Summer Update part 1
I wrote this update, and was going to put pictures with it, but it's super long, so I figured I'd upload pictures to photobucket and just add a link to the different albums rather than try and shove pictures in this....
Well I’ve been pretty lazy this summer regarding keeping my journal updated. My last day of classes before summer holiday was July 23rd. I had to make up the 7 work days between then and the end of July, (before the end of August) because I was getting a full paycheque for July. In my town it’s covered by speech contest prep. On the evening of the 23rd, the staff of my JHS went out to celebrate the end of term with a dinner and some karaoke. Lots of fun was had by all. I didn’t go back into work until the following Wednesday. I worked Wed-Fri for a couple hours each day. Talked to the two girls doing the speech contest about public speaking and clarified some English words in their speeches that they might not know how to pronounce.
Friday night a couple of my friends, Jen and Dave, came and stayed with me for the weekend. On Saturday they headed into Tokyo, and did some errands in town. They came back in time to meet me at the local festival that was being held Saturday and Sunday night. We managed to score some free food and beer thanks to Dave’s Japanese abilities. We explained that I was the local English teacher and they were from out of town. We watched some traditional dancing and drumming by local kids and adults alike and had a good time before heading home with a quarter of a watermelon for later.
Sunday we headed into Tokyo to see a flea market, and the Pokémon center. We met up with another friend Lynn and got a little lost. Eventually (with no help from the people we asked for directions) we finally found the place we were supposed to go. When we got to the flea market we met up with some friends of Jen, who lived on the US military base nearby. We spent a couple hours wandering around and eating lunch then headed to Tokyo Tower and the Pokémon center. We got a little lost (my fault) on the subway but eventually got to the right place. We headed up the hill to Tokyo tower, and when we got near Jen asked for directions. We walked by, and around the tower a bit but found nothing. We asked directions again, this time from someone who had Pokémon paraphernalia, and was told it was about 1.5k away, back down the hill in the direction we’d come from. After 20 minutes of walking, and a few more direction checks, we found the place we were looking for. Jen and Lynn went in, and Dave and I chilled out outside.
It was getting late, and Lynn had a 2 hr train ride home. The next day Jen, Dave, our friend Joe and I were going to Jen and Dave’s house. Jen and Dave had a car which could seat 5, so they asked Lynn if she wanted to come with us. Unfortunately she had to work most of the summer so she wasn’t able to come, so we split directions at Kasukabe station and she went on to Ota and Jen, Dave and I headed to Yagisaki, and hopes of another free meal at the second night of Odori (dance festival).
We headed over and scored more food, but this time we had to dance for our suppers, so up we got to shake our groove thangs. We did our best, and had fun. No one really cared that we couldn’t dance quite right or that we weren’t Japanese. Everyone was enjoying themselves. We helped clean up (as the closed earlier since it was Sunday) and headed back to my place to get ready for departure the next day.
The next morning we sorted things out, I finished packing and we headed to Kasukabe stn to pick up Joe who had come from around Narita. Once we got Joe, we got on the road. Halfway to Jen and Dave’s place we stopped at a Costco for shits and giggles, as well as to see if we could stock up on some North American necessities. I almost bought a huge container of Jelly Bellies, but knew it’d be a pain to carry back with me later that week. Dave and Joe each bought a 1kg tub of PB and between the 3 of them picked up some alcohol and a few other things. I wished that it was closer to me, so I could actually go there shopping. They do deliveries, so maybe I’ll see what I can have delivered.
By the time we got to Minami Alps, (after stopping for some groceries) it was pretty late. Mind you that didn’t keep us from staying up talking and playing video games until around 3 am. The next day was not super hot and overcast and we made plans to try and see some of the cool caves in the area. There was the Bat cave, the Ice and Wind cave, and I can’t remember the 3rd cave. Jen also wanted to take a walk in the Suicide Forest, which surrounded the caves.
Eventually we got ourselves out of the house. The first cave we hit was the Bat Cave. Luckily there were no bats in the section we could climb through. And I use climb rather than walk for a reason. At some points you practically had to crawl through the tunnels because they were so low. I had worn a white shirt (not the smartest idea, I realize now) but luckily had a black jacket with me, so I threw that on and did my best not to fall or trip on the uneven ground. Those of you who know me know how hard that was.
When we came out of the cave, there was a point where the cooler air from the cave met the humid air and you literally, in the space of one step went from cool to hot. The gift shop/information center not only had real bat stuff, but also had an impressive collection of ‘batman’ posters.
The second cave was the official wind cave, but it had some ice in it, which still hadn’t melted in the middle of July. As we were taking pictures a large group of university students came down, and to our amusement, seemed more amazed at the puddles than the ice. This began a running joke of “oooh puddles”. There were also some samples of plants and bugs kept there.
The third cave, the ice cave went deeper, and had some ice stalactites and stalagmites. It also had some drawing showing how people used to use this to keep ice for summer months. They had a light set up and it looked really beautiful. After the now required “ooh puddles” comments we tried not to injure ourselves on the ice under the puddles while taking pictures. I could have stayed there for hours.
