My ice planet Hoth

So anyone who even vaguely knows me, knows how much I hate the cold. I think it must be the German blood. Even in summer I carry a warm top – just in case it gets cold. So on an average day in Japan I wear: Leggings, a vest, 2 pairs of socks, a long top, jersey, pants and a jacket – accessorised with a stick on Hokairo, and one in the pocket for extra measure. I would wear a scarf but I am verboten at school. I do have a Linus blankly though.

So when I initially agreed to come to the Arct…Asia, it was under the impression that Japan (being the high-tech country that it is) would be prepared for winter. It was only once I got here that I was told that there is nothing. They can handle an earthquake but apparently they haven’t quit conquered the annoying little hyperthermia problem.

So anywho, I was now faced with a summer of giant spiders and a winter of extreme cold and frostbite. And honestly I can’t decide which is worse so far.

This morning was particularly bad. I know this because I was cold under my pile of duvets and blankets. I could see my breath in my lounge – and that was after drinking coffee. I think this would have a lot to do with the fact that it was it was 8°C, inside, according to my aircon.

I really love the way that every heating device comes with a thermometer so you know exactly how much you are suffering and how ineffectual it actually is. And it is all very well having a heater in the living areas but where it really counts is the Frozen Throne that is the bathroom and toilet. I mean after all it is the one place where you remove the layers of protective thermal underwear. I am seriously considering that the risk value of “electrocution in return for warmth” may actually be worth it.

In fact 2 weeks ago I gave in and bought a kerosene heater. I was initially sceptical what with the dangers of flammable liquids, and not to mention the smell. But after receiving my electricity bill for the relatively (in retrospect) tolerable October, I decided that it might not be too bad. And it was worth it.

At first it was a bit like crawling into the stomach of a disembowelled tauntaun, but when it is as cold as it is here, and when you have my lower than average body temperature, you change your mind faster then the growing list in Tiger Wood’s little black book.

Oh and I forgot the best part. While I already have to defrost each morning, my teachers take great delight in informing me that it is really not to bad and it is only going to get worse – come February. I can’t help but think that they are trying to get rid of me.

I was particularly bitter this morning. Firstly, due to the fact that I woke up cold. Which is partly my own fault because after discovering that my heater was out of gas I was too lazy to go and fill it up. So I couldn’t set the timer so I could wake up toasty. And then despite the insane cold there was no snow. It would be the one compensation for the さむい (cold) torture from which I am suffering.

Then to my delight it started to snow! It was wonderful. Well it wasn’t real snow at first – just that initial icy stuff you get. But for an African I think it counts. It then later became more ‘snowy’ - if you could say that - with bigger flakes. Sadly it didn’t stick. It all seemed to melt as it hit the ground. Regardless it was enough keep me smiling for the rest of the day. Unfortunately for my 三年生 (3rd years) they are outside competing in their 3rd year sports day, while I get to stay in the (finally) heated staff room.

Hopefully it will continue to snow through the weekend when I can take advantage of the cold and keep warm whilst watching movies and drinking Milo… now that is hypothermia prevention.

My first sumo experience

Currently I am on my friend the Sonic on the way to Fukuoka. I is sumo weekend and the biggest sumo tournament in Kyushu. I have done some recon on event so it doesn't just look like 2 big guys running at each other. Though from what I have read it seems to be exactly that. But more on that once I have had some viewing experience.

…some time later…

So the entire weekend was fantastic. Sumo was much more fun than I had imagined. Fukuoka was lovely as usual and it was nice to sleep on a mattress again. Though let me start at the beginning.

I arrived in Fukuoka planning to check into my hotel and relax until I had to meet the rest at 13:00. Only the hotel refused to book me in until 3, leaving me with 2 hours to kill and not much enthusiasm to go to far. So after meandering aimlessly around the Hakata station shops I decided to treat myself to a manicure while I waited. And what is better than spending an hour being pampered. I went into a small salon under the station, and managed again after much charades and broken Japanese to explain what I wanted – a basic French manicure. From what I could gather this is not standard practice. Nail care here is an art. In fact they have “nail art” on the menu, and despite it not being my thing it is rather spectacular. There is nothing plain about the fake nails here. Each one is a tiny creation, consisting of diamante and other inlays to create a flash of glitter, colour and sparkle. When I first sat down and had to wait I was given a nail magazine to glance through (I wish South Africa could support the niche magazine industry that they have here) – it was the size of the special edition SA Cosmo. Consisting of pages and pages of the latest styles and techniques. Though, undoubtedly, my favourite article was the one on how to customise your nails to match your boots. And I am not talking to match black, brown or any colour. I am talking about the details such as pattern, style and details. So if you happen to be wearing pink lace up boots with purple details your nails should be pink with a lace up detail and of course some diamante for sparkle. Before I forget I must mention that no 2 nails are the same these are individually crafted and set into the gel – as far as I can tell – and not just plucked on.
I watched the woman next to me having her pink glitter creations removed. The manicurist had to file down the whole nail and remove the diamante implants with clippers. It was like watching someone trying to sand down tarmac. I have enough issues with filing my nails to have to sit through that.

It was an experience and I have to say she did a spectacular job with my nails. They feel like art works and I am loath to remove the varnish. Oh and the highlight was when she put on some cuticle oil from South Africa – you can find home in the strangest of places.

After my 1 hour of pampering it was time for sumo. There were matches throughout the day starting with high school and lower level wrestlers, building up to the big matches at the end of the day. When we got to the stadium we waited out side a bit to watch the wrestlers go inside. There men are huge, and I am not talking about fat - tall and built. SA would do well to employ some on our rugby team as there bodies are built to take the impact of their equally massive opponent rushing towards them. In fact I would like to suggest that sumo become part of the training regime for SA rugby, especially since that embarrassing loss to the frog eaters.

Before I start on the actually matches I would like to clarify one thing. Sumo wrestlers are not just the fat kids from school that needed a hobby. These guys are amazing athletes and they are not just fat. Underneath all the exterior skin is muscle. Granted some of them, okay most of them, have huge stomachs but the power behind them is not just the result of too much sake and rice. But when you watch these guys pound into each other – and there is almost a metric ton of force generated in doing so – their bodies just absorb the impact. There is not perpetual fat motion to be seen. In fact sumo is seen as a solution to combating obesity in children. Becoming a sumo wrestler requires a strict diet and parents of future stars are encouraged not to let them over eat. The training and diet turns excess body fat into muscle and many kids that start sumo lose weight as they progress. Regardless of this, I still don’t think that McDonalds is the best sponsor for sumo – and yes one of the top wrestlers has a McDonalds endorsement.

If you ever do get the chance to watch sumo it really helps to have someone with you who knows what is going on and can explain. As I mentioned before we had Yellie, a passionate sumo lover who was able to answer all our questions and give us all the details on the wrestlers. Each match is over pretty quickly. They take less than 30 seconds most of the time. Though we were treated, in the very last match between 2 tournament favourites, to one that seemed to last for ages. Most of the match is the purifying of the ring. Sumo has strong Shinto roots and before the match can begin the wrestlers stamp their feet and through salt to purify the ring and drive away evil spirits. Once they are ready to fight they have to get their breathing synchronised. This is considered essential in sumo tradition though many other foreign countries are becoming less and less concerned with the traditions – a matter of some contestation. After this the match is pretty much over in seconds. The aim is to get your opponent to step out of the ring or place some other part of their body (asides from the souls of the feet) onto the floor. Technique comes into play when you have to receive the impact of your opponent and then find a way to force him out of the ring or onto the floor. This can result in some pretty spectacular throws and more than once I was glad I did not have ringside seats as these huge men were flipped into the audience.

Sumo is becoming more and more international. Currently the top wrestlers are from Mongolia, and there hasn’t been a Japanese champion since the late 90’s. Many of the (go figure) ex-communist countries also compete and we watched a guy from Bulgaria beat one of the top 2 fighters. It has also become a Olympic sport, and so to comply to regulations women are also allowed to compete. Though they are (also) mainly Russians. However Shinto tradition does not allow for women to enter the ring otherwise they will destroy the purity and so they are only allowed to compete in certain places, and certainly not the most scared of Sumo halls. Apparently last year some woman tried to storm the ring and had to be taken down by one of the wrestlers.

