sweet japan

Safety and strength

2010-01-08T19:56:00.006+09:00

Every January in Himeji, the local fire and emergency department organise a display in the grounds of Himeji castle in order to restore the community's faith in emergency services.

Us

Big band marching

The contenders make their entrance...

...and set up their ladder and rope

Look, no hands

Ta-da!

Next was the emergency evacuation simulation

Getting into action...

...all in a matter of minutes

Aah, saved, and...

...fire extinguished

Mini but mighty

Yep, faith restored. It truly was an impressive display.

Until next time,
Monica x

Coming of Age

2010-01-04T19:10:00.006+09:00

Some posts ago, I showed you a display of furisode in a shop window.

Long-sleeved kimono

Furisode is a special type of kimono with long sleeves that young, unmarried women wear, usually on seijin-no-hi - known as Coming of Age day. Last January, I was lucky to be passing the cultural centre in Himeji on this public holiday.

What's going on?

Gathered on the steps of the Culture Centre

The girls are immaculately dressed

These kimono are so expensive that they are usually rented or borrowed for the day. The girls said it took hours of preparation - including dress, hair, makeup and nails and most went to salons for professional assistance. They were trendy, gorgeous and happy to pose - despite the cold.

Cute is a fluffy shawl

The obi are fabulous -
and there's so many ways to tie them

The boys are in a traditional kimono too...

..but some just wore suits

It truly was a treat to see these young people dressed up in their mix of traditional and contemporary style, excited to be embarking the year as a fully-fledged adult in Japanese society.

Until next time,
Monica x

Nagasaki Peace

2010-01-03T19:18:00.010+09:00

Yay! By Saturday mid-morning we arrived in Nagasaki.

Nagasaki station

Nagasaki is famous for the Sasebo burger...

...but I opted for non-Japanese toasted sandwiches for lunch!

The first stop for the afternoon was the Nagasaki Peace Museum and Peace Park.

There were many memorials to see

The entrance to the museum

Me in front of the origami peace tributes

More peace cranes inside...

...from all over the world

I didn't take any photos inside the museum - the displays were much like those in the Hiroshima peace museum. I thought the feeling inside wasn't as emotional as in Hiroshima, though having said that, the images were still horrific and I still couldn't bear to spend too much time in the sadness there.

Statement art

The date no one forgets

To the peace park

For eternal peace...

...forever

The bronze pointing man is the symbol of Nagasaki

He's completely out of proportion to look at, however, his significance is important to the people of Nagasaki. His right hand pointed to the sky represents the threat of more nuclear weapons, but he outstretched hand represents peace. He's also half meditating, and half ready to run to assist should the need arise.

He was erected in August 1955 for the 10th anniversary
of the bombing of Nagasaki

The origami version

After strolling the peace parks, we walked to a small museum commemorating Dr Takashi Nagai. It was really interesting learning about the life of this man and visiting his tiny Nyoko-do, where he wrote his books during his dying days.

The view from Dr Nagai's hut

Dr Nagai's hut

After too much sadness, we walked to the beautiful Kofuku-ji temple. What sets this temple apart is that it is set in some gorgeous gardens. Take a look.

Greenery

The gardens were immaculate

Another view

Next, we strolled down some nearby streets to see the biggest hydrangeas ever!

They were in blue and pink

I liked the two-tone pink

I'm touching one to give you an idea of the size -
they were bigger than soccer balls!

Just the way I like a man

We ended the day with a cable car ride up Mount Inasa to see the 360 degree night view of Nagasaki.

It's one of three best night views in Japan -
but the photo doesn't do it justice

And so ended our first day of exploration in Nagasaki.

Peace,
Monica x

On the way to Nagasaki

2010-01-03T18:35:00.006+09:00

Back in June, we decided to take a trip to Nagasaki by Shinkansen. But, as we left at 5pm, it was impossible to make it to Nagasaki directly that night, so we stayed overnight in Fukuoka.

Himeji station

It was the first time for me to catch the Nozomi shinkansen, which hurtles along at a maximum speed of 300 kmph. We were literally in Okayama in 15 minutes (which usually takes 1 1/2 hours by local train) before arriving at Hiroshima in just over an hour (it takes 4 by local train!!) and transferring to the Fukuoka-bound train. Amazing Japan.

Nozomi is the fastest of the three shinkansen
operating out of Himeji (Hikari and Kodama are the other two)

Once in Fukuoka, we set to find Canal city and the outdoor boulevard featuring Hakata's famous ramen.

The eateries along the canal

It was packed with people enjoying outdoor dining

We all ordered ramen, of course

Some of the night lights

And sadly, it is all we could enjoy in Fukuoka as the next morning, we completed our journey to Nagasaki.

Nagasaki in the next post,
Monica x

Thanks Love

2009-12-26T23:22:00.003+09:00

Each year, there is an English speech contest which is open to all Junior High School students in Himeji. One girl from my school was really keen to participate, so after she had written her speech - about her dream of volunteering in Africa - I became her speech coach.

She didn't win, but she said it was a really positive experience. And she gave me a gorgeous thank you present.

The sweet letter

Hmm, could this be ...?

home-made cake.

Geez, I could really get used to this "thank you" culture. It's all so new to me!

Until next time,
Monica

Wedding Wow: B&W

2009-12-26T22:43:00.005+09:00

The black dress makes another comeback in this week's Wedding Wow. But even cooler is the Groom. Check out his leather and bling statement. Uh, is that a hat?

Introducing Mr and Mrs Cool

Accessorise and accessorise!

But anyhoo, back to tradition (of sorts).

A mix of bling and tradition

The dress is strapless...

...with the mandatory frill - ooh- and bow

As I posted before, these dresses are on display in a window of a bridal salon in Otemaedori, the main street of Himeji and I love catching up with the latest wow on my way home from work. Aww, Japan!

