j-bands & karaoke

It's hard trying to stay motivated about learning a language I hear everyday, and where the fear of needing to make the most of your time in a country while you can dissipates after realising you've been in the country for almost two years, and will be staying for another year.  Moreso when you find out your employer doesn't have the money to let you do the interpreting/translating course you really wanted to do in your third year.

But one thing that I've tried to do at least is learn a couple of Japanese songs for the inevitable times I go to karaoke with a Japanese person. Which actually turns out to be ridiculously hard. It essentially involves learning lyrics that you don't actually completely understand and sound like complete gibberish, which makes it hard to remember. On top of that, when those songs are performed at karaoke, the lyrics may be written in kanji, or non-phonetic Chinese characters, meaning that even if you do recognise a character like 歌, you might not know if it's supposed to be said as "uta" or "ka" if you don't know the whole word. Because of that, I'm usually sticking to really simple, slowish songs. I did try once to tackle Japanese rap, but I like to pretend that never really happened.

I'm also becoming quite aware that the natural consequence of being surrounded by a culture with a second language is not having much, if any, awareness of the pop-culture, and what's cool and what's not. It's kinda like how we might know differences in nuance between words like icky and disgusting, but for anyone who's learning English, might not get the difference. It feels like it's the same with me and Japanese music. I can hear the melodies and tunes to songs, but I can't quite tell what music is cool and my-age-appropriate or not. I now have a much better understanding of my angsty, ragey boys at school who feel that Avril Lavigne is the epitome of hardcore rock.

So that's why I'm conflicted about whether I should be learning songs by this Japanese band called EXILE (that's right, it's spelt in all capitals, so I think it's normally shouted in Japanese in the middle of a regular sentence).  Think Backstreet Boys, if this was the 90's and they didn't try to do a failed reunion thing. They are a boy band, so as you can imagine, are emblazoned on pencil cases and lots of teenager paraphernalia, but unlike boy bands back home, are actually liked by guys here too.

One thing I do appreciate about them is that they make no pretenses about the fact that not all of them can sing. Out of the 7-group "band", only two are singers, while the others are "performers", meaning they do ridiculous boy band dances for all their ballady songs and don't even hold mikes and pretend to sing, or even try to hide the fact that they're not a real band. I kinda like them even more now actually, since they amalgamated with this other boyband and there are now 14 members. Still, with only the two of them that actually sing. It makes watching their music videos on youtube much more exciting.



I don't quite see it, but some students were trying to tell me that I looked like one of the singers in the group. Not completely buying it, but I like the idea that I look like someone just so I have a potential idea for a halloween costume. Maybe I should give up my dream of having my own Japanese posse and just start wearing all white and get 12 other guys to follow me around and do well-practiced dances around me instead.

the retarded sweet potato cousin

Holidays are meant to be fun. Obviously, it's a time to relax and take a break from your regular life. AND, for me, one other important thing:

Marimokkori.

As sad as it is, part of the reason I get so excited about travelling in Japan is discovering new Marimokkori from a different part of Japan. So, counting down the days to my trip to Okinawa in April, I was pumped to see what new well-endowed green dude phone-strap was waiting for me. Sure, there isn't a Marimokkori in every single prefecture in Japan, but I was heading to Okinawa, one of the more famous places in Japan. There was bound to be like a dozen different ones available, right?

Unfortunately, searching the numerous tourist souvenir shops along Kokusai Doori resulted in nothing but this:



Beni-imokkori aka Sweet Potato dude. Apparently, the people of Okinawa had conspired to remove the semi-famed green character for this substandard, local one. Sure, Marimokkori's namesake, the Marimo, or moss ball, was nowhere to be found in Okinawa, but that hasn't stopped him from being found everywhere else in Japan! Why did they decide to replace him with his lame cousin? Who, might I add, is a lot less gifted than his more popular cousin.

So sure, I had an awesome, unforgettable time in Okinawa, but I left Okinawa a little disappointed. Fingers crossed that my friend's search for the beloved green dude went a little more successful than mine!

english journals

Okay, so since I just came back from a 4 day fun-filled trip in Okinawa, so you'd think I'd have stuff to fill you in on, right? The places I went, the things I saw, the giant crotch-adorned things I bought... Well, I do, but I just don't know where to start, and since I imagine it'll be a fairly time-consuming post, I'll save it for when I've got a little more time.

