2016年01月21日
Tanuki
I absolutely love tanuki. I have since before I came to Japan. One of my favorite authors, Tom Robbins, wrote a novel featuring Tanuki as a character. I love trickster characters, and so tanukis are right up my alley. I'm really glad I'm in Shikoku, because there are a lot of tanuki legends here that I hope to learn. Also, a lot of tanuki statues, which I think are adorable.
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2016年01月20日
Japanese Winters!
Hello!
It’s been a strange week here for me, but not because of anything that happened or anything that anyone might have said. It feels strange because it’s winter here! However, winters in Japan are much different than winters where I come from in Canada!
In Manitoba, my home province, the summer temperatures very rarely get about 25 degrees Celsius (That’s 77 degrees Fahrenheit to you American readers!) This is clearly much different than here in Japan in the summer, where it can get up to 30 or 35 degrees Celsius every day! For most Canadians, that’s a temperature that they can only dream about!
However, the biggest difference between the weather in Canada and Japan is during the winter. Right now in Takamatsu, for example, it’s 5 degrees Celsius, which is about as cold as it will get during the winter. But there’s no snow, not very windy, and most importantly, no ice on the roads! In my home town in Canada today, however, it’s -10 degrees, and with the wind blowing, it feels like -15 degrees! That’s a huge difference! There’s also snow on the ground, and lots of ice as well, making walking and driving very tricky. You have to be extra careful when you’re walking or driving on ice, because you can slip and slide all over the place!
As nice as the weather here in Takamatsu is, and as much as don’t miss being cold and wet all the time in Canada, I do miss the idea of Winter having snow on the ground, making everything pretty and white. Once the summer comes, I’ll be OK again, but winter in Canada is a very unique season, and one that I miss a lot sometimes!
It’s been a strange week here for me, but not because of anything that happened or anything that anyone might have said. It feels strange because it’s winter here! However, winters in Japan are much different than winters where I come from in Canada!
In Manitoba, my home province, the summer temperatures very rarely get about 25 degrees Celsius (That’s 77 degrees Fahrenheit to you American readers!) This is clearly much different than here in Japan in the summer, where it can get up to 30 or 35 degrees Celsius every day! For most Canadians, that’s a temperature that they can only dream about!
However, the biggest difference between the weather in Canada and Japan is during the winter. Right now in Takamatsu, for example, it’s 5 degrees Celsius, which is about as cold as it will get during the winter. But there’s no snow, not very windy, and most importantly, no ice on the roads! In my home town in Canada today, however, it’s -10 degrees, and with the wind blowing, it feels like -15 degrees! That’s a huge difference! There’s also snow on the ground, and lots of ice as well, making walking and driving very tricky. You have to be extra careful when you’re walking or driving on ice, because you can slip and slide all over the place!
As nice as the weather here in Takamatsu is, and as much as don’t miss being cold and wet all the time in Canada, I do miss the idea of Winter having snow on the ground, making everything pretty and white. Once the summer comes, I’ll be OK again, but winter in Canada is a very unique season, and one that I miss a lot sometimes!
2016年01月19日
2016年01月18日
Culture
Hello, all!
Recently, I've been thinking about what "culture" means. Many, many people have thought about this topic before me. Entire sections of bookstores are devoted to Cultural Studies. I studied comparative literature in a university class, which is about how culture shapes stories. In fact, my own mother teaches intercultural communication classes! There are tens of thousands of models of "culture." One of the most common is the "iceberg model." This model describes culture by saying that all cultures have parts you can see, and parts you can't see, like this:
This is very easy to understand! But I think that maybe, just maybe, most people have the wrong way of considering what "culture" really is.
We usually think of culture in a "subtractive" way. We think it's the differences that define culture. For example, in Korea you can eat your rice with a spoon, but it's rude to pick up your rice bowl. In Japan, you always eat rice with chopsticks, but picking up your bowl is okay. That's different! It must be "culture!"
