Goodbye Osaka...hello THAILAND!!! (1 of 2)

Fri, Jan 1, 2010 – Thurs, Jan 7, 2010

Rachel and Me w/our flowers that received upon arrival in Thailand.

With the smell of Kansai-style okonomiyaki still on my sleeve, I found myself on a 2.5 hour Shinkansen ride to Fukuoka. I made my way to the Hakata Green Hotel and met with my amazing travel buddy, Rachel. (I met Rachel at Tokyo orientation in August and we immediately clicked. She’s a JET in Hagi, Yamaguchi…far away on the west coast of the Guch.) We toured the streets of Fukuoka that afternoon and noticed that NOTHING was open. Finally it came to our attention that it was Jan 1, oshogatsu…New Years Day. It’s like the Christmas Day of Hawaii. The Superbowl Sunday of America. The Tour de France of…France? After aimless walking, we headed back to our hotel and picked up some food from the neighboring market.

5 hours and 1 chicken bento later…it happened.

No sleep for me…as I was awakened every hour with a pain in my stomach, matched with a trip to the toilet. (This would be the only time on our trip that I would have food poisoning, despite the spicy foods and lower health codes in Thailand. Go Japan!)

We woke up bright and early the next morning and headed for Fukuoka Airport. We stuffed all our winter clothes into a locker there and got set for our departure. 6 hours, 1 junk movie, 2 hours of Bejeweled, and 1 connecting flight later, we were met with beautiful and warm weather in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We didn’t need a jacket! No boots or socks required! Only T-shirts and shorts!!! A MIRACLE HAD HAPPENED! :)

Mama, Me, Rachel, and Top hanging out in the lobby.

The sun had already begun to set, and we found our way to our hostel, Bed and Terrace Guesthouse Chiang Mai. It’s a cozy little hostel in the heart of Chiang Mai and managed by the sweetest family (“Mama” and her son Top helped us in every way they could.) The location was great too…being only a 5 min walk to the infamous Night Bazaar. (We even paid the extra $3 a night and got the SUPERIOR twin private ensuite. I know…I’m fancy.) We had dinner at this restaurant called John’s Place. That’s when I had my first Thai meal (I had never had Thai food before in my life!) It was called Pad Thai, a combination of stir-fried noodles, chicken, egg, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I also had a side of roti (unleavened flatbread). Hard as a rock, but DELICIOUS!

Rach and Me about to partake in some delicious tropical drinks.

Thumbs up for Thai food!!!

We then headed for the Night Bazaar, Chiang Mai’s most AMAZING shopping square, full of street vendors ready to bargain prices with you. There were all kinds of goods, from silk ties and T-shirts to fake Tiff&Co and Gucci bags. After conquering only 1 side of the bazaar, we called it a night and headed back for the hostel.

Me, Suwan, and Rach enjoying the warmth and relaxation of Chiang Mai.

On Sun (1/3), we were chauffeured around by Mama’s cousin, Suwan. He was the sweetest man ever, and would call us his “Japanese daughters.” Suwan used to be a Thai boxer, but hung up his boxing gloves to become a private driver. He took us to meet the Longneck tribe of Chiang Mai. When we got there, we were asked to pay 500 baht (36 baht = 100 yen = about $1.11) to see them. Thinking they were playing us as fools, we left to find Suwan and asked for his opinion. It turns out that that really was the admission to get in, and we did the walk of shame to the village.

It really was like walking into an episode of National Geographic. There were huts stretched out amongst the trees and foliage. Each hut was maintained by a tribe member and filled with handmade goods such as silk scarves, jewelry, and toys. I found the situation to be quite sad. Long ago, this tribe was capable of caring for themselves and living off of sufficient resources, while preserving their sacred customs and rituals. Now, it seemed as though they were on show for the public, relying on tourist to buy their goods and take their pictures. I don’t judge them for doing so, as I understand how the world has changed, in both financial and ecological fields. I, too, can empathize with them, being from Hawaii—one of the top locations for tourism.