In the mean time though, I thought I'd show this. As part of my decision to stay for yet another year in Japan (three... eeeshk..) I thought I'd try and make sure I make the most of my time - ie travel and job-wise. On the job front, I'm hoping to make my job more rewarding, by trying to start more things in my school. One of which was making the 3rd years write a journal, since everyone says their writing sucks. I figured that since I had enough time to study Japanese, read, email, and pissfart around, I could make a bit of time for correcting their journals, since the other teachers seem so consumed with... well, actual work. Plus, I thought giving 14-year-olds the freedom to write whatever they want, with the limited English skills they had, would be a reward in itself. And, after only a week of doing this journal thing, I think it's already paid off.

borderline obsession

You know when a hobby's becoming more of an obsession when you realise you're going on holiday in a week, escaping your landlocked prefecture for beautiful beaches, scuba diving, and a awesome food, and the first thing that pops in your head is the fact that you can get a new boner green dude to add to your collection.

This one's my most recent one from Nagashima spaland in Mie, despite what its name implies, is one of the largest amusement parks in Japan (second behind Disneyland). It also houses the longest roller coaster in the world, and the largest wooden roller coaster in the world as well. Unfortunately, despite being there this Steel Dragon phone strap is probably the closest I'll get to riding the longest roller coaster in the world. After a day trip there filled with lines, waiting, and rides, turns out I don't actually like roller coasters as much as I thought I did. Rather than excitement, I was filled more with dread, angst, and a dry raspy throat from screaming on too many rides. Being the genius that I am, it did take about five or six rides to realise that I hated them. The point I realised I was not a fan was seeing The Magic Carpet, a ride for kids, and just thinking about the whole list of other things I would rather do than go on the kids ride.

school lockdown

"They're here!"

The Vice Principal ducks down, and peeps through the blinds to see a number of legs walk past the window. He signals to the other teachers to prepare themselves for what's going to happen.

The new teachers, sitting at their desks they were just allocated the previous day, look around nervously, not knowing what to expect, or for how long it will go for. They sheepishly grin at each other, hoping that it will pass soon enough.

BANG BANG BANG!

The windows that span the whole length of one side of the staffroom reverberate the sound. All the blinds have been closed in preparation for this too, so only the slightest ray of sunshine comes into the staffroom. After each bang, the blinds sway little bit more each time.

"It's okay," the Vice Principal reassures everyone. "Just ignore them, they'll be gone soon enough." The banging continues for another few minutes, getting louder and louder, and moving in a wave from one side of the room to the other. "The main entrance doors are locked, right?"

I look at my watch. It's 4:47. If only I had left right on the dot at 4:30, as my contract says, and not wasted any time leaving, now I just have to wait patiently till this is all over. At least it won't happen again next week, when school starts.

At the moment, it's the school break. Just last week we had the last day of school. But unlike schools back in Australia, the last day of school is shrouded in secrecy. Teachers in Japan are employed by the prefecture, not by the school directly, meaning that once they become a teacher, they have little to no choice about which school they'll be teaching at, and they don't know how long they'll be there. All the placements are decided by the prefectures. So, teachers can find themselves working in a school 2 hours away from their home, in the middle of nowhere, and having to move without a single complaint.

It's usually the younger, less experienced teachers that get the short end of the stick though. Initially, as a qualified teacher, you're expected to work at a school for 3 years, before moving you to another school As they get more senior, they can request if you want to stay at the school for another year or not, and also request what area you want to teach in. To top it all off though, teachers only find out during the last week of school where they'll be going. So, theoretically, you might be asked to move to the middle of nowhere, find a place to live, and get ready for work within a week.

The secrecy though continues on til the very last day of school. Teachers aren't allowed to tell the students if they're leaving or not (despite how traumatising it may be) and students are kept in the dark until the last assembly, where they sit and wait in the hall for the doors to swing open, and see the parade of teachers who are leaving enter the assembly hall. It almost seems like a Japanese reality TV show aiming to toy with kids' emotions by giving them no sense of stability whatsoever.

Once school is over, and the teachers clear their desks and leave, the following day, new teachers come, and are kept up to date with the processes in the school and everything else. once they're officially welcomed with the first staff meeting, it's back to work, preparing for the new school year at their desks in the staffroom.

In the meantime, since the new teachers haven't been introduced yet, the school is now completely locked, and the blinds are drawn to stop any students from seeing the new teachers before they should.

