Ready for October

Well the temperature is finally dropping to below the auto-sweat levels. I'm looking forward to being able to comfortably hang out outside.
These arrived a few weeks ago but I feel the world is just now ready to witness the plates that Yukiko & I crafted during our visit to England Hill. Yukiko's is the good one on the right; mine is the one on the left with the thingy that looks somewhat like a koala.

Limited Edition Collector's Plates - BUY NOW!!!

On Saturday Keiko, Seigo, Yuka and Yukiko's cousing Naoko came to visit. It was a fun day with lots of food (Yukiko made a delicious pasta lunch, and we ordered Chinese food for dinner), some nice sparkling wine and lots of good conversation. I guess it's flattering that they think my Japanese is good enough for them to speak pretty naturally with me. I do catch most of what they're saying to me but when they spoke amongst themselves it was much harder to keep up. This is mainly because I don't know the people/TV shows, etc, they are talking about. Similarily, Yukiko can find it hard to understand when my friends and I are speaking 'Simpsonsese'. Although she's getting better :)

Keiko, Naoko and Yukiko

Seigo & Yuka

Is her head that big? Or is mine that small?

Sorry about the hand. We couldn't get the bottle to stand up on its own

Yesterday Yukiko & I went to the Tsukaguchi Tipness. It might be our last trip there as the new, closer, Mukonosou Tipness will open in a few days. Yay! After our workout we decided to undergo the Tipness 'Body Check' where they evaluate your body and decide 'how old' your body is. I thought this was a little strange because I just need to check my passport to see how old it is (and yes, sometimes I do need to check). The test measured our hand-eye coordination, balance, hand strength, stomache strength and flexibility. I did quite well on all of them but my balance wasn't very good. For that test I had to close my eyes and walk on the spot. 2 boxes were drawn on the floor and we started with our feet inside them. The test was to see if we could remain stationary. Within 50 seconds I had nearly crossed the room and tunred 180 degrees. I scored the equivalent of a 70 year old on that test. Whoa. All those years of carrying a back pack on only 1 shoulder have really screwed me up. I ended up with a final score of 35 years old, which is pretty close. I think that one test really skewed my results though and I wonder how I would have done without it.

Busy as a Carpenter Ant trying to shore up an old Elm tree

Wow have I been busy. Even though I've had quite a few extra holidays lately (Respect for the Aged Day, Vernal Equinox Day) I've always had lots to do to fill them. I've had weddings on every weekend and national holiday lately. Once I was lucky enought to perform a wedding at a hotel very close to where I live, which is quite a rare thing for me. It was at the Takarazuka Hotel, only 30 mins from my apartment. I was a little nervous because the ceremony was completely different from the one I do in Tokushima. Everything went smoothly but it turned out to be a garden wedding so everyone was sweating in the heat and getting bitten by mosquitos.
The linguistics course is chugging along nicely but I've yet to really start any of my essays. I did another test a few days ago it was the first one I didn't get a perfect score on. D'oh, 48/50, 1 question wrong. Well the class average was only 88% so I guess I should be happy. I met up with a bunch of other guys in the same program in Umeda and we had a few beers. It was fun. We're all about the same age, have been in Japan for about the same amount of time, and we're all looking to teach at the University level.
Yukiko and I are trying to really watch what we eat these days. We watched the movie 'Super Size Me' and it was a real eye openner to see how quickly junk food can make you sick. We've also been going to our local health club Tipness a few times every week. I started doing an aerobics program called 'Power Rush' that is really though. It's aerobics done with a barbell. That 30lbs seems very light at first, but after a few hundred curls, squats, presses, etc... it really burnsssssssssss.
Yukiko got a new haircut which she claims was inspired by our friend Sara who recently moved to San Francisco. I totally see her as Uma Thurman from 'Pulp Fiction' though. I'll post pics next time and you can decide.
This weekend I've got Saturday off and Yukiko's sister's family is going to visit us. So I'll have more pictures of them and their little cutie Yuka soon.

September Daze

Well school is back into full swing so once again I'm busy making lessons and teaching. other than that nothing special is going on. The linguistics course is going well, I'm keeping up with my Japanese studies, and managing to practice Jiu Jitsu and sometimes go to the health club with Yukiko. My blogging has suffered a bit though, sorry.
Here are some of the latest pics from Rob & Ann & baby John.