The only annoyance was this Japanese hippy that complained that we were all making too much noise – I mean honestly who talks and gets excited at a sports event – and complained to the ushers instead of just moving to one of the hundreds of empty seats. I some times do not understand the Japanese. On the way back on the train I was placed next to a woman that chose to sit rather in one of the many empty seats on the car but still place her luggage right in front of her seat so as to make my life difficult.

After sumo it was just dinner and back to the hotel for the best night’s sleep I have had in a long time. I need to buy a mattress. I can handle the futon and I am quite used to it but I do miss the comfort of wire springs.

On Sunday, Ann and I headed to a flea market at on of the local shrines. I wish I had had more money and more knowledge of Japanese antiques. There must have been masses of treasures there. Some of the other ALTs found beautiful old Obos and kimonos. Flea markets tend to be the same regardless of where you go in the world but this really was wonderful – with almost everything being antiques (including classic Snoopy telephones) and odds and ends. No hippies in site and only one Serbian guy selling the usually silver jewelry. All bought, besides a bean paste fish, was a hand made wooden puzzle of a 5-story pagoda. Though, there was some really nice art from WW2 that, if I had the money, I would have liked to come home with.

Catch some of my pics here.

My Cooking Class

On Friday afternoon I joined the Home Economics Club for a cooking lesson. Our guest teacher – a rather well experienced local lady – taught is all how to make Dango jiro. – and it is not just a martial art.

From what I can gather, from besides my immediate consumption experience, is a rather well known dumpling soup from Kyushu, and specifically Oita. It basically consists of miso soup and vegetables, some kind of meat (in our case butaniku/pork) and dango, which are dumplings. The dumplings are made from flour and then stretched to create long noodles.

The vegetables in our version included carrots, daikon, shitakii, some weird root vegetable and a kind or potato.

I am not sure of all the other particulars, as it was a team effort and my translator Momoe kept me busy chopping and dicing while the rest of the group took care of the dumplings and soup. The end result was absolutely delicious and I will try to get a recipe or a translation of the one we used. Though there must be something on the net somewhere.

Though one thing I will not understand, or get used to, is the need to put seaweed in everything…

My Engrish

I found this at a ¥100 store. Not even my Japanese friends can decipher it!

My paradise

After being made to work on a Saturday – the school’s open day on which we attempt to lure students to the school –I decided to take the day back and turn it into a long weekend. As there was a public holiday on the 3rd I managed to wrangle a 4-day weekend and decided to join my friend Ann on her trip to Okinawa.

Day 1 – 31 October
Unlike my trip to Osaka, my train left at a reasonable hour for Fukuoka, where we would then catch the plane to Naha, Okinawa. SO once again I found myself on board my favourite Sonic Limited Express, with its comfy seats and relatively fancy interior. Sooooo much better than the Shinkansen, which may be faster, but is nowhere near as luxurious (in train standards of course).

I had heard from many people that Fukuoka is a really wonderful city and that they would have loved to have been placed there. After 10 minutes I felt the same. It could just have been the fact that it was a beautiful autumn day, that the sun was shining and that I was in the city park surrounded by the lake, trees and ducks.

I had 2 hours before I had to meet Ann so I spent the morning walking around Ohori Park and basking in the last of the summer sun. Within the park are various sports grounds and the ruins of Fukuoka castle. The park area reminded me a bit of Italy for some reason – I think it must have been the combination of the park and castle ruins. The climb to the top of the castle provided me with a wonderful view of the city and the park grounds. Unfortunately as they are ruins there is not much to see of the castle.

I then headed back to Hakata to meet Ann. We took the bus to Canal City, a rather large and well-known shopping mall In Fukuoka city, where we grabbed some lunch before filling our time window shopping. I didn’t spend anything as it was mostly clothing stores and the clothing wasn’t really in my style or price range – I will continue rather to make use of Uniclo (the Japanese Giodano).

The flight over was rather uneventful – asides from being stuck right in the middle of the plane with absolutely no view whatsoever. I had the same vile seats on the way back so I have no clue as to what Okinawa looks like from the air. In fact the best part of the trip was getting off the plane and being greeted by the warmth of a tropical paradise.

Due to the American base on Okinawa and the close “ties” to America (though the new government is doing their best to kick them out) – there was a lot of American influence about. I especially enjoyed the Hawaiian shirts. It felt like I was in a whole new tropical country, after leaving the rapidly cooling Japanese mainland.

Naha has a fantastic monorail system that runs through the city (the same of which can not be said for the buses) and only goes in 1 direction so it is rather easy to navigate and all the interesting city sites seem to be within easy walking distance. The sites outside of the city are also another story all together.

After dumping our things at the hotel we made our way to one of the bigger shopping malls in Naha for supper and did check out the chopping we had been told so much about. It was then that we made our most exciting discovery – deodorant. Everyone warns you when you are coming to live here that toothpaste and deodorant is a problem, as the Japanese versions just do not work. So this was a joyous discovery, though not surprising due to the American Military personal stationed in Okinawa.

Day 2 – 1 November
We decided that Sunday we would go to the Okinawa Ocean Expo Park, which has been strategically placed 1 ½ hours from Naha. The park has a number of attractions and you could easily spend an entire day there, though our reason for going was the aquarium.  It is considered to be the best one in Japan and is the second largest in the world. The only pain is getting there.

*I would just like to say at this point that if you are planning a trip to Okinawa I would highly recommend you rent a car.  It will make your life infinitely easier and it will be less likely you get arrested for destruction of bus network property.

We were urged by the lady at the airport information desk to join a tour group rather than attempt the 3-hour bus ride on the public transport – and it was well worth it. We chose one of the basic tours that included our tickets for the aquarium as well as the Pineapple Park, but also afforded us the longest time at the aquarium.

Our tour guide was amazing – this tiny lady in her pristine, pink Chanel suite and white high heels. She spent the entire ride telling the passengers – in Japanese – about the area (English tours were about 1 ½ times the price) and would randomly break into song.

I didn’t see a single rice paddy on the way to the aquarium and instead the scenery reminded me of a cross between Natal and the Wild coast. So it was almost like being home only slightly more tropical. The buildings however, are not as Japanese. Mostly flat roofs without the detail. More like the Maldives. The weather was also fantastic – sunny and warm – the best kind. 

When we finally got to the aquarium we were given free reign to do what we wanted for the 3 hours – and we could have easily used more. The aquarium is huge, and consists mainly of larger tanks than lots of smaller ones. The tanks are also naturally lit where possible to give you a more authentic experience. The highlight though was the main tank. It is huge. Two Oceans Aquarium – while prettier – had nothing on this main tank. The glass/acrylic used is 60cm thick and is home to 3 whale sharks, which are part of the breeding programme. The Aquariums café is next to the tank and we managed to get perfect seats right next to the tank so that we were eating lunch 6 feet from a whale shark. It really was the most amazing and indescribable experience that photographs just could not capture.

There were many other fascinating displays, including a hall of things that can kill you – reminding me why I am the only person in my family without a diving license (though my biggest fear still remains the octopus).  The shark hall included a model of the jaws of a prehistoric shark, which provided endless photo opportunities. I also saw my first giant squid, manatee and a selection of deep-sea marine life. Though sadly once again my sunfish dreams were squelched like a beached blue bottle.

Next on the tour was the Pineapple farm, which we were told, was a fun visit just for the WTF (just google it) factor. Sadly we only had 40min there so I wasn’t able to experience all the joys of the pineapple picking but I was able to sort out my omiyage for school. They also make wine and champagne, which was rather interesting, and very pineappley. Part of the tour was the all you can drink and eat section, they just don’t tell you that you can drink as much as you like from the provided thimble cups. I had to resist the urge to buy pineapple pie, pineapple cake, pineapple biscuits and pineapple chocolate – which, as a result of numerous samplings – was really, really good.

