Summer Blossoms and Castle Repairs

I have good news for you: as of this post, I will only be using pictures taken with my new cell phone's camera from now on. That's right! I've finally gone through and posted all the pictures I had remaining from my previous phone's time-period. Hopefully the 6 and 8mp pictures my new phone is capable of taking will be easier on everyone's eyes than the old ones. Can you tell a difference?

A couple weeks ago, Aaron and I went up to the Castle Park for a few minutes, ostensibly to see the chrysanthemums blooming, but it also ended up being a test run for my new camera. At least I think that's what these flowers are, but I'm not exactly knowledgeable on the subject. What I do know, however, is that they are pretty, and there's lots of them at the Castle Park, so away we went. 

Most of the ones we found were blue or white, but we've seen them in all kinds of colors around town. Purple, yellow, pink, red, blue...sometimes all on one bush together. I have a vague memory of a student's mom telling me last year that what color these flowers bloom depends on what elements are in the soil they're planted in,  but I'm not 100% sure on that.

It was really pretty how they wound around various stone monuments and edged pathways. Unfortunately, that's not the only thing we noticed while we were there.

We also noticed the castle. I wasn't aware it had happened until about a month afterwards, but apparently the tower portion of the museum was damaged in the earthquake. When Aaron and I were up at the Castle Park in May for the Spring Festival, entrance into the tower portion was blocked off, and the cracks running through the foundation were obviously apparent, if you even noticed them past the chunks of stone that had broken off.

When I took this picture, in late July, the repair work was obviously still ongoing. A greater area had been blocked off, as before we were able to go almost right up to the tower. What little of the foundation we could see, however, looks much better than it did, so I believe they will be done soon. I hope so, at least. It was rather heartbreaking to see the awesome castle damaged, and it made me wonder how the ancient items inside weathered the quake. I'm looking forward to when I can go inside and see them again.

Sannohe Autumn Festival, Year 2!

So I've discussed this festival before, but last time I didn't have any pictures to speak of, since I was actually participating in it. It's kinda hard to take pictures when you're helping lug a giant float up a hill, and since Aaron didn't come out to Japan to join me until after this festival started my first year, he couldn't help me out with pictures either. Fortunately, he was here the second year, and now we can all benefit from his picture-taking abilities!

In case you forgot, which I don't blame you if you did, the Autumn Festival in my town involves each neighborhood making a float (by hand!), then pulling it through the main street of town in a parade. Each float is judged by a panel, and winners are chosen every year. Along the street the floats are pulled through, little food booths and shops sell their wares, and the delicious smell of yakitori permeates the air. Little girls wear yukatas and do up their hair, boys wear happi coats and run around, and everyone is just in a jovial mood.

Each float also has drummers and flute players on it, as well as their own unique song that the float pullers sing as they walk. It's very loud, as all the floats are playing at once, even though they usually try to put a little distance between each one. At the end of the parade, however, the floats turn around and head back to their sheds, and on their way they meet the other floats. When this happens, they battle. The floats turn towards each other, the float song changes and becomes more intense, and the two rival floats try to out play each other. Normally it's just loud, but the battles are sheer cacophony. It's pretty exciting though, I have to admit, and you can check out a video of one battle all the way at the bottom of this post.

The picture above shows the 11 Cats, which is a famous children's book here that was actually written by a man who lived in Sannohe. As such, the cats are kind of the town's mascot. This float was also the winner of last year's festival. Yes, that's right, last year's. This festival happens every October, which means this year's happens in another two months. As Aaron took these pictures, they lived on his camera for quite a while, then were dumped onto his profile on the computer, and I completely forgot about them. I will only say, 'better late than never', which I believe is now this blog's official motto. Enjoy the rest of the pictures of that balmy fall day last year, and look forward to more of the same in another couple of months! 

Things I Love About Japan

Random scenes of beauty. That is all. I wish I had a better camera at the time to capture this, unfortunately the picture doesn't do it justice.

They're Back.....

 Cherry blossoms! In early May, Aaron and I went up to the Castle Park here in town to eat some crepes and take some pictures. It was Spring Festival time again!

I know I've already dumped an inordinately large amount of cherry blossom pictures on this blog, but they're so pretty I don't care. They only bloom for a couple weeks during the entire year, and after the long, cold winter, seeing them is a balm on my snow-weary eyes. Most of these pictures are from Aaron's camera. Even though I took a lot too, this was when I still had my old camera, so my pictures didn't turn out as well. I'm looking forward to next year, when I can try my hand at it again with my nice new camera. In the meantime, please enjoy these!

The Way of the Pottery Wheel

About a month ago, I was at my rural mountain school on a Wednesday. Usually, I go there every Tuesday, but due to a demonstration class at another school, my schedule got shuffled around a bit just that one week. Ordinarily, this would be no problem, but that particular Wednesday there was one small catch: I had no classes. In fact, there were no English lessons scheduled at all for that day. Rather than cancel and have me sit at my Board of Education studying, the school decided to have me still come and participate with the kids in the activity they had planned. They were making pots.

Not just pots, they were also making cups, bowls, plates, and anything else they could think of. The entire school, a whole whopping 32 kids, gathered in the art room. Under the tutelage of a local pottery master, they started pounding clay on the floor, then threw it on pottery wheels and started spinning. The younger kids were making plates instead, as using the wheel was beyond their abilities. The kids had various levels of success at it, but they all had fun.

At first I helped a younger child with the bowl he was making, but then they gave me my own clay and told me to try it too. I ended up making a little tarepanda chopstick rest out of the younger kid's leftover, throw-away clay (whether it bakes properly or cracks in the furnace remains to be seen), and a little plate with a rose I drew in the middle.

