Not a moment too soon,

Hey

Its lateish, but my flatmate is out, and the internet is uncharacteristically fast at the moment, so I am making the most of it. Tonight I have sent off a heap of emails to people, some in the hope that I will at least get some replys (as email traffic has started to decrease) and some mainly cos I should have sent them a while ago. I look forward to when I won't have access to this computer (and therefore the internet so readily) as it eats up so much time (especially on this computer because it is real slow - and I have got addicted to Solitare games because I play them while I wait for it...)

Anyway, good news. This weekend I managed to knock off two things on the "List" (of stuff to see) - The planetarium, and the Nagoya castle. Lucky, cos this blog was getting ridiculous. Anyway, I'll get to them soon.

I guess I will start with Saturday. Work as usual. Went home, via an American friends place for tea (he is from Kentucky). Rather delicious. He made me chicken and a small dish of macoroni cheese - but called it gratin? and his coleslaw wasn't as nice as NZ stuff. I was rather tired so I started reading my Japan book, in the hope that I will finish it soon. I think I fell asleep for a while. The downside is that I then wake up, and can't get back to sleep.

Anyway on Sunday I went to the International centre, and attended a Brazil day celebration. That was OK, but it was all in Japanese/Portugese, except for little bits when they considered the few english-speakers there (there was only me and 2 Indian guys that would require english). It ended with a bit of Brazilian snack food, which was a pleasant change - the Japanese don't seem to have "free food" as commonly as we do in NZ. I didn't have my Japanese lesson as my teacher had forgotten we had organised to have the lesson after the Brazil day thing. That was OK, as it meant I was definitly free to go to the planetarium. I was lucky as Sunday was the last day I could see the show on Mars. It was OK - it was in Japanese of course. But it was only 530yen so it was worth it. They showed some of the constellations too, which was cool. Sunday night consisted of calling the whanau, reading, falling asleep, getting up and cooking Spaghetti Bolganaise for tea. Nice.

Monday - today, I stayed in bed for a while, and when I got up I rang my Grandmother for her birthday, which she really appreciated. I managed to sort myself out by about 12/1pm and headed into Nagoya. I decided to visit the Vodafone shop and sort some things out about my phone, and then had a look at the shops I had previously ignored near the station. I went into one, which was a large electronics store - and I asked about a microwave. The assistant took about 10 minutes to inform me that it was for heating things up, but "no fire" (including trying to look up a translation website on the net). I then caught the train to the Nagoya castle. I got there about 3:45, and the entrance closes at 4:10, and you have to be out of the castle by 4:30, and out of the grounds by 5pm. Anyhow it was OK as that was enough time to get it all in, helped by the fact not everything was in english, so it made looking at things quick. I then went to Sakae - where I had been previously. I went up the TV tower again, this time to the viewing platform. Again I got in about half an hour before it shut. Anyway, it was quite good, and the best thing was, it only cost like 700yen (good compared to the Skytowers in Auckland and Sydney, which are like $18 each, 700yen is roughly $8NZD). I then went and checked out a bridge I saw from the top, that I previously hadn't noticed, and then went to the bus station/plaza/ interesting thing with a fountain on its roof that I have also previously mentioned, to take some photos. In the plaza there was an information centre with an english speaker. I decided to ask her where a Subway(TM) restaurant was (because it was either Sushi or McDonalds otherwise) which happened to be rather close. So I went there and had a shrimp and seafood(TM) foot-long. It was all good. And guilt-free, as well as being familiar yet sampling of the local food too. Anyhow I then went to this shopping centre that had a ferris wheel out the side of it, and went on the ferris wheel. That was good - again a cheap 500yen. From there I walked back to the main Nagoya station via a couple of Gaijin (foreigner's) bars for a lemonade and water respectively and to pick up the english magazine, and came home. And here I am.

Just another thought from my last entry. I have become addicted to supermarket shopping. After work I go in and tend to buy things that have been marked down, such as peppers (the vegetable), fruit, cereal whatever, mainly because its cheap. They say you shouldn't shop when you are hungry - but that is near impossible here - I'm always hungry...

Mid-week update

Just a entry cos I can.

Not much news to report. I didn't make it to the castle on Monday, as I did my cleaning instead. Fun for all the family. With closer inspection I realised how dirty parts of this flat are, such as the grills in the hob over the stove, and the wall right next to the stove - they are coated in oil/fat. The joys of living in a guys flat.