I'm not so sure. If we think of culture this way, we always live in a world where our own culture is "normal," and everyone else's is "different" or even "strange." If we define culture by differences, we can't help dividing the world into "us" and "them"! So long as we have this idea of culture, we will never be able to interact with people from other cultures naturally. We will always see them as "outsiders."
So let's find a more "positive" way of thinking about culture! I've found a way to do this that really helps me get along in other countries. Maybe it will help you, too. (Or maybe not!) This is what I always try to remember:
Culture is daily life. "My life," you might say.
That's it. When Americans think of "Japanese culture," they think of kimono and ikebana and sushi and ninjas. But for Japanese people, those things are just possible parts of daily life, right? Sushi isn't special; it's just a type of food you might or might not eat very often. You might know people who enjoy ikebana as a hobby, or run a kimono shop. You almost definitely never think about ninjas (unless you really like ninja movies). The things that define "Japanese culture" for America, things that are different from American things, do not define "my life" for Japanese people!
So what defines "my life"? It's the things you do every day: waking up, going to school or work, eating, cleaning, hanging out with friends. These things are universal. Everyone shares these experiences! It's just that in different cultures, they look different. For a Korean, "eating dinner" always includes having a bit of kimchi—that's part of daily life. For a Japanese adult, "hanging out with friends" usually means going somewhere together—you don't usually casually invite people over to your house. For an American, inviting friends to their home for dinner (with no kimchi!) is perfectly normal. But for all three places, the basic goal—to eat good food and enjoy time with people you like—is the same.
In short, daily life has the same "shape" everywhere. Everywhere you go, you find the same range of personalities. People in every culture have the same basic problems and desires (making a living, finding love, feeling like a success). And everyone thinks of their own daily life as "normal"! If you remember this, you can see how culture is more positive than subtractive. When you find something new to you in a different culture, don't think, "this is different!" Think, "aha! So, for people here, this is what daily life is like! This is normal!"
Finally, a story: When I was a kid, my family always had chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast on Saturday mornings. It was our special treat. All week, I looked forward to my Saturday morning chocolate chip pancake. The first time I stayed over at a friend's house on a Friday night, we had pancakes for breakfast on Saturday. But his family didn't use chocolate chips, and instead of maple syrup, they had butter! I was shocked. Outraged! This was wrong! Saturday morning means chocolate chip pancakes! Of course, my friend's parents thought that chocolate chip pancakes were a terrible idea. The butter was unhealthy enough!
Now that I'm older, I can laugh at this story. Of course chocolate chip pancakes aren't important! But in fact, my friend's house had a slightly different "culture" from mine. The difference between a highly interactive American business meeting and a strictly structured Japanese business meeting is just this chocolate chip pancake discovery on a larger scale. So is the difference between an American CEO asking his staff to call him by his first name and a Japanese manager requiring keigo, or the "difference" between an American directly confronting someone she's irritated with and a Japanese person politely avoiding the conflict! The goal—to resolve a conflict—is the same. It's only the normal way to reach that goal that's not the same. The key, again, is understanding what "normal" is for you, and how "normal" might look to other people.
All right, that's my long post for this year! See you next week!
—Matthew
Recently, I've been thinking about what "culture" means. Many, many people have thought about this topic before me. Entire sections of bookstores are devoted to Cultural Studies. I studied comparative literature in a university class, which is about how culture shapes stories. In fact, my own mother teaches intercultural communication classes! There are tens of thousands of models of "culture." One of the most common is the "iceberg model." This model describes culture by saying that all cultures have parts you can see, and parts you can't see, like this:
This is very easy to understand! But I think that maybe, just maybe, most people have the wrong way of considering what "culture" really is.
We usually think of culture in a "subtractive" way. We think it's the differences that define culture. For example, in Korea you can eat your rice with a spoon, but it's rude to pick up your rice bowl. In Japan, you always eat rice with chopsticks, but picking up your bowl is okay. That's different! It must be "culture!"
I'm not so sure. If we think of culture this way, we always live in a world where our own culture is "normal," and everyone else's is "different" or even "strange." If we define culture by differences, we can't help dividing the world into "us" and "them"! So long as we have this idea of culture, we will never be able to interact with people from other cultures naturally. We will always see them as "outsiders."