After a long bus ride back we went had supper at an American-Okinawan restaurant where part of my meal consisted of fried goya rings. Goya is a speciality in Okinawa – along with pineapple and sweet potato. Not many people like it as it is quite bitter. I thought it was a type of cucumber at first with its seeds removed so I don’t mind it too much. Though the fact that I eat it is still a mystery to some of my students.

Day 3 – 2 November
After having a bit more of a relaxed start to the day we caught the monorail to the end of the line and Shurijo castle. Shurijo castle was built around the 14th century, but unfortunately due to recent historical events it was completely destroyed. In 1992 they began to rebuild the castle to commemorate Okinawa’s inclusion in Japan. Historically it was the royal seat and which, through trade with China and other Asian cultures, helped develop Okinawa’s rich art trades. It must have been spectacular during its time.

We then decided to brave the 2-hour bus ride to Okinawa World – yet another attraction in the middle of no where without the comforts of train travel. I am beginning to hate the buses and this one needed new suspension badly. In the end it was well worth the pain of the ride. 

Okinawa world is basically designed to get you to spend money on the local crafts. The huge stores sell all the locally made specialties such as pottery, glass, weaving, lacquer ware and beer from the brewery. As well as sweet potato soft serve which was bright purple and completely delicious, and being a vegetable it could only be good for you.

Though despite it being a money trap it does have some other wonderful attractions. The craft area was a great way of getting to learn about the traditional arts and in case par take in the creation of glasses or pots. I really enjoyed the habu museum, which is really a reptile park providing information on the snakes that bear its name. The habu is one of the poisonous locals of Okinawa and the many varieties occur on almost all the islands. Mongooses were introduced to curb the snake population but as usual ended up doing more harm than good. The best part was getting to hold a python and watch a mongoose race a sea snake. And surprisingly the mongoose won, though I think this was due to the fact the snake had no desire to leave the water or get to the end of the tunnel.

The highlight however, was the Gyokusendo caves. The limestone caves run under the park and were only discovered in 1967. They are the largest in Japan. The tour path runs for about 900m through a constructed tunnel. This sadly means that many of the stalactites and stalagmites had to be broken to create the path, but I suppose that the sacrifice had to be made so that we could really appreciate the vast network of the caves. It is nice to see that the caves are fighting back though and reforming the broken bits, even if it is only slowly.

After another painful ride on the bus it was time for dinner at the akachochin and to do our final shopping before we headed back the next day.

Day 4 – 3 November
For our final morning we walked around the streets near the hotel and went to one last local craft centre. During our travels I am happy to report that I found fluoride toothpaste - yet another great discovery. Though I did also buy some more traditional glass wear too.

Of course we also ran into some hippies. So they also exist in Japan. They had come to the craft centre and were playing music and dancing in the strangest, and certainly not traditional, costumes.

Sadly from there it was back to the airport, where yet again we had the worst possible seats in the world. But thanks to my newly acquired sleeping skills I spent most of the trip asleep.

I knew it would be colder when we landed but I was not prepared for how cold – it was like the temperature had dropped a couple of hundred degrees since we left and I was longing for my down jacket that I had purchased recently. I found out later that while we had been gone there was an unusual cold spell on Kyushu – something usually reserved for December.

All in all it was a wonderful trip and I plan to go back, but this time for longer and to explore the islands and beaches. It was still nice to get a taste of another part of Japan – even if it was just to buy toothpaste and deodorant.

My harmony land

Once again, thanks to the Japanese government, I was blessed with a long weekend. However, I was not blessed with the funds to take advantage of it and explore some distant part of Japan. Instead I invited my South African friend Ann to visit and explore my home prefecture instead.

Initially when I invited her to come and stay and she asked me what there was to do around here, I drew a blank. Asides from Harmony Land I thought that it was rather unfair of me to ask her to give up a long weekend and come to Oita.

The guidebooks aren’t very helpful, and in fact, the Eyewitness only lists 4 attractions in Oita – (gaudy) Beppu, Yufuin, Usa and Usuki. The first two due to the hot spring attractions and the second for their religious history, Shinto and Buddhist respectively. This is still pretty impressive for a guidebook, as most don’t make it past Beppu.

However, after much thought I actually came up with a list of things to do and we didn’t get to all of them and managed to stay within relatively small area of Oita.

Day 1
Ann arrived at Kitsuki station at 14:30. The plan was to head to Ajumi and then to Usa. I was aware of the possibility of getting a bit lost and sure enough we ended up making a bit of a detour to get there. But at least getting lost in Japan always adds to the adventure.

Ajimu was holding a wine festival at its winery, with tastings of their products. I was unable to partake due to my status as designated driver, but the atmosphere was great – even with Michael Jackson’s greatest hits blaring in the background. From what Ann could tell me the wine was a bit on the juicy side – not much alcohol content and from what I could see it was rather light and without any legs.

We then treated ourselves to crepes – which is quite a common festival food in Japan. They also happen to be really good. From there we headed on to Usa, which is just over the hill to the famous Usa shrine.

The Usa shrine is an 8th century, Nara period, Shinto shrine. It I considered to e the centre from which over 40 000 other shrines originated. Due to its history the shrine has been the recipient of imperial patronage and is second only to the Ise Shrine located in Ise in Mie prefecture (where I spent my silver week). The shrine covers a large area and as it was getting dark we weren’t able to fully explore the grounds. Though we did get to pass through some towering Shinto gates and I saw some ducks, who were surround by koi that were twice their size.


Day 2
On day 2 we headed on to Oita Aquarium and Mt. Takasaki National Wildlife Park and Macaque reserve.

This area is one of the most common attractions of Oita. The aquarium and monkey park are right opposite each other and makes for an entire day of family entertainment.

Mount Takasaki National Park is on the side of the hill over looking the bay and is home to a large, really large troop of Macaque monkeys. In Nara I eventually got tired of tripping over deer and I had the same problem here, but only with monkeys. We took the scenic cable car route to the top and of course as soon as I had stepped out of the car, I was in violation of some monkey code. This also explained the weird “what not to do sign” at the bottom which, as Freda said, looked like “do not give angry monkeys tissues”. The tissue I think was in fact paper and I had to hide all the pamphlets I was given for fear of attack.

While they were quite cute (for monkeys) I still have my well entrenched African respect for wild animals, which caused me to jump every time one of them decide to chase their neighbour past my legs. Unfortunately we could not understand the speech that was going on though I am sure the woman said “wife” a couple of times. I am not sure if this group are the same species but they are certainly related to the Japanese Macaque that National Geographic love to show bathing in the hot springs in the middle of winter on Honshu.

We then headed down the mountain and over to Umitamago Aquarium, or in English “sea egg”. I think as I a gaijin I am without the knowledge as to why a egg is the logo of an aquarium (and it is a chicken egg). It would be like having a whale as the logo for the Johannesburg Zoo. But anywho, one just smiles and nods. Umitamago is, allegibly, the 3rd best aquarium in Japan, after Okinawa and I think possibly Osaka, and well worth the visit.

One thing I really appreciate about Japan is how easy they make it to navigate such places. There is one path and you follow it, so you get to see everything without having to constantly refer to a map so you aren’t missing out on anything. This can however lead to the horrendous queue hell that I experienced at Himeji Castle in Kobe.

My only disappointment was not getting to see the horseshoe crab. There seemed to be only one and he was hiding at the time. I would have thought with Kitsuki over the hill that they would have had more though I think their effort was dedicated rather to decorating the smaller tanks with dollhouse furniture. No really. Some of the tanks had small playground equipment for the fish, others had a nursery – I expect as part of some breeding programme. Though my personal favourite was the shrimp’s tank that had been fitted with a gas stove.

Other things we saw:
1. The world’s largest amphibia (no, this is the correct spelling apparently)
2. Piranha
3. Dolphins
4. Sea lions
5. Various seals
6. Otters
7. Sloths
8. And my personal favourites – the walruses (or lolrus as is their meme term)

Though it seems that it is true and that in Japan you slowly start to look at everything as lunch and soon Ann and I were imagining some of the exhibits in an aquarium of lemon butter with a side of fries.

We were lucky enough to catch both shows that afternoon. The first one was the dolphin performance. The audience right in the front were thoughtfully given towels for the performance, not that it helped. All I can say is now I want to be a dolphin trainer.

