Poisonous Moth!

So for those who've been to Japan know about the giant bugs that live here. The only bug that seems smaller in comparison to the Americas are the mosquito's...they have smaller legs and look more like some other bug.

Well, up here in the boonies of the mountains, there are more and they seem bigger. And now that summer is here, there seems to be more of them around my house.

About a week ago I found this lovely beetle in my toilet most likely Hideki-chan found her (yes it's a female stag beetle) played with it and when he was done, dropped it into my toilet. He often does this with things around the house that he doesn't want to play with anymore...usually when i'm away for a few days. But this time I found it when I got home from school.

Another thing that I found out was they have poisonous moths here. At school they put this lovely poster up of a pretty yellow moth. Next to that are pics of someones back and looks as if they got chicken pox or some really nasty rash. The other pic is of a person's arm that looks as it were burned and the tissue is healing. Well it turns out to be the reactions a person gets when they come in contact with this moth or it's larva.*shuders* And the way to stop the spread is by putting duck tape over the first sign of the rash.

Ah, the magic of duck tape ^_^

So another little nasty-ass bug I found last night IN MY BED was a geji-geji, aka a centipede. So when I came home yesterday Hideki-chan was really freakin jumpy about anything move out of the corner of his eye or that moved across the floor. From my hand to a piece of paper, he would just jump, but only in the living room. Also he was very sensitive about me touching him on his underside. So I was starting to worry about it.

When I was getting ready for bed, I moved my blanket. Then the damn thing just came skittering across my blanket and hide in the other folds of it. I finally managed to get it off my bed and onto the floor where I killed it. I KILL IT GOOD!!
So I think that explains why Hideki was so freakin jumpy and I'm thinking he might have been bitten by the damn thing. I will continue observing his behavior to see if he keeps doing it.

oh and even after I showed Hideki the dead geji-geji, he was still jumpy about things.

Oh yeah, freakin' spider are everywhere as well. I kill them good too....and only possible cuz they're small. The spiders here get really freakin' HUGE!!

Asami's Game

So while out with Asami, I found out great news!!

Asami's game is finally complete!

On the premiere of the game, tons of people lined up just to play the game she help make ^_^

We even went to see it at the arcade across where we went to karaoke.
The game is the 2006-2007 Football (the real football not that the crap they like in america) Championship. This game uses realistic players from South America, Europe, and Japan.
You also use cards where you can save and collect your favorite players. You place these cards on the platform of the arcade to position your players and you can change them around while playing.
Which I think is pretty awesome ^_^ even though i wouldn't play that kinda games but the concept is still awesome!

Totoro-Ninja

So this weekend I went to Tokyo to spend some time with Asami and her family that live there.
We've been planning on going to the Studio Ghibli Museum and Disney Sea... well, I got sick on Thursday and I still haven't recovered ^^
Anyways I'm fine as long as there's a toilet near by and they're easier to find if you're in a city...plus I made sure I didn't eat anything on the way to Tokyo.

Ok, enough about my sickness and how I was able to adapt while in Tokyo.

We went to the Ghibli Museum and it was fun. Everything was cute and we saw a 15 min movie about cat buses ^_^ Oh and I bought a lot of little things at the shop too...and most are for me ^^
We also ate at the Straw Hat Cafe cuz we were all hungry and all I ate that day was toast and we were eating lunch at 5pm. A lot of the food there had some kind of dairy (for those who don't know, I can;t process dairy at the moment and it's been the longest since I have...while in Japan). I've also been eyeing this meal since we came in cuz it looked so damn delicious, so I ordered the steak dinner. It was damn delicious and I didn't care if I did get sick, kinda. So we finally left but while heading toward the Totoro's bus stop (and yes there is a special Totoro bus you can ride) I remembered how some of us talked about the special themed restaurants they had in Tokyo so I asked Asami if she knew where the Ninja one was at. She didn't :( but Naoko (Asami;s sister-in-law) did and made reservations for us ^_^

