You may recall from earlier blogs that running is part of my daily routine. I run pretty much everyday or close to it. Bill (one of the Aussie teachers) is my running partner and takes me on all sorts of running tracks. His runs are never easy and I always seem to struggle to keep up, but I battle on. We never do the same run twice which is good because it makes it interesting and you get to see some cool places in Himeji. Well this particular run was VERY interesting and quite amusing. Steve (an American in our building) also joins us most nights and happened to be running with us on this occasion.
We started off on a normal run until Bill decided to wind us through the streets in all sorts of directions to add on some time to our run. Anyway, we somehow managed to end up in the bus depot. Who knows how we ended up there but we did. Bill ran through expecting to come to an exit on the other side but had no such luck. Steve and I were just following along like good followers. We asked Bill where he was going, but he just kept running. Meanwhile the Japanese bus drivers were looking at us strangely wondering what we were doing and why we were in their bus depot. They then shouted out something in Japanese to us through a megaphone. Of course we couldn’t understand what they were saying but I pretty much got the gist that we weren’t meant to be in there. Meanwhile we were running a lap of the bus depot. As we came around the corner to run back out some more drivers came out of a room and started crossing their arms in an ‘x’ sign yelling ‘dame, dame’, which means ‘bad, no, not allowed’. We soon got the message that we were not allowed to be in their and apologised and told them that we were lost in English. They were just laughing at us as we ran passed. It would have been such a funny sight seeing these three foreign people running through their bus depot. We couldn’t stop laughing when we got out and I am sure the bus drivers would have been talking and laughing about it too. There is never a dull moment when you are running with Bill that’s for sure!!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Busted!
This is a typical Tina story. All week this week the kids have exams so there are no lessons which means that I needed to occupy myself for the week. I have been coming to school prepared with my university lessons to plan, books to read, Japanese to study and my blogs to write. I needed a little break from doing nothing so I decided to plug my headphones in to my computer, turn iTunes on and listen to some music. No-one would know because my headphones were plugged in. So I was happily listening to my music “Who Let The Dogs Out” when all of a sudden one of my teachers came up to me and started talking. Well I couldn’t hear her because my headphones were in. So I quickly took them out. She told me that my music was too loud. What?, I thought, how could she possibly know that I was listening to music……well I then realised that I too could still hear my music playing even though my head phones were out of my ears. I then discovered that I had plugged my headphones into the wrong spot which meant that the music was coming out of the computer so the WHOLE staff room could hear it. I quickly apologised and turned it off. So much for being discrete – oopsy!!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Huh? Episode 6
Have you missed this section?? Well don't worry I have drummed up some more pictures. Check these out.....enjoy!!
Can you believe that these people were just walking down the main street in Himeji? (mind you there was a festival on that day)
This IS a watermelon by the way. Don't be discouraged by the colour - it actually tasted like a normal watermelon!
These are eels which people were fishing for. It was one of the stalls at the Yukata Matsuri. Not sure what you do with the eel once you catch one.....
Check out how huge this watermelon is.......it's almost bigger than I am!!
I challenge any of you to get through this out of control parfait. Look at the size of it and 'YES' it's real!! What a monstrosity......by the way it costs ¥7900. CRAZY!!
That concludes the Huh? episode for now..........stay tuned because I am sure to find some more pictures along the way.
Can you believe that these people were just walking down the main street in Himeji? (mind you there was a festival on that day)
This IS a watermelon by the way. Don't be discouraged by the colour - it actually tasted like a normal watermelon!
These are eels which people were fishing for. It was one of the stalls at the Yukata Matsuri. Not sure what you do with the eel once you catch one.....
Check out how huge this watermelon is.......it's almost bigger than I am!!
I challenge any of you to get through this out of control parfait. Look at the size of it and 'YES' it's real!! What a monstrosity......by the way it costs ¥7900. CRAZY!!
That concludes the Huh? episode for now..........stay tuned because I am sure to find some more pictures along the way.
Omiage
'Omiage' is a souvenir that people bring back when they have travelled to a different part of Japan. The types of gifts that people generally bring are biscuits or cakes. These are usually wrapped individually so that people can hand them out easily. I often get to work in the morning and see a small package on my desk which is usually a type of biscuit or cake. I really like receiving omiage :-)
Here is an example of an omiage that one of my University students bought back for me from Hokkaido.
Here is an example of an omiage that one of my University students bought back for me from Hokkaido.
The Things I LOVE About Japan!!
Japan is such a wonderful and beautiful country and I am glad that I have been given the opportunity to live in it for a year. Japan is very different to Australia and I thought that I would share with you all the things that I love about Japan. These are in no particular order.
