Japan: Time Extension

Got my visa extended for a year, even though I only asked for 6 months. That said, I don't plan to be here for that long if the wife's Australian visa gets finalized sooner.

Japan: Straight Sevens

There's a vending machine near our house that is the only one that has 500ml cans of Calpis. It also happens to be the only one with the "numbers bonus game". It goes like this:

• Buy any drink from the machine. In this case, 120 yen for Calpis Water.
• After the drink is dispensed, the numbers bonus game starts. Like slots, four numbers shuffle randomly. If you get 7777, you win a free drink of your choice.
  
• I got 7777! So for my free drink, I chose a 500ml can of Calpis Soda.

It was rather entertaining!

Japan: Yum Cha

Yesterday, the family went to Rokko Island to have all-you-can-eat yum cha for the respectable price of 3000 yen each. The Chinese restaurant was located inside the Kobe Sheraton Hotel. The food was good, though restaurants here in Japan use mustard as a condiment as opposed to chili, and there's nothing better than shrimp dumplings drowning in chili sauce.

What wasn't good, however, was the price of the 190ml coke I ordered... 700 yen! That's almost $9! The wife said that I should have expected it, considering that we were in a hotel and hotels are expensive. Yes, but still, 700 yen! I could have bought 6 litres of coke from the supermarket for that much. Oh well.

Japan: Show Me the Beef

A couple of friends from Australia came to Kobe to visit. This gave the wife and I the perfect (and only) excuse to finally eat some Kobe Beef, which is known for its marble appearance and expensive cost.

We went down to a restaurant in Sannomiya and ordered 2x160g and 2x200g dinner sets. The taste... was very good. I don't know if it's worth the money (8000 and 10,000 yen respectively), but it was very tasty. The restaurant cooks the food in front of you, so it was also entertaining.

After leaving, the wife revealed that the restaurant had charged us the wrong amount. We ended up paying about 5000 yen less than we were supposed to. We kept walking, only to occasionally look over our shoulder. Lucky!

Japan: New Year

The new year in Japanese brings with it some traditions. On December 31st, the family came together to eat o-sechi, which is basically a box with lots of different small-portioned food in it. Actually not that great, but it is traditional and fairly expensive.

At around 11:30pm, after the annual NHK Kohaku Utagassen singing contest finished, we ate some new years Toshikoshi soba. Tradition has it that you eat the soba and drink the soup before midnight, but you must not leave anything behind in the bowl.

New year's day, and the kids in the house got packets of money (Otoshidama). I remember getting such when I was younger and, frankly, it was awesome. Too bad no money packets are given to adults. Had azuki and mochi for breakfast, and lunch was what was left of the night before's o-sechi. All nengajo (new year's cards) are delivered on this day, regardless of when you sent them before.

Today, the wife and I, along with her friends, made our way to Nishinomiya to a temple to get our new year's fortune (Hatsumoude). You shake a tube full of sticks and then pull one out. The stick has a number which corresponds to a fortune. I got the best one, while one of the wife's friends got the worse. I don't really believe it, but no harm in trying, eh?

Japan: Why is it the Opposite?

Two of the wife's sisters are pregnant, so the family went to Nakayama Temple in Takarazuka today to pray for the upcoming babies. At the temple, the mother-to-be buys a haraobi, a long piece of cloth that has writing on it telling you the gender of the baby. As all good fortunes go, the gender of the baby is actually the opposite of what the haraobi says.

The haraobi said "girl."

Japan: End of Year Trivia

Christmas is a different time here in Japan. They see it as purely a commercial occasion, free of those perky religious overtones. Santa-san delivers presents and the kids are happy. Christmas Day is not a public holiday, but the Emporor's Birthday is, and it's on the 23rd. Close enough. I gave some presents to the adults in the house as I figured (correctly) that Mr Claus would forget about them.

Had to send a visa application off a few weeks ago. The main Japan Post office in Kobe is open 24 hours (which is awesome), but for some strange reason, they don't sell things that you would expect a post office to have, like envelopes. Had to go to 7-11 for them, but that wasn't a problem since 24-hour convenience stores are everywhere.

Japan: Osaka Motor Show

Today, the father-in-law and I went to check out the Osaka Motor Show. The star of the show was the lovely new Nissan GT-R, which was very nice in the flesh, but there's something not quite right about it for me. There's a few too many angles in the body, or perhaps I'm used to the curves of the 350Z. Still, I would say "no" though!

Spent most of the time looking at the Japanese cars. American cars weren't particularly interesting (Chrysler didn't have a Viper there), but some of the European stuff is always eye-catching (Ferrari, Lamborghini...) The concept cars were interesting, and were usually the first thing I looked for when entering an area. I liked the Nissan Pivo2, Honda Puyo and the Lexus LF-A. Biggest surprise was the Japanese Mitsuoka Orochi, which looked insane.