So the Ninja restaurant is a place where every one's dressed up like a ninja and you enter the secret world of the ninja. There are signs on the building where the restaurant is at but there are smaller signs pointing to where it's at. As soon as you get inside the darkened entrance, you are greeted by kimono dressed hostess where they call for your ninja waiter to appear out of nowhere to lead you through a series of dark twisting passageways. Since I spoke English our ninja waiter guided us and showed us the secret passages all in English. It was amazing and I wished I could've recorded it but I was pushed up front since we went there for me ^^. The waiter showed us into the ninja's training building and after a series of more twists and turns took us to our dinning nook named Nekome (cat eyes) and told us to remember it just in case we got lost. There we were given scroll menus, one in English and the other in Japanese. There was also an option for the Ninja Surprise dinner -7700 yen/person which is gourmet food all done with surprise ninja moves ^_^ but we didn't get it cuz it was expensive and I didn't feel like eating escargot or ...foie gra??? I don't know how to spell it but that dish where the force feed a goose til it dies so we can eat it's yummy liver -_-

Anyways, while eating dinner a ninja came to our table to show us ninja magic, in other words a magic show just ninja themed. Everything was slight of hand but i still love the card tricks ^_^ http://www.tofugu.com/2007/07/29/restaurant-ninja-akasaka/

Although I was sick I did enjoy my day and wish I could go back again a record the entrance into the restaurant.
*want to view more pics of the place go to photobucket

Going Back

Hey people.

In a little more than 5 weeks I'll be coming back home. In 21 days we will have the closing ceremony and I will have to say goodbye to my kids ;_; I'm going to miss them...most of them, some more than others, harsh but true.

I wish I could stay another year and see the 3rd yr students graduate and see which high school they end up going to. Yes in Japan students get to pick which high school they get to go to. It doesn't mean they are accepted off the bat. The have to study hard and take test to get into the school they want. Their fall back school is the high school in town... Point is that I'm going to miss seeing them move on. I really wish I could see them grow up.

Last week I had to attend a Returner's Conference. There they talked about the procedures to get our pension and how to close accounts here and move on after JET. So now, for those of us who are leaving have packing and tying off loose ends to look forward to.

One thing they had us do was make a list of Things you'll miss about Japan, Things you'll be glad to leave behind in Japan, Things you've missed about your home country, and (my favorite) Things you'll be annoyed about your home country. So I'll just tell you one of each. Onsens, Bugs/being illiterate, Things open after 6pm i.e.24 ATM's, and Rude people i.e. bad customer service. There were a few things on my list but I don't have it with me so that;s it.

Fun things i'm going to do before leaving Japan:
Go to: Tokyo Sea, Studio Ghibili, Hokkaido.
Do: onsens, karaoke, white water rapids (hopefully), onsen, karaoke (yeah i'm going to do those things like every weekend if i can... not the rapids thou).

So see you guys in about 6 weeks.
Oh, and something that I might experience when i get back, Reverse Culture Shock which is basically a Japan homesickness. A large majority of returning JETs get it and usually within the first 2-6 months. So you guys are going to hear tons of stories about Japan and i'll try not to tell the same one's over and over again. Oh just so you know, I didn't get any Culture Shock while I was here and i really didn't get homesick, i missed a few things and those didn't even last that long.

So things to look forward to:
packing
shipping and paying hella money for it
putting Hideki on a 9 hr flight
looking for a job
taking the math section of the CBEST
doing taxes
... ok so there not something to look forward to but things i have to do -_- and not really excited to want to do them.

Ja ne ^^

look forward to seeing pics that i've been forgetful and lazy about putting on the net ex. more school posters!!!

Symphony at School

Yesterday we had a special treat come into Kanna-machi schools.
The Gunma Symphony Orchestra came in to perform for the nearby schools. So in other words for about 200 kids and the teachers of the elementary and junior high of both Kanna-machi and Ueno-mura.

They first performed for the elementary kids, before lunch. Then the coordinator for the orchestra came in to ask for hot water for ramen. And many teachers found this funny... i don't know why.

