Japan_Bound
Friday, April 29, 2005
Take Me Out to the Ball Game . . .
As most of you know, I'm not really a big fan of sports. Or I wasn't, atleast, until my 3rd night in Japan and the Hanshin Tigers made it into the finals for the first time in something like 18 years. Ever since, I've been a diehard fan. I cried in 2003 when they didn't win the series, and I've been following it on T.V. ever since as well as checking the web site for the ratings etc. So, this year when Natsue invited us to a game at Koshien Stadium, I leapt at the chance. Last week Jess and I stocked up on all the necessities - Tigers jersies, plastic bats, balloons etc. I've been so excited about going that I could hardly stand it, so yesterday when the big day finally arrived I pretty much drove Jesse crazy . . .
Oh my God, you guys, we had the time of our lives. Seriously one of the best times I've had in Japan, let alone in my life. Going to a baseball game in America or Canada is fun (I vaguely remember seeing the Jays play in Toronto when I was little) but going to a baseball game in Japan is an experience. And one that I'll never forget.
We met Natsue and Yumi at Osaka station then caught a half-hour train ride to Nishinomiya; home of Koshien Stadium. The train was full of "Tora Kichi" (Tigers fans; literally translates as crazy tigers) decked out in all manner of black and yellow Hanshin paraphanalia. When we got to Nishinomiya, we made a quick stop at the local convenience store to stock up on beer and Chu Hi, then a quick stop at KFC for takeaway (you can take whatever you want in the way of food and drink into the stadium). Koshien is the oldest ballpark in Japan so I was expecting it to look pretty dicrepit, but it's really cool. The first thing I noticed upon entering the stadium were the signs that said "No Wave." So I thought "uh oh - if we can't do the wave, this is probably going to be pretty civilized and therefore boring." Nothing could have been further from the truth . . .
Koshien seats 55000 people and all but a few seats were packed with screaming, black and yellow bedecked fans. About 90% of the people also had plastic Tigers bats; you beat them together pretty much the entire time you're there. There are actual cheerleaders who lead clapping and rhythm cheers from precarious perches on section poles or concrete walls. There are trumpeteers scattered in the stands and it takes about 50 for the right field section alone! There are also drummers and flag wavers; each home batter has his own cheer, rhythm and flag. There are also no less than ten additional Tigers songs sung during the game to the accompaniment of the drums, plastic bats, trumpets, whistles and clapping. The song lyrics for each song are handed out to fans who don't know them but as they were in Japanese we were worried because we couldn't understand; not to worry, we caught on quickly. And during the 7th inning, just before the home team is about to go up to bat, EVERYONE releases giant, colourful balloons, which deflate and land on the field where staff are waiting by to quickly pick them all up - definitely a sight to behold! Watching a baseball game in Japan requires alot of energy - there's no sitting back to just relax and watch the game. And that's just fine by me, because it was a blast.
I mentioned seeing the "No Wave" signs and thinking it would be pretty civilized. All the noise makers and music quickly changed that opinion. But I saw other things that did so as well; drunken groups of friends holding eachother up, pouring beer and popcorn on eachother and down eachother's pants and shirts, babies and toddlers dressed from head to toe in Tigers gear etc. It was pretty funny and also an amazing sight to behold! Several times while in a drink line-up I was kidnapped by "Tora Kichi" and encouraged to follow along with their singing. If you're a foreigner in Tigers getup you're automatically loved and respected. But if, like me, you can say "I love the Tigers" in Japanese (Tora Tora Tigers), you're treated like royalty. Everyone has to run away and grab their friends/family, and beg you to have a picture taken with them. There are plenty of hungover Japanese people looking at their pictures today wondering who in the hell the gaijin is!!
Anyway, apart from all that excitement, the game was incredibly exciting too. The Tigers were winning 6-0, then 6-1, then 8-1 up until late in the game, when the Nagoya Dragons came back and beat the Tigers 9-8. So close!! Another cool thing about Japanese baseball: the entire stadium was packed with Tigers fans, except for a small group of Dragons fans in one tiny section off of right field. They had huge flags and even a marching band! You have to respect that kind of dedication; it must be pretty intimidating to walk into a stadium full of 54500 Tigers fans wearing blue and white (the Dragons colours) - among all that black and yellow they stood out like sore thumbs.