It is a little depressing at the moment, as all the Australians seem to be heading home. I had been getting friendly with the Australians, as they are the closest thing to a kiwi around here, and I can look past their accents! There are only 2 kiwis that I know of around here, and 1 is in management (very us and them over here) but the other guy is kinda cool. I have made friends with an American guy, and he has Mondays off as well (most people don't share the same weekends or days off, which makes socialisation/doing things together hard) so that is cool.

I was thinking the other night I don't feel like such an outsider now. So that is good.

Re my last entry, I reminded myself of the Sly Stallone line in "Over the Top" (his best movie, and one of the best from the 80's) that the world doesn't meet anyone half way. I often believe it should. I guess I expect God to be genie-like, and make everything perfect, which isn't how it works.

This week has been a bit more productive, I managed to tidy my room into a more functional place, and have managed to harness my sleeping habits better. In fact I even have started exercising in the mornings, by running up the stairs of my apartment building (it has 10 floors) streching while I wait for the lift, and then running around the block (a good way to explore as well) and then climbing the stairs again.

My flatmate is bemused at the effort I put into my cooking - I have been trying for variety, and also trying to use up things, such as eggs and milk before they expire - but to make pancakes for example, it takes about 40 minutes, which is a pain. However, its all fun I guess. I was surprised that as a Canadian, he didn't have maple syrup in the fridge. Sweet Chili sauce wasn't quite right on my pancake. I have decided that I will invest in some margarine, as oil isn't always the best to cook with, and it would make my sandwiches taste better.

Other than that, I thought I would share some random thoughts on Japan with you.
- Smoking is really popular, and smokes are really cheap. The theory of intelligent people (or people with an education) not smoking (cos they are smart enough to know it is bad for you) does not apply here, especially with the foreign teachers. Strange It is annoying, because I can't go and socialise with the other teachers without coming back and smelling of smoke - which is a pain, because I really only have 2 sets of casual clothes.

- Drinking is part of the culture. In order to get popular with the boss, you should go drinking with him. "he makes you drink" students have told me, and another student recommended that I should get drunk so I get a better salary.

- I was about to go and catch the thing at the planetarium, that I have intended to go to for the last week or two, but just remembered I don't have any cash on me. I have money in the bank of course (remember I am a frugal spender, and an accountant - I haven't spent all my money!) as I spent the last of it at the supermarket last night (I had to actually ask them to remove one item from my shopping as I didn't have enough money - but it worked out OK in the end, my limited Japanese ability sufficed). Which is my next point - We have ATM cards here, but EFT-POS as we know it in NZ, does not exist. Weird considering that a minor 3rd world country like NZ has something so brillant, but a technology superpower like Japan doesn't.

- Valentines day has also been adopted here, but what happens is on 14/2 women give men chocolates, and then on 14/3 men give women chocolates.

Yeah, thats about it. Better go and sort stuff out. Its 2pm now, and I have found the time between 2.30 and 5 goes like a flash.

Accent-uated

Hey.
Its been a rough week, so I will try and keep it positive.
The title relates to the fact that apparently the Kiwi accent is hard to understand. Before I came to Japan I didn't think we had accents... LOL, Nah I knew we did. But anyway, my students struggle a little to understand me, which has resulted in some "complaints" (that they can't understand me) which probably get blown out of proportion. The result being in my review this week I was told that I may not come off probation this month because of "not being popular with the students" among other things. Its kind of frustrating, because there is only so much I can do to help them understand my accent, and of course compared to a US or Canadian accent (which is loud and clear - grrrr envy!) a reserved boy with a kiwi accent looks bad. Anyway thats my whinging for the day. I just need to make sure I don't take it too personally, otherwise I will lose confidence, and then I will talk quieter, and the students will pick up on my self-doubt, and complain... Oh well. I guess coming off probation isn't that big an issue - I will only get paid the equivalent of $100 more a month.

Something else that amuses me here is the disregard to things that we take for granted - such as ethics and rights. One example is I noticed on a flyer for a cuban bar that "teachers and Latinos 500yen" and "everyone else 1500yen". I thought that would have been illegal, being race-based discrimination (ie. non-latinos have to pay more). But then I guess the Outback in Hamilton has "ladies night" where they give girls a free drink (gender based discrimination).