After lunch we got to see/hear the performance. I was surprised that the gym had great acoustics. They played Mozart, Beethoven's 5th and more. For 15 minutes they played examples of the type of music an orchestra can play. I really liked hearing was the traditional Japanese music being played by western instruments.^^

One thing I found funny was how Takamitsu started to forget to clap and I realized that he was fighting not to fall asleep! And i just found out that on the way back to Ueno all the kids on the bus fell asleep.

Well, I really enjoyed listening to them and watching each player. One thing i like to do is to listen the main parts as background music and try to concentrate to the brass and bass section.

One thing i didn't enjoy...was when the curry we had for lunch started to mess with my stomach and I finally had to get up part way through of the last song -_- and the conductor was facing the crowed to conduct us on clapping along with the song.

Upsetting news

When I came into work yesterday I was informed that one of our students died on Saturday.
She was one of the students with special needs and so I never worked with her since she had trouble adjusting to new people interacting with her.

Although I didn't spend time with her it will be sad not seeing her come into the office every morning with her cute shy smile as all of us said "Ohiyo Chika-chan"

It is shocking to know that you saw this child one day and to later find out that she died the very next day.

I don't know anything about what happened since the only people who really know how to speak English left for the annual 2nd year camping trip. All I know is how upsetting this is for everyone here, especially her homeroom teacher.

One of the funeral services will be today and the other tomorrow, the Otsuya(wake) and the Ososhiki(funeral). I will be going to the Otsuya but I don't think i'm going to the Ososhiki since it'll be tomorrow at 1pm when i have classes.

Rest in Peach Chika-chan

My favorite Onsen

I previously talked about the Art of Onsening (March entry)and i kept forgetting to add the pics of an onsen.

So here's some picks of the changing room and showers/onsen area. Oh and a pic of the outdoor onsen. These are pics of one of my favorite onsen in my area in Gunma. ^^
These pics where also taken when no one was there other than Rebecca and me.

Stranger Alert...again!

Ok so it's not again...well for me it is but not really.

This time it was going to take place at my elementary school. So my class schedule was moved around a bit so i wouldn't be in the class when it happened.

I was ok with this since i've already experienced what it was like during the drill at the junior high. This time around I got to see how they prepared for it in the office, the police in charge coming, going, giving advice and directions. I saw some of the kids run from the school building into their little gym and the teacher give the clear signal when all the kids where in.

It wasn't as fun as last time (see STRANGER ALERT! entry) but this time i was well informed. Last time all i was told was that we're having a Stranger drill and it'll happen at this time.

The next prevention type lesson is, Crossing the Street. They even have a little course with lights and everything. And for those of you who don't know this, we have in total 1 traffic light at my town. Yes that's right ONE. And i've only seen the light red, once. When the special ed teacher was taking the kids to the river and showing them the proper use of a cross walk.

Side note:
This morning the kids where practicing for Sports day. But my kids like to make it a bit more fun than just practice. They had a obstacle relay race ^_^

Oh and my total student count is down. Junior high= 38, Elementary= 48, and about 10-14 at the Day Care/Preschool/Kindergarten (ages 3-5). I now have about 100 students ^_^

Golden Week pics

If you want to see my pictures that i took during golden week then go to my photobucket page. I just uploaded all my pics...though it really wasn't that many.

all my nature pics of the sakura and golden week are to the right -->

Also HAPPY B-LATED BIRTHDAY ALISON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Golden Week

So Golden Week has come and gone. This year it feel on May 3rd-6th, although one of th days that is considered being part of the golden week was on April 29th. Most of the days also fell on a weekend so it shorten our week too :(

Anyways, my plan for the week was to spend it with Asami and her family in their home town in Niigata and then the last day back home...things didn't turn out that way.

I was supposed to leave Friday night and meet up with Asami in Niigata City and come back to my town Monday morning so i can go to the Koinobori Festival or better known as Children's Day.

