes was killer. I was glad to discover that the whole climb wasn’t as bad as the first 20 minutes. It was very steep and rocky and so chains and ropes were used at times to pull ourselves up or down. As hard as the climb was I really enjoyed the challenge of it and the gorgeous scenery helped to take our minds off the intenseness of this hike.

Check out the steepness of the climb

We managed to get to one of the peaks at a reasonable time so we stopped to have a rest before continuing on to the next peak.

The hike consisted of all different sorts of things: we had to absail down some of the paths, climb rocks, get ourselves through narrow rocks as well as having some nice flat surfaces to walk along. Autumn is coming and you can really see the trees starting to change colour. It is very beautiful. During our hike we also reached a waterfall and were able to see some amazing views from up high.

Here is me using the chain to get up to the next section

Me squeezing through the tiny gap.

The beautiful autumn trees

Here is the second peak we reached. This is where we decided to stop for lunch before hiking our way down.

Some cool trees

A beautiful waterfall that we came to

Marie and I crossing the river

Climbing Mount Seppico was definitely worth having sore legs for and I am really glad that Thomas was able to lead us on this hike. We had a fantastic day on the mountain and if you enjoy hiking I definitely recommend you climb Seppico. It is well worth it.

A Trip with my Uni Students

2007-10-19T12:02:00.001+09:00

19th October, 2007

I had another nenkyu today so this time my uni students decided to take me out for the day, They took me to the Kasai Flower Centre. This was another beautiful park with so many pretty flowers to look at. We ate lunch in the restaurant there and then just enjoyed wondering around the park. It was very relaxing especially since it was such a beautiful day.

Me with Shinako, Miyoko, Mayumi and Hideyo

Bonsai Trees - my favourite trees in Japan

The view from the restaurant - how beautiful

Miyoko, Shinako, Hideyo and Mayumi

Shinako, Miyoko, Hideyo and me amongst some flowers

Me, Shinako, Mayumi and Hideyo in front of some beautiful flowers

After the flower centre we went to the 500 Rakan Statues. This was really cool as there were 500 statues which had been carved each with a different face. It was very interesting to explore this area.

Once again I had a really enjoyable, fun day. Thanks ladies for taking me out!!

An Outing with Yoko

2007-10-19T11:22:00.000+09:00

16th October, 2007

I had a nenkyu today so Yoko was kind enough to take me on a little adventure. She organised the whole day for us and it was wonderful! Firstly she took me to see fields and fields of flowers. It was like a rice field only instead of rice there were flowers. Very pretty pinks, purples and whites. It was just absolutely gorgeous and they seemed to just go forever and ever and ever. These flowers are the symbol of autumn.

After we had walked around for a while we decided to head to our next destination which was to climb Mount Takamikura. I had already climbed this mountain previously but this time we went from a different way. I really enjoyed climbing up the mountain. We reached the top with ease and then ate a yummy lunch that Yoko had prepared for us while sitting at the top of the mountain with a gorgeous view.

The shrine at the top of the mountain

After we climbed back down we headed to our final destination which was Suma Rikyu Park. The was another beautiful garden where the main feature was a water fountain.

It also had a a little adventure park for children which I made Yoko play on with me. We felt like BIG kids. It was so much fun because it was like an obstacle course where you you had to pull yourself up with ropes, climb over things, walk over bridges, climb through tunnels, go on flying foxes and slide down slippery dips. I was loving it and I think Yoko was too!!

There was also a little Japanese garden inside this park which was also beautiful.

I had a really relaxing and enjoyable day with Yoko - so much fun!!

Nada Kenka Matsuri and Oshio Lion Dancing

2007-10-18T18:47:00.000+09:00

14th & 15th, October, 2007

This was the weekend of festivals. Actually October is the month of festivals. It is the time when everyone prays for good harvest of their crops for the year.

We have been looking forward to going to the Nada fighting festival for a VERY long time and it had finally arrived. We were lucky enough to be invited to sit in some seats with one of the teachers from my school. Not many people are privileged enough to ever see this festival let alone be able to sit in a seat. We were provided with lunch and were very well looked after. It was fantastic!

My teacher and his friend with us

The shrine entering the temple area - it was that heavy that the men were having a hard time keeping it up right.

This festival is quite dangerous and every year there seems to be a death so I was glad to be sitting high up in a seat - PLUS we had a really good view from where we were sitting. The Nada festival was held over two days. The first day was mainly seeing the shrines come out one by one. Each area has it’s own colour where they wear bandanas and hold pom poms to help distinguish their area. The men carrying the shrines also wear a fundoshi (similar to sumo wrestlers) so we got to see a lot of butts over the two days. It was fascinating to see how enthusiastic the people carrying the shrines actually were. These shrines were a lot bigger than the previous ones I have seen so I can only imagine how heavy they would be. It was kind of like gladiator with all the action happening in the arena below the spectators. I was happy not to be in all the comotion down below.

At the end of the day all the shrines came out at once - all seven of them and kind of paraded around the arena. Some of the shrines almost tipped over because they were so heavy. It was quite scary watching as you really felt that the people holding the shrines were going to be hurt. At night the shrines even lit up which was really nice.

After this we headed to Oshio where the lion festival was taking place. This was also amazing and we were lucky enough to see the procession of the lions entering the temple area. It is said that if the lion touches you on the head you are to have good luck. I was really hoping that I was going to be touched on the head by the lion.

I guess I was lucky enough.

The procession

We were even lucky enough to meet Miss Himeji and have a photo with her.

The next day at the Nada festival we were lucky enough to be able to sit in our same seats. This time we got to watch the shrines fight each other. It was very exciting but scary at the same time. There were three old shrines pretty much just ramming into each other. Every time they rammed into each other they would fall over. Spencer got right into the crowd to get a closer look - can you spot him?

The man and his wife who let us sit with them

Can you spot Spen?

We watched the fight scene then headed to the mountain to see some more. Can you imagine being in the middle of all of this? Check out the amount of people.

As we were walking there we stumbled across some men who wanted us to wear their areas colour which was yellow so they gave us each a yellow bandana and we had a photo with them.

