Japanese Roren

Ikebana Lessons!

2010-12-14T19:06:00.001+09:00

June 15th

Tonight at Ikebana (flower arranging class) we did an arrangement with some very pretty flowers which I unfortunately don't know the names of!

Cooking lesson!

2010-12-14T19:03:00.001+09:00

June 14th

Tonight's cooking lesson we made tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet), vinegar octopus and seaweed, pumpkin and miso soup! Yum!

Shirahama, Wakayama!

2010-12-14T18:36:00.005+09:00

June 11th, 12th and 13th

We headed to Shirahama in Wakayama-ken for a long weekend at the beach! Shirahama is also known for its onsens (natural hot springs) and there are many around the town.

I had wanted to go to Shirahama for a long time as the beach is beautiful and the white sand is from Australia! We caught a bus from Osaka which took about 4 hours and then we set up camp and headed to the beach.

Our campsite

Amazing beach!

Such clear water :-)

Aussie sand!

Everyone at the beach at sunset

Beautiful sunset

For dinner we found a cool restaurant which had seats outside with a foot bath!

Me in the foot bath at dinner

The next day we tried the outdoor onsen right on the ocean - unfortunately the waves weren't big enough to come in! And then spent the afternoon at the beach.

Outdoor onsen right on the ocean

Eggs cooking in onsen water

Taube and I at the beach

The last day was a little rainy so we spent a bit of time in the onsen near the campsite and we were the only ones in there!

The outdoor onsen

Taube and I in the indoor onsen

We then got some lunch before catching the bus back to Osaka and the train home. Such a great weekend!

Ikebana Lessons!

2010-12-14T18:33:00.002+09:00

June 1st

Tonight at Ikebana (flower arranging class) we did an arrangement with gladiolas and calla lillies.

Food!! Glorious Food!! May

2010-12-12T21:11:00.006+09:00

May

Amazing foods and drinks from this month -

Guacamole

Bubble tea - coconut!

Nachos

Taco salad

Sizzler main meal - steak and chicken parmigiana

Hamburger and fries in Tokyo

Homemade eggs benedict, my first time!

All night in Osaka!

2010-12-12T21:02:00.004+09:00

May 29th

Well sadly Rachel is leaving in a few months so we needed to get in some 'last' things! We went to Osaka for a late Mexican dinner before heading out for a night of dancing. We all lasted till the morning and caught the first train home! :-)

Amazing Mexican at El Panchos

All of us at dinner

Pat and Jing

Taube and Rach

Em and I

Osaka lights

Rach rocking the dancefloor

Rach, Taube, Stef and I on the dancefloor - too hot!

Ikebana Lessons!

2010-12-12T20:56:00.002+09:00

May 11th and 18th

At Ikebana (flower arranging class) this month we did two different arrangements.

Japanese cooking lesson!

2010-12-12T20:51:00.002+09:00

May 17th

This month in our cooking lesson we made fried tofu with snowpeas, seared bonito and Nebaru fish with soysauce, yum!

Tokyo with Rachel!

2010-12-12T20:04:00.009+09:00

May 1st - 4th

For Golden week (3 national holidays in a row) Rachel and I decided to spend 4 days in Tokyo.

Day one - we caught the overnight bus there on Friday night which meant we arrived at 7am, dropped our luggage off at the hotel and headed out sight seeing. We went up the Metropolitan Government building which has an amazing view of Tokyo, found the LOVE sculpture, found Burger King, Rachel tried the batting cages, had a nap, met up with our friend Makoto before going out dancing all night with Em and Jody!

View of Tokyo

I miss Burger King - it only exists in Tokyo!

Rach, me and Makoto

Out at a nightclub and the captain was there!

Walking home with the sun coming up!

Day two - we slept in and then headed to Harajuku for shopping and people watching, Yoyogi park and met Em and Jody. We went to probably the most amazing Mexican restaurant ever near Harajuku - thanks to Jody!

Harajuku

People dressed up near Harajuku

Rach and I in Yoyogi park

Em and Jody

Amazing enchilada

Cool poster in Shibuya

Day three - we went to Shibuya, Meiji shrine, Sizzler with Em and Jody and then to a cool theme bar - Lock Up!

Shibuya crossing

Meiji Shrine

Meiji Shrine

Sizzler!

My chemistry set drink!

My second drink - an eyeball!

Day four - we met Makoto and Yuki for lunch and then met Em and Jody for dinner before catching the shinkansen home!

Rach and Jody enjoying hamburgers!

Em and I enjoying hamburgers!

An amazing trip with an amazing girl!

Food!! Glorious Food!! April

2010-04-26T09:54:00.004+09:00

April

Some amazing foods eaten at home and here during this month!

Favourite dish at the markets at home - steamed bbq pork buns and cold rolls

Best vegetarian food ever!

Mum's corned beef - yum!

Chili con queso

Burrito!

Amazing corn fritters

Hanami party packs!

Pat's birthday cake

Aussie wine at the castle

Vietnamese Pho

Vietnamese cold rolls

Tempura cooking lesson

Bamboo shoots with seaweed

Yumiko's milk custard and strawberry dessert

Double jelly cheesecake that I made

In our second cooking lesson this month we made -

Green asparagus with egg yolk dressing

Cabbage and potato cake

Broiled sawara fish

Yumiko's yum rum cake!

Strawberry picking!

2010-04-26T09:53:00.006+09:00

April 24th

Today we went strawberry picking out in the country near the school that I work at. It was a bit of a walk to get there but once we were there we had an hour to pick and eat as many strawberries as we wanted. I love strawvberries and they were so delicious!

The greenhouses

Me in the strawberry patch

Kyosuke enjoying strawberries

Delicious strawberries!

Strawberry fields forever

The biggest one I found

Taube with the strawberries

Rach with the strawberries

Ikebana lessons!

2010-04-19T09:42:00.009+09:00

April 20th

Tonight at Ikebana (flower arranging class) we did an arrangement with lots of greenery and beautiful orange carnations.

Julian's art show

2010-04-19T09:42:00.008+09:00

April 11th

Today we caught the train north from Himeji for about 30 minutes to a small town called Fukusaki. We went there because Julian had an art show. He makes ceramics and also teaches English here. It was a little show and I bought some nice presents from some of the stalls. It is always nice to go and support a friend and see a new place.

Julian with his work

One of the performances

Jewish Food Night!

2010-04-19T09:41:00.011+09:00

April 9th

Tonight Taube, Rachel and Dan decided to cook Jewish food for a group of us. They all have some Jewish heritage and have been missing good Jewish food. It was a great night with amazing food which I had never tried before! I even found a Jewish Honey cake recipe which apparently turned out right! :-)

Kugel - noodles, cheeses and raisins - yum!

Chicken and cranberry salad

Real rye, meats and cheeses

Latkes - amazing potato cakes

Matzo ball soup

Rach cooking latkes!

Blintzes - like a crepe with cheese or strawberry inside

Honey cake that I made

Hanami party and Pat's Birthday!

2010-04-19T09:41:00.010+09:00

April 10th

Today the sun was shining, cherry blossoms were in bloom and it was Pat's birthday so we decided to have a picnic at the castle and enjoy some good food and drinks in the sunshine. It was a lovely afternoon - this is definitely my favourite time of the year!

Close up of the beautiful cherry blossoms

Cherry blossoms, the moat and carp

Everyone enjoying hanami

Me with the cherry blossoms

Himeji castle

Happy Birthday Pat!

