The Superfluous Photos

6:30 in the morning, Hakui Station before my long journey to Nagoya. The crows were so foreboding that they nearly persuaded me to turn back.

I usually entitle this picture "Aryans in kimonos, the future is now!" but I realize it might be too esoteric for some. This was taken in the Osu district of Nagoya.

Ganmon is the town that those people are advertising. Do they look like they're having fun? Well, what if I told you that the cliffs are famous tourist stop? Suicidal tourists love to jump off of them.

This is... I actually forgot the name.. but it is just outside of Togi. It competely escaped my noticed until a few days ago.

Lunch was: karaage and garlic rice.
Class was: suitably good.
I'm listening to: Doctor Who Radio Plays. The 8th Doctor has a very sexy voice.
I'm working on: 1-1's test still.

The Nagoya Weekend

So! Nagoya! I went to Nagoya, ne?

Nagoya is a very big city, and not known for being a tourist destination. However, that did not stop Kristi and I from being tourists, cameras in hand, intent on being what Ezzie calls "happy snappy".

The first day was a little scary if only because the bus tried to drop me off at some random bus stop in the middle of nowhere. I begged, and pleaded, and managed to get to my real destination: Nagoya Eki, the busiest place I had ever seen. It's not a secret that I don't do well with crowds, so being in Nagoya was, indeed, a very trying experience. The rest of the day was spent learning how to use the subway system (people are right, once you get used to it, it's really easy), and looking for a place to have dinner. We chose Outback Steakhouse. It's funny, in the States, I never liked the place, yet here in Japan, it was surprisingly tasty. Go figure.

Saturday was far more eventful.

Kristi and I made our way to the Tokugawa Art Museum, which was surprisingly less interesting than the garden that was right next to it. However, it was entertaining enough to see the recreations of artwork whose colors faded long ago, even if they looked like they were painted by an amateur. Photos were prohibited, which is a shame, because there was an awesome map that had landmarks facing any which direction. I would loved to have walked into that word, walk through a forest and then on top of it has it flipped to face the South, swim the river with th

I forgot my camera, so here's a picture I took on Kristi's camera of the garden.

Check out how symbolic I am. Nature and modernity.

Too cool of a shot to miss. The koi were phenomenally large, and therefore a little disconcerting. I spent most of my time looking at them accessing my memory banks for any koi related deaths.

I have more photos that I will post later. On the way to the Asuta shrine, we stumbled upon a placed called the OZ Mall. On every radiator (called so only because they looked it), there was a statue portraying a scene from the wizard of OZ. Why? I haven't the faintest idea. The shops had nothing to do with OZ, which was somewhat upsetting because I wanted to buy some emerald glasses. If you want to see all of the statues, just email me.

I'm not sure why my face is so sour looking, but clearly that danish roll I was currently eating was vile.

Next, we went to the Atsuta Shrine, which we walked the entire length around before we could find the entrance, only to find that if we had just turned the right at the beginning, instead of left, we would have found it within three steps. I have no pictures, unfortunately, but I'll describe it the best I can.

There were three weddings being held. Two were traditional, with the bride sitting demurely under the hat that supposedly hides her horns, and the other western, with the bride smiling brightly. The guests were all dressed in somber blacks.

Also, there were women presenting their babies on the second month after their births, smiling happily for the camera while their husbands stood by, looking impatiently at their watches. They, and the brides, stood out amongst the cold steely gradients of people who swirled around them.

While I was there, I did the proper tourist-y thing and bought some charms. One will protect me from evil, supposing that I didn't lift its protection when I curiously looked inside the bag to see if they had actually written a charm, and another one that was marked "charm for news." I'm not exactly sure what that means, but armed with the knowledge that that they wouldn't sell anything extremely bad, I threw caution to the wind and bought it. After that, we went to Sakae and wandered around. I found a copy of Horatio Hornblower at the foreign bookstore, but could not get myself to spend 20 dollars on it when I know I could get it at a used bookstore when I go home.

While we were looking for a restaurant, we stumbled upon this creature. Cool as he was, he did not successfully entice us into the his restaurant.

Sunday, my last day, we went to Osu Shopping District, which is right next to Osu Kannon, a Buddhist temple. Like a good tourist, I bought a bull charm since I was born in the year of the bull. As always, it did not look as cool as the other charms, but I decided that no bull charm will ever look as good as the others. A bull simply cannot be a rabbit, a rat, a tiger, a sheep, or a dragon. I have to accept my Chinese zodiac as is, I realize. I wondered, and still wonder now, which charm sells the most.

You could smell this temple for miles, the incense was so strong.

Right next to this is the shopping mall. It's really quite a nonsequitur. The shopping was the most enjoyable of all the shopping I've done in Japan. Also, it was the best food I had eaten, which was entirely too much. I had karaage (fried chicken), okonomiyaki (a sort of egg, cabbage pizza), a cheese soufle, a vanilla milkshake and french fries, and takoyaki (a sort of octopus dumpling that is DELICIOUS!). Wow! And I was full after the karaage!


