Sumo in Fukuoka

Roxy and I got up early this morning to head up to Fukuoka where we had tickets to see a live Sumo match.

I’m not an avid follower of Sumo, nor do I understand all the rules involved. So why go to the game?.. I think Japan is the only place where I might see a live game, so might as well see what it’s like while I’m still here! Also, there was a special deal available to all teachers…so we figured this would be as good a time as any to go.

The sumo players are nowhere near as large as I had though they'd be. So many people in North American could easily pass for a sumo player……

The actions they do before beginning a bout seemed funny to me, probably due to the fact that I don’t understand the meaning behind them. The fight itself is so short that if you drop something and bend down to pick it up, you may miss the entire sparring episode (which is what happened to me).
During a break, while walking down the hallways, we could see many sumo players / trainees wandering around amongst the masses of people.

At one point, there was one sumo player walking around with what looked to be his bodyguard (though why he would need a bodyguard is beyond me…) who was about the same size as him, as well as maybe an apprentice sumo player? Anyways, as they were walking by, everyone was pointing at them and whispering to each other. We figured he might be someone famous, so we asked to take a picture of him. He asked his bodyguard to take the picture for us.

Although he looks very upset in this picture, he smiled at us when we asked if we could take a picture together. Maybe it’s just the ‘sumo picture face’.

It turns out he is Kitazakura san! (who is somewhat famous, or so I’ve been told)

We went out for dinner, and came back in time to see the last 30 minutes of the games. We were told that towards the end of the day, the audience gets more into the games, or something like that. Maybe it’s because one of the last players was from Fukuoka, so it attracted many fukuoka fans. Though, I think it’s more likely to be all the sake that people have been drinking during the day.

After the 2.5 hour bus ride back to Nagasaki, we walked to the dark, deserted-of-people parking lot where my car was...only to find that I had left the keys in the ignition!!! I seem to have become so absent-minded when it comes to car related things. Luckily, there was a teacher who was with us, and he was able to call a Japanese version of CAA to help. The whole thing took about 30 minutes of waiting out side in the cold for help to arrive.

It took less than 2 minutes for the man to get my key out, and I’m thankful that my battery was still ok. Good little purple car.

What a way to end the evening..!

Japanese Speech Contest

So the dreaded speech contest day finally arrived. Iwata san and Roxy came for moral support, which was very much appreciated. There were also 3 other teachers from my school who came to support...what a surprise it was to see them! It was nice that they took time out of their very busy schedules to come, but it made me feel that much more pressure..!

All the correspondence for this speech contest has been in Japanese, but I was able to pick out the most important information (ie place and time). The speech contestants arrived about 2 hours before the speech began in order to receive instructions on how the day would proceed. Once I heard the other contestants speaking to the Japanese staff, I felt very out of place. They are mostly exchange students, fully fluent and able to take classes conducted completely in Japanese..I usually get my point across with key Japanese words used in tarzan-like speech while using over-exaggerated facial expressions and gestures. I felt way out of my league amongst the other contestants. All instructions for the day were in Japanese, and I found it a little overwhelming. I figured I would just follow what everyone else was doing.. I was the last of the 12 contestants to speak.

Other than having a blank right before beginning my speech (the number of people in the audience seemed to have suddenly doubled..), the speech went as well as I could have hoped for. I felt good enough at the end of the speech to think that maybe I might be given a prize like ‘best effort’, if such an award was being given.

Once all the speeches were done, a taiko group entertained us while the judges convened to decide the winner. The taiko group invited the speech contestants on stage to bang on some of the drums, which I’m sure was very amusing for the audience….

Finally, the awards were handed out. I didn’t receive a prize, but it felt like having participated in this event was an accomplishment all on its own! I wish I could have understood what the other contestants were talking about to get ideas for next year, if I’m still around to participate.

I’m glad it’s done!!

(5 days later)

Included in a letter from the Japanese speech contest committee which I received this evening was a very beautiful envelope containing a 5,000 yen consolation prize. They had probably mentioned during the instruction time that everyone would get a gift for participating, but I didn’t understand half of what was being said. So it came as a nice surprise!

Parking-friendly car unveiled

It looks like a toy..!

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?rn=222561&cl=4397084&ch=2165253

Seeing as how ridiculously narrow and tiny some parking spots are and how difficult it is to try to maneuver into them, I think these 'parking-friendly' cars would be ideal for Japan! (No more 9-point turns when trying to get out of some parking lots...)

Yosakoi Festival in Sasebo

Over a hundred different teams come to Sasebo during the Yosakoi festival to compete for the title of 'best yosakoi group'. I had yet to see the Yosakoi festival in Sasebo, so I thought it would be nice to take a look!

On our way downtown, we stopped at the Biodome park for lunch. It was such a beautiful day!


In Sasebo, there were dancers performing on the street and throughout the arcade. People of all ages could be seen in these dances. I love that about festivals in Japan...The whole community will work together to organize these festivals. Young or old, there's something for everyone to do!



In the park was where the main competition was taking place. These dances were so energetic!! I wanted to join them!!

