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Over the weekend Cami and I went to the Chosa Festival in Toyohama. It was very cool watching all the Chosas parade in and watch the groups show off their strength. It was all very impressive. But the most surprising thing that happened during the festival was finding tacos. Cami and I were very hesitant whether or not to try the tacos but we committed and were very surprised to find a good tasting taco like one we'd find back in the U.S.A.

Next weekend we're going to go to the Chosa festival in Kanonji with some other teachers. Maybe some of the ones who has lived here longer than us can fully explain the origin of the Chosas. And maybe we can find another taco.   

Over the weekend Cami and I went to the Chosa Festival in Toyohama. It was very cool watching all the Chosas parade in and watch the groups show off their strength. It was all very impressive. But the most surprising thing that happened during the festival was finding tacos. Cami and I were very hesitant whether or not to try the tacos but we committed and were very surprised to find a good tasting taco like one we'd find back in the U.S.A.

Next weekend we're going to go to the Chosa festival in Kanonji with some other teachers. Maybe some of the ones who has lived here longer than us can fully explain the origin of the Chosas. And maybe we can find another taco.   

I am at war. I fight with creams and lotions. I engage with soaps and scrubs. This week I recruited a new specialist, a hyaluronic acid gel. At night, I spread it on my face and it does battle while I sleep. In the morning, my tried and true facial scrub clears the debris. Another lotion shields me throughout the day. Still, a few red spots have appeared along my jaw. Yes, you guessed it. My enemy is acne. For a long time, I thought it had gone away from me but lately a few encampments have crept up again. They will not be allowed to progress. So, if you ask me why my skin is clear, the answer is because I have won many battles in the war for clear skin.
  

"Friendship is like a sheltering tree." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge


I'm overjoyed! My close friend (Corinne) is going to have a baby! Corinne and I have been friends since 9th grade Math class. I've been fortunate enough to be apart of a lot of milestones in her life. I was there when she first met and fell in love with her husband. Also, I was able to be take part in her wedding day. So to get a message that she is going to be a mom... it was an honor! Hopefully I'll be able to fly down to see her and her new bundle of joy this winter break.
  

Let's see... dehydration, two bruised shoulders, and a nearly broken toe. It was both enjoyable and exhausting. I even, unexpectedly, got to see a few of my students. But was it fun?

I don't know. I did meet new people and had some interesting experiences. Next up is Saijo matsuri. I'm not participating this time, hopefully I'll get some better pictures than last year.  

Hey! My friends Alex and Shane are visiting me in Japan right now. The first place that I took them was to Kotohiki park and to see the Kanonji sand coin. We took a bus to Matsuyama and ate really good food. I was excited to try colorful noodles!

Our place was near Dogo Onsen which was nice, but we were awakened at 5am because a mikoshi Autumn festival was happening. It was too early for me, I was very grumpy and couldn't see the festival well.

My friends have jetlag, so they force me to go to bed by 11. That's pretty unheard of for me, but I've been sleeping okay. I wonder if I'll still be a morning person after they leave?  

I finally did it! I was able to start working on my tiny garden. It started off with my purchasing mint, basil and pepper seeds. After that I went to any local market and searched for pots. Next I made sure to find the best source of fertilizer. Lastly I made sure to put the plants in a spot where they would get the most light. Now all I have to do is wait and see if they'll sprout. I have started waking up extra early in the morning just to see the progress. My hope is that the plants will grow happy and healthy!  

On our last day in Yamagata we visited Yudonosan which was another beautiful mountain. It was supposed to symbolize Buddhist rebirth and I can understand why. With the air so fresh and the grand tori gate I felt transported. We made our way to a sacred spot where pictures were prohibited.

Inside, there was a man praying constantly and beautiful giant metal mirrors. We climbed up a path where hot onsen water was spewing down over and made our way to a shrine over looking a cliff side. Then we climbed back down and took a nice hot foot bath.

After that we decided to try and hike the way to Gassan, we followed the sign pointing us in the direction and there was a yellow chain that indicated the path. The hike was slippery because it had just rained and I was glad to use the chain for support. We managed to get up to a waterfall, but after that the path disappeared and we were forced to go back because it was to dangerous to keep walking.