But plans changed as they always do. Asami had trouble with her latest project and was hoping to finish it by Friday but she wasn't able to. So I decided that I should still visit her family since I haven't yet. Also her brother Mitsuyuki just got married to his long time girlfriend that I met the first time I came to Japan, Naoko.

It was great to see them again and the rest of her family. I finally got to meet the family dog, Milo, a long haired dachshund. Asami's mom, Sachiko, made a great homecook dinner and breakfast. We went to an onsen w/a beach view and then went down to the beach afterwards. After lunch we headed to Sachiko-san's home town. A farming town that still looks like the pictures i took 6 years ago. Sachiko-san and Mitsuyuki picked natural herbs and made some tempura. I got to see a few of the relatives from last time and they all still call me Ume.
oh and one of her uncle's loves me and wants me to teach in Niigata (and does not approve of Ahmed since the uncle LUVS to drink and he's a pig farmer).

So i brought over a lot of omiyagi (gifts) from Gunma since its the thing you here in Japan and i like doing it. In return, the family gave me omiyagi too. From the grandpa, since he learned the i do pottery too, some of his pottery. From the cousin who gave me the name Ume, a picnic bag and a Miffy fork and spoon. And from the uncle, a big Niigata sake bottle.

The next day we went to the mountains and another onsen ^_^...they found out i liked them and were impressed on how i can stand the heat of them when they hardly can.

When i had to leave after my 2nd day there, Sachiko-san seemed to get really motherly toward me. She hugged me really tight and warned me not to get on the wrong train. It was really sweet.^_^

I got home on time to go to the Koinobori(Carp Streamer) Festival or Children's Day. I brought my friend from Ota, a part of Gunma, to come since her plans fell too. My friend, Leslie, is tons of fun and is also the person who got Hideki's sister (she notice that they both act the same).

The Koinobori Matsuri was really big, there was tons of people there and i was shocked. Many kids stared at us (i stopped getting stares since all the kids in my town knows who i am). We actually had traffic in town!

The whole weekend it was nice, sunny and hot (in the low 80's) and then the day of the festival, rain...well, halfway through the festival. The rest of the day we hooked up w/the others (Rebecca from Ueno Village and Heather from Maebashi City) to climb through the caves in Ueno where Leslie pointed out a very phallic looking rock.

The last day i spent cleaning and relaxing with Hideki. It was a nice long weekend and i loved the fact that we only had 3 days of school ^^

Srping Break

This is how my spring break was like: 5 days in Okinawa, 5 days cleaning my house.

I did tons of stuff while in Okinawa but i'll try to keep it short.

We commuited for 4 hours to get to the Haneda Airport in Tokyo. The flight was almost 3 hours long and it was the fastest airport that i have ever went through (the return was longer since we were arriving in Tokyo).

We were picked up by our rental service. New small cars are awesome, GPS are awesome too (even thou it was all in Japanese).

1st day: arrive in Naha, ate an early dinner (american steak), explore the city a bit, try looking for a beach nearby but Rebecca didn't want to ask the guest house people like i wanted....we eventually found on after driving for about 30 min and it was closed.

2nd day: woke up early and drove to Chatan to do Into Diving. I didn't dive too deep but we were near coral reefs so it was pretty. I started freaking out since we were kinda rushing things a bit...and i didn't know what the equipment was and the guy(american) didn't really do a good job explaining stuff to me -_-....but i might try again. oh and it was raining a bit but i was already wet from the ocean so it was ok.
(Rebecca went to the castle while i divied)

Had ok mexican for lunch, went to American Village. Explored Naha city, did some karaoke ^_^

3rd day: heard the rain while we slept in for a bit. Drove to the south eastern part of the island to explore sites and beaches....they have a Maribu Beach ^^
Went to the Ryukyu Glass Village in the southern part of the island and we blew and made our own glass. ^_^
Went to Chatan and had really good mexican food. I've been dying for carne asada that when i saw they had it i didn't even look at the price and it was really good...it was like $12-15, i don't really remember. After we did karaoke again ^^