I learned that the brass rings they wear actually distort the growth of their collarbones and collapse the vertebrae, making it appear as though their necks are unnaturally long.

This lady wanted us to buy these hats...but we opted not to :P

We said our goodbyes and then headed for the next prominent activity in Thailand: elephant riding. At Maesa Elephant Camp, we got the chance to ride an elephant for 30 min through the Thai forests. It was an amazing experience. Once we began to descend down the mountain, Rachel’s water bottle dropped on the ground. The elephant was so smart that it picked it up with its trunk and proceeded to hand it to his trainer. He threw it into the trees, as it was covered in elephant poop.

Our elephant was the coolest one in the park. He was strong. He was cool. And he was quite the showman :)

The elephants looked happy and healthy (as much as captive elephants can be), and we even watched them take baths in the river during lunchtime. Then there was a talent show put on by the elephants, which included their painting, dancing, kazoo-ing, and soccer playing skills.

We left for a lunch buffet (200 baht = about $5!) at a nearby tiger park. I felt sorry for the tigers because they looked drugged up and just walked around like zombies as tourist took pictures with them. Yeah, easy to look cocky when the tiger you’re with is all drugged up, I thought to myself as I ate my DELICIOUS Thai food.

My favorite Thai food EVER...ladies and gentlemen, the amazing Kao Soi.

That night we hit up the Sunday market and the Night Bazaar (yet again!), returning to our hostel with bags full of souvenirs and goods. We jumped on a tuk-tuk (open-air moped-like vehicle) and had a crazy ride back…I think our driver was trying to show-off ;)

The next morning, we met up with Suwan who took us on a tour of…I’m not kidding about this…the sweatshops of Chiang Mai. We saw everything from fake purse shops and silk clothes to big paper umbrellas and woodcarvings. It felt weird having salespeople follow me around and being constantly barraded with questions like “Do you like that one?” and “How much will you pay?” It was funny when we went to the silk sweatshop because they took us on a tour of the silk-making process. We saw the entire lifecycle of a silkworm, from larvae to cocoons. I asked, “What happens to the silkworm when you need its cocoon for the silk?” The reply: “We boil them in water.” My response, “But won’t that kil…oh, I see. So they go into their cocoons and never see the light of day ever again. How sad.”

This man paints umbrellas for a living. I'd say he's quite good at his craft. I hope it doesn't rain.

After the long day of shopping, we took Suwan to another Thai buffet and engaged in good conversation over delicious food. Then we proceeded to a beautiful golden temple high in the mountains of Chiang Mai. Finally, the time had come to say goodbye to Suwan, who had become more of a father (maybe uncle?) to us. He surprised us with some small souvenirs to take home. I was really touched by his generosity because, given his circumstances, he could have used that money to take care of his family. I learned that everyone in the area loves Suwan because of his generous and caring nature. We went got some breakfast at a small eatery near the hostel and then visited the Night Bazaar ONE LAST TIME so I could grab some last minute souvenirs, said our final goodbyes to Mama and Top, and then left for Bangkok. Little did I know that I was in for the bus ride of my life…

Ooo a golden temple! Sweet.

We decided to fly around a bit before getting on the night bus ;)

Next on Tiff Goes to Thailand: The Soviet Union Bus Stop; Clubbing with Couches; Don’t Wake the Buddha; and Storms & Trash Bag Shoes: The Search for Le Lys.

Tiff's Christmas/New Year Adventure: The Osaka Chronicles

My world has opened up since coming to Japan. Through the JET Program, I have been given the opportunity to travel all across Japan and Asia. Here are the accounts of my Christmas and New Years adventures...

I was sadly found at my desk, starring off into space with no actual "work" to do, on Christmas day. Once 4:30 struck, I was overcome by a sudden sense of excitement and energy. I knew that my long-awaited vacation had finally arrived.

