Test Week

It has been over a week since I have posted, it is about all I can do to get home and get some rest. Luckily it is test week so at least yesterday and today I have been able to leave school at 2:00. I have needed the break. Have been having neck pain and finally got to the doctor, I got some pain medicine and something for inflamation. he thinks I have a little inflamation around a small spur. It may just from doing desk work at school or spending too much time on the computer.

Today I added a Flickr Badge hopefully you won't have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to see it. Here at home on my computer there is no problem with this page but when I view it on a windows computer the side bar is pushed down to the bottom. Maybe adding a new post will help solve the problem. Click on the badge to see pictures that I have uploaded on Flickr.

Jenny the Kotooshu fanatic

This picture was taken by Bernie outside the sumo stadium. We were stopping people as they tried to leave. Behind us was a lady having an argument on her cell phone with whomever she had come with and some how got seperated from.It was actually pretty funny, I wanted to say don't you realive that we all understand what you are talking about.



This is the Kotooshu doll that Rachelle and I bought for Jenny, it is too funny!! Where ever she goes now her favorite man will never be too far away.

Sumo part 2

Here I am leaning against this big guys butt outside the sumo building.Outside Ryogoku station waiting for Randee and her friend Leann.

The girls ouside the stadium trying to look buff.

Going to the sumo tournament was quite fun. At least it was more interesting to watch live than on TV. Our seats were up towards the top and cost ¥4,900. Not bad when you consider that it is for all day long, 8:30 till 6:00. Most people actually only come for the afternoon, but I'm sure there are a few die hards that stick it out for the whole day. I think I saw one of them obviously drunk and sound asleep in his box, waiting for his other friends to arrive. I would like to sit down on the lower level some time but you only have an area only about 4 or 5 feet square that you have to cram 4 people into, I think that I might have trouble walking after sitting on the floor the whole time.

During the whole day there are men that run around delivering gifts and obentos (lunch boxes) to the people in the stadium they were all wearing Yukata with a kind of hakama like a pair of wrap around pants that go up to your knees and are open from there on the side and are tied at the waist. I think they are properly called 馬乗り袴(umanorihakama), meaning the hakama for riding a horse.

Sumo

Went to sumo today for the first time. Pictured here is Jenny's beloved Kotooshu. Actually I spent a lot of time wondering the halls and trying to get pictures and looking for any cool souvenirs. The coolest thing was the kotooshu doll that we bought for Jenny, I'll have to get her to take a picture of it so we can show everyone.

Below are some other random pictures.

Asakusa Sanjasai Festival

Ran into Asakusa today to see if I could get any good pictures at this annual festival, one of the top 3 in Japan supposedly. Didn't see a lot of great photo ops but this one turned out pretty good. We had great weather today untill about 4:00 and then it jus poured, it was almost like a typhoon coming in. Luckily it was just as I was leaving the festival.

Away from the City

It was good to be away from Tokyo for just a few days and even if it was for work. Unfortunately the weather wasn't that nice which meant that Mt. Fuji remained hidden for the most time while we were there. This is Tozanso the YMCA camp in Gotemba. It is in a nice area and the thing about I like the most about the grounds are all the Japanese maple trees. They are not all cut back and minature but have been let to grow to there hearts content. There is something about the paticular green of these trees leaves that I always like. I think this shade of green should have its own name and place in a box of crayola. Japanese maple leaf green. I think this one tree in the middle of the grounds is my favorite in maybe all of Japan.

More Golden Week

So how wild am I playing on this suspension bridge. This was behind our inn Magogajima, on the other side was a camp ground that looked like it might be a rather nice place to stay, but I'm glad that we stayed indoors.





On the way back into town we stoped at a small temple on the old Tokaido road. I didn't really get the connection but one of Shige's relatives has some connection to it. It is actually supposed to be famous, but now it seems to be just enough off the beaten track that only a very few visitors stop by. The lady working there knew the family relationship and she gave us a brief tour and then served us tea in the little tea house behind the temple. It was rather peaceful with the sound on the well water the was flowing into a stone bowl outside this sliding door.

48

Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday dear Mike
Happy birthday to me!

Now that that's over I can get back with my golden week adventure.

