October 14-20 (Mon-Sun) - Two castles and Glico(TM)

Monday: Was a holiday! Team Sunday gathered. Original plan: Ocean. Revised plan? Well. Drive places. So we saw the Echizen Lacquerware Village (I drive by it almost every week...),

 then went over the mountain. It was beautiful! A dubious road, but as long as there is no traffic, peaceful. 

And we found a lovely water resource. 

(Well, the running water comes from pipes to the left. This is just pretty.)

When we reached Ono, the first thought on our minds was food. So we searched for a cafe of some sort, discovered there’s not much of anything in Ono, then went to a restaurant that stopped serving breakfast hours ago. But they made an exception for us! Isn’t it cute?

Then we hiked up to Ono Castle. I’m beginning to think every city has a castle. Ono is an original castle, which is nice when you think about it, but not so impressive to look at, especially because it’s small. We forewent the visit inside, so it was just a nice location. 

Also, on the way up, we played Guriko. (Actually it’s Glico, the maker of sweets.) Usually played on stairs, the opponents janken (rock-paper-scissors). When a winner (or more) is decided, what they win with determines how many stairs. ‘Gu’ is rock, and this moves you gu-ri-ko (3 stairs). ‘Pa’ is paper, so you move pa-i-na-tsu-pu-ru (6 stairs), and ‘cho’ is scissors and thus chi-yo-ko-re-i-to (6 stairs). 

After Ono Castle, we drove to Katsuyama Castle. Actually the goal was ice cream, I guess famous in that area, but I liked the castle best. It’s a new castle, or a replica if you will, so it’s not ‘authentic’ but it sure is pretty!

I scaled the walls...

We went home. Kaori and I took a walk, and I admired the sasaki. It looks like feathers, doesn’t it? And guess what — it’s soft too! It might be my favorite plant.

For dinner we did home-made ramen. We were going to watch a movie, then we got an unexpected invitation to a nearby festival. (The invitation being a parking-space invitation. Quite nice of them.) So we went to the festival and walked up and down, lamenting just a little how full we were, but Kaori and I tried some fried cheese anyhow. 

And Taiiku no Hi (PE Day) ended. 

Tuesday:-Friday: — The rest of the week is kind of a blur. I was really busy and tired. All I wanted to do after each class was to sleep. The end.

Well, 1. the Spot It game is a miracle, and 2. I had Halloween classes at Kitanakayama. Aren't these cute?

Saturday: 

Hugh and I went to check out a Crafts Fair except not. Industry Festival maybe? Never quite caught the name. Anyway, our purpose was to see the Murata robot:

Murata makes MLCCs, they have 3 sizes; small, smaller, and so tiny they look like sand. These tiny ones go into the iPhone, I can’t remember how many exactly but I think it was 300 (in each phone). 

We also saw this nice carriage,

some interesting fashion,

family shrines,

and I shaved wood. Then one of Hugh’s students we saw bought us sticks of cow tongue. :O

Then I studied lots of grammar with Nathan.

Sunday: Kaori and I did yoga and had a lazy morning, then we went out shopping and to get movies. We made dinner and watched movies. It was quite relaxing.

Also, I found new Kit-Kat flavors.

Passion fruit,

and strawberry.

Recent Japanese:

kouka (硬貨) = coin

umeru = to bury

chokin (貯金) = savings

ihou (違法) = illegal (I keep wanting to ask ‘is it illegal to~’ but I can never remember the word)

tsuukin (通勤) = commute

seiza (星座) = constellation, star/zodiac sign

October 9-13 (Wed-Sun) - Like a broken record

I’m sick — again. This isn’t news anymore. 

Wednesday: Oh, this is new. I had extra classes, theme: Halloween. I drew this. I admit I’m quite proud of myself.

Hugh had a Pikachu costume, so he went as Mario, and I donned the fuzzy really-really-hot yellow outfit. It was worth it. I was an instant hit with the kids, and they were so cute!!

Classes and classes.

Class with Miki! She brought cream puffs — with Real Cream. :O

Thursday: Nursery school. The 3-year-olds remembered ‘gray’ but then I asked what it was in Japanese and they didn’t know. Their overseer was surprised too and taught them the word, which they forgot 10 seconds later, but we went over both words again so they might remember. It was funny.

Also, she taught them ‘haiiro’, which is the correct word (meaning ash-colored), but most of the [other] kids only know ‘nezumi-iro’, which means ‘mouse-colored’.

And for some reason there were older kids there watching. I think they are older siblings of the little kids? But I don’t know. Nobody told me and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with them. Next time, should my brain be working, I will put them to work.

Then a day of rest— kind of.

Friday: I don’t remember anything. I worked all day then went to dance.

Saturday: Classes.

That evening I studied Japanese with Nathan. We quizzed each other on kanji for about 2 hours, then our brains died and we and Casey went to dinner.

Sunday: Mako, Hugh, and I went running. We ran. Certainly. At least for 10 minutes. All together. But we had a really nice walk, we found a Hobbit Hole,

and a big snake.

Next stop, Nishiyama Koen for the yakitori festival. There was a lot of smoke.