Playing Uno attack!

Rach, Taube and I

Ladies in kimonos under the cherry blossoms

Kyosuke and I with the last of the cherry blossoms

Hanami picnic at night!

2010-04-19T09:40:00.003+09:00

April 8th

Today after school we went to the supermarket to pick up some snacks before heading to the castle for a hanami picnic. During this time of year many people enjoy picnics under the cherry blossoms. Today was sunny and it was a perfect evening. Once it got dark we could go into the castle grounds and see many cherry blossoms lit up. It was so beautiful and this is the last time we can see them with the castle as it will soon be covered. I love cherry blossom season!

Himeji castle

Cute lamps leading into the castle

The castle in the afternoon sun

People enjoying hanami (picnics under the cherry blossoms)

The castle and cherry blossoms at night

So pretty

Taube, Yumi, Rach and I

The lights would change colour too

My favourite view in the castle grounds

Just a reflection

Ikebana lessons!

2010-04-19T09:38:00.010+09:00

April 6th

Tonight at Ikebana (flower arranging class) we did an arrangement with iris, a plant with berries and some cool leaves. All the names were really hard to pronounce even for the Japanese students in the class!

Surprise trip home!

2010-04-19T09:38:00.009+09:00

March 26th - April 5th

I only just went home at Christmas but when I was home my best friend, Renee was sick so I was unable to spend much time with her, Dave or Caleb. Renee was pregnant and had baby Hugh on the 19th of March so I really wanted to see her and the new little one. I sadly couldn't be there for his birth but spring vacation here allowed me to be home while he was only a week old!

I told Kate about my plans and a few friends but I kept it a secret from Renee, Mum and Wolf. Kate and I surprised Mum and Wolf first. Kate put me in the boot of her Barina and told them there was a surprise in there for them - they didn't expect me to be in there! Mum was crying and Wolf was shocked! They were really happy though :-) Next to surprise was Renee. Nikki and Kim were in on it and planned a time to go over and meet the baby. When she answered the door I was there! She was also so shocked but happy too and I got to meet and hold little Hugh!

The time went so quickly with spending most days with Renee, Hugh and Caleb and nights with Mum and Wolf and then weekends with Kate and Jared. Also trying to fit in some friend visits and lots of shopping!

I had a great time at home and have realised how much fun it is to surprise someone! :-)

Kate and I at Pt Willunga beach

In the boot ready to surprise Mum and Wolf

Port Willunga beach

Lights on North Terrace

Amani, Kate and Zahra

Lin, Shell and Alex

Wolf and Mum

Hugh and I

Renee, Hughie and I

Kim, Taj, Caleb, Me, Hughie, Renee and Nikki

Hugh and Caleb

Caleb and I

Hughie - so cute!

Glenelg

Jared and Kate

Food!! Glorious Food!! March

2010-04-13T14:31:00.007+09:00

March

More interesting, tasty, wonderful foods I have eaten this month!

Takoyaki - the special class made them as part of my farewell party

For Hinamatsuri (Girls day/Dolls festival) my teacher gave me a delicious cake

Pac Man cake I made for Jason's 80's birthday

Crazy drinks - chocolate soda, Love ginger and Cherry blossom!

Pat and Jing cooking Chinese hot pot

Chinese hot pot

Cooking lesson - sushi rice

Graduation lunch box at school

Seafood BBQ - we could pick out whatever seafood we wanted and cooked it ourselves

Oysters on the BBQ

The oysters were amazing!

Jason and Chelsey's Birthday cake

Fish and Chips - yum!

Ramen

Julian and Kyosuke's Golden Poo Birthday cake

Ladies lunch at school on the last day

Julian's Birthday!

2010-04-13T14:30:00.003+09:00

March 23rd/24th

Today is Kyosuke's birthday and tomorrow is Julian's so we decided to head to Nobu where Julian works and have some drinks and cake for their birthdays. Sadly Kyosuke couldn't make it because his Grandfather passed away. But I still made a cake for both of them and saved a piece for Kyosuke. This cakes theme was 'golden poo' since Kyosuke and Julian are typical boys I thought they would enjoy it! I even used real edible gold! It was a fun night but just sad that Kyosuke couldn't be there.

Julian our friendly local bartender!

Golden Poo cake!

Sumo!!

2010-04-13T14:27:00.009+09:00

March 21st

After spending the night in Osaka Kyosuke and I met up with our friends at Sumo! I love going to Sumo as on the way to the stadium you can see many players dressed in kimonos and they smell like babies, must be the talc they use! It was a fun day and it is always amazing to see how big some of them are and then see the smaller guy win! After we headed to El Panchos for an amazing Mexican dinner!

The more famous sumo wrestlers going in to the stadium

Kyosuke with the cut out sumo wrestlers!

Me with the cut out sumo wrestlers!

Warming up!

And it is on!

He was the biggest I have ever seen! Wow!

All the professional players

Previous champion - Hakuho

Everyone enjoying sumo!

The best Hello Kitty I have ever bought!

The stadium

Throwing the salt to bless the ring in the last match

Osaka with Kyosuke!

2010-04-12T13:55:00.007+09:00

March 20th

Kyosuke's birthday is March 23rd but I decided as part of his present I wanted to take him to a Dog Cafe in Osaka the weekend before. I had never been to a Dog Cafe so I wanted to experience it as well as Kyosuke loves dogs! We entered the cafe and we were met with about 10 dogs - all different breeds and personalities. Some were a little shy though. You could just sit down and play with the dogs, there were vending machines but we didn't really feel like drinking! We made friends with a couple of dogs including a beautiful but ugly one that wanted to eat my cat purse! There was also a small Shiba-ken there which is my favourite Japanese dog, so cute! I think this cafe is such a good idea because some people love dogs but because of their living situation they can't have dogs.

Kyosuke at the Dog cafe with the cute dog who wanted my purse

Me with the dog

Up close!

Me with my favourite dog - Shiba-ken

Up close!

Later we went out in Osaka and had dinner and drinks.

Happy Birthday Kyosuke!

Kyosuke and I in Osaka

Osaka lights

Baby Hugh Alfred Alexander is born!

2010-04-12T13:50:00.003+09:00

March 19th

Today I became an 'Auntie' again! My best friend Renee gave birth to a health boy named Hugh Alfred Alexander. Caleb is now a big brother! I am so sad to have not been there but I am very excited to meet him soon!

Ikebana Lessons!

2010-04-12T13:43:00.003+09:00

March 18th

Tonight at Ikebana (flower arranging class) we did an arrangement with a beautiful pale pink Tulip called Angelique. I think this is one of my most favourite arrangements yet!

St. Patty's Day!

2010-04-12T13:36:00.003+09:00

March 17th

I organised for a group of us to have dinner and celebrate St. Patty's Day! We went to the only British Pub in Himeji and had fish and chips and enjoyed a few Kilkenny's and Guiness!!

Table one

Table two

Fish and Chips!

Shimanami Kaido Biking Trip

2010-04-12T13:33:00.008+09:00

March 13th - 14th

This weekend we headed to Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture to begin our 70 Km bike ride! Saturday started with a little rain but luckily not enough for us to cancel our trip. We left Onomichi and caught a ferry with our bikes to the next island. We rode 35 Kms along beautiful coastal roads and crossed 3 bridges before arriving at the camp grounds in Tatara. We had onsen, cooked curry and spent the night in cottages.

