Luminarie-tastic Times

Last weekend I went to Kobe and saw the magical Christmas Luminarie. It was really really shiny!

I also went to the spiritual (and indeed physical) home of the Hanshin Tigers, Koshien!! Sadly it was closed for reconstruction but I still got to pose outside and throw a baseball around, which is always fun.

Finally I also made it to the Akashi Ohashi, the world's longest suspension bridge which I've passed many times on my way to or back from Kobe/Osaka, but never seen up close. More excitingly I've just learnt from Wikipedia that in 1998 it claimed its title from Hull's Humber Bridge (which has now sank to number 4) - et tu Timmy-chan!



Passing the Akashi Ohashi on the train back from Osaka a few weeks ago

Kobe Luminarie, which appears every year in honour of those who died in the Greak Kanto Earthquake of 1995.

Hey Hey! Hannnnshin, Taigaasu!

Up close at the Hashi.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Yes, I am now 24, and thanks for your many birthday cards, messages and (in the case of Kawahara sensei), novelty lighters not appropriate for those under 18. My birthday itself was actually fairly painful, as I spent most of it labouring under a cloud of alcohol-induced confusion. This was confounded by having interview tests ("how are you aimu faiin sankyu ando yu") all day, which did my head in. Nonetheless, the preceding nights celebrations were, as we say in Japan, saiko!, involving the normal but always excellant activities of nomihodie and karaoke, and cake! This weekend I'm off to Kobe for some fun and games, and the weekend after I have another enkai. Then its happy happy holidays!

Winter Is Coming

On Friday the Okayama Christmas Tree turned up, and on saturday all of the cashiers in my local supermarket, Nishina, started wearing silly Santa hats- yes, it's Christmas time once again! To be honest I can't believe how quickly autumn has passed- my favourite Japanese season seemed so much longer last year; perhaps leaving the country and going to Korea helped. Anyway, today is December 2nd and winter has truly arrived. This morning I took the Japanese Proficiency Test level 3, after passing level 4 last year. It went ok, though the red card/yellow card system lost its novelty this time around. Still, now that thats over I really have no long term Japanese goal anymore- perhaps I've reached the peak of my Nihongo powers. I'm going to keep learning kanji though, albeit at a slower pace, and maybe I'll start blogging in Japanese too (though I don't think my basic Japanese can match my sophisticated English turns of phrase). Anyway, this morning's test was made all the more difficult by being in a state of pain and suffering, thanks to drinking way too much at last nights Shonan Bonenkai. Me and Kawa-T decided to mark the occasion by buying Cuban cigars!! Sadly no Coheba Esplendido's, but we did get some good sized Romeo y Julietas to enjoy with Nishi T, Kawasaki T and one of the kyoto-sensei's. Heres a couple of pictures of us posing outside the cigar shop!




















Followed by a couple from the party itself... (blurred shot on the right taken by Toda-T, with Nishi-T's face the main loss)




















And here's the slightly shorter Japanese version of this post...

金曜で岡山のクリスマス木に着った。それから土曜から二品の店員がサンタハットをひいた。それで、クリスマスに着きました！ほっまに秋が早くなりました。秋はぼくの一番好き季節ですけど、去年はもっと長い感じがあった。多分韓国の旅行にいったですからね。

今日は１２月２日、と冬が来ました。今朝日本語の試験を受けた。去年４級をうけた、だから今年は３級。確かOKにしました。昨日翔南高校の忘年会に行った。ちょっと飲みすぎました、もう葉巻を吸いました！必ずすごい味と感じがあった、川崎T特には”ザーゴッドファザー”のイメージがあった！面白い買った。今回は”ロミオとジュリエタ”を吸ったんだけど、今度”コヒバ”を吸いたい！上の写真を楽しんでね.

Amazing Red Autumn Leaves and Other Things

Here's a small selection from the many photos I managed to take in Kyoto last weekend...