4th day: We went on an ecotour, got lost trying to find the place (i wasn't drving) we were late about 30-40 min but they waited for us. They took us to explore the native mangroves and then they invited us to lunch. After that we finally went canoeing in the ocean which was awesome. it was a small business run by a mother and her kids and a family friend. The family dog even tried to swim the ocean w/us. ^_^ The whole thing was supposed to be for 4 hrs but we ended staying for 7 hrs. They even started playing the Sanshin and i really wanted to buy one but they're a little pricie.

we had Okinawa soba for dinner.
we finally began our souvnir shopping in Naha and we did karaoke again. it wasn't as fun as last time cuz Rebecca didn't want to go to Big Echo since the same worker was there. so we went to a little place where the mics didn't work well.

5th day: Went to Ryukyu Glasss village to pick up the glass we made, they came out good ^^
we then went to find some more beaches and at the last minute went on a glass bottom boat ride.
We then took the car back to the rental an hr earlier than planned cuz Rebecca wanted to be at the airport 1 hr before our flight (the airport is a 10 min drive from the rental place and they recommend people to check-in 30 min before the flight) and it turned out that the filght was delayed for an hour so we were stuck at the airport for 2 hrs -_-

i got home at 12 that night where Hideki jumped me and started purring like crazy. when i went into the living room and kitchen and saw the lovely mess he made for me.

I liked how i said i wanted to keep this short ^_^ oh well
pics of the mangroves and nature are to the right --->
i'll upload the other pics on photobucket
I WANT TO GO AGAIN!!!

Updating

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I had a cold and a fever about 2 weeks ago and i haven't been really doing anything.

We had the Junior High graduation ceremony last Wednesday which was about 2 hrs long, you know calling the kids name (18 students), speeches upon speeches, and singing. They sang the anthem; the school song; the kids sang to everyone; a song to the graduation students (sung by 1st n 2nd); a song to the 1st n 2nd (sung by the 3rd).

Then we had the 6th graders graduation on Monday, which was just like the Junior High except little kids singing which made it cuter. Oh and it was cute to watch the little kids squirming since they had to sit for two hours straight...and there was a bird in the gym that would chirp every now and then.

I've also updated Photobucket but I have yet to download more pics onto my computer.

It's been boring at school since the 3rd years are gone and the last day of school is tomorrow so I've had an average of 1 or 2 classes a day.

This will be the beginning of Spring break and i'm lucky in the fact that I don't have to go to school, but if i want to leave town I have to ask for paid vacation.
So I'll be going to Okinawa for 5 days so i'll have something to say then.

The art of Onsen-ing

One thing that i have come to love while here is being able to go to an onsen when i have the time.

For those of you who don't know what an onsen is it's: natural hot spring's in Japanese. Japan being an island and formed by volcanos there are onsen to be found throughout the country.
And it's not like the hot springs spa places back home.
There are outdoor and indoor onsens.
most importantly you must be naked to partake in these wonderful onsens.

There are set guideline that one must follow when you go to an onsen.
You must bring a change of clothes or at least underwear and you MUST bring your own towel and a small one for you hair (you can take this one w/you into the onsen).
The area's are separated into two: male and female.
You go to the bathroom if you need to, pick a basket or locker to put your stuff in and take off all your clothes. Leave your towel on top of everything else for easy access when you come out.
Wash your face first if you have make-up.

Open the sliding doors and walk into the bathing spot. You must shower first before you can go into the onsen bath. Pick a open shower spot, wash your hair and body, rinse. splash some hot onsen water on your self and then walk into the onsen. they usually have the hot water and the not as hot water marked. Put your hair up using the small towel or just tie it up (your not supposed put your hair in the water)
You sit in the water and then relax and talk to others around you (if you want). If there's an outdoor onsen too, you stay in the indoor one for a while before trying the outdoor one.
When you're done soaking in the water and want to come out (you're not supposed to stay in the onsen longer than an hour, some no longer than 30 min) rinse off using the shower and walk out. Dry yourself off and put your clothes back on.