I wasn't able to do the best job at it, but I really enjoyed myself. It was an amazing experience to make something the way the Japanese people have been doing it for hundreds of years. By the end of the day, I was lobbying my teachers at that school to have English class changed to Art class. I didn't succeed. Maybe I'll have better luck next time.

Things I Love About Japan

Beautiful, simple, delicious cakes. Most of the cakes here are usually quite ornate, actually, but they are all delicious. This one is a simple chocolate loaf, garnished with a strawberry and some whipped cream, with a chocolate sauce rose drawn on the side. I admit I go to little cake shops here in Japan a lot, probably more often than I should, and enjoy a variety of cakes and some tea in a wonderfully cozy setting. I think it's my inner Englishman coming out.

Frog Friends

So, I almost used the above image for 'Engrish of the Week', but then I realized that it's not incorrect, so much as strange. Strangely cute. In any case, I wasn't sure if that alone qualified for an Engrish, so I decided to combine it with this little guy:

Can you tell I like frogs? Why, I couldn't tell you, but I've always found them cute. The little picture frame I found at a local pawn shop, and the real one was on the path leading towards one of my schools. I spotted him as I was leaving for the day, and at first I thought he was just a leaf. Until he leaped 20 billion feet in the air, that is. He was quite tiny, though, so in order to better appreciate his cuteness, have this other picture I took, a bit closer to him. He was very obliging to sit so still for me. Or terrified out of his mind by the humongous creature coming near him... That's a possibility too.

Taste the Rainbow

This post doesn't really have anything to do with Japan, except that it involves my family sending me care packages all the time (there are no Milano cookies in Japan, and it makes me sad). In the last care package I got from my mom and dad, one of the bags of Skittles they put in there burst open in transit. Luckily they didn't ruin anything, since Skittles can't really melt. The box was definitely colorful though, and after we got everything else out, I took a picture of the rainbow left at the bottom of the box.... while eating Milano cookies and my other 5 bags of Skittles.

On the Job

I don't often talk about my job on here, except in vague terms of going to random school festivals, and that the money I receive from doing it allows me to survive (and buy lots of curry, that's important). This does not mean, however, that I dislike my job. Actually, I love it, and today I want to post why. In addition to being something new every day, and the obvious benefits of teaching great kids, I occasionally help with the lessons in a more tangible way than running an activity or explaining grammar structure. Sometimes, sometimes, I get to make materials. Every now and then one of my teachers decides that the flash cards we have are boring, and so they come up to my desk, arms laden with big markers and sheets of paper, and ask me to draw things.

Granted, I'm not the best artist in the world, and even if I was, 5 minutes and some magic markers are hardly the ideal conditions in which to produce a masterpiece. Even so, I love doing it, the kids get a kick out of seeing them, and occasionally they turn out kinda cool. The one above is from a video game that's super popular here called Monster Hunter, or 'MoHan' for short. The one below? I was asked to draw a picture of the thing that most surprised me when I got to Japan: traditional Japanese toilets, otherwise known as holes in the ground. Fun, fun!

Things I Love About Japan

Baskin Robbins here are awesome. They call them '31' actually, probably because the '31 Flavors' is most prominent on the sign, and actually saying Baskin Robbins is some sort of cruel torture on Japanese tongues. Regardless, Japanese Baskin Robbins > American Baskin Robbins. Why? Do American Baskin Robbins make my ice cream cup into a little snowman during Christmas time? I didn't think so.

The Most Interesting Car in the World

No, that is not someone's tricked out car you see above. That is a Japanese funeral hearse. In Japan, the dead are almost always cremated and the remains placed in a jar. As far as I know, it's always just ashes that ride in the hearse; it does not carry the body before it is cremated. The hearse is built to resemble a temple, and they are incredibly ornate. Personally, I think they exude a strange beauty as well. They are also unsurprisingly eye-catching, and I've been trying to get a picture of one for a while. The first time I saw one, though, I was more interested in finding out what in the world it was than taking a picture. I believe I stared at it for a good five minutes trying to figure it out, and I defy anyone else who sees one of these for the first time in person to not do the same.

Hina Matsuri

Hina Matsuri, or literally 'Princess Festival', happens every year on March 3rd, and honors little girls. As far as Japanese festivals go, it's pretty low-key. Leading up to that day, families, stores, and schools put out incredibly expensive doll sets of the Imperial Court on display. On the day of the 3rd, usually in front of the dolls, family members eat sakura mochi, which is pink rice cake with a cherry tree leaf wrapped around it and sweet red-bean paste in the middle. I admit to having a fondness for this particular sweet, and wish it was available more often than just 'in Spring'.


The most interesting thing about this festival is that the doll set has to come down and be put away on March 4th, otherwise the young girls in that family will be cursed with late marriages, or not be able to marry at all. The dolls are incredibly beautiful though, so I admit to enjoying this festival, even though it lacks the traditional fireworks and food prevalent in other Japanese events. This particular set belongs to my elementary school, but I might have to try and buy one before I leave the country, just because. Packing it might be challenging though....

Things I Love About Japan

Parfaits! This particular concoction is chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, shaved chocolate, a pineapple slice, a melon slice, orange slices, and the little red tower thingy is sliced apples which were then fitted together to make the impressive display before you. Parfaits are quite popular here, and the variety of them is astounding. Ice cream and fresh fruit is always a win in my book, so you can be sure I won't stop eating these anytime soon.