Until next time,
Monica x

A KFC Christmas

2009-12-24T15:09:00.004+09:00

Over the past month, KFCs in Japan have been gearing up for their busiest season - Christmas. For some reason, it's become somewhat of a tradition for Japanese families to eat KFC at Christmas - go figure.

Japanese KFC

The Colonel gets into the Christmas spirit

The Christmas meal deal

And all the bakeries are taking orders for cake. Yes, Christmas cake - but not the kind you and I are thinking of. These cakes are elaborate cream sponge cakes and the choices are seemingly endless. Oh Japan, you never cease to amaze.

Until Christmas,
Monica x

Kobe Luminarie 2009

2009-12-24T12:54:00.010+09:00

After taking the proficiency test, some friends and I stayed in Kobe to check out the Luminarie light display.

We bypassed the tunnel walk - it was packed - and walked the short cut to the finale. It was an impressive light structure with the lighting architecture (donated by the Italian government) taking on the feel of a cathedral and the look of stained glass. Take a look.

From a distance

A light palace

Woo! So good

The Luminarie is now an annual event, lighting up Kobe for about two weeks in December. It is displayed in commemoration of the victims and devastation of the Great Hanshin Earthquake in January 1995. And it's a reminder of just how much Kobe has florished since. Amazing.

Each light is individually hand painted

I couldn't stop taking photos! It's impressive.
Each year is a different design.

This was the light tunnel we bypassed

And I couldn't help taking video too! Maybe it captures some of the atmosphere of standing inside the lights. Check it out.

Inside the Kobe Luminarie (30 seconds)

And to top off a really great day, we found a Vietnamese restaurant in the San Plaza in Sannomiya's center gai to have dinner. Yum.

Steamed rolls with the best sauce ever!

A selection of good Vietnamese food

By the way, results of the proficiency test will be posted late February. I can't wait to find out my score. I studied a lot, so I found parts of the test quite easy, but the listening ... oow - it could be my undoing!

Until then,
Monica x

Christmas inspired Ikebana

2009-12-24T11:46:00.012+09:00

Our Ikebana this week took a Christmas theme. And Eiko told us it was to be our own freestyle creation. Hmm, what to do?

This was Eiko's example - double beauty

We had green pine branches, white-spraypainted bamboo, deep red berries and red flowers to work with. The options seemed endless...

The white bamboo had some bling sprinkled on it!

Berries

Red flowers

The arrangement taking shape

The final arrangement had a wind-swept theme! Can you see it?

I had quite a bit of help from Eiko, who showed me how to bend the branches into shape (although some of them were naturally windswept - which inspired the piece in the first place!)

I think this freestyle arrangement has a really nice balance.

Until next Ikebana creation,

Monica

Amazing on day three

2009-11-30T19:49:00.040+09:00

Our third day in Matsue was by far the best for me because we got to see autumn awesomeness. I love autumn colours so much.

But first we checked out an former samurai residence called Buke Yashiki that was built in 1730 and inhabited by a military family of a middle ranking.

This was the kitchen area

An entrance hall

This was a bedroom - some artifacts displayed

This, believe it or not, is a sleeping headrest

Then we walked around the grounds of Matsue castle. An impressive castle, but Himeji's castle is still the grandest of them all.

Matsue castle

And now onto autumn scenery. We visited a garden called Yuushien which was simply stunning. I'll let the photos explain...

Traffic light trees

Sweet view

Through yellow leaves

Orange among the yellow

A perfect balance of colours

Me and Bev on the bridge

In the indoor peony garden

Peony close up

Red in the sky

More yellow

Red momiji is my favourite

Gotta have the red bridge shot

Me on the bridge (in purple, can you see?)

Amongst the waterfall

Woo!

Me and autumn

After our fantastic time in the garden, we headed home along the coast and couldn't resist stopping at the beach. Yes, an actual beach with sand. Take a look.

Pretty decent, hey!

Me and Mount Daisen - can you see it?

Phew. A three day sightseeing extravaganza around Shimane prefecture. Glad I could show you some of it.

Until next time,
Monica xo

Day two in Matsue

2009-11-27T22:51:00.035+09:00

On the second day of our trip, we made our way to Izumo Shrine. It's Japan's second most important shrine.

In the grounds of the shrine

The entrance to one of the shrines

Izumo shrine is characterised by the large sacred straw ropes, called shimenawa, hanging at the entrances.

This is Kagura Hall
The straw rope here is about 13 metres long

People were attempting to throw coins into the straw barrel

Not an easy feat because they kept bouncing off

Izumo shrine is also the home of the deity of marriage. And sure enough, we could see a ceremony taking place in the hall.

I snuck a picture!

There were trees of unwanted fortunes-
tied in the hope of a better one

Fortunes and wishes

People wrote their wishes on these wooden plaques

After visiting the shrine, we headed to the coast to see the Hinomisaki lighthouse.

The sea view was great - a bit chilly, though

Another view

And this is it.

According to the tourist brochures it is thought to be one of the top 100 historic lighthouses in the world. And the tallest in East Asia.

They sold all sorts of barbequed sea-delights at the lighthouse

Anyone for shark?

Next stop was the Shimane Winery and BBQ house. At the "winery" there were some pay-by-the-glass tastings, then a whole section of free-help-yourself tastings. And if wine wasn't your thing (it wasn't mine), you could buy a whole range of wine-flavoured goodies. I bought cakes.

At the BBQ house.
As you can see, fatty meat is mandatory in Japan

We finished the day at a boutique coffee shop called "Libido". Japan is so funny.

This was Bev's delight

And I chose apple pie

More on day three in Matsue in my next post.

Until then,
Monica xxo

Snow at Mount Daisen

2009-11-26T18:21:00.014+09:00

Last weekend was a long weekend in Japan (again - he, he) so I went on a road trip with some friends to Matsue, in Shimane prefecture - on the coast north-west of Himeji.

