Here is a picture of us in our wet state. I couldn’t wait to have a shower and get dry again!!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Wet, Wet, Wet
If you know me well you would know that I can’t stand being wet. I just hate the feeling of wet for some reason. After a shower I like to hurry up and get dry, I love swimming but I hate coming out and being wet. Anway, Lauren and I spent the day shopping in the city. We had various things to look at and buy. When it was time to go home it was slightly raining. None of us had umbrellas or raincoats or anything as there was no sign of rain when we left. The rain was very light when we left and we had to get home quickly as we were going out that night so we thought that we would just ride home quickly. So we had all of our shopping with us from the day and headed home. Well it didn’t take long for the tiny little light shower to turn into really heavy rain. It was absolutely pouring. We had ridden too far to do anything about it and our only option was to keep on going. We were getting absolutely soaked. The rain was so hard that it was hurting us. Our hair was wet, our clothes were wet out make up was running – it was out of control. I complained the whole way home.
Here is a picture of us in our wet state. I couldn’t wait to have a shower and get dry again!!
Here is a picture of us in our wet state. I couldn’t wait to have a shower and get dry again!!
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Take 2
8th June, 2007
We headed into Osaka for a second attempt of seeing the Chili Peppers. Steve was sick this time so he couldn’t make it ☹. Once again we were on a rushed time schedule to make it to the dome on time. We arrived in Osaka at 5:45pm had a quick bite to eat at Maccas and made our way to the dome. The concert started at 7pm.
This time when we arrived at the dome, it was filled with people and the atmosphere was a little more livelier than the last time we went. PHEW!! The dome was just amazing, such an interesting design.
We finally made it to our seats which were pretty good really and about 2 minutes later the Chili’s entered the stage. It was amazing. The crowd of people cheered and roared. There were so many people packed into the dome it was unbelievable.
The set up of the stage was amazing. There were lights flashing and big screens going – it was all happening. Marie, Julian and I stood up for the entire concert. We just bopped, bounced, jumped and basically did all kinds of crazy dance actions the entire time.
The Chili’s were also having a good old time bopping away on stage. They seemed to really get into it. It was a terrific concert. The concert went for almost 2 hours which was pretty good I thought. They had an awesome choice of songs mainly new ones but also some old. My favourite was Californication but I reckon the last 4 they played were the best ones. The drummer did an amazing solo on the drums and Flee did a small solo on the trumpet. We even had them singing SOS by ABBA. The concert was over very quickly but it was very enjoyable. 
We headed into Osaka for a second attempt of seeing the Chili Peppers. Steve was sick this time so he couldn’t make it ☹. Once again we were on a rushed time schedule to make it to the dome on time. We arrived in Osaka at 5:45pm had a quick bite to eat at Maccas and made our way to the dome. The concert started at 7pm.
This time when we arrived at the dome, it was filled with people and the atmosphere was a little more livelier than the last time we went. PHEW!! The dome was just amazing, such an interesting design.
We finally made it to our seats which were pretty good really and about 2 minutes later the Chili’s entered the stage. It was amazing. The crowd of people cheered and roared. There were so many people packed into the dome it was unbelievable.
The set up of the stage was amazing. There were lights flashing and big screens going – it was all happening. Marie, Julian and I stood up for the entire concert. We just bopped, bounced, jumped and basically did all kinds of crazy dance actions the entire time.
The Chili’s were also having a good old time bopping away on stage. They seemed to really get into it. It was a terrific concert. The concert went for almost 2 hours which was pretty good I thought. They had an awesome choice of songs mainly new ones but also some old. My favourite was Californication but I reckon the last 4 they played were the best ones. The drummer did an amazing solo on the drums and Flee did a small solo on the trumpet. We even had them singing SOS by ABBA. The concert was over very quickly but it was very enjoyable. 
