Tripping Far Side

We found it! Hahahahaha!

We can let the picture speak for themselves.

But in case you can't see, these vending machines sell panties, movies (including how-tos), and costumes. Good thing Yutaka was there as a "translator" of sorts, as he tries to explain in gestures, some of the things you can buy.

Haha, and if you can see, those red lights in the darkness are sold out lights.

It's out in the country, but it's conspicuous. It's right next to a major through-street, and about 10 minutes from my place. If you're visiting me, you have to see this for yourself. Anna thought it was funny too.

Hahahahaha!

The city of Miki isn't very big, about 75,000 people. But the claim to fame for this town is hardware. Hammers, knives, saws, just tools in general. Even before I came here, I did a search online and all I could find was information about hardware. But living here, the city is as ordinary as it comes.

This weekend happened to be the Miki Hardware Festival. Anna and I got there late on Sunday, so we didn't get to see much. We did see a bit of Taiko drumming though. And there are a lot of booths selling all kind of wares, from food, to used goods, to scooters, to of course, tools. Gareth and Allison were in a sawing competition, but too bad we missed it. :(

It was a beautiful day today. Out of the ordinary, especially in November, with it being clear, sunny, and about 70 degrees. A great day to spend the day on the bike.

And it was extra special because it was Anna's first bike ride with me! Last weekend, we got her all the gear, and looks like this weekend, we got a blessing.

We took a trip to Mount Rokko, which is the steep mountain range that overlooks Kobe. It was a nice, easy ride up. A lot of twisties and of course, a lot of other fellow bikers enjoying the nice day. The leaves are starting to change color too--some of the Japanese maple trees are turning bright red.

I don't know if you can see the road on the map, but it looks a bit twisty. There's a lot of traffic, so it isn't remote by any means, but it's about hour from my place. This book, called Touring Mapple, is really awesome and is specifically written for motorcyclists. Sights to see, distance, tolls, where to camp, gas stations, etc. Too bad I can't read Japanese.

Below my finger is Kobe. I live on the left page, right near the upper middle edge of the map.

You'll notice a lot of smog that day. On the ride to and from Mount Rokko, it seemed like all the country people were burning their trash. What a way to ruin a perfect day. But that's a rant to save for later.... It was good to ride the bike, and I think Anna enjoyed it.

...is Japanese food. Take a look at the menu from an ordinary Japanese restaurant. Doesn't it look good? Anna and I ordered the set of the day, which happened to be deep-fried pork cutlet (tonkatsu) with udon noodles and pickles on the side. It's an ordinary kind of dish you can get in Seattle, but there's a lot more in the menu that's interesting.

Maybe it's because all their menus just look so appetizing. The nice thing about being a foreigner in a chain Japanese restaurant is that you can just point to the menu and say, this please. During the summertime, a tasty dish to order is the soba noodles, made from buckwheat. They're the brown noodles laying on top of a wooden strainer.

This menu seems to have a lot of sushi, but it doesn't seem to be the common food to eat in Japan. It's different coming from Seattle, where when you think of Japanese food, it is automatically assumed that it's sushi or teriyaki.

Do you see the resemblance with my costume in the previous post? Hahaha.

Anna and I have been watching a lot of this Korean drama called Winter Sonata lately. It was amazingly popular in Japan when it was released as a TV drama several years ago. This actor, Bae Yong Joon, is immensely popular among middle-aged women here in Japan. I read stats that up to 80% of the country was watching Winter Sonata. Pretty much, Winter Sonata single-handedly created a Korean boom in Japan, and now the Japanese are a lot more curious about Korea.

It's a romantic love story with the soap opera twists, but somehow, it's pulled me in too. There are 20 episodes of about an hour each, and we're already up to episode 18 in about a week. It's the saddest thing I have ever seen in my life. Rebecca, when I get home, you're gonna have to watch this. My Korean is starting to come back too.

Sarang-hae-yo....

Today, during 6th period, the first-year students in the special English course had a little Halloween party. A really great group of kids.

The other ALTs at my school and I had a good time mingling with the students on a more casual level. We had enjoyed a summer English camp several months back, so I feel most familiar with this group of students. Their English is really quite good for their level, and they work really hard.

There were some Japanese snacks and some drinks. The funny part though was at the end, they sang a chorus song which was pretty out of place for celebrating Halloween. They sang really well though. Too bad they can't celebrate the way we do in the States. I wore my Winter Sonata costume and they laughed quite a bit.

This is the classroom where I teach most classes.

Once in awhile, I run into something so funny, I just can't laugh. Rather, I'm just flabbergasted and confused. Take, for example, this phrase I found on a cigarette vending machine.

"It is a common practice over there to offer each other a cigarette as daily greetings."
"So I heard. Cigarettes are offered to the other to express friendliness and affection."

Hmm, the spelling is right. The grammar is right. Who can tell me what this means? And, I'm a smoker too hahaha.