The seals and walruses, all of which were incredibly cute, followed. The difference being that, unlike Eini, Mienie, Miny and Moe (of my EL childhood days) these seals were brought out the enclosure and performed in front of the audience. There were also I couple of acts with audience participation, where the children got to interact with the seals and one little girl received a sardiney kiss.

Though without a doubt I enjoyed the walruses. They were adorable and I think it was due to the fact that the audience got to touch them and was lucky enough to have I received a rather fishy kiss from the one of them. It was too cute. Though admittedly it took a lot of washing to get rid of the fishy smell from my hand but it’s not something I am likely to forget anytime soon.


Day 3
Harmony Land!

Firstly I needed to explain something. Hello Kitty is an institution in Japan. It is almost worshipped. Where ever you go you will find Hello Kitty souvenirs of whichever tourist attraction you may be at. Even some of my male teenage students have Hello Kitty pencil cases. So it is not uncommon for even adults to indulge in the kawaii world of Hello Kitty.

That said, Harmony Land is still considered to be a small kids attraction. But this did not stop Ann and I from indulging our own child-like desires and spending the day in the presence of Hello Kitty and friends.

Harmony Land is about 5 minutes drive from Kitsuki station. So it is really easy to get to and there are busses running between the station and the park. The decision to go was an easy one. How can one come to Japan and not got to a crazy theme park. I had also been sent a link to the worlds 10 weirdest theme parks and Harmony Land inclusion made it a must see (out of interest my next one on the list in Communism Park in Estonia). Besides I needed a wanted a new profile pic with Kitty and me.
We got to Harmony Land as it opened – along with all the other happy families and their small children – and it is quite something to behold. The cute is completely overwhelming and I have a feeling that all the employees go home and watch slasher horrors just to return to normal. Everything is pink and cute and happy. While the park is still a bit old it still has a happy magic about it. None of the rides are high tec – this is after all for small children and it panders to that childhood wonder you lose as you are forced to get older. In fact it reminded me a bit of Marina Glen, so even those most prone to motion sickness will enjoy it. Though I would suggest taking it easy on the spinning teacups - it was a while before I was able to eat.

One of the more technical rides was the 3D theatre. They change the show every few months and we got to watch a ride based on a Japanese anime show called GeGeGe no Kitaro. It was one of those 3D rides where the chairs move and they spray smells into the air. It was great but also the only ride in the park where they had English instructions – so we were strictly informed not to undo our seatbelts. The movie was about a race and got pretty bumpy at times when there was crashing and dodging and falling.

Over all the whole kitty experience was a complete jol and I left rather happy and full of good feelings to the world, even though my shopping needs had not be completely indulged.

<3 Pics are here!

My Kyudo Club

So I have mentioned before that I have joined the school Kyudo club and I thought it was time to explain.

Kyudo, which means “way of the bow” is Japanese archery and a form of martial art. There are many different schools of practice that descend from different areas of practice. These include military shooting, ceremonial and contemplative. The different schools place emphasis on different areas. Some see it efficiency as the most important goal, others aesthetics and some use it for meditation.

As far as I can gather at my school they believe that in shooting correctly and perfecting the form will result in hitting the target. i.e. “true shooting, certain hitting” or seisha hitchu. The goal does not seem to be accuracy but hitting the target with the correct form.

According to the Nippon Kyudo Federation the goal is to ascertain the state of shin-zen-bi, which translated basically means “truth-goodness-beauty”. So when the archers shoot correctly, or truthfully, with “virtuous spirit and attitude toward all persons and all things which relate to Kyudo (goodness)” then beautiful shooting is realised naturally.

The dojo, where we practice, consists of a shooting building that opens up onto a grassy area. The targets are placed on the opposite end, 28m from the shooting area. The dojo building itself is pretty nice with wooden floors – unlike the tin cow shack favoured by Rhodes.

I am currently a beginner so I am practising with a gomuyumi, which is basically a rubber band with a plastic hilt. This is to get my movements, or hassetsu, correct. This sport is all about aesthetics. Once my students have decided I am good enough I will move onto a bow. I don’t think this will be any time soon though. My T-rex arms have enough trouble with the elastic band. It is incredibly embarrassing to watch these tiny Japanese girls handle the bows with no trouble at all while I struggle not to have my arms shake when stretching the elastic.

These bows are not the high tech archery ones that they use in the rest of the world, that are carbon fibre, super balanced with pulleys and bolts made from meteor rock. They are old school wooden bows with some string. Okay well slightly more specific but the point is that the sport retains it historical roots.

My students are pretty amazing to watch. Three weeks ago they held an interschool competition at Kunisaki High. We walked away with all of the prizes – best school, male competitor and female competitor. Next weekend 6 of them will go to the main Oita competition for 2 days that is held in Oita city.

PS I forgot to mention that the uniforms are pretty nice – though this is almost entirely based on the ease to which I perceive they can be turned into Bleach Cosplay.

My Typhoon

I have heard rumours since last week about the possibility of a typhoon hitting Japan. Since then I have been in a mild state of panic, wondering if my windows are covered in plastic film and whether or not I will have to venture into the undergrowth of my jungle garden to try and turn off the gas (which considering the bug potential is far more terrifying than the actually promise of a tropical storm).

Every time I have asked my teachers about it they seem to laugh at my concern and tell me not to worry. That said I have still scoped out my various evacuation centres even if I don’t have enough water to last me 3 days. I do however have the recommended Skippy peanut butter and 2 tins of fruit.

I have been watching the news, and despite my lack of Japanese I, like George Bush and Julius Malema, can at least understand the pictures. At the moment the typhoon will not hit Oita directly but the outer edges will pass over my prefecture as it heads to Honshu. The bad news is that it looks like it will pass directly over central Japan. So a lot of people are rather scared about the situation. According to Itai-sensei, Japan has not seen a typhoon in 2 years. Still my biggest concern is the potential invitation broken windows would be to the population of 8/100-legged critters that are squatting in my garden.

Here is my blow-by-blow account of my first typhoon (not super exciting but I would rather not be typing from a shelter explaining how my roof collapsed):

6:40
Went to be and all was quite on the Eastern Front. This morning it was raining when I woke up for the 5th time (I hit the snooze a lot). Rain not heavy just continuous and no heavy wind.

7:52 First Typhoon related injury
Slipped on the pavement as I was taking out my burnables in front of one of my neighbours who kept, I think, asking me if I was okay. Not serious harm, asides from my pride, luckily my neighbors recycling cans broke my fall.

8:21
あめはふります。
No change. Rain continues to fall.

10:52
Still raining. Wind is starting to pickup; I can hear it starting to whistle. The typhoon is predicted to hit Honshu at midnight tonight. I have never been happier to be placed in the backwaters of Kyushu.

12:40
Rain has stopped briefly over lunchtime but it is cold and it is miserable.

13:48
The wind is picking up and it is getting gloomy. I keep wondering when it is going to start to get really miserable. It’s a bit disappointing actually.

16:30
The rain stopped about lunchtime but now the wind has started up. It is also getting rather cold, and since I am cold blooded and can’t rely on my body to keep me warm. I don’t think I will be practicing Kyudo this afternoon.

18:25
Kyudo finished early. I am not surprised the wind is howling – but not quite Cape Doctor strength but bad enough.

20:40
The wind has started again and it is hitting all of my windows. It is really ghastly outside. My main concern is what I am going to wake up to tomorrow. Regardless I will still have to go to school.
私はちょうとこわいです。


The Aftermath
So I woke up this morning to nothing. No rain. No wind. Just cold. In fact it was a beautiful sunny day outside. The air is fresh and everything just feels clean. This is apparently typical of typhoons – they wreak havoc and leave you with nice sunny weather for you to clean up in.

It seems that the typhoon altered course a bit and moved further away from Oita, so considering we were only feeling the edges its effects where reduced even further. That said we have been the lucky ones. The typhoon has wreaked havoc on Honshu. From what I have read in the news, 2 people have died and about 50 have been injured. This doesn’t sound like much but when you see the damage it has caused (pics here) you can see it was a pretty nasty storm at the centre. They keep showing images on the news of collapsed bridges, cars that are completely wrecked – covered in mud or floating in water – schools that have lost their roofs. It is a good thing SA doesn’t get them. We can barely handle flooding.