Friday, June 1, 2007
Koto
Koto – what is it you may ask? It’s a Japanese instrument. I was lucky enough to be able to have a go at playing one. I went to the Koto club activity after school and some of the students taught me how to play the Koto. It is a strange looking instrument but it sounds beautiful. It has 13 strings and it is about 2 metres long. You play the Koto with small picks on the thumb and first 2 fingers of the right hand. The music is not written in notes as we know it, it is written in numbers. Each string is numbered. The first tune I played on the Koto was called ‘Sakura’ which means ‘cherry blossoms’. It is quite a nice song, very oriental sounding. The piece I played was quite basic but the students and the teacher gave me a demonstration of some other songs and they got quite complicated. They just look so graceful when they play. I would like to have another turn at playing the Koto. Maybe I will get the chance to go again.
I actually did this back in February but i didn't get any photos until now so I didn't post it straight away. That's why I am wearing a big jacket!!
I actually did this back in February but i didn't get any photos until now so I didn't post it straight away. That's why I am wearing a big jacket!!
Monday, May 28, 2007
Hanshin Tigers
26th May, 2007
In Japan baseball is very popular. The Hanshin Tigers is one of the most popular teams here so naturally we wanted to go and experience a game. Getting tickets was the hard part. We asked a number of different people to try and get us tickets and finally the baseball coach at Lauren’s school was able to get us 4 tickets. So Steve, Marie, Lauren and I were on our way to the baseball!!
It took us about 20 minutes to get in once we got to the stadium as there were so many people there and the line up was huge. Once we were in and found our right seat we got comfortable and enjoyed the game. The atmosphere was terrific – very pleasant and lively. There were no arguments, brawls or bad words uttered amongst the crowd, the fans just cheered happily for their team. There were people blowing trumpets, people playing drums and others hitting mini baseball bats together to make noise. It was amazing because there was a rhythm that the whole entire crowd followed.
The drummers and trumpet players led the rhythm and the crowd followed. It didn’t take us long to pick it up and so we joined in the spirit of the baseball with our mini bats (which Marie and I bought and Lauren bought a fan).
Now what’s a baseball game without a hotdog? Luckily we were able to buy these here – so we ate our hotdogs and drank our drinks out of plastic cups just like you would imagine. They were actually pretty good hotdogs too.
At one stage of the game we noticed everyone blowing up balloons. We weren’t sure what was really going on. A lady next to Steve was kind enough to give Steve and I a couple of spare balloons that she had. I struggled to blow mine up but I eventually got there.
Anyway pretty much the entire crowd had blown up these balloons and were cheering with them until it was time to let them go. Everyone somehow knew to let them go at the same time and all you could see were hundreds of balloons flying into the air. It looked fantastic. 
At one stage of the game Steve looked at the TV screen and noticed that the four of us were on TV. We were on for a good minute. It was a close up too. Of course we waved and carried on for a bit – we couldn’t help ourselves. We probably stood out like sore thumbs so they zoomed in on us.
The Hanshin Tigers ended up losing to the Orix Buffalos 7-0 which was disappointing but I still enjoyed the game nevertheless. I hope I get the chance to see another game.
In Japan baseball is very popular. The Hanshin Tigers is one of the most popular teams here so naturally we wanted to go and experience a game. Getting tickets was the hard part. We asked a number of different people to try and get us tickets and finally the baseball coach at Lauren’s school was able to get us 4 tickets. So Steve, Marie, Lauren and I were on our way to the baseball!!
It took us about 20 minutes to get in once we got to the stadium as there were so many people there and the line up was huge. Once we were in and found our right seat we got comfortable and enjoyed the game. The atmosphere was terrific – very pleasant and lively. There were no arguments, brawls or bad words uttered amongst the crowd, the fans just cheered happily for their team. There were people blowing trumpets, people playing drums and others hitting mini baseball bats together to make noise. It was amazing because there was a rhythm that the whole entire crowd followed.
The drummers and trumpet players led the rhythm and the crowd followed. It didn’t take us long to pick it up and so we joined in the spirit of the baseball with our mini bats (which Marie and I bought and Lauren bought a fan). Now what’s a baseball game without a hotdog? Luckily we were able to buy these here – so we ate our hotdogs and drank our drinks out of plastic cups just like you would imagine. They were actually pretty good hotdogs too.
At one stage of the game we noticed everyone blowing up balloons. We weren’t sure what was really going on. A lady next to Steve was kind enough to give Steve and I a couple of spare balloons that she had. I struggled to blow mine up but I eventually got there.