We then got to the hill but as we had no seat we had no idea where to stand. We tried to find a safe spot and ended up the hill a little way. When it was time to leave we realised that to do this we had to walk through the whole shrine area. Well this was quite terrifying as we were kind of stuck down there and at one stage I thought that we were going to be squashed. Well we managed to stay safe and we ran across at the right time. I was glad to be out of the crowd I can tell you that much for sure. It was a really fun and interesting festival to spectate but I can see now why there would be deaths that occur from it. I am really glad that I was able to experience such an exciting, scary, enthusiastic, colourful festival.

Lauren's Birthday Celebrations!

2007-10-18T00:05:00.000+09:00

13th October, 2007

It was well overdue but we were finally able to celebrate Lauren’s birthday with a party and what an awesome night it was. We started with the first party - drinks on the balcony. I think I may have had one too many - oopsy!!

This turned into Karaoke the second party. We sung and sung and SUNG!!!! Hmmm doesn’t surprise me really. I tried not to be a microphone hogger but I sometimes I just can’t help it!
Typical me.

The boys:Spencer, Julian and Steve

Spencer and I at Karaoke

Sing your hearts out everyone!!

The third party ended up at some pubs. It was such a fun night and I would never have doubted that it wouldn’t be because I always have fun when I go out in Japan. Lauren I hope this was one birthday that you will ALWAYS remember - I am pretty sure she is still beaming from ear to ear with the events that took place from the night! YAY Lauren!!

Shinzaike Matsuri

2007-10-11T11:33:00.000+09:00

7th October, 2007

We were very fortunate to be invited to not only spectate but to actually participate in our local areas matsuri. We were each given a ‘happy coat’ to wear whilst joining in. It was a fantastic experience and one that I wont be forgetting in a hurry.

We met at 8am at a shrine around the corner from our residence and started with a morning drink of sake before the men lifted the shrine and raised it up and down a few times whilst yelling ‘yo ya sa!!’ It was good to see people we knew actually getting involved.

The shrine was then put onto some wheels so that it could be wheeled around our local streets. Everyone else walked and followed along behind chanting yo ya sa!!

We had a few drinks and snacks breaks along the way. At one of our stops I asked if I could help lift the shrine. Usually only men get involved in this but I was fortunate enough to be able to get a chance. I was so excited and happy to be involved.

We eventually ended a few hours later at a park just across the road from our residence where we ate a bento lunch and had some more beer. All the shrines from other neighbourhoods also ended up at this park. We then did a minor bit of shrine fighting, I was also involved in this and it was a little scary as everyone around me were men. I was unsure of the process so I was just trying to follow along as best as I could. All I could see were stacks of people around me and I felt as if I was going to be squashed -I managed to live to tell the tale. It was a great experience and I am really glad that I got a chance to be involved.

After the festival our local community held a party for us. We got all the food and drink we wanted. I tell you the drinks just kept coming and coming. There was never a time when your glass was empty. It was great fun celebrating with people from our local area.

Exploring the Area

2007-10-11T08:26:00.000+09:00

6th October, 2007

Lauren and I had the day to ourselves as Steve and Marie were away so we decided to have an easy day and go and do some exploring. We had seen a cemetery near one of our local supermarkets and decided to head up that way and check out the area. So we hopped on our bikes and went on out way. Well we stumbled across an amazing area. I’m not sure what it was exactly but just around the cemetery were many shrines. We really liked it as it was very peaceful and we were pretty much the only ones there. We just took our time wondering around, taking in the beautiful scenery and taking some photos. It’s really cool to think that we have been living in Himeji for one year and there are still things that need to be discovered.

Some cool lanterns

The inside of one of the shrines

Me in front of one of the shrines

Climbing Mount Shosha

2007-10-02T09:00:00.001+09:00

30th September, 2007

Mum and dad hadn’t been to Mt Shosha yet so instead of taking the easy way up with the cable car we decided to climb the mountain instead. The climb was pretty easy really and I quite enjoyed it. The only problem was that it was infested with spiders so we had to keep ducking underneath their webs. Once we got to the top it was ok - we were able to walk around without worrying about the spiders. We had been once before to Mt Shosha but never reached the temple where the Last Samuri was filmed so this time we made sure we reached that area. It was amazing and huge!!

Climbing up

The many spiders we encountered

Mum couldn't resist ringing the bell

Dad washing his hands before going into the temple

The first temple we arrived at

We saw these statues along the way

The temple where the Last Samuri was filmed

Welcome to Himeji Spencer

2007-10-01T12:56:00.000+09:00

28th September, 2007

Spencer has arrived in Himeji. It has taken nearly all year for him to finally get here but he made it. He has made himself at home and things have picked up right where they left off. Hope you enjoy your time in Japan Spen - I have no doubt that you will.

There is a story behind Spencer's props - he is not that crazy!

Our 5th Wedding Anniverary

2007-10-01T09:04:00.001+09:00

28th September, 2007

Steve and I decided to head off to Nara to spend our 5th anniversary. Nara is so beautiful and was the perfect place to spend this occasion at. I have been to Nara once before but Steve had never been so it was good to go again. We went out for tea on Friday night to a nice Italian restaurant. We ate a set meal which consisted of salad, bread, pasta and pizza and a drink. It was delicious and very filling. After tea we headed to some of the tourist sights as they are lit up at night and very beautiful to look at. It was difficult to take pictures because the camera’s are not so good in the dark so all I have is my memories of that. Once we looked around for a bit we found a purikura machine - YAY!! We then played the drum game which is this really awesome game that I played for the first time. Considering it was my first time I wasn’t too bad. Steve was a lot better than me of course. But i LOVED it and can’t wait to play it again!

The next day we woke up early, had breakfast and headed off to see the sights.
Steve and I in front of the pond

3 storied pagoda

Me infront of Kasuga Shrine with a deer in the background

Steve in front of Kasuga Shrine

Some really beautiful lanterns

Steve and I at one of the temples

I thought the roofs were really interesting. They had little faces on them.

This is the largest bell that I have seen so far.

This was an entrance to someone's house - I thought it looked pretty cool.

This is me in front of a moss covered pond. We thought it looked pretty amazing.

Steve in front of Todaiji Temple where the largest Buddha lies. Yes I did go through the nostril again and this time Steve filmed it.

We had a fantastic day and we can’t wait to head back to Nara again.

Happy Birthday Lauren!