Typhoons, Tsunami & Earthquakes

Yes, this week has really had it all. On Sunday there were 2 big quakes in the local Kansai area. Yukiko & I were at home at the time and it was a little scary. The 2nd quake, just before midnight, measured 7.3. That's bigger than the famous Hanshin quake that killed over 6000 people in Kobe a short time back. Luckily these quakes occured offshore of a sparsely populated area. These quakes generated small tsunami (only 1 meter) that overturned some boats. Even after these quakes smaller quakes have struck all across Japan. Just while watching a movie on TV tonight there were reports of 2 quakes happening in Niigata prefecture. These quakes have led a lot of people into talking about the tonankai, a giant earthquake that has struck in Japan about every 100 years for the last 500 years. Was this it? I hope so.
On top of all this, today typhoon #18 (typhoons are just numbered in Japan, they are not give women's names) hit Kansai. Trains were cancelled, the streets were flooded and unfortunately about 10 or so people died. Many of those were foreign sailors on boats that overturned and sank.
On the positive side of things I took my 3rd Linguistics quiz today and scored my 3rd consecutive perfect mark. This test, like the others before, was relatively easy though. I'm sure the upcoming research and critique essays will be more demanding.

My parents went to visit my brother's family in Ohio a few weeks ago and they sent me some great pics. Enjoy...

Big John (Dad), Rob, Little John & Mum

What a cute... RED eyed baby!

Somebody change this diorama stat!

The following act didn't stand a chance

Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary

結婚記念日おめでとう

We were very suprised when these flowers arrived at our door. They are huge! Almost as big as Yukiko. Thanks a lot Rob & Ann & John!

Koyasan day 2 - the graveyard

On a cool summer day there's nothing better to do than take a stroll through a graveyard and this has to be one of the world's best. Towering majestic trees, moss covered crumbling tombstones, and not a single vending machine.


Entrance to the graveyard.

Memorial for Japanese soldiers.







A famous samurai's tomb.

How the Buddhas keep their cool. Visitors splash the statues with cool water.


There is also a section of the graveyard that features monuments to people who have died and who will die in the future. Many of these are sponsored by companies for their employees.

A monument for people who die with no one to remember them.

UCC Coffee Company.

Nissan automobiles

Monument for animals (pets in particular I think)

Monument for white ants. Sponsored by an association of pesticide companies.


Monument for employees of an aerospace company. I hope they're not removing it.

Wearing my new Roots hat & sweatshirt that mum sent me.

The cable car that climbs Koyasan. Much easier than my trip up Fuji.

We outta here. Peace.

Koyasan day 1 - the temples

Last week Yukiko & I headed off to Koyasan, a picturesque mountain-top plateau filled with big, ancient trees, hundreds of temples and a sprawling graveyard with intricately carved tombs. Koyasan features the headquarters of the Shingon school of Esoteric Buddhism but the main reason to go there in the summer is to escape the heat & humidity.

大門　Daimon - the big gate.

Gate Guardian 'N' - the silent one.

Gate Guardian 'A' - the one that never shuts up.

金堂　Kondou (Main Hall) and 大塔　Daitou (Great Pagoda)

The Great Pagoda

Just ring for service.

Yukiko really liked this old-fashioned police building.

The best thing about Koyasan, aside from escaping the heat of the cities, is that you can experience shukubou, staying at a temple, eating the monk's vegetarian food and taking part in morning prayers. We stayed at a great place called the 巴陵院　Haryoin　temple.

精進料理 Shoujin ryouri, the vegetarian temple food. It was delicious.

Today's tongue-twister: Yukiko's yukata.

Even the monks were impressed with this studly pose.

1 of the many temples you can stay in.

Ultra modern temple

More pictures from Fuji

Thanks to Craig for these pics:

Early on in the climb when everything was sunshine, lollipops and rainbows.

Waiting for Godot.

Prayer Bells.

More Prayer Bells.

Putting my fake Northface jacket to the test.

I think Craig is sportin' the real deal.

Weather station at the highest point on Fuji.

The struggling-to-hold-yourself-up-in-the-windy-dance