Ferry from Onomichi

On our way - just 69.5km to go!

Bridge number 1

Stefan - attempting to be a Mikan thief!

Blossoms starting early along the way

My view for the weekend

Bridge number 2

On my bike on the bridge

Sunset beach!

Bridge number 3

The cottage we stayed in

Next day

We got up early and had a big breakfast before heading on to Imabari - our final destination, another 35 Kms away. We crossed another 3 bridges and saw many amazing views before arriving in Imabari. We stopped near the last bridge for lunch and had an amazing seafood BBQ. It was a great weekend with great people and I am glad we kept a very relaxed pace because I was still sore for a few days afterwards!

Bridge number 4

Rach, Taube and I

Bridge number 5

All of us in front of the last bridge - number 6

Stefan's pre-farewell

2010-04-09T14:23:00.002+09:00

March 6th

Sadly living in Japan of means that the friends we make eventually return to their home countries and we have to say goodbye :-( This time it was Stefan who is returning to Germany at the end of the month. We had a pre-farewell as I would be away when he has his real farewell. I hope to meet him again someday in Germany or Japan!

At dinner

Rachel, Kyosuke, Stefan and I

Meeting Hugo!

2010-04-09T14:06:00.003+09:00

March 6th

Today Rachel, Taube and I got to meet our friends baby . . . Hugo! His Dad is Australian and his Mum is Japanese. A very cute little boy :-)

Maki and Hugo

Hugo and I

Gorgeous boy!

With the Australia jumpsuit and hat I bought him

Ikebana Lessons!

2010-04-09T14:02:00.003+09:00

March 2nd

Tonight at Ikebana (flower arranging class) we did an arrangement with iris, cherry blossoms and freesias.

Food!! Glorious Food!! February

2010-04-09T09:35:00.008+09:00

February

I have eaten many weird and wonderful foods this month as always :-)

Makoto's farewell cake - he moved to Tokyo

Jing's birthday cake

Ghengis Khan all you can eat BBQ in Sapporo

In Hokkaido crab is a popular dish - we had a 7 course meal which was all crab but prepared differently - it was all delicious!

Boiled crab

Raw crab

Crab legs

Crab nabe

Crab gratin

Emily had crab gratin in a crab head!

Crab tempura

Scallop with Hokkaido butter - amazing!

Hokkaido Ramen with Hokkaido corn and butter! Yum!

I made chocolate cakes for Kyosuke for Valentines day

Chocolate beer and soda - the soda was delicious - the beer not so!

Rolled beef with burdock and carrot made in our cooking lesson

Boiled greens with deep fried bean curd

Vanilla and Green Tea roll cake made by Yumiko our cooking teacher

Yakinikku - grilled BBQ meats and vegetables

Raw beef and egg - surprisingly delicious!

Osaka with my teachers!

2010-04-09T08:58:00.004+09:00

February 26th

Tonight I had the strangest yet most fun night out with my teachers. We drove to Osaka after school and headed to a famous yakinikku (BBQ) restaurant and had all we could eat and drink for 2 hours! It was so delicious - I even tried raw liver which is surprisingly better than cooked liver. We then went to a "New Half" bar. Earlier in the day my teachers were telling me about the bar but couldn't explain it in English other than "man woman mix" so I came to the conclusion that it might be a drag show bar. When we entered we were shown to a table and 2 women that worked there sat with us and chatted to us. They told us that they weren't in fact drag queens as they had all had the operation. It was then performance time and there were many dances and comedy acts. The finale was announced - "sexy time"!! And yes the girls came out on stage with not much on and then lifted their skirts at the end so you could see everything! And yes they had all had the operation!! It was a great night and I am glad that I work with such outgoing teachers!

BBQ

With one of the English teachers and the Japanese teacher

All these girls used to be men . . . before their operation

Snowboarding at Hachikita!

2010-04-09T08:17:00.004+09:00

February 20th

Today I went snowboarding with Kyosuke, Jaclyn and Rob for the last time this season. I made it down the whole easy slope with out falling over which is very good for me :-) I love snowboarding and am looking forward to going many times next winter!

Jaclyn, Rob and Kyosuke in their crazy masks!

View of the ski fields

snow flakes

Kyosuke and I

Love the snow!

Valentines Day

2010-03-17T15:09:00.009+09:00

February 14th

For Valentines day in Japan it is all about boys and chocolate - unfortunately giving boys chocolate, girls have to wait till White Day on March 14th! So I made Kyosuke dinner, chocolate cakes and we drank chocolate soda and chocolate beer!

Pile of chocolate love heart cakes I made Kyosuke

Chocolate beer and soda - the beer was horrible but the soda is amazing!

Ikebana lessons!

2010-03-17T15:09:00.008+09:00

February 16th

Tonight at Ikebana (flower arranging class) we did an arrangement with gladiolas, daisies and another flower that smells amazing called stock. Also daisies are called Margaret in Japanese!

Special Christmas Party

2010-03-17T15:08:00.007+09:00

February 9th

I had promised the special class at my junior high school that we would have a Christmas party after I got back from Australia. Because of timetable changes and things it was postponed until today! They had a great time - I showed them photos from Christmas, we pulled bonbons, they got Australian Christmas presents and ate Christmas cake with custard!

opening presents

pulling the bonbons

wearing the bonbon hats and ready to eat Christmas cake

Sapporo Day 3

2010-03-17T15:08:00.005+09:00

February 8th

On our last day in Sapporo we spent it wandering around and making sure we had seen all the snow and ice sculptures. It was the warmest day, 3 degrees! The last thing we did was to have Hokkaido ramen - I had mine with corn and butter which are produced in Hokkaido. It was a great trip and I may just have to go again one day :-)

Frozen river

Pro snowboarding competition

Zoo snow sculpture

Amazing grilled scallop!

In front of the German church sculpture

Korean palace

Mariko chan character

My future dog - so cute!

Ramen - yum!

Sapporo Day 2

2010-03-17T15:07:00.010+09:00

February 7th

On the second day we went to Niseko - the main ski field in Sapporo. The snow here is meant to be some of the best in the world as it is so powdery and soft. Emily and I spent the day going down our own baby slope! I didn't fall over all day which was a first and then we went to an outdoor onsen (bath) and it was snowing! When we got back to Sapporo city we went and ate crab for dinner. It is very famous here - we got a huge course and ate crab everyway possible! Raw crab, cooked crab, crab hotpot, crab gratin, tempura crab . . . and many other delicious ways!

Emily ready to hit our baby slope!

I'm ready to go!

Panoramic of the ski field

Yes that is correct - it is minus 8 degrees!

Em and I - snowboard buddies!

Me on the slopes!

Making ice sculptures

Ramen soup ice sculpture - there are real noodles in it!

At dinner

Amazing crab

Sapporo Day 1

2010-03-17T15:07:00.007+09:00

February 6th

For a long time I have been wanting to go to the snow festival in Sapporo and this year I finally did! A group of us headed to Sapporo for 3 days of snow and ice fun! The first day we arrived we headed to the hotel and then on to the main street which has many ice and snow sculptures. It was all so beautiful as the whole city is white with powdery snow. We went to the Sapporo beer factory for an amazing all you can eat BBQ dinner and all you can drink Sapporo beer!

The morning we left it actually snowed enough at home to cover the patio

The view from our hotel

Beautiful ice sculptures

There were real fish and crabs in this ice sculpture

Sapporo beer factory

Crazy snowball fight!