Our first stop on Saturday was Mount Daisen,
about 3 1/2 hours from Himeji

Mount Daisen is an impressive volcanic mountain seen in the skyline from everywhere in the town.

It was snowcapped that day

A little Fuji-san...

...and again!

We drove part of the way up the mountain then parked the car and walked up to the shrine.

An uphill hike

It was about 2 degrees

And as soon as we reached the shrine we found snow!

Me and Bev and matching jackets

Woo! Snow

And to think on Monday we were enjoying the warm sun at the beach! More about the rest of the weekend in the next post!

Until then,
Monica x

Shizutani School

2009-11-25T20:45:00.021+09:00

Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to be taken to Okayama to enjoy more autumn beauty. We went to Shizutani school - now a National Treasure - but originally a public educational institution for children of both commoners and the samurai class in the Edo period.

Shizutani means 'quiet valley'

The lecture hall still in pristine condition

The museum on site helps explain the history of the place

The roof tiles were handmade from bizenyaki
by local potters

The view of the famous autumn trees

Bus tours flock here to admire autumn beauty

One kai tree turns yellow ...

Hey, it's me!

...and the other an orange-vermilion

Autumn is all around

Fall

Afterwards, we strolled around the canals of Kurashiki

It has a great historic atmosphere

Autumn is definitely the best season in Japan - despite the chill factor. I love it.

Until more autumn leaves photos,
Monica xx

Ikea adventures and roast

2009-11-18T22:13:00.009+09:00

On Sunday, Lauren and I ventured to Kobe for a day of shopping and food - or more accurately, Ikea, meatballs and roast!

We took the free shuttle bus from Sannomiya station in Kobe to Ikea - how べんりis that! It's much like the Ikea at home, of course, with a few "exclusive to Japan" items.

The same, but in Japanese

Ikea is on Port Island in Kobe

Lunch? Swedish meatballs of course -
and I had to have cake... and chips too

But really what we were looking forward to was Sunday Roast. Hobgoblin is an English Pub serving up all the foods we miss from home! And their promise of roast was too irresistible to pass up.

And they delivered the goods! Yum.

The pub is just across the road from the JR Sannomiya station, in the building next to Maccas, on the seventh floor.

Check out the view from the window

You never know what you'll find in Japan!

Until next time,
Monica

Ikebana makes me happy

2009-11-18T21:31:00.010+09:00

Last night I took another lesson of Ikebana. It was another wonderful choice of flowers and Eiko had, as always, arranged them beautifully.

Eiko's expert arrangement

We used eucalyptus branches and snapdragons...

...and gorgeous hot pink roses

The longest eucalyptus branch on the left is placed to sprout off to the side and the other, at 70% of its partner, is placed to lean towards your right shoulder. The snapdragons complement the design in a balanced triangle, as do the roses.

Can you see the triangular balance?

With a few tweaks, this is the final product

The photo makes the arrangement look a bit gangly - and with the busy background, it's hard to see the design. After our lesson, we have to dismantle it and rearrange them again at home. I think I've done alright to reproduce it but unfortunately one of the roses is already droopy because I think I damaged the stem trying to stick it in the spike too many times! I think I like the round vase better.

Ikebana's next week too. Until then,
Monica x

Autumn in Kyoto (part one)

2009-11-14T23:35:00.019+09:00

Last Sunday, I travelled to Kyoto to see the beautiful autumn leaves in their colour transition. Just like sakura in Spring, the leaves are a truly beautiful sight where ever you look.

The leaves need warm, sunny days and chilly nights to start the colour change process.

This was overlooking the gardens at Tofuku-ji in Kyoto

Brilliant red Japanese maples

I'm fascinated with the colours - stunning!

Red amongst the greenery

Red against the sky

In the raked garden grounds

The shaded trees are still yet to change

I found some autumn sakura!

I tried dorayaki - Doraemon's fave food

Then we journeyed to Fushimi Inari (fox) Shrine, which is the shrine for success in business. It's characterised by 10,000 red torii gates that form a pathway around the hill behind the shrine.

We didn't walk the whole way

The entrance

In the tunnel of torii

From the outside

Torii galore

Wishes of hope, luck and happiness written
on wooden fox shapes

Children dressed for the 7-5-3 festival

A ceremony in the shrine grounds

There are just too many photos of Autumn to share in one post, so I'll upload the rest of this day next time.

Until then,
Monica

Aboshi Lantern Festival

2009-11-13T19:02:00.012+09:00

On October 21st, I ventured to Aboshi, about 20 minutes from Himeji, to see this intriguing-sounding festival called the Lantern Festival. A festival of lanterns - what could that possibly entail?

It started with the parade of yatai...

...and flesh

The yatai lit up in the dark

Then we made our way to the shrine's entrance
to see the action.

It was hard to see close up what was happening - you can see from the photo above how far back we stood, but it seemed like 60 or so men carrying bamboo poles with lanterns attached to the top, jostling, circling and chanting. Watch the clip.

The round begins (15 secs)

Then, obviously on someone's say-so, the smashing began - lanterns were flying through the air and were being completely shredded. Then the whistle blew to stop the violent hammering of the lanterns and a new round began. Watch the clip.

Lantern flogging (28 secs)

Some of the lanterns were so painstakingly designed and painted, only to be hammered in seconds. The lanterns kept coming and the men kept smashing them. It lasted for hours. Watch for the man lantern with the dangly detail in the clip below. Brutal!

Someone spent a lot of time painting this one

Smash those lanterns!

Ready, setty, destroy! (46 secs)

In the meantime, we wandered around the food stalls (see earlier post - Festival Foods) and got to look at a yatai on display. It's an impressive structure.

Me, Taube and Taube's visitor
standing by the yatai

Huh, so that's what the festival is all about!

