Osaka Castle

I decided to go on another trip before I have to start work. I went to visit Osaka Castle, the one I couldn’t find the last time I went. The weather was more cooperative this time because the sun was hidden in the clouds, but it was just as humid. I have noticed it getting a little cooler, and the sun setting a little earlier. Tori commented that they think fall is coming soon.
Now that I have seen two castles, Wakayama and Osaka, I can see the differences. I was thinking that If I were commander of an invading army, I’d pick Wakayama Castle to attack because it doesn’t look as intimidating. Osaka Castle sits on top of a small hill surrounded by a moat. It’s trim is gold, and it is a much larger castle. I also took some pictures of the surrounding nature. The last time I was in Osaka, I was a bit overwhelmed by the noise and throngs of people. This time, it was much more peaceful, and no headache! I’m glad I went back.

Shirahama beach

Near the southern tip of the Wakayama, there is a beautiful beach in Shirahama. On Saturday, all the JET participants in Wakayama gathered at the beach for our first “official” get together. There were newbies from group B (I was group A), second, and third year JET’s. Fortunately, I carpooled with my downstairs neighbors, Tori and Issac, who are 3rd years. It was very nice to see everyone again, and meet some new people. The water was absolutely gorgeous and quite warm. I also heard that the white sand at Shirahama, which is how it got it’s name, is imported from Australia. There were a few tiny fish swimming, but luckily no jellyfish yet. Although I was momentarily paralyzed when a plastic bag floated by and touched my arm. Theo rescued me by snatching it away, but than proceeded to threaten to throw it at my head. All the while, there was a storm brewing up in the mountains behind us. There was no rain, but we could hear the thunder and see flashes of lightning. After only about 15 minutes in the water, the lifeguard summoned us out of the water. As I turned to look out at the water, I realized that we were the last ones left. I guess everyone else understood (or were listening) to the first warnings over the loudspeaker or were paying attention to the lifeguards shouting. Since it never ended up raining or striking anyone with lightening, we were allowed to get back in the water. After everyone was done playing, we headed to some guy’s house. That was the least fun of the evening, as it quickly turned into a “frat” like college party. Totally not my scene. So Tina, Theo, and I left to explore the area. We stumbled upon a small festival going on just a little ways away. We wandered through the food booths and saw a large gathering of people all watching something on the field below. There were lots of children (and some adults) gathered in lines. By now it was quite dark, so there were spotlights shining on them. It turns out that they were in formation making letters. Then they switched off the spotlights and all the people on the field turned on their glowing sticks. They spelled out “BEST!” I’m not sure why, but it was very pretty. It was followed by a fireworks show. Then we reluctantly returned to the party.
I will not go into details of the idiotic people at the party, all the drinking, people falling down, and the sewer they called a toilet, but it ended up working out in the end. A friend of Theo’s took he, James and me to his house and we spent the night comfortably in beds with pillows, blankets, and no annoying people. He even went out and got us breakfast in the morning. We tool the train back the next morning.
I am happy that I have my small group of people to hang out with that are genuinely nice and good. The others in the JET program, mostly 2nd and 3rd years, are just not people I want to be associated with. Pictured above are my really great downstairs neighbors Issac and Tori (who is pregnant!), and James, Tina, and Theo. There are two of the beach in Shirahama and one of the “BEST!” foemation.
Keep posting comments! I love to read them. Make sure to put your name so I can see who is writing to me.

Straight Burger with a scared Japanese man on the side

I decided to go for a bike ride today and visit the department store down the road. It probably takes about 20-30 min. After shopping for a while, I went to the food court for lunch and got a hamburger from a place called "Straight Burger." As opposed to...?. After I sat down (with my first hamburger since I've been here) and began eating, a Japanese guy about my age motioned if he could join me at my table. The place was pretty crowded. Of course I said yes. He put his tray down, and went off again for something else. While he was gone I started to get a little nervous thinking that he might want to make small talk, and I still don't know any Japanese. I debated getting out my phrase book and quickly looking up something to say. He found his way back to the table, me smiling politely. He then proceeded to, in no more than one minute, inhale 6 takoyaki balls and his tea, got up and left. At no point was his head more than 6 inches away from his food, except when he drank the last of his tea. I was happy when he sat down, thinking that maybe I'm not a scary American. But after finishing his food in a record time that would have shamed even the best competition eaters, I think maybe I did scare him a little. Oh well, maybe I'll have better luck at Gay Burger. hee hee!

food!!