My fake Christmas tree stood 3 feet high and was adorned with Totoros :)

On Saturday night (12/26) at about 11pm, I caught the night bus from Iwakuni station to Osaka station (about $70). I kicked off my shoes and proceeded to fall into a deep sleep. 7 hours later, I was awakened by my bus driver telling me that we had already passed my stop. I thought to myself, 'well why didn't you wake me up?' I was still a bit groggy...but then it hit me...where the heck was I?! I missed my stop!? Did I go all the way to TOKYO!? I started to freak out. Luckily, a couple other people had missed their stops too AND we were just at another station in Osaka. phew.

I finally managed to meet up with my friend Travis, a cool Hawaii JET in Uwajima, Shikoku. After getting off at the wrong station and wandering the streets of Osaka in search of our hostel (easy to think you're going the right way when the landmark you're looking for is a 7-11), we finally managed to find Guesthouse U-en, our cozy hostel for the trip. I was then given the privilege of meeting my uncle, Benji, and his daughter Remi, who both live in Kobe. We went to an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu restaurant for lunch, and then went on to tour the temples of Kobe. THANK YOU SO MUCH UNCLE BENJI AND REMI! I HAD SUCH A WONDERFUL TIME!

Me and Travis outside of Guesthouse U-en.

Remi, Uncle Benji, and me at the Granvia Hotel in Osaka Station.

I then met the rest of our traveling group: Matt, a Hawaii JET in Fukuoka, his friend Anthony, and Anthony's sister Asia. That night we went to a karaoke place where $15 got you an hour of karaoke, all-you-can-drink alcohol, and all-you-can-eat ice cream! AMAZING! And thus began the adventures of Osaka...

Travis, Matt, and Anthony showing off their muscles at our mochi cooking class :P

Asia and me...the 2 girls in the group gotta represent!

The next day (12/28), we met Travis' Japanese friends in Kyoto. They had gone to Hawaii for a school-exchange type trip and met Travis there. They were a super friendly and spunky group of girls. They took us to a famous temple/shrine first and then we went to a small sweets shop where we learned how to make fancy Japanese desserts. There's a lot of techniques and tools used to make these little things! A lot harder than it looks...

Our wonderful Kyoto mochi cooking group!

It's like a mini Oscar the Grouch in mochi form.

My sensei who apparently liked my style of cooking...we be cool ;)

That night we went to a fancy izakaya and ate the night away! THANK YOU ERIKA, MIWA, RUIKO, AND YUKA FOR AN AWESOME TIME!!!

On Tues (12/29), Travis, Asia, and I decided to conquer Universal Studios Osaka for an all-day all-night extravaganza! We got there at around 10am only to find the front of the lot crowded full of people. After about 30min of line hopping, we got our tickets and embarked for heaven. My parents had taken us to Universal Studios in California when I was 10 years old, when my memory cells were still learning to walk, so I was super excited to experience the rides as a "grown up". We paid the extra $45 to get the express pass, which lets you go in the express lane of the 7 most popular lines, cutting the waiting time down by half. (A very good investment if you plan on going to USJ during peak tourist times.) The rides were awesome! I felt like a kid again :) We saw Spiderman kick butt in The Amazing Spiderman 3D Adventure, drove the DeLorean in Back to the Future, met Jaws, rode a crazy rollercoaster (which lasted for about 20 sec), watched the Terminator battle enormous 3D robots, got drenched after being attacked by dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, and then dried off during the presentation of Backdraft. Everything was in Japanese, but it was so much fun! I also used this opportunity to eat as much American food as I could...including a slice of potato-curry pizza, some spaghetti, and a cheeseburger. So bad but so worth it ;)

I be rollin' w/my Ford Explorer, complete with night vision goggles on the front seat!

I bought a Snoopy beanie at USJ. The ears keep your head really warm. Philippe had his first sake shot that night!

That night we met up with some other Fukuoka JETs in Dotonbori for some drinks. We headed back for the hostel and hung out in the lobby with some cool cats from France, Philippe and Simone, late into the night. Good company, good fun ;)

Me, Philippe, Simone, and Asia hanging out and playing some BS.