The red leaves of autumn are known in Japanese as "koyou", and koyou viewing- particularly in Kyoto- is a popular passtime. Hoards of tourists descend on the big sights, but luckily I was able to find this "scenery plus flag" shot in a group of temples in the north, Daikokuji, that were relatively quiet.














Higashiyama and Arashiyama are the mountains to the east and west of Kyoto. I hadn't been to Arashiyama before, but the colours were amazing!














More colours in Arashiyama





























Kiyomizudera, in the Higashiyama Mountains

Fushimi Inari Taisha



Another cat photo!


Just one more cat pic, I promise. But this one's the best.



The Gardens At Heian Jingu

Quiet Contemplation

Meeting Sonic In Osaka!

Hangin' With The Cats In Kyoto

Kawaii! :D

Okunoshima- Poison Gas and Bunnies

There are thousands of islands in the Inland Sea, each with their own unique features and attractions. Yet I doubt there are any stranger than Okunoshima. Between 1928 and 1945 Okunoshima was used to produce several kilotons of mustard gas and other posion-gases for use in the Pacific War, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. For maximum secrecy, the island was erased from maps, while workers on the island had little training and poor equipment, resulting in horrific injuries. Today the buildings deserted after the end of the war remain as they once were, shards of glass still hanging in the windowframes. Animals were used in the gas tests, but when the island was deserted in 1945 the remaining rabbits were set loose. And they bred like, well, rabbits. So today these small victims of war have claimed the island for themselves, behaving like abandoned pets, and gratefully receiving all the carrot and lettuce visitors have to offer. They certainly enjoyed the 6 carrots we brought along...





Kawaii!







Rabbit Gropes Miki-chan








Old Lady Feeds Over-Enthusiastic Rabbits






Rabbit Eats One of Steve's Carrots







...que More Carrot Eating







Everyone Pause For A Photo







No Its A Shoe, Not A Carrot






Autumn Leaves







Gas Tanks From Another Era







Just Around The Corner







Abandoned Warehouse (which we snuck into at risk of death from falling things)






Good Place For A Date? Hmmm








Preserved In Time and Space







Ending On A Fluffy Note




After leaving Okunoshima we stopped in Onomichi for some Onomichi ramen on the way back to Okayama. We went to a ramen shop I'd been to about 7 months previously on a day trip, and the owner remembered me! A nice end to our trip.

Shonan Festival ' 07!

Friday was the first day of the school festival,with stage performances involving lots of girls dancing and some boys dressing up as girls. It was short and sweet, finishing around 2, but I ended up staying at school until 7.30pm, practicing with Natto and making t-shirts for our Saturday performance. We worked out an excellant opening routine, involving me and Murakami prancing on to the stage to the "Numa" song, a Romanian pop song by "O-zone" ("miahi! miahu! miaha! miahaha!") - apparently its big in Japan. You can listen to the song here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfiVc0X9Ewc- its so great!!



Yuta rocks up for band practice









Yui-chan, Wakana-chan, Miho-chan







T-Shatsu Tsukurimasu!








Yuta pausing for thought








Never Miss A Photo Opportunity!







Our performance on saturday went perfectly, including the prancing onto the stage to Romanian pop music. In fact everyone in the music club did really well- despite nerves beforehand- so all were very happy afterwards. The rest of the festival was great fun, with old teachers turning up (Miyoshi sensei, and Kagawa sensei!!), excellant yakitori and cheap takoyaki, and lots of attention thanks to my dashing good looks and funky dress sense (also being the only foreigner at the festival helped). You can listen to the "Official Festival Song", Million Films by Kobukuro, here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7BZdNU3fXI













Miho and Wakana by the Festival Gate








Me, Yuta and Wakana just before going on stage









Hayashi-T, Kawa-T and Toda-T








Post-Gig Relaxation with Kawa-T and Murakami









Random Child Takes A Liking To My Glasses









Kagawa-sensei!! And his son Kazuo, who remembered me from when we went to the beach :)

Seito Hard At Work Making Takoyaki









Kaneda Natsumi (middle) is a big fan of English!











Kawa-T, Toda-T, Miho and Futaba-chan