2007-09-28T10:13:00.000+09:00

26th September, 2007

Lauren was very lucky as her mum was here to celebrate her birthday with her. Our parents were also here so we all celebrated together. Makoto one of our Japanese friends booked an Izukiya for us - a different one to the one we usually go to. It had a pirate theme and was really cool. We ate a feast that’s for sure. Makoto and Kyosuke did the ordering and food just kept coming and coming. We were definitely full by the end of it.

After we ate we headed to Purikura. It was good fun trying to squeeze 10 people into the little booth but we managed it.

We then went back and and sung Happy Birthday to Lauren and ate a delicious cake which Lauren’s mum had bought. It was a good night and Lauren really enjoyed herself.

Beautiful Moon = Moon Viewing Festival

2007-09-27T12:42:00.000+09:00

25th September, 2007

Mum and Dad were back in town. They arrived just as there was a festival so of course they had to come along too. This festival was held in front of the castle and was just beautiful. The moon looked amazing.

We brought our own picnic tea, sat under the moon and watched the various performances going on. Dad and I even got into the sake (Japanese rice wine) which is very popular at festivals. You pay ¥500 and can drink as much as you want. You can imagine the state of some people.

Me getting our sake glasses filled.

Dad and I getting into the sake.

We experienced singing, koto playing, dancing and my favourite taiko (drums). The drummers were very impressive and I absolutely loved watching and experiencing this festival.

Spur of the Moment Dress Up Party

2007-09-27T12:21:00.000+09:00

23rd September, 2007

We found out that there was a dress up party being held at the Tiger Bar - one of our local bars in Himeji a few hours before we were meant to go. Everyone who dressed up got a free drink - Chu-Hai (Japanese alcohol). Lauren and I put our thinking caps on and decided to dress up as “Aussie Chicks!” Well we were the best Aussie Chicks you could possible be. We scrounged up any Aussie things we had around the place and put them on. This is how we turned out. Pretty cool huh??

It was an awesome night - we had loads of fun dancing around the place. I am so glad that we went and decided to dress up. It was much more fun this way!! Here are a few pictures of the night.

Welcome to Himeji Lauren's mum Jenny!

2007-09-26T17:33:00.000+09:00

22nd September, 2007

Lauren's mum has arrived in Himeji for 2 weeks. I met her for the first time today and I felt like I have known her for ever. She is having a blast already and she is excited to be here exploring this wonderful country.

A Fun Filled Day At Disney Sea

2007-09-23T17:12:00.000+09:00

19th September, 2007

As I have previously mentioned I absolutely LOVE theme parks and this was no exception. I put on my Mickey t-shirt, carried my Mickey hand bag wore my Hello Kitty ears and headed to Disney Sea for the day. If you are going to go to one of these parks you may as well dress for the occasion - everyone else does including the guys!!

Disney Sea has many themed sections including Mediterranean Harbor, American Waterfront, Port Discovery, Lost River Delta, Arabian Coast, Mysterious Island and Mermaid Lagoon. We were lucky in the fact that there weren’t millions of people like when we went to Disneyland so we were able to have a ride on everything. The longest line up was maybe 30 minutes compared to 3 hours in Disneyland so I was happy about that. I much preferred Disney Sea to Disneyland as it is not so ‘kiddy’. The rides were more catered for adults and were much more interesting and fun to go on. My favourite ride was the Tower of Terror which we managed to go on twice. It was a free falling ride and right up my alley.

Each area was very well set out with a lot of thought put into it. I really liked the whole set up of Disney Sea. My favourite area was Mermaid Lagoon. This was more of a kids area but i thought that it was absolutely gorgeous and very well set out. We rode on cute little jelly fish and we also had a ride in a fish. The Flying Fish Coaster was also very fun and so we couldn’t resist a second ride.

There was an awesome castle there which we had a lot of fun playing in.

Arabian Coast looked amazing and I really enjoyed the 3D Magic Lamp Performance, Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage and the Carousel.

In Port Discovery there was a cute little ride called Aquatopia which was very enjoyable.

We watched the night time show called BraviSEAmo. It was absolutely spectacular and featured, music, water fountains and fiery effects.
There were also some Venetian Gondolas which we had to have a ride on. It was so beautifully set up and you really did feel like you were in Venice. The Japanese people rowing the boats were even speaking in Italian. It was very cute. This was the last thing we did at Disney Sea and it was a very relaxing end to the jam packed fun filled day.

Yet Another Adventure in Tokyo

2007-09-23T16:11:00.000+09:00

17th - 21st September, 2007

Monday was a public holiday and everyone except me had Tuesday and Wednesday off as they all had to work on the weekend so instead of staying in Himeji Steve, Marie, Lauren and Steve Harvey (an American) decided to take some nenkyus (paid holidays) and head to Tokyo one of our favourite places for the week. Each time we go there we seem to have different experiences and this was no exception. We stayed in Shinjuku our favourite part of town but this time we were in a different hotel than usual. It was good though because we got to see a different area. This area was very interesting and a little shady in some parts but we didn’t have a problem and I would recommend people to stay there in a flash. It was a great location and very lively.

During our trip we: explored different areas of Shinjuku, shopped in Harajuku and Shibuya where fashions and stores are amazingly crazy, did a lot of “people watching” went to an Izukaya and caught up with Lexi (an American ALT who lived in our building), went to Disney Sea (which deserves it’s own blog entry), checked out Akihabara and experienced a “Maid Cafe”, went to the Tokyo Metro Government Building, danced the night away at a club called “Atom”, shopped some more in Ikebukuro in Sunshine City - the BEST shopping mall I have experienced in Japan, ate Mexican in the first Mexican restaurant that I have seen in Japan and had a quick stroll through Ginza. It was a jam packed week but one that was definitley filled with loads of fun, thrills and excitement.

Fruit on sticks - absolutely delicious!

The Tokyo Metro Government Building

The view

Night out with Lexi

Ginza

I absolutely LOVE all the hustle and bustle and bright neon lights that Tokyo is filled with. Just being on the streets and “people watching” is an amazing experience in itself. This time in Tokyo I tried to capture many of the different fashions that I saw. Here are a few for you to check out...

