Blogs from Hyogo, Japan, Asia - page 8

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!! Another day working in the freezing cold. No, I'm not a road or construction worker. I teach in a Junior High and as most public schools here in Japan, classrooms dont have heaters, and our superficially heated faculty room offers no relief at all However my day was made special when my school lunch was served. For today we had the usual bread, soup, cheese, yougurt drink and for the very first time in my life............ WHALE, cooked with tomato sauce, soy sauce, ginger, sugar and potatoes. It tasted really good, its like eating beef, only its not very tender nor very firm. It also had a very mild taste that makes it, I guess more palatable to the Japanese taste buds in comparison to the strong taste of beef. Well should I eat WHALE ... read more

Went to Himeji yesterday, which is home to probably the prettiest castle in Japan - Himeji-jo. Given my penhant for chambara films it was of particular interest to me. Yet another UNESCO world heritage site, it was built during the Edo period, and as such gives insight into the military practices of the time. Its clever design resulted in a castle that was both aesthetically pleasing and defensively sound. As it has never been attacked, it has survived almost intact to this day. Being constructed entirely of wood, you are made to don these useles little slippers with no grip whatsoever and walk up 7 stories worth of tall slippery narrow stairs, and then back down again once you've reached the shrine and are rewarded with the awesome view up top. It's probably equivalent to ... read more

Though living in Japan has been a love-hate experience for me, I’ve always found traveling here a true delight. And with my little teaching stint quickly coming to a close, I felt it was high time to get back out and explore at least a couple more nooks and crannies of the place that’s been my home for the last fifteen months. My first outing was a kind of “girls’ weekend” to the coastal onsen (hot springs) town of Kinosaki. There’s nothing like stripping down naked and jumping into scalding hot pools of mineral water with six of your girlfriends to nurture the bonds of everlasting friendship! To that, add a little bit of sake, a little bit of fresh crab, and a whole lot of silliness, and you’ve got a weekend of great memories. Onsens ... read more

Nous avons visite Himeji, la ville ou est situe le seul chateau authentique du Japon. Les autres sont des reconstructions. C'est un tres beau chateau (on dit chateau, mais ca fait surtout reference au grand donjon, puisque le "chateau" est l'ensemble de la propriete...) On l'a visite, mais il n'a pas pas grand chose a l'interieur. Mais c'est quand meme le fun de voir comment les pieces sont faites. Mais le plus interessant reste tout de meme l'exterieur du chateau. A part son chateau, Himeji est une petite ville ou il n'y a pas grand chose a voir et a faire... On s'y est promenes, et c'est pas mal tout... Aussi, pour la premiere fois, nous avons vu un restaurant Subway, c'est la que nous avons soupe. Cela semblait prommeteur, car le menu est tres differents ... read more

Sasayama-guchi I spent 10 days with the Nishimura family, Midori, Gen & Ray, helping on their organic farm. They also run an English school so luckily communication wasn't a problem. However Midori did give me a Japanese Verb Conjugation sheet and some exercises to work on. Shame I was too busy digging holes to dedicate more time to it! The farm is in an idyllic rural location, nestled between tree covered mountains. The family were extremely kind and warm so it was easy to feel at home here. We worked for about 3 hours in the morning, then stop for lunch (we all chipped in in the kitchen), then 3 hours in the afternoon followed by dinner. The weather was very changeable; we had sweltery hot and humid days followed by torrential day-long down pours. The ... read more