Wed (12/30) came around, and I found myself gazing into a huge tank filled with fish, mantas, and 2 ENORMOUS WHALE SHARKS! We were at the Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium. I love aquariums, I always have ever since I was little. There's something about them that just calms me. This aquarium is gigantic, and has you spiraling downwards around this huge tank, with different exhibits on the opposite side. I saw sea otters, dolphins, spider crabs, capybaras, and so much more! I even bought a little souvenier whale shark to take home :)

Oh c'mon, how can you NOT dig the super saiyan haircut and the fluffy eyebrows!?

WHALE SHARKS are big.

I overheard a little Japanese boy asking his dad whether these crabs were tasty! Oh Japanese and their seafood...aquariums must make them hungry!

Travis and I rode the enormous ferris wheel nextdoor to the aquarium. I wanted to jump and rock the car...but I was vetoed. It was probably a good thing that we didn't because that ferris wheel was REALLY high up. It did give us a nice view of Osaka though!

1000s of feet above the ground...let's rock the car!

That night I met up with my friend Sunny and his friend Hiro for an incredible dinner. Sunny is a Canadian JET in Oita, and Hiro is mad cool ;) We had a 7+ course Japanese meal and all-you-can-drink. Uh-oh. After who knows how many cups of sake, we proceeded to a nearby arcade where we spent altogether approximately $25 trying to win a little capybara from a crane machine. It's quite a feat when you have sake circulating in your veins! The quest proved successful, and now the little capybara sits on my speakers at home. THANK YOU SUNNY AND HIRO! I HAD AN AMAZING TIME!

Hiroumi is the BEST crane machine engineer in all of OSAKA! Thank you for my capybara Hiro!!!

I met Sunny at Tokyo orientation, and we've been friends ever since :)

New Years Eve day (12/31) had finally come. In the daytime, Asia, Travis, and I went shopping in Amerikamura. Then I met up with some friends, including Rachael, a JET in Shikoku. We had the BEST Osaka okonomiyaki at a restaurant near Ueda station. I had always wanted to try Osaka-style okonomiyaki, and I had finally gotten my chance. (Hiroshima-style consists of layers of noodles, batter, egg, toppings, etc. whereas Osaka-style is a mixture of ingredients that are then baked in a pancake form.) We then met up with some other Shikoku JETs at the sweets museum and talked the night away. I found myself outside of Universal Studios Osaka once again, with a drink in my hand, looking up at the night sky, and counting down the final seconds of 2009. The promised firework show consisted of 3 small aerials that lasted about 10 sec in total. Can't beat the Hawaii firework shows that try to destroy anything within a mile radius!

Apparently a Spiderman gang decided to grace the streets of USJ on New Years Eve!

AMAZING!

My Osaka adventure came to a close the following morning (1/1). I quietly packed up my stuff, said goodbye to the Osaka crew, said my parting words with the hostel front desk man, Ryo (super chill guy who speaks amazing English..and French..and German...), and caught the Shinkansen from Osaka to HAKATA in FUKUOKA! There was no time to rest or even to think...my Thailand adventure was about to begin!

My final moments with Ryo :(

Next time on Tiff's Christmas/New Years Adventure:

Bartering: Mindgames of the Thai, Touring the sweatshops of Chiang Mai, What not to do when riding an elephant, Kao Soi: Heaven in a bowl.

a season of change

The leaves are changing colors here. At first I thought someone was going around Oshima painting the leaves for fun! But no, apparently this happens every year, at around the same time. Amazing.

I never imagined having to put on a thick jacket, socks, and long pants just to hang up my clothes outside. The other night my apartment thermometer read 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit!) And so now I type this while my legs rest under my kotatsu (a heated Japanese-style table). I tried hooking up the gas heater in my apartment the other day, but when I turned it on, my whole place smelt of kerosene. I nervously approached the heater, ready for it to explode in my face at any given second. Luckily, for me, it didn't. But I decided that freezing might be better than dying of gas poisoning or a possible fire breaking out. I have about 4 thick blankets that I sleep with. On top of that, I wear a jacket, socks, and stockings to bed.