In Japanese, the word betsubara means second stomach. It's said when you will still eat something even if you're full. For example, amaimono no betsubara means you have a second stomach for sweet things. No matter how full you are, you will still eat some sweet things. The people at the office joke that I have tabemono bestubara which means I have a second stomach for food. Funny, but a little cruel, I think.


After Osu, I went home after a four-hour bus ride, an hour train ride, and an hour car ride. I fell asleep long before I knew that I had even gotten into bed.

Lunch was: Chicken Fried Rice and Anpan
Class was: so-so.
I'm listening to: King of Pain by The Police
I'm working on: 1-1's listening test.

To Nagoya!

Sickness comes at the most incovenient of times, does it not?

Currently, I am horribly sick, but I have already purchased my tickets to go to Nagoya, and reserved my hotel room, so nothing will stop me from going! I am, however, going to be forced to purchase one a surgical mask as I will be riding a bus for four hours. It would not be fair for me to give all of those passengers this sickness, but I'm going to feel ridiculous wearing one of those masks.

I'm not sure what I'll be doing this weekend, but I hope that I will be well enough to enjoy it.

The Tragedy!

I completely forgot to celebrate the Battle of Trafalgar this year! How could I forget! It's nearly a month past, so no belated festivity is possible now. I shall have to wait until next year, or find something else that is suitably obscure to celebrate. When was the Battle of the Light Brigade? I suspect that is also October...

Tomorrow was the birthday of Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder. Maybe that would be fun.

Japan's Hidden Scenery

Two sumo wrestlers at the Hakui matsuri.

This photo is long overdue. It the only that is completely embarrassing in composition and lighting. I still have not succeeded in discovering how to shoot in the nighttime.

This is from the Sumo competition at the Hakui matsuri. I took Rachel, and we met Tom there. To my surprise, many other JETs were also there. I remember very little of the night, except that I ate entirely too much, and I missed the last sumo match, which apparently was rigged.

And now the present. Having finished the last episode of Horatio Hornblower, whose absence of new episodes now leaves an inexplicable hole in my heart, I decided to go and explore Togi. This of course means danger like never you knew! I should never have brought my camera, it made my life so much harder.

To get to this beautiful place, I had to climb many a cliff. In fact, that cliff right pictured right there was among them. Never had I felt so keen of acrophobia until today, but I mastered it by exercising the caution that I typically do not bother to use.

The coast of Togi, and a very steep cliff that I had to climb down, and subsequently up again.

All over Togi are parks that are hidden behind the indeterminably thick forests of bamboo mixed with pines, and all manners of bushes. They come out of nowhere, and are always serene and somewhat lonely. This shot was taken before one actually moves beyond the bush to see the clearing. It was taken to demonstrate how surprising these park's presence truly is.

An unnamed clearing a little north of Ganmon.

I did more, but I lack the energy to tell of it. Tomorrow, when I wake up I shall post more photographs. For now, I hope you enjoy.

Water Heaters and Volleyball

It happened Tuesday night. I was cold, and in desperate need for warmth. Armed with the brilliant idea of taking a bath, I stepped into the icy cool of my bathroom, intent on drawing one. When it was filled up, I shed my clothes, and stepped into the water that must have been a degree above freezing.

My water heater was broken, and it was winter.

Was I going to cry? No. Did I want to? Not yet, but I knew that it would soon become a likely outcome.

So the next day, I tell my supervisor, who calls my landlady. It turns out that the water heater is an oil burning heater, and it was simply out of oil. Praise be togod! Two days later, the warm water returned. No more showers at Nick's house. No more mornings of feeling cold, and staying cold. Life is, officially, ok again.

Last night, I went to the Obaa-san (grandmother) Volleyball game. There were very excited to have me, but curious to why I didn't play. I forgot the word for clothes, so I couldn't explain that jeans and a sweater were hardly athletic clothing. Also, Volleyball and I, just simply don't get along. It hurts the arms, and more importantly, it incapcitates ankles very easily. So, instead I watched, which is something I enjoy doing. I did not bring my camera because I thought it might make them uncomfortable. But, I think next time I think I will.

More Boring Information

It is Saturday, and I am at work. As my own personal revenge, I have decided to not actually work on my down time and write this blog entry instead.

Currently, my students are learning weather, and rather fortituitously, I should add. The weather in Japan has been hodge podge lately, so every day I ask "How's the weather?" they are forced to say a different answer.

Life has finally become familiar in Japan, and I feel like I am at home. I miss some things, naturally, like dogs, being able to understand most words that come out of peoples mouths, and macoroni and cheese, but, in general, I like it here.

Of course, this is ignoring the fact that all stores close here at the annoyingly early hour of seven, so one must get one's grocery shopping done during the peak hour of six o'clock. Yet, the convenience store is open 24 hours. I wouldn't need that convenience if stores stayed open until nine, quite frankly. Consequently, after seven, Togi becomes silent. Everyone retreats to their houses, and stay there as they have no excuse to leave it.

I'm discovering that I miss people that I never thought I would miss, but am fine with other's "absence" in my life. It is an eerie feeling.

Today, in any case, I will be going to Hakui to visit Travis who is working the International Fair. What will happen, I have no idea, but I'm sure we will have fun.