Yesterday was a National Holiday. My calendar says it was "Labour Thanksgiving Day," but I'm not sure why they have it in Japan since there weren't really any pioneers here... hey.. and they don't even have turkeys in this country! Anyways, that's not the point.. I just happy to have had a paid day off! So, yesterday's adventure was to Miyajima to check out the autumn leaves, or the "kouyou" as they say in Japanese. I didn't take too many pics, but I thought I would share some of the ones I did take. One thing that I found quite amusing yesterday was taking the time to read the "English" on the information signs. I have posted some pics of the signs... makes me wonder if having English teachers in Japan is really worthwhile! Oh, ... read more

On Saturday, October 29th a bunch of friends and I went to a club in Hiroshima for a Halloween costume party. It was awesome! Everyone had really great costumes. I think my favorite costume was this tiny little guy in a Spiderman outfit. Our night started off drinking in a restaurant called "The Shack" where we received many strange stares from the Japanese customers who were not aware that it was Halloween weekend. Sitting in the restaurant with a guy in a bathrobe, a male fairy (in a skirt), a 'rice harvester,' a pirate, and me as a fairy in wings and with a wand, we definitely attacted many looks! And that wasn't even the fun part... walking from the restaurant to Chinatown was the real adventure because once we had had a few drinks ... read more

Once a year sake lovers from all over Japan gather in Saijo to sample each regions' finest sake... and let me tell you... this is a GREAT idea!!! For 1,500 Yen (about $16 Can.) you are given a once ounce sized sake glass which you walk around with to sample as much sake as you possibly can hold/tolerate. (Oh, "sake" is a Japanese alcoholic drink. The dictionary says that it is rice wine, but it can be made from rice, sweet potatoes, and many other things.) There were hundreds of sake samples to try at this festival, and it was an all weekend event. My friends and I arrived at the festival around 1:30 pm, and "sampled" until 8pm when they closed down for the day. I have never been a fan of sake (as ... read more

Today some English teachers and I went to Midori-cho (in Akitakata-shi) to watch Kagura. The word 'kagura' means "place of the gods," but when it is written in Japanese the characters used mean "music of the gods." Kagura is an ancient style of Japanese dance in which the dancers wear beautifully decorated kimono. The dances that they preform tend to involve storylines of Japanese fighting off demons. It was quite amazing to watch because all of the demons have these huge masks on, and all of the kimono looked amazing. My favorite part was when they started to swirl. I am not quite sure why they did it, but they would all start to spin really quickly and their kimono appeared to be flying around them. In addition, the kimono that they were wearing were ... read more

MY JOB: From Monday to Thursday I teach English at various schools throughout Akitakata-shi. I have 4 kindergartens (the kindergarten classes take place in Day Care Centers), 3 elementary schools, 1 junior high school, and 1 adult English conversation class. Although the kindergarten kids are by far the cutest, I also enjoy teaching at the elementary schools and the junior high school. (I have yet to begin my adult English conversation class, so I can not compare it to anything yet.) ... read more