We headed above ground to find that it had started to rain a bit, so we went into the gift shop and bought some goodies and/ice cream. We then stopped by a like and got some cool foggy lakeside pictures before heading to a waterside festival with fireworks. We got there before it got dark and snagged a spot on the retaining wall beside the road, high enough that we could see the lake and clear line of sight for the fireworks coming later. They had a few test fireworks to make sure they could be seen with the weather and then all over the lake you could see little lights in straight lines. More and more as night fell, around every inlet on the lake. The fireworks finally started and were pretty impressive for a small local festival.
We finally headed home and ended up talking, playing video games and harassing another friend over Skype and finding out how her date had gone the weekend before with one of the student teachers who’d been at her school the month earlier (not well) and bugging her for an hour or so. Then we finally headed to bed.
The next day we got out of the house earlier than the day before and tried to find the Mt. Fuji information center, however it was harder to find that you’d think and ended up not going but taking a walk in the Suicide Forest, which we hadn’t gotten to the day before. We parked and found an entrance. We followed a trail and then a rope that eventually lead us to one of the major paths.
It’s called the Suicide Forest because every year people go in to commit suicide. The rope was probably a guide for someone in case they changed their mind. Twice a year, fall and spring, search teams go in to bring out the bodies of people who killed themselves. I have to admit it was very peaceful to walk through but kind of scary at the same time.
We then went to a flower park that was supposed to have lots of sunflowers, but they weren’t blooming yet, so we had to make due with what was there. There was supposed to be a great view of Mt. Fuji, but the weather wasn’t agreeing with us, but patience finally paid off and for about 5 minutes I was able to get a couple shots of Mt. Fuji.
We then headed back to Minami Alps because Jen and Dave had an English conversation group with other ALTs and some locals. Joe and I tagged along. We almost convinced some people to come out for Karaoke, but then everyone baled, so we just headed home for another evening of video games and talking.
The next day we got up and had breakfast and then Jen and Dave drove Joe and me to the bus station so we could catch the bus back to Tokyo. They were also meeting a new person there to show them around and provide a car so he could buy a few larger necessities that he couldn’t get home on his own.
The bus back was rather quick, since it took the toll highway (we had avoided those on the way to Minami Alps) and we were in Shinjuku a couple hours later. Supposedly the train wasn’t much faster, and the bus was half again cheaper.
I figured out how to get from Shinjuku to home and collapsed for the night. The next day I unpacked and did laundry from the trip, and the linens from the guest bed. I relaxed, caught up with my north American and Japanese TV via internet and got a few groceries, gave myself the day to relax.
Pictures can be found at: http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f334/_meesh_/Japan%202011-2012/Summer%20part%201/?start=all
Well I’ve been pretty lazy this summer regarding keeping my journal updated. My last day of classes before summer holiday was July 23rd. I had to make up the 7 work days between then and the end of July, (before the end of August) because I was getting a full paycheque for July. In my town it’s covered by speech contest prep. On the evening of the 23rd, the staff of my JHS went out to celebrate the end of term with a dinner and some karaoke. Lots of fun was had by all. I didn’t go back into work until the following Wednesday. I worked Wed-Fri for a couple hours each day. Talked to the two girls doing the speech contest about public speaking and clarified some English words in their speeches that they might not know how to pronounce.
Friday night a couple of my friends, Jen and Dave, came and stayed with me for the weekend. On Saturday they headed into Tokyo, and did some errands in town. They came back in time to meet me at the local festival that was being held Saturday and Sunday night. We managed to score some free food and beer thanks to Dave’s Japanese abilities. We explained that I was the local English teacher and they were from out of town. We watched some traditional dancing and drumming by local kids and adults alike and had a good time before heading home with a quarter of a watermelon for later.
Sunday we headed into Tokyo to see a flea market, and the Pokémon center. We met up with another friend Lynn and got a little lost. Eventually (with no help from the people we asked for directions) we finally found the place we were supposed to go. When we got to the flea market we met up with some friends of Jen, who lived on the US military base nearby. We spent a couple hours wandering around and eating lunch then headed to Tokyo Tower and the Pokémon center. We got a little lost (my fault) on the subway but eventually got to the right place. We headed up the hill to Tokyo tower, and when we got near Jen asked for directions. We walked by, and around the tower a bit but found nothing. We asked directions again, this time from someone who had Pokémon paraphernalia, and was told it was about 1.5k away, back down the hill in the direction we’d come from. After 20 minutes of walking, and a few more direction checks, we found the place we were looking for. Jen and Lynn went in, and Dave and I chilled out outside.
It was getting late, and Lynn had a 2 hr train ride home. The next day Jen, Dave, our friend Joe and I were going to Jen and Dave’s house. Jen and Dave had a car which could seat 5, so they asked Lynn if she wanted to come with us. Unfortunately she had to work most of the summer so she wasn’t able to come, so we split directions at Kasukabe station and she went on to Ota and Jen, Dave and I headed to Yagisaki, and hopes of another free meal at the second night of Odori (dance festival).