Until next post,
Monica

Wedding Wow Friday

2009-11-13T17:49:00.006+09:00

Another week ends and again, another display of dresses. Actually it's been raining this week and the shop was closed for several days, so I've only one dress to share - but it doesn't disappoint.

Back to traditional white...

...with frills, of course

I thought I'd also show you another window display a few shops up from the bridal salon. These are kimonos called furisode because they have sleeves that extend to the length of the dress. They are only worn by young, unmarried women, usually on their coming-of-age day in mid January.

I think these furisode are for rental for $2000

I'll definitely share the gorgeous kimonos worn at this year's local coming-of-age ceremony in the coming posts.

Until then,
Monica

More Festival Food

2009-11-07T08:02:00.012+09:00

Autumn is the season for harvest festivals, so I've been to quite a few over the past month. And festivals always attract numerous stalls offering all kinds of foody delights. Here's some more from the Lantern Festival.

BBQ corn and franks on a stick

Grilled squid on a stick

Savory pancakes in the making

The chocolate fountain

Choco bananas

Assorted skewers...

This one's skewered octopus

Grilled noodles

Octopus tendons in batter

Usually, there's aisles and aisles of food stalls to wander through so you can always find something to try. Personally I'm not a fan of the seafood offerings, but they're always interesting to look at.

Trawling the food stalls

Okay, so more about this spectacular Lantern Festival in my next post.

Until then,
Monica

Study up

2009-11-06T21:31:00.003+09:00

Today is exactly one month until the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT).

I've been learning Level 3 grammar, vocab and kanji all year, but I chickened out at application time and opted to take the Level 4 test this year - and have vowed to take the Level 3 next year.

Study, study, study

So now I'm practising with previous year's tests and assorted quizzes from textbooks and the internet. Luckily I have a bit of time at work to study (!), so I should be more than ready come December 6th.

Better get studying,
Monica

Wedding Wow Friday

2009-11-05T21:33:00.008+09:00

The wedding dress display has certainly lived up to its wow! status this week.

Patchwork chic again - frills are so Japan!

If you look closely, this dress is the one
modelled in the poster

The detail is OTT, but nonetheless stunning!

For traditionalists!

The art is in the detail

Until next Wedding Wow,
Monica

Izushi matsuri

2009-11-04T20:44:00.020+09:00

Yesterday was a national holiday, so I was taken to see a festival in Izushi, about a 2 hour car drive north of Himeji in Hyogo prefecture.

Can you believe it was snowing on the mountains?

It was a cold day!

Our first stop was at a tea house for a traditional refreshment.

I chose green tea

With Mika in the tea house gardens

With the onset of cold weather,
the leaves are starting to turn

We saw the children's parade first

The boys imitate the ritual with small poles

Girls in costume

Boys in costume

A photo op!

Scary cute

The view of the town from the castle grounds

It has 37 torii gates leading to the castle

The town is famous for its sarasoba dish - this is 5 small dishes of buckwheat noodles which you dip in a mix of raw egg, cold soup stock, grated sticky potato, grated radish and spring onions.

Advertisements for sarasoba were everywhere

Unfortunately I passed on the cold, raw egg noodle delight
and had a hot noodle dish with cooked egg instead

The men parade -

The whole ritual involves the passing of tall poles
fitted with various feathered heads

The leader claps two wooden blocks

Preparing to catch the poles

Traditional footwear

Watch the pole throwing here (25 secs)

There was also a display of bottle cap art

Recycling at its best

The unveiling of the bottle cap mural. Impressive!

The day ended with a competition (!) where 3000 rice balls wrapped and tied in a plastic bag were thrown into the gathered crowd by the town's governing council members standing on a scaffold. Your prize was determined by the colour of the tag on the bag.

One managed to land directly in my outstretched hand, but those quick enough to scrounge the ones that landed on the ground and surge through the crowd to catch them picked up prizes such as cartons of beer and packets of noodles.

It was a great way to spend Japan's culture day holiday.

Until next festival,
Monica

14th International Friendship Festival

2009-11-01T17:11:00.018+09:00

On October 25th, Himeji hosted its 14th annual international friendship festival in Otemae park. It's a wonderful celebration of cultures through foods, arts and crafts.

Early in the morning
(from the 3rd floor of the Egret centre)

The stage offered a variety of entertainment for the day

(Japanese-style) Polish kranskys were hugely popular

Taiwanese fare

Malaysia offered deep fried banana pieces

Mexico and Australia

There was so much delicious food to try - you simply pre-bought tickets for 150 yen each and then you could exchange them for any dish on offer. I tried fare from Australia (of course), Malaysia, Philippines and Argentina. My favourite? BBQ.

Here's the Australian BBQ stall we assisted.

Sausages (weiners), steak, onions, potatoes, bread and tomato sauce.
You can't get more Aussie than that in Japan! Yum.

This stall was extremely popular -
and the first to sell out

Lauren and I
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie - Oi, Oi, Oi

The American teachers at the Language Booth
100 yen for 10 minutes!

The Australian Indigenous Art Booth-
create a dot painting for 100 yen

Some creations

This artist was offering to write a proverb for you on a card for 150 yen. His stall was closing when we went, but he graciously offered to write us one.

He wrote this one for me

Ta-da!

And he wrote one for Chris too.

Food and friends - it was an enjoyable day.

Until next time,
Monica

House of Halloween

2009-11-01T17:05:00.014+09:00

On Friday night, the residence held a Halloween party for the neighbourhood kiddies.

The whole building was prepared...

...even the elevator

The kidlets made trick-or-treat bags...

...and rotated through a range of activities

I was stationed at the marshmallow race

Then they went on a trick-or-treat hunt
through the residence

I want candy

Trick or treat?

Scary gummy candy

Group shot. Aww, too cute.

Almost everyone!