Shibuya: As previously mentioned Shibuya has the largest crossing in the world. Right in front of the crossing there is a Starbucks with seats on the second level overlooking the crossing which I have always wanted to go into. Marie, Lauren and I decided to see if we could get ourselves some front row seats. We got our coffee’s and headed upstairs only to find that we were “chigaoued”. There were NO front row seats for us. Of course they were all full. Well that didn’t stop us. I was dying to sit in one of those seats and have wanted to for a very long time so we did what anyone would do: stalk people. We were watching them like hawks waiting for any sign that they were going to leave. The only problem was that we needed 3 seats. We managed to get one right away and then one lady left so we quickly grabbed her seat. We needed one more seat...we were watching a couple who had finished their drinks but were just sitting “people watching”. Every time they moved we got our hopes up but no such luck. We were almost ready to give up hope when someone got up to leave. We dived for the seat which was right on the balcony - front row middle seat. PERFECT!! There were lots of other people also fighting to get these seats but we scored it. We moved the balcony seat over so that we could fit in the other two chairs that we had grabbed. We did it!! We were so happy - it was hard work but we accomplished our mission. It only took us about forty minutes. Here is our photo to prove that we were there. We actually got told off for taking photos but when you fight this hard to get a seat you definitely need a photo to prove it!! We ended up sitting there for another 20 minutes before 3 very lucky people took over our seats.

Maid Cafe: Akihabara is famous for its “Maid Cafe’s”. So of course we had to experience one. Steve and Steve wanted to go into one on their own so Marie, Lauren and I went in on our own. It was quite a funny experience. All it is is a cafe where all the waitresses dress as maids. It’s very “cutsie” and is ideally for men but anyone can go into one. They come and serve you and stir your coffee and add your sugar for you and play little games with you. They did exactly to us what they were doing to all the guys. It was a little embarrassing but funny to watch and I am glad that I was able to experience it.

Tokyo is such a happening place and it is always sad to have to leave. I always have a blast there!!

Bowling in Japan

2007-09-16T13:14:00.000+09:00

15th Spetember, 2007

We were invited to go and bowl. This was the first time that I have bowled all year. I am not a fantastic bowler and tonight was no different. Although, I did manage to get 2 strikes and a spare but it took many gutter balls for that to happen. Makoto organised the bowling and had us all in teams competing for prizes. My team were all pretty much on par. Gutter balls were frequent. Julian even managed to get worst male bowler for the night. Even though we were pretty bad bowlers it was still a good night. One thing I loved about this bowling experience were the shoes. Check out the sexy shoes - they were so cool I wanted to take a pair home :-) They sure beat the Adelaide ones!!

Here are some of the people that went bowling. We are all holding up a "G" for gutter ball!!

Gifts from the Community Centre

2007-09-16T12:51:00.000+09:00

15th September, 2007

We were invited to the community centre near our residence so that they could give us all a yukata. It was very nice of the community to offer us all a free yukata. We were all required to give a speech and then we were lucky enough to experience a magic show. Some Japanese ladies were very excited to perform the magic show for us. It was a little bit amateur but it was fun to watch. They had some good tricks.

After the magic show we were given our yukata. There were quite a few to choose from - a lot were a little too short for us but they were ok.

Huh? Episode 8

2007-09-13T11:46:00.001+09:00

Hey everyone. I have found some more funny things. Take a look and see what you think.

So now dogs get to go to Beauty School - that's a new one!!

Anyone for a "cacktail"???

Coke can be served in anything over here.

Cucumber Pepsi - what will they think of next?? (Has this come to Australia yet??)

Hmmm....

That conculdes 'Huh?' for today. Hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for the next episode.

Vending Machines

2007-09-13T11:25:00.000+09:00

Vending machine are EVERYWHERE in Japan. Whatever you are looking for you can pretty much find in a vending machine. Drink machines are the most common and are found on pretty much every street corner. The drinks are quite cheap too. In winter you even buy hot drinks. It's fantastic. I have found many different types of vending machines in my travels throughout Japan. Here are some of my findings.
Drinks

Cameras and film

Cigarettes

Hot Food

Stamps

Icecream

Noodles

Random Items like stockings....

Bikes in Japan!!

2007-09-13T11:05:00.000+09:00

Bikes are a very big part of Japan. You see people biking all over the place. It is very bike friendly over here as the footpaths are wide and everyone looks out for them. No helmets are required when riding your bike which is nice for a change. Surprisingly not many accidents occur which is good. We use our bikes HEAPS. We ride everywhere we can - it beats catching the bus or paying for parking and you get to exercise too. It’s an easy way for people to get around so why not??!! I just wish Adelaide was more bike friendly. People ride bikes with baskets over here which is something that we are definitely not used to but a very good idea as you can store things in there such as your bag, shopping etc...

Since there are so many people riding bikes they have made underground bike parking for them. It is amazing - when i first saw it I was very shocked - but it definitely is a great idea. Your bike is safe, undercover and it only costs ¥100 to leave it there. I LOVE biking and want to continue it when i get back. Maybe the luxury of a car will get the better of me though!!

Beer Garden, Karaoke, Tiger Bar

2007-09-11T10:35:00.000+09:00

8th September, 2007

The new American ALT’s have arrived so we thought we would take them out in Himeji for the night. We started at the beer garden which is always loads of fun, then we headed to Karaoke - my new favourite thing to do and we ended up at the Tiger Bar - not my favourite place in the world but it is good for a dance from time to time. This was the last beer garden as it is only open in summer - a bit of a shame really but it was fun while it lasted. I had a fantastic night meeting the new ALT’s, singing my lungs out (as usual) at Karaoke and then dancing the rest of the night away at the Tiger Bar. It was a really fun night out!! Here are a few pictures of the night.

Shinako's Choir Performance

2007-09-10T14:47:00.000+09:00

8th September, 2007

One of my students Shinako performs in a choir and she asked us to watch her perform. So Steve, Marie, Lauren, Shinya and some of my other students went and watched her perform. One of my students Hideo had made fans with different messages for us to hold up. It was very cute. She went to a lot of effort to make the signs. When Shinako saw us all at the end of her performance she was so excited and happy that we were able to make it. It was great to see her perform.