I close my eyes and think back to my tropical island home, further down south than the islands that make up Japan. I see myself sprawled out on my bed, with the screen windows in my room letting in the cool island breeze. I have a thin quilt that my friend's mom made for me covering my legs. My TV is on, but I can still hear my mom and dad watching TV in the living room. As eco-friendly as I may be, I would always fall asleep to the sounds of a favorite movie playing through my sound system. My mom would come in to turn it off as quietly as possible so as not to wake me.

This will be my first holiday season away from my family and friends. It's funny how some of the things I miss the most since coming to Japan aren't the obvious things I would have thought of back at home.

Things I miss the most (not in any particular order):

1. Eating dinner with my family at our dining room table with the drapes pushed back so that the neighboring grass fields and mountains can be seen in the background.

2. Watching movies with my brother in my room on my couch at 12am.

3. Seeing my friends on campus or walking into Bale to see friends hanging out at the bar.

4. Going to Walmart for no particular reason and leaving Walmart with a bag of stuff.

5. Watching a movie at an actual movie theatre.

6. The ability to drive to wherever I need to be at whatever time I want. (So dependent on the train here!)

7. Netflix

8. Cranium/alcohol nights at Heather and Brandon's house.

9. Wearing slippers

10. Yogurtland (there's only ice cream here!)

11. Running with my dad in shorts and a T-shirt (I now wear an undershirt, shirt, jacket, gloves, hat, stockings, and pants whenever I run!)

12. My mom's 10 million chicken recipes.

13. Getting text messages from my friends. (I can only use Facebook, gmail, or skype now.)

14. Church services at New Hope.

15. The ability to read the instructions on the back of food products. (I now guess what the instructions are saying by interpreting what the pictures mean.)

16. My pillow

17. Studying at Sinclair Library until 1am with my friends. Searching for a vending machine. Going on 711 food runs. And taking random naps on my cell&molec biology book.

I know this is not the extent of my homesickness. I know it comes in waves. I know that it will get worse as Christmas approaches. But for now, I'll just close my eyes and picture myself sleeping in my own bed. I feel closer to home when I do it.

sumo + onsen = pure joy :)

sumo: the art of balance

sat nov 21, 2009

I was given the greatest opportunity of a lifetime: going to a sumo tournament in Fukuoka with my friend Dustin. It was an amazing experience that I would definitely do again if given the chance. You'd be surprised how many local Japanese people have never been to an actual sumo tournament. I learned so much about this great sport, deeply rooted in Japanese history. The tickets were about 47,000 yen (about $50) per person. Our seats were awesome too! Thanks again Dustin for putting everything together!

Me and Dustin about to undertake an all-you-can-eat yakiniku dinner ;)

So the basic gist:

Sumo wrestlers are organized into 3 main classes: the beginners, the juryo class, and the highest of them all, the makuuchi class. Within these classes, there's a division between wrestlers of the east (higashi) and those of the west (nishi). A sumo tournament lasts for 15 days. Everyday, an eastern sumo will face-off against a different western sumo in their division. That's it. You only get one shot for a win per day. They keep track of your wins and losses. We went on the 7th day of competition. The day starts off at 8:30am with the beginner sumos and concludes at 6pm with the yokozunas (the highest ranking sumos in all of Japan). Pretty exciting stuff. It was a one-time entry sort of deal, so Dustin and I stayed in the arena from 9am to 6pm!!! 9 hours of sumo!!! YAY!! :) The stadium was pretty much empty when we arrived, but was packed with people by 5pm.

This is what the arena looked like at about 5pm. Super crowded!!!

Main idea of sumo, don't step out of the circle. The first person to place any part of their body outside of the circle (or over the line marking the circle, or inside the circle) loses. It was interesting to see the different strategies of sumo. Some would try to lift up the other sumo's belt and hoist them out of the circle. Others would use their size. And others would use their quickness and flexibility. I saw many smaller sumos defeat their larger-set counterparts. Amazing! Oh, and E. Honda's 100 hand slap move really does exist! Some of the fighting was pretty intense!

Check out this low-quality video of a sumo match! I call it "The Walk of Shame"...you'll see why ;)

These were the makuuchi division sumos. That thing they're wearing was specially made for each of them.