At one of my favorite onsens, there's a cave onsen (the cave enclosure with the coolest of water) a sauna, a normal indoor onsen and an outdoor onsen.
Me and Rebecca try to go at least once a month to that one (she only goes in for 300 yen since Ueno residents get half off...i have to pay 600 yen-_- oh well, it's one of our favorites, she usually buys me a snack to make up for it)

Every time i travel around Japan i check out their onsens...some don't beat the ones we have up here in the boonies of Gunma.

More posters

so like i said previously i'm going to add pics of posters whenever they change them.

These are educational posters about:
pregnancy, defecation,
proper care of a wound and the last one is about a star head child pointing out melting icebergs and minefields.

All the posters will be put in my photobucket so you may have a better look at these. ^_^
Enjoy

Posters

Ok so one thing i noticed while teaching here are the poster that they have on the walls. Especially the ones that are at the elementary school.

They have movie posters(ex. they had the Simpson's and the Golden Compass), educational posters (about WWII) and then there are the one's that are supposed to teach you life lessons.
Most of these posters are cutely drawn while other use people.

But the weirdest ones they got are the one's about life. They had one about smoking (drawn and some people) with a pic of brain activity of a smoker vs non-smoker and how active the girl (who didn't smoke) was and how the boy was lethargic and kept thinking about smoking. *note* i didn't get a chance to take a picture of this

Then there are the ones about what places to avoid playing so you don't get grabbed by a stranger. There is one about pregnancy and shows an image of a new born baby still covered in goup. There was one about brushing your teeth and how "germs" attack and cause cavities.
Oh and my current favorite is the one about poop.
Yes pooh.
They have pictures of the difference of good and bad pooh (3 images) and how pooh is created in the intestines.
(i'll put a pic of this one later this week)

so every time there is a new one i'll post it up cuz they're always fun to look at. ^^
All of these posters are there all the time. if you want to see them better you can go to my photobucket.

Kyoto!

Me and Rebecca (バカ先生）went to Kyoto for our last (so sad ;_;) 3 day weekend, it cost us 14,000 yen to get there and it cost us the same to get back -_-

Anyways, as the Shinkansen is getting closer to Kyoto the towns/cities that we pass are covered in snow. (We were in a hurry that morning so i didn't get a chance to check the weather before leaving) When we get there, it's snowing. I of course don't really care cuz it's snow. It was soo pretty... then we had to try to find our hostel with unpaved streets -_- not very fun. Every where you go it's really slippery. We took about 20-25 min walking from the station to our hostel(the next day all the streets were paved and it took us 10 min to walk to the station).

On our first day we saw some temples and we went to a handy-craft store where i painted my own fan ^_^
dinner we went to a Japanese-Kyoto restaurant where i drank sake...yummy

On the second day we went to Nijo-jo (castle) where they have nightingale floors which make the floors "sing" as you walk on them.
For lunch we had some awesome ramen in a little mom n pop ramen shop.
after that we tried finding the Anime Museum, but didn't see it (ok so we really didn't "look" for it, just looked around while we headed back to the station).
We headed back to the hostel for a bit, it was getting hot under all the layers of clothes since we thought it was going to be cold like the day before.
Wrong!

After that brief detour we head for the Golden Temple.
while there we noticed that there were no toilet paper there and that you had to have some tissue or buy some, oh and you can't flush it either.
*note* there is a gold and silver temple but only the golden temple is covered in gold

Later the night we had a Japanese dinner and then did some karaoke with of course something to drink
*note* at karaoke places you can order food, dessert, and drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic)
We then went to the lovely Starbucks to cool down.

When we got back to our hostel they were still recording a TV show, which is like a comedy hour kinda thing. We thought we were coming back late enough to be over, so we stood by the side and watched....
then they asked if there were any other American's around. I whispered "we are" thinking no one will hear us, but no, the nearest guy to us did and he was part of the crew and when "the audience" (other guest) didn't respond (which i didn't know, couldn't see them) they quickly turned the camera to us to ask us about if we knew the American comedian they(the American guest taking part of the show) were talking about.
we of course didn't know who the hell they were talking about since i only know Hispanic comedians.