Icecream in the snow - amazing!

First look at the snow sculptures

Principals Party

2010-03-17T14:44:00.003+09:00

February 5th

We had our annual formal party with all principals from our schools and people from the Board of Education. It was a great night with good food and a lot of alcohol!

My principal and I

Taube, Rachel and I

Rachel and Chelsey taught everyone the electric slide dance

Taube and I

The boys

The Aussies

Taube and Julian

At Hosannas later, we met up with Dani too

Ikebana lessons!

2010-03-17T14:35:00.003+09:00

February 2nd

Tonight at Ikebana (flower arranging class) we did an arrangement with peach blossoms and a plant that is also edible before it flowers, I think it is Japanese.

Weekend of Birthdays!

2010-03-17T14:03:00.005+09:00

January 29th and 30th

This weekend we celebrated three friends birthdays! On Friday we had a nice dinner for Steffa at an Italian restaurant and after we joined Jody's birthday party which was an American college party! We all wore American college clothes and played drinking games. On Saturday we celebrated Hiromi's birthday with dinner at Taube and Julian's. It was a fun weekend!

Megumi and Steffa

Birthday girl!

Cake

Everyone at dinner

The cake I made Jody - beer pong is a game where you have to get a ping pong ball in the other teams beer

Happy Birthday!

Rach, Jody and I

Ready for flip-cup

Happy Birthday Hiromi!

Hiromi and Fumiyo

Australia Day

2010-03-17T13:46:00.003+09:00

January 26th

We celebrated Australia Day with a shared dinner party. All the Aussies tried to bring Australian food and the Americans bought anything they liked! It was a nice night with friends but I wish I could have had a BBQ at the beach!

I made trifle

Me and my kangaroo

The good/bad t-shirt Renee gave me!

Me, Taube and Rach

All the Aussies

Snowboarding at Sky Valley

2010-03-17T13:26:00.004+09:00

January 24th

Our friend Megumi organised a trip to the ski fields about 2 hours from where I live. It was the first time this winter that I went snowboarding and it was a lot of fun!

Snowman!

Steffa, Megumi and Makoto ready to snowboard!

Makoto and Kyosuke - serious as usual!

Rach and I with some cute characters on the mountain

My cute jellybean rental board

Rachel - my bunny slope buddy

View

Kyosuke and I looking fabulous!

Me and my board

Ikebana lessons!

2010-03-17T13:19:00.002+09:00

January 19th

Tonight at Ikebana (flower arranging class) we did an arrangement with tulips and sweet peas. It was a really beautiful spring arrangement especially when the tulips opened up.

In class with the tulips closed

and at home once they opened

Welcome Party

2010-03-17T13:04:00.002+09:00

January 16th

6 new Australian teachers from Adelaide arrived on the 4th January to begin a year contract working here. The local community centre had a welcome party which we were all invited to attend. We listened to music and the Adelaide teachers introduced themselves before we tried tea ceremony and shodo (Japanese calligraphy).

Tea ceremony

Sweet to eat before having the green tea

Me drinking the tea

Pretty things used in the tea ceremony

Taube doing the tea ceremony

Ryan, Rob and Jody enjoying tea ceremony

The calligraphy I did - this one is not mine though - way too good!

Ikebana lessons!

2010-03-17T12:52:00.002+09:00

January 12th

Tonight at Ikebana (flower arranging class) we did an arrangement with yellow tiger lillies and gerberas.

Kite Festival

2010-03-17T12:39:00.003+09:00

January 10th

There is an annual kite festival held at the race course near our apartment where hundreds of kites are flown. This year Kyosuke and I went there and saw many kites including the cutest kite which was the mascot of Himeji! My favourite from last year was also there, the tsunami wave print. I think it is a great family festival.

At the racecourse

So cute!

So many kites in the sky

Old kites

I love this one too

Me with the castle mascot - cute!

Trip home with Kyosuke!

2010-03-17T11:27:00.007+09:00

December 19th – January 6th

I headed home for winter vacation again this year to spend Christmas and New Years with my family but this year Kyosuke could come too! We had a great two and a half weeks meeting my family and friends, doing some sight seeing and eating a lot of great food! Hopefully he can come home again this year. :-)

Kyosuke and I at the Blue Lake

Grandma and I

Christmas Eve - Kate, Kyosuke and Jared

Christmas Lunch - Kate, Kyosuke and Shinya

Kate and I at the beach Christmas Day

Port Noarlunga beach

Hahndorf - Kyosuke and I

Kate and Jared

Clealand National Park - koala

Kyosuke feeding Kangaroos

I met Nikki and Brad's little boy Taj for the first time

We spent New Years at a holiday house on Hindmarsh Island

Kyosuke and I on Granite Island

Going for a drive in one of Wolf's old cars

Mum and Wolf at Silver sands beach

Had lunch and coffee with Auntie and Uncle John

Swim at the beach on our last day

Met up with Renee and Caleb

Gorgeous Caleb!

Food!! Glorious Food!! December!!

2010-03-17T10:52:00.009+09:00

December

I have eaten a lot of yum foods this month especially since I went home!

Cooking class - Japanese curry

German potato

Wurst - German sausage!

Feuerzangenboule - before

and after!

Christmas - fresh oysters

Oysters Kilpatrick

Seafood!

Christmas Lunch

Trifle

BBQ

potato pie, pasty and lamingtons!

Chicken parmy!

Yum breakfast

Jared's amazing cooking - french potatoes and steak

Half Mexican and half Indian pizza!

Festivus!

2010-03-07T22:19:00.002+09:00

December 18th

I had the traditional Festivus party at my place again this year. Since I have a love for Seinfeld and we have people from different beliefs here it is very appropriate to have a Festivus party rather than a Christmas party. People from my apartment came over and we had drinks and snacks – it was a nice night before we left for Australia.

The Festivus cheesecake

Seinfeld!

The party

German Christmas!

2010-02-19T19:55:00.011+09:00

December 11th and 12th

On Friday night a group of us headed to Osaka to experience a little bit of Germany at the German Christmas Markets! We enjoyed beer, mulled wine, gingerbread, German potatoes and of course sausages! It was held under the Umeda Sky Building which is about 70 floors. We went to the top and had an amazing view of Osaka.

On Saturday we had another German Christmas party at our German friend, Stefan's house. We did the traditional Feuerzangenboule which is a huge block of sugar sitting over a pot of fruit and wine and spices. You then soak the sugar with high alcohol rum and set it on fire! It was amazing to see and we played secret Santa afterwards!

Welcome to the German Christmas Markets

Gingerbread house!

Gingerbread

Sausages!

Cammron and I enjoying a beer!

View from the Sky building

Feuerzangenboule at Stefan's!

On fire!

Really on fire!

Ikebana lessons!

2010-02-19T19:55:00.010+09:00

December 15th

Tonight at Ikebana (flower arranging class) we did a Christmas arrangement. It included pine, white painted bamboo and red tropical flowers. With Ikebana there is a formula to arranging the flowers but tonight it was freestyle, this actually took longer but I really enjoyed it.

Yon kyu test (level 4 Japanese test)

2010-02-19T19:54:00.004+09:00

December 6th

In December I took the level 4 Japanese test and have just found out two months later that I passed! Level 4 is the easiest level going up to level 1 which is equal to a native speaker. At level 4 I only had to know 100 kanji characters but it goes up from here. This year the levels will change as a level has been added so I will sit the level 4 test again but it is really level 3! This time I will need to know 300 kanji characters!

