Hello cold weather

I'm writing this sitting on the sundeck of my Tuesday ferry, listening to the new, down tempo, chilled-the-ice-out-of-Antarctica cd from HedKandi, with the sun setting behind me. Life is GOOD. Just thought you might want to know.

This week in life: Nick's feelings about stuff. In Japan.

This. Is awesome.

Cut 1: Annoyance

But there are two things about speech competitions - and I've been in enough of them to know - that really bug me. Bad judges, and the bullsh*t comments made by said judges. The first screws up 3-15 months worth of hard work, and the second rubs salt in your wound for about half an hour as you listen to them drone on and on about how good the winner's speech was (when it really wasn't). If you're lucky, or have worked hard enough, or are just plain deserving of winning, you'll get to hear all your effort brushed off as "a little over the top." The comments don't sting, but the fact that they're making them sure as hell does.

Spot the judges! (the redhead is just a student)

So I found myself glaring death at some professor of English from the Himeji Doukyu university two weekends ago, as she explained in detail how the judges thought my student's speech was over-exaggerated and over-emotional and over-dramatic. Over and over and over. She wasn't the only judge, but she was the one in charge, so she got my gaze of terror. Ryota, in my opinion as well as that of the audience, had by FAR the winningest speech. Sure the topic was boring (they all were), but at least his was the only speech that was clearly understandable and decently delivered. The simple message got through - which, by the way most important point, it's a speech competition, not a writing competition.

The campus was frightfully pretty though...

And I could not be more proud of him.

I wasn't at the school when he wrote the speech, but I saw him through two months of Nick's Grueling Speech Training (TM). This kid couldn't say "sing a song" without stumbling when I met him, and yet I managed to cram most of my not inconsiderable (that is to say eleven years' worth) speech experience in to his... erm, throat, by the time he'd qualified for and been invited to attend the finals. That's probably the first time ANY student from Shikama Technical High School (read: don't-really-care-about-English-but-I-guess-I'll-be-nice-to-the-gaijin high school) ever made it to the finals of ANY competition that had ANY English in it, and for Ryota to have performed to such a high standard and to have impressed the audience so much was.... heartwarming and slightly tear jerking (I'm NOT crying dammit). It also helped that making the finals boosted both Ryota and his coach, me, to superstardom at school. Oh and his 6th place plaque didn't hurt either. I think I'm gonna sneak it out of his house and sharpie a big "CHAMPION" over the six.

You're not touching my plaque. rawr

Cut 2: Copious Amounts of Joy

October is apparently the month of festivals in Japan. I checked the schedule: there are at least two big events going on every weekend (and one or two during the week) in October if you know where to go or who to ask. Autumn festivals, Jazz festivals, Cultural festivals, Fighting festivals, Lets-burn-stuff festivals, you name it, it's probably in October. Except for the Snow festival, that's in February. But there's nothing in November - I guess it'll be cold enough for people to huddle under their kotatsu at home. That, by the way, is synonymous with "doing absolutely nothing because I'm brrrrrrrrrr."

But I digress. Here are the festivals/events.


A) Kobe Jazz Festival

An entire weekend full of jazz (in my pants). One street. Twelve venues. 4500 yen. All day.

Not exactly what I'm used to, but then again it wasn't Wednesday and I was nowhere near the Mary Lou Williams Center. I heard more styles of jazz there than I could count, which was already worth the money I paid, and the light drizzle that day just set the mood perfectly. And then I got shocked by a fusion performance with the shamisen and shakuhachi. Absolutely delightful doesn't even come close to describing it, but they have been running the festival for 28 years, so it wasn't too much of a surprise. 5 stars.

Maybe not entirely Kosher, but it's good!

I'm pointing at the entry pass. That Adam's arm is hiding

And Simon does a little jazz jam of his own afterwards.