On the way back we noticed some yamabushi doing waterfall purification which was very cool as I had never seen anyone do that in real life before. We finished off the fay by getting into town and eating mountain grape soft serve ice cream and finding a beautiful view of the area. The we made our way back to the hotel and took the plane home very early the next day.

I loved being in Yamagata. If you ever get the chance to go, do it!



  

I came to Japan knowing that themed cafes were a thing here in Japan. During my trip in Tokyo I was able to visit one based on a game I like to play. But I'll talk about that cafe at a different time. Today I would like to draw you attention to this picture
This is an owl. A live owl that was in a cafe that we visited last weekend while in Kobe. I've always loved owls. I think they are mysterious, cute and fantastic to listen to while drifting off to sleep.

The entrance fee to the cafe was 1500 for a drink (or a little more for an alcoholic drink) and you were able to spend an hour in the cafe. While there you could look at the owls, read about owls (which I couldn't do since I cannot read Kanji), take pictures of the owls and pet the owls. Yes. You were able to touch the owls. But very carefully. You had to touch only their heads using the back of one or two fingers gently only a few times or they would get stressed out. Seemed easy to do. Approach the owl, slowly and gently pet it and move on.

The owls were soft and most of them were well behaved. There were two or three that were clearly stressed out and we felt bad for them. The owls had tight restraints on their legs so that they couldn't take flight and could barley moved side to side. We didn't want to contribute to their stress so we left them alone. We sat down to enjoy our drinks and admire the owls and let them calm down.

Unfortunately around six other people came in and only seemed interested in making sure they got picture and touched every bird. They would approach the birds who were clearly stressed out and try to touch it and then freak out when the owl puffed up like it was a surprise. They would bring their phones really close to the owl's face and have the loud shutter sound go off in their face which stressed them out more.

The nice time we were having slowly turned into guilt and worry for the birds. We watched as an animal known for flying high in the sky to hunt for its prey was being restrained so much that it could barely move away from where it pooped.

We left the cafe before the full hour time slot had passed wishing that we could do something to make the owls more comfortable and able to stretch their wings more.   

Lately I've really been craving some spicy food. As a kid I hated it. but as I got older, spice grew on me. It started as something I would deal with for good flavor but became something that I actually liked to have in my food. The spice added to the experience of the meal. I eventually developed a love for spice. Back in college I would try spicy food challenges with my friends when ever the opportunity came up. My favorite top-ramen is from Korea and is considered one of the hottest ramens ever made. The flavor in the ramen is incredible. Since coming to Japan I haven't had spicy food. It is hard to find spicy food here in Japan. I'm hoping to find a nice spicy restaurant near by my home.


(not my photo)
  

I went to a ramen restaurant in Japan for the first time a couple weeks ago. I had mostly vegetarian ramen. Well, the waiter said it was vegetarian but I think the broth was definitely not. Oh well. It was yummy! More importantly, I can now say I’ve had ramen in Japan. And I have some new ideas for my own ramen recipe. I’m working on perfecting it, you see. Before I leave Japan I’ll surely have a killer recipe! Oh, and mine is completely vegetarian.  

One of many things I like about living in Japan is that during the colder months the vending machines switch to hot drinks. I like walking in a nice cold breeze with a warm drink in my hands. The hot drink I always gravitate towards is the honey and lemon tea. It tastes like liquid candy! Plus the warmth of the bottle makes my hands all toasty. Sometimes if I feel really adventurous I try milk tea instead.

After a productive day of work I like to curl up on the sofa with a cup of lemon tea. I let the heat waves of the tea hit my face and then I start counting my blessings. "Counting my blessings" is an American phrase that means to think or "count" all of the good things in the day. Safe to say there is no sweeter blessing than a hot bottle or cup of tea on a frigid day!
  

Last year I got to experience Saijo's matsuri, and it was pretty cool. This year I get to see matsuri in different parts of the city.