Christmas Party December 5th

2010-02-19T19:53:00.012+09:00

December 5th

We were asked by the local community if we could help plan and create a Christmas party at the local Elementary School. We had different stations set up for making ornaments, cards and gift wrapping. Each child bought a present and wrapped it to go into Santa's sack. The kids had a great time and were so excited when Santa came and gave out gifts to everyone. Afterwards we enjoyed a huge afternoon tea together.

The wrapping table

We made strings of popcorn to decorate the tree - this was my first time to do it!

Taube and I in front of the tree

Me with my crazy gold antlers!

Chelsey and I - Santa's helpers!

Lining up for presents!

Luminare and Max's Birthday!

2010-02-19T19:53:00.008+09:00

December 4th

It is that time of year again when Kobe puts up a beautiful tunnel of lights to remember the Great Hanshin Earthquake. You walk through a tunnel of lights and enter a castle of lights at the end! This year it was also Max's birthday so after seeing the lights we had a nice Chinese dinner in China town before heading to the Gundam bar. Gundam is a popular animae character here and Max is a big fan! We took awhile to find the bar but when we eventually found it it was really cool - a little bar filled with anything and everything Gundam including costumes for you to try on! It was a great night with great friends :-).

The start of the tunnel

Jody and I with the lights

The castle at the end

Trying out a different setting on my camera

Jason, Max, Cammron, Jody and I

Inside the castle

Gundam bar

Inside the bar

Food!! Glorious Food!! November!!

2010-02-17T22:51:00.006+09:00

November

Pud thai – I really miss Thai food as it is not so popular and as easy to get here

Lemon poppy seed cake I made for Taube

Cooking lesson – sukiyaki

I made cold rolls

Roast beef

Sanuki Udon

Cooking lesson – hand rolled sushi

Turkey!

Farewell cake I made for the Australians

Aussie Farewell

2010-02-17T22:50:00.003+09:00

November 28th

It is that time of year again when the Australians finish their contracts and head home. It is amazing how quickly the year goes! We had a community party at our apartment building and then we all headed to karaoke! It was a great night but also a little sad to say goodbye to our friends.

The party

Cute girls at the party

Everyone at karaoke

Aussies singing Men at Work “Downunder”!

Thanksgiving Dinner

2010-02-17T22:49:00.001+09:00

November 27th

This year we went to a restaurant in the city to celebrate Thanksgiving day. I actually organised it this year which is quite funny since we don't celebrate it in Australia but I think it is a nice holiday and we can eat roast turkey which is a rare find in Japan! It was a great night with great friends and we were all thankful which is what it is all about!

Happy Thanksgiving

Turkeys!

My first plate of many!

Takamatsu with Kyosuke!

2010-02-17T22:47:00.013+09:00

November 21st - 22nd

Kyosuke and I went away for the weekend to Takamatsu which is in Shikoku – the island below where I live. We borrowed his Mum's car and drove over the longest suspension bridge in the world to Awaji Island and then drove over another bridge to reach Shikoku. We then headed up Yashima mountain to see the view at sunset and we also saw Yashimaji which is temple number 84 on the temple circuit of Shikoku. We stayed at a hotel near the station. The next day we went to Shikoku-mura which is a large park that contains many different types of houses and buildings from all over Shikoku and the neighbouring islands. There is even a vine suspension bridge just like the one in the Iya Valley except it is a lot smaller and closer to the river! Before leaving Takamatsu we ate sanuki udon which was delicious. I got to drive for the first time in Japan on the way home!

The bridge

Kyosuke and I in the garden

The garden was beautiful

Panoramic

Nice rocks in the creek that ran through the garden

View from Yashima of Takamatsu

Yashimaji

Vine suspension bridge

Old building in Shikoku-mura

Sanuki udon

Kokoen Autumn leaf light up

2010-02-17T22:47:00.005+09:00

November 23rd

We went to the Japanese garden in the city to see all the amazing autumn leaves lit up. It is so beautiful and I took so many photos! Here are just some of them :-).

Amazing reds!

So beautiful

All of us at the garden

Jody, Rachel, Taube and I with “fire” above us!

Kobe JET conference

2010-02-17T22:46:00.003+09:00

November 19th and 20th

We had our annual JET conference in Kobe again this year. We found a really cool coffee and lunch place that is built like a stadium and while you eat you can watch coffee being ground! We also spent some time looking around China town and eating delicious things!

Captain Terry!

Epi, Jaclyn and I in the stadium seating!

In China town!

Ikebana lessons!

2010-02-17T22:45:00.003+09:00

November 17th

Tonight at Ikebana (flower arranging class) we did an arrangement with roses and snap dragons. Unfortunately the roses didn't like my heater so much. :-( They were beautiful while they lasted though!

Kobe with Monica!

2010-02-17T22:43:00.003+09:00

November 15th

Monica and I spent a great day in Kobe together. We went to IKEA which was my first time in Japan! It is very similar to Australia and we got Swedish meatballs for lunch! We then spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in Kobe before getting dinner at an English pub. It was the first time for me to visit the Hobgoblin pub too and it was great to eat real roast beef and vegetables!

Amazing meatballs for lunch!

IKEA looks the same!

Mmmm roast beef!

Taube's Birthday!

2010-02-17T22:42:00.003+09:00

November 7th

It was Taube's birthday so we went to Kobe for the Bienniale Art Exhibition during the day. It is an amazing art exhibition in which each exhibit is in its own shipping container. Each artist used the space differently and it was really interesting. After enjoying the art we went to a wonderful Thai restaurant (Thai food is sort of rare in Japan) for Taube's birthday dinner and then on to a little bar for drinks before catching the last train home :-)

Taube's cake – I made lemon poppy seed cake

Sand exhibit – it was sand from Australia and you stood on it and there were cool lights and sounds

One of my favourites – it is all made from cardboard

Kobe Port

Me in the paper exhibit – so much fun!

Happy Birthday Taube!

Cheers!

Beach BBQ!

2010-02-17T06:15:00.003+09:00

October 17th

Julian, Taube and Yumi organised an afternoon at a beach side property. It was a friend of a friends place and we were able to have a BBQ on the dock by the ocean. It was a lovely day with great friends.

The path to the beach

The beach!

Crazy barnacles

Monica, Taube and I

Cammron and his small Fugu!

Crazy critters on the rocks

My future dog – so cute!

Boys at the BBQ

More interesting creatures in the rock pools

Kyosuke and I

Food!! Glorious Food!! October!!

2010-02-12T14:38:00.009+09:00

October

Fumiyo's birthday cheesecake

Amazing prawn curry made by Julian

Corona and hamburger at the music festival – yum!

Yum food at the community party after the Shinzaike festival

Amazing sushi!

Cooking lesson – miso, eggplant and oden

Matcha roll cake – yum!

Fried cheese sticks

Taiyaki – egg, bacon, cheese inside a fish shaped bread

Taiyaki

Halloween!

2010-02-12T14:37:00.011+09:00

October 30th and 31st

We had our annual Halloween party at our apartment building for the local children again this year. We spent a couple of hours taking them around to various games and activities before trick or treating within our apartment building! After a group of us headed to a party in the city organised by another JET teacher. It was quite crazy but a really fun party! The next night which was actually Halloween a small group of us dressed up again and went to the Latin dance club in the city – Tropicana! It is amazing that I have only celebrated Halloween in Japan but I love it!