B) Sports Festival

Well it's really supposed to be in September, but I forgot to mention it then. The sports festival got rained out this year. There are two big events at school every year - the sports festival and the cultural festival - and one of them got canceled because no one at school remembered to check the forecast. Apparently. We sat at the stadium for 2 hours while the field got flooded, and they called the day off right as the rain stopped. The sun was up by noon.

And the worst part? They moved my replacement vacation (they had sports day on a holiday) so I had approximately 20 hours notice that I was now going to teach the next day instead of taking my parents around town. It was non-negotiable and made sense to no one except the principle. -5 points.

Hoping to see the real thing next year, it's supposed to be a real blast, if these guys were any indication:

We get to go home? YAAATTTTAAAAAA!

C) Aki Matsuri

Aki is the Japanese word for autumn, and the delicious sanma (saury) dishes aside, the next biggest thing is the aki matsuri. In brief, it is a celebration to honor the spirits of fall, and the Japanese do so by parading gigantic, two tonne shrines around town. On their shoulders. And by bouncing the shrines up and down on said shoulders while chanting with the intensity worthy of a Cameron Crazy.

It's behind bars right now, but it can kill you if it decides to

At Nada, which is a short 5 minute train ride from Shikama, they take it fives steps farther: it's called the kenka matsuri, which means fighting festival. Yep, the BASH the shrines against each other, as if just carrying them weren't rough enough on the body. Luckily Nada is the only place bonkers enough to do it, and the festival is a national attraction - possibly the largest event in the fall.

Unfortunately, I had to miss most of it during the day. The aki matsuri takes place all through the month, at different dates for different temples, and the one at Nada (which is on the 15th) just happened to be Friday this year - which means next year it'll be on Saturday, w00t. But I still managed to catch about 4 hours' worth of shrine bashing. Typical of a Japanese festival, the matsuri featured lots of food, koi fishing, and drunk Japanese people. We managed to find a spot to sit and watch while I eat my dinner of yakisoba and karaage. More pictures to follow once I get them of my DSLR.

See the faint outline of the hill? It's filled all the way up there too.

D) Himeji International Festival

It's similar to the Rayleigh International Festival, except out in the open air instead of a stuffy convention center. Basically a showcase of international food and language booths and butchered, romanticized portrayals of someone else's culture. Which, may I add, is mildly insulting. If you think about it. I don't.

Anyways, I worked at one of the English booths as a volunteer for an hour this Sunday morning, talking to children and their parents for 100 yen/10 minutes. Good training to come up with conversation topics - they relied on me completely to keep the conversation going. And, uh... I ran out. So I started talking about onigiri (rice balls) I was being "paid" with - I'll always take food as payment :P

E) Canadian Thanksgiving

Christine throws amazing parties. Not in the college sense, but in the "we're mature adults having a good time until someone breaks out the booze" sense. At which point it dissolves into a college party.

Anyways, Canadian Thanksgiving was two weeks ago (right after the Jazz festival, actually), and we somehow managed to cram in twenty people in her apartment in Aioi. And feed all of them too, from her typical-Japanese-sized (i.e. tiny) kitchen. Food was amazing, company was great, and I too shall celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving henceforth.

You can sort of see the kitchen behind Bri's head. The stove is barely 2 feet across.

Simon's saying peace. Not the Brit thing. I promise.

Cut 3 - Excitement, A Tinge of Regret, and the Train Ride of Glory

Oh partying. The thing that gives a college student hope on Monday, trains the average Joe in the ways of the all-nighter, the grotesque hole in my budget. Yeah, that thing.

Unfortunately, I've discovered that the only way you can ever have a good party in Himeji is if the gaijin organise one. The scene here SUCKS. Believe me, I wasted a whole weekend searching. You want host clubs, hostess bars, love hotels, you got it. No party scene though, and I don't think anyone should ever pay for something we can all get for free.

So it falls to Osaka to keep the party animal in me sedated. Which is fine because the parties there are awesome: nothing is open till 11 pm (as all good clubs should), no one shows up till 1 am (because it is simply uncool otherwise), and the party ends only when the last customer leaves. The dj's are awesome, the crowd is wacky, and I love it. You really do meet the most interesting people out there. Blahblahblah details blahblahblah, and then you're on the first train back. Sunday's lost to sleep, but whatever.