Us

Me, vampire Adrian and angel Jing

Me and Ali - with swine flu, ha ha

Michy snuck in with pumpkin pie for everyone

The best of American women in fall!

It was really lots of fun - who knew, Halloween in Himeji!

Until then, mwhahhahahaha-
Monica

Wedding Wow Friday

2009-10-30T23:24:00.012+09:00

There's a bridal shop in Otemae-dori, the main street of Himeji, that I like to stop at on my way home from work for no other reason than to admire the oh-so-over-the-top amazing dresses. The display changes every few days or so, but the dresses...! Only in Japan could you get away with wearing it.

Okay, so this one's kinda classic...

...beaded bodice, ruffles, just as you'd expect

Back in black and purple

But if you take a closer look, it's a modern kimono!

Pretty in patchwork pink?

You can see the detail close up

I've questioned some colleagues about their own wedding ceremonies, and all had chosen the traditional "Western wedding" - with the white dress, chapel, reception, bouquet throwing ... Go figure?

Oh and by the way, yes this is in Japan - did you notice all the English on the window?

Posting some more fabulous fashions next Friday,
Monica

Nada Kenka Festival

2009-10-28T22:27:00.023+09:00

The Nada Kenka Festival is held on the 14th and 15th of October every year and I was lucky enough to go on Wednesday the 14th, thanks to an invitation from the Himeji Board of Education.

The red town

Essentially, the portable shrines, called yatai, are paraded through the town to the entrance to the shrine, where they are vigourously heaved up and down by a hundred or so men standing underneath it.

In this festival, there were seven participating towns -

The green town enters the arena

The yellow and blue towns

Once the men have paraded the yatais, they then collide them with each other - apparently, the more noiser and the harder they clash, the better the harvest will be for the year.

Two yatais clash

Four young drummers sit inside the yatai and keep a drum beat - you can see one drummer in the photo below.

The green town heaves their yatai

The yatai weigh about 1.5 tonnes - or about the size of a small car - and the men carry it on their bare shoulders. Yeow!

Glory is fully lifting the yatai!

Is this dangerous? You betcha. Take a look at the video clip below.

Whoa! The green yatai tips over (14 secs)

The traditional attire for the all male participants is called a fundoshi - a cotton cloth wrapped tightly around the nether regions.

Bare essentials

We had the VIP seats, therefore the best view of the action.

Heave!

The yatai is supported on heavy wooden beams
which the men use to lift it

Still not sure what it's all about?
Watch it here (1 minute 40 secs)

And of course, being VIPs for the day, we were treated to lunch.

How could I forget the food shot?

People have said that men often die at this festival because the clashing of the yatais is so violent. And so yes, the following day, reports of the death of a man appeared in the papers. It is, after all, called the kenka (fighting) festival.

Until next festival (and oh yes, there's more!),
Monica

Men in Mawashi

2009-10-24T07:25:00.023+09:00

During spring vacation in March, we ventured to Osaka to watch a Sumo tournament.

The banners promote the wrestlers

We bought the cheapest tickets, so we sat in seats high in the stands. Everybody closer to the action had their own sectioned position with blue cushions to sit on.

We sat behind the scoreboards
but still with a good view of the action

The wrestlers make their grand entrance
in ascending rank order...

...and show their kesho-mawashi (silk aprons)...

... before performing their ring-entering ceremony

Watch the wrestlers make their entrance

Wrestlers will first stomp their feet to drive away evil spirits

Two fists on the ground means ready for action -
it can take several minutes for this to happen

It's on!

Watch a bout of Sumo here

Haven't seen enough?
Watch another one here

Um, I've got someone I'd like you to meet....

And finally, dinner in Namba -
fried chicken and prawn setto

Mawashi, by the way, is the "belt" that Sumo wrestlers wear. If it comes off in a match, it is automatic disqualification for that player. You'd have to have it on pretty firmly - did you see the way the men grab them ... upwards!?

Until next time,
Monica

Spiky balls and pink stems

2009-10-20T22:18:00.017+09:00

I told you some posts ago that I signed up for Ikebana lessons. Well, I had my first lesson tonight at a local community centre.

Our challenge - this is Eiko's beautiful example

Starting out - bowl, spike and flowers

We started with the green balled stems

We started by choosing the most beautiful balled stem and measured the length by twice the diameter of the bowl plus the height. The subsequent stems were cut at 85% and 70% of the length of the first stem and were placed behind and in front of the first.

See? Spiky balls

Then the next addition was the pink stems. The most important one needed to be 50% of the first green balled stem and angled out towards your right shoulder. Then the other two stems needed to form a triangle in the arrangement at differing heights.

Pink stems

Mini purple chrysanthemum provided the final touches

Ta da! My first attempt at Ikebana

We had to disassemble our work in order to take it home, so the real challenge was recreating the beauty at home!

Sadly, it's not quite the same, but this doesn't stop me from admiring it lots. I wonder how long the flowers are going to last.

Until next creation,
Monica

Festival Food

2009-10-14T21:28:00.011+09:00

If there's a festival, you can guarantee that there will be an alley of stalls nearby cooking and selling food.

This one's fried crab, prawn, eel and octopus
in the shape of a leaf in Hiroshima

Okonomiyaki

Yakitori - chicken on skewers

Choc coated bananas

Squid on a stick

Takoyaki - fried Octopus

Sausages wrapped in an omelette with mayo on top

More okonomiyaki

Yakisoba - fried noodles

It's fun to wander and see the different kinds of foods on offer but some of the food preparation methods are dubious...! My "safe" favourites are yakisoba, barbequed corncobs and toffee strawberries - now they are the best!

Until next time,
Monica

Mount Rokko

2009-10-14T09:13:00.017+09:00

I spent a wonderful day with a fabulous group of people exploring Mount Rokko, Kobe, last Monday.