So let's find a more "positive" way of thinking about culture! I've found a way to do this that really helps me get along in other countries. Maybe it will help you, too. (Or maybe not!) This is what I always try to remember:
Culture is daily life. "My life," you might say.
That's it. When Americans think of "Japanese culture," they think of kimono and ikebana and sushi and ninjas. But for Japanese people, those things are just possible parts of daily life, right? Sushi isn't special; it's just a type of food you might or might not eat very often. You might know people who enjoy ikebana as a hobby, or run a kimono shop. You almost definitely never think about ninjas (unless you really like ninja movies). The things that define "Japanese culture" for America, things that are different from American things, do not define "my life" for Japanese people!
So what defines "my life"? It's the things you do every day: waking up, going to school or work, eating, cleaning, hanging out with friends. These things are universal. Everyone shares these experiences! It's just that in different cultures, they look different. For a Korean, "eating dinner" always includes having a bit of kimchi—that's part of daily life. For a Japanese adult, "hanging out with friends" usually means going somewhere together—you don't usually casually invite people over to your house. For an American, inviting friends to their home for dinner (with no kimchi!) is perfectly normal. But for all three places, the basic goal—to eat good food and enjoy time with people you like—is the same.
In short, daily life has the same "shape" everywhere. Everywhere you go, you find the same range of personalities. People in every culture have the same basic problems and desires (making a living, finding love, feeling like a success). And everyone thinks of their own daily life as "normal"! If you remember this, you can see how culture is more positive than subtractive. When you find something new to you in a different culture, don't think, "this is different!" Think, "aha! So, for people here, this is what daily life is like! This is normal!"
Finally, a story: When I was a kid, my family always had chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast on Saturday mornings. It was our special treat. All week, I looked forward to my Saturday morning chocolate chip pancake. The first time I stayed over at a friend's house on a Friday night, we had pancakes for breakfast on Saturday. But his family didn't use chocolate chips, and instead of maple syrup, they had butter! I was shocked. Outraged! This was wrong! Saturday morning means chocolate chip pancakes! Of course, my friend's parents thought that chocolate chip pancakes were a terrible idea. The butter was unhealthy enough!
Now that I'm older, I can laugh at this story. Of course chocolate chip pancakes aren't important! But in fact, my friend's house had a slightly different "culture" from mine. The difference between a highly interactive American business meeting and a strictly structured Japanese business meeting is just this chocolate chip pancake discovery on a larger scale. So is the difference between an American CEO asking his staff to call him by his first name and a Japanese manager requiring keigo, or the "difference" between an American directly confronting someone she's irritated with and a Japanese person politely avoiding the conflict! The goal—to resolve a conflict—is the same. It's only the normal way to reach that goal that's not the same. The key, again, is understanding what "normal" is for you, and how "normal" might look to other people.
All right, that's my long post for this year! See you next week!
—Matthew
2016年01月18日
A friend came to visit me :)
Hello!
So last weekend one of my friends from my high school came to visit me in Takamatsu. She is currently living in South Korea (teaching English). I haven't seen her in 2 years! I took her around Takamatsu. First we visited the garden/castle.
Then I introduced her to purikura....she loved it!
I love face masks...a lot! They are not very common in the United States..so every time I'm in Asia...I buy a lot of them :). Japan has the crazy printed ones...which I love~~. I got a dog and a cat mask..and we decided to have one with them
We had so much fun :0
<3 Leslie
So last weekend one of my friends from my high school came to visit me in Takamatsu. She is currently living in South Korea (teaching English). I haven't seen her in 2 years! I took her around Takamatsu. First we visited the garden/castle.
Then I introduced her to purikura....she loved it!