May 5th is childrens day, the girls get the doll displays in Feb. and the boys get the Armor display. There were two displays up in our hotel, I assume this indicates they had 2 boys. From our hotel we drove on up the mountain heading for Umegashima onsen. On the way there we stoped to see one of the 3 famous mountain land slides in Japan. I took a picture but needless to say I wasn't that impressed so you won't be seeing that picture on here.
We stoped at the city run bath facility in the area, it was really nice and the water was so soft and felt great. I could have stayed in for hours if felt so good.

Above is the city run bath, koganenoyu and to the side here a very small picture of the out door bath. It was a real nice facility and these pictures taken from the Jaran travel sight don't do it justice. It was obviously frequented by the locals I assumed from the number of older men there.




Our next stop took us back to Shizuoka and to a small temple that was 500 years old and along the Tokaido. I didn't really understand everything, but Shige is a distant relative of someone connected to this shrine. The lady on duty there knew the connection and served us tea and dango and gave us a short tour of the temple. It's gardens are famous for moon viewing.

Back in Shizuoka we had lunch at a restaurant called "Saigon". It was very nice and seemed to be popular with young women. Stomachs filled we caught the Shinkansen to Hamamatsu. During golden week there is a famous kite flying festival. We actually didn't get there in time to see the kites, but they also have these huge carts that our pulled through the streets proceded by hordes of people carying laterns, blowing on trumpets, and beating drums. Something like the march around Jerico must have been like.



It started with a parade of marching bands. I guess one reason for this is the headquarters for Yamaha is in Hamamatsu. After that the men carrying flags came.

These guys were followed by drummers.

And they were followed by buglers, and lantern carriers.

These groups all came streaming by and getting more intense as they came, then they would circle back and meet other oncoming groups, it was very interesting. And this was only the begining.

Next came the floats.

These also were coming and going from 3 directions I don't know how many there were and actually we left before it was all over so we could get something to eat and avoid the inevitable stampede back to the station.



The evening ended with a light dinner at the stalls in a court yard of a building near the station. The interesting thing was that most of the booths were ran by foreigners. So I had Turkish and Iranian pita sandwhiches, and Shige had a pita and Indian curry and fresh baked nan. By the time we got back to the Inn that we had booked we were exhausted and sore from standing. So we stopped and got a nice 60 min. massage, a nice ending to a long day.

Shizuoka 2

Here is the view of the outdoor bath at 孫佐島 Magosajima. We forgot to move the wash tubs that we had stacked on the wash stools to take pictures. This onsen is called Conya the water temp. is low and they reheat it. The indoor bath was nice also but it was too cool. The family that runs the place was very nice, but I think they have there hands full because as well as the hotel, they have a restaurant, a small store, and of course they have people coming in just for the outside bath.

Shizuoka

Well I did have the chance to get away for Golden Week. Since plans had to be be made at the last minute, there were few options but Shige happened upon a small place in Shizuoka. As part of the plan you were alowed 40mins. in the outdoor hot spring all to yourself. It was bosted as a family plan. The only problem was that other than your alloted 40 mins. you couldn't use the outdoor bath and it was really nice. One of the types were it would have been nice to go in the middle of the night.

One advantage to the privacy we could take all the pictures we wanted with out bothering anyone. Unfortunately this is the only one of me that turned out well.

This was our evening meal. It consisted of Sashimi, a grilled fish, some mountain vegetables, another small fish in a pickled sauce with vegetables, miso soup, and a wild boar stew.

It's Raining Bears

What will those Japanese think of next. Check out the whole story on these bears.

May Day

It's May and only 5 days till my birthday.
I thought I would start off the month by trying to sit down and write some on my Blog. So I've started, let's see how long I can keep things going.


This picture does not do justice to the beauty of this tree. I love these trees that have been bent and shaped, the bark stripped bear and exposed. It reflects what can really happen in the harshness of nature and if you think about it ireflects what happens in our lives also. Our lives are often filled with stress, conflict, trials, sickness, you name it we encounter it. The things in life that can either make us or break us. If the bark of the tree was completely stripped away the tree would die. The same way staying connected to God is the thing that keeps us alive. I am reminded of one of my favorite passages of scripture;
2 Corinthians 4:7-10
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body."
We are not promised and easy life but we know that God is always there for us. We may have a lot to endure but in the end we become a thing of beauty, like this tree.