By the way that's about how much I remember of my nights :P

This is at Joule. The dj's (right) are really friendly ^_^

Last but not least... IT'S HALLOWEEN THIS WEEKEND!!!!

Got a crazy schedule coming up for the weekend, here it is:

Friday
Dinner wherever, Chip's Halloween party at the bowling alley above Time Machine (best karaoke place in town), putting people up at my place afterwards.

Saturday
Wake up whenever, see (potentially hungover) guests home, waste the day, maybe hang out with whoever's staying in town, go to Osaka for the Halloween party there. Stay out all night.

Sunday
Probably nurse hangover, get home on first train for internet installment, back to Osaka for Nate's birthday, sleep somewhere in there. Get home for class on Monday. At some point.

There'll be plenty of pictures.
... if I don't break my camera.

Update soon!

On Saturday, since there's a speech contest and a festival I want to write about that's happening then. :) hang tight!

Things I miss from home

Two months. I've been here two months. (yes I am a girl and I'm counting my 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12 month anniversaries. Only difference is I DON'T CARE if no one else remembers it.)

That's a lot of time. By now, the Math 103 kids will just be getting back their first midterm, the Orgo kids will be wondering why they wanted to be pre-med in the first place, and normally, my friends will soon be having my farewell party for no-show November (Passport editing. duh).

3am. On a cold March morning. 2 articles publishable, 10 to go. Yep, good times.

But instead, I'm having a mini-reflection thingy going on about home (Duke and HK both, but mostly Duke) and the things I miss most. Things. Not people. I'm a guy, and I believe the people I miss know who they are. If you're not sure, consider yourself on the list :P


Food

Only Burger - Mobile, delicious, on twitter, on campus (they take food points) and second ONLY to In and Out. They also get bonus points for having amazing business sense and being on campus for every basketball game. I know cuz I was at all of them last year.

Not Dales, but it's delicious looking Indian food!!

Dales' lunch buffet - the $8 all you can eat lunch buffet is a steal. And also a close, convenient source of chicken makhani. Those of you in Durham - I'm looking at you Caleb - go for me prease.

Cookout milkshakes - These are the only possible explanations for why you don't know about cookout... 1. You live outside of N.C. 2. You have no friends. 39 flavors. THIRTY NINE. I still haven't had all of them yet, and it is THE place to get your late night party food since it's open till 3:30am. Provided you have a sober driver - there is no restaurant seating, it's drive through only.

Speaking of which, Scott Rong owes me a tray.


Not Food
(what can I say, I live a simple life)

Duke Basketball - obviously, if you read my last post. Or know me on any level. The madness resumes 6:30 pm October 15. EDT. Bet your beer money I'll be glued on youtube for clips. And on ESPN 360 for the live games, wearing my Go To Hell Carolina t-shirt. At work.

Last year: Conference Champions, beat UNC BADLY twice, undefeated (17-0) at home, National Champions. Also UNC sucked. Like, barely-had-a-winning-season suck.

This year: TBD

Farmer's Market - summer's over so no more Heirloom Tomatoes, but it's fall, which means pumpkin time!!

g105 - for music, otherwise I have no idea how to dance to the songs at parties. Thankfully, even though there is a lack of means to keep up with billboard, I'm in Japan, which means the club music is probably 3-6 months behind anyways. So I'm good for a bit longer.

Justine's piano - yes her digital piano is just that amazing (also much closer than going to Biddle)

Comedy Central and Food Network - Mostly I hate having to wait an extra 5 hours to watch the Daily Show on the net instead of live on my TV.


Lastly, here is your Japanese food of the week: Omurice!

Delicious fried Japanese rice wrapped inside an omelet and served with curry/gravy? For only 600 yen? YES PLEASE!!