I was a little bit disappointed not to have experienced the full force of Typhoon Melor and I no my students feel as they have been cheated of a day off school but I am glad I was not in the middle.

My Kimono

This Saturday I attended the full moon viewing festival in Kitsuki. Kitsuki is an samurai town north-west of Kunisaki. Mostly it is famous for 2 things, its castle and two hills – which people walk up the one side and then up the other. The castle (Kitsuki-jo), was built in 1394 by Lord Kitsuki Yorinao. Other attractions include the Samurai house.

Hundreds of bamboo candles were set up all over Kitsuki for the festival and the teahouses were open to visitors wanting to experience a traditional tea ceremony. I skipped this as I had the chance to attended one at my school Cultural Festival where I was served by my students.

The highlight of my evening however, was getting to rent a Kimono for the evening. I knew that they were complicated but I had no idea until it took 15 minutes to strap me in.

Kimono’s are full length, t-shaped robes that are wrapped over the body (left over right). They seem to be one standard size and are fitted to the wearer (with multiple sashes, belts and ropes). The main securing sash is called an obi and our outfit included zori (traditional straw sandals). I had to buy some tabi (split toe socks).

It was quite an experience being dressed – and there is no way I could have dressed myself. The little old lady dressing me also had to have been pretty strong what with all the tugging and tying and pulling going on. It seemed to take ages and in the end I was well aware of what a corset must have felt like. I have also uncovered the reason for the style of walking – it’s all in the shoes. I suppose it didn’t help that biggest size they had were still too small for my giant flipper feet.

For all my pics from the evening click here

My discovery

I found this is the shops yesterday! I couldn't believe it - I will have to try some regardless of how bad it ends up being. Love the choice of red or white!

My Silver Week

Thanks to the Japanese government I was blessed with 3 public holidays in a row. While most of the local ALT seemed to head to Korea I made plans to join 2 of my fellow Cape Town saffers in Osaka. Dawid had been kind enough to offer us a place to crash being that he is located in Mie prefecture – within easy travelling distance of Osaka, Kyoto and Nara.

After researching the various manners of transportation – plane, train, bus and ferry – I settled on the shinkansen or bullet train.  While it was not the cheapest option, the shinkansen was the quickest and it was on my list of Japanese experiences and the trip there would only take about 4 hours. There are various overnight ferries and buses from Oita, but all would result in me losing about a day of travel. So train it was.

I bought my tickets a couple of weeks ago in Oita. It was once again a full on charades session, but as I had printed out the exact trains I wanted to catch it ended up working out fine. I have learnt 2 things in Japan:
1.    Be prepared.
2.    If you want to survive out here, you've got to know where your towel is.


Day 1 – Nara

Following in Gernetzky tradition I planned an early start. I had to get up by 4am so that I would have enough time to get ready and drive to Kitsuki station to make my first train to Kokura.  It was not easy but the excitement and adrenaline soon set in, which was helpful as I didn't sleep to well after the previous night’s spider incident.

The drive to Kitsuki was beautiful. The sun was rising over the sea and it was one of the rare moments when everything is so clear that you can see Shikoku.  I got to the station in time and my car guard met me immediately and remembered that I was going for 5 days – again a communications epic win!

My first train was the 6:21 Sonic to Kokura, which is at the north of Kyushu and closest to Honshu. As expected the train was right on time. From there I caught the Shinkansen to Osaka.  Many people worry that you don’t see much on as the train is too fast, I found this not to be entirely true. It’s only the tunnels that impeded any view and as things go they save you travel time, which can be better used for touristy things.

I didn’t stop in Osaka, instead I met up with the rest of the gang at Tsuruhashi station on the circle line. I love the Japanese transport system, I have said it before and I won’t stop until they ban the taxes in SA and import a Japanese train methods. I gracious host had planned a packed 5 days for us and our first stop was Nara.

Nara was Japan’s capital from 710 – 794 AD. I was thrilled that this would be our first stop as it features some of the most amazing temples and shrines in Japan - giving it it's World Heritage Status.  Most of the Tourist attractions are in Nara Park – easy walking distance from the station. It is not hard to get lost and one of the first things you see is the Kofuku-ji temple with its five-story pagoda. The temple has been rebuilt a number of times due to fire but the current version dates back to 1426.

Nara is also known for it’s pushy deer – which amble around trying to score deer biscuits off unsuspecting tourists. I was aware of the deer situation, and got went to crazy gaijin tourist mode with the first one I came across by taking masses of photos. It was only was I actually got into the park did I realise the full extent of the infestation. They are everywhere and by the end of the day you are tripping over deer like 5 years olds in a toy store. I particularly liked the ones that hung out at the biscuit stands waiting for people to buy biscuits so that they could harass you immediately. Joss and I did not get 3 feet before we had 2 fighting over out purchase.

The walk through the park takes about 3 hours depending on how much you chose to see and visit. Our next stop after a soba noodle lunch was Todai-ji temple. To get there we had to go through the Nandai-mon gate. I think out of everything I saw that day (including the Nirvana hole) this is what took my breath away. On either side of the 19m high gate stood a giant wooden statue over 8 metres high. Of course one of the first things that Joss commented on was the potential fire hazard this caused – which was true considering it was all made of wood and huge beans from massive trees towered over you. The Nio, as they are known, are called Ungyo and Agyo. While many of the treasures of the area have been repeatedly repaired and rebuilt it still has not taken away from their impressive nature.

Once through the gate we entered the Todai-ji Temple – which is so impressive it warranted 2 full pages in my guidebook. Also a reconstructed treasure, it is now only two thirds of its original size and the largest wooden building in the world. Inside the temple is the worlds largest bronze Buddha. It is While the Buddha and the building itself was pretty amazing what really got to me was the line of people waiting to squeeze through the Nirvana hole behind it. Legend has it that if you can get through it you will be able to obtain Nirvana – though it seems that only the Japanese, toddlers and anorexics are invited to this particular party.

From there we continued to dodge deer and headed to the main viewpoint in the park – a hill that over looks much of the city. It was a bit of a climb but it meant that we walked off the soft cream (soft serve) we had just consumed. The area is truly beautiful and I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get it as my placement like I had originally requested.

From there we headed back to the train station via the Kasuaga Grand Shrine. There is a lot to see in Nara and one really needs to spend a full day there to take in all the history. But the setting is fantastic and beautiful and should you be in the area I would definitely recommended you stop there. Even if it is just to say you have been harassed by biscuit addict deer.

Link to my photos from day 1


Day 2 – Kyoto
Day two was dedicate to Japan’s old imperial capital of Kyoto.  First off I want to say that we only had a day and we didn’t manage to see a fraction of what this amazing city has to offer – missing out on both the shopping and geisha districts as well as numerous temples and shrines. I would suggest that any visit plan at least 2 days in Kyoto but 3 to be safe.

Kyoto station was my first greeting to the city and it is some truly beautiful architecture. From here we hit the buses. I would suggest the buses for Kyoto – they head to all the major tourist spots and are easy to use and almost everything is in English. Though we made the mistake of not looking into us passes which would have made things a bit cheaper.

Our first stop for the day was a ninja shop so that Dawid could buy himself a stick – well a Kendo sword. It was a valuable stop for me too as I managed to find 2 new KitKat flavours (vanilla Oreo cookie and Mochi).

With so much to see and so little time we settled on Kinkaku-ji– better known as the Golden Pavilion. Also a reconstruction dating back to 1950 it was originally a retirement villa and I hope that I get to retire in a gold pavilion. It is almost entirely covered in gold leaf, topped with a bronze phoenix and set on a lake amongst beautiful natural surroundings.  Unfortunately we did not get to go through the stroll garden surrounding the pond.

After lunch we walked through the city to Daitoku-ji Temple, home of the one of the most famous Zen gardens in Japan and historically connected to the tea ceremony. The Muromachi-period dry garden represents man’s fate, relationship with nature and place in the universe.  The Zen garden was rather small but after the crowds of Kinkaku-ji it was nice to find some silence and, well, Zen.