Baseball - Hanshin Tigers at Koshien

2007-09-10T14:31:00.000+09:00

5th September, 2007

We were lucky enough to be able to get tickets to go and watch the Hanshin Tigers play at Koshien their home ground at night. This was our second baseball match and equally as exciting as it was the first time. This time the Tigers won. They beat Yokohama. I had a great time watching the game. Once again at the 7th innings all the balloons were let off and looked just as amazing as the first time. We even got to eat hot dogs again!!

Happy Birthday Marie!

2007-09-06T12:35:00.000+09:00

4th September, 2007

Happy birthday Marichi! We began our aerobics classes again today and after aerobics we went to Jolly Pasta to celebrate Marie’s birthday. We didn't have a candle to sing happy birthday so we improvised and used a torch! Jolly Pasta is similar to Fasta Pasta and I LOVE it!! :-)

Shiraishi Island - Take 2

2007-09-05T00:22:00.000+09:00

1st-2nd September, 2007

We spent the night in Okayama so to get to Shiraishi this time was much easier and a lot quicker. Marie’s birthday is on the 4th so she decided to spend the weekend at Shiraishi. I loved Shiraishi the first time so I was glad to get the opportunity to go back a second time. This was also our last summer vacation holiday before we started work on Monday so we were definitely going to make the most of it.

We got to Shiraishi about 9:30am and spent the next 2 days relaxing at the beach. It was nice to not have to do anything and to be able to just sit and “veg out”.

There was a beach party going on so there was music pumping all day until about 9:30pm. After we finished from the beach we had showers, had a few drinks and headed back to the party.

We ate delicious wraps and danced the night away. We even managed to get the DJ to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Marie. It was pretty cool. After the party we waked back to the villa. On the way we spotted a toad. Kyosuke being all crazy somehow managed to pick it up. Then for some reason Marie decided to kiss it (I guess thinking that it was going to turn into a prince or something...!) and then Kyosuke held the toad above her head and all of a sudden the frog started peeing all over her head. So much pee was coming out of it. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. The poor frog was probably scared to death. After it finished peeing Kyosuke put it down. Well I don’t think too many people can say that they have been peed on by a frog!! It could only happen to Marie.

We eventually got back to the villas where we had some more drinks and did our own kind of dancing before we all zonked it. It was such a fun night.

The next day we after breakfast we went straight back to the beach. We set ourselves up in front of the “Moo Bar” and went for a little dip. At lunch time I ordered myself a Pina Colada and had a pizza and some fries. YUM-O! It was great. We had one last swim before it was time to catch the ferry back to Himeji. Such a relaxing weekend - I LOVED it!

Kurashiki / Okayama

2007-09-05T00:02:00.000+09:00

31st August, 2007

Steve, Marie, Lauren and I went to a small cute town called Kurashiki which has an old style section. There was a canal which ran through the town and was beautiful. We spent the afternoon strolling through the town and checking out some of the most amazing pottery shops that I have seen.

We saw a temple and had a wonder through.

We were lucky enough to see a boat on the canal where everyone was wearing a bamboo hat. It looked truly Japanese.

We then went to Okayama so that we could check out the gardens at night which are meant to be amazing. Well that’s exactly what they were - amazing. Everything was lit up and the gardens looked spectacular. I was very impressed. We spent just over an hour in there strolling around taking in the magnificent scenery. It was beautiful. It was the last night for the lights so I am glad that I was able to see it.

Okinawa: Naha - Tropical Beach

2007-09-04T15:35:00.000+09:00

28th August, 2007

Today was our last day in Okinawa. We weren’t leaving till the afternoon so we made the most of our last day and headed to Tropical Beach. This beach was really beautiful and we were able to swim and relax for a while. It was so nice to be in the water.

It was soon time to leave Tropical Beach and head back to Himeji. I was sad to say goodbye to Okinawa, but we had 6 days of glorious sun, beach and loads of FUN! I really enjoyed this trip and had great time away with Marie and Lauren.

Okinawa: Ishigaki Beach / Naha

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

27th August, 2007

We were leaving Ishigaki today to head back to Naha for our last night. Before we left the island we headed to the beach so that we could have a dip. It was a really nice beach with once again clean water. We had limited time here but it was nice to cool off before we headed back to Naha.

By the time we reached our hotel in Naha it was too late to go anywhere so we decided to chill out in the pool at our hotel. The pool was awesome here and we were able to just relax for a few hours before dinner.

For dinner I ate Taco Rice which is an Okinawian style dish and Marie ate her last steak and lobster for the trip. It was delicious.

We then headed back to the hotel bar and got a complimentary cocktail each before Marie and I had a massage each in our room. It was a nice way to finish off the day.

Okinawa: Our Snorkeling Adventure

2007-09-04T14:46:00.000+09:00

26th August, 2007

I was so excited because we had planned to go on a snorkeling tour in the afternoon. This was something that I was really looking forward to. We got geared up with some wet suits and snorkeling masks and hopped on the boat to be taken to the reef. Once again the tour guides were Japanese and had limited English so we had fun trying to work out what was going on. We always seem to manage to get the gist of what is happening. The reef was probably not even half an hour away by boat which was good as we were really keen to just get in the water and check out the underwater scene. The water was just glorious. So blue and green and inviting that you just wanted to jump right in.

We got our wet suits on, put our masks on and we were off. We had about 2 hours of looking at the most amazing reef that I have ever seen. I have snorkeled about 3 times before but have never seen anything like this so for me this was magnificent. The colours in the coral were spectacular. There were many blues and purples which looked stunning. The variety of fish I saw was also amazing. I just picked a fish and followed it for ages just watching what it was doing. It was so much fun. Lauren bought an underwater camera and managed to take some cool pictures of what we saw. Of course the photos didn’t do it justice but it is an idea.

The tour guides were very nice and made us feel comfortable. Snorkeling was my favourite thing on the trip. I wish I could do it more often.

After our tour we went to the souvenir section in our hotel where we each bought a leaf necklace made out of a blue stone which is famous in Okinawa. It is such an amazing stone that we all wanted to buy something. The leaf was all of our favourites so we each bought one. I also bought a ring to match. Here we are with our new necklaces.

Okinawa: Taketomi

2007-09-04T14:11:00.000+09:00

26th August, 2007

We headed to another island today called Taketomi. This island was only 10 minutes away by ferry which was good. We were only going to spend half a day on this island so we thought the best use of time would be to hire bikes and bike around the island. It was fun to bike around. Our first stop was Kandoi Beach. The water was quite shallow as the tide was out but we still managed to take a quick dip. The water was beautiful. Just the right temperature and crystal clear. You could see everything that was in the water.