Kids arriving for the party

One of the best costumes! He was a character but he just looked like a box!

Green man = Max!

Two very cute girls in my group

Getting prizes from Julian the monkey!

Scary roaming ghost, Matt and Rob Mr Pumpkin!

Group photo of the kids

Another adorable kid at our party

Taube and I

Now to the JET teachers party - Rachel and Chip, the party organiser

“Hard Gay” Japanese character!

Cleopatra and Wonder Woman

Ninja Turtles!

On our way to Tropicana

Glowing in Tropicana

Wonder Woman and her lasso of truth!

Yeah Taube won the best costume prize! ¥5000

In comic book mode!

International Festival

2010-02-12T14:37:00.004+09:00

October 25th

I was lucky enough to work at the Australian Booth again this year at the international festival. It was a great day and I helped serve people at the Australian booth where we sold BBQ! We sold out first which meant I had time to sample other countries delicious foods!

Everyone that worked at the Aussie BBQ booth

Monica, Matt and I - we had to wear masks!

Monica and I without masks!

Mmmm BBQ!

Himeji castle made from candy and sugar!

Lantern smashing Festival

2010-02-12T14:36:00.005+09:00

October 21st

Chelsey, Jason and I went to the lantern smashing festival again this year in Aboshi but we were lucky to be taken there by a local man that we met through the international festival and have since become good friends with. He took us right to where the action was and he even found us a lantern each to take home! After we enjoyed a lovely dinner at his house with his family.

Shrines entering the festival - so pretty lit up

Lantern smashing!

More lantern smashing!

My friend Pat is in there somewhere - he got to participate and wear the outfit too!

My lantern that I got to bring home

Nada Kenka Matsuri

2010-02-12T14:24:00.003+09:00

October 15th

I went to only one day of the Nada Kenka Matsuri (Fighting Festival) this year. On the day that I went the portable shrines were being carried down the mountain and then they jostled and fought with each other. It is a crazy festival and nearly every year someone gets hurt or killed as the shrines are huge and are being hit against one another! Luckily we survived and enjoyed the festival!

Panoramic

Tattoos!

Mini shrine

The fighting begins!

Love it!

Oshio Shishimai Festival

2010-02-12T14:10:00.004+09:00

October 14th

We went to the Oshio Lion Dancing Festival. We saw the Shishimai (lions) controlled by men enter the shrine to the sounds of flutes and drums. It is amazing to watch as the Lions dance the whole time even while the dancers are being changed!

Lions

Cute dog in a Happi coat for the festival

Lions entering the shrine

In the crowd

Close up

Ikebana lessons!

2010-02-12T14:00:00.002+09:00

October 20th

I have begun taking Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging) lessons twice a month. I really enjoy doing it and it is really nice to have fresh flowers in my apartment too!

Shinzaike Festival

2010-02-12T11:29:00.004+09:00

October 11th

We were lucky enough to be invited again to be a part of our local community's festival. We started in our happi coats at 8am at the local shrine and drank sake to get the day started. We took our community's portable shrine and walked it around the neighbourhood before meeting up with other community portable shrines along the way. After a nice bento box lunch we enjoyed watching lion dancing and jostling between all the shrines. We were then invited to the local community centre to enjoy dinner with people who live in our area. We are really lucky to live in an area where the local community really welcomes us and invites us to their events.

At the shrine in the morning jostling the portable shrine

Me, Taube and Chelsey enjoying 8am sake!

Cuties!

The girls and I

Wow! Huge sake!

Beautiful detailing on the portable shrine

Taube and I

Close up of the portable shrine

All the community shrines jostling together

Children's portable shrines

Nagisa Music Festival!

2010-02-12T11:22:00.003+09:00

October 4th

The Nagisa music festival is held twice a year on Maishima island near Osaka. It is a huge park with all different kinds of music and DJ's and great food. A group of us spent a nice summer afternoon and night there – I think people watching was the best part!

One of many stages

Girls!

A samurai and I!

Weird and wonderful things everywhere

Amazing sunset

Food!! Glorious Food!! September

2009-10-12T10:55:00.005+09:00

September

As always I have eaten many amazing, interesting and delicious foods this month - this is just some of them!

Chocolate cheesecake I made for Monica's birthday

Taco rice

Parfaits

Cooking lesson - lotus root and pork meatballs, okra and bonito, hijiki - seaweed and tofu

Welcome cakes - English and Japanese!

Lady and Men selection chips - apparently Ladies like consomme flavour and men grilled meat flavour!

Sports day lunch

Mexican - mixed burritos plate

Nachos

illy coffee with baileys

Halloween chips and chocolate

Hummus!

Birthday dinner food - kebabs and yiros!

My birthday cake!

Moon Viewing Festival!

2009-10-12T10:42:00.005+09:00

October 3rd

I went to the Moon viewing festival again this year as it is a nice summer night in front of the castle with all you can drink sake for only about $5! It was a fun night and much sake was consumed before heading to karaoke!

The castle and all the people at the moon viewing festival

Me, Monica, Julian, Nicole and Kyosuke enjoying sake!

Full moon!

Taube and I enjoying sake!

And karaoke after!

My Birthday!

2009-10-12T10:29:00.003+09:00

September 26th

For my birthday a huge group of us went to Caspian restaurant which is a Turkish/Middle Eastern restaurant - the food is amazing and it is the only place to get Hummus in Himeji! We had a great dinner and the owner gave me a tequila shot on the house! We then went to the park in front of the castle for a drinking picnic and then on for some dancing at B's Box dance club! It was a great night and I was really spoilt by all my amazing friends :-)

One table at dinner

The other table

Everyone at dinner

My amazing cake made by Taube, Rachel and Julian

Me and my cake

Kyosuke and I

At the castle for drinks

At B's Box for dancing!

Silver Week - a whole week of holidays!

2009-10-12T10:03:00.004+09:00

September 21st - 25th

We had a whole week of holidays this week as we had 2 compensation days from working the weekend for sports day and there were 3 national holidays. Unfortunately we couldn't really plan anything because if the weather was bad or too many students had swine flu sports day was going to be postponed. So we settled for a week of day trips, shopping and relaxing!

The week started with a trip to Kyoto with Taube and Rachel. Our main purpose was to visit Toji temple as there is a monthly flea market held there. We bought many old kimonos and obis and will attempt to make some cool and interesting things out of them!

cute characters in Kyoto

Toji Temple

We went to Osaka on the way home from Kyoto to enjoy some Mexican food!

Taube, Rachel and I at El Pancho's

Later in the week Taube and I decided to visit Awaji Island and the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge which is the longest suspension bridge in the world and joins the island to the mainland. You can actually go inside the bridge and look down to the ocean which is quite amazing.

Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

Inside the bridge

The floor inside - 50 metres above the sea scary!

Taube and I with the bridge

We then took a bus over the bridge to the Nojima fault (earthquake) museum. The Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995 began at Nojima fault in Awaji Island and there is now a museum there where they have preserved parts of the road, earth and a house. The museum also had an earthquake simulator which created the feeling of a 7.3 earthquake!

Nojima fault line - this is part of an original road and drain

The kitchen of the house that was on the fault line - the whole house has been preserved

On the way home we decided to catch a ferry back to Akashi so we went under the bridge which was really beautiful as the sun was setting

Sports Day!