Photos from day 2


Day 3 – Himeji
What to do on day 3 became a bit of a debate. We had originally planned on visiting Himeji castle in Kobe (where the beef comes from) but as it was a quite a distance to travel we considered returning to Kyoto. In the end Himeji won out due to the fact this would be the last chance to see the castle before they close it for 3 years for renovations in November. We decided that it might be taking too much of a chance not to go in case we could not get back in time.

All I can say is that I am glad we did it.

We had another early morning start and stocked ourselves once again with a combini breakfast (ie. Convenience store – the breadbasket of Japan). Next up was the 2-hour train ride to Kobe. The train rides have been a great opportunity to practice my sleeping in unusual and uncomfortable places – and I am getting pretty good. I don’t know how the Japanese do it and they never miss there stops either.  Though the best part of this train ride (well for the others) was the brief view we got of the sea. I am still on the cost but my fellow South Africans are still suffering from withdrawal.

We were once again blessed with the most amazing weather for the 3rd day in a row. Blue sunny skies but without the crazy humidity I was used to in Kunisaki. Once again the target of our adventure was within easy walking distance of the station, but I was completely unprepared for the size of the castle grounds.  I knew it would be quite a sight (a whole 4 guidebook pages) but the gardens were truly extensive.  It is built on a bluff and the six story main tower overlooks the entire castle grounds. It is consider to be the finest of the12 remaining feudal castles in Japan and is known as Shirasagi-jo – the white egret castle. This World Heritage site is the ultimate samurai castle.

The grounds are a true labyrinth of walls and passageways, designed to confuse invaders it also worked pretty well on the tourists. Though “luckily” for us it was impossible to get lost as all we had to do was follow the queue from the bottom gate to get to the main tower. All I can say is that I discovered Dante’s 10th level of hell – queuing. It seemed like half of Japan also wanted to get in on the Himeji action before it was too late.  We queued all the way from the entrance of the tower before hitting the snake line at the bottom of the tower. We must have queued for 2 hours in the sun (resulting in more than a little sun burn) and were slowly starting to question the intelligence of this decision. At least we were kept entertained by Joss’s best impressions of a typical Cape Townian housewife and her maid.

We had taken it upon ourselves to adopt and educate our American friend on the ways of South Africa. So far we have taught him numerous Afrikaans words (including the best way to can like to speak wiff an Afrikaans accent), shown him all the Nando’s adverts we could find, some Casper De Vries and of course forced him to sit through Bakgat. This was a pretty rare experience. Mostly we South Africans are surrounded by Americans, so to get the opportunity to turn the tables is pretty rare. Eric is an excellent learner though he did often get a glazed look in his eyes when we would talk about Raith Gourmet or Bellville.

Eventually we made it up into the main tower, and it was pretty impressive. Unfortunately due to the crowds and the funnel effect I didn’t get an opportunity to really admire all the artefacts on display and I would have like to know more of what it was like back in it glory days. The view from the top was worth the climb despite being cramped inside and Joss’s fire hazard comments kept coming back to me so I was constantly on edge waiting for the screaming to start.

I am glad I got the opportunity to see the castle – I think I would have regretted not doing so. We didn’t see much after that, as we had to get back to Dawid’s place as we were meeting up with some other folk for a conveyor belt sushi supper and karaoke. The previous nights we had gone international with Indian and Chinese. Lunch was street food – I could live off street food in Japan. It is incredible. Dawid was a bit more adventurous with his squid on a stick while we stuck to yakitori – chicken on a stick. Desert came courtesy of Baskin Robbins.

After yet another lengthy train ride we were ready for supper. The restaurant was one huge conveyor belt with touch screen order menus should you want to get something directly. Once again let me reemphasize that sushi here is entirely different. There was only some maki, not a single California roll in sight and avocado did not make an appearance. Though what I did see was countless things that really should stay in their shells in the rock pools from whence they came. I have eaten some crazy stuff so far but some of it I just couldn't stomach. It was only R10 a plate – which is crazy cheap compared to SA and for every 5 plates you eat you get to play one game of slots for a chance to win a capsule toy.  They do make eating in Japan a lot of fun.

Day 3 photos


Day 4 – Osaka
We said goodbye to Dawid and Joss, Eric and I headed back to Osaka for the day. Once again we were running on Combini power and were ready to take in as much as we could before Joss and Eric caught their bus back to Tokyo. I had booked into a capsule hotel for the night – another thing on my list of crazy stuff to do in Japan.

After hunting the station for open lockers we were finally able to stash our bags – and I am truly sorry I didn’t have one with wheels. Our plan from here was to first visit the Uemda Sky Building with its roof top view of Osaka. From the 39th floor Floating Garden Observatory you get a 360-degree view of the city. It was pretty was amazing though unfortunately our weather luck had run out so it was a bit over cast, but it didn’t take away from the view all that much.

We then headed to Osaka Castle, but this time we did not intended on going inside as this one is merely a reconstruction and not as impressive as Himeji. It was a good visit and we finally got our Takoyaki lunch (octopus in a ball of fried batter – not too bad akchelee) from this wonderful street vendor that discounted our food as long as we didn’t tell his wife.

At the castle the Japanese have buried a time capsule with over 2000 items to be opened in 5000 years time.  What I really want to know is how much Hello Kitty stuff is contained within this cultural and historical archive.

Once of the crazy things we came across that day was a man with 2 Pomeranians – fully clothed and accessorised. Their outfit included handcuff chains with Zippos and cigarettes and one was wearing sunglasses. These dogs must have been used to posing for pictures and seemed rather long suffering.

I had book into my capsule so we collected my goods and head on to Shinsaibashi. This turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It was the most amazing shopping district I had yet been to. My last few days had been spent in the typical tourist areas and it felt like we had discovered the secret Japanese shopping grounds. And not just your usual trendy, labels – that was a few blocks down – this was punk territory and where you go if you think the 80’s was the height of fashion. For the next few hours we just roamed the streets discovering all manner of weird things – including some Merc SLKs completely covered in crystals.

Dinner was at an American café in American mura where we ate Japanese versions of American food. We then had to hunt down a ¥100 store to find some travel pillows and where I discovered, and was able to stock up on, some Cadburys.


After this I had to say farewell to my travel mates – which was horrible. It was really nice to be around some Saffers (including the adopted one) again. So on my own again I head back to my night in the capsule.

The capsule hotel was really comfortable for what it was, and for only ¥2700 (R270) and rather cheap too. I was provided with a locker as well as my own sleeping pod. The bathrooms were typical Japanese style with communal shower stations and a big hot bath for once you are clean. I am now pretty much used to the system. Though I still worry about being the stupid gaijin that does things wrong. 

The hotel is amazingly quite. Everyone is very respectful of other people and the noise is non-existent. This is really important, as the capsules are not enclosed or sound proof. They are also rather bigger than I imagined. You can easily stretch out and I was able to sit up in mine without banging my head. All in all I had a really good nights sleep and I wouldn’t mind getting one for my house to protect me from the spiders (only air tight with ventilation).

Day 4 photos

 
Day 5 – Home time
I again had an early start to catch my train. By now my luggage was really killing me. I will have to invest in something with wheels that can still fit into the station lockers. I had some time so I stocked up on omiyagi for my teachers (it is tradition to take food back as gifts for your co-workers) and train lunch. Tradition dictates I should have bought a bento box on the train but I had heard that it can be a bit expensive and you never know what you are going to get.

I had another fun trip back, practiced my sleeping and watched a movie on my iPod. Train travel is much more fun than planes and far less stressful than going by car. Though I did have the overwhelming desire to jump off at random stops and see what I could discover. However all that will just have to wait for the next long weekend.

Photos from the last day

My Sexy New Look

I have a sexy new look. It is super uncomfortable, but at least I feel better about being sick since I am not breathing disease all over my students and other teachers. It was not easy to wear though - as a Saffer there is a stigma attached to labeling yourself as ill. Or it could just be how stupid I looked.