Orange Day at Ikiriki elementary school

I spent today at an elementary school where, along with about 20 or so other ALTs, I participated in 'Orange Day'.

We were each responsible for a goup of 6 kids, ranging from the ages of 6 to 12. The day started out with a hike up a mountain, and once we arrived at the top, there were all kinds of activities organized for us (treasure hunts, races, games etc..).

Part of the hike up to the park (easily an hour of the hike) was along a 2-lane road, where the sidewalk was just wide enough for two people to walk side by side, and where large trucks and other vehicles would wizz by. I couldn't help but think that this was very unsafe....!

Once we arrived at the park, we went mikan (orange) picking, race tobagonned down a hill, yelled at the top of our lungs, played catch, etc....

I felt like a little kid again!

Results for the Speech contest applicants

I came home exhausted from work, wanting nothing more then to have supper and go to bed. I went to grab some food and saw this!!

Ack, I hate spiders! Doesn't this spider know that the bug and insect season is over??

I grabbed a huge omiyage box I had laying around, and tried to whack it, but it jumped into the box I was holding. I was startled, dropped the box, and it ran towards the bottom of my counter.

Approaching the counter slowly armed with my omiyage box, I checked under the counter and couldn't find it..where did it go???

Now I have an angry spider running around somewhere in my house.....this is not good....

On a brighter note, when I checked my email just now, I found that I have been selected as one of the 10 speakers for the speech contest!!!! I need to get started on memorizing the speech now..!

Japanese Speech submitted

I’ve been meaning to catch up on my blogging for the last month, but as time goes by and the amount of stuff I want to write about grows, it becomes this huge project... If I get a chance, I’ll list some of the highlights from the past couple of months.

However, for now, I’ll just pick up from the last couple of days, and try to be more regular with my updates!

Preparations for the trip to China are coming along well. I got my passport back a couple of days ago, with my visa for China. I'm still on the waiting list for the plane ticket..I hope I will get a seat.

Yesterday, I submitted a recording for the Japanese speech contest I entered. I read about it in a local newsletter and thought I’d give it a try. I have no expectations of winning any prizes with it, but I figured it would serve as good practice! Ten applicants out of the recordings that are received will be invited to compete in a speech contest next month.

Every day, there are little incidences that come up that make me think that I need to put more effort into improving my Japanese. Just yesterday, I went down to the office to ask to pick up my paycheck, and instead asked for a cucumber.

International Day at Minami high school

I spent the day at Steve's high school downtown where some ALTs were invited to do presentation on their home countries. The students at this school were all very enthusiastic about learning new things, nice class.

It was a nice change spending the day at a different school!

Afterwards, a couple of us went to hang out at Roxy's place for a while. With 2 guitars lying around, some of the musically-inclined people treated us to some good listening...it was a nice evening!

Nagasaki Okunchi Festival

A week before the Okunchi festival began, Roxy and I were rushing downtown to buy a couple of train tickets for Fukuoka where Roxy will be attending a NOVA training meeting. Just our luck, there happen to be a jaodori (dragon dance) practice happening at Amu..!

Once they were done with the practice, the head of the dragon was available for people come see up close. Pretty creepy looking...

A week later was the official start to the Okunchi festival. The day before one of the shows, Iwata san called me up and said that she had a free ticket to one of the shows, and offered it to Roxy since it's first year in Japan. I took Roxy to the location thinking that I would not be able to enter (not having bought a ticket beforehand..) but when we got to the doors, the lady allowed me to go in with Roxy...! nice..!

Here are some pictures of the dances from the Okunchi festival this year:

Lunch Chengdu-style

Cho and Lee are a Chinese couple that work at Isahaya Shogyo High school. After I met them last summer, I found out that they had lived a short while in Chengdu where I will meeting my parents during the winter holidays this year.

They invited me over for lunch today to share more about what Chengdu is like. They prepared this lovely homecooked meal, one of the dishes being a speciality of Chengdu. And my favorite..gyoza! It was delicious!!

(not serious) car trouble

After work today, we had an enkai for the English teachers at my school. After dinner, we decided to go out for some karaoke. There were 4 cars following each other to a place that one of the teachers recommended.

So we're all driving along when, in the middle of a busy road, my car suddenly stops.... The two cars behind me pull over to ask why I stopped, seeing as how we're not anywhere near a karaoke place......

My car ran out of gas!!

One of my friends drove over to the nearest gas station to pick up some gas for us. thank goodness I was not on my own!

In the meantime, we sat on the side of the road, waiting...and I thought I'd take a picture to remember the moment.

Was a fun night indeed!

Tokyo / Mount Fuji Trip (Sept 15-18)

I spent the long weekend up in Tokyo (a birthday treat to myself :) ) where May, Sunil and I climbed to the top of Mount Fuji!

After doing a little research online in preparation for the climb, I discovered that the date that we had chosen to do the climb fell outside of the official climbing season. And according to some sites, attempting to get to the top outside of the ‘official climbing season’ can be very dangerous for novice hikers. Seeing as how none of the three of us have any experience in hiking mountains whatsoever, this didn’t sit too well with me…but then, it wasn’t like we were trying to climb the mountain too far outside of the climbing season (ie December or January). I wasn’t sure what kind of equipment we would need, but decided I wouldn’t stress too much about gear.

