Finishing Japan Day 3

Nagasaki

Nagasaki was a day for eating. There was so much incredible yummy things. Ron and I ate Champon, Sara-Udon, Castella Pound Cake, Turk rice (I want to say it's something from Turkey, but I dunno) and Pork Sandwiches in Chinatown. We used our pedometer that day and managed to walk our 10,000 steps to keep us in top eating form. We also saw the Peace Park filled with beautiful statues. At night we enjoyed ourselves by drinking wine through the streets and listening to street performers entertain the night folk. For the food lover, we recommend Nagasaki.











Beppu

We managed to endure the three hour+ bus ride to the other side of the island. Luckily we had the movie King Kong to entertain us...in Japanese. When we arrrived at Beppu, the rolling green hills, and natural steam coming from the ground looked a little bit like from a movie in itself. There's no well known food in Beppu so Ron and I ate on the cheap. But we did manage a side trip that took us to the biggest tourist trap I had ever seen. We took a 30 minute bus ride to the "Blood Pool Hell" that is suppose to be a deep red gurgling pond of the hottest onsen water. When we got to the location, paid our 800 yen, and meander through the big gift store, we made it to a pond of water with red clay on the bottom, giving the illusion of red water. The funny part is, this is one of 8 hells in Beppu, each with their own unique character, but I'm betting my 800 yen, about the same amount of disappointment. Adding to my belief that Japan puts too much effort in their tourism industry. It was fun and Ron and I enjoyed our adventure.

Finishing Japan Day 1

Fukuoka, Japan




After 7 hours on the night bus, we finally made it to Tokyo Station at 5:30 am. We hopped on the plane at 7:50 and arrived in Fukuoka by 10:00 am. Unfortunately, when we arrived it was raining raining raining. Luckily, Fukuoka is not big on sightseeing, but it is huge on FOOD! Indoor, warm, satisfying food. We ended up spending the day at the prettiest outdoor mall I have ever seen. Ron and I surprised ourselves when we decided to watch The Lion King since it was playing at the mall. We enjoyed it so much, which was surprising since it was all in Japanese. But since we are the Disney generation, all it took was tapping into the archive of Disney movie plots. We also ate delicious ramen. The famous Tonkotsu, pork broth and a type of Kyoto ramen with thick chewy noodles. And even though it was rainy, we made it to the food stalls that were lined up along the river. We had overpriced yakitori and delicious beer to finish the greatness. Next stop for tomorrow...Nagasaki.

One Less Craving

The other day we went to a Kyushu Food Fair in Morioka. Since we are going there tomorrow, we wanted to sample the food we would we would be gorging very soon. There we found Sasebo Burgers. Since there is a Navy Base in this small world of Sasebo, they have American style burgers, just what I needed.

Bun, thick patty, ham, bacon, egg, cheese, (onion), tomato, lettuce, mustard, ketchup, bun... YUM!

The dangers of a new spring

Here are some pictures of the dangers you will face going from negative degree temperature to sunny springy days. FALLING ICE!

Graduation Day

Graduation flowers



Today the sun is shining more than the breeze can be cold. The end of winter also calls for the end of a school year. After three years of studying, prioritizing work over play, and having too much stress than a normal high school student should, these kids can (almost) put their feet up. Many of them already know if they are going to University and unfortuantely many of them will see this time wasted because they have not been accepted into their University. It's a terrible system, but I'm sure the focus for these students today is to enjoy their "last" day at school (they'll be back) and remember the fun times they did have here. There are a few students that I will miss, a few more than last year, which makes this graduation not the anthropological study that it was last year, but more of the purpose of seeing these young adults challenge a new world. The best part of today is... I get a bento!

My wonderful senior students. The only ones who sat down and talked to me almost everyday. The girl was my lunch buddy and the boy would talk to me after school about America's political situation and Obama. Told you this was a smart school.