So they lost, but a fantastic time was had by all. It took FOREVER to finally get on a train due to the line-ups. When we finally got to Osaka, there was only one train heading to Kyoto, so when we got to Kyoto we cabbed it to the Pig&Whistle for some dinner and drinks. Then we caught a cab to our home station to pick up our bikes and head home. We passed Jesse's work, which was still open - he just had to figure out why so I rode my bike home and he caught up a few minutes later. When he walked in the door, he started singing a beautiful and heart-wrenching rendition of "I love you . . . I honestly love you . . ." I knew something was up and made him spill the beans - turns out his boss had invited him to go out for some drinks. I was totally drunk, exhausted and sweaty (it's frickin hot here now) and couldn't have cared less; he went out at about 2 and rolled in again at around 6 after the sun had come up. Now he's in Osaka with some friends of his; going to some new comic book movie called Constantine. I was invited along but ahem . . . politely declined.
So today I'm a little hungover and my throat is so sore/raw from screaming that I'm rather glad I don't have to talk to anyone! However, all the pain aside, I do declare that we are going to atleast one more game before we leave. Jesse wants to as well, so we're going to book tickets later for July 7th. Last night we were sitting behind the cage just off of 1st base; next time I'm sitting in the "foul ball" section (will be about 3x the price but I don't care!!)because I'm bound and determined to catch one even if it means trampling toddlers or old ladies. I'm that serious.
PS: Pics will be emailed soon but Hotmail (God bless it) is down right now.
As most of you know, I'm not really a big fan of sports. Or I wasn't, atleast, until my 3rd night in Japan and the Hanshin Tigers made it into the finals for the first time in something like 18 years. Ever since, I've been a diehard fan. I cried in 2003 when they didn't win the series, and I've been following it on T.V. ever since as well as checking the web site for the ratings etc. So, this year when Natsue invited us to a game at Koshien Stadium, I leapt at the chance. Last week Jess and I stocked up on all the necessities - Tigers jersies, plastic bats, balloons etc. I've been so excited about going that I could hardly stand it, so yesterday when the big day finally arrived I pretty much drove Jesse crazy . . .
Oh my God, you guys, we had the time of our lives. Seriously one of the best times I've had in Japan, let alone in my life. Going to a baseball game in America or Canada is fun (I vaguely remember seeing the Jays play in Toronto when I was little) but going to a baseball game in Japan is an experience. And one that I'll never forget.
We met Natsue and Yumi at Osaka station then caught a half-hour train ride to Nishinomiya; home of Koshien Stadium. The train was full of "Tora Kichi" (Tigers fans; literally translates as crazy tigers) decked out in all manner of black and yellow Hanshin paraphanalia. When we got to Nishinomiya, we made a quick stop at the local convenience store to stock up on beer and Chu Hi, then a quick stop at KFC for takeaway (you can take whatever you want in the way of food and drink into the stadium). Koshien is the oldest ballpark in Japan so I was expecting it to look pretty dicrepit, but it's really cool. The first thing I noticed upon entering the stadium were the signs that said "No Wave." So I thought "uh oh - if we can't do the wave, this is probably going to be pretty civilized and therefore boring." Nothing could have been further from the truth . . .
Koshien seats 55000 people and all but a few seats were packed with screaming, black and yellow bedecked fans. About 90% of the people also had plastic Tigers bats; you beat them together pretty much the entire time you're there. There are actual cheerleaders who lead clapping and rhythm cheers from precarious perches on section poles or concrete walls. There are trumpeteers scattered in the stands and it takes about 50 for the right field section alone! There are also drummers and flag wavers; each home batter has his own cheer, rhythm and flag. There are also no less than ten additional Tigers songs sung during the game to the accompaniment of the drums, plastic bats, trumpets, whistles and clapping. The song lyrics for each song are handed out to fans who don't know them but as they were in Japanese we were worried because we couldn't understand; not to worry, we caught on quickly. And during the 7th inning, just before the home team is about to go up to bat, EVERYONE releases giant, colourful balloons, which deflate and land on the field where staff are waiting by to quickly pick them all up - definitely a sight to behold! Watching a baseball game in Japan requires alot of energy - there's no sitting back to just relax and watch the game. And that's just fine by me, because it was a blast.