The evening I arrived in Tokyo, we went straight to dinner followed by karaoke!

We made it home a little late, and set up the next morning for the 4 hour bus ride that would bring us to our starting point: Kawaguchiko 5th Station, in the Yamanashi Prefecture.

We started out at around 4:30pm. Along the way, we met three friendly Thai guys who we ended up climbing with till the 8th station.

The first couple of hours of the hike up were pretty easy. But once we reached the 7th station, it all changed. By then it had gotten dark, was much cooler and windier, and the climb became much steeper. From this point on, we were climbing rocks and boulders on a much steeper incline.

We arrived at the hut on the 8th station around 9:30pm, wet (at times, there was a slight drizzle) and exhausted. We stayed the night in the one and only hut that was still open on the 8th station.

The next morning at 2:30am, we got up feeling exhausted, still wet, and in my and Sunil's case with a massive headache. After spending a little time outside to get fresh air, the headache didn’t seem as bad.

We decided to carry on to the top. From the hut, it took another 2 hours or so to reach the summit.

We finally made it to the top of Mount Fuji (3 776 m or 12 388 feet), in time to see the sunrise!

It was a gorgeous sight, felt like we were on top of the world. The wind was so strong at the top, I was a little worried of being blown off the side when too close to the edges.

The walk down was much more difficult than the climb up. I found walking down the zigzag path covered in dried lava pieces of various sizes very taxing on the legs.

It took us a good 4 hours or so to get back to our starting point. The next day, before catching my afternoon flight back to Nagasaki, we went out to a Persian restaurant, and they had gormeh sahbzi!! We had a little extra time, so also squeezed in some purikura, always lots of fun :)

May, thank you for everything this weekend!!!http://www.flickr.com/photos/68681530@N00/sets/72157602089750823/

Happy Birthday Foxy Roxy!

Here's wishing you all the best for the coming year!

I love you li'l Roxy!

Roxy has arrived in Japan!

After Roxy's long and eventful flight (thanks to NOVA) from home to Nagasaki, we decided it would be best if she stayed the first night at my place where, two minutes after setting foot in the spare room, she seemed to have made herself right at home!

The next day, we spent the day cleaning the Center, and getting things set up. Here we are feeling good about all the work we got done.

Me is happy to have family nearby!

Sechibaru English Camp (Aug 16-23)

The day after David headed back home, I participated in a one-week long English camp (as a counsellor) in a small town about 2.5 hours from here. It was loads of fun!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68681530@N00/sets/72157602577148025/

Saying Goodbyes

Within a span of 3 weeks, the people who I most enjoyed spending time with have all left Japan...!

Erica and I arrived in Japan together on the JET program, and over the 3 years planned lots of trips together. Despite living in different prefectures, the 3 or 4 hour trip was no deterrent to us getting together! Thanks to her, I feel as home in Kumamoto at Erica's place as I do in Nagasaki. I look forward to next meeting up in Canada! After being in Japan for 3 years, it'll be interesting to hear how adusting to life in Canada will be like! I can expect a similar experience when I go back I'm sure..

Although Sheila lived way out in Kochi, it felt like she was always nearby..Our birthdays being only a day apart was just one of the many things we had in common. Celebrating our birthdays in Tokyo, camp in Yamaguchi, morning calls during the Fast, Korea and Australia were just some of the fun times we had together..I look forward to our next trip together! We'll have to find a way to break the 'miho/sheila/michelle' weather spell though..... !!!

From the first time I met Alex, he reminded me so much of David, that I took an instant liking to him. He's a kind, laid back kinda of guy, who is so easy to get along with. He'd been to my school a couple of times, and everyone (especially the girls) loved him, and when I visited his school we were automatically thought to be a couple (as are any two foreigners together!) which we had fun playing up! Although he was only here for one year, it felt like I'd known him forever. I'm going to miss him!!

And to top it all off, David just left this morning.

There's so much that happened while David was here, and since I don't have much time now to write about it all I'll just post some pictures instead. http://www.flickr.com/photos/68681530@N00/sets/72157602574554560/

Typhoon? What typhoon?...i don’t feel no typhoon here.

After all the hoolahoo about a big typhoon heading this way (school was even cancelled!!), it was a bit of let down to have nothing more than very light rain and some wind. Although the typhoon made itself felt in Oita and Kochi prefecture, it just skimmed over Nagasaki. Had there been no warning, I wouldn’t have thought anything was out of the ordinary!

So instead of going to Oita, we went out for Indian food, and hung around Isahaya.

Alex came over for a networked game of StarCraft, we took David for his first onsen experience, and drove around in the hopes of spotting a tanooki, these really creepy looking creatures that can sometimes be seen around the airport.

We met up with a friend and went out for a late night snack, at a place called bikkuri donkey (surprised donkey). What a name...!