Vicb

I didn't want to leave Japan without attempting to climb Mount Fuji, which is such an iconic symbol of this beautiful country. So, thinking it would be a great last event of me and my friends, I organised for us to do the climb on Saturday 14th July. I'd heard that Fuji is not the most scenic of climbs, being a giant volcanic cone and all, so most people recommend doing the night climb and getting to the top for sunrise. I spoke to a few people who'd done this and they said it was a long slog, but not too hard - many families do the climb with their kids. The trip seemed doomed from the start however. Nine of us left from Iida city Saturday afternoon, pooling into two cars, and we got lost ... read more

This week I have my friend Helen visiting me in Japan. She is only here for a week, and it is her first time in Japan, so I decided to try and pack in as much as possible. She arrived in Tokyo Sunday morning, so in the afternoon we got to spend some time touring around some of the famous Tokyo sights. The next morning we took the Shinkansen to Kyoto (by bullet train it only takes two and a half hours to get there). I booked us in for a "Maiko" (Geisha) makeover in the afternoon. The whole process took nearly two hours. We picked out the kimono we wanted to wear, they did the complete makeover, wigs and all, and then we had a studio photo session. We were amazed at how many layers ... read more

This has been a bad week! On Monday after school I drove over to Matsukawa, a neighbouring town about 40 minutes north of Takagi. I needed to drop some photos off with my block leader Marion, who is an assistant English teacher in that town. She lives in a block of teacher flats, and when I got there I was struggling to park in a small area near to the entrance. I was in the process of reversing to give myself more room when someone drove behind me and I clipped the back of the car as I went back. It turned out to be one of Marion's JTEs (Japanese English Teacher), who I also know from karate class. She came over to me once I was parked and asked if I was ok. I apologised ... read more

Last weekend I took myself off to Kyoto. I'd hoped to catch the sakura season before it ended, although as it transpired I was about a week too late. There was still the odd cherry blossom here and there, but most of the trees had shed their flowers and the famous night lit trees in Kyoto parks and temples had ended the day before I got there. It rained solidly for two of the three days I was there, and I also accidentally timed my trip for the same weekend when all of the schools in the area had a weekend visit to Kyoto (including the third years at my school!). Despite all this, I still really enjoyed my visit and absolutely love Kyoto. The first morning I strolled along the Philosopher's Walk (Tetsugaku-no-michi), which is ... read more

The month of March is Hina-matsuri, or Japanese doll festival. Since January I'd noticed these creepy looking ( but very expensive) dolls appearing in the shops. On 3 March people celebrate "girl's day", where families with daughters wish for their happiness and healthy growth. Traditionally, families with girls will collect a set of these ornamental dolls for the child for display. The elaborate display represents the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court of the Heian period (about a thousand years ago). The old belief was the dolls possessed the power to contain bad spirits. Last Saturday my friend Sumiko invited me to her village of Achi, which every year has a Hina-matsuri display at locations throughout the village. Unfortunately the weather was atrocious - it was blowing a gale and tipping it down with ... read more