Available at a department store or hole in the wall near you.

Working!

So this post took me 2 weeks to get to finishing. I wrote this bit early September:

[On my way to school today, I was suddenly struck by a strange realisation:

It isn't as hot anymore.

Sure, my shirt was still soaked by the time I arrived at school and the staff room AC is still turned up all the way, but every time I passed under shade, there was a hint, just a hint, of autumn. The heat isn't suffocating anymore. The sea breeze is actually cool. Lazy clouds, softening sunlight, the lot. And the cicadas finally shut up.

Unfortunately the start of autumn is also the start of school. And labor day here in Japan is in May so forget the long weekend moral boost.

Yep. Work.

So school. You learn rather quickly that good teaching is a balancing act. You'll get eaten alive if you spend hours and hours on a class plan and the kids don't listen in class, but if you don't plan at all the students stop caring about class and it's a slippery downhill slope from there. Having JTEs (Japanese Teachers of English) around helps a ton because, at the very least, THEY are excited about your class. And, of course, every good teacher should remember that, once, we too were the misbehaving miscreants that wanted nothing more than to sleep/eat/talk/text in class. You just have to rough it out and bring even more energy to the table. Don't forget to charm the alpha males/females of the class either. They're the cheat buttons for getting the class under control!]

Right so now, 4 weeks into actual teaching, I thought I'd take a little time out to tell you all about my visit school. Conveniently located 40 minutes south of Himeji on a FERRY, Ieshima High School (Ieshima is the name of the island) is a cozy little school with a student population approximately the size of an Orgo 2 class. And roughly the same why-do-I-have-to-go-through-with-this-crap attitude as well. Watch out, I'll starting making "Only at Ieshima" jokes pretty soon.

The ferry ride isn't really that bad. Honest.

The island has a cozy population of 2000, and in a city like Himeji, it provides a nice bit of boonies flair. It's gorgeous during the day, everyone is friendly so long as you're not trying to teach them English, and if you know where to look, this is where you can get literally-right-out-of the-sea-fresh seafood to take home for dinner. Literally.

Pretty, eh?

It's Japan, so naturally there's a shrine.

And to top it off, I teach there twice a week, which is a nice change of atmosphere from the industrial toxins I breathe in at Shikama. But the draw back, you ask? Well... let's start with the 5:30 am alarm I have to set to get to school on time. Then there's the completely unmotivated students, the completely disappointed students (who can't look at me beyond my asian skin color), and the completely asleep students.

But then again, they love me outside of class. I took my parents there last weekend when they came to visit and the kids were all over me. Which is always nice ^_^

..........

Back at Shikama, I come to accept that I'm not really teaching the 1st years since I only see them once every two weeks. My 5 third year students though, I love like they were my... hmm. Well, students. I'm in that in-between age where "siblings" doesn't cut it, but "children" is just weird. You get the point.

So for you other JETs out there interested in seeing what I'm teaching them right now, I give you my freshman year World Cultures syllabus... World Cultures. These kids only have another 3-4 months with me, and I know that's no where near enough time for me to make drastic changes to their English level. So I'm going to have them leave the school with a better understanding of the world outside Japan. In hopes of inspiring them to do great things.

Also it was an easy excuse for me to talk about Duke Basketball culture. ;-)

Yeah. Me. At Indy. This was on the AP. I'm awesome.

So we've brainstormed different aspects of culture (there are over 15), and each lesson I have so far has been based in one of those aspects. DukeBluePlanet videos for the day on sports, home made Linguine Puttanesca for the day on food, fun stuff. I've also given them a term project to present a cultural aspect of their choice. Just to give them a sense of what humanity is all about. Not that I know all of it. Also, mnemonic devices are always fun because you're making them doodle. What's fun in kindergarten is still fun when you're 60!

Right, so, before I sign off on this article, other happenings in the last 3 weeks.