After we ate, we drove to Fukui, and made a stop at the Undou Koen (exercise park). 

With things like a big hill full of dangerous stuff, it was amazing. If I access to a park like that as a kid, I would’ve been there like every day. Unfortunately, a park like that is probably illegal in the States. My philosophy: Kids are going to find a way to get hurt, so might as well control where and how.

Then we picked up Mako’s dog, and went to see the Cosmos Festival. 

Here I am with my new best friend, Hana:

It was a fun outing. But really quiet without Kaori. Luckily, she came by in the evening, and we all went to dinner together :)

Recent Japanese:

kubire (括れ) = waist (esp. of a woman)

igai ni (意外に) = unexpectedly

shokishoujou (初期症状) = initial symptom (e.g. of an illness)

noruma = blockhead

October 5th-8th (Sat-Tues) - Reunited In the Land of the Mackerel

(I’ll keep this short.)

Saturday: After a long 4 days apart, Mia, Mom, and Rich came my way and ended up in Sabae. 

After some settling in, we went to Tonkatsu. I got a spinach dish,

that came with sesame seeds to be ground. I really like the grinding bowl.

Sunday: Following a leisurely early morning, we walked around Nishiyama Koen and the small zoo.

After lunch, they experienced the wild and untamed Echizen coast.

Evening was card games. I don’t know if this sounds exciting, but we learned Bridge, mostly :) (I suppose), and sitting around playing games with them was my favorite time. That and dinner, where they got to meet my Sabae friends, and both parties were able to confirm the existence of the others. In fact Kaori and Rich conversed in Spanish, and Mom and Mako did their best with some mixed English and Japanese. I was impressed with my mom’s Japanese. She not only learned good phrases for the trip, she wasn’t afraid to use them! I think I heard her speak more Japanese than the other two (though Mia understands everything). 

Monday: The Universe has quite plainly told me what I get when I try to take shortcuts. It’s not that shortcuts are bad implicitly, it’s me taking them that usually comes out wrong. Thus, stuck in a tunnel for an hour.

But we made it to Eiheiji eventually. This was my third time and I still didn’t get many pictures. However, we located Miwa-san at the beginning, and he gave us a tour. His English is ok, mostly he’s shy about using it, however once Mia and I looked up the first word in Japanese, it worked out really well. He would tell us, see if we understood, if not he’d try something else, and if that didn’t work we’d look up the key word we were missing. Thus the abundance of interesting new words :)

I was able to confirm that the trainees (who train for as less as 1 year or as much as 10 years), when they graduate, go back to their own temples and become the head monks there (as I thought). Also, they are vegetarian, but I’m not sure if they must remain vegetarian after they leave....

Mr. Miwa took us to a few places those wandering about don’t get to see, such as the room where the monks-in-training study, the room where visitors meet the head of the temple, and the room where important visitors rest:

I like the bright gold coloring. It’s quite different, and as Mom thought a little ostentatious, but hey, they are important people. Look at this door!

After the temple, Miwa-san showed us the museum. I hadn’t even known it was there! It probably would have been really interesting if we could read the signs. As it was, it was rather cool, and we were lucky enough to be there when this artifact was on display:

Normally it’s a replica, but this is the real thing. It was hand-written by the founder of the temple (in the 1200s), and is written entirely in kanji (Chinese characters). 

Also real was the box the founder carried on his travels around China. The thing looked like it weighed a ton — without anything in it. How did he even fit it on his back? Wow.

Following this peaceful adventure at a Buddhist temple, we went to all-you-can-eat meat (and more). I liked these pieces of pork:

They were the best meat, and they look like fish.

Then we went to karaoke!! And I totally forgot to take pictures! Again! But at least I could sing this time :) (Rich wasn't so lucky.)

Tuesday: I took my visitors to Yoshikawa, so they were able to see a real Japanese elementary school, and a real class! Yay. 

A quick lunch at revolving sushi gave us the strength to part, and I waived their train away sending well-wishes for the rest of their journey.

Recent Japanese:

kokuhou (国宝) = national treasure

fusuma = Japanese sliding screen (sliding doors, often painted)

juzu = rosary, prayer beads

kanbun (漢文) = literature written entirely in kanji

sumi = ink (the black stuff from ink sticks)

unsui = monk-in-training

October 1st-4th (Tues-Fri) - A little in-between

Tuesday: I ate cheesecake!

Wednesday: Business class. I got a ninja souvenir!

Here are the sheep impostors.

And the day before me.

Thursday: Cosmos are blooming.

I taught some kids ‘the dot game’ and it really saved me. I have one kid who is really hard to please, he always wants a ‘more interesting game’. Unfortunately, it’ll probably only work this once.

Friday: Wildlife and autumn colors in Sabae.

Recent Japanese:

nen no tame (念のため) = just in case, to be sure

renrakusaki (連絡先) = contact address/info

hakubutsukan (博物館) = museum (how did I not know this word before?)

ruri = lapis lazuli

September 28-30 (Sat-Mon) - Our paths crossed in the white north

Well, it’s not snowing yet.