I mentioned seeing the "No Wave" signs and thinking it would be pretty civilized. All the noise makers and music quickly changed that opinion. But I saw other things that did so as well; drunken groups of friends holding eachother up, pouring beer and popcorn on eachother and down eachother's pants and shirts, babies and toddlers dressed from head to toe in Tigers gear etc. It was pretty funny and also an amazing sight to behold! Several times while in a drink line-up I was kidnapped by "Tora Kichi" and encouraged to follow along with their singing. If you're a foreigner in Tigers getup you're automatically loved and respected. But if, like me, you can say "I love the Tigers" in Japanese (Tora Tora Tigers), you're treated like royalty. Everyone has to run away and grab their friends/family, and beg you to have a picture taken with them. There are plenty of hungover Japanese people looking at their pictures today wondering who in the hell the gaijin is!!
Anyway, apart from all that excitement, the game was incredibly exciting too. The Tigers were winning 6-0, then 6-1, then 8-1 up until late in the game, when the Nagoya Dragons came back and beat the Tigers 9-8. So close!! Another cool thing about Japanese baseball: the entire stadium was packed with Tigers fans, except for a small group of Dragons fans in one tiny section off of right field. They had huge flags and even a marching band! You have to respect that kind of dedication; it must be pretty intimidating to walk into a stadium full of 54500 Tigers fans wearing blue and white (the Dragons colours) - among all that black and yellow they stood out like sore thumbs.
So they lost, but a fantastic time was had by all. It took FOREVER to finally get on a train due to the line-ups. When we finally got to Osaka, there was only one train heading to Kyoto, so when we got to Kyoto we cabbed it to the Pig&Whistle for some dinner and drinks. Then we caught a cab to our home station to pick up our bikes and head home. We passed Jesse's work, which was still open - he just had to figure out why so I rode my bike home and he caught up a few minutes later. When he walked in the door, he started singing a beautiful and heart-wrenching rendition of "I love you . . . I honestly love you . . ." I knew something was up and made him spill the beans - turns out his boss had invited him to go out for some drinks. I was totally drunk, exhausted and sweaty (it's frickin hot here now) and couldn't have cared less; he went out at about 2 and rolled in again at around 6 after the sun had come up. Now he's in Osaka with some friends of his; going to some new comic book movie called Constantine. I was invited along but ahem . . . politely declined.
So today I'm a little hungover and my throat is so sore/raw from screaming that I'm rather glad I don't have to talk to anyone! However, all the pain aside, I do declare that we are going to atleast one more game before we leave. Jesse wants to as well, so we're going to book tickets later for July 7th. Last night we were sitting behind the cage just off of 1st base; next time I'm sitting in the "foul ball" section (will be about 3x the price but I don't care!!)because I'm bound and determined to catch one even if it means trampling toddlers or old ladies. I'm that serious.
PS: Pics will be emailed soon but Hotmail (God bless it) is down right now.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Miyako Odori . . .
Hello again and sorry it's taken me so long to update as usual. I mistakenly thought I'd updated the good ol' blog with info about our day at Miyako Odori, but it turns out I'd sent a group email about it and totally neglected the blog. So this entry is going to be, pretty much, an exact copy of that email. What can I say? I'm lazy these days . . .
In case you're wondering, Miyako Odori is the Cherry Blossom dance festival put on by the Kyoto maiko (geisha-in-training) every April. Perhaps some of you don't know this, but I'm obsessed with maiko/geisha. Don't even ask Jess how many times he's had to go with me to Gion on the off chance that we'd see one walking around (we see one, and sometimes several, every time we go but that doesn't stop him from grumbling). Anyway, as we're coming home in September there are sooo many things on our To-Do list; Miyako Odori being at the top of my list. So I bought the tickets early last week (what a fiasco that was - I got screamed at by the guy at the post office for not being able to write in Japanese and ended up in tears; yeah, you have to buy/set-up theater tickets at the post office here, good times).
Last Thursday we met Natsue at JR Kyoto station, after which we caught a bus to Gion. There we had a lite lunch before heading off to the Gion Theater for the show. Upon arriving at the theater we were ushered into the V.I.P. section (seats for those of us crazy, or in my case obsessed, enough to spend $30 extra to be served tea by the Maiko) where we were served traditional green tea called matcha (tastes to me like seaweed cappuccino - blech!) and a traditional Kyoto cake which was served on a plate we got to take home as a souvenir. During the tea ceremony Natsue pointed out a rather eccentric looking fellow sitting in front of us who was wearing funky jeans, bright yellow sunglasses and a purple satin jacket - turns out he's Mikawa Kenichi - a very famous Japanese singer/drag queen (famous among the middle aged set that is, who went crazy afterwards taking pics as he dove into his limo outside the theater).