We ascended by ropeway

Taking in the view

First stop was the Hall of Halls
Music Box Museum...

... where we saw many antique-esque music organs

This Decap Dance Organ lit up and played automatically -
together with accordians and percussion: Wow!

Group shot in front of the "Harvest" automatic organ

Then we moved onto the Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden

The leaves here are starting to turn early

The koi were big here, and obviously hungry

The climate here is similar to that of Southern Hokkaido

Something unusual

Ah-ha. I found a flower.

After this, we ventured to Mount Maya where we waited to see the lights of Kobe. Minasan, arigatou. Totemo tanoshikatta desu!

Until next mountain adventure,
Monica

Kobe's Night View

2009-10-13T22:35:00.008+09:00

This time yesterday, I was atop Mount Maya in Kobe - 698.6 metres above ground and frozen, but taking in the most fabulous night view of the city.

Upon dusk

You can identify major Kobe and Osaka landmarks using the map

Beyond sunset

Nightfall

I think this view is more impressive than the Nagasaki night view from Mount Inasa. I'm glad I waited to see it, despite the major chill factor.

More about Kobe later,
Monica

Kei cars

2009-10-10T21:54:00.012+09:00

When I first arrived in Japan, I couldn't get over just how narrow the roads were. In the tighter spots, cars travelling one way have to pull into open clearings to let cars from the opposite direction through.

Unless you drive a buzz box -

- like this.

Gets you from A to B ...

... at a top speed of 50kph!

This one's the popular Suzuki Wagon

And this is the Nissan Pino

They're called kei cars, short for keijidousha - light vehicle - and can be identified by their yellow number plates. Manufacture of the kei cars started after WW2 - offered as cheaper alternatives to regular cars to help rebuild the economy - and are still as popular now.

Kei cars are manufactured to strict regulations: the length limit is 3.4 metres, width limit 1.8 metres and is restricted to a height of 2 metres. The maximum displacement is 660cc with a maximum power of 47kW. Vroom, Vroom. Maybe not.

Until next car lesson,
Monica

Do you like sushi?

2009-10-10T00:08:00.011+09:00

When in Rome, right? Nuh-ah. I just have no tolerance for this kind of sushi.

ebi (prawn) sushi

roe and cucumber sushi

There's a local sushi train restaurant near our residence that I don't mind, because I can order the *ahem* cucumber sushi, egg sushi and tofu sushi (called inari zushi).

Luckily there's a range of options

Raw fish, called sashimi, is a definite NO. I braved it once at a teacher's party ...

... but it ended up oh-so-discreetly into a napkin!

There's no escaping it, really. I went to lunch with a friend and we ordered, yep, the herushii setto (healthy set) - a big trend in Japan.

Such a variety of herushii things ...

... hey, wha ...?

I put that white, rolled, raw squid in my mouth - the first chew wasn't bad, and then... I don't know, I just can't eat raw fish. Or octopus for that matter ...

Takoyaki - translation: fried octopus

At least I gave it a go,
Monica

Intricate Ikebana

2009-10-09T23:13:00.009+09:00

I've just signed up to take Ikebana lessons, which is both exciting and daunting. The arrangements I've seen are always stunning, but I know so much thought and effort goes into each creation.

Ikebana is the art of flower arranging but it's more than just good form and colour, as in the floristry we are used to seeing. There is significance in the placement of the stems and branches and the lines, always defined at specific angles, create the balance between earth, heaven and humanity.

I went to a friend's Ikebana exhibition earlier in the year at Himeji's Egret Centre. Take a look at these.

Yellow and white

This one is one of my favourites, poppies ...

... as is this modern tulip arrangement in square glass vases

Capsicums and a mirror - meccha modern style

Love this one too - birds of paradise

Minimalist traditional style

Absolute minimalism

With rose petals - stunning!

I like all styles of Ikebana, but I think the modern formations are my favourite.

Until next Ikebana lesson,
Monica

Taifuu morn

2009-10-08T18:08:00.006+09:00

I woke up at 6am this morning and it had appeared that the worst was over for Himeji.

The clouds were low and 3D-ish

The same view from my balcony as last night, but in daylight

It was just drizzling in the morning, but there was enough flooding to stop some local trains and cancel morning classes at most schools. After all, it had been raining all night.

There didn't seem to be any significant damage around our area - just some things blown out of place.

Leaves shed

I don't think coastal areas fared so well, obviously, but luckily this typhoon turned into a mild tropical storm on landfall.

Thankful that everything is okay,
Monica

Taifuu eve

2009-10-07T21:54:00.008+09:00

Right now, we are experiencing the effects of Typhoon Melor. According to the news reports, it is expected to land in our area between 3am and 6am tomorrow (Thursday) morning.

From my balcony - it's pouring with rain already!

Preparations are done - the rubbish bins are under shelter and I've dismantled my clothesline. It's been raining steadily since 6pm and it's a little gusty - and definitely colder than last night.

The first casualty - my neighbour's pot plant

I guess all there is left to do is wait. And hope there isn't too much damage in the morning.

With an update tomorrow,
Monica

Afuro Doggu

2009-10-04T17:07:00.010+09:00

Thursdays are Elementary School days and they're lots of fun. The staff at each school (I visit five) always make me feel welcome.

Yay, I have my own desk

The kids are sooo excited to firstly, meet a "foreigner", and secondly, learn and speak some English! And I get to facilitate songs, games, dances or whatever I think might be fun and interesting to do with the topic they're learning.

Consequently, I get lots of letters and origami creations thanking me for the lessons.

My favourite letter: "You came so far to teach us! Thank you"

But my all time favourite thank you gift is the Afuro Doggu - Afro Dog - origami. Yes, that's the actual name of this funky folding creation!

Love it!

Another highlight is the kyuushoku - school lunch. Thursdays are always bread days, phew, but what accompanies it is anyone's guess ...