I love face masks...a lot! They are not very common in the United States..so every time I'm in Asia...I buy a lot of them :). Japan has the crazy printed ones...which I love~~. I got a dog and a cat mask..and we decided to have one with them
We had so much fun :0
<3 Leslie
2016年01月16日
My Time in Tokyo
Some of you already know that for the Christmas break that I went to Tokyo with some of the other GEM School teachers! WE had a wonderful time. We saw many, many things, and I can't wait to tell you about them! The first day we arrived, we just walked around Asuksabashi (we were tired from the travel), and found a nice little restaurant to eat at. The second day I took the train to Harajuku to go see Meiji Shrine. It was amazing! The trees were so tall, and beautiful! Even though there were a lot of people, it didn't feel crowded at all. The shrine itself was so beautiful, and after that I walked through a garden to see Kiyomasa's Well. It was very peaceful! The next few days was a lot of walking and shopping in Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and Akihabara! We made many friends in our hostel (thanks to Jason-teacher!) and it was a bit sad to leave them. I really hope that next time I'm in Tokyo I will have as good a time as this!
2016年01月16日
Do you believe in Fate?
Fate is defined as the development of events outside of a persons control. This means that, if fate existed, we would have no control over our own lives nor would we be able to experience anything outside of that fate. Having the choices and free will that we currently hold provides us with the surprises and adventures that we have in life. If everything were fated we would likely not be able to experience those things, or would we? Could fate be providing the line of events that we "decide" on through what we believe is free will? Could fate be playing a part in all of our lives? Do you believe that we deserve the fate that we are handed if fate is in play? Or do you believe that fate is unfair to many people in the world. What do you think? Do you believe in fate?
Thanks for reading!
Leigh
2016年01月15日
Eating Hotpot with Friends
One of my favorite things in winter is eating nabe or hotpot with friends. In this picture we made a salt based soup broth. Inside we put many things: wieners, tofu, cabbage, mushrooms, chicken, green onions and ramen noodles. It was so yummy.
It is so much fun sitting around, eating hot soup, and talking with your friends. Do you like eating hotpot with friends or family? Why?
Thank you for reading,
Kristen
2016年01月15日
BB-8
This is BB-8. If you saw the new star wars movie you would have seen him and laugh at his funny antics. But did you know that it's not just a prop they used in a movie? It actually moves just like you see in the movie. It's really interesting science that causes BB-8 to function like he does.
As BB-8 moves, The RC robotic ball uses a gyroscope to determine which way is down and two wheels to move the sphere from inside. The base plate (batteries included) serves as a counterweight to keep the wheels acting against the lower half of the sphere. There's also a vertical bearing that helps to keep the wheels in contact with the walls.
As to how the head stays upright is a mystery! Disney invented this technology but it's not really understood how it works.
Pretty cool huh?
- James Barbosa
2016年01月15日
Studying!
When I go back to America I intend to get a Ph.D, so I have to take two tests in the fall. One of them is about English literature. There is a lot of classical literature out there, so it's going to be a really tough test to take. Right now I study 3 hours a day. Right now I'm reading The Iliad by Homer. It's about the Trojan War, which was fought over Helen of Troy. She's said to be so beautiful that her "face launched 1000 ships."
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2016年01月14日
Windows 10
I decided to take the plunge and upgrade to Windows 10. At first it was fairly stable and I had few problems. Then an update cam and it became unstable, the stable and unstable again, with each update. By now it's stable. I will say that I upgraded a number of months ago, so I've had it a while. A lot of people have privacy concerns about it but it'll probably be fine. I turned off the critical points and it should be good now.
2016年01月14日
Themed Cafes
There are so many themed cafes and restaurants in Tokyo! There are cat cafes, rabbit cafes, even owl cafes! There are idol cafes, a Sailor Moon cafe, and a crazy colorful monster cafe!
In Shinjuku, my friends and I went to a Robot Restaurant. It was more like a performance place that had some food. It was big, loud, and exciting! There was a lot of English used there too, which was a nice change.
In Akihabara, I happily found the Gundam Cafe, but there was a long line to get in. We waited around for a little bit before deciding it would take too long. We took some pictures and browsed the cafe store.
In Shibuya, Mell and I went to a horror-themed restaurant called "The Lock Up" where they served scary sounding drinks like Escape from Silent Hill and Medusa's Eye. The entrance to the place was like a small haunted house, which was really fun! I didn't know what to expect! But they put us in a corner where we couldn't see much of the scary things happening. It was fun to think of ideas on how to make the restaurant scarier.