1. The interesting history that is still alive in Japan.
2. The amazing culture and traditions that people respect.
3. The many festivals that I have experienced.
4. The beautiful scenery that I get to see everyday.
5. The very distinct four seasons.
6. Himeji Castle.
7. The different varieties of food.
8. The kind, helpful, friendly nature of the people.
9. The way shop assistants rush to help you.
10. The well behaved students.
11. The fashion.
12. The 100 yen shop.
13. Riding bicycles with baskets.
14. Sleeping on the train.
15. All the varieties of vending machines.
16. Purikura.
17. The convenient stores that are on pretty much every corner.
18. The fact the shops are open everyday until late.
19. All the ‘cutsie’ characters that decorate everything from stationery to chopsticks.
20. The hustle and bustle in some cities and then quiet, peaceful nature in others.
21. The souvenir shops.
22. Cheap alcohol.
23. The fact that you can travel an hour and be in a different city.
24. Mobile phone bling.
25. Experiencing different things all the time.
26. All the little noises that the Japanese people make eg 'eeeehhhhh???'.
27. The different Japanese hand gestures.
28. The fact that life for me here is like one big holiday.
29. Karaoke.
30. The soft serve icecream.
I have enjoyed every minute of my time here so far and I intend to do the same for the remainder of the year.
1. The interesting history that is still alive in Japan.
2. The amazing culture and traditions that people respect.
3. The many festivals that I have experienced.
4. The beautiful scenery that I get to see everyday.
5. The very distinct four seasons.
6. Himeji Castle.
7. The different varieties of food.
8. The kind, helpful, friendly nature of the people.
9. The way shop assistants rush to help you.
10. The well behaved students.
11. The fashion.
12. The 100 yen shop.
13. Riding bicycles with baskets.
14. Sleeping on the train.
15. All the varieties of vending machines.
16. Purikura.
17. The convenient stores that are on pretty much every corner.
18. The fact the shops are open everyday until late.
19. All the ‘cutsie’ characters that decorate everything from stationery to chopsticks.
20. The hustle and bustle in some cities and then quiet, peaceful nature in others.
21. The souvenir shops.
22. Cheap alcohol.
23. The fact that you can travel an hour and be in a different city.
24. Mobile phone bling.
25. Experiencing different things all the time.
26. All the little noises that the Japanese people make eg 'eeeehhhhh???'.
27. The different Japanese hand gestures.
28. The fact that life for me here is like one big holiday.
29. Karaoke.
30. The soft serve icecream.
I have enjoyed every minute of my time here so far and I intend to do the same for the remainder of the year.
Kyoto
30th June, 2007
Steve and I took a day trip to Kyoto. I hadn’t been to Kyoto since December and there is so much to do there and it is so beautiful that I have been hanging out to go there for ages, so Steve decided to take me back.
Kyoto is about 1 and a half hours away from Himeji so we left early in the morning and didn’t get home until midnight. In just one day it is not possible to see everything obviously but we managed to fit in 3 things. Our first stop was Kinkakuji Temple– the ‘Golden Pavilion’. It was so beautiful I could sit and stare at it for ages. If you get the right light you can see an awesome reflection in the water. I think this is one of my most favourite temples that I have seen so far.
As you walk through the park where Kinkakuji is you come to a small Buddha with 2 bowls in front of it. The idea is to throw a 5yen coin into the bowls. If you get it in it is said to be good luck. Of course Steve and I had a go and we both missed. Steve had done it once before and got it in. I wanted to keep trying but I ran out of 5yen coins.
Our next stop was Ryoanji Mae. This was where a famous rock garden was located. It was so peaceful sitting and looking at the rock garden trying to work out what it all meant. We sat and just looked for ages. It was very relaxing. There was also another section where the ground and trees were covered in moss. This was also cool to look at. When you walked around a bit further you came to a water fountain which is in the shape of a 5 yen coin. This is said to also be lucky.
The last stop we made was to Fushimiinari. This is one of the most amazing places I have seen. I absolutely loved it here and I cant wait to go back again. This is where there are hundreds of red tori gates covering the paths and you just walk through them all.
If you have seen the movie “Memoirs of a Geisha” – one of the scenes of the girl running through the red tori gates was filmed here. They just seemed to keep going and going and going. They were never ending and they seemed to just veer off into all different directions. It was like a maze. Steve stopped by the river and didn’t want to go any further but I wanted to explore all the areas so I continued on my own for a while until 
I realised that I wasn’t quite sure where I was and it was getting dark so I decided to head back. As if had veered into all different directions I wasn’t quite sure where I was. I was a little worried until I saw a man so I just decided to follow him so that I was not by myself. Then my phone was in range so I rang Steve and he told me where I had to go as the man was going in the total wrong direction to where I needed to be. Oops. I definitely want to go back there again with more time so that I can go around the whole area.
