Spoiled Rotten

Last Saturday Michelle, Jamie and I had a wonderful outing with our adopted Japanese family, the Yamamotos. We drove to a beautiful hotel and onsen (hot spring) where the three of us took a hot spring bath, relaxed and got ready for lunch. Below is an outside onsen. These are simply amazing in Japan and located absolutely everywhere! I will definitely miss taking a hotspring bath anytime and anywhere! Here is a little bit about the onsen for all you curious ones out there..... Onsen etiquette Note that at an onsen you wash your body and rinse yourself thoroughly before you enter the hot water. This is vital in a public place as entering the onsen while still dirty or covered in soap can be very unsettling for others and may cause an uproar. Wearing swimsuits is also explicitly forbidden at the more traditional onsen and would be considered odd at least. People generally bring a small towel with them to use as a washcloth and for a modicum of modesty when walking between the washing area and the baths. Onsens are generally considered a respite from the hectic pace of life and consequently they are usually quite quiet. The onsen plays an important role in Japanese culture, providing socially institutionalised relief from the pressures of the contemporary Japanese twelve-hour work ethic and a chance for Japanese to break down the hierarchal nature of society through the mutual nakedness of skinship. After bathing, we had an amazing lunch which was a traditional kaiseki set. Here is also a bit of info about this traditional and special meal...... Kaiseki One kaiseki dinner can consist of anywhere from 6 to 15 different kinds of food. Kaiseki is a meal of courses, consisting of a number of small dishes: steamed dishes, simmered dishes, and grilled dishes. It often includes sliced raw fish (sashimi), tempura, grilled fish, soup, rice, and so on.The kind of food served will change according to the different months, seasons and what is freshly available at the local market. It is also depends on the area. Each dish is simply seasoned and presented beautifully in nice dinnerware.

This was just the start of the meal! Meet the parents! Both school teachers that enjoy spoiling us rotten!

After lunch we drove to another city to view the iris garden and then on to view a beautiful rose garden. It is that time of year in Niigata, the roses are in full bloom. The garden contained hundreds of different species of roses and numberous colors that allowed for a gorgeous walk through the country side of Niigata.

The hills of Niigata and velvet colored roses beneath.

These are some of my favorites!

The day was coming to a close but not until we had a home-cooked meal. We went back to the Yamamotos house to relax for a bit, drink tea and chat with them. Mrs. Yamamoto prepared a lovely dinner that was delicious. We had a nice dinner that consisted of conversation of their upoming trip to the USA, our lives after Japan, and how thankful we are to have met them. My Japanese experience would not have been nearly as wonderful without these two generous people.

Jamie, ready to eat!

Tokyopoly....A Success!

Gomen! (Sorry) I feel that I owe my blog viewers an apology for the lack of posts these past few months. Besides Sam’s recent visit and traveling across Japan in a clown car, my time has been consumed with the Charity Scavenger Hunt….Tokyopoly! It was hosted on June 3 in Tokyo and was a complete SUCCESS!! All the hard work that Michelle, Jamie and I put into the event paid off. Again, the charity that all the proceeds go towards is The PEPY Ride (www.pepyride.org). Here is a brief recap of the day and weekend for all you curious ones!

Hunters preparing for the hunt!

Rise and shine because all 70 hunters showed up at the Sakura Hotel in Jimbochio around 10:00am. Michelle, Jamie, Kate and I were all sporting our Tokyopoly shirts, buzzing on our morning coffee and meeting and greeting with a huge Ohayo (Morning). We had a morning kampai (cheers) with some donated beers and were off to scavenge Tokyo! Now the theme of the event was a spin off of Monopoly and we had game rules, boards, and places to coordinate with the appropriate theme. The board consisted of 4 areas in Tokyo where one of us sat at an establishment waiting for the hunters. The hunters had a fabulous time answering questions, completing challenges, collecting houses, buying hotels, and competing against their rival teams. The hunt ended about 4:30 at a restaurant in Roppongi where we had a set up a buffet for all the hunters. As we tallied the scores, hunters mingled over glasses of beer and plates of food. The winners were announced and prizes given!

