Gamo-san

So I went to a more remote part of Fukushima to climb Gamo-san. I figured since a woman in her 50s was going to climb with us, that it would be a nice leisurely stroll on a Sunday morning. WRONG!?

It ended up being a much more challenging experience that I had expected. Lucking on the very steep parts there were chains set up so you could 1960s Batman-climb up the side of the mountain.

Overall it was an awesome experience and look forwards to hiking up other, taller mountains of Japan!

Hitchhiking in Kyushu!

Over golden week I hitchhiked throughout Kyushu with a good friend of mine. Kyushu is much mroe tropical than Fukushima. At one point I felt like I was on the Jurassic Park island. At another point, I felt like I was in L.A. or California because there were wide open streets lined with palm trees. 

Ogre's Washboard:  Aoshima, Miyazaki

Along the way we managed to hitchhike 19 times, stay over at 2 peoples' houses and travel to all 7 prefectures in Kyushu. The people we came across were all extremely friendly people. It was amazing to find people who would go out of their was to help a complete stranger. This guy below took us to Mt. Aso (a live volcano) drove us around for a few hours, then called his friend who was an English teacher so we didn't have to speak Japanese all night. She had a husband and two delightful young girls. Then we went out to dinner with all of them, went to kareoke afterward and finally ended up staying over at the driver's house. 

Mt. Aso:  Kumamoto pref.

Overall, it was an amazing trip, which altered my perception a bit. These complete strangers did so much for us without expecting anything in return, and many of them would say, that it makes them feel good to help out other people. They were excited to show us their country and culture. It was a refreshing to see this sort of mentality, because in Canada hitchhiking is actually illegal!! 

New (old) car!

I finally have car! His name is Douglas the Daihatsu. He is about 12 years old and has manual transmission. I've never driven standard before, and never on the left side of the road, so me and Dougie have been through some fun times together so far. I am finally getting the hang of it now after a week and haven't stalled him for a couple days now. He has already been on various road trips such as the beach in Soma, and to the castle in Aizu. I got him (for free!!) from a lovely JET named Amanda who has now left Japan. I'm grateful for her generousity! Here is a picture of Douglas:


This is my favorite picture from the day at the beach in Soma:

We went in the ocean in Soma, but it was frigidly cold still! It was enjoyable nonetheless.

The next day we went to see the cherry blossoms in Aizu. Here is a pic by the riverside:


My next adventure is to Kyushu on Saturday. I'll be sure to update the blog afterwards. There huge hitchhiking event going on, so I look forward to camping in tents and hitchhiking my way though the island!

Settling in...

It's getting to the point now where I feel comfortable and confident with life in Japan. I'm able to get where I want to go, ask people basic questions, and slowly but surely I'm starting to understand conversations around me. Although my motivation to study has fallen a bit since getting here, I still feel like I'm progressing. 

One thing that is very different about Japanese schools is the enkai  or work party. The enkai is usually held at a hotel or fancy restaurant with good food and an open bar. It is a social event and many people go around pouring drinks for each other. This is a good way to get to know people because they break out of their shell a bit when a little social lubricant is ingested. The staff here seems to be closer than a typical school staff in Canada, which might have to do with the long hours Japanese teachers actually spend at the school. Many of them are required to do some sort of club activity/sport so it is not uncommon for them to be at the school until 7 or 8 at night. 

This week I'm going to see what the basketball club is like. I hope to coach some sort of sports team this upcoming year. I'll keep you updated about that! 

Sapporo Snow Fesival

My latest adventure was to Northern Japan (Hokkaido) to see a snow festival (yuki matsuri).  The long trek started off with us taking a train to Sendai station where we caught a bus to a port about an hour away. From there we got on a large ferry which took 12 hours to get there. Luckily there was Kareoke, a public bath and lots of alcohol. We slept on the ferry (barely) and got up to get on another bus to our hotel near the snow festival. That night we went to the Sapporo beer garden: 

The beer garden was in an old building that looked like it was a brewery/factory as some point. 

The next day we went to see the snow festival which was within walking distance of our hotel. A lot of work went into making these ice sculptures. Some of them were absolutely enormous! 

There were about 13 blocks of snow and ice sculptures in Sapporo, not to mention a snowboard jump! Between the 24 hours on a fairy, countless sculptures, and partying in Sapporo, this is definitely one of those unforgettable experiences.