After the tea ceremony, we were escorted to our seats in the theater to watch the hour-long show. So here's an indication of my level of interest/obsession - Natsue slept through most of the show, claiming that the shamisen music kept putting her out, while I proceeded to spend most of the time with tears running down my face - can you imagine crying at a dance recital? Anyway, I was happier than a pig in $#^&% and enjoyed the show immensely. I'd love to go again but the tickets are all sold out. :( Everything about the day was wonderul - the tea ceremony and being served by maiko, seeing 30 maiko and 30 geisha on stage all at once, the elaborate sets, the GORGEOUS kimono . . . and so on. I've been fascinated by this secret world for soooo long, and to finally have a small piece of it within my grasp was simply breathtaking. I don't even have words to describe how I felt, beyond saying that I was incredibly moved and honored to have seen it. I am so blessed.
Now that I've updated about our trip to Miyako Odori, it's time for me to hit the hay. Because tomorrow we - duh-duh-da-duuuhhhhh - go to see the Hanshin Tigers play!! I'm so excited! Apparently, this year they're the 2nd best team and tomorrow will be playing the 1st ranked team - should be a very exciting game! I'll be sure to update ASAP and let you know how it went. Until then, oyasumi nasai (goodnight).
Hello again and sorry it's taken me so long to update as usual. I mistakenly thought I'd updated the good ol' blog with info about our day at Miyako Odori, but it turns out I'd sent a group email about it and totally neglected the blog. So this entry is going to be, pretty much, an exact copy of that email. What can I say? I'm lazy these days . . .
In case you're wondering, Miyako Odori is the Cherry Blossom dance festival put on by the Kyoto maiko (geisha-in-training) every April. Perhaps some of you don't know this, but I'm obsessed with maiko/geisha. Don't even ask Jess how many times he's had to go with me to Gion on the off chance that we'd see one walking around (we see one, and sometimes several, every time we go but that doesn't stop him from grumbling). Anyway, as we're coming home in September there are sooo many things on our To-Do list; Miyako Odori being at the top of my list. So I bought the tickets early last week (what a fiasco that was - I got screamed at by the guy at the post office for not being able to write in Japanese and ended up in tears; yeah, you have to buy/set-up theater tickets at the post office here, good times).
Last Thursday we met Natsue at JR Kyoto station, after which we caught a bus to Gion. There we had a lite lunch before heading off to the Gion Theater for the show. Upon arriving at the theater we were ushered into the V.I.P. section (seats for those of us crazy, or in my case obsessed, enough to spend $30 extra to be served tea by the Maiko) where we were served traditional green tea called matcha (tastes to me like seaweed cappuccino - blech!) and a traditional Kyoto cake which was served on a plate we got to take home as a souvenir. During the tea ceremony Natsue pointed out a rather eccentric looking fellow sitting in front of us who was wearing funky jeans, bright yellow sunglasses and a purple satin jacket - turns out he's Mikawa Kenichi - a very famous Japanese singer/drag queen (famous among the middle aged set that is, who went crazy afterwards taking pics as he dove into his limo outside the theater).
After the tea ceremony, we were escorted to our seats in the theater to watch the hour-long show. So here's an indication of my level of interest/obsession - Natsue slept through most of the show, claiming that the shamisen music kept putting her out, while I proceeded to spend most of the time with tears running down my face - can you imagine crying at a dance recital? Anyway, I was happier than a pig in $#^&% and enjoyed the show immensely. I'd love to go again but the tickets are all sold out. :( Everything about the day was wonderul - the tea ceremony and being served by maiko, seeing 30 maiko and 30 geisha on stage all at once, the elaborate sets, the GORGEOUS kimono . . . and so on. I've been fascinated by this secret world for soooo long, and to finally have a small piece of it within my grasp was simply breathtaking. I don't even have words to describe how I felt, beyond saying that I was incredibly moved and honored to have seen it. I am so blessed.
