We made a late start, and combined with confusion over how to actually get to Hanase we didn't reach the Festival until 3pm, the time it was meant to finish! Sadly this meant that I didn't manage to meet up with Hanase's resident gaijin, my good friend Tibor. However there were still plenty of oysters to go around. First we had boiled oysters in some sort of a stew, then we tried "oyster ice cream", a bizarre concoction of regular vanilla ice cream, soy sauce instead of chocolate, and two deep fried oysters. Yumi-chan's face says it all- mazui!! The worst thing I have tried in a 
long time. After that we had oyster okonomiyaki, or "kakioko". Miwa bought some oysters for her mum, so I decided to buy some as well. However, once I got home I realised I had absolutely no idea what to do with this carrier bag full of oysters. Given the inherent dodginess of eating oysters, plus the "Noro virus" currently sweeping through Japan's oyster population, and the fact I was ill last weekend after eating similar creatures, it probably wasn't the best move. Anyway it turned out fine- I half cooked them by steaming them so I could prize open the shells, 
then fried them up with garlic and onions. Success!
In other news I bought a new jacket. Obviously I wouldn't mention such mundane and trivial news on this blog usually, but I liked the tag inside, which says "Made Expressly For Mechanics, Miners, Engineers and Laboring Men ". Just right for me then. Teaching is, after all, a labouring of the mind, wouldn't you say?
My travelling plans pick up from here on in. Way back in August, I was lucky enough to be told about a certain Ju Hachi Kippu ticket. This mystical ticket has reappeared once again for spring, this time at the bargainous price of a mere 8,000 yen. Which means I'll be travelling a lot the next few weekends. Then there's only three weeks to the Golden Week Holidays! I love holidays!!
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