On Sat I went to dinner with my friend Kumi at this place called Billboard that has a 50's diner theme. There was lots of memorabelia covering the walls and 5o's music playing. The food was pretty good. It varied from spareribs, to oyaku don, to hamburgers. I went with the curry pizza with beef, potatoes, and cheese. It was actually really tasty. The crust was very thin and crunchy, like lavash. Kumi had a loco moco. It was pretty good too. Lots of dishes in Japan come with a barely cooked egg on it. Odd. Like in Paris? The picture was taken with my new camera, but I had left the flash off, and it was dusk, so it actually doesn't look that bad. A little out of focus. I'll keep testing it out.
In general the food here is great, but the weird thing is, it's all Japanese. :) I love Japanese food, but variety is good too. I've really liked getting the bento box type lunches at the markets. At Mike's suggeation, I tried a curry doughnut. It was so yummy! And some bad news, everyone thought I'd lose weight while I'm here. I don't think that's going to happen since one of the few foods I know how to ask for (and love) is "tonkatsu." Good, but fattening. One Japanese food I discovered here that I never heard of before is okonomiyaki. It's like grilled noodles with egg, and whatever meat and vegetables you want. I love the grilled udon noodles! Squishy!!
Last night I went to dinner with Kumi again and we tried a Korean restaurant called Jindari. The food was amazing and the place itself was beautiful. The lighting and jazz music created a very romantic mood (great place if I was on a date). The food was cooked table side. We had barbecue beef with bean noodles, mushrooms, and onions. It was soooo yummy! I will definitely go back! I love trying new restaurants, and here, they are all new!

Piece of s*%# bike

Okay, so everything isn’t picture perfect here. I hate my bike. Not that I don’t like riding bikes, I just hate this bike. Ever since I got here (Amber left it), it consistently gets a flat tire. I have tried taking it to a bike repair shop, and they fill the tire with air, and they tell me (in Japanese so I’m guessing here) “Look, the tire is fine!” And they won’t change it. I try to tell them it will go flat again when I ride it, so I want a new one. But they just tell me that the air is in the tire now, so it’s ok. Anyways, on to today. I met my supervisor at his office in City Hall. We had to go to the immigration office., which he said was 15-20 min away. He has a scooter, so I usually just follow him on my (stupid) bike. Well, today, the tire would not hold air. After going about a 1/4 mile, up and down a hill, I told him we had to stop so I could put air in the tire. That lasted about 1/2 a block, then flat again. At the second bike shop we went to (first one was closed), the mechanic told me the same thing, “Look air, all fixed.” My supervisor agreed, so scowling and trying to not be a bossy American, I got back on the bike. A couple blocks later it was flat again. I ended up riding on a flat, then stopping every so often to put in air. So on the way back from the immigration office, we stopped in again to the bike shop, and they FINALLY fixed the TWO gaping holes in my tire. Riding a bike with a flat tire in the high heat and humidity that we have was almost too much. There was one point I almost gave up, I was so tired and hot. I can’t believe how much I sweat! I bet I could’ve filled a bathtub. So here are the pictures* of my piece of crap bike, my supervisor Kasumi Sensei (who really has been very helpful), and the pigeons that tried to eat me at the park. This bike really has been the only bad thing here. But hey, it just makes another interesting story right? And now I have quads of steel!
*Now, I've tried 15 million times to upload the pictures, but appently this site doesn't like my new camera. I'll keep trying. In the meantime, use you imagination.

Osaka

Yesterday I took my first train ride alone to Osaka. Amazingly I never got lost, and I found my way home safely.
The first picture is of the Umeda Sky Building. You go up to the 42nd floor and they have "The Floating Garden Observatory." There is no actual garden, but the observation deck is amazing. You certainly can't be afraid of heights to go up there. The second pic is of the escalator you take after the elevator from the 35th floor, to the 39th floor. It was quite steep. Then you walk up the last few flights to the observation deck. It was a pretty clear day, so you could see everything. I had already walked aound the city all I could in the massive heat and humidity, but I saw from above the temple I was looking for earier. I think I was actually close to finding it before I gave up and went the other direction. In the third photo you can see smaller versions of the next two photos of the ferris wheel and Yodobashi camera, just for perspective. The ferris wheel is located on the 7th floor of a mall. It is huge! Yodobashi Camera is the big building in the 5th pic. There are lots of electronics, not just cameras. Plus there are clothes and restaurants too. When I was at the floating observatory, I saw Yodobashi Camera and was debating on purchasing a new camera. I had intended to, but didn't fall in love with any of the ones I saw. I thought about the camera I already have and how it takes pretty good pictures. Then I looked at the front and saw mine has 2 megapixels! Oh I definitely deserve a new one! So I went back to Yodobashi and bought the Olympus 810. It has 8.0 mega pixels and an ISO of 1600. In the next blog you can compare the pictures.
Aside from a pounding headache from dehydration, and almost passing out from the humidity, it was a great trip. The train is actually pretty easy, and the places are in English. Well, I'm going to watch the big baseball high school playoffs, where Wakayama is playing. It may be the final 1st place game, but I can't tell. All I know is that it is important!