- I bought a TV and PS3 and 2 games for cheap(ish)
- I've decided on an electric piano that I will purchase either today or tomorrow
- I found an AMAZING Kaiseki restaurant right in my area.
- Sports day turned into pouring rain day turned into we're-gonna-cancel-but-you-still-have-to-sit-at-your-office-today. After we sat and waited for 3 hours at the stadium.
- Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert made me sad... because I can't make it to their rally on October 30.
- Homecoming made me sad because I missed it.
- But that's ok because I'm stuffing my face with the BEST Japanese cakes EVER.

This slice of heaven? Only a 2 minute walk away.

Lastly, I pledge to you the reader, now, to update my blog every week. Even if it is just a "I'm so busy c@|\| 1 h@5 h3lp p1z"

So. See you next week!

Two Weekends In Review

So if you don't already know what I do during the week, it's pretty much this:

Mondays - Shikama night classes, Aikido
Tuesdays - Ieshima, Sleep
Wednesdays - Ieshima, Dinner with Dan, possibly Kudo
Thursdays - Shikama, Dinner with Ken
Fridays - Shikama, Party it up in Himeji

Dinner plans subject to change depending on whether Dan or Ken actually come to Shikama (which is their visit school), and the amount of work they have that week. I also have Koto/Shamisen lessons - dependant on availibility - cooking classes, cooking in general, restaurant searching, visiting the Aioi JETs, visiting Wendy 'n Dan, visiting Ken's onsen place, and biking on the menu. As well as club activities (swimming and basketball for the time being).

Unrealistic? Very much so. But I digress. The focus is what I do on the weekends, which, I believe, is the more interesting question. Almost all Japanese public holidays (all 20+ of them) are moved around such that we get three day weekends EVERY MONTH except August, which is now thankfully behind us. Plenty of time to travel, no?

With sunsets like this though... who needs to leave?

So in true Nickistoolazytoupdatefrequently fashion, I present to you: where I went the last three weekends.


Weekend #1 - Miriam's place

This car is BAMF

If you ever have cravings to see rural Hyogo, Ikuno is the place to go. 90 minutes north of Himeji by train, Ikuno is a small lazy town with a population of... whatever is tiny enough that you can see the edges of town (yes ALL of them) from the train station. While it's not the tiniest village in Hyogo, it is plenty rural considering it's surrounded on three sides by gorgeous emerald hills, bounded by vast blankets of rice fields to the south, and pierced by the pristine river which flows through town.

Oh and there's a silver mine there. Miriam won't stop talking about it.

Also, temples and forests abound

If you are looking for a bit of hiking and exploration, there are plenty of trails in the hills, as well hidden temples. The hills are teeming with wildlife during the summer, color during autumn, flowers in the spring, and snowdrifts in the winter. Basically a beautiful place to visit any time of year. The recommendation from your guru, though, is actually autumn, since it's harvest season. The golden fields, many festivals, and finally-bearable weather really does bring out the best of rural Japan. (though Obon - in mid August - is also a good time to be up in the villages)

If you ever head up to Ikuno, there's a popular waterfall just 20 minutes out of town by car. There, you can escape from the drudgery of city life completely (the most likely reason for visiting the countryside in the first place) with a nice, quiet picnic in the hills. Test your courage by taking the 3 meter drop of faith into the water, it's fun, I promise!

Food suggestions: Ayu, Yassai. (sweet fish and mountain veggies)

Yes that's me in the middle

Weekend 2a: Kobe
For your information, "Kobe beef" is not actually made in Kobe. These wagyu cows are actually farmed/grown in the northern part of Hyogo in the Tajima region. But they had to call it "Kobe beef" because Tajima was apparently too difficult for the gaijin to remember. Kobe is an industrial city. There are no cows there, got it?

You should have seen their faces after they realised... no Kobe beef

The city.... oh the city. If you're ever there for a day trip, you will mostly likely end up in Sannomiya, the main JR hub. It's gaijin central, and it is the largest city in Hyogo. It's position on the map, however, often means that Himeji is actually favored over Kobe for JET gatherings. Or so I'm advocating, at least. All your department stores, arcades, food and lodging needs can be easily satisfied in Kobe. For partying, however, Osaka is the place to be.