Which is why I'm still at my desk at 4:58. I'm waiting for my new 2nd year students (who we just had a meeting about yesterday to fill in the new teachers) to stop banging on the windows and trying to take a peek at the new teachers before the new school year starts. Why are kids who hate school so much hanging around school on the last day of spring vacation anyway? I kinda feel sorry for the new teachers. To me, the banging comes from the little brats that I've been used to seeing for the past year, but for them, they're just faceless unknown attackers trying to smash all the windows at school.

it's nalin

Oh, Special Education helper teacher, how I'll miss you. First, you made the effort to talk to me and say hi, and invited me (though possibly tokenly, I'm still unsure) to use your house in Okayama if I ever went there. And on top of that, you actually helped me when I was "teaching" the Special Education class, as opposed to the Special Education homeroom teacher, who would normally sit behind his desk and be oblivious to the fact that all 3 boys with behavioural disorders would be screaming, shouting, breaking things, and throwing things at me.

And you invited me to your house to meet your family, and prepared a huge feast. You even told your husband that I was Australian and my parents were Thai, so he could buy Fosters and Singha for me while I ate your really awesome sukiyaki.

And, to top it all off, you made me this really cool keychain as a farewell present:



And although you did me ask me afterwards if my name was spelt right, and I lied and said that it was, I really appreciate the gift. I just didn't have the heart to tell you that it's not with an 'L', and hoped that you leaving the school would mean you wouldn't have to notice this mistake. I really hope you know how much I like the keystrap. And, that you never stumble upon this blog either.

What type of poo are did you do today?

Aaah, preschools. Is there any better cure for Mondayitis than playing with little kids for a day and getting paid for it?

My last visit to this preschool for this year was a lot less emotional and sentimental than I thought it would be. I guess I was spoilt last year, when the kids who were 'graduating' preschool did a dance for me on my last visit. But this year, it went by without much fuss, which was probably a good thing.

But anyways, while it is fun playing with kids, I think the other half of the enjoyment I get from visiting schools is seeing the different things and ways kids are taught here compared to back home. There's the uber-adorable kyushoku song, which is the song they sing before they eat so kids can practice saying the set expression before eating, and there's also the way in which the 5-year-olds were taught how to remember  what they were playing in the mini-drum band. Rather than having music sheets, the kids read off an illustrated poster, which had faces of  anpanman, fruits, and other random objects. When students played the drums, they memorised the order of all the random objects, and hit the drums in accordance to however many syllables there were for each picture (strawberry, or ichigo, had 3 syllables, so they had to hit the drums for 3 beats and rest on the 4th beat).

But my favourite educational tool seen so far is this board game, that depicts the digestive system, and tracks how food starts off as food, and ends up in poo. And, being Japan, it involves illustrations of happy poo characters. I'm getting a feeling that Japan has a strange obsession with cute faecal matter...

preschool visits

hate Mondayitis. that feeling on Sundays where you're dreading the next upcoming week of work seems to be exacerbated in Japan, when we seem to be travelling or doing something huge each weekend, and while friday and saturday are fun, it's usually the sunday that involves being tired and making our way back home, that doesn't make it that much more fun.

Last weekend, we ended up visiting my friend who lives in Shirakawa, a village that's normally about 2 1/2 hours drive north of my area in Gifu. after having a chilled weekend, filled with sights, fancy beef, and an addictive PS3 game that involves dancing sack people, we ended up leaving his place at around 4:30, hoping to make it back by 7. Unfortunately, the expressway that separates his place and mine just happens to have a part that normally clogs and becomes a traffic jam for 11 kms or more, and chuck in a couple accidents, and it makes a normally tolerable 2 1/2 hour drive into a 4-5 hour one. After getting home at 9:45 I really wasn't in the mood for school the next day.

Which is really a tragedy, since I'm always feeling like this about Mondays even though I'm aware that Mondays is usually the most fun of the week.

You see, Mondays are preschool visit days. This school year, I've been visiting three different preschools in the area. While the thought of dealing with a whole classroom of 4-5 year-olds was daunting at first, I'm now actually enjoying it.

the thing I like about teaching this level at preschools is the fact that I'm kinda like an uncle/aunt visiting their nephews - I get to play with them and do all the fun things, without the responsibility of feeding them and looking after them. So, while I have to teach each class for like max 30 minutes a day (the 3-year-olds only have 10 minute lessons) the rest of the day is essentially spent playing with them. One preschool actually gives me my own "rest room", complete with cushions and a table for me to sit at and have my own nap time while I wait for for kyushoku, or school lunch.

Oh, and school lunch! I can't remember if I blogged about this before or not, but kyushoku is awesome - from preschool to junior high, kids get kyushoku - it's a meal that a city lunch center makes and ships to each of the schools while it's still hot, and kids in class dish out the food to everyone in class. Since it's supposed to be nutritionally balanced, it's easy to see how they've kept their obesity levels so low... that being said, there's always at least one kid in class who will eat everyone else's leftovers.