Now that I've updated about our trip to Miyako Odori, it's time for me to hit the hay. Because tomorrow we - duh-duh-da-duuuhhhhh - go to see the Hanshin Tigers play!! I'm so excited! Apparently, this year they're the 2nd best team and tomorrow will be playing the 1st ranked team - should be a very exciting game! I'll be sure to update ASAP and let you know how it went. Until then, oyasumi nasai (goodnight).
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Time @ A Travel Agency . . .
This will be a very quick update as we've been in Osaka aaaalllll day and I'm very tired, but I couldn't go to bed without telling all of you the good news - we just booked our tickets home today and will be leaving here on September 1st, arriving in Vancouver on September 1st @ 1:14 (your time). So it's official. Don't know how I feel yet - a mix of excitement and sadness. But when it's time to go it's time to go! By the way, one of the reasons I was sooo sad about leaving was that I'd miss Natsue, my best friend here. As it turns out, she's going to be doing a homestay and staying with my mom and David from August of this year!! So not only will I not have to say good-bye to her when I leave, she'll be in my home town! That's kind-a cool and we're looking forward to showing her around our part of the world.
While at the travel agency, we also FINALLY booked our tickets to Okinawa, so that's official too. We're staying at a gorgeous hotel right on the beach, called "Kise Beach Palace." Click on the name and check out the website - it's beautiful and we can't wait. We go on May 29th and come back 5 days later. Apparently the beach where we'll be is pretty remote and therefore pretty quiet, but that suits us just fine. As Jess said today, there are only so many temples you can check out with enthusiasm and excitement. We're just looking forward to the prospect of hanging out and relaxing on the beach for a few days - should be really incredible! And I finally get to see my clear blue water and white sand beaches. Woo hoo!
After everything got taken care of at the travel agency, we spent the day walking around Osaka. It was a gorgeous day (actually, too hot for our taste, but nice and sunny nonetheless which beats all the rain we've been having lately) and we just meandered around with Chu Hi's in our hands (it's a fine country really, when you can drink alcohol anywhere!). We stopped for lunch at our fave Mexican restaurant in Shinsaibashi and met a really nice couple - the guy is from Calgary and trains animals at USJ (Universal Studios Japan) and the gal is Scottish (Jess says I was ensorcled by her accent, which I was!). Later we bought our Hanshin Tigers t-shirts and plastic banger things (everyone bangs them together at the games and they make great souvenirs) in anticipation of the big game - Natsue got our tickets and we're going on the 28th of this month.
As you can see, it's going to be a very busy spring with lots to see and do. We'll probably save Expo until June or July now that we've got so many things going on right now. I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but we're also going to Kyoto next week to see the famous Maiko dances, called "Miyako Odori" or "Cherry Blossom Festival." As you all know, I'm fascinated with Maiko and Geisha, so I absolutely can't wait to do that either.
That's about it. Just wanted to let all of you know we're coming home. SEPTEMBER 1st. Mark it on your calendars!!!! Over and out . . .
This will be a very quick update as we've been in Osaka aaaalllll day and I'm very tired, but I couldn't go to bed without telling all of you the good news - we just booked our tickets home today and will be leaving here on September 1st, arriving in Vancouver on September 1st @ 1:14 (your time). So it's official. Don't know how I feel yet - a mix of excitement and sadness. But when it's time to go it's time to go! By the way, one of the reasons I was sooo sad about leaving was that I'd miss Natsue, my best friend here. As it turns out, she's going to be doing a homestay and staying with my mom and David from August of this year!! So not only will I not have to say good-bye to her when I leave, she'll be in my home town! That's kind-a cool and we're looking forward to showing her around our part of the world.
While at the travel agency, we also FINALLY booked our tickets to Okinawa, so that's official too. We're staying at a gorgeous hotel right on the beach, called "Kise Beach Palace." Click on the name and check out the website - it's beautiful and we can't wait. We go on May 29th and come back 5 days later. Apparently the beach where we'll be is pretty remote and therefore pretty quiet, but that suits us just fine. As Jess said today, there are only so many temples you can check out with enthusiasm and excitement. We're just looking forward to the prospect of hanging out and relaxing on the beach for a few days - should be really incredible! And I finally get to see my clear blue water and white sand beaches. Woo hoo!