There's your western bar

Expensive karaoke

Since there isn't much I can recommend in Kobe since I was there for all of one day, I'll use this space to discuss lodging.

Hotels in cities are expensive, which is why your options are often limited to capsule hotels, love hotels, or netcafes.

Capsule hotels: are ~2500 yen inclusive of the Japanese bath, but you sleep in a cubbie hole the size of a double bed. Not bad, but it's literally just the bed, with enough space to sit up. And there's free porn on the TV. Mandatory checkout time is 10am. You won't have to check out since you pay at the door. They'll wake you up and kick you out. (Cost: 2500; Sketchiness factor: 4)

Love hotels: in most cities are the cheapest form of lodging, AND most teachers understand that ALTs are trying to save money. On the other hand, running into any teacher at a love hotel will undoubtedly lead to awkward questions about why THEY are there. However, most places will require you go in with a girl, so make sure you balance the sex ratio. In Kobe, these places are hell expensive, but it's always an adventure staying at one of those rooms, regardless of whether you end up getting down and dirty (Cost: 4500; Sketchiness factor: 7)

Internet/manga cafes: are everywhere, and often have cheap all night rates. Popeye, for instance, has an all night rate of 2100 yen for a mat room (below), inclusive of shower, all drinks, internet, and access to their manga and movie collection. Downside is that you can't turn the lights off, and you occasionally are sharing the place with a horny, loud couple. Ummmm. Two couples in the case of this particular weekend.

We weren't smiling once the noise started. We were laughing our asses off

Weekend 2b: Gunma

Here's the golden rule of traveling: if you have the time, knock down most of your traveling. Just do it. Screw planning, be spontaneous. It's more fun that way. And that's how I ended up in Kanna, Gunma visiting Katie.

The one thing that is the same all throughout Japan

And that's where I discovered Miyazaki's inspiration for Princess Mononoke. But you'll have to take my word on it because I was too gobsmacked to take pictures.

Anyways, if you ever decide to chance the arduous hour-long drive up into the mountains of Gunma, Kanna and Ueno are the places to be. These single street towns are literally perched on the side of the mountain, mere feet above a white-water-rafting-worthy river. You can fish in the summer, hike in the winter, and really dig deep into rural Japanese culture. A word of warning: they do NOT speak English up there, and you'll be the only gaijin for miles.

Speaking of digging, there is a very nice dinosaur museum nearby. Apparently the tectonic movements pushed up fossils and dino footprints up into the hills there. The finds aren't too spectacular, but it is a large source of local pride (like Ikuno's silver mine), and the animatronics are VERY impressive.

I hope it's a replica x.x

Rawr offer me your children as foodddd!

Nabeyaki Udon Set

I should also mention that food in Kanto blows food from Kansai OUT OF THE WATER. T.T


The Shink

.... is hell expensive, but oh so convenient. Once you decipher the schedule. I figured it out in about 10 minutes, so it's doable. Good luck.

No cellphones in the cabin by the way.

Train bento lunches are lavish and amazing

Next up: Report on my first week of school, and Japanese FOOD

Brief updates

Ok, sorry guys. Had training last week (no internet), did a lot of traveling on the weekend (no internet) and for some reason my wireless refuses to work (no internet). Soooo no internet.

Until now!

So a big update is coming later today, so long as I find my cable so I can get the photos from my camera.

Chotto mattekudasai ne~

Himeji Oshiro Matsuri

Growing up with anime gave me two things: a completely unrealistic concept of romance and a burning desire to attend a traditional festival. You know, walking around in my yukata, stuffing my face with takoyaki or yakisoba, paper lanterns, fireworks, koi netting... Age (read: maturity + a couple of actual relationships) has since removed the hot omg-she's-too-good-for-me childhood sweetheart from the picture.

