Events and Travel

Wed - June 7, 2006

Farewell to Noah

A few weeks ago I made a trip up to Tokyo, this time to hang with Noah one last time.

Posted at 07:48 PM Read More |

Sun - May 21, 2006

The police come to my house

Today I had a visit from the police officer here in Gokase. No, it was nothing exciting like me being suspect in some crime, but rather a musical exchange.

Posted at 11:10 PM Read More |

Sat - April 22, 2006

Mom visits Nagoya

About a month ago my mom arrived in Nagoya's brand new Central Airport for a 3 week go at Japan. For the first two weeks I travelled around with her, and we went to Nagoya, Kyoto, Kanazawa and a number of spots down here in Kyushu around Gokase. It was a very good trip, finally getting to show someone around, seeing old friends, and of course seeing my mom after eight months or so.

Posted at 04:36 PM Read More |

Sat - March 11, 2006

Running a ski event

What could be more of a no-brainer than having a ski-based event in Gokase? I didn't figure it could be very difficult; simply offer cheap skiing and drinking and in no time a number of Miyazaki's JETs would be on board, and sure enough that's what happened. Beyond expectations the event was successful, thanks mainly to the great participants, both on the foreign and Gokase side.

Posted at 12:45 AM Read More |

Sun - November 13, 2005

Triumph!

Posted at 06:37 PM Read More |

Mon - October 10, 2005

Great Camping

Over the weekend I did some camping in the beautiful Kurokawa area of Kumamoto Prefecture. Taisuke, his girlfriend Naomi, her friends Sachiko and Hiromi and I drove a few hours to bar-b-cue, camp and drink, then spent a good chunk of the next day sight seeing in Kurokawa, famous for its onsens (hot springs), and scenery, I guess. This little excursion easily ranks as one of the best things I've done here in Japan.
You can jump straight to the pictures here.

Posted at 10:10 PM Read More |

Wed - September 28, 2005

Recently

Nothing groundbreaking, insightful or "never before," but in a (yet another) effort to keep my blog a little better up to date, I thought I'd ramble about some things I've been up to in the past few weeks. Work, free time, what have you.

Posted at 12:41 PM Read More |

Sat - September 3, 2005

To America

During most of last month I made a trip back to the states to visit friends and family. While there was a lot of traveling within the states, I had a great two and a half weeks.

Posted at 11:17 PM Read More |

Sun - April 10, 2005

Kumamoto...hisashiburi!

You just can't go anywhere these days without running into the same people, it seems. With spring upon us, I felt it was time to hit up Kumamoto, seeing as how I'd been neglecting it in favor of Miyazaki over the past few months. Do some shopping, check out the bars and of course go look at the cherry blossoms which are right now in full bloom just about everywhere, at least Kyushu.

Posted at 02:05 PM Read More |

Thu - March 31, 2005

In Miyazaki (again)

I had a crazy weekend in Miyazaki City, doing everything from shopping to gambling. I ran into probably every person I could imagine, too.

Posted at 09:58 PM Read More |

Thu - March 24, 2005

Saint Patty's Day, done Irish

Last Sunday the CIR in the city of Nobeoka, about an hour away along the coast, and another ALT organized a big St. Patrick's Day party at a bar. The cool thing was that these two are Irish, the real deal. Lots of Guinness, an Irish band, and great decor. Plus I got to wear my St. Patrick's Day t-shirt!

Posted at 09:48 PM Read More |

Sun - March 13, 2005

駅伝競走大会 (Ekiden Taikai)

Add this to my list of weird events I've participated in. Well, not really weird, but just something you don't normally see back home. The long-distance relay race. This one at least is not held to give everyone an excuse to drink--yes it is, but that's later--and might even be said to promote better health. People, myself included, trained for weeks prior to this event, running many kilometers up and down hills, every day (usually). Took me back to my track days, except in those days, I was never training to run over 400m. The whole 3km thing was a trip. (Note this race was on Feb. 20.)

Posted at 07:58 PM Read More |

Sun - February 6, 2005

Why two years seems like a good idea to me

It's certainly idling hours away studying JET's Japanese course and cheating at crossword puzzles, and though the pay is very nice, that's not why I signed up for a second year either. It's the stuff I do outside of work with coworkers and other people, and all the things I'm learning about a life that I've never been in before.

Posted at 04:14 PM Read More |

Thu - February 3, 2005

A little about Kagura

Kagura is a deep seated tradition here in northern Miyazaki and I believe some parts of Kumamoto. Though it's not really a dance, that's the easiest word to describe it. More like a silent and ritualized play, Kagura can be viewed at many festivals and "Kagura nights" during the winter.

Posted at 04:55 PM Read More |