Wow I'm on fire today.
This weekend has been kinda fun. Yesterday I had my Japanese lesson, and then went to the park near here and attended a tea ceremony. The tea was not bad (before coming to Japan tea used to almost make me barf). After having tea, we could try playing these traditional Japanese instruments (like a guitar on a hollow log). They had been playing them while we had been having the tea ceremony, and they reminded me of how Suzanne and I used to randomly strum our out of tune ukelele (we didn't know a ukelele was a real instrument until high school - I just thought it was a toy guitar). Anyway they showed us a traditional Japanese tune. Then my instrument instructor basically tuned it and showed me that you could play Doh Ray Me on it. So I strummed it hard and went "Wayne's world, Wayne's world, party time, excellent!" needless to say, they weren't impressed. No, I'm kidding. I played Yankee doodle, and then we collabarated and played twinkle twinkle little star. Honestly though, after that I showed her how to play the tune from "Once were warriors". I thought that was kind of funny. From there I went home, quickly had a couple of sandwiches, and headed into Nagoya for an audition for the play The Crucible. That was kind of cool. Afterwards I went out for drinks and food (I just had water -Mizu - if you say water they think you said vodka) with the other potential cast members. That was kind of interesting, they are the stereotypical actor/arty types - loud boisterious people, (and predominantly North American,) and being the accountant-type reserved kiwi guy that I am, there is a bit of a contrast. I attempted a phone call home, it worked, but it was a shortened conversation because my phone ran out of battery. From there I caught the train to Sakae, where I had been previously (where there is a TV tower, and interesting underground mall and bus station, but it was closed. So I walked back to the Nagoya station (2 stations/suburbs away) and caught the train home. When I got back to Yokkaichi, it had started snowing.

Today I am attempting to get the little jobs done fast, and then go to Nagoya and see the castle, and try to go to Sakae again and get some photos of that. So we will see.

Oh by the way, you gossip hounds out there, that girl didn't text me back. And the student that I thought may fancy me (the high school teacher) gave someone else a chocolate too. So I am not special. Oh and according to my Japanese teacher, when looking at some of my photos reckons I have lost weight. So that might be a good thing. I don't know how true that is of my time since I have been here as scales are few and far between. I don't know about others but I am always a little offended by compliments like that - its like saying "You used to be fat". LOL

A Ramble

Its not free - but I am at a internet cafe, emailing and looking at websites - because it is so much more quicker and convenient (hey I might have finally learnt how to spell that word finally) however it is amazing how quickly time disappears when you are on the net. I have already been here 2 hours, and think I might have a third, actually have just decided I will.

This week - not much to report. Last night I went into Nagoya to catch up with a Japanese friend I met on Christmas eve. Apparently one of the girls that was there with us on Christmas eve asked him for my phone number (but he kept it a secret - perhaps he wasn't sure if I would want him giving it out, or maybe he was just joking) anyway, I got her number and texted her. Haven't heard anything back from her yet, so we'll see. Don't expect any juicy goss!

Today I began my Japanese lessons. That was quite cool - my teacher is an auditor, so we had some common ground straight off. So far he has taught me numbers, and shown me what the buttons do on my air conditioner remote!

While I was at the international centre I booked a place at a tea ceremony next weekend after my Japanese lesson (I always go to say english lesson), and the following weekend I am going to a party for Brazil day. There are a lot of Brazillians in Japan, and especially Yokkaichi, as apparently the two governments have an agreement, and a lot of Brazillians come here to work in the factories.

The following weekend I am going to something in Nagoya, for international people- it will cost me 1500yen, but free food and drink (until it runs out) and apparently there may be up to 150 people attending.

Anyway, from my lesson I took a short walk to see if I could find a barber shop - I did, but it would have cost me 4000yen ($40 roughly) for a haircut. Of course I said no, Im used to paying $7 for a haircut at Dave's Barber shop in Frankton, so I wasn't keen.

Then I found this internet cafe, where I have been before. This time I know how to keep the keyboard typing in English, thanks to Nozomu.

For the rest of the day I am thinking about going to the planetarium at the museum, and then into Nagoya to church if I have enough time.

This week I had a student (female) give me a souveniour from her homestay in Britain. I was rather surprised and happy, as it was the first time I had taught her, and apparently she had enjoyed my lesson. So I was rather stoked. Im not sure if there was more to it, (perhaps she fancies me?LOL no complaints if she does, she was pretty) but at least it has brought me some credibility/reassurance as a teacher (which also is strengthened by the fact she is a high school teacher - I checked her file). Anyway, this is slowly becoming an immature episode of the JT dating show... I better watch what I write from now on, as I know my site has gained many readers recently (from the emails I have received) and some are reading it quite intently.