Actually, scratch that. It was my ego that did the erasing. Too good for me? psssshhhffftt.

But I digress. Behold the Friday omens for the weekend: Crystal clear skies, a smattering of awesomeness, and the cool, refreshing breeze that is group B. (the OTHER 400 jets)

Since I haven't done very many schedule/photo essay updates, and the weekend is too far in the past for me to accurately remember and describe how much fun it was. So I'll just post the schedule from last weekend, and comment on the highlights. ^_^

Saturday
11:00 am ............ Wake up. "oh crap nate's waiting for me at the station"
12:50 pm ............ Show up to the meeting point fashionably (20 minutes) late
1:00 pm ............ Okonomiyaki lunch
3:00 pm ............ Check out festival stuff
4:00 pm ............ Bored. Check out castle
5:00 pm ............ Matsuri parade!!
7:00 pm ............ Dinner at 280 (where EVERYTHING is 280)
9:00 pm ............ Karaoke, baby!!!!
12:00 am ............ @ home with Nate, we end up watching 40 Days and 40 Nights... don't ask
Late ............ PTFO
Sunday
12:00 pm ........... Lunch at ramen shop next to station
1:00 pm ........... Send Nate off, shopping at Himeji station
2:00 pm ........... Christine shows up... eh... 50 minutes late
3:00 pm ........... Baller koi skilz
4:00 pm ........... Locked out at home cuz Nate has my keys, koi start dying x.x
5:00 pm ........... Sketch/ninja climb in through my unlocked back window. Negligence 1, lock 0
Night ............ Random shenanigans at home... it's Sunday night...

First off, apparently okonomiyaki is THE thing in Kansai. Like... I've been craving okonomiyaki ever since ep 2 of Hana Kimi, getting it every chance I had in HK, and telling all my friends how awesome it would be to cook my own at those tables. And now, I'm already kinda sick of it cuz we've been eating it so much. >.> BUTBUTBUT each region also has their own distinct style of okonomiyaki, so I guess what I'm saying is I'm just sick of okonomiyaki... in... Himeji...

Nevermind >.>

Best place in town for okonomiyaki... if only I can find it again XD

So... we made the mistake of eating lunch before going to the festival. And thus, we missed out on the delicious festival food. (including oden... T.T) And got bored really quickly cuz there wasn't much else to do. Thankfully, Himeji Castle was right next door!

Himeji Castle (Himeji-jo) is one of many famous castles in Japan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and apparently a REALLY big deal in Hyogo. It's literally only one stop away from where I live, right in the heart of Himeji city. Except it's being renovated until 2014. And while the keep reopens in April, the scaffolding isn't coming down for another 4 years; awesome timing, eh?

I hear the view's much nicer without the metal crane

Artfully framed, even if I do say so myself

At least the interior is still nice

As for the festival.... just read the captions ;)

Shiromaru-chan wa kawaaiiiiiiiii *chuu*

I get the thumbs up from a ninja...

Miriam's too distracted to look at the camera...

Taiko drummers rocked the street out...

But not that many people were paying attention to the parade...

So these guys got called in to restore order...

Christine eats... uh... something...

Fishes for koi...

And I do both, at the same time. omnomnom

Ok, so I didn't. BUT I did catch 11 koi (and two rather large ones) before the net broke. On my first try ever! Then I decided to go for one of the gigantic ones, and... failed spectacularly. Could've totally gotten more fish otherwise. Sadly though, only four survived the trip home. (which included a train ride, a balancing act getting my four bags of shopping home, and being locked out for half an hour).

Oh right, yeah. I got locked out cuz Nate, who'd stayed with me that weekend, accidentally took my keys with him on the way home. Thankfully, for the fish, Kyle apparently left the back window unlocked, and I never checked. Soooo I climbed in. And because I'm Asian and NOT a Harvard prof, I didn't get the cops called on me.

Unfortunately, all of Christine's died, so I stole her fish food, and I'm signing off on that bombshell. XP