After everything got taken care of at the travel agency, we spent the day walking around Osaka. It was a gorgeous day (actually, too hot for our taste, but nice and sunny nonetheless which beats all the rain we've been having lately) and we just meandered around with Chu Hi's in our hands (it's a fine country really, when you can drink alcohol anywhere!). We stopped for lunch at our fave Mexican restaurant in Shinsaibashi and met a really nice couple - the guy is from Calgary and trains animals at USJ (Universal Studios Japan) and the gal is Scottish (Jess says I was ensorcled by her accent, which I was!). Later we bought our Hanshin Tigers t-shirts and plastic banger things (everyone bangs them together at the games and they make great souvenirs) in anticipation of the big game - Natsue got our tickets and we're going on the 28th of this month.
As you can see, it's going to be a very busy spring with lots to see and do. We'll probably save Expo until June or July now that we've got so many things going on right now. I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but we're also going to Kyoto next week to see the famous Maiko dances, called "Miyako Odori" or "Cherry Blossom Festival." As you all know, I'm fascinated with Maiko and Geisha, so I absolutely can't wait to do that either.
That's about it. Just wanted to let all of you know we're coming home. SEPTEMBER 1st. Mark it on your calendars!!!! Over and out . . .
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Spring has sprung . . .
I just realized today that I haven't updated this since we got back from our big Japan tour with Sean & Company. So I suppose I should let all of you in on what we've been up to, as I'm sure you're dying to know!
A couple of weeks ago Jess and I went to the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium with Natsue to watch the annual Grand Sumo Tournament. We had an awesome time! We spent the entire day there - from early morning when the amateurs were wrestling until late evening when the professional, popular wrestlers were competing. We even incited some friendly competition with some of the Japanese spectators sitting near us; often we were in disagreement about who would win so it became a screaming competion as we each wished our top choices luck at the top of our lungs. (Good luck in Japanese is GAMBATTE!!, so you yell the candidate's name followed by gambatte). Jess and I got wicked t-shirts that say "we love Sumo;" we're the quintessential tourists but who cares, cause now we have bitchin' t's to prove we were there! While Sumo is losing popularity among Japanese, it's still fascinating to tourists as was evidenced by the fact that most spectators that day were gaijin (foreigners).
This past Thursday we were invited by Natsue and her 3 sisters to go hanami (cherry blossom viewing) at Osaka Castle park. Hanami is hugely popular in the spring, and also a great excuse to picnic and get shit-faced underneath the beautiful cherry blossom trees. People spread out huge tarps beneath the trees, stuff their faces with food and drink, play sports, and banter with their neighbors. One of Natsue's sisters has 2 young sons - a 3 year old whom I'm told has fallen in love with me, and a 10 month old who instantly took to Jesse but is usually very shy of strangers. We've since been invited to BBQ with she and her husband and are planning to go over there some time next month. One of Natsue's sisters was born May 10, 1978 which is 4 days before Jesse's b-day so we're going to have a joint party for the two of them. I adored her family as much as I adore Natsue, so it should be a good time.
Later that night we ate at our fave Thai restaurant in Osaka then went to Dom and Julia's for Julia's b-day; I had intended to leave at 11:30 in time to catch the last train back to our station, but we ended up deciding to pull an all-nighter. We sang karaoke with about 10 people until 4:30, then Jess and I caught the first train home at 5:10, finally rolling in at home at around 6:30, totally pissed off that McDonald's wasn't open that early, as we were tired after having been up for nearly 24 hours, already hungover, and completely hungry. We each had a piece of toast instead, hit the hay at 7, and slept until 4:30. What a waste of a day, I know, but fortunately the day before had been totally fun-filled. What was left of the day was spent lazing about watching movies we'd downloaded previously; The Incredibles, which was REALLY good, and Forrest Gump, which made me ball my face off. I kept saying at the end "but he buried her under their tree" which was followed each time by another bout of crying. Poor Jess, but he's used to me by now.
So that's what we've been up to. The future plans are as follows: later this month we're going with Natsue, Yumi and a bunch of their friends and family, as well as Dom and Julia and various other Nova teachers we know, to Koshien Stadium in Osaka to finally see the Hanshin Tigers play!! In early May we're finally finally finally going to beautiful-tropical-light blue ocean-and-white-sand-beaches-Okinawa; through my company's travel agency we can get a great deal (less than $300/each for return airfare, transportation on the island, and 4 nights' accommodations) so that's Jesse's b-day present to me - we're going this weekend to book it. YAAAAYYYY!!! I can't wait!!! And in late May we're going to Nagoya by Shinkansen to spend a day at Aichi Expo 2005 - that should be pretty cool too as I've never been to an Expo and missed Expo '86 at home as we were busy moving to Ontario at that time.