It was awesome when the yokozunas faced off against their opponents. I learned that in order to get the ranking of yokozuna, you have to meet a whole bunch of requirements. In the past 300 years of sumo since the title was made, only 69 sumos have received such a ranking. I think it's amazing how such a sport has been maintained throughout the years. I saw many young people at the tournament holding up signs for their favorite sumo. Simply awesome :) I would definitely do this again. There are 6 major sumo tournaments held every year, so maybe I'll get a chance once more!

my trip to hell

sat nov 21 - mon nov 23, 2009

The girls (Kris, Me, and Hozumi) after an awesome time at the onsen!

Following sumo, I proceeded to Beppu, Oita on Kyushu via the Sonic Expressway. There, I met up with my friends Hozumi, Kris, Ryan, and Eric. We had a great time exploring the city of Beppu. We stayed at the Koraku Hotel, which had an amazing outdoor onsen on the roof. Good times :) They served us a super delicious nabe dinner on the second night. On Sunday, we went to the "hells" (jigoku) of Beppu, which are actually 9 hot springs situated near each other (well, 2 of them are a bit aways) and maintain their own unique characteristics. One was known for providing good conditions for crocodile breeding, another had a blood red coloration to the water, another made a rumbling sound like a "sleeping demon", and another one is like a geyser that shoots up water every 30 min. Check this out for info on the others! http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4702.html

Me, Eric, Kris, Hozumi, and Ryan in front of hot spring #1.

Unfortunately for me, they were just for viewing and picture taking, as they can reach temperatures of over 90 deg Celsius. A little too hot for my taste ;) I originally had thought we would be partaking in each hot spring, so I wore pants that were easy to take off and opted out of wearing stockings, as it would be easier for me to dry off between hot springs. To my dismay, there was no need to dry off, as we just walked around and did the touristy thing. Although it was raining that day and an onsen would have felt amazing, we managed to have an awesome time! One had a zoo, another had a mini aquarium filled with non-colorful and scary looking fish, and another had a huge crocodile collection!

On Monday, we decided to play tourist and went to Umitamago Aquarium and Mt. Takasaki. The aquarium was great! It's way bigger than Hawaii's mini aquarium. They had an exhibit dedicated to sardines. We saw a dolphin show, the cutest little sea otter, and a whole bunch of colorful fish! At Mt. Takasaki, right next door to the aquarium, there was hundreds of wild monkeys! They walk about freely, and every hour, the staff feeds them food. It was cool...for about 10 min...then I just started getting scared that they were gonna organize themselves and attack us.

The dolphins were sooo cute! My most favorite animal!

I swear, them monkeys were organized!

I also got to see my friend Sunny, a cool Canadian kid that I met at Tokyo orientation. Great seeing you Sunny!!! We ate Japanese food w/everyone before heading off for the aquarium. Aquarium = EPIC WIN!!! :)

Me and Sunny after our onolicious (delicious, for all you non-Hawaii people!) lunch!

All in all, it was a very eventful, long, weekend. I'm so glad I went! Can't wait for all the other adventures Japan has to offer!

matsuyama adventures and marathon fun :)

matsuyama adventures!

mon nov 2 - tues nov 3, 2009

Me and Rachel on the ferry bound for SHIKOKU!!!

So my friend Rachel and I had this semi-spontaneous idea to go to Shikoku for a 2-day, 1-night adventure. We awoke Monday morning bright and early in time to catch a ferry from Yanai Port to Matsuyama on the island of Shikoku. Roundtrip for 2 people and 1 car costed about $220, so we ended up paying about $110 per person. Not bad at all ;) The first sight we decided to hit up was the Kotohira Shrine in Konpira (a 2.5 hour drive from the ferry port!). The cool thing about this place is that you need to hike up 785 steps to get to the shrine. Crazy stuff. It took us about 30 min oneway. The stairs are lined with cool little stores and things, so it wasn't too bad of a trek.

A journey of a thousand miles (or 785 stairs) begins with a single step. Confucius knew his stuff.