Bread, hamburg, cheese, vegetable soup and milk

Bread, veg and egg soup and agemono- fried things, literally. What? I'm not sure.

I've given up on accepting the milk. There are just some things that you can't drink milk with ...

Wondering about next week's lunch,
Monica

Otsukimi Moon Viewing

2009-10-04T14:51:00.009+09:00

Last night, the moon viewing festival was held at Himeji Castle.

The moon early in the night

It was a perfect night to enjoy a picnic and Himeji's best entertainment.

People came early to claim a spot

Festivities began at nightfall - it was packed!

The Himeji Castle mascot began the program

The ladies in kimonos sang ...

... and then the fabulous taiko drumming began

The beats with the flute melodies are hypnotising

Watch it for yourself here.
In this performance, the drummers are sitting

And in this performance, the drummers beat
on bigger drums

The ladies dance to the beats

But the performances aren't the biggest drawcard to this event - it's the all you can drink sake for 500 yen! You purchase your small(ish) cup (50ml capacity) for 500 yen and this allows you unlimited refills of different kinds of locally brewed sake up until 9:00pm. I tried one sweet variety, but it's really not my favourite kind of drink ...

So until next festival,

Monica

Halloween at USJ

2009-09-26T11:37:00.032+09:00

Friday I ventured to Universal Studios in Osaka where we were blasted with happy halloween cheer at every moment. Already. In Japan. I know...

The entry boulevard

Elmo is a pumpkin head wizard for Halloween

The central gardens

The park has an old movie style atmosphere

Mel's Drive in Diner

The town centre

A typical 60 minute wait for the SpiderMan attraction.
It was good, though.

The set from the WaterWorld attraction.
Remember that blockbuster? Uh...

Just stick a pumpkin in it and call it Halloween Lunch

The spider girls - some wacky costumes

Elmo makes an appearance in his "pumpkin-style coach"

Look! A pumpkin farmer

Big bird and Ernie get in on the act

Skeletons on wheels

Cute candy dancers

And who could forget Hello Kitty!

Halloween Hello Kitty

Watch it here.
Altogether now: happy, happy, happy halloween!

For dinner, we chose a place called the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.

It's a franchise seafood eatery based on the movie Forrest Gump.

The plastic food on display in the window. Hmm, what to choose?

Mama always says ...

The drinks menu on a table tennis bat

Good company!

One day, 5 attractions, lunch, a parade, dinner - a pretty good day at USJ.

Until happy halloween,
Monica

Community Cheer

2009-09-23T20:28:00.017+09:00

Saturday we left our Sports Day rehearsal early to attend a welcome party hosted by the members of the local Community Centre. It was a chance for the new American ALTs to introduce themselves, but we also joined in on the festivities. And there were some!

First we were treated to an operatic performance.

She sang in Japanese, German and English

Her finale was Amazing Grace

And then for an impromptu Samba jam led by one of Kobe's finest teachers.

Getting rhythm - woo, woo!

And finally, we all dressed in kimonos for a fashion parade.

We chose kimonos and lovely ladies dressed us

Here's me from behind ...

... and my speccy obi close up

me and Jody ...

... and me and Chris

On parade - how embarrassment!

All in a day's work, really.

Until then,
Monica

Friday Night Fun

2009-09-23T19:34:00.009+09:00

Our Friday night party was the first chance for the community to meet the new resident ALTs from Phoenix, Arizona.

Meet and greet time

These community parties are always fun - we get to catch up with people we haven't seen since vacation English classes and eat from a good selection of food because everyone brings a plate to share (otherwise known as Pot Luck).

An interesting mix

Don't forget the desserts!

Our Japanese guests speak English exceptionally well, so there's always interesting conversation and more than a few laughs.

Until next party,
Monica

Hooray for Sports Day!

2009-09-23T07:50:00.023+09:00

At last, the official Sports Day was on Sunday. No flu, no typhoon - just a fine, warm, windy day.

Preparations began early in the morning

Marking the track is a big job - old school style!

First order of the day was the official sports day march. The students paraded around the track in class groups before coming together for the national anthem and principal's speech.

The opening parade

Nominated class leaders take charge of the flags

In the lead up to Sports Day, each class designed and painted a flag.

President Obama is extremely popular amongst Japanese students

A more traditional approach!

Too cute!

The first half of the day was track events - 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m and assorted relay races. Every race is run to some kind of upbeat carnival music - think Benny Hill, as another Aussie teacher told me!

I loved the traditional white tape finish!

Next up was the skipping demonstration - a test of stamina and teamwork. One of the classes managed a record 9 rotations!

Amazing!

O-oh! Someone forgot to jump

For lunch, all the teachers ordered a special Sports Day lunchbox.

Can you guess what I ate?

After lunch was another march - but this time the students were parading in their club groups, dressed in their uniforms.

At this school, the clubs are: baseball, basketball, volleyball, soft tennis, track & field, kendo, tea ceremony, guitar & mandolin and koto (traditional Japanese stringed instrument).

The baseball club parades

After that, the fun games (!) began. The girls participated in three-legged races - except that they were in teams of 5 and 6, so I guess that's seven-legged.

I don't have any photos because that was my event to assist in - but at least a third of the girls copped some nasty gravel injuries on their knees and elbows.

The boys played a traditional battle game. They're divided into two teams - red and white - and within each team, trios of boys hoist another on their shoulders. The aim is for the red team to capture the hat of the white team, and vise-versa. It gets pretty tough by the looks on their faces.

The red team prepares to fight

And so do the white team

And so, after a parents tug-of-war, and a relay versing students of each local town against each other, came the end of Sports Day for another year. *Sigh*

With much relief,
Monica

Practice and practice!

2009-09-17T22:40:00.012+09:00

I know I'm talking about Sports Day practice a lot but it has been eight days straight now (apart from a brief rain interruption on Tuesday). It's one of the most important events on the school calendar.