So, while I'm used to school lunch at junior high, it's more fun at preschool. Granted, the seats are smaller...

... but it really does stroke your ego when kids yell and shout for you to sit at their table. And, it's a bittersweet moment when a kid cries because you don't sit on the table, like awww, I made that kid cry, but yay! they're that upset they didn't sit next to me! Evil, I know. But it's hard not to think that...

And while I do eat the same amount as my kids at junior high, it's not quite the same as in preschool.

Kid's lunch:

My lunch:

and this was one of the days they went easy on me.

And after lunch, if I'm not rubbing 3-year-olds' bellies to help them sleep during nap time, I'm playing with kids, or joining in their activities, be it colouring-in, or making glasses, like today.

Urgh, I hate Mondayitis. My job on Mondays is essentially playing with kids and colouring in with them, and Mondayitis makes me dread it. Maybe preschool would be more exciting if it was on a Tuesday or Wednesday...

elephant game

I try not to have any regrets about the decisions Ive made. Although I was torn up about staying or going for my next year, I think I've made the right decision about staying. Sure, I do miss home and everything, but my decision to stay means I've got another year of job security, an exchange rate in my favour, as well as being able to save up money for the arduous job-searching I have to do when I get back, which I'll probably need considering the current state of the economy. Plus, it means I'll have more time to travel, and if I travel during the school holidays, I can travel whilst still getting paid! Not too shabby, hopefully it means I have time to travel to further away places, like Fukuoka, Hokkaido, and Jesus' grave in Aomori.

It also means I get to see a whole year level of kids all the way through high school, from them being first years til graduation this time next year. I'll also get more time to "teach" English to preschoolers, which I've written about how awesomely cute they are before.

Speaking of which, I guess there is one regret I have involving my preschoolers. Now, I'm so used to playing with them, carrying them and being kanchoued, that I forget how anti-contact they are back home in Australia - I distinctly remember them telling us at uni, while studying to be a teacher that you're not to make any contact with kids at all, even if it's a pat on the back, in case it's misconstrued. This recollection about what we're taught in Australia comes back every now and then in the middle of playing games with kids, and makes me realise how odd and dodgy some "games" are when viewed from an Australian perspective. I realised this after I invented a game with some of my kids that would probably blacklist me from any future job involving children in Australia.

I'm slightly tall, like 185 cm-ish. Which, in Gifu, makes me taller than everyone but the freaks. My preschool kids on the other hand, range from 3-5, aren't. This height difference means one thing.

So, when kids come running towards me to hug me, I quietly pray they slow down enough to now run straight into me. And, I've been quietly perfecting my technique to avoid head-on collisions (though, unfortunately, usually involves turning around, leaving me easy prey to the kid's kanchouing.

Unfortunately, last week, one kid decided to play "let's stick my head between Narin sensei's legs. After putting his head down beneath my legs, and trying to lift it up to seemingly lift me up with his head, I tried to stop him and distract him by picking up his legs. In doing so, it resulted with his head nestled between both legs as he held on tightly to my legs as well. After realising the awkward position I was now in, and coming to terms with my future career with kids in Australia being over, I put down his legs back on the ground, but it was too late.

"Hey look!" screamed the nearby kids. "It's like an elephant!"
"That was fun!" cried the should-be-traumatised boy. "Do it again!" And despite my hesitation, the boy, along with a few other boys who witnessed the event, decided to try and make me play again the only way how. Usually, when we play the 1-2-3 game (where I hold their hands and lift them as high as I can - fun-sounding game, I know) it means that they try to grab my hands in the same position I usually pick them up, just to make sure I know what game they're talking about. This time, the boys were all getting into position to play this new elephant-game I had just created. With their heads bowed down, the boys charge towards me, heading straight for my crotch, so they can get in position and play again.

Oh, man. I'm so sorry kids. I hope next time I visit your school you'll stop calling out elephant and charging at my crotch.

tokyo again! i'm sensing a trend....