Anyway pretty much the entire crowd had blown up these balloons and were cheering with them until it was time to let them go. Everyone somehow knew to let them go at the same time and all you could see were hundreds of balloons flying into the air. It looked fantastic. 
At one stage of the game Steve looked at the TV screen and noticed that the four of us were on TV. We were on for a good minute. It was a close up too. Of course we waved and carried on for a bit – we couldn’t help ourselves. We probably stood out like sore thumbs so they zoomed in on us. The Hanshin Tigers ended up losing to the Orix Buffalos 7-0 which was disappointing but I still enjoyed the game nevertheless. I hope I get the chance to see another game.
Cake Attempt Take 2
Lauren bought a Hello Kitty Cake Mix and it was the cutest cake that I have ever seen. The only ingredient that this cake required apart from the cake mix was 3 tablespoons of milk. The cake included a tin in the packet which was used to cook the cake in the microwave. Here are some pictures of the steps we used to make this cake.
How cute is it??
How cute is it??
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Gym Junkies!
Those of you who know Marie and I well would know that we are fitness freaks. Any chance of exercising we can get is fantastic. Before I came to Japan I was exercising 6 times a week. When I came here the gym was too expensive so that went out the window. I could not hack doing no exercise so I have resorted to running and recently I bought a skipping rope so occasionally skip and use a fit ball.
Being the ‘gym junkies’ that Marie and I are, we decided to start up our own aerobics classes in our residence. People were interested and it was very enjoyable. We were soon told that we could not hold the classes in our residence. Everyone was very disappointed. Marie and I were determined to find somewhere to continue the classes. We were on a mission! We did some investigating and some research and finally decided to ask a nearby community centre. After explaining to them what we actually wanted to do they agreed to give us some trial sessions. They even put a note in the newsletter to let the locals know about it. So far we have had 3 sessions which have consisted of about 12-15 people. The sessions seem to be a real goer which is fantastic. The locals love it and it is a good way for us to meet new people while at the same time keeping fit!
Here is a picture of one of our sessions…..
Being the ‘gym junkies’ that Marie and I are, we decided to start up our own aerobics classes in our residence. People were interested and it was very enjoyable. We were soon told that we could not hold the classes in our residence. Everyone was very disappointed. Marie and I were determined to find somewhere to continue the classes. We were on a mission! We did some investigating and some research and finally decided to ask a nearby community centre. After explaining to them what we actually wanted to do they agreed to give us some trial sessions. They even put a note in the newsletter to let the locals know about it. So far we have had 3 sessions which have consisted of about 12-15 people. The sessions seem to be a real goer which is fantastic. The locals love it and it is a good way for us to meet new people while at the same time keeping fit!
Here is a picture of one of our sessions…..
Monday, May 21, 2007
A Fantastic Hike
20th May, 2007
Kakagowa is another town one stop away from Himeji, which is where we headed for the day. It is such a beautiful place kind of like a country town. There are beautiful mountains surrounding the town and we were fortunate enough to be able to climb Takamikura mountain. The first part of the hike was fairly steep. 
That part went for about 20 minutes or so but then after that the rest of the climb was fairly easy. These sort of activities are right up my alley so I thoroughly enjoyed it. We were lucky to have such a beautiful day too. We finally got the top after about an hour of climbing and the view from up there was amazing. I could have sat up there for hours just looking at the scenery.
Up the top was Takamikura Shrine. This was also amazing to see. How they got to build the shrine on top of this mountain was beyond me. I was glad that it was there though because it was fantastic to see a shrine in the middle of nowhere.
Once we had seen the shrine we hiked to another temple where there were Yamabushi – which are mountain priests. These mountain priests apparently do a lot of fasting. I am not sure how long exactly they fast for but I know they do it. Anyway as we were walking towards the temple we could hear the sound of a conch. The mountain priests were blowing them. It was really cool to hear it while we were walking through the mountain.
We finally reached the section where the yamabushi were and we discovered that they were performing some kind of ceremony. It was very interesting so we stopped to watch for a while. The yamabushi were chanting various words, using a bow to fire arrows into the air, blowing conch horns and they also lit a pile of leaves which was meant to take everyone’s sins away. This ceremony only happens once every 50 years so we were extremely lucky to have been in the right spot, on the right day and at the right time to get a chance to see this. It was absolutely amazing to see. 