I guess it's not really a practice of sports, as such - it's the practice of the routines for the day.

Getting the line-up exact

One of the team events is Jump Rope. Each class competes against the other classes in the same grade - first the girls, then the boys, then the whole class. The girls do exceptionally well - surprise, surprise - but the classes of 40 usually don't make one rotation! I think the school record is 88 rotations. So far, the highest has been about 30.

A class of first graders (year 7s) jumping well

But onto other things...

Monday night was a fellow Aussie's birthday - so we all celebrated with a dinner made by his fabulous wife - couscous, chicken risotto and African-spiced casserole - and a good ol' Aussie lamington cake (you might just see it in the background).

Good food, good times!

Well, tomorrow's another practice day, so trackies again to work!

Until then,
Monica

Mount Hiei

2009-09-15T20:01:00.016+09:00

On Sunday, I visited another amazing place in Kyoto called Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei - about an hour from Kyoto station.

Getting back to nature in this giant forest

We caught the special rapid from Himeji to Kyoto, then a local bus for 20 minutes to transfer to a local train station. We rode the train to the base of the mountain, then stepped into a cable car followed by a ropeway to access the mountain. From there a bus was able to take us to the major temple areas.

First, we walked the hiking track to the Todo (east) area.

This particular temple was reconstructed in 1987

The view of Lake Biwa from the temple steps was amazing!

Next, we walked to Saito (the west area) ...

... step-by-step...

...by step!

This hall is called Ninai-do and is used for meditation -

But I was interested in the look of this green moss!

Priests living in Jodo-in vow to retreat for 12 years

The main Buddhist temple is called Shaka-do

Buddha's image in stone by the temple

By the day's end, we were all hungry so we ate a late dinner back in Himeji.

Mmm. Okonomiyaki

Mount Hiei is definitely worth a look if you're staying in or visiting Kyoto.

Until next time,
Monica

Practice makes Perfect

2009-09-13T00:23:00.007+09:00

Sports day is upon all the local junior high schools in the Himeji district soon. There's a bit of uncertainty as to whether it will go ahead as scheduled, because it might rain (it's typhoon season now) or it may be the case that too many students will have the dreaded flu. But anyway, preparations are in full swing.

First on the agenda? Injury management, aka picking the pebbles out of the gravel on the sports ground.

We could be here all day!

Next was multiple rehearsals of the sports day ceremony formalities - parading the school banner, standing still, raising the flag, standing in formation, marching to a whistle beat, standing and listening, running to position, hats on, hats off - all the important things for sports day success.

Practicing the ceremony, but I'm standing in the shade - hee, hee!

Until next practice,
Monica

How does your Iris grow?

2009-09-10T16:05:00.012+09:00

The spring-to-summer season in June brought new blooms to enjoy, so a friend was excited to take me to see an Iris garden in Yamasaki.

Overlooking the garden

There must have been hundreds of varieties to admire, though not every flower had opened yet.

White, violet and lilac irises

I liked the colouring of this one

Kimono girl by the pond

Koi in the pond

Lunch was a herushii ranchi setto (healthy lunch set) in a small, but very popular, nearby Japanese restaurant - where we waited 30 minutes to get a table.

As always, I couldn't eat the raw fish, but everything else - that is, the tofu and tofu - was okay.

Lunch sets like this one are very popular

Before we headed home, we stopped by another garden in Tatsuno and drove by the local beach. Thank you Yamada-sensei.

mata ne,
Monica

A Classroom with a View

2009-09-09T21:22:00.007+09:00

Autumn has begun in Japan but the days are still hot enough to need the air conditioner to be comfortable - unless you're at school. In that case, you have no choice but to sweat it out.

The new school I'm working at is situated on the side of a mountain, so the views from the classrooms are pretty amazing right now - everything is so green after the rainy season.

From the third floor

Taking a closer look

Sports day is coming up, so with all the practice and preparation and preparation and practice and preparation and then some more practice that's going on at the moment, I haven't spent too much time in the classroom.

Writing again soon,
Monica

Ocean, You Meet Whale Shark

2009-09-08T22:46:00.025+09:00

I decided to travel to Osaka last week to visit the aquarium called Kaiyuukan. I took the special rapid from Himeji to Osaka, then the Osaka loop line to Bentencho station, and from there, caught the Chuo line subway to Osaka-ko.

Kaiyuukan from a distance

The entrance

I was there by opening time - a must to avoid mega crowds - but somehow it was already packed inside.

This aquarium is unique in that, once inside, you take the escalator to the eighth floor and then meander down the spiralled walkway through the different marine environments. The tanks are based on the marine life found within the earth's ring of fire; that is, around the Pacific Ocean.

Tropical fish in the Great Barrier Reef

Dolphins from the Tasman Sea

Penguins from Antartica

Sardines from the Coast of Chile

But the most impressive of all, at 9 metres deep and containing 5400 tons of water, is the Pacific Ocean tank. There are hundreds of fish, gliding manta rays with metres-long tails, and lurking in the depths are two whale sharks - which someone has managed to transform into a cute mascot for the souvenir shop. This is Japan, after all.

After, I rode the Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel to see the somewhat hazy sights over Osaka Port.

At Tempozan Harbor Village

One big city

Another view of Osaka

By the way, the title of this post is from the front page of the English version of the aquarium brochure. Hmm, Engrish at its best.

Until next time,
Monica

Better late than never, right?

2009-09-08T18:20:00.003+09:00

Life in Japan never ceases to amaze me.

I've had a brilliant time so far; there's been so many people to meet, places to explore, festivals to see, children to inspire and more 'omg did that just really happen!' moments than I can remember. Ahh, life in Japan!

I'll be adding my photos and sharing a few stories over the next couple of months, so be sure to check back regularly for updates. So, until then.

Monica