We rode our bikes to the the next little beach where the sand was star shaped. This star shaped sand is famous in Okinawa. It looked so cool. When you picked it up you could actually see the little stars. Some people tried to take some sand but they soon got told off. You can buy small amounts as a souvenir.

We walked out to one of the rocks in the water and along the way stumbled across many interesting creatures in the water which we could see as it was so clear.

On this island there is a buffalo which pulls a cart that can take you around the island. We didn’t go on it but we saw it going past.

The houses in Okinawa have a different style to what I am used to. Here is a picture of some roof tops of the houses on this island.

Taketomi was a cute little island and I am glad that we were able to visit it.

Okinawa: Iriomote

2007-09-04T12:45:00.000+09:00

25th August, 2007

We headed to an island called Iriomote which was about 40 minutes away by ferry and we took a “Jungle Cruise”. This is the second Japanese tour that I have done in Japan – once again it was hard because of the language barrier but there was this really nice girl who could speak English quite well who was able to help us out. We caught a boat which took us along a river – on either side of the river was greenery – jungle like. Once we got to the end we got out and had to walk about 30 minutes to see a waterfall.

The walk was very scenic with many creatures along the way to look at but at the same time it was very muddy and slippery. We were warned to wear sneakers but as none of us had any with us we had to make to with thongs. We had a few slips and slides and some hurdles to jump but we eventually made it!

After the first waterfall there was a second one about another 15 minutes away. Both waterfalls we beautiful. The whole trip took us about an hour and a half. By the time we got back we were quite muddy so we sat by the river with our feet in the water until the boat came. I really enjoyed the walk.

After the boat ride back it was lunch time. We were in much need of some food as we had just done a lot of hard work. We went to a place where they gave us a bento lunch.

We were then taken to a beach where there is star sand. This is where the sand looks like little stars. It is really cool. We actually were given a little jar with some of the sand in it as a souvenir. We got to have a bit of a paddle in the water with some really cool tropical fish before it was time to move on to the outdoor onsen.

Lauren and I were actually looking forward to this onsen as in this one you could actually wear your bathers!! I had no problems entering the water here :-) It was actually very beautiful as the scenery was like a jungle. It was very relaxing just sitting in the warm water with the jungle as the background. AAAHHHH this is the life!!

We were pretty exhausted after all of this and were glad to be heading back to the ferry to be taken back to our hotel. We ate at a fantastic Thai restaurant where we ate delicious green curry – well I did anyway!

Okinawa: Ishigaki

2007-09-04T12:42:00.000+09:00

24th August, 2007

We had the most amazing breakfast that I have ever had in my whole life. There was so much variety on this buffet it was unbelievable. I was so excited when I saw it. I had an absolute feast that’s for sure. I was so full by the end of it that I didn’t eat anything until dinner-time. We weren’t leaving Naha until 4pm so we decided to walk back to the main street and do a bit of shopping until it was time to catch the plane.

We arrived in Ishigaki at about 6:30pm. We checked into our hotel and headed out for tea. We ate chicken which was very tasty! After tea we came back to the hotel and took a dip in the pool. This is the first pool that I have swum in – actually seen, in Japan. It was very relaxing to lie about in the pool. I am glad we stayed here for 3 nights!!

Okinawa: Naha

2007-09-04T12:30:00.001+09:00

23rd August, 2007

Marie, Lauren and I had been looking forward to this Okinawa trip for ages and the day finally came for us to actually go. :-) For those of you who don’t know Okinawa is like a tropical island with many smaller islands attached to it.

We arrived in Naha on the first day which is the capital of Okinawa. I had a bit of a rough plane ride and was glad to get off of it. I was so sick that I threw up. Not the best start to our trip but I felt much better once I had got off the plane.

Our hotel was very fancy and nice. We had apparently been upgraded to one of the best rooms in the hotel. It was really nice – probably the best one I have stayed in so far in Japan. Once we dropped our luggage off we put our bathers on straight away and headed to a beach in Naha. Naha isn’t famous for its beaches so we weren’t expecting anything too exciting. We managed to find a small swimming area which wasn’t great to look at but the water was really nice to swim in. Marie and I made the most of it and jumped right in. Lauren decided to just have a laze about on the sand.

After we took a dip we headed to the main street to find something to eat. Okinawa is famous for its steak and seafood and that’s just what we ate. Lauren and I shared a steak and lobster. It was absolutely delicious.

We also tried some ‘Awamori’ which is famous alcohol in Okinawa. I think it is a type of brandy. It was pretty strong but really nice.

After tea we walked up the main street and checked out some of the souvenir shops.

Dogs in Japan

2007-08-20T00:43:00.001+09:00

Dogs are VERY loved in Japan. To me it seems a little strange and weird because a lot of dogs here are treated like babies. Maybe to the point of out of control but I suppose that’s just part of the Japanese way. Here are some of the funny things that I have seen so far…

It is ok to have your dog in a bag in a shop but not if it is poking its head out.

Dancing - FUN FUN FUN: In Tokyo

2007-08-20T00:10:00.000+09:00

18th August, 2007

Since we happened to be in Tokyo on a Saturday night we couldn’t resist going out and having a bit of a dance. We got ready with our essentials - sunglasses (as everyone in clubs here wear them?!) and headed out for the night. (We didn’t really wear our sunglasses out but we just bought new ones so we put them on!).

We were staying in Shinjuku at the Washington Hotel again so we decided to stick to the area. We wandered for a while trying to find the place that Marie and I went to last time but soon realised that we had no idea where it was. It was time to resort to the black guys (they are paid to take you to their clubs). We found a couple standing on the street and we asked them to take us to a hip hop place. We walked for a while and eventually ended up at the same place that we went to last time – how coincidental is that??

When we first walked in at about midnight it was pretty dead and the music was pretty average. We weren’t too keen on the atmosphere and we thought that we were going to have an early night. WRONG!! The atmosphere soon picked up – people started coming in and the music slowly got better and better.

