Thursday, November 30, 2006

Happy Birthday Elspeth!!



Happy 24th birthday to my Japanese translating- Japan travelling-mountain hiking-shrine/temple seeing-snarky comment making- Hello Kitty loving buddy!

I hope you had a good day (even though you had to work)!

I'm looking forward to more crazy adventures (Kanazawa, here we come!!)

A couple of dark days

I know people are waiting for a Kyoto update but I've been kind of distracted lately and haven't been in the mood to talk about autumn leaves or historical sights, although both were spectacular. You see, a guy who was a year ahead of me at Richview was attacked with a brick on the weekend and yesterday he passed away.

I remember seeing Michael Serba around the halls of Richview and I admit I had a bit of a crush on him. He looked like one of those good, sweet guys who was different from those really annoying popular kids he hung around (Richview people - you know who I mean).

He is the first person that I know to die at such a young age. And the fact that he died in such a horrific, violent way has really affected me. You never think this kind of thing could happen to someone you know, in a neighbourhood you consider safe. It's shocking and sad.

So I just want to send all of my friends and family a hug. I am thinking about you all and I'm so thankful for each of you.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Laters!



I'm off to Kyoto for the weekend - in search of more wonderful autumn leaves! Check back in a couple days for pictures and stories from one of my favourite cities.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

誕生日おめでとう(tanjobi omedeto) (HAPPY BIRTHDAY) BECKY!!!!

To The Girl with the Huge Apartment,

I hope you had a great day! We will celebrate properly next weekend in Kanazawa!!

The Recovery Room


- coughing, headaches and lots of snot!

Today is a holiday (no work!) so here's my plan to cure my cold;
- Orange juice, clementines, anything citrus-infused
- Hot chocolate because it's yummy
- Toast because I don't want to eat anything else
- Crazy Japanese pills given to my by my manager who, I think, is a little terrified that I'll have to take a personal day
- Monty Python autobiography (spam,spam,eggs and spam)
- Felicity (especially the smart powder episode!)("She's supposed to be liking ME!" - Oh Noel!)
- And of course, lots of sleep

In other news:

I GOT TO SKYPE WITH AARON!!! FINALLY. Thank you Dad and Fil for bugging him about downloading it. Now someone just has to get a photo of him talking to me with his karaoke mike!

Monday, November 20, 2006

Red is Best!



Today I woke up with a cold. But damnit, the cold wasn't going to keep me away from my foliage!

Types of Transportation required to get to foliage:
- JR Train from Kanayama to Maibara (Near Lake Biwa) to Inae & back to Hikone (heeheehee oops!)
- Omi Electric Train (train meet streetcar)
- Shuttle bus (the bus driver was so cute and nice...I just wanted to stay on the bus!)

Time spent getting to the foliage:
- Train: 2.5 hours (just to get there)
- Shuttle bus: at least 20 minutes between the station and between each temple

Cost to see foliage: Lets not talk about that.

Weather: Not the best, but it didn't rain. At the end of the day though it was FREEEEEEZZZING!

Average age of other tourists: 70

Number of foreigners seen: None

Number of times I got lost (or misdirected by the lies of the internet): 2 (pretty good I think, considering I only met one person who spoke any English and nothing was written in English...all kanji)

Was it worth the time, money, effort?? Just look at the pictures! (Mom, I know your answer)

SAIMYOJI














KONGORINJI











Oh, and...

Number of monkeys seen: 1!!

Sunday, November 19, 2006

A Rainy Sunday Afternoon



Today it is gray and chilly. I stayed in bed for as long as I could but then I thought about all the stuff I had to do today and finally got up. I did some laundry, straightened up the flat and then went out into the cold to visit the grocery store. Autumn is a great time for fruit and vegetables in Japan. I spent a long time gazing at the fruit (finally deciding on a small bag of mikan, Japanese oranges) but I was determined to stick to my list (I even pre-decided on my meals this week, I'm such a nerd). I walked up and down the aisles, trying to block out the cracked out Christmas carols that were being blasted throughout the store. I feel sorry for the employees because after about 5 minutes I wanted to run screaming from the store.



I bought some absolutely gorgeous mushrooms (oh man, I LOVE Japanese mushrooms...I'll never be able to eat white button mushrooms again) and what do you do with leeks and mushrooms on a cold day? You make cream of mushroom soup of course. Ahhh...yummy...best part is that the big pot of soup cost me less than 250 yen to make.



Tonight I'm going to write some emails (I know Taryn...I promised you one a LONG LONG time ago) and finish listening to Order of the Phoenix (Oh, snarky Harry!). Tomorrow I'm off to Lake Biwa in search of autumn foliage. Oh, here's a newspaper clipping I thought you'd all enjoy. Shock, horror...high school students smoking?!?!(What would they think of the smoking section at Richview?) (this was second page news)

Saturday, November 18, 2006

On the Mall Bus



Since it has become fall and I don't really want to pay a lot of money for heating yet (Japanese buildings are notorious for being badly insulated) I decided I needed some kind of quilt/blanket to keep me toasty at night. That meant I had to brave the crowds and go to the AEON mall. I'm lucky to live where I do - with my work subway pass I can get to Kanayama station for free and then take the free shuttle bus to the mall.

Sunday afternoon I found myself jammed into the bus with about a hundred other Japanese shoppers all ready to spend money on cute things. The mall kind of scares me. Girls get super dressed up in their teeny tiny miniskirts and Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman high boots and parents drag their kids around. Bon Jovi music drifts through some stores, mixed with the occasional Christmas carol from the main part of the mall. Don't even try to get food - there are super long queues at every restaurant and fast food place.



