Blogs from Hiroshima, Japan, Asia - page 36

It was a very cultural day in Japan...one of the most exciting events I've attended this year. I went to a small town in the northern part of Hiroshima prefecture to plant rice as it used to be done. As I'm sure everyone is aware, rice is an extremely important staple in the Japanese diet. It used to be planted by hand, however this method has been taken over by machines. Now the only rice that is planted by hand is for ceremonial purposes. Today the ceremony was to start off the planting season. The town invited about 15 foreigners to join in the celebrations. The women are the planters and the men set the rhythm with drums. All of the girls were dressed by the local women in yukatas (summer kimonos) and straw hats. It ... read more

Thursday evening was Karaoke, quick river visiting, and then home because of a weekend trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima. On Friday morning, at an ungodly hour, I departed for the Kyoto train station. I made my train, although I was later than I would've liked due to traffic, and had a delightfully uneventful Shinkansen ride to Hiroshima. On the way there, since I hadn't shaved before I left, I headed for a make-up stall they have on the Shinkansen, which is kind of like having just the sink part of the bathroom. There's a row of sinks with mirrors and such but no toilets and just a cloth pull across the back. I shaved on one of these, making it the fastest shave I've ever had (since 'twas done at 140 mph ... bu-dum-ching. Sorry.) Hiroshima ... read more

On Wednesday this week I was down in Wakayama again, and it was awesome. My board has provided me with a couple of opportunities to travel alone into the heart of 'real' Japan. Despite the less than epic surf the people I have met or just observed and the views I have seen make up for that... Plus, the cost surf gear here is through the roof. We in SA are lucky. Don't forget that! .... Ja, to travel alone is a very interesting and liberating experience. Really forces me to use this language I am learning coz there is no one there to save my butt if I need help. Plus I think a single foreigner is less intimidating than a group of 3 or 4, so you get to meet interesting people.... That's what ... read more

This weekend I participated in one of the funnest things I have done since coming to Japan. Yeah its not cultural and yeah there are a lot of gaijin-still it was soooo much fun! It was the 10th Annual Rice Patty Mud Volleyball Tournament held up in the countryside of Hiroshima-Ken. For more info see the website www.mudvollyeballjapan.com. There were numerous teams composed of foreigners, Japanese kids, families...anyone who wanted to play and brave the mud. Clearly the point of the event was not to necessarily play volleyball, but to throw each other in the mud AFTER the game. I ended up playing on 2 different teams- neither advancing to any of the final rounds. I felt like I was famous while playing. There was a whole 'papparazi' section. There must have been 20 or so ... read more

Ok, back again! Today I emailed RB my decision. I let my gut instinct decide...I went with "Momentenkvalität". Japan is a very interesting country. I arrived yesterday in Fukuoka with the ferry from Busan. I guess they don't get many westerners coming in that way, or maybe I look like a bad guy, cause I had to "come with". The cute little customs girl was so nice and polite that I didn't realise what was about to happened before it was too late. In the little room without windows three of her male colleagues were waiting. They unpacked all my stuff and asked a lot of questions...always very polite, always with a smile. When we were done my bag was better packed then I'd ever seen it! I hope the US customs will send their grunts ... read more