Hopefully my sleeping patterns are coming right. I had to get up early to go to my Japanese lesson at 10 today, and I seemed to get to sleep a bit earlier last night - helped by yesterday's early start, and probably by the walking I did. What didn't help was the Hot Cocoa I ordered (as a measure to help me sleep, was interpretted as a Coke. But the caffine didn't keep me up, so that was OK.

Hopefully Nagoya castle tomorrow (finally!)

Japanese Fanta. Note it isn't a radioactive orange colour here. But it still tastes the same. For some dumb reason Grape fanta and sometimes Lime (radioactive green - disgusting) are easier to find here.

11:57

Weird title?

Its from "11:57" a new song from Elemeno P, a Kiwi punk band. I thought it was fitting considering:
(1) I am thrashing their (2nd) CD as I write - they are my taste of home, and my current favourite band (their first CD I used to use to help me go to sleep - strange, but it worked, maybe the energetic music made me tired.)

(2) The idea behind the song is that as musicians, they rarely get out of bed until 11:57 - something I can relate to at the moment.

(3) 11:57 seems to pop up uncannily, eg I look at my watch - its 11:57, my train to Kanazawa left at 11:57 etc - A glitch in the Matrix maybe.

Anyway I thought I would share some thoughts.

Man am I missing NZ food! Everytime I show my students pictures of home, the picture of the BBQ full of sausages and steak makes me almost faint. That and the fact Japanese food portions aren't big enough to satisfy a guy. How I miss the Outback platter and such of NZ.

However my theory of coming to Japan and becoming a lean mean machine isn't going quite as well as I thought. I haven't exactly melted into Fabio yet. At best, my belt might be too big for me now - but that may have been because I brought a belt too big. In theory I should be losing weight - I am definitely eating less meat, have had next to no cheese, and the portions are small. However on the downside - because of the lack of an oven or microwave - I can't make a meal that will last several days, because (a) I can't cook something that big due to size of meat portions, and size of cooking equipment and (b) I can't reheat it in a microwave, so I may be eating more at tea time, than I was at Gilmours.
Another reason is the timing of meals - getting up late hasn't helped it, but especially finishing at 9, means tea is between 9 and 11. And that isn't helping the sleep patterns I don't think.
Maybe exercise is part of it too - obviously I am walking less than I was at Gilmours, however I have been walking quite a bit when sight seeing. Anyway I digress. Maybe a bit of routine, discipline, and a hot summer will transform me back into my 14 year old psyche. Yes girls, guys have image issues too.

One sided communication and working with maybes.
For some dumb reason I expected Japan to be different it terms of trying to get answers out of people, including emails and text messages. Admittedly my professionalism in terms of emails and texts has dropped due to lack of time. Anyway, a degree doesn't make someone professional so I have found out. Getting answers out of Japanese people obviously is harder - you have to set aside some time for the language barrier, and then it can be "maybe you could..."

Toursim NZ
I have become tourism NZ, Japan branch. It is weird, before I left I was "man I want to get out of this imbred country (NZ)" but somehow I have become really patriotic - everytime I see "product of New Zealand" I put my hand on my chest (often where the silver fern lies). And I am telling my students all the good things about New Zealand - all the movies that have been filmed in NZ (including the Last Saumuri). Needless to say, I am missing home, and familiarity.

Anyway, thats about it for now. My mate Kit mentioned that I was pretty honest on my site. I guess so, I kind of subscribe to the theory that honesty is best (although I pick my battles now - learnt that the hard way at high school). I also had a theory when I was younger that if a girl (in general, not one in particular) got to know me fairly well, she would be attracted, of course being the quiet guy that theory hasn't really been proven or disproven. In a way this site is a marketing tool! No it isn't. That was a joke. I started off this site with only me as the reader, so I have kept the same level of honesty throughout. Obviously I don't complain about people here, as (a) they might read it, and (b) it is a semi-permanent record, I would rather remember the good times.

Anyway, thanks for taking a walk in my head. Miss you all.

The return to Osaka/ Kyoto Protocol

Hey, its been a while, I've struggled to get onto the computer (let alone get out of bed) and when I have (got on the computer) the site plays up, and won't let me save.