So there's this cool service for old people (and I guess lazy people), that if you pay about $36, you can get carried up the stairs by a team of men! ($56 round trip...it's more expensive going up and down...go figure) An amazing feat, seeing as how the guys carrying people aren't the youngest. They literally carry you on poles resting on their backs. Extraordinary!

On our way back to the car, we stopped off at this little cafe place for some ice cream!!! They had a mini hot water bath for your feet! It felt soo good considering it was freakishly cold outside! Getting our feet out and putting our shoes back on (soaking wet) was the downer part :( But it was a neat experience!

Me and my green tea ice cream. My hands were FREEZING but my feet were warm :)

After, we drove back west to Matsuyama and went to Dogo Onsen...a bath house famous for being the model for the main building in Hayao Miyazaki's movie "Spirited Away". And to tell you the truth, while we were inside, it really felt like I was in the movie. For some reason, Miyazaki was able to capture the essence of that bath house. Simply amazing. It was my first experience in a public washroom. I had to take my glasses off so I didn't see any naked women up close and personal...but it was awesome! Outside was freezing, so when I went into the hot, cleansing waters of the onsen, all my worries and cares literally melted away.

Dogo onsen...a spectacular sight!

Rachel and me in our hoppy coats, all clean and happy ;)

We then had dinner in Matsuyama and then spontaneously drove down to visit our friend Pete (cool kid from New Zealand!) who let us crash at his place for the night. Thanks Pete for the AWESOME accommodations! You are an awesome host! The next day we checked out some cool sights around his town and then drove to Uwajima to have lunch with another JET, Travis, who's from HAWAII!!! It was cool seeing another 1st year Hawaii JET. Glad to know I'm not the only one freezing in this autumn weather ;) On the way there we drove through a small little town...a freaking AWESOME town called "YOSHIDA"!!!!! I wonder if I'm related to anyone down there....?

Pete, me, and Rachel hanging out at a cool, secluded shrine up in the mountains.

This is where little Yoshidas are made!

All in all, an amazing trip! We got to see all kinds of cool things and ride a ferry! Lots of fun...I hope to do it again soon!

marathon fun

sun, nov 8, 2009

Daryl, Rachel, and me getting pumped up for the race the night before!

So my friends Daryl, Rachel, and I decided to participate in the 2nd Annual Shimonoseki Kaikyo Marathon. Daryl did the full marathon (just under 5 hours! SWEET!!!) and Rachel and I did the 5K. It was an awesome experience...I'm so happy we did it! The night before, Rachel's uncle and aunty took us out to eat at this great little Japanese restaurant. We ate soooo much food! The sukiyaki (kinda like nabe, but you dip the food into a bowl of raw egg) was freaking amazing! Then we went back to their place, crashed, and woke up at 5:30 AM!!!! Got to the starting site, registered, changed clothes, and then got ready for the race! There was over 9,000 people competing in the different events! When the 5K event was ready to begin, Rachel and I got to our places and waited for the horn to blast. After what seemed like an eternity, the horn blew and we all started running like crazy. When I was running, I was really touched by the support of the community. The streets were lined with people who came to cheer on the participants. Store owners stood outside their stores, waving and shouting "Gambatte!" While we were waiting at the starting line, an older lady motioned to Rachel and I and said "gambatte". So cute :)

Got our numbers on...bring on the run!

Didn't do as well as I had hoped...as I was aiming for under 25 min. I ended up with 26:59, which is pretty much 9 min miles. I placed 39th in my age class...out of a total of about 253 people. All in all not a total fail...just means I gotta do better next year! Rachel did AWESOME! She placed 13th in our age class! Fast like the wind ;) Daryl did awesome too...he ran the full marathon (his first marathon ever too!) in just under 5 hours. Pretty awesome in my book!

There were some pretty famous characters running that day...Mario was one of 'em! He may seem slow in the video game, but in person...he's runs like the wind.

It has been a great and memorable couple of weeks in nov thus far. Can't wait for thanksgiving! ;)