2016年01月14日
Tokyo Trip 2
Alright, so more about my trip to Tokyo! We'll continue from the Sunday after we arrived.
It was kinda decided to split up to check out different areas so I went with one to check out a Magic the Gathering shop (he is very into the game). After that we headed to Mandaraka in Akihabara. It was pretty cool, though I couldn't really see myself buying anything there (and I didn't). Afterwards, I continued on my own to explore, making my way towards Ochamizu, checking out a shrine and a supposedly popular bridge on the way. I met up with everyone back at the hostel, and we went out together for dinner. The initial plan was to find a sukiyaki shop, but we settled with a local ramen shop, which ended up being much better, and I was glad for that.
Monday was an amazing day. We started off by going to Sunshine City, in Ikebukuro. The journey there was quite pleasant, and it was a helluva large mall, haha. I'm not one for shopping, but I would go there again. I did buy something at the Pokemon Store, a gift for my nephew. It was really cute; it was a Pikachu doll, but he was wearing a Charizard X Costume.We all ended up splitting off again, and I made my way to the Aquarium at the top of the mall. I also have mixed feelings about aquariums and zoos. It's cool to be able to see these animals up close, but I feel so bad for them, especially when the containers for them are obviously way too small.
Anyway, after an amazing time at the mall, everyone headed back to the hostel to drop off their purchases and rest up a bit for that night. Ya see, we were all looking forward to the Robot Restaurant, over in Shinjuku. A friend of mine mentioned it to me. Apparently, not too many Japanese people know about it. Even that night, most of the people attending were foreigners. I think they mostly advertise to foreign travelers. The show itself was cheesy, campy, and oh so amazing! It had robots, dinosaurs, taiko, beautiful women, and so much more! I definitely recommend to go see it. I will go again if I am ever in Tokyo. The pic below is just a small taste of what you can expect!
It was kinda decided to split up to check out different areas so I went with one to check out a Magic the Gathering shop (he is very into the game). After that we headed to Mandaraka in Akihabara. It was pretty cool, though I couldn't really see myself buying anything there (and I didn't). Afterwards, I continued on my own to explore, making my way towards Ochamizu, checking out a shrine and a supposedly popular bridge on the way. I met up with everyone back at the hostel, and we went out together for dinner. The initial plan was to find a sukiyaki shop, but we settled with a local ramen shop, which ended up being much better, and I was glad for that.
Monday was an amazing day. We started off by going to Sunshine City, in Ikebukuro. The journey there was quite pleasant, and it was a helluva large mall, haha. I'm not one for shopping, but I would go there again. I did buy something at the Pokemon Store, a gift for my nephew. It was really cute; it was a Pikachu doll, but he was wearing a Charizard X Costume.We all ended up splitting off again, and I made my way to the Aquarium at the top of the mall. I also have mixed feelings about aquariums and zoos. It's cool to be able to see these animals up close, but I feel so bad for them, especially when the containers for them are obviously way too small.
Anyway, after an amazing time at the mall, everyone headed back to the hostel to drop off their purchases and rest up a bit for that night. Ya see, we were all looking forward to the Robot Restaurant, over in Shinjuku. A friend of mine mentioned it to me. Apparently, not too many Japanese people know about it. Even that night, most of the people attending were foreigners. I think they mostly advertise to foreign travelers. The show itself was cheesy, campy, and oh so amazing! It had robots, dinosaurs, taiko, beautiful women, and so much more! I definitely recommend to go see it. I will go again if I am ever in Tokyo. The pic below is just a small taste of what you can expect!
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2016年01月13日
My favorite drink is....