Next day we went to see the temple with over 300 tori (red gates). i didn't expect to stay for an hour there, it's a temple. We were just going to take some photos and leave....we ended up staying there for 2 hrs! but it was fun so it was ok.

We finally left for home around 2 pm and we didn't get home til about 8 pm.
It was a long commute but we still had fun ^_^

Jump rope festival

Since the beginning of the year all the kids at the elementary school have been practicing jumping rope. At first it was all the kids by themselves, seeing who can jump the fastest and longest. Then it was the whole class jumping together.

So after all that work, they finally had a chance to show off to the whole school. All the classes were going to see how many time the whole class can jump rope for 3 min. The most was done was 318 by the 4th graders (with 14 students) and the least was 238 by the 3rd graders (with 4 students) and this is with the whole class participating.

Next week we will have fire training where the local firemen will come to school and teach the kids how to operate a fire extingushier. Ten kids from 3rd to 6th grade will actually put out a fire made by the firemen.

yay fire ^_^

Sumo

Last weekend a few of us JET's from Gunma went to Tokyo to watch some sumo.
Some may wonder whats the fascination with watching a couple of fat guys in what looks like thongs (mawashi) push eachother around. Well it's a Japanese sport and i thought i might as well see for myself why it's considered interesting.

* women aren't allowed to touch the ring since it is seen as violating the purity of the ring or it is so by tradition.

We were told to be there no later than 930 since the event is supposed to be from 8am to 630 pm. But when we got there we found out that the thing wasn't going to start until 1030 (which happens only on certain days).

Well me and Rebecca didn't want to be there for the early matches of the rookies and we were planning on going to the Tokyo National Museum. We finally left around 1040 just to see how they start and the rookies matches ended really quickly.

We came back after lunch to watch the juryou and makuuchi matches, the top ranking sumo's. These were way more exciting than the rookies. We actually started betting, ok not really but we started to pick to see who would win. We even got to see Asashoryu Akinori, a Mongolian yokozuna (the highest ranking sumo) in a bout with Hakuhou Shou, another Mongolian. It was kinda amazing to see these 320 lbs+ guys be able to pick some other guys up n throw them out of the ring.

* the aprons that they're wearing are worth thousands to tens of thousands dollars worth. some are even encrusted with jewels and some light up.

I had fun watching sumo and wouldn't mind seeing it again...of course it would be better if we were a little closer, but then again it might be too expensive.

If you want to know more about sumo, wiki it. If you want to see a short film of some bouts and more pics go to my photobucket page.

Snow Monkeys

So the monkeys (my bothers) and one of their friends (an old co-worker of mine) came over to visit me... they were hella annoying. They left my house on Tuesday, missed the snow (too bad for them) and are going back home today.

Well enough about those monkeys. Lets talk about SNOW MONKEYS!
One thing that Edmund had to do while here was go see the snow monkeys. So i took them to Nagano to the Jigokudani- Yaenkoen, the Monkey park, where they have the so called snow monkeys. They are basically monkeys that know how to enjoy an onsen during winter and that's what makes them soo cute.

So we took a bus from Nagano Station to the road that leads up to the entrance of the monkey park. This was a little cheaper than taking a train and then a bus to the same location and it was just a few minutes longer.

From our drop off point we got our map from the gas station attendee and walked toward the entrance...thats when the monkeys attacked. The monkey boys decided to have a snowball fight (rolls eyes) on our way to the park. Luckily there was no one around to see them.

After hiking longer than 30 min (i was busy taking pictures and they- Edmund and Roman- were busy trying to make snow fall from the trees) we finally made it to the onsen that is next to the park. We climbed the long trail of stairs (at this point some of the monkeys were coming out of the forest, Edmund got some footage of that) and we were at the entrance.
(Note:it usually takes about 20-30 min to hike to the park)

Once through, you can see these monkeys everywhere. On the fence, playing by the river, chasing each other, walking down the path. I even walked down the path to the monkey onsen with one right next to me.