My trip to the Dentist

After much deliberation I finally gave in and made a dentist appointment. My tooth - that was supposedly fixed 2 months ago - has been incredibly sensitive which has serious side effects for those of us with ice cream addiction (it may be an addiction but I do not a problem, just so you know). Still I blame Aquafresh for my woes.

I hate visiting the dentist as it is but visiting one where you can't speak the language is worse. And while my charades skills are on the level of epic awesome, I am was not entirely confident about using them in the company of large pliers and drills (especially when trying to mime "I lost a baby tooth when I was younger and there was no adult one underneath and they squashed the rest together with braces to fill the gap").

The other fear lies in the abilities of Japanese dentists. I have seem some of the teeth here and from my guess it dental technology was first introduced with the internet. It is pretty bad. I saw one old woman at the bus stop once with 3 top teeth poking straight out of her mouth - it was horrifying. The good news is that apparently it is getting better. Loads of my kids at school have braces.

I wasn't able to make an appointment, you walk in and wait. Dentists worldwide have the same smell. Which was slightly comforting. There is one room with 3 chairs and workstations with tiny separations so that you hear the others being tortured.

It took my dentist a couple seconds to tell me there was no hole and that they would try to fix the problem with 3 treatments of medicine. He also checked them all and I had them cleaned. And they have never felt cleaner. Though I didn't need my supervisor to translate the reprimand I was given by the nurse for not flossing enough. She also then showed me how I should be brushing my teeth.

Usually I hate the dentist. I sit in the chair crying silent tears while they proud me and drill. I think the awkwardness of being unable to understand anything, which is always amusing, made it a little bit less painful and a bit more of an adventure.

My Enkai

Last night the teachers held a welcome enkai for me. An enkai is a drinking party – so lots of beer is consumed along with (really good) food. Enkais are a good way for colleagues to bond, as everyone gets to relax and enjoy themselves.

The food was really good – a fantastic spread of Japanese food from sushi to pizza. However the pizza was the only continental food. The rest include tako (raw octopus), kansai-fu egg omelette (関西風), sashimi (刺身) and various types of nagiri . The variety of fish here is impressive and the Nagiri I sampled was salmon, some kind of brean and - according to one of my senseis - snake but it was really eel. There was also an amazing beef salad called gyuu niko no taki (牛肉のたたき ) and the salad here is really good. It seems to be the same as usual salad so I think the secret must be in the sauce.

So far I have been pretty good with sampling new and crazy cuisine but I had one moment last night when trying my second round of horumon (pig intestine). It was much better than last weeks version but for some reason it didn't go down well with my gag-reflex. I managed to control it but the problem with being foreign is that everyone is watching while they feed you the weird food. It was really embarrassing, and I tried to pull it off as potential hiccups. I don’t think I succeeded though.

I also finally got up the courage to sample tako. I have been putting it off due to long standing fear of tentacles. It is not so much what it is as the idea of getting anywhere close to something with suckers – especially if it means putting it in my mouth. Amazingly it was not bad. Certainly not as tough as I imagined it just took a lot of will power to do it. Amazingly it is easier to eat raw liver than octopus.

Though out of all the weird food I ate last night the eel had to be the best. It was tasty and soft and delicious. That I can recommend.

The party was wonderful and I had a great time getting to know some of the other teachers. Mostly I talk to the English teachers so it was nice to speak to some of the other teachers. They are a blast and completely different from the school. The only thing is that during some beer influenced moment I may have resigned myself to using my limited connections to try and source Orlando Bloom’s autograph.

My Raccoon Dog

I saw my first Tanuki (狸 or タヌキ). It  ran in front of the car on the way to the beach. I am glad I got to see one, even if it was just briefly, because the Tanuki has been part of Japanese folklore for centuries. One of the dances at the Fox Festival had the children dressed up as Tanuki with saki gourdes. In the legends they are mischievous and masters of disguise and shape shifting. Though they are also gullible and absent minded.

Saffer things that I miss

1. Raith Gourmet bretzel and roast beef roll

2. Tabard

3. Cupcakes

4. 7de Laan

5. Cheap movies

6. Being able to read

7. Winter rain

My Full Moon

On Friday night I attended the second year teacher enkai that was held in Beppu. I was really grateful to be included and the party was being held at one of  most famous restaurants in Oita.

The restaurant is renowned for its yakiniku, which means grilled meat. Bite sized meat is brought to the table where you cook it yourself on grill built into the table and dip the meat into a variety of sauces called tare. Asides from vegetables there was a rather interesting variety of meat which included beef, tongue, liver – also eaten raw – and pig intestine called horumon (which means “throw away”).  I tried it all, even the raw liver and intestine. And now I know why I usually avoid such things. The pig intestine was incredibly tough and chewy regardless of the amount of cooking.  The actual meat was mouth-watering. Beef in Japan is truly special and there is pretty good meat on Kyushu.

The meal also included kimchi. I had this dish on my first night in Oita and it is delicious. It originates from Korea and is a dish made of vegetables with various seasonings. According to Wikipedia the Koreans developed a version for space for their first astronaut that went to the Russian space ship Soyuz.

On Saturday I spent the day in Oita City doing some quick shopping and organising my train tickets to Osaka for Silver week. Silver week is from the 19 – 23 September and is the result of 3 public holidays following the weekend. As it is public holidays people don’t have to take leave and used by most ALTs to travel. I will be meeting up with some fellow Saffers in Osaka.

Once again I had to use my very best charade skills to get myself understood at the ticket office. Luckily I had thought ahead and printed out the exact trains that I wanted to take. It will be my first trip on the bullet train so just getting there should be fun. Trains really are fantastic and the easiest way to get places in Japan. The only problem is that my town is so rural that the train station was shut down.

As it was full moon on Saturday my close teachers organised a picnic on the beach. Once again it was loads of fun. And sadly my photos do not convey the beauty of the evening. I got there a bit late as I missed my initial train and had to wait – but I am still getting better at reading the timetables and at least know where I have to go.

So its good to know that after my first month I still haven’t got lost and can get around in a country that is entirely unlike my own!

My Weekend

Food

I started off my weekend pretty well. Friday I tried my hand at cooking my first Japanese style meal. I made Yakisoba, which is fried noodles with meat and veg. My version went as so:

1x punnet of thinly sliced beef

¼ of a cabbage – sliced

1x onion

1x packet of soy sprouts (at least that is what I think they are)

1x packet of yakisoba

Method: Fry onion, meat, cabbage and sprouts. Once veg are soft add noodles. Once cooked add seasoning (including with noodles). Eat.

And it wasn’t bad. Granted it was easy, but it does mean I have lunch for school and it makes quite a bit. I am learning to be more experimental with my eating. I have tried loads of different kinds of Kit Kat, including: strawberry, apple, McDonald’s (Makudonudaro in kanaglish) Caramel Macchiato McFlurry, Jasmine tea, something that tastes like bubblegum and my personal favourite apple and carrot. On Saturday I had grape drinking jelly, which is literally that. Grape jelly in a can, and you drink it. It was really good.

Sushi here is very different. Not the avocado laden, California rolls that we are used to. I have mostly had sashimi and it is not just salmon and tuna either. A sashimi or nagiri platter will consist of a couple of different types of fish. You can pick out the squid because it is shiny and white. I have no idea what kinds of fish it is, though I am guessing some must be horse mackerel (あじ aji) as my town is famous for it. It is still very tasty but I haven’t seen a rainbow roll since Cape Town. I still haven’t had the courage to go near the octopus (たこ tako) – I think I have innate fear of all things with 8 long legs or suckers.

The spider

Typing of things with 8 long legs – I had my first giant spider. I have mentioned the untamed wildlife but this is getting ridiculous. I was pretty sure I was doing well and keeping the vile beasties at bay, but apparently not. And the worst part is that I am still not sure how the blasted thing got in. The current area of popular thought is the toilet fan, which is open to the outside except for a piece of material stuck down with drawing pins by the previous tenant. Needless to say I have since taped the switch to the ‘on’ position.

I was, at the time, of the incident sitting on my floor, as I do, quite happily enjoying my ice cream (brick sized vanilla ice cream in a waffle coated with chocolate) and watching The Mentalist when the giant mutant beast emerged from my cupboard to briefly taunt me before running back inside.

