Cold Not Bothered - Pt 2.

I’m not looking for a standing ovation or anything, but writing the blog is extremely time-consuming. As much as I love it, it takes a long time writing it up, uploading pictures and framing them all to different sizes. For example, Pt 1. of this entry took 2.5 hours. So for that reason, Pt. 2 will be a little more condensed.
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The bed didn’t even look slept in, it was that deep a sleep and I had a quick bathe in the 温泉; a fantastic start to any day. Unfortunately, it had clouded over but that wasn’t going to stop me from having anything near a good a day as the previous one. Keiko was feeling better but said her hip was throbbing.

We paid the bill, and left the hotel. The manager walked outside and waved us off; customary in Japan.

We took the train one stop towards Tokyo, to a coastal town, Manazuru. This place is a popular peninsula for crab fishing, so we headed to the bottom of the coast. The main destination was 三つ石 (Mittsuishi) or Three Rocks.



(This is the peninsula from above – taken from a brochure)

We walked around the town and ate ramen for lunch.



On the way back to Tokyo we stopped at Yokohama as Keiko had never been there; I swear anywhere we go is either new to both of us or just to her! It was fantastic as the harbour-side park was lovely, if freezing.


Further along, we walked onto the set of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’. The seagulls started calm but ended up insane. Look at that woman’s face!




And then a great coincidence happened. In front of the red brick warehouses (more interesting and famous than the name would suggest), one of the most famous J-pop bands Yuzu were playing live, next to an open-air ice rink, which had been set-up for the Christmas period.



Although her hip hurt we decided to ice-skate. It was so much fun. Keiko was rubbish, as were 99% of the Japanese people skating there. I can’t wait to go back.



We walked back to the station through Minato Mirai which was all lit up and decorated. I personally wasn’t a big fan of Yokohama but looking as it did, all was forgiven.




I’m pretty certain that it was the best weekend I’ve had in Japan.
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Keiko’s hip continued to hurt so she had an x-ray, which didn’t show anything bad. However, the doctor suggested an MRI which she’s taking tomorrow morning.

Japanta Claus

I finished work last night, and went out drinking with everyone. It was a nice feeling to know that I have 10 days off. I'd like to say I woke up bright and early this morning, but I slept in.

I'm going to Sendai (Keiko's hometown) tomorrow for a few days, so have been packing and cleaning my room.

Christmas was strange, most of the students weren't interested at all and just wanted a regular lesson, although we all found it bizarre to be working. Just as the horribly mixed title of this blog, so too is the behaviour of the Japanese at Christmas:

Christmas trees, presents and cakes are important. However, their idea of a Christmas cake is with white icing and strawberries. Christmas Eve was crazy; the streets were lined with stalls selling such cakes, and queues stretching off at each one.

It's also traiditional to eat fried chicken for two ingenious reasons. Firstly, as most kitchens are without an oven, a turkey isn't a very convenient food to cook. Secondly, and just as wonderful a story as Santa being owned by Coke*, KFC invented the holiday past-time of eating fried chicken. It's a complete marketing stunt, but good for them I suppose, as KFCs all over the country were turning over huge profits.

Still, thanks to my own Christmas miracle, Keiko and I got to savour some Western Christmas pudding. Yummy!

The greatest thing about my current job is that no matter how crap a day, or how much something is bugging you, there'll be at least one student who will make it worthwhile. 95% couldn't really care less, but there are the 5% who really appreciate the time spent with them. One old lady, who I love to pieces, came over to me on Christmas day, said I was the best teacher, and handed me a huge bag of sweets. It cheered me up.

Additionally, the weather was pretty awful; the most torrential rain I've seen since I've been here, including the weekend I was stranded inside making origami. Tsurumi River nearly flooded, the lightning was so bright that one Japanese man turned around to me on the way home and gave me a "Whoah!" look as we were getting soaked, and, sadly, my new book got ruined.

However, it's a beautiful day today, and I'm hoping it will stay over the New Year.

*the students ate that one right up!

Let's Start At The Very Beginning...

What Christmas isn't complete without "The Sound Of Music"? And what better entry to post than to explain the Japanese version of the song, Do Re Mi...

どはドナツのど　Do wa donatsu no do
れはレモンのれ　Re wa remon no re
みはみんなのみ　Mi wa minna no mi
ふぁはファイトのふぁ　Fa wa faito no fa
そは青い空　So wa aoi sora
らはラッパのら　Ra wa rappa no ra
しは幸せよ　Shi wa shiawase yo
さ歌いましょう　Sa utaimashou

Do is the sound of doughnuts
Re is the sound of lemon*
Mi is the sound of minna**
Fa is the sound of faito***
So is the blue sky
Ra is the sound of a trumpet
Shi is the beginning of shiawase****
Let's all sing

*No 'l' sound in Japanese, so lemon becomes remon.
**Minna = Everyone. Interesting how 'Me' has been replaced by 'All'.
***Faito doesn't mean 'punch'; it means 'Go for it'
****Shiawase = Happiness. (There's no 'Tea' sound in Japanese, only 'Shi' or 'Chi')

Merry Christmas!

(taken in Minato Mirai - Yokohama, 22.12.06)

I hope Santa and Moses bring you everything you wish for. x

All Over The Place

Two weekends ago – I’m slipping again – Keiko and I went to Miura peninsula, one hour south of Yokohama, and the least Japanese-like place I’ve been to so far. I’m not sure why, but it didn’t seem like Japan. A few other people have also commented the same. Miura is a very fishing town sort of place, that I could imagine being popular with tourists, but too far off the tourist track to be noticed. For that reason, it was extremely quiet.



We headed to the most Southern area, Jogashima, a small island connected by a bridge. The place was deserted except for a small group of school-children.

We started near the oldest Western lighthouse in Japan (1871). This is a pretty cool fact I just read on the internet: many scenes from Battle Royale were filmed on the island, and this is the lighthouse seen when the body count rises drastically.

It was breezy but not cold, and we walked over interesting rock formations, watching the waves crash against the shore. The sound of the waves, the fresh air, and the beautiful scenery was a much needed break from city life. To use a big word, it was invigorating.






These birds looked much more vicious when circling above us:

This hole is the result of years of erosion, and is supposed to collapse within the next few years.



Heading back to the city, we stopped at the Ramen Museum in Shin-Yokohama. It was strange to be back there, after such a long time, as I could understand a lot more of the Japanese writing, as well as having a deeper cultural understanding.




We also watched an old style of entertainment – picture slides, which a travelling man would show children post-war. Some of my older students are very nostalgic about this show, and have good memories eating white chewy sweets and running around their neighbourhoods to see the stories.




In the evening, we headed to Shinjuku for the “Illumination”. For as little as Christmas has any religious meaning here, the Japanese more than make up for it with their light displays. Each district competes seriously with the others for the best display. This year, Shinjuku had somewhat of a circus theme.





A very eclectic day.

I hope many of you have realised what an incredibly varying landscape the area around Tokyo has. One hour each direction can take you to a completely new environment; sea, caves, mountains, snow, beaches... It makes travelling always so different and exciting.