Saturday: I woke at 6, and 10 hours later I was in Hokkaido and reunited with Mia-tachi, whose adventures you have been reading about. They are more exciting than mine, but for this short time, we shine together. (So, since they’ve covered it, I’ll be brief.)

The station is pretty!

After I arrived and they presented me with many presents, we walked to the Sapporo Autumn Festival, held at Odori Park. The park covers several blocks, and thus did the stalls of food. Lots of offerings, lots of people. We stuck around long enough to see Sapporo Tower light up, 

then we went to dinner at a Hokkaido speciality — Ganges Khan cook-it-yourself lamb. Yum.

The day ended with some games and chocolate (how could we eat more??). 

The hotel they chose was super cute! Old-fashioned telephones, 

elevators, 

statues,

carpeting colors cupboards and all.

A note on flying in Japan: It’s easy. The ticket has a barcode. You scan this barcode (yourself) at security and to get on the plane. Security is fast. Pull out computers and water bottles, everything else as is. For my water bottles, they put them on a scale (or machine of some sort, I couldn’t tell), then had me open the bottles so they could briefly smell the contents. That’s it. 5 minutes, tops, to go through security — counting the line. 

Since I flew through United, it took much longer to check in than anything else. The rest was fast. The airports are (as I’ve seen) nice, clean, and comfortable. Some areas lack a place to sit and eat, but at least there are trash bins.

And sometimes, you see something funny like this:

Sunday: Back to our shared adventures. After a leisurely morning, we beheld the Tower of Sauron, 

then we went to Kaitaku no Mura, the Historic Village of Hokkaido, an open-air museum of early settlement in Hokkaido. Settlement by the southern Japanese, that is, so we’re talking late 1800s to early 1900s. It doesn’t have to be in Japan to be cool, but this place was special because a) it’s in Japan b) the weather was nice and there were hardly any people and c) inside many of the buildings you are allowed mostly-free-reign (provided you take off your shoes!!). 

My favorite was the newspaper building, where we saw the letters,

and got to stamp our own postcards.

Here’s Mia at the Post Office,

and Rich at the barber’s. 

Also, Mia delivers a short sermon.

This is a ranma.

Here are a few sandals.

And a couple boats.

I took care of the well,

then worked the pump, while Mia and Rich played with stilts. 

Sheesh. :)

Japanese doors (and some walls) are made with paper. When they get holes, they mend it like this:

Mia and I took a turn at the photography studio.

Observe, Eastern and Western-style toilets.

Western-style has upgraded... quite a bit. They even need instructions.

Here’s a classroom:

We returned to the festival for food and entertainment.

I found this building. It’s like pools of sky have been captured in red sands.

Then the day rounded off with a visit to our first ever CAT CAFE!!!

I miss my fluffies.

After an unexpected visit to an old government building,

we retired for the evening.

Monday: Following a relaxed morning, we went to Shiroi Koibito Park. It is the cutest park I have ever seen. Shiroi Koibito means literally ‘white sweetheart’ (or beloved), but I was amused to discover this does not stem from a romantic location, rather a man referred to snowflakes as ‘shiroi koibito’ and that’s what they then called... their cookies.

And from this the park is named. 

The park features bunches of flowers, mirrors,

roses, 

bubbles,

moving litter bins, small caravans,

and a clock parade.

If you have seen The 10th Kingdom — JUST like that.

Mia and Mom made some new friends.

Mysterious swimming thing here.
And we saw candy being made.

Visiting the cookie factory was not quite as cute (although it was) but just as entertaining. After some artifacts such as chocolate labels and cups,

we were introduced to the entire production process:

And (at last) got to see a real part of the factory, with the assembly of the cookies, checking for defects, and the packing.

We spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out why one of the girls watching for defects would take off 3 of about every 9 cookies. We learned the cookies are packaged in sets of 3, and that the ones she took off were probably being taken for chemical (and sensory) testing, but we’re still not sure. After all, it was only her, and she took off so many. Mystery!!

Rich met Astro Boy.

After the factory it was time to PANIC!

Well, we had to return and finish everything before our flights anyway. We ate really good sushi — here is my tray:

The creepy thing in the soup is probably crab. It was good (first time I’ve tried it). ‘Dessert’ was a soup-tasting pudding that Rich liked anyway. Tenpura was eggplant, sweet potato, green pepper, shrimp, and maybe halibut. The sushi was salmon, fish eggs, squid, shrimp, and unknown. 

I have determined that, whether it’s cheap squid or decent squid, I still hate it.

But the rest was really good! Mia even tried one of the fish eggs :)

There were 3 kinds of salt at the table: 

Yuzu (citrus), ume (plume), and plain salt.

Following, we caught the 3:40 train to the airport, where we bid farewell and went a-flying again. By 11pm, I was back in Sabae.

Recent Japanese:
noritsugi (乗り継ぎ) = connecting flight
toujouken = boarding pass
hitoshii = like, similar
shuchou (主張) = claim, insistence, request
tsune (常) = usual
tesuri = handrail
kaiteki = comfortable, pleasant