Fireworks

On Tuesday night, some of my Japanese friends invited me to a fireworks festival in Hashimoto. It was part of the obon celebration. Many were in kimonos (I totally want to wear one!). I have never seen so many people in my life. There is a picture when we were on the train (a little blurry I know). My first train ride, and I got to share it with one million other people. Actually, this was taken on the way to the festival. The way home was worse. But, at least I feel a little more confident in taking the train. At the festival there were hundreds of booths with food, toys, and games. There was a large river that we crossed over to get to the festival, and floating on the river were candlelit lanterns, very pretty. I included a few shots of the fireworks (just for you Shelley!). The finale was a shower of fireworks down the center of the river. It looked like a bright white waterfall. Absolutely stunning! Then nine billion of my closest friends and I rode the train home. It was a fun evening.
On a different note, I want everyone to sign up for “skype.” It is a phone service that you use over the internet. If you talk skype to skype, the call is FREE! Then you can talk to me all the way over here! To sign up is free too. Great for those moving away to college (hint hint Christina). All you need is a headset and a mic. The website is www.skype.com. I just talked to dad to wish him a happy birthday, and he could hear me quite well. Did I mention that if you get skype too then we can talk for FREE?

Wakayama Castle

I finally made it to the castle today! This is Wakayama's pride and joy. I don't know much of the history behind it, but I think it is where the feudal lords lived. There was a sign talking about how the top level was destroyed in an accidental fire and rebuilt. The year it happened was during WWII, and I read somewhere else that it was actually bombed. Interesting perception of what happened. From my apt, you can see the castle, and vice-versa. Hopefully you can see the ocean in the picture. It is very close. I think I'm closer to the water now than I was in San Diego. It was a bit overcast today, but soooo humid and hot. We all just sweat buckets!
Our little friend in the picture is a HUGE bug that makes lots and lots of noise. Maybe someone can remind me of it's name, but it is their mating season, and they have a shreiking chirp that is so loud it can hurt your ears when there's lost of them. You can't really tell from the picture, but it is about 3-4 in long. And they poop and pee on you from the trees. And scare the crap out of me.

Yup, now I'm 30!

Thank you all for all the wonderful birthday wishes. It really makes me feel good to know you are thinking of me. Here are some pictures from some of the festivities. Many people came in from other parts of Wakayama via the train station, I only lost one, sorry Theo! We went to dinner and had so many courses I can`t even count. They were all very delicious, except of course the prawns whom insist on staring at me. I even had salmon sashimi, which was quite tasty, not at all fishy. After dinner we went to, surprise, surprise, another karaoke bar. The only problem was that all the songs were in Japanese, only a few in English. I guess that was only a problem for Mike and me. Everyone else speaks and reads in Japanese pretty well.
After that we went back to my apt and stayed up all night talking and drinking. At least most of us stayed up. One guy, the rowdy Australlian, "fell asleep" first so one of the other guys proceeded to draw a moustache, beard, and eyebrows on him with a marker. It was hillarious! At about 5am, I walked two guys back to the train station. Then we slept for a few hours, woke up, had lunch, and went to the castle. Those pics are in the next blog. It was a really fun night, and I had such a great time. Even though I am not at "home," my new friends in Japan helped me celebrate in a great way.

last ones of apt

As you can see from these pictures, this is the kitchen/shower room. A bit strange to have them so close. I actually like the shower. It has a little deep tub to soak in. The rest of the shower room has the wooden floors that you can wash yourself before you soak. I am so afraid that I’ll go crashing through the floors someday! The kitchen has an itty bitty fridge, a toaster oven (next to my toothbrush), microwave, rice cooker and stove top. No oven. I guess I’ll bake small things in the toaster oven. There are 2 balconies, pictured is the back one with the washer. I’ll be hanging my clothes to dry. I already miss my soft warm towels and socks. But at least I don’t have to go to the laundry mat (sp?). Overall, I really like my apt. I’m trying hard to make it feel like home. I hope you all enjoy the pictures!

apartment continued...

In this next section there are pictures of the front door and closets (there’s lots of storage), my dining table and my desk. And of course, the teeny tiny toilet room. I hate that room. At least I finally got a rug so I don’t have to touch the floor. It’s like a public restroom stall! It’s a good thing I’m not claustrophobic, or else I couldn’t shut the door with company. There is also one picture from the kitchen looking into the dining room/study.

My apartment

I think I’ve finally done as much to my apt as I can for now to make it more homey. When I got here, the apt was clean, but really plain. All the furniture came with the place, but I bought things like the covers for the couch and chair, rugs, frames, and such. The 100 yen store has come in very handy for decorations. Cheap and workable. So this first section is my living room and bedroom. I really like the couch cover, pillows, and the pics and flowers in the background. In my bedroom, I converted part of the closet to be my make up table because there is no room in the bathroom.

Festival

Now my first real trip was to Kyoto to visit one of the temples. As soon as I took this picture of Amber, Kusumi, Junko, and me at lunch, my batteries ran out. So no pictures of the temple this time. It was very pretty though. Especially the gardens surrouding it. Next time I'll get pictures!
The other pictures are of a festival at Wakayama Castle. Yes, I live right next to the castle! There was lots of dancing, the parade, and food. On the way home I thought I was a lost, but I went the right way. Thank goodness for my good sense of direction. Kyoto was insanely hot, so Wakayama has felt better. Still hot though.
Thank you all for all the emails and blog comments. I love reading them. It makes me very happy to know I have friends and family to write to. Take care!