We headed over and scored more food, but this time we had to dance for our suppers, so up we got to shake our groove thangs. We did our best, and had fun. No one really cared that we couldn’t dance quite right or that we weren’t Japanese. Everyone was enjoying themselves. We helped clean up (as the closed earlier since it was Sunday) and headed back to my place to get ready for departure the next day.
The next morning we sorted things out, I finished packing and we headed to Kasukabe stn to pick up Joe who had come from around Narita. Once we got Joe, we got on the road. Halfway to Jen and Dave’s place we stopped at a Costco for shits and giggles, as well as to see if we could stock up on some North American necessities. I almost bought a huge container of Jelly Bellies, but knew it’d be a pain to carry back with me later that week. Dave and Joe each bought a 1kg tub of PB and between the 3 of them picked up some alcohol and a few other things. I wished that it was closer to me, so I could actually go there shopping. They do deliveries, so maybe I’ll see what I can have delivered.
By the time we got to Minami Alps, (after stopping for some groceries) it was pretty late. Mind you that didn’t keep us from staying up talking and playing video games until around 3 am. The next day was not super hot and overcast and we made plans to try and see some of the cool caves in the area. There was the Bat cave, the Ice and Wind cave, and I can’t remember the 3rd cave. Jen also wanted to take a walk in the Suicide Forest, which surrounded the caves.
Eventually we got ourselves out of the house. The first cave we hit was the Bat Cave. Luckily there were no bats in the section we could climb through. And I use climb rather than walk for a reason. At some points you practically had to crawl through the tunnels because they were so low. I had worn a white shirt (not the smartest idea, I realize now) but luckily had a black jacket with me, so I threw that on and did my best not to fall or trip on the uneven ground. Those of you who know me know how hard that was.
When we came out of the cave, there was a point where the cooler air from the cave met the humid air and you literally, in the space of one step went from cool to hot. The gift shop/information center not only had real bat stuff, but also had an impressive collection of ‘batman’ posters.
The second cave was the official wind cave, but it had some ice in it, which still hadn’t melted in the middle of July. As we were taking pictures a large group of university students came down, and to our amusement, seemed more amazed at the puddles than the ice. This began a running joke of “oooh puddles”. There were also some samples of plants and bugs kept there.
The third cave, the ice cave went deeper, and had some ice stalactites and stalagmites. It also had some drawing showing how people used to use this to keep ice for summer months. They had a light set up and it looked really beautiful. After the now required “ooh puddles” comments we tried not to injure ourselves on the ice under the puddles while taking pictures. I could have stayed there for hours.
We headed above ground to find that it had started to rain a bit, so we went into the gift shop and bought some goodies and/ice cream. We then stopped by a like and got some cool foggy lakeside pictures before heading to a waterside festival with fireworks. We got there before it got dark and snagged a spot on the retaining wall beside the road, high enough that we could see the lake and clear line of sight for the fireworks coming later. They had a few test fireworks to make sure they could be seen with the weather and then all over the lake you could see little lights in straight lines. More and more as night fell, around every inlet on the lake. The fireworks finally started and were pretty impressive for a small local festival.
We finally headed home and ended up talking, playing video games and harassing another friend over Skype and finding out how her date had gone the weekend before with one of the student teachers who’d been at her school the month earlier (not well) and bugging her for an hour or so. Then we finally headed to bed.
The next day we got out of the house earlier than the day before and tried to find the Mt. Fuji information center, however it was harder to find that you’d think and ended up not going but taking a walk in the Suicide Forest, which we hadn’t gotten to the day before. We parked and found an entrance. We followed a trail and then a rope that eventually lead us to one of the major paths.
It’s called the Suicide Forest because every year people go in to commit suicide. The rope was probably a guide for someone in case they changed their mind. Twice a year, fall and spring, search teams go in to bring out the bodies of people who killed themselves. I have to admit it was very peaceful to walk through but kind of scary at the same time.
We then went to a flower park that was supposed to have lots of sunflowers, but they weren’t blooming yet, so we had to make due with what was there. There was supposed to be a great view of Mt. Fuji, but the weather wasn’t agreeing with us, but patience finally paid off and for about 5 minutes I was able to get a couple shots of Mt. Fuji.
We then headed back to Minami Alps because Jen and Dave had an English conversation group with other ALTs and some locals. Joe and I tagged along. We almost convinced some people to come out for Karaoke, but then everyone baled, so we just headed home for another evening of video games and talking.
The next day we got up and had breakfast and then Jen and Dave drove Joe and me to the bus station so we could catch the bus back to Tokyo. They were also meeting a new person there to show them around and provide a car so he could buy a few larger necessities that he couldn’t get home on his own.
The bus back was rather quick, since it took the toll highway (we had avoided those on the way to Minami Alps) and we were in Shinjuku a couple hours later. Supposedly the train wasn’t much faster, and the bus was half again cheaper.
I figured out how to get from Shinjuku to home and collapsed for the night. The next day I unpacked and did laundry from the trip, and the linens from the guest bed. I relaxed, caught up with my north American and Japanese TV via internet and got a few groceries, gave myself the day to relax.
Pictures can be found at: http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f334/_meesh_/Japan%202011-2012/Summer%20part%201/?start=all