Aaah, Tokyo.  It's a place I'll always be amazed with every single time I go. Although I've done the touristy thing there quite a few times, the city feels so huge that I don't think I know it well enough to even recommend places for people to go. But just this past week, a couple friends from Australia visited and kinda expected me to have an idea for some places to go see. They were already planning to visit Kyoto, which is known for its traditional temples, so it seemed kinda pointless seeing any fancy temples or shrines in Tokyo if they were going to spend the next few days seeing them in a much better place. So here were the three places I came up with:

Miracle Fruits Cafe, Ikebukuro

Don't let any stories you may have heard as a kid fool you; there are magic beans. You're supposed to  swish the flavourless bean-shaped fruit around your mouth, like a lolly/candy for a few minutes, and eat it with stuff like this:

This here is lemon and other fruits in a lemon fondue sauce . Apparently the fruit has a special chemical in it that messes with your sweet/sour tastebuds. So while the above fondue tastes ridiculously sour, after having the bean, it makes regular lemon eaten by itself taste like lemonade.

Unfortunately, it's not completely miraculous. It wears out after a short while (I should've ordered two fruits) and while it makes cherry tomatoes super sweet, and regular tomatoes taste like cherry tomatoes, it still makes green juice taste like crap. Rather than getting the tester one, I should've gotten the lemon parfait.

Ninja, Akasaka

I'd been there before, so I already knew how awesome it was. Turns out, when you go again, it's still awesome! I ordered the same course I had last time, but food was still worth it. Which is saying a lot, since it's not the cheapest restaurant in the world. But hey, any restaurant that has food AND ninja magicians must be pretty good...

The Lockup, Shibuya

There weren't many places that could potentially top the ninja restaurant, but this one was pretty close! The theme is kinda confusing, since it's a jail-type themed japanese bar with monsters... I think. Anyways, it's main thing is that it's a restaurant that arrests someone in your group and takes your group to a cell, which happens to have menus and stuff.

Food is surprisingly good (winners: taco-style rice in a hot stone-bowl) and the cocktails are probably the main reason to go. My drug addict cocktail came with a pill you add to the drink, and the experiment cocktail  comes with 5 mixer flavours for a standard cocktail, which are then mixed with the standard beaker by using a dropper. Oh, and one drink has an eye in it.

Wow, who would've thought there'd be such good prison food?

So essentially, seeing Tokyo involved going to a miracle fruits restaurant, a ninja restaurant, and a prison restaurant. I'm just glad my friends are just as preoccupied with food as I am.

fully sick

I'm sick.

And no, I didn't contract SARS or the bird flu from Japan. And I'm not about to operate on anyone either.   I just have a bit of a sore throat, and a blocked nose. Enough though, to warrant me to wear a mask all day at preschool. Apparently the flu's been going around, and the head teacher at the preschool was paranoid that I was going to get it, since my immunity's lower because of my cold, so insisted I wear this all day.

And, it wasn't too weird of a request in Japan, seeing how some teachers wear it even when they're not sick to avoid getting a cold themselves (probably also has something to do with the fact that teachers are expected to use their annual leave if they have a mild cold or sickness, and only are allowed to take sick leave when they've got something major, like cancer or something). I also heard that some teachers at school wear one because they are allergic to chalk (still not many whiteboards used in school here). And pretty much everyone has a face mask, since they need it to dispense school lunch when it's their table group's turn.

It's the weirdest feeling having it on actually, since you can feel your breath and stuff every time you breathe. But it does have its benefits, like the ability to chew gum or eat stuff without anyone judging you, and it does keep your face warm. I was talking to one of my friends who visited Japan, who did bring up the interesting point - for a country that seems very occupied with fashion and stuff, why aren't there any cooler face masks around for adults? I'm sure more people would appreciate having the choice between regular white mask and a ninja-type one too.

i'm alive!

Although I did plan to go to Nagano last weekend to see monkeys taking baths in the snow, I wasn't expecting to be welcomed back home to Gifu with this:

Waking up this morning, I just assumed that the forecast of rain this whole week was right, and it would just be really wet this morning. Unfortunately. I got a phone call from a friend, wishing me luck after telling me to look out the window. 

I'm sure from the photos it looks cool, since snow means  snowball fights, making snowmen, and stuff right? Well, snow for me means a fear of slipping and falling on my arse, and driving in the snow for the very first time. I'd been told to drive slow and be careful, but how slow is snow slow? Like, 5 ks an hour, or is 40 okay?

I also realised that snow means you have no idea where the markings are on the road, and with snow a few inches deep I was really paranoid about driving onto the footpath on top of accidentally sliding my car into people. 

But after driving 30 ks an hour, and 20 minutes in the car, I made it to school in once piece! Lifting up my windscreen wipers, and psyching myself up for the walk from the snow-filled carpark to school, I see a couple students  (one guy wearing a baby pink playboy tracksuit, but that's another story) running into the snow barefoot with their pants rolled up to their knees. I guess people's rational fear of snow manifests itself in a number of ways...

mental note...