There were several monkeys in the onsen which you can see a live feed of at http://www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/english/top/english.html

Roman fell on some monkey poo. Edmund was being stupid and stared one monkey in the eyes, it tried to attack him, but backed away as soon as Edmund did. Ian took tons of photos and shot some film of them and so did I.

On our way out, i bought a book and postcards about the monkeys. The guys where already out front waiting for me (since they didn't pay attention to when i said i was going into the shop or they did and they ignored me). As soon as they saw me they started walking down without me. Ian was carrying my backpack so i had no time to put my stuff inside since he was already halfway down.

Instead of leaving Edmund decided to see what the building (the onsen) near the park. Some monkeys (and the other monkeys visiting me) decided to follow him too.

I waited.

Ian finally came out with a monkey following. They were walking right next to each other. So I decided to get closer to take a picture. As soon as the monkey saw me, it started running towards me. I thought he was just going to run by like the others in the park.

No, not this monkey ass!
This one decides to try to attack me...ok not really but he kept trying to take my bag of the things i just bought from me. Fucking little thing kept coming at the damn bag.
By that point I was yelling at the thing (the way i usually do with my cat and dog).
If finally stopped, one of the park rangers was at the stairs trying to scare it away by shooting something with his sling shot.

After this, Edmund and Roman finally came out and we all started heading down to the bus stop. The snowball fight started again. The only difference was that there were people there, staring at them. One Japanese lady was laughing at them (only children have snowball fights). Roman tried to declare truce w/Ian so they can ambush Edmund together...it didn't happened.
Luckily for me, Edmund only tried to pelt me w/a snowball twice before he stopped after i gave them all a warning about how they were my guest.

The monkeys are annoying...except for the ones in the onsen.

Hatsu yuki!

The last two weeks of January and the first two weeks of February are known as Daikan= the coldest time in winter.

So in celebration of this the Japanese usually have parties but up here in the south-western part of Gunma, nature decided to celebrate by bringing us SNOW! (started around 845 am)

This is my -hatsu yuki- first snow fall (i've been in snow i just never seen it fall). You can actually see individual SNOWFLAKES! (if you're just standing and they land on you)

(1030 am) I just came back from having a snowball fight with my 1-2 graders and some 6th graders ^_^ it was fun, even though one kid in particular hit me at the side of my face...twice. It's a good thing that he's only a 2nd grader and he can't throw that hard (it's not so fun when people- Edmund- try to pelt you in the face).
Next time I should use gloves meant for snow when i have a snowball fight. My fingertips are red!... especially my thumb and it hurts a bit.
(note: i was wearing "convertible" or "hobo" gloves...the kind that look like mittens but you can remove the top and have exposed fingertips. the ones I'm wearing now doesn't have a cover for the thumbs either)

Now that recess is over, my coat is a bit wet as well as my scarf, gloves, and hair (so much for taking a shower this morning) but i get to sit in the warm staff room so they can all dry. And drinking coffee helps to warm me and my hands up nicely ^^
The only bad thing is that i'll need my jacket when i go to my next class (there isn't heating for the whole school but each class has a heater)

Sorry it has taken me so long to post. As many know, i went home for Christmas. Had fun, ate a lot of food that's hard to find in Japan or that's not a Japafied version of the food. And i spent most of my time either shopping or watching movies that i really wanted to see and won't come out in Japan for a few months or so (some even as long as 6-8 months) plus it's like $15-18 to go to the movies here. I had 2 Christmas's and went to three parties (by the way, i did all of this in 10 days).

After I came back i was busy getting Hideki fixed, getting other errands done, and planning for the next school term for Chogakko (elementary school).

Soon after Edmund, Ian and Roman (Edmund's friend, my old co-worker) arrived in Japan and I've been spending exhausting weekends with them(they- Edmund and Roman- were hella loud and annoying) and showing them around a few places i know.

Next post... SNOW MONKEYS!

p.s. I'm going to make a snowman with my 3rd graders ^_^