Anyway, last weekend I went across to Osaka to see an old school mate, who has been here for almost 4 years. It was great catching up, laughing about old times, and also hearing a kiwi accent again.

We went out Saturday night, not much to report. The bars that look cool in the english magazine I have aren't - I think they publish whoever pays them the most in advertising, I found that at Roppongi in Tokyo as well.

On Sunday we went to Kyoto. That was quite interesting, we caught the train, and the Kyoto station is this huge flash place.
Then we caught the bus and basically walked around as many shrine grounds as we could manage in the time we had, including this one - it is gold. That's Kit in this photo. That night we went back to Osaka, and went to a Izakaya (basically a Japanese pub - the food is "glorified pub food"). We were going to go out, but we were kind of tired from the walking. So we went back to Kit's flat and watched an old Adam Sandler/ Damon Wayans movie called Bulletproof, and then talked for ages.

The next day we woke up late, and went to the Osaka castle. That was cool. However inside it could have been any other building - it was basically a muesum. The view from the top was awesome.

It was a good trip, and a good taste of Osaka and Kyoto. The good thing is that they are close enough to be cheap and near enough to be visited again.

From the top of the Castle. Osaka skyline.

Some Geisha girls ignoring me.

Recipes

These are rather popular.

Nuts and Bolts (a party snack)
1 Packet Nutri-grain (or cheap substitute)
Packet Mixed Nuts (optional)
Cooking Oil
1 Teaspoon Curry powder
1 Teaspoon Chilli powder (although I don't - too hot)
1 Packet Onion soup
1 Packet cream of Chicken soup.

Put nutri-grain in an airtight container. Pour a little oil over it. Add mixed nuts, then the various powders. Put the lid on and shake well.
(this recipe was originally from Matt Walker, a guy I went to high school with)


Scalloped Potatoes.
Grease a casserole dish with butter (well). Cut 4-5 potatoes into slices in dish. Add 2 sliced onions
In a jug Combine 1 packet of Bacon and Onion soup mix & 1 cup of water. Then add ¾ cup of milk. Stir, then pour over Potatoes and onions. Sprinkle with about ½ cup of cheese, and Microwave for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 or 10 minutes or so.
Alternatively if using normal oven combine the water, and soup mix in a pot on an element, bring to boil, simmer, stirring it, and then stir in the milk. Bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes at 190oC.

Return to Yokkaichi

Since getting back from Tokyo, just have been doing the chores and miscellaneous tasks.
On Tuesday, after getting home to the apartment at 7.30am I slept until 11am, then washed my clothes, and ironed the few clothes outstanding. Washing all my clothes made things a little difficult, as then I didn’t have any casual pants to wear (both are tan coloured, so I couldn’t alternate washings. I also did the dishes, because they needed doing. The next day, after waking up and mucking about with the emails as I usually do, I went out to do some jobs, and to finally visit the Yokkaichi museum that has been on my agenda for the last month. Anyway, after buying some groceries, I went to the museum, it was really cool, despite being in Japanese. Several of the (cute) stewardesses spoke some English, so that made it a little easier, and they gave me a pamphlet and a booklet to read while I was looking around (in English). It was cool as they used holograms on several things – I worked out how they did some of them, but not on one exhibit that showed the town being bombed in WW2, and then when it was rebuilt (see photos - bombed, and rebuilt). All up it cost me 220yen, which was pretty good. I will go back again at some stage and go to the planetarium there too. After using a lot of my time up there, I went to the City office to see if I could get my Alien registration card, as they hadn’t informed me it was ready. Anyway, I got it, after a little wait, which is similar to waiting for fish and chips back home, - you get a ticket with a number on it, and then when it is called, you go up. Lucky for me the 2 or 3 people before me had gone away. By this stage it was just after 5pm, I figured I had missed out on visiting the international center, to provide them with my cell phone number and proof of alien registration (which they required before they could organize me Japanese lessons.)
Thursday I went to work, and was pleasantly surprised to find out it was a half-day, so I finished at 6.40. After work I went to the supermarket and brought some potatoes, kumara, milk, peppers, corn, grated cheese, cream cheese, and other stuff, as I decided the previous night I need to have some more variety in my meals – so I had read my recipe book for inspiration. Anyhow, with the above goods, I can at least make potato fritters, corn fritters, scalloped potatoes, and several cheese party dishes (if the need arises – the cream cheese in sweet chili sauce worked a treat for the Christmas party, I should use food as a wooing tool… unfortunately, girls are impressed, yet are not as keen on food as guys are). The sweet chili sauce I have appears to have multiple uses according to the recipe book. If only I could find some reduced cream here. I decided grated cheese was the best way to go – it removes the temptation to eat it like I did back home (cheese is my vice, so far I have been good). On a quiet week I may put up some recipes on the site. Maybe you at home have some simple recipes you want to volunteer? Just click the "comments" link below, and type (or copy/paste) it in.
Anyhow, since I got off early, I thought I should use the opportunity to go to Nagoya for some fun. It was a bit of a silly idea in the end as it was rather cold, and the time it takes to train in, and then walk to where I wanted to go, didn’t leave much time. And then also, doing it by myself is kind of lame too.
Oh well, Osaka this weekend. I will look into getting there tomorrow (Friday), as it is one of my usual half days.