"Russian Takoyaki" is not referring to some cool new fusion food involving Japanese octopus balls cooked in a Russian style accompanied with caviar, vodka, borscht, or anything remotely foreign. And is more likely to be an abbreviation of "Russian Roulette Takoyaki", where one ball, instead of being filled with Octopus, is filled with ridiculously spicy mustard.

Also, it might be recommended to never put a whole takoyaki in your mouth at once, just in off chance you are unknowingly involved in a cruel Japanese pastime that involves scarring people for life after eating said mustard-filled takoyaki, and may not ever look at takoyaki the same way ever again. Even right after you hosted your very first takoyaki party, using the takoyaki cooking set you got for your birthday.

eep! monkeys!

Phew.  After just arriving in Japan on Wedesday night, I figured come the weekend, I'd need a break. Having already done most of the big touristy places that are nearby (Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe) it's now time for us to try and visit either the remaining big touristy places that are further away (Okinawa, Nagasaki & Hokkaido) or some more obscure places. Our failed trip to the Ninja village wasn't the best start, but this weekend, we decided to try another semi-obscure place again.

So the whole point of the trip to Nagano, which included about 3 hours travel each way and an overnight stay? 

Monkeys. 

Well, not just monkeys. Monkeys taking baths. In the snow. That's pretty much it. But totally worth it.

rocky

Alas, my trip back home to Australia is already at an end. Despite being able to check a number of things off my list of things to do, namely eat food and meet up with friends, it feels like this trip was still a little too short. I did end my trip on a high note though, catching up with friends for lunch, before having a final family dinner at my all-time favourite restaurant in Melbourne.

Unfortunately, my favourite restaurant just also happens to be a sushi restaurant. Even the sushi chef there was asking me why the hell I'd be eating Japanese food when I could do so for in a couple of days. Part of the reason I did go though was mainly to reminisce as it was always the restaurant I'd make my family go to for special occasions, like my birthday, or something like that.  And for the awesome sushi of course. Plus, in Japan, I so don't make enough money to be able to go to a fancy sushi restaurant, so I did also justify it by thinking of it as awesome-grade sushi that I myself would never be able to eat in Japan anyway.

But after tonight, I'm totally glad I went. After gorging myself with awesome fancypants sushi (highlights: yakiniku-style grilled beef sushi, and marinated kingfish belly sushi) and while driving home, we encountered one of the less-often visited mascots of my city: Rocky.

For those who aren't completely familiar with the story of Rocky, he's developed a loyal group of fans - namely me, and any of my friends that I can convince to also be supportive of an unconventional city mascot.

As you can see, Rocky's kinda.... special. He originally started off as humble roadkill, unfortunately situated on a stretch of street that many people pass over. What resulted is Rocky being pancaked and presumably difficult to uh.... remove from the road.

The city's solution? Cover the corpse of Rocky the Roadkill Possum with a pile of gravel. That way, no one would know that anything was wrong. Except for the unusual pile or rocks in the middle of a frequently used road. What seemed to eventually happened though, is the rocks directly on top of Rocky adhered to the outline of Rocky's body, while all other rocks  that weren't directly on top of him seemed to disappear after countless drive-overs, leaving a perfectly preserved outline of Rocky's almost-forgotten self.

While I was lying in bed, trying unsuccessfully to get a nap before my flight back, I thought of how each city in Japan was famous for something. Granted, my city in Japan seems to be famous for one of my least favourite fruits, at least it's famous for something. What can my city back home in Melbourne boast about? Well, I guess other than fantastic sushi, it also has a pretty large roadkill animal as well... and that's pretty much it. I wonder if they ever made a marimokkori for my city, what would it be...?

foods to eat over Christmas

Yep, after 18 months living in Japan, I finally visited home in Melbourne... twice in a span of less than two weeks. As much as I wish it was because I'm ridiculously loaded and could afford to do it for the hell of it, it was mainly due to the fact that I had a friend's wedding for a weekend, and then coming back for Christmas holidays, as well as not wanting to make it one long trip from wedding to new year's, which would have used all of my annual leave for the rest of my contract year. And, after spending one Christmas in Japan, I can safely say that Christmas in Japan certainly isn't the same as Christmas back home. Especially when it's not a public holiday, and everywhere you go has already taken Christmas decorations down before Christmas in preparation for New Year's decorations. I think the memory I will always have of Christmas in Japan is sitting in a ramen restaurant eating tonkotsu ramen while listening to The Beatles. Granted, I'm a huge fan of tonkotsu ramen, and the restaurant we were at, but still, not quite the same as gorging yourself in the presence of your family.