COFFEE! I love coffee. Most adults in America drink at least two cups of coffee every day to start waking up. Coffee is America's favorite drink and I am no exception. When I was a child, maybe 5 or 6, my parents would give my siblings and I kids coffee. Kids Coffee is basically coffee with a lot of sugar and cream. I grew up on coffee. Scientists have recently been finding out that coffee has health benefits such as decreased chance for liver cancer or failure, heart failure, type 2 diabetes and so much more! Coffee is a low calorie antioxidant and is actually where most Americans get their antioxidants. Coffee is so good for you! That is until you put a ton of cream and sugar in it. Drinking coffee black is the way to go. It allows you to taste the actual coffee. Try it!
2016年01月13日
Twitch: Watching the games you love!
Hello!
Today, I’d like to talk a little about one of my favourite nerdy things to do in my spare time. Most of the time, when I’m not working on the computer, I’ll be watching videos on the computer. Some people will watch YouTube, or TV shows or movies on various websites, but for me my favourite site to watch is called Twitch. Twitch is a special kind of video site, because it’s not things that people have recorded and uploaded onto the internet. Twitch is a service that allows people to stream a video game that they’re playing so that other people around the world can see them and chat with them. If I chose to play a game, I could subscribe to Twitch, and have that game be broadcast while I’m playing it online so anyone could come and watch and say hello!
Some people who stream games on twitch are only doing it because they love games and want to share that affection they have with other people. Some streamers, however, have found a way to make money off of this! Twitch has a subscription service for certain popular streamers, that allows the people playing the game to make an income from playing video games all day!
Another very popular thing that people like to do with games is something called speed running. This is when you attempt to get through the game as quickly as possible. Sometimes, depending on the game, this can take a few hours for one attempt, but others can take as little as 20 minutes! There are competitions, tournaments, and even world records for how quickly people can complete a game they choose to speed run and almost any game can be played like this! It’s like seeing some one train at a sport, but you’re watching a video game instead!
If you’re maybe interested in a particular game, but want to see what it’s like before you buy it, or if you just like watching the games you love being played, Twitch is a really interesting and fun website that you can spend a lot of time exploring and enjoying!
Today, I’d like to talk a little about one of my favourite nerdy things to do in my spare time. Most of the time, when I’m not working on the computer, I’ll be watching videos on the computer. Some people will watch YouTube, or TV shows or movies on various websites, but for me my favourite site to watch is called Twitch. Twitch is a special kind of video site, because it’s not things that people have recorded and uploaded onto the internet. Twitch is a service that allows people to stream a video game that they’re playing so that other people around the world can see them and chat with them. If I chose to play a game, I could subscribe to Twitch, and have that game be broadcast while I’m playing it online so anyone could come and watch and say hello!
Some people who stream games on twitch are only doing it because they love games and want to share that affection they have with other people. Some streamers, however, have found a way to make money off of this! Twitch has a subscription service for certain popular streamers, that allows the people playing the game to make an income from playing video games all day!
Another very popular thing that people like to do with games is something called speed running. This is when you attempt to get through the game as quickly as possible. Sometimes, depending on the game, this can take a few hours for one attempt, but others can take as little as 20 minutes! There are competitions, tournaments, and even world records for how quickly people can complete a game they choose to speed run and almost any game can be played like this! It’s like seeing some one train at a sport, but you’re watching a video game instead!
If you’re maybe interested in a particular game, but want to see what it’s like before you buy it, or if you just like watching the games you love being played, Twitch is a really interesting and fun website that you can spend a lot of time exploring and enjoying!
2016年01月12日
Yashima Aquarium
Hello everyone!
For New Years, I went with a fellow teacher to the Yashima Temple. We were very surprised to find an aquarium on the mountain! It was wonderful and we spent a lot of time there. I loved seeing the manatees! Last year, while on vacation in Cancun, Mexico, I was actually able to swim with two manatees. They are so gentle and sweet. The Yashima Aquarium is very nice and I recommend everyone who likes animals to go visit it.
For New Years, I went with a fellow teacher to the Yashima Temple. We were very surprised to find an aquarium on the mountain! It was wonderful and we spent a lot of time there. I loved seeing the manatees! Last year, while on vacation in Cancun, Mexico, I was actually able to swim with two manatees. They are so gentle and sweet. The Yashima Aquarium is very nice and I recommend everyone who likes animals to go visit it.