Jamie, Megan, Michelle and Kate in their Tokyopoloy t-shirts

That concluded our hunt and everyone was ready for a nap to prepare for the wild night ahead. Our fabulous friend at a huge club in Roppongi generously donated half of the entrance fee for all participants back to The PEPY Ride. Most of the hunters danced the night away to charity at the club which was wonderful!

Fearsome Foursome Reunion

The weekend certainly wasn’t over and by this I forgot to mention that our lost piece of the Fearsome Foursome returned to Japan!!! Yokoso YARA! (Welcome Yara) She had returned for a short visit of 10 days to Japan and this time she brought her new boyfriend to experience life in this fabulous country. They were on their way to China and stopped in to say hello. On Sunday we meet up with them and other friends for lunch and a boat ride up the river to a famous shrine in Tokyo. That evening Michelle and I went out with two Japanese friends for dinner and wonderful conversation. Both of their English levels are excellent therefore, allowed for in depth discussions over international relationships. Japanese people tend not to be extremely opinionated when talking with foreigners or in general. Some of it may have to do with the English ability levels or just that there society is not that opinionated all together. So, to have the chance to sit down and have a two sided conversation about international differences was quite refreshing.

Still in Tokyo!!! Michelle and I both were selected to present at the 1st year JETs recontracting conference in Tokyo. It was certainly an honor however, even more preparation. The nice thing about this was no school, paid trip to Tokyo, and a night stay in a five star hotel. I presented about Elementary School visits which I think made quite entertaining! It was great to feel the weekday atmosphere of Tokyo and was sad to say good-bye on Tuesday afternoon.

Dinner with our new friends!

Bring On the SUMO!

I definitely couldn’t leave Japan without saying that I have witnessed the sport of sumo; so Jamie, Aaron and I were off to Tokyo yet again! It was a full sumo weekend and boy, were we excited to see these obese men in a loincloth combating each other.

Friday night Jamie and I joined Aaron in Nichome (gay district of Tokyo) to have a few drinks and meet loads of new faces. We had such a great time and enjoyed meeting a great group of people from all over the world! The international experience of some definitely leaves me in awe at times and encourages me to extend my adventures. “I haven’t see enough!!” Saturday, Jamie and I were on super slow speed but eventually got pumped for the big dado! It was John, Aaron, and us viewing the spectacular seen that afternoon. We all grabbed some beers, chu-his (Japanese wine coolers), and lunch from the convenient store before heading in to watch the excitement! Yes, alcohol and bento (lunch) boxes are allowed anywhere and everywhere in Japan!

Jamie and I with wrestler in Kimono.

(R) Jamie, John and I loving the sport!

Granted our seats were basically in the nose-bleed section we weren’t opposed….how much did we actually know about this sport anyway!? To go off that factor, we were actually reading about the game rules of sumo once we got ourselves situated. The armatures were first but we were excited to see these fat boys in loincloths nevertheless. Once the pros entered the ring the excitement started to brew! Since we still didn’t know what we were exactly watching or much about the rituals at all, we decided to start placing bets among ourselves for sheer amusement.

Who can get their legs higher?

We not only placed bets but also made up names and actions for each sumo wrestler. What fun we had….GO Black Lighting!! The ritual process of sumo is quite long between each wrestler; it is certainly not like the WWF! Sumo was finished about 5:00pm and to say the least we had a great time! We had heard that it can become extremely boring but we definitely kept ourselves amused. That night we meet Michelle and her family at Shabu Shabu (similar to fondue).

Aaron chowing down on Shabu Shabu and

Jamie being her usual cheeze self!

After drinking and eating until our hearts and stomachs content, we ventured to Roppongi area of Tokyo for some all night dancing! Can’t get enough of Tokyo’s nightlife…guess I am still not feeling my old age of 25. Jamie and I walked out of the club about 5:30am with the sky looking like it was about noon; in actuality quite a disgusting feeling. We hopped in a cab to head home but for leaving Roppongi area we were entertained by a guy who was talking to his friends, fell into the bushes, popped back up, opened up an umbrella, like Mary Poppins, and said good-morning! Jamie and I were cracking up to the complete randomness that had just occurred. You never know what new surprises and laughs will be had during a weekend in Tokyo!