So this year, I decided to make sure I was back for a traditional Christmas, to hopefully OD on all things I missed in Australia so I could get through the last six months in Japan. And sure, while Guitar Hero, friends and family were all on my list of things to be excited about, being me, I also had to make a list of foods I had to eat while in Australia. I figured that two weeks back home required careful deliberation and planning of my meals to ensure I got my fill of everything I wanted to eat that I couldn't in Japan.

Foods to check off my list:

• Mexican

cinnamon & orange duck tacos

 

• Lamb

 

•  Thai food

 

Basil chicken & rice

•   Cheap, non ¥3000 pizza

• Yum Cha

• Quality Burger

 

 Mushroom melt burger

 

• Christmas Pig

 

• Cheese

Things yet to be eaten this trip:

• Souvlaki

• Jaffles

• Falafel

• Bailey's Cheesecake

• Lemon Meringue Pie

Food related milestones achieved:

• Taking a bite out of a giant chunk of ham

airplane marimokkori

Another day travelling Japan, another marimokkori to add to my collection.

 

 This one kinda feels like cheating, since it's not actually from any specific area. I'm trying to justify it by saying that it's from the airport, which is sort of like a different area that I've never travelled to before...

Oh, and in other marimokkori news, I found this website, which shows you all the marimokkori in the series - so you just click on an area of Japan, and it'll come up with all the marimokkori available in that area. Pretty cool, huh? Though, I'm trying not to look through all of it, since I'm afraid it'll ruin the fun of travelling into a new area and discovering which ones are available.

me returned australia tomorrow

So, you'd think that after spending a year and a bit in Japan, my Japanese would be good enough to tell people that I went to Australia to see my friends and family, right?

Well, this card begs to differ. after coming on to my local starbucks on my day off, the starbucks people asked me how come I was in so early, as opposed to my usual late afternoon night visit.

What I wanted to say : "well, funny you should ask actually. I'm not working today since ijust got back Australia last night, after. Going there over the weekend for my friend's wedding. So yeah, I thought I'd need a day off to recover today. "

What apparently came out of my mouth:
"Me returned Australia tomorrow."

So, the natural consequence of that random tidbit of information being mentioned to Starbucks people was to ask more questions about me going home. And being on a roll, the only answers I could come up with were "yes" and having a confused look on my face, since I had no idea what they were asking.

So, after our awesome conversation, one Starbucks lady, straight perm, (known for her super straight hair, in case you were wondering where we got that imaginative nickname for her) gave me that little card, thanking me for always getting vanilla lattes and stuff.

So, I'm guessing my Japanese still has a fair way to go....

oh ninjas, how you disappointed me.

Yay for another long weekend! This time, it we were celebrating Labour day, which meant another opportunity to leave our lovely quiet prefecture (read: boring) and go elsewhere. Though, as tradition would dictate, it meant that we only decided the previous week that we wanted to go somewhere new, by which time, everyone else in Japan - being the organised, overzealous type of country - had already decided months in advance they were going to take advantage of the weekend too, and book out all the accomodation for the places we wanted to go. But, rather than drowning my sorrows in numerous cups of vanilla lattes and frappucinos like I usually do, I thought it was a good idea to try driving to a new prefecture. So, we ended up deciding on going to Shiga, a prefecture just next door to Gifu.

But what to do in Shiga? Well, visiting Japan's largest lake seemed so cliché and well, not my cup of tea. I've found out I'm not really one for nature, surprisingly (as I write this on my blog while listening to my iPod). And, all that the city of Nagahama seemed to have on offer, other than the usual temples and castles, was just a really, really old train station. Meh. So, trying to forge new ground, we ended up settling on Koka, the city known for its ninja clan in its heyday. Granted, I wasn't expecting it to be littered with ninjas, (after all, they would be all stealthy anyways if they were good ninjas) but we were hoping to visit Ninja Village, which, as you'd expect, was meant to be a village full of ninja-related crap.

After our two hour drive to Koga, turns out, we arrived a little too late. Like, 10-15 years too late. My super high expectations of the ninja village were a little bit more than shattered when we got there and found that it wasn't really that well maintained. Like, dead crickets and other insects littering the cases of old ninja weapons in the museum. And a tea house that looked like it had collapsed, and was left as it was.  The only redeeming part of the museum turned out to be the ninja star throwing range. It's sad to say when I thought about ninja stars, I immediately thought of Three Ninjas Kick Back, where one of the three was learning to throw ninja stars accurately, was given the wise advice by his uncle to stare at the target until it became the size of a watermelon, and aim at it. So, I did try that technique, though turns out, I can't tell the difference between that technique and squinting, so I wasn't that good.