We made friends with a group of Japanese people where one of them was having a birthday. It was quite bizarre because all of a sudden we were getting free tequila shots. We didn’t say no but somehow they just seemed to keep on coming. Where they were coming from exactly who knows….but we definitely were enjoying ourselves. They birthday girl got a bottle of champagne from someone and we all toasted to her birthday. It was funny how Marie, Lauren and I seemed to get right in on the act!! I reckon we ended up with about 4 or 5 free drinks each.

We all were pretty piped up and lively – so much so that it was 4:30am when we realised that it was probably time for us to head home as we had to check out of our hotel at 10am the next morning. It was a great night but we definitely paid for it the next morning.

Cars, Cars, Cars

2007-08-19T23:59:00.000+09:00

18th August, 2007

Marie and Lauren hadn’t been to Odaiba in Tokyo before so Steve and I decided to take them there to have a look. Mega Web and Venus Fort were the places we visited. As it was Lauren and Marie’s first time there we decided to have ride in the small little cars which took you through The Mega Web complex. I liked the car that Steve and I got this time.

We also had a look through the History Garage which was set up with really old style cars. It was really cool. Check them out…

Nikko: A beautiful place

2007-08-17T22:27:00.000+09:00

16th-18th August, 2007

We packed our bags once again and headed to Nikko which is 5 hours away from Himeji. It was a bit of an ordeal to buy the tickets to get here but we eventually worked it out after about 2 hours in the travel agent.

Nikko is a wonderful, pleasant place to visit. I definitely would put this as a must place to see in Japan. It is famous for it’s bridge, many temples and shrines as well as waterfalls, lakes and mountains. We spent the 2 days we had there exploring as many of these sights as possible.

Nikko is a little cooler than other areas in Japan. The Daiya River that runs in Nikko is probably the reason for this. It is quite icy as we found out when we stuck our feet in the water. I tell you what we couldn’t keep our feet in there for long. They were numb after about 10 seconds of being in there.

The river runs under the Shinkyo Bridge. It is very beautiful. The water is so clean and fresh that you just feel like jumping in. You can’t imagine how cold it would be though.

Dragon flies are everywhere in Nikko and seem to like people. They just keep buzzing around you. It’s amazing how many there are.

We visited Rin-no-ji Taiyuin, Futura-san Shrine, a 5 Storied Pergoda, Toshogu, Yakushi-do and Rin-no-ji Sanbutsu-do, which are the main temples and shrines in Nikko. These temples and shrines were unlike any that I have seen before. They were just amazing to look at with so much detail on each one. Instead of being wooden they were made with a lot of gold. Most of the temples and shrines were set in a forest or had mountains as backgrounds. They were just beautiful to look at.

Rin-no-ji Taiyuin Front Gate

Rin-no-ji Taiyuin Sacred Water

Rn-no-ji Taiyuin Koko-mon Gate

Futara-san Shrine Cleaning Water

5 Storied Pergoda

Toshogu

"Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil, See no Evil"

Kegon Falls was next on our list. They are 97m high and 7m wide. There was 3.0 tons of water falling per second the day we went. It was pretty spectacular to see these falls. You were even able to catch an elevator right down to pretty much water level. It was good to see the falls from this perspective. The temperature drop from the top to the bottom was 10 degrees. It was 25 degrees at the top and 15 degrees at the bottom which was a little chili for my liking but well worth being cold.

Lake Chuzenji was the next thing we saw. This was another beautiful sight in Nikko. It too was surrounded by mountains and absolutely breathtaking.

Food was hard to find in Nikko for some reason. The “7 Eleven” served it’s purpose that’s for sure. We ate about 4 meals there and we managed to find a Korean Restaurant that was open to eat tea one night.

I loved Nikko and would love to come back again in the winter time when everything is covered in snow. I guess we will see if we have time.

Mount Fuji Conquered

2007-08-15T00:00:00.000+09:00

10th-12th August, 2007

Marie and I set off on the bus and headed to Mount Fuji – this time to climb to the top of the mountain. We got some of our Japanese friends to organise the tour for us and we were on our way. We were all stocked up with our hiking boots, gators, warm clothes, sugar fixes, oxygen and torches. We felt really professional!!

The tour was all in Japanese of course which made it difficult for Marie and I to understand but we somehow managed to get through the 2 day tour. We quickly made some friends (who could hardly speak any English) but they were very good and helped us work out what we were meant to be doing.

We left at 7:20pm on Friday night and arrived at the 5th Station at 7:30am. Before we got to the 5th Station we stopped at a temple so that people could pray before they climbed the mountain.

At 9:30am we ate lunch which was good as it filled us up before we had to begin the climb! We started climbing at 11:30am after we took some photos and had a Japanese pep talk (which of course we understood every word!). There were about 40 people on our tour. Before we started climbing we bought walking sticks to help us up the mountain.

Marie and I pretty much led the pack the entire way (well we were behind the tour guide). We made sure that we stuck right by his side. We were like bad smells he turned around and we were right in his face. We didn’t want to get lost or left behind.

The climb itself wasn’t so bad. We had a break every half an hour which was good so that we could rejuvinate. At each station you could buy a stamp to put on your stick. Each stamp was ¥200 which seems cheap but when you have already paid ¥1000 for the stick and there are 10 stations it can become quite pricy. The whole stick in total was between ¥4000 and ¥5000, BUT it was well worth it as it is now an awesome souvenir. I LOVE my stick! ☺

When we got to the 8th Station it was around 5pm. Here we were to eat tea and then have a 5 hour sleep before we climbed the rest of the mountain to the top. Tea was curry rice fish and meatballs. The sleeping conditions were quite funny – everyone was all lined up next to each other in a blue sleeping bag. Forget showers and nice toilets. There is very limited water on Mount Fuji so even to go to the toilet was an obstacle. Thank goodness I didn’t have to go too much (I think I got away with one time!).

At 10:30pm we had to be ready to climb the rest of the way up. It was quite cold at this stage so Marie and I put on our thermal pants, thermal tops, jumpers, jackets, beanies and rain pants just incase it started raining. We were all set ready to go. At this stage it was dark so our torches came in handy. It was a lot harder climbing the mountain in the freezing cold night. It was absolutely freezing – you can’t imagine how cold it actually was. Marie and I were huddled together with my hand in Marie’s pocket pretty much the rest of the way up. There were so many people climbing the mountain which meant it was very slow going. This was a little annoying as we actually had to stop and wait until people started moving which meant that we were even more freezing as we weren’t moving.

