Blogs from Tokushima, Japan, Asia

Ein schöner Tag, heiß und schwül. Japan ist Land 21 auf der Liste und ich habe mich gleich wieder in dieses Land verliebt. Der gestrige Tag war eher zäh. Die Fähre kam aus Wladiwostok und war viele Stunden verspätet. Obwohl sie sich in der Nacht offenbar sehr beeilt hat, waren wir immer noch mehrere Stunden verspätet. Eigene Einreise. Dann MR aus dem Schiff holen. Fotos von Besitzer mit MR und dann von Fahrgestellnummer. Dann mit Taxi zum japanischen ADAC. Mein Führerschein musste übersetzt werden und sämtliche Carnets beglaubigt werden. Es könnten ja Fälschungen sein!!!!! Es klingt alles reibungslos aber zwischen den einzelnen Schritten waren jeweils lange Wartezeiten. Und es war heiß und schwül... Heute fuhren wir dann auf der Hauptinsel Kyushu die SW Küste entlang. Und waren völlig frustriert. Japaner fahren seeeehr langsam. Über weite Strecken ... read more

Japan Day 5. Tokushima to Hiwasa. 70km. Three cheers for Carradice capes. The heavens opened for business at 11 o'clock in Japanese fashion and got worse and worse as the day progressed. Not that we regret this trip to Japan as we still love it, despite the vagaries of the weather. Two years ago. Christine made the phrase, "I love Japan, I'll be back" and here she is with 15 others who have either been before, or will certainly return. Early on as we left Tokushima the day was cloudy but warm and dry. We rode through several pedestrian streets with no one around and no shops open, and later sawmills not working - is it a holiday? Easter Monday at home but not in a Buddhist country. We followed rivers for most of the day, ... read more

Day 8 We had an even earlier start to the day, as we needed to set off to catch a ferry to the next island. Breakfast was on the top floor of the hotel, which they had open early for us. It was even more Japanese than usual, and we find the concept of a tray and plastic plate a little odd. We managed some toast and fruit, but there was no yogurt, and the egg that I was going to try turned out to be raw rather than hard boiled. We met in the lobby, and set out for the ferry. On the way, we went through countless tunnels - all of which have a name - and through mountainous regions and again, the autumn colours were outstanding. We were on time for the ferry, ... read more

I wrote this article for Awa Life, the newsletter for JETs in Tokushima Prefecture, which came out today: Six Japanese men in cowboy hats, vests and plaid flannel shirts, a group by the name of Cabin Home, fiddled, strummed and jammed away Typhoon Songda’s howling winds as they took the stage on Sunday, May 29th. I was an attendee of the fifth semi-annual Tokushima Bluegrass Festival, supporting Fumio Fukui-sensei, the machinery and electromechanical systems teacher at my technical high school. After eight months of working together, he had finally shared his secret with me: not only is he fluent in English, but he also plays and sings country, bluegrass and folk music. “ is very simple and easy,” Fukui-sensei told me. “Everyone can play and sing, but it is very deep. Bluegrass and country music has ... read more

My latest pursuits are in the physical realm, and have transformed my uggh-the-week-is-only-half-over Wednesdays into super-awesome-four-hour-work-out Wednesdays. Yes, four hours of working out in one day, starting at 5:30 am. I don't recognize myself, either. It all starts with a 45 minute bike ride to the farther of my two schools. Happily, this is just the right time for me to plow through morning excercises in the park (as an observer, not a participant). Many Japanese people, especially elderly Japanese people, enjoy waking up at dawn everyday to do taiso, an excercise involving matching track suits and piano music. I'm not trying to poke fun at the Japanese exercise regiment, but it does brighten my day to see everyone lined up in the park taiso-ing at six in the morning. At seven, I'm in my high ... read more