Blogs from Okayama, Japan, Asia - page 5

Du 26 Aout au 29 Aout, nous avons passe trois nuits sur Shiraishi Island, dans la mer interieure du Japon, a 20 minutes de bateau de Kasaoka. Nous avons loge dans le International Villa, accessible seulement aux etrangers. Il fallait prendre la cle en arrivant au port, puis marcher 10 minutes jusqu'a la villa. Sur le chemin, les rues etaient etroites et desertes. Meme en arrivant a la villa, nous avons rejoint notre chambre et depose nos sacs a dos sans rencontrer personne. C'est pour cela que nous la surnommons l'ile fantome! De plus, il n'y a que quelques petits restaurants et des mini-epiceries. Malgre tout, c'est ce cote petit et paisible qui fait son charme. La villa est vraiment geniale: nous avons grandement profite du salon. Situee en hauteur, nous avions des portes patio en ... read more

Last weekend I went to Okayama (prefecture South of Tottori) to watch a bunch of men in fundoshi run around fight to get these sacred sticks. It was raining the whole time and AJET (the organization of JETs who plan things in their prefectures) misunderstood the rules for the section we were going to be at and they told us we couldn't bring umbrellas! Of course, after the festival was over, we were soaked to the core. I managed to hide under some other people's umbrellas, but I was still cold and wet. Definitely helped that I wore my boots and an extra pair of leggings under my jeans. It was still fun though! There were rumors that members of the yakuza (mob) were in the festival and I had a sneaking suspicion that they were ... read more

After a delicious sushi extravaganza and a good night's rest, we had our eyes on the distant ocean. Fortunately, modern technology provides society with a special program called 'the surf report.' With an understanding of the wave energy around us, we could take our time and listen to some tunes while enjoying some tea before a really special traditional occurence. MOCHI!! Mochi is a tradiitional Japanese food made from rice - pounded into submission until it resembles a dough like substance. nice and sticky, and hard to handle for these amateur mochi making fingers. the photos are enticing, and the taste was proper. Check out Chiyori's wonderful family! Next stop, Shikoku... ... read more

It's getting noticably cooler these days. Although this is a sizable relief from the infernal heat of summer, I have to admit Im a little concerned about spending winter here ... The good news is today I biked over to the nearest department store and bought some great new gloves !! They are stylish - as clothing generally tends to be over here - and should be warm as well.. As I was biking I was thinking that the colours of autumn are really orange and dark greens. I guess its persimmon season, the colour of the fruit on the trees lends itself to autumn. Off to find a warmer jacket !! ... read more

July 4 Max wanted to tag along sightseeing with me for a day, but didn’t want to go to Kurashika since he had been there a few years back. Instead, we traveled to Takahashi with intentions to spend the night. When we arrived in Takahashi (which actually translates to tall bridge), we walked into the travel’s info stand that was part of the train station. Apparently, the youth hostel, which was marked in my travel book, didn’t actually exist. The guy at the desk even called the number my book listed although it just turned out to be a regular, overpriced hotel. The cheapest we could have stayed there would about been around $60, and neither of us really wanted to fork over that much cash. We just decided to finish sightseeing in takahashi, take the ... read more