2009-10-12T09:54:00.003+09:00

September 20th

Well it is that time of year again for the annual JHS sports day. Weeks are spent preparing for the day with many, many practices. It was a great day and the weather was good and the swine flu stayed away enough to prevent it from being cancelled! There were many events - relays, girls dancing, boys formations, marching, club marching, team dances and more marching! After the teachers and I went and had Chinese food for dinner and celebrated it all being finished and the coming week of holidays!

Girls dancing the traditional Soran dance

Boys doing their formations - this is the totem pole

and a huge pyramid!

Team dances involved pop music or the traditional taiko

Amazing lunch!

A Crazy Day in Tegarayama!

2009-09-22T11:41:00.005+09:00

September 13th

It was a warm sunny day so Kyosuke and I decided to go for a bike ride around Himeji to see something new. We ended up at Tegarayama where there is a small theme park, botanical garden, castle, revolving restaurant and many monuments! We walked up the hill to find a very strange and out of place castle on the hill which we explored. There was a huge monument for all the people that were affected by the war. We kept walking as I was curious to see what this huge structure was as it looked like a UFO so Kyosuke and I went inside to discover it is a revolving restaurant! It was quite old looking and slightly strange but we enjoyed a parfait and watched Himeji as we went around! After we went to the garden before riding home. It was quite an interesting day and it is always nice to see something new no matter how strange it is!

The crazy castle on the hill

Kyosuke and I

Panoramic view from the top of the hill

Crazy UFO looking cafe which turned out to be a revolving cafe!

Me and my parfait!

Food!! Glorious Food!! August

2009-09-22T11:07:00.005+09:00

August

Once again this month has been filled with delicious, interesting and amazing foods and drinks!

Real Chinese food cooked by Jing!

Shaved ice machine

Rachel and I with our potato tornados!

American hot dog

Kimi and Emily's birthday cakes

Beyonce water at Summer Sonic!

Cooking lesson - sushi rice, goya champuru, vinegar cucumber and octopus

Cooking lesson - pumpkin pudding and fruit

Frozen berry cocktail

Roast Lamb! Such a rare find in Japan!

Blueberry cheesecake I made for Jane

Taco rice and a taco in Okinawa - yum!

Goya cocktail!

Steak and lobster - amazing!

Root beer float - very American but tasted a little like medicine!

Goya pizza!

Sweet potato cake and sea salt chips

Trifle that I made but it didn't quite set!

Amazing shaved ice with a raw egg and a lot of condensed milk!

Margarita - on the beach!

Shiraishi Island - last summer trip!

2009-09-13T12:23:00.004+09:00

August 29th and 30th

A group of us headed to Shiraishi Island in Okayama prefecture for a weekend beach holiday on the last weekend of the summer holidays! It was a relaxing weekend where we enjoyed the beach, drinks at the bar on the beach and we had an amazing BBQ! Shiraishi Island is the perfect place for a summer getaway . . .

The view from our room

The beach!!

The girls and I at the bar!

Kyosuke and I enjoying the beach!

]
Mmmmm Japanese BBQ on the beach!

Okinawa!! Day Five!

2009-09-06T12:46:00.004+09:00

August 24th

Today was our last day in Okinawa so we decided we needed to spend it at the beach! We spent most of the morning at the beach and then got lunch before heading to the airport. I think Okinawa is such a beautiful place and I really recommend visiting! I had such a fantastic time and it really was the highlight of my summer vacation!

Back at Maezato Beach

'Our' lifeguard :-)

Rach, Em and I - our last beach photo :-(

Man hole cover in Ishigaki Island

Leaving Ishigaki Island :-(

Okinawa!! Day Four!

2009-09-06T12:33:00.005+09:00

August 23rd

Our main goal for this holiday was to go snorkeling and we did it today! We had a half day snorkeling tour and it was amazing! The tour took us only about 15 minutes off shore but the coral and fish were amazing - it felt like I was swimming in a giant tropical fish tank! We even got to feed the fish. After we had lunch and relaxed a bit before going to Maezato beach which was only about 10 minutes from our hotel by car. We spent the afternoon relaxing at the beach and then went out for our last dinner in Ishigaki.

Em, Rach and I ready to snorkel!

and this time underwater!

So many fish!

Beautiful coral and fish - like a big tropical fish tank!

Feeding the fish!

Nemo!

Maezato Beach only about 10 minutes from our hotel

Em, Rach and I at the beach!

The view from our hotel

Goya pizza!

Okinawa!! Day Three!

2009-09-06T12:15:00.005+09:00

August 22nd

There was a chance of rain today so we decided to postpone our snorkeling trip and head to Taketomi Island instead. Taketomi Island is a very small island with a population of 350 people and only 10 minutes by ferry from Ishigaki Island. Once we arrived at the island we rented bikes and headed straight to the beach. Kondoi beach is such a beautiful beach but suddenly there were grey skies and a huge downpour but since we were getting wet anyway it didnt really matter! It cleared up a little and then we went for a ride and found a cute cafe for lunch. After we headed towards the beach again but went to the star sand beach instead. This beach is also beautiful and you can find sand in the shape of stars - they are actually skeletons of coral but are really beautiful. We stayed here for awhile before going back to the port and catching a ferry back to Ishigaki Island. It was a Saturday night so we went out for dinner and then to a darts bar where we were the only ones!

Kondoi Beach on Taketomi Island

Rach, Em and I at the beach!

Shisa - there are many on the rooftops on Taketomi Island

Star sand beach - so beautiful!

Star sand! It is the skeletons of coral but they look like little stars!

Coconuts!

Tropical flowers and the cool stone fences that were all over the island

Rach and Em back on Ishigaki Island - had to be done!

Okinawa!! Day Two!

2009-09-06T12:00:00.006+09:00

August 21st

We had another day in Naha so we decided to do some sight seeing. We caught a bus to Shuri-jo (the castle) and walked around the castle grounds and gardens which were beautiful but unfortunately the castle was under construction so we didn't see it. After a morning wandering around we went back to the main shopping street to eat lunch and do some last shopping before flying to Ishigaki Island. We arrived to rain in Ishigaki Island which is a one hour flight from Naha. We checked into the hotel and relaxed before going out to explore the town and find dinner. We found an amazing American steak house that I went to last time and I had the best meal of steak and lobster!

Shuri-jo the castle in Naha - it was under construction but the views and gates were amazing

Em, Rach and I with a shisa!

Okinawan dancer

Taco rice and Okinawa soba - yum!

Our hotel in Ishigaki Island

Me and my amazing steak and half lobster dinner!

Okinawa!! Day One!

2009-09-06T11:48:00.005+09:00

20th - 24th August

Rachel, Emily and I went to Okinawa for 5 days in the summer vacation to shop, enjoy the beach and go snorkeling! We left early Thursday morning and flew 2 hours to Naha. We spent the day shopping and eating and then headed to a few bars. It was a great start to our holiday!

One of the many souvenir stores on Kokusaidori in Naha - there are goya (bitter melon) seats out the front!

Me and Hello Kitty as a Shisa (lion)

Mmmm taco rice and tacos!

Rachel and Emily as a Shisa!

Naha at night

My goya cocktail - it tasted a lot like a margarita!

Goodbyes!