At about 4:15am the sun started coming up. The idea was to be at the top of the mountain for the sunrise. We were a little worried that we weren’t going to make it but we managed to hike our way up the mountain to see the most amazing sunrise that I have ever experienced. It was just stunning. It was about 5am when we reached the top! By the time we got to the top it wasn’t as cold and so we were able to enjoy it. We got our last stamp which in Japanese says “top of the mountain”. This was one of my favourite stamps!! “Yata” – we made it!! We were so happy to make it to the top. It was definitely worth all the hard work and effort to see the sunrise. When the sun rose two Japanese men raised the Japanese flag while singing a song. It was good to be able to see this. We had a look around the crater at the top of the mountain before it was time to head back down again.

Going down was easier than going up but it was still hard work. The ground was very slippery and dusty. I had a few “sixers” on the way down but nothing too major. We started our hike down at about 6:30am and we finally made it down at 10:30am. It was great to be back down and to actually be able to say that we conquered Mount Fuji. It was a great feeling and we have our sticks to prove it!!

Marie and I had black faces from all the dust on the way down. It was disgusting and I felt so dirty. We were stopping at an Onsen – one of those public baths on the way home. I wasn’t particularly keen on going to an Onsen but as I was so dirty and disgusting I kind of had no choice. It was quite hard to get the dirt off and a good scrub was definitely required – that’s all I needed while I was at the Onsen. I couldn’t wait to be done and dressed. After our Onsen we ate lunch. It was just what we needed after a hard climb.

When lunch was over we headed back on the bus for the long ride back to Himeji.

We didn’t get in until 12:40am. It was such a long 2 days but it was well worth every minute. I had a great time and I feel like I accomplished something HUGE!!

Huh? Episode 7

2007-08-10T15:16:00.003+09:00

Hello. I have been searching for "Huh?" and I have found a few funny ones. So here they are.......

Dad has just randomly got into someone's wedding photo!

There are many dogs dressed up strangly here....check these out!

Oh so pretty....

Anyone for a hug?

Kyosuke with some glow balls. What's he trying to do here hey???

This is meant to be happy hour but somehow they have upped the price!

Trash only hey?? Hmmm what else would you put in the "Trash Can"??!!

Hiroshima- with Mum and Dad

2007-08-09T21:36:00.000+09:00

4th -7th August, 2007

We headed to Hiroshima for the second time. This time our purpose was to see the “Peace Ceremony” which was held on August 6th – the day of the bombing 62 years ago. It was quite a moving ceremony and I am glad that I was able to see it. There were thousands of people who attended the ceremony which was good to see. We all made a paper crane to donate for peace.

All day there were different things happening in the “Peace Park” and at night there was a lantern ceremony which was held in the river in front of the A-Bomb Dome. It was amazing to see this ceremony take place. People gathered at the river to watch thousands of lanterns being placed in the water and then peacefully float down the stream. The lanterns were there to represent “peace”. It was very peaceful and relaxing watching the lanterns float down the river. Once it got dark the lanterns lit up and it just looked amazing. The photos definitely didn’t do this justice. It is fascinating that Hiroshima has managed to fully rebuild itself in just 62 years.

During our stay in Hiroshima we took Mum and Dad to Miyajima the small island off of Hiroshima. I absolutely love Miyajima and would say that it is up there with my favourite places in Japan.

Here is Dad eating his favourite dish in Japan Pipinpa - he definitely got stuck into this. He loved it!!

We went to Mitaki-ji on the last day of our trip which is where there are water falls and temples. It was so beautiful and so many things to see up there.

We had a full on trip but it was well worth it.

Anyone for Meat?

2007-08-04T17:09:00.000+09:00

I had a little disaster with my freezer. I woke up in the morning to find my freezer door wide open. I didn’t really take much notice so I told Steve and just shut the door. Afterwards Steve checked the stuff in the freezer and told me that it was all defrosted. I couldn’t believe it. I had all this meat, vegetables, pizza and all sorts of stuff in there. It was all defrosted!! Well that day we were off to Okayama and then for the next 4 days we were away in Hiroshima. Now what?? I thought! Well that night Mum, Marie, Lauren and I cooked up a storm. All the stuff that I had in my freezer was cooked. We made chicken schnitzels, meat balls, roast, vegies, rice, pizza and a salad. The funniest thing was that I tried to ask all these people from my building to come over to help us eat it all and no-one was home. Usually everyone is home but when I needed people to be there no-one was there. Don’t worry though between the 6 of us we managed to make a good dent in the food. Everyone got stuck into it. We had a bit left over which we took with us to Hiroshima and made sandwiches out of for the next day. Steve and Dad really enjoyed all the food and I bet were secretly glad that this little disaster happened.

chicken

meatballs

roast

our feast

Sightseeing- with Mum and Dad

2007-08-04T16:33:00.000+09:00

Since Mum and Dad have been here we have done a few day trips to different places. We went to Osaka, Kyoto and Okayama. Time seems to get away from you when you only have a day to visit these places but we showed them some of our favourite places in each area. They seemed to have really enjoyed the places we have taken them too. It's also good for us because even though we have seen these places before it's a different time of year so it all looks different. By the way since Mum has come here I managed to get her to cut and colour my hair. I now have a fringe again!

Me with my new fringe.

OSAKA
Just outside the Osaka Castle.

Our favourtie street in Osaka - we always visit this area when we head to Osaka.

A cool photo!

KYOTO
The beautiful 'Golden Palace' - i just can't get enough of this place.

The red gates which go forever!

OKAYAMA
The beautiful gardens. A totally different look to the last time I saw them. So green and lush!

Hanabi

2007-07-29T18:25:00.000+09:00

28th July, 2007

Hanabi means fireworks festival. Mum, Lauren and I dressed up in our Yukatas and headed to Himeji Port with Dad and Yoko to view the fireworks. As everything in Japan – this was spectacular!! We watched the sky light up over the water with the moon in the perfect position. The firework display lasted about an hour. We ate festival food and drank Chu-hi as we watched the display. After the festival Lauren and I met up with some mates at the Tiger Pub dressed in our Yukatas.