So, as you can see, we're going to be pretty busy and have a jam-packed, fun-filled spring planned. Life in Japan is pretty damn good. We're still ready to come home at the end of August anyway! I'm going to tender my resignation effective August 20th, and we hope to book a flight home on September 1st; the day we'd have to evacuate the house anyway.
Will keep you informed!!! Over and out . . .
I just realized today that I haven't updated this since we got back from our big Japan tour with Sean & Company. So I suppose I should let all of you in on what we've been up to, as I'm sure you're dying to know!
A couple of weeks ago Jess and I went to the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium with Natsue to watch the annual Grand Sumo Tournament. We had an awesome time! We spent the entire day there - from early morning when the amateurs were wrestling until late evening when the professional, popular wrestlers were competing. We even incited some friendly competition with some of the Japanese spectators sitting near us; often we were in disagreement about who would win so it became a screaming competion as we each wished our top choices luck at the top of our lungs. (Good luck in Japanese is GAMBATTE!!, so you yell the candidate's name followed by gambatte). Jess and I got wicked t-shirts that say "we love Sumo;" we're the quintessential tourists but who cares, cause now we have bitchin' t's to prove we were there! While Sumo is losing popularity among Japanese, it's still fascinating to tourists as was evidenced by the fact that most spectators that day were gaijin (foreigners).
This past Thursday we were invited by Natsue and her 3 sisters to go hanami (cherry blossom viewing) at Osaka Castle park. Hanami is hugely popular in the spring, and also a great excuse to picnic and get shit-faced underneath the beautiful cherry blossom trees. People spread out huge tarps beneath the trees, stuff their faces with food and drink, play sports, and banter with their neighbors. One of Natsue's sisters has 2 young sons - a 3 year old whom I'm told has fallen in love with me, and a 10 month old who instantly took to Jesse but is usually very shy of strangers. We've since been invited to BBQ with she and her husband and are planning to go over there some time next month. One of Natsue's sisters was born May 10, 1978 which is 4 days before Jesse's b-day so we're going to have a joint party for the two of them. I adored her family as much as I adore Natsue, so it should be a good time.
Later that night we ate at our fave Thai restaurant in Osaka then went to Dom and Julia's for Julia's b-day; I had intended to leave at 11:30 in time to catch the last train back to our station, but we ended up deciding to pull an all-nighter. We sang karaoke with about 10 people until 4:30, then Jess and I caught the first train home at 5:10, finally rolling in at home at around 6:30, totally pissed off that McDonald's wasn't open that early, as we were tired after having been up for nearly 24 hours, already hungover, and completely hungry. We each had a piece of toast instead, hit the hay at 7, and slept until 4:30. What a waste of a day, I know, but fortunately the day before had been totally fun-filled. What was left of the day was spent lazing about watching movies we'd downloaded previously; The Incredibles, which was REALLY good, and Forrest Gump, which made me ball my face off. I kept saying at the end "but he buried her under their tree" which was followed each time by another bout of crying. Poor Jess, but he's used to me by now.
So that's what we've been up to. The future plans are as follows: later this month we're going with Natsue, Yumi and a bunch of their friends and family, as well as Dom and Julia and various other Nova teachers we know, to Koshien Stadium in Osaka to finally see the Hanshin Tigers play!! In early May we're finally finally finally going to beautiful-tropical-light blue ocean-and-white-sand-beaches-Okinawa; through my company's travel agency we can get a great deal (less than $300/each for return airfare, transportation on the island, and 4 nights' accommodations) so that's Jesse's b-day present to me - we're going this weekend to book it. YAAAAYYYY!!! I can't wait!!! And in late May we're going to Nagoya by Shinkansen to spend a day at Aichi Expo 2005 - that should be pretty cool too as I've never been to an Expo and missed Expo '86 at home as we were busy moving to Ontario at that time.
So, as you can see, we're going to be pretty busy and have a jam-packed, fun-filled spring planned. Life in Japan is pretty damn good. We're still ready to come home at the end of August anyway! I'm going to tender my resignation effective August 20th, and we hope to book a flight home on September 1st; the day we'd have to evacuate the house anyway.
Will keep you informed!!! Over and out . . .