After we watched for quite a while we walked back around to where we began our hike which was in this magnificent park with lots of sheltered areas, playgrounds and grass for people to play, relax and have BBQ’s in. We had packed a BBQ lunch and were very excited to experience our first BBQ in Japan – Japanese style. Instead of the usual gas BBQ’s we were using a coal one. There was no traditional sausages, chops, patties and salad – instead we had a feast with: wieners, kebabs, chicken, carrots and beans rolled in beef, squid, corn, onions, eggplant, pumpkin, rice balls and I’m sure I have forgotten some other food. It was a very different style to what we were used to.
People were just cooking things and eating off the BBQ. I enjoyed this style of BBQ just as much as the traditional ones at home. I tell you what – there was no coming away feeling hungry after this was over with. The food just kept coming and coming. The BBQ was chocker block full at all times. It was fantastic!
After feeling very full we headed to a temple located near the park we were in. To get to this temple we had to walk through the largest Tori gate in the world. This Tori gate was made out of titanium. It was massive. The temple was also very cool to look at. There were lots of interesting things around this temple for us to look at. 
I really enjoyed everything that I experienced today. It was definitely a full on day and I was exhausted by the end of it but I had a terrific time and I might even go so far as to say that this was one of my most favourite things that I have done so far.
Kakagowa is another town one stop away from Himeji, which is where we headed for the day. It is such a beautiful place kind of like a country town. There are beautiful mountains surrounding the town and we were fortunate enough to be able to climb Takamikura mountain. The first part of the hike was fairly steep. 
That part went for about 20 minutes or so but then after that the rest of the climb was fairly easy. These sort of activities are right up my alley so I thoroughly enjoyed it. We were lucky to have such a beautiful day too. We finally got the top after about an hour of climbing and the view from up there was amazing. I could have sat up there for hours just looking at the scenery. 
Up the top was Takamikura Shrine. This was also amazing to see. How they got to build the shrine on top of this mountain was beyond me. I was glad that it was there though because it was fantastic to see a shrine in the middle of nowhere.
Once we had seen the shrine we hiked to another temple where there were Yamabushi – which are mountain priests. These mountain priests apparently do a lot of fasting. I am not sure how long exactly they fast for but I know they do it. Anyway as we were walking towards the temple we could hear the sound of a conch. The mountain priests were blowing them. It was really cool to hear it while we were walking through the mountain.
We finally reached the section where the yamabushi were and we discovered that they were performing some kind of ceremony. It was very interesting so we stopped to watch for a while. The yamabushi were chanting various words, using a bow to fire arrows into the air, blowing conch horns and they also lit a pile of leaves which was meant to take everyone’s sins away. This ceremony only happens once every 50 years so we were extremely lucky to have been in the right spot, on the right day and at the right time to get a chance to see this. It was absolutely amazing to see. 
After we watched for quite a while we walked back around to where we began our hike which was in this magnificent park with lots of sheltered areas, playgrounds and grass for people to play, relax and have BBQ’s in. We had packed a BBQ lunch and were very excited to experience our first BBQ in Japan – Japanese style. Instead of the usual gas BBQ’s we were using a coal one. There was no traditional sausages, chops, patties and salad – instead we had a feast with: wieners, kebabs, chicken, carrots and beans rolled in beef, squid, corn, onions, eggplant, pumpkin, rice balls and I’m sure I have forgotten some other food. It was a very different style to what we were used to.
People were just cooking things and eating off the BBQ. I enjoyed this style of BBQ just as much as the traditional ones at home. I tell you what – there was no coming away feeling hungry after this was over with. The food just kept coming and coming. The BBQ was chocker block full at all times. It was fantastic! 
After feeling very full we headed to a temple located near the park we were in. To get to this temple we had to walk through the largest Tori gate in the world. This Tori gate was made out of titanium. It was massive. The temple was also very cool to look at. There were lots of interesting things around this temple for us to look at. 
I really enjoyed everything that I experienced today. It was definitely a full on day and I was exhausted by the end of it but I had a terrific time and I might even go so far as to say that this was one of my most favourite things that I have done so far.
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