The one redeeming thing from our trip to Shiga? Marimokkori! Yep, an overpriced ¥420 phone strap made my weekend. I guess that may be a sign of a not-so-successful trip. But nonetheless, as we stopped at a rest stop on the highway between Kyoto and Tokyo, the huge rest stop was stocked with souvenirs from everywhere in between, for the Japanese people who had forgotten to get any presents on the way back from holidaying. Which meant that I was able to buy some Marimokkori from places I had been to before I started my collection! wooo!!

 

Shachihoko (Lion carp), Nagoya

  

Pagoda, Nara

  

 Tanuki (Racoon Dog), Shiga

not meant to be...

Oh unreliable Rusty, I hardly knew ye.

It seems like I've been fighting an uphill battle against the Powers That Be for the last year or so in Japan. As much as I try to go against their plans for me, they seem to try and give me a sign that I'm doing what they don't think I should be doing. The latest sign came today, as I was leaving my house and getting ready for my bike ride to school.

I haven't ridden my bike to school in ages, partially because I've now got a car, and also partially because I'm lazy. But, after the sugarfest and food-gorging-fest known as a weekend in, I decided to try and ride my bike and do something remotely healthy.

Alas, it was not meant to be. Decked out in my coolest biking clothes ever (read: matching tracksuit, since a whole matching tracksuit isn't as lame as it may be back home) and grabbing a bag for my work clothes from my car, I was walking to the apartment's bike parking area, looking for my "Yes We Can!"-branded bike, with its bright blue bike rope wrapped around the back bike rack.

Huh. That's weird. I don't see the blue bike rope thingy. Maybe someone stole my bike rope thing. It's not that uncommon really, since it wasn't like it was locked to the bike. It's already been stolen a few times, but it didn't bother me too much, since it was just from the hundred yen store. Wait a minute. I don't feel as inspired looking through these bikes,  with the one bike sticking out with a name that also doubles as a good life motto...

Yes, my bike was gone. Despite being locked, it seems as if someone with their professional thievery skills has broken my inpenetrable bike lock. And, instead of getting mad or really annoyed, I just shrugged and went back inside my place to get changed into my less cooler, less coordinated work clothes.

I think I'm not as annoyed as I should be because I'm kinda second-doubting myself and my ability to pick out my bike from a lineup of 5 bikes. Plus, I'm also the person who freaked out thinking my car was stolen when my friend said my car wasn't parked outside my house (despite the fact I drove to my other friend's house the previous day and was staying at their place at the time), and I also tried to withdraw 300 bucks from an ATM, only to take my ATM card and my receipt and forget to take out the money sticking out of the machine.

But partially, I'm not annoyed because I know the powers that be have not been wanting me to ride my bike for a long, long time. 

Case in Point: Bike Number 1: aka Rusty red bike. It was free, a hand me down from the person who worked as the English teacher before me at school. Not the best bike, but did manage to get me from A to B. Even though it did get around two flat tires in less than 6 months. In both cases, the tire got punctured on the way to school, which meant I still had to ride my bike to get to school in time.  I also decked it out with a fancy gel-like seat cushion, which was subsequently stolen during a visit to my elementary school, and had multiple bike ropes taken from it as well. The final straw for Rusty was the day a spoke was sticking out as I was riding it. Not wanting to lose momentum, I tried to stick the spoke back in with my foot as I was riding.

After regaining consciousness, and cautiously trying to ride my now-broken bike home and simultaneously alleviating pressure from my foot, I found that it'd cost around 50 bucks to fix my free bike, and take up to a few weeks or so, which, wouldn't have worked with my now purple foot. So, I forked out an extra 25 bucks and got myself a new, shiny one, aka Yes We Can!

While Yes We Can! was shiny and new, it was still plagued with flat tires, flimsy basket, and a missing cap for where you inflate the tire. It had begun to rust after just a few months, leading me to believe that Rusty may have been a Yes We Can! in a previous life.  It's hard for me to compare though, since soon after Yes We Can! was purchased, Rusty mysteriously disappeared from the communal bike area as well.

So, after two bikes, 5-6 flat tires, a broken spokes, a purple foot, 3 stolen bike ropes and a stolen fancy seat cushion, I think the Powers that Be have won.

I just hope they don't have anything against me driving...