By this stage it was dark so we caught the bus to the main area to grab some dinner before we headed back to Himeji. Well I didn’t feel like a meal so I went straight to dessert. Check this out!! It was delicious. Japan make awesome parfaits.
Steve and I took a day trip to Kyoto. I hadn’t been to Kyoto since December and there is so much to do there and it is so beautiful that I have been hanging out to go there for ages, so Steve decided to take me back.
Kyoto is about 1 and a half hours away from Himeji so we left early in the morning and didn’t get home until midnight. In just one day it is not possible to see everything obviously but we managed to fit in 3 things. Our first stop was Kinkakuji Temple– the ‘Golden Pavilion’. It was so beautiful I could sit and stare at it for ages. If you get the right light you can see an awesome reflection in the water. I think this is one of my most favourite temples that I have seen so far.
As you walk through the park where Kinkakuji is you come to a small Buddha with 2 bowls in front of it. The idea is to throw a 5yen coin into the bowls. If you get it in it is said to be good luck. Of course Steve and I had a go and we both missed. Steve had done it once before and got it in. I wanted to keep trying but I ran out of 5yen coins.
Our next stop was Ryoanji Mae. This was where a famous rock garden was located. It was so peaceful sitting and looking at the rock garden trying to work out what it all meant. We sat and just looked for ages. It was very relaxing. There was also another section where the ground and trees were covered in moss. This was also cool to look at. When you walked around a bit further you came to a water fountain which is in the shape of a 5 yen coin. This is said to also be lucky.
The last stop we made was to Fushimiinari. This is one of the most amazing places I have seen. I absolutely loved it here and I cant wait to go back again. This is where there are hundreds of red tori gates covering the paths and you just walk through them all.
If you have seen the movie “Memoirs of a Geisha” – one of the scenes of the girl running through the red tori gates was filmed here. They just seemed to keep going and going and going. They were never ending and they seemed to just veer off into all different directions. It was like a maze. Steve stopped by the river and didn’t want to go any further but I wanted to explore all the areas so I continued on my own for a while until 
I realised that I wasn’t quite sure where I was and it was getting dark so I decided to head back. As if had veered into all different directions I wasn’t quite sure where I was. I was a little worried until I saw a man so I just decided to follow him so that I was not by myself. Then my phone was in range so I rang Steve and he told me where I had to go as the man was going in the total wrong direction to where I needed to be. Oops. I definitely want to go back there again with more time so that I can go around the whole area. By this stage it was dark so we caught the bus to the main area to grab some dinner before we headed back to Himeji. Well I didn’t feel like a meal so I went straight to dessert. Check this out!! It was delicious. Japan make awesome parfaits.
Cooking Lesson #2
29th June, 2007
Yoko came around to give us another cooking lesson. This time she was teaching us to make temaki zushi (which is where you roll your own sushi rolls) and nigiri (which are rice with some kind of fish on top – tuna, salmon, snapper prawn etc). She took us to Max Value to buy all the ingredients that we needed so that we would know for next time and then the cooking started.
She made Tamago yaki (which is like an omlet but it is cooked in a square pan) to put in the sushi rolls. We had a range of ingredients to put in such as: cucumber, ham, different kinds of fish, tuna, lettuce, pickles (yellow ones) and many more things. You can pretty much put anything in sushi. The temaki zushi were absolutely delicious, healthy and very filling even though we thought that it wasn’t going to be. This is an idea that I am definitely bringing back to Australia. I love Yoko’s cooking lessons.
Yoko came around to give us another cooking lesson. This time she was teaching us to make temaki zushi (which is where you roll your own sushi rolls) and nigiri (which are rice with some kind of fish on top – tuna, salmon, snapper prawn etc). She took us to Max Value to buy all the ingredients that we needed so that we would know for next time and then the cooking started.
She made Tamago yaki (which is like an omlet but it is cooked in a square pan) to put in the sushi rolls. We had a range of ingredients to put in such as: cucumber, ham, different kinds of fish, tuna, lettuce, pickles (yellow ones) and many more things. You can pretty much put anything in sushi. The temaki zushi were absolutely delicious, healthy and very filling even though we thought that it wasn’t going to be. This is an idea that I am definitely bringing back to Australia. I love Yoko’s cooking lessons.
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