2009-08-22T09:56:00.004+09:00

August

August is the month of Goodbyes as the American teachers contracts are finished and if they choose to only stay one year it is time for them to leave Japan. This month I had to say goodbye to two wonderful girls Sianna and Jane. I only knew them for a year but I will miss them and am looking forward to seeing them again in the future!

Jane at her goodbye dinner

Sianna and I

TOGA! TOGA! TOGA! 2009

2009-08-16T15:41:00.007+09:00

15th August

It was Emily and Kimi's birthday so we had a party for them at our apartment building but it was a toga party - the first time I have ever been to one! It was a great night and after we changed out of our togas we went to Tropicana for some dancing!

The cakes - Kimi loves Sex and the City and Emily loves The Little Mermaid!

Kyosuke and I

Kimi and Emily

The girls - Rachel, Emily and I

Nipple boys - Pat and Kyosuke

Emily, Rachel, Sianna and I

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Summer Sonic!!

2009-08-15T12:50:00.004+09:00

7th August

It was a hot summer's day when we headed to Osaka with plenty of suncream, water and tickets to Summer Sonic! Summer Sonic is a huge 3 day music festival similar to the Big Day Out with a huge range of performers. I only bought a ticket for the Friday because Beyonce and Ne-Yo were playing! It was a great day and Beyonce is possibly the best performer I have ever seen!

Solange - Beyonce's sister

Rachel and I with our tornado potatoes!

Beyonce water :-)

The shade area

Jane, Rachel, Me and Emily enjoying the festival

Lady Gaga

Ne-Yo was amazing!

Beyonce was amazing!

Beyonce in the audience!

A day trip to Kyoto!

2009-08-15T12:38:00.004+09:00

3rd August

Today I headed to Kyoto for a day trip by myself to see some new sights! It was a really hot day but I went to the Heian shrine which I have been to before but I visited the garden which was new for me. It was a hot summers day but the garden was cool and shady and at times it felt like I was the only one there. I then went to Yasaka shrine and wandered the backstreets behind it before doing some shopping. I love days like this in Japan where you can hop on a train for an hour and a half and see new things in a whole different city!

The huge torii leading to the Heian shrine

Heian shrine

The garden

Beautiful lotus flowers

Me in the garden

View across the pond

Yasaka shrine

Summer Festival in Himeji!

2009-08-10T13:11:00.006+09:00

2nd August

Every summer there is a 3 day festival in Himeji for the castle. There is a parade, many dances and lanterns. This year I saw parts of the festival but there was also a dance music festival on at the castle at the same time which is where I spent most of my time. It is a really nice time of year - the days are hot but it is nice to go into the city at night and it is just bustling and so much is going on. And of course there is festival food - yum!

The parade - shakuhachi players

A shrine in the parade

This is the festival mascot - it is the castle - so cute!

Me, Rachel and Emily at the music festival enjoying shaved ice!

This guy was doing all sorts of cool moves with the wooden instrument and then he took his shirt off . . . Rachel commented that she liked his tattoos and he then proceeded to show us that they also went down his thigh - yes he was a yakuza (Japanese mafia!)!!

Lanterns lining the main street

The castle and the DJ tent at the music festival - there were even laser beams pointed at the castle!

Food!! Glorious Food!! July

2009-08-10T12:46:00.005+09:00

July

Once again I have eaten many delicious and some strange foods this month!

Richard taught us how to make tortillas!

I made these banana cakes for the 4th of July beach party

Rachel's homemade apple pie

American dogs!

Boiled eel with ginger which we made as part of our cooking lesson

Lettuce, tofu and fried chirimentaiko (small whole fish) which we made as part of our cooking lesson

Fried burdock and carrot

Our meal we made in our cooking lesson

Fried chicken in a box from a vending machine!

Yakinikku (grilled meat and vegetables) at my teachers house

Yakinikku

Passionfruit flavoured alcohol!

Summer days at the beach!

2009-08-06T00:22:00.005+09:00

31st July

We spent another wonderful day at the beach this month. A small group of us went to Matsue Kaigan beach for an afternoon of relaxing, swimming and eating delicious food! I love my summer holidays!

The beach - beautiful blue skies and amazing friends!

My Hello Kitty floatie's maiden voyage! So cute!

The girls and I at the beach

Our little set up on the beach

Shikama Hanabi Festival!

2009-08-06T00:11:00.008+09:00

25th July

Every summer there are fireworks festivals all around Japan. People usually wear their summer kimonos (yukatas) and go and enjoy the fireworks while eating festival food! This year I only went to one festival - the Shikama Hanabi Matsuri with Kyosuke and his friends. All the girls including me wore our yukatas and watched the beautiful fireworks over the port.

Food stalls

Fireworks!

Kyosuke and I at the fireworks!

More fireworks!

Kyosuke, Makoto and I

Stephanie, Megumi and I in our Yukatas!

Takeno Beach Camping!

2009-08-06T00:10:00.011+09:00

18th - 20th July

At the start of the summer holidays there was a 3 day weekend so a group of us headed north 3 hours to a beautiful beach for some camping. We arrived on the Saturday and spent the day at the beach near our campsite. At night we walked to another beach near the city where we went to the onsen (public bath) which was so good as there was an outdoor bath and you could see the beach and there were fireworks!

The view from the train - everything was so green!

The beach right where we camped

Taube and I relaxing and enjoying asahi!

Kyosuke and I at the beach

On Sunday we hiked to a nearby snorkeling beach where the water was so clear and we could see all sorts of fish and we saw a beautiful starfish too! We then went back to the beach near the city for lunch and as we entered one of the restaurants on the beach crazy torrential rain started! So we spent the afternoon in the restaurant eating and drinking - not so bad! We were dreading thought what our tents back at the campsite might be like but we were surprised to find them only slightly wet.

Snorkeling beach

The starfish we saw

Crazy rain

And more rain which created a river on the beach!

Richard and Pat weathering the storm with Asahi!

On the last day the weather fined up again and we spent the day relaxing at the beach before heading home.

Me, Rachel and Taube on the last day at the beach

Panoramic of the beach

Richard and I enjoying a drink at the beach!

Houses on the river

Every town has a special manhole cover design and Takeno had the beach and a ship

It was a great mini holiday and I was excited to find another beautiful beach in Japan!

Japanese Licence!

2009-08-06T00:07:00.004+09:00

15th July

Well since I have been here a year now my international driver's licence has expired so I thought I should try and get my Japanese driver's licence. I am lucky being Australian that all I needed to do was to have my licence translated, explain how I got my licence, and do an eye and colour test. However this did take all day but I went home with a Japanese driver's licence! Now I just need to rent a car . . .

My Licence!

School!

2009-08-05T23:50:00.004+09:00

17th July

Well another term has come to an end which means we are now on summer holidays! This past term I was at a smaller school for only four months. The junior high school was really in the country and to get there I had to travel 20 minutes by train from Himeji and then ride the school bicycle for 15 minutes. I really enjoyed working at this school even though it was a different experience to my last school. When I first visited this school I was excited as the school slogan was even written in English! The students at the school were very friendly and so well behaved but some were extremely shy as they don't have the chance to speak with foreigners often. I really enjoyed getting to know the teachers and students and hope to return to this school in March next year!

The river I would cross on the way to school

There are mountains all around this area

Rice fields after being planted

The road leading to the school - I think I often scared the people living here especially when I said Good Morning in Japanese!

My School - "Think and Try"

The rice fields

A house really in the middle of nowhere!