2016年07月29日
Pokemon GO
Recently Pokemon Go was released in Japan, and just as in America, it has risen to the top of the app charts.
I'm not playing it myself, but lots of my friends are. Their stories have been universally great, and I wanted to share a few here.
The game was released on a Friday, and by coincidence a few friends of mine were climbing Mt. Ishiuzuchi here in Saijo. Somehow they managed to get cell phone signal at the summit and discovered that the shrine there was a pokegym. My friend made her whole group wait for a few minutes while she got to level 5 (the minimum level to compete for a gym) and took over the gym - she is officially the first gym leader of the Ishizuchi summit gym, which i think is hilarious.
Another gym related story happened on Monday, when Kristen and I were returning from Kagawa. As I was driving, she was playing Pokemon Go. She spotted an uninhabited gym nearby and we took a short detour to go take it over.
Gyms are usually located near important sites or interesting local landmarks, and this one was no exception. It turned out that this gym was located at an interesting local Shrine/ temple hybrid. I snapped a quick picture of the statue there and Kristen dropped off a pokemon, but after that we spent a few minutes just enjoying the location. I think that's the real draw of the game - not hunting the pokemon themselves, but the experience of being outside and seeing new locations in the context of playing a game.
I'm not playing it myself, but lots of my friends are. Their stories have been universally great, and I wanted to share a few here.
The game was released on a Friday, and by coincidence a few friends of mine were climbing Mt. Ishiuzuchi here in Saijo. Somehow they managed to get cell phone signal at the summit and discovered that the shrine there was a pokegym. My friend made her whole group wait for a few minutes while she got to level 5 (the minimum level to compete for a gym) and took over the gym - she is officially the first gym leader of the Ishizuchi summit gym, which i think is hilarious.
Another gym related story happened on Monday, when Kristen and I were returning from Kagawa. As I was driving, she was playing Pokemon Go. She spotted an uninhabited gym nearby and we took a short detour to go take it over.
Gyms are usually located near important sites or interesting local landmarks, and this one was no exception. It turned out that this gym was located at an interesting local Shrine/ temple hybrid. I snapped a quick picture of the statue there and Kristen dropped off a pokemon, but after that we spent a few minutes just enjoying the location. I think that's the real draw of the game - not hunting the pokemon themselves, but the experience of being outside and seeing new locations in the context of playing a game.
2016年07月29日
Summer Time Fun
Hello Everyone,
It is time to talk about one of my favorite parts of Summer in Japan: Fireworks! Recently I went to the river in Saijo with my friends. It was a great time! I really like holding the sparklers and watching the other small fireworks we had light up the sky. It was such a fun time. Nothing like the bigger shows that you can see around Ehime. But having a small fireworks show of your own with your friends it also very special.
Do you do fireworks with your friends?
Thank you for reading,
Kristen
2016年07月29日
Coffee farming
One thing I've been wanting to do is to go to Hawaii and learn to farm, mainly coffee farming. When I lived in Canada my passion for coffee skyrocketed when I worked at Starbucks for most of my twenties, eight years to be exact. Since then I've always wanted to visit a coffee farm and work on one just to see what its like and learn more about how coffee is made. I've learned a lot about coffee through Starbucks and other cafes I frequented back home but it's not the same as actually living that lifestyle. I hope to do it one day.
- James Barbosa