Now I am living alone. I have no one to deal with this for me and I don’t think it is on my supervisor’s list of responsibilities. It is so far, the biggest spider I have ever had to deal with Han style (ie. Solo).  I proceeded to finish my ice cream and consider my options, which were not great – remove the offending arachnid or move out permanently – preferably to the Antarctic. Unfortunately B is not really an option. Decision made, I dug through my kitchen cupboards and pulled out all the bug spray I had. Armed with a can in each hand I headed for the engagement zone.

I was at this point still hoping that I had seen things or that if I left it alone it would vanish, but I won’t be able to spend a year not sleeping. So I gathered all my courage and I opened the cupboard door and it really was lion king big. The size of a teacup saucer and all legs. And the buggers are fast. I blasted it with both cans and chased it from one side of the cupboard to the other. It was not deterred. Then it suddenly disappeared.

This is the last thing you want to happen during an arachnid elimination. The problem being, that you have an angry, giant spider, who currently holds all the power, lurking about waiting to take its revenge. I tried to look into the cupboard but I was all my courage was being used to keep me from screaming like a baby girl.

Suddenly I noticed movement out the corner of my eye. It was in retreat and making its way across the floor to the next room and heading straight for my clothing cupboard. I could have tried at this point to smack it with a shoe, but this means leaving the 6 foot safety zone. I apparently made the wrong choice and tried the spray again which resulted in it entering my clothing cupboard. NOT GOOD.

The bug spray was useless, I was useless, and now it could be climbing inside all of my clothes waiting to make a sneak attack. The last thing left in my arsenal was the mukade spray.  It was all I had and it would just have to do.

Luckily it was in full retreat and exited the cupboard in a bid for freedom. It  was then that it received the full wrath of my mukade can. And thanks to the bunny of luck it worked!

I am leaving the next bit out, as the arachnid lovers tend to whine and complain at this point. Which is hilarious because of have seen what happens to their kind when they are in my position – and there are no glasses with pieces of paper.

Finally I managed to end my suffering with a shoe. Even though it was dead it took some strength to get near it. And for the spider lovers out there I promise it only felt the full strength of my wrath (repeatedly) once it was dead. It did exact its revenge though when later one of its legs fell out the rubbish bin and onto my foot.  And that was when I freaked out and the screaming started.

Usuki

I decided at the last minute on Saturday to take the train to Usuki to see the Fire Festival held at the site of the Usuki Stone Buddhas. The area is a World Heritage site and contains a large collection of carved stone Buddhas dating back to the 12^th and 14^th century. Some of them are free standing but most are carved into the rock. One of them is the largest in Japan. They are quite fantastic and worth a visit – if by some chance you find yourself in this part of the world. During the festival hundreds of fires are lit in bamboo across the field and entertainment included taiko drumming and dancing.

A couple of other ALTs and myself attempted to join in the dancing. I managed to get the first dance right but the second one was a little bit tricky and I ended up just attempting hula moves. It was great fun and Eric, an ALT from Nagasaki, managed to get in an show off his taiko skills.

One of the best things about festivals, I am learning, is the food. I could eat my way around Japan by hitting a festival every week. The food is usually the same – toriten (とりてん　Oita fried chicken, tempura style), kushiyaki (くしや き　 grilled meat skewers which can be anything from beef, chicken or pork to chicken skin or gristle), yakisoba (やきそば), and of course the usual festival fair of chips and corn dogs. I had a delicious omelette-like thing with a yakisoba and ginger filling.

Usuki’s claim to fame - besides big Buddhas – are its kabosu. A lime-like citrus fruit that is too sour to eat on its own (so Roland may enjoy them) and used in cooking and other odds and ends. And they make delicious ice-lollies. They were also giving out samples of kabosu alcohol, which I never got to taste, as I had to drive later.

Trains are really the best option when travelling around Japan. I am just stuck as my town doesn’t have a train station and I have to drive for 30 minutes to get to the closest one. Having a car is great but not for long distances. Buses are also of some use but they are slow and again Kunisaki is not part of the main route.

Find the pics here

Other odds ‘n ends

I have managed to organise weekly Japanese classes. I am really enjoying them so far. My teacher mainly speaks in Japanese, which is great because I usually understand after many repeats and she only explains if it is dire. This week I learnt to tell time and the names of my family members. My hiragana and katakana is a bit slow but I am sure it will improve the more I have to write in it. The kids in class always get excited when I attempt to write in kana.

I am trying to get used to the rice fields in the middle of the towns. The South African equivalent would be corn fields in stead of every 3rd block.

My quick kanji lesson of the week:

Monday – getsuyōbi　月曜日　

月 is also the kanji for month. The symbol means moon.

Tuesday – kayōbi 火曜日

火 is the kanji for fire.

Wedneday – suiyōbi 水曜日

水 is the kanji for water.

Thursday – mokuyōbi 木曜日

木 is the kanji for wood.

Friday – kinyōbi 金曜日

金 is the kanji for gold.

Saturday – doyōbi 土曜日

土 is kanji for earth.

Sunday – nichiyōbi 日曜日

日 is kanji for sun. It also means day.

The days of the week are usually abbreviated to 月、火、水、木、金、土　and 日。 The date is written 9月　 1日。

So the days of the week are easily remembered as the various elements, proving that yet again Friday is the best day of the week.

My First Day of Teaching

This in itself has been an adventure. I am on day 2 and my feet are killing me and all I want to do is apologise to some of my school teachers. I have started with the traditional introduction lesson of “this is me and this is my country”.

The classes are all completely different. Some are interested because their English is bigger, some just sleep, others ask questions, some are dead silent. I have learnt quickly not to judge their interest by the response in class but rather by what happens after when they get to talk to me individually or in smaller groups, which makes things much easier to handle and avoids potential depression. So far I have received a sketch from one student, had my eyelashes touched and examined and the best yet was when on student came to find me afterwards to show me some of her Bleach toys. This was made all the sleeping kids worthwhile as this student particularly hates English and shows no interest in anyway. So never underestimate the power of popular culture.

I am also learning about what they are interested in. One class was intrigued to learn Xhosa. Jacob Zuma more useful than I ever imagined. They love the fact that he has more than one wife and laugh when I say he is Zulu – this particularly funny too me because Zulu in Japanese means “cheat”. And swimming pools. They are amazed that I have a swimming pool at home. Also Hudson’s blazer and crazy uniform is of great interest. They can’t seem to understand why SA doesn’t have sensible summer and winter uniforms like Japan. I am not sure either. In fact I am sure that was a yearly topic of debate. Though I can’t say the new Hudson High uniforms are much better.

Though it seems as though things are looking interesting at least for the next year and hopefully I will get to engage the students as I learn more about them. Jong Steyn still receives smiles of delight and is not a permanent school desk fixture.

After class I took a trip with my supervisor to my second school. I teach there on Tuesdays. It turns out that at a school the size of Hudson, I have 2 classes. One has 6 students that other has 8. When I say the school is the size of Hudson I mean the buildings are. There are 3 classes in the entire school and they only use 3 classrooms. It is somewhat disturbing to see a huge empty building that would usually been filled with voices in noise. The worst part was thinking about the how we in South Africa don’t have enough schools, teachers or facilities. In Japan they have too many schools and not enough students. I would like to propose a student exchange programme where they ship in kids to Japan to study in classes where they have textbooks and teachers that care.

In fact SA could learn some important lessons from the Japanese Education department in honour of Jacob Zuma’s surprise school visits. Here are a few:
Being a teacher is one of the most respected positions in Japan, it is up there with doctors.
Teachers are government employees, paid with tax payers money and therefore have an obligation to earn the money they are paid by the people by working hard and being dedicated to their jobs.
As government employees, teachers have to set an example to others. *
Teachers (and in most jobs) do not take all their paid leave, and usually only take about half. It is considered important to show you dedication to work by spending as much time at school as possible. **

* I do believe in holidays but I think that there are problems with teacher dedication in SA.
** This can be tricky when you can’t j-walk and have to walk half way down the road to get to a zebra crossing.