I started by just browsing but after about 20 minutes I decided that I wanted to get my bloody blanket and get out of there! I headed to Beaux-arts (aka the Black-Grey-Brown store...not to be confused with Muji, the Navy Blue-Black-Tan store) where they were having a sale. I could have bought a ton of stuff in this store but I restrained myself (Laura, remember you are travelling a lot this month...save your money!) and headed to the bedding section. I didn't see anything really on sale but wait, what was that folded on the bottom shelf?? It was a pretty chocolate brown quilt...ok the moment of truth...how much was it?? Well, hmm..not really sure...2 price tags? Either it was 5000 yen or 2900yen..

I scanned my eyes around the store to see if any other sale crazy shopper was checking out bedding before carefully folding it back up and tucking it WAY back on the bottom shelf. Then I almost ran to Jusco (think Japanese Target) to check out their blankets...Yuck all fuzzy with flowers and pastel colours and a lot more expensive. Back to Beaux-Arts, where I grabbed MY quilt and went to the cash. When I pointed out the two price tag situation the clerk very nicely pointed to the 2900yen one. WOOHOO! Super shopper Laura strikes again.



To congratulate myself I headed back to Jusco with my quilt (take that Jusco I don't need your ugly quilt!) and bought some real cheese (the only place I can find real, inexpensive cheese) and splurged on a sashimi dinner (actually not that expensive). Then I went back home, wrapped myself in my quilt, ate sashimi and avoided my lesson plan for my follow-up training the next day.



On Monday I had follow-up training at headquarters. In my group there was a really nice Australian girl who arrived in August and then there was Super Bitter Guy. I wasn't feeling so great so it turned into a very long day. Super Bitter Guy didn't shut up the entire 9.5 hours. He went on and on about how much he hated aeon and his manager and how he was tempted to go home for Christmas and not come back. By the end of the day I wanted to tell him he should do it.

This week I'm on the hunt for some autumn foliage! Here's some pictures of a park in Obu (It's the one where we went dad, on the hottest, muggiest day and I was attacked by mosquitos! It was quite different yesterday - cold and silent)








Wednesday, November 08, 2006

It's Autumn...at last!



It has finally happened...fall has arrived in Japan!! WOOHOO!! I'm sitting here in my flannel pjs (hear that mum, FLANNEL) and my famous orange polar fleece, eating a crisp autumn apple and sipping some hot chocolate. Like everything in Japan, it happened suddenly (just like how one minute it's day and then 'ding' it's pitch black night) and I think it is here to stay. Leaves are starting to change colour and Shinobu sensei told me that the t.v. is broadcasting when the leaves in Kyoto will be their best (Elspeth and I are planning a trip at the end of the month!).

Friday, November 03, 2006

Gozaisho




On Monday Elspeth and I set off, determined to climb Gozaisho, the tallest mountain in the Mie prefecture. We got on a train from Nagoya, changed trains in Yokkaichi and took a smaller line through the countryside to Yunoyama Onsen station. The area is well known for onsens and we were not the only ones headed up the mountain. But it felt like we were the only people under 60 and we were definitely the only foreigners.



When we arrived at the bottom, everyone else headed to the ropeway/cablecar. It is one of the longest in the world and takes 12 minutes to get to the top. We scoffed at the ropeway and tried to figure out the best way up the mountain. We headed to a bridge where we looked up at the mountain. It was tall. VERY HUGE.



5 minutes later we were in line at the ropeway with one-way tickets in our hot little hands. We both decided that taking the ropeway up and then climbing down would be the best idea. By the time we got to the top, we were positive that we'd made the right choice as we discovered that there was a chairlift thing that took you even higher to the very peak. We grabbed some lunch, hopped on the chairlift (which was quite terrifying at first) and explored the peak.




At the top it felt almost like autumn. The trees were starting to change colour and it even smelt like fall. We had perfect weather for hiking. At the shrine, Elspeth was the first to hit the gong and she started a trend (we could hear others hitting it afterwards). We found a 'path' down the mountain...I say 'path' because it was really just trees marked with red paint that you had to follow. And this kind of path would never have been allowed in N. America because there were times when you had to repel down a rockface by holding onto a chain or rope. At other times, there were cliffs on either side that one could very easily slip off.





This was a hard climb. I had imagined a well maintained, well marked path that we could walk in a leisurely manner but instead this took all of my concentration and lets just say my short legs were not helping me, Several times, groups of older (sometimes really old) Japanese climbers would run past us. I was bewildered as to how they were getting down the mountain so fast. One group even had a fancy mountain baby backpack and this tiny, smiling kid was being carted down. One group stopped long enough to ask if I was part Japanese, listen to Elspeth's explanation that I was mixed, call me 'kawaii' and then run down the path and disappear.






THREE hours later we stumbled out of the forest and onto a road. Both of us had a bad case of 'jelly legs' and we were hoping we were close to the bus stop. ONE hour after that we found the road near the ropeway start and collapsed on a bench to re-energize with some brownies (my mom's fabulous brownies all the way from TO!!!) and stare at the mountain that had taken four hours to climb down.




Somehow we dragged ourselves back to the bus stop, caught the very last bus, got on the train and made it back to Nagoya. We scarfed down a taco salad at a 50's diner in the train station and then headed home. The next morning I woke up and thought I was paralyzed. Never in my life has my body felt so broken all over. Lessons were hard on Tuesday but the climb was worth it. The scenery was beautiful and it was nice to spend the day outside in the perfect almost-autumn weather.