My friend seems to think I'll be able to carry the danjiri, but I'm pretty sure I'm too tall. It would probably be very painful for my back and knees. That won't stop me from having a good time! Plus I'll get to interact with new people! Yay!

Of course, all of this depends on if the typhoon misses us or not. Oh, well... Happy Matsuri, Everybody!  

Pop? Not soda?

I'm from Michigan, and in Michigan we call soda "pop". So I was very surprised to see drinks in the drink machine labeled pop and not soda. It tasted pretty close to a pop that I used to drink, simply called "Red Pop."


In a strange coincidence, my friends from Michigan just arrived in Japan yesterday! We are going to have some adventures while I show them Japan. They brought me some goodies already, a lot of it pumpkin spice! Pumpkin spice does not actually have any pumpkin in it, which I think may have confused Japanese drink makers. Pumpkin spice is nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon. I've seen pumpkin coffee...but it was not pumpkin spice.


  

Hello all! I'm loving the cooler weather. It's really a nice change from the hot summer sun. I also like the sun being out but not super hot. I guess you can say I like fall (autumn). My brother graduated navy school last month and is going to start his job in Virginia. I'm very happy for him. I hope to see him and the rest of my family in December for Christmas break. I also want to see my friends in south Florida again and catch up. I feel like I'm in a different dimension then my family and friends. lol.  

On the next day, because Michael had gotten sick, we decided to go back into town and rest. Our second hotel was not ready for reservations though, so we decided to go to the aquarium while we waited.

The aquarium has one of the largest jellyfish collections and we enjoyed it so much, we went around the aquarium twice. It was so cool to see all of the different types. I especially liked the jellyfish that gave off rainbow lights. We had jellyfish soft serve there too, which was interesting. The texture of the jellyfish was crunchy which I wasn't expecting, but it was also gelatinous.

After the aquarium, we went to the hotel room and slept for a long time, we were so tired from everything we had been doing. We also saw an interesting program on the NKH about water bugs, and enjoyed our time inside for the rest of the day.


  

From Kanonji Station to the McDonald here is about 3.7km. Last Monday Cami and I decided that we wanted to go for a walk and just take in the lovely weather. So we ended up walking down the 237 and found a furniture store within 600m of the McDonalds. We live 5 min from the Kanonji Station. So we ended up walking pretty much the entire 3.7 Km distance just because. We had no goal, we were just enjoying the weather, talking and getting to know the city we live in a little better.

What drew our attention to the furniture store was this


It looked...to put it lightly...interesting. We had to go in and see. We walk in a bee line straight for the couch and realize its not only denim material but the couch was literally made out of jeans. You could stick your hands in the pockets. It was the ugliest couch I had ever seen.

But since we were now in this furniture store we decided to hang around a bit and look at what else they had. We found very nice wooden kitchen ware, some really nice chairs and couches, very pretty earrings and something we had been talking about on our walk that we want to get; a kotatsu. They had a nice selection of kotatsus in the stores ranging from small tables, to bigger tables that we can sit next to each other to a dinning room table that you can sit at with chairs underneath. When we get our next paycheck Cami and I are heading back there to order one for the upcoming winter months.


  

I've been surprised by how common Typhoons are in Japan. Back home the weather is pretty calm. Though once every two or three years we get pretty bad forest fires. This usually happens when we had a dry year. All of the pine needles drop and the grass is dry. It is the perfect fuel, then as the ground burns for a while the trees ignite. A stray fire work or a bolt of lightning can set the hole forest a blaze. These, when bad enough, can last all summer. Though as I think about it, that is probably strange to many people.



(Photo not mine)
  

As I lay in bed listening to my neighbor’s dog bark, I wish my own dog could come over to visit from America. Perhaps someone could invent an instant transportation device just for me. Or maybe a shrink ray so he could fit under someone’s plane seat. Maybe the shrink ray would be better. My dog is quite large. He wouldn’t have much space on my little balcony. He would sure make people stare as he walked down the street. And he would make me very happy. But, I don’t know anyone with an instant transport device and I’ve never seen a shrink ray in person so I suppose I will have to wait and see my fuzzy friend when I travel back to him.