Tokyo

After hopping off the train from Kanazawa, I headed back to Yokkaichi, to swap clothes and gear for Tokyo. Headed back to Nagoya station, and onto the bus for Tokyo - arriving there at 6/7am.

Tokyo - saw Shinjuku the first day, this is a picture of the Tokyo Metropolitian Government building. It was closed though. Anyhow, we went and stayed a couple of hours in a love hotel to try to get some sleep. An interesting experience.
We went to Roppongi for the night life (it was New Years night) that was interesting, all sorts of cultures there.
The next day was pretty much a write-off, just went to the hotel as early as we could and slept for 15 hours or something.

The following day we went to the imperial palace - as the 2nd of January is one of the 2 days in the year that it is open to the public, but we were slightly too late - so we walked around the sides - hence this picture. Then we went to Harijuku - just shops. Kinda boring. Then caught the bus home. Anyway - gave me a bit of a taste of it - and prepared me for when I go there again - by myself (or with Mum & Dad or Suzanne & Bev or anyone else who visits me) Anyway, hope to go to the museum today or tomorrow - depending on when it is open, dito for the Nagoya castle and sights. Got to do the usual ironing and washing though I think - problem is the lack of pants I have here.

Tokyo has the records for several things, such as Shinjuku train station is the busiest station in the world, followed by Tokyo, and Roppongi station apparently is the deepest subway - which I can believe as I had to ride about three very steep escalators to get out of it.

Anyway, email me, I am kinda hanging out for some home contact - no one has really emailed due to the Christmas/New Years break. A little homesick - probably just cos I'm tired and from the Tokyo stress.
Two examples of badly translated English that I found in Shinjuku. I doubt that the Sexual Harassment company is somewhere where you would go to get help combating harassment, rather somewhere you can harass, or be harassed - Shinjuku is a bit dodgy.

The sign was outside a temple or shrine (temple is Buddist, Shrine is Shinto).

Kanazawa

A photo from the train, going cross-country to get to Kanazawa.





Kanazawa was cool - Nozomu and his family were great hosts.
Had some interesting and cool experiences such as went to a bath house - that was kind of different, watched "Torque" on DVD (in Japanese - with english subtitles - it had Martin Henderson in it - I would have been interested to see how he pulled off an American accent).
The following day we also went to the Kanazawa castle (Kanazawa-jo, jo being castle), and the famous garden there Kenroku-en it was beautiful under snow. That night I watched the Two Towers (LOTR) in Japanese (with english subtitles, again, interesting, shame I can't remember what "the precious" is in Japanese though...)

The day I left, we went to a ninja house - a temple or shrine that has all these little hideaways and secret tunnels. It was cool, although I'm not so comfortable about going to shrines etc. We also watched Titanic - this time in English. I must admit, it is a very good movie.

There was a lot of snow up in Kanazawa, which made it interesting. Nozomu's mother made us some excellent traditional Japanese meals - Odon noodle soup, rice cake in soup (I have the name written down somewhere) and my probable favourite was the Nabe - basically, you boil soup on the table, then add all sorts to it, After the main stuff is done, you add rice and egg to the soup.

Nozomu's house was cool too. Their house is part of the church (where his father is Pastor), and so it is a three-story apartment, attached to the back of the church.

I will add photos and possibly add to this entry later on. Keep checking for updates. You will notice I have tidied up past entries - made the writing and the photos correspond, and added photos.