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2016年01月12日
2016年01月11日
A Trip to Kōchi
Hello, all!
During the Christmas break I took a very nice bicycle ride to Kōchi! I wanted to cycle the old Tosa Kaido and visit Kōchi, where I'd never been. Kochi was fantastic! I ate some delicious imo-ten and, of course, katsuo tataki. I got to see a yosakoi performance and visit Kōchi Castle. Even the hotel breakfast was great!
Unfortunately, my cell phone died after I took most of my Kōchi pictures. But I do have a few pictures from videos I shot on the ride down. I took Route 126/264 between Tamatoriyama and Omoriyama, and I went so high that I saw a little snow! Here are some of my interesting discoveries. Please click for much bigger versions!
This is a little river in a place called Uriuno in nothern Kōchi Prefecture. It's such perfectly Japanese scenery!
This decrepit bus was just sitting by the side of Route 264, about halfway down the mountain. What a great ruin!
This is near Tosa Town. I don't see that many terraced rice paddies in Japan, although these were fallow.
This was my favorite moment of the trip. Just after the top of the pass, the road goes through this amazing tunnel. It's long, narrow, and has no lights at all! It was like something out of an old Existentialist art film. I loved it! (You can see the Kōchi end of the tunnel at the top of the second picture.)
How do you travel the lovely island of Shikoku?
—Matthew
During the Christmas break I took a very nice bicycle ride to Kōchi! I wanted to cycle the old Tosa Kaido and visit Kōchi, where I'd never been. Kochi was fantastic! I ate some delicious imo-ten and, of course, katsuo tataki. I got to see a yosakoi performance and visit Kōchi Castle. Even the hotel breakfast was great!
Unfortunately, my cell phone died after I took most of my Kōchi pictures. But I do have a few pictures from videos I shot on the ride down. I took Route 126/264 between Tamatoriyama and Omoriyama, and I went so high that I saw a little snow! Here are some of my interesting discoveries. Please click for much bigger versions!
This is a little river in a place called Uriuno in nothern Kōchi Prefecture. It's such perfectly Japanese scenery!
This decrepit bus was just sitting by the side of Route 264, about halfway down the mountain. What a great ruin!
This is near Tosa Town. I don't see that many terraced rice paddies in Japan, although these were fallow.
This was my favorite moment of the trip. Just after the top of the pass, the road goes through this amazing tunnel. It's long, narrow, and has no lights at all! It was like something out of an old Existentialist art film. I loved it! (You can see the Kōchi end of the tunnel at the top of the second picture.)
How do you travel the lovely island of Shikoku?
—Matthew
2016年01月11日
A new hobby
If you read my blog posts fairly often, then you know that I like cars. That's pretty unsurprising given the number of car focused posts I've made over the last year.
Also unsurprising is the fact that cars are expensive - and running a car on track is even more expensive than usual.
So how do I get my car fix when I'm saving up between trackdays? Well, I've started collecting model cars.
The picture is small, but form left to right there is a Toyota Corolla AE86 (this one is from the popular anime Initial D), an R33 skyline GTR in GTLM spec, a racing model Kyusha Kenmeri skyline, a street Kenmeri skyline, and of course, a shakotan hakosuka GTR. Some of my favorite cars!
Also unsurprising is the fact that cars are expensive - and running a car on track is even more expensive than usual.
So how do I get my car fix when I'm saving up between trackdays? Well, I've started collecting model cars.
The picture is small, but form left to right there is a Toyota Corolla AE86 (this one is from the popular anime Initial D), an R33 skyline GTR in GTLM spec, a racing model Kyusha Kenmeri skyline, a street Kenmeri skyline, and of course, a shakotan hakosuka GTR. Some of my favorite cars!
2016年01月09日
Oh, I love my kotatsu!
One of my favourite things right now is my brand new kotatsu! I bought it with some Christmas money that my family gave me, and it is probably the best Christmas present I recieved this year! I feel so happy and cozy when I sit under it, especially with a cup of coffee! Do you like to use a kotatsu in winter?