A good number of people there, but enough room to move around. All in all, a good time had.

Japan: Lost and Buy

It's official - I lost my Nintendo DS. I have a feeling that I forgot to put it back into my bag at Okinawa airport after playing with it. The wife was kind enough to call two airports and the airline to see if anyone found it, but that resulted in nothing. So in summary, I lost my Final Fantasy XII Nintendo DS, a copy of Saiyuki and my Mario Invincible Star DS pouch. I'll probably buy a replacement before I return to Melbourne.

On the weekend, the wife and I walked into Seiden to check out video cameras. I was thinking of buying a "play" camera; something that I could carry in my pocket for fun. I was eying the high-def Canon HV10, and wanted the wife to give it a test drive. While we were there, however, I found a Sony HDR-HC3 for 50,000 yen. Bargain! Cheaper than the HV10 too (bigger though). So I bought it. Perhaps an impulse buy, but $500-ish for a HD video camera (and a half-decent one at that) was too good to pass up.

Japan: Trip to Miyako

The wife and I spent the past three days on Miyako Island in Okinawa, which is a 2-plane, 3.5-hour trip from Kobe.

Miyako, like the rest of Okinawa, is very much "island lifestyle" - that is, everything is laid back and relaxing. The speed limit is 40km, the music on the radio is distinctly chill-out guitar (Okinawan music is itself a genre), and everyone is friendly. We stayed at the Allamanda Shigira Bayside Suite which was great except for the bed, which looked and felt nice, but for some reason did not give a good night's sleep (the sheets were rather loud).

We hired a car and drove around to various spots on the island for food, views and shopping. Tried to see a beach sunset on the first day but it was too cloudy, and we didn't actually find the beach. Went to three beaches on the second day and had a dip in one of them (first time I've been to the beach in ages). Went to a Greek restaurant for lunch, which is the first Greek restaurant I've seen/been to in Japan at all.

Final day, we made a couple of clay shisa, which turned out really good. They'll be sent to us in a month's time due to kilning. For lunch, went to the only(?) taco rice place on the island, where I ate too much.

All in all, our trip to Miyako Island was very good. Recommended if you're looking for a relaxing-type holiday.

PS. I think I lost my DS somewhere between Okinawa Naha airport and home, because I can't find it :(

Japan: One Year Later

Today is my one-year wedding anniversary. It's been a quick year, to be sure. The wife and I went to stay at Hotel de Maya on top of Mt. Rokko for the night. Nice view of Kobe at night. Food was good, the room was so-so. Woke up this morning to rain and really heavy fog.

Love you, baby! Here's to more years, hopefully :)

Japan: Tokyo Games Show

The wife and I made the trip to Tokyo this past weekend to visit friends and go to the Tokyo Games Show. The trip didn't start so well, with me getting some stomach pains on the 3-hour Shinkansen ride. I blame the combination of Mister Donut and cafe latte which made my breakfast for that morning.

TGS was very cool. Definitely worth the price of admission (which was only 1000 yen). I didn't play any of the demos (the waiting times reminded me of rides at Universal Studios), but instead just soaked up the atmosphere. I bought some plush Puyo-Puyo and a Kirby. The wife took some booth babe and cosplayer photos.

Stayed at a friend's house for the weekend (thanks H&K!), and also had lunch in Harajuku with an old AMH buddy. While in Harajuku, saw a weird old dude wearing small fish bowls for earrings, with actual live goldfish in them. Went through JR Shinjuku station a couple of times and was totally amazed at the amount of people that pass through that place; and indeed, in Tokyo in general. Too busy and crowded for my like.

Japan: Age of Wisdom Part 2

The weekend was busy. Saturday night, the family went bowling at Round 1. I managed a few strikes and also won a couple of toys from the UFO Catchers for the kids. The wife knocked down 9 pins during a special round and won herself a small novelty billiard table.

Sunday was spent alone in my room as I finished up yet another wedding video. The wife was working, attending a bridal fair.

Monday morning. The last of my wisdom teeth was removed. They saved the hardest til last... At night, we went to our friends' place to premiere the wedding video to their satisfaction.

Today, my cheek is swollen and I didn't sleep last night. My body aches all over.

Japan: Weekend Trip and KISS

Saturday, the wife and I went to Nagoya, which is a 3-hour train trip from Kobe. The day started at 6am, and I was very tired on the train. Played Pokemon Diamond to pass the time. Once we got to Nagoya, we met up with the wife's friend and her two kids, and then went to have unagi at a famous/popular restaurant named Houraiken. We waited almost an hour to get in, and while the food was good, it isn't really worth the wait.

After a leisurely stroll through Tokugawaen, we parted ways with the friend and went to another popular restaurant named Yamachan, which is known for its chicken wings. They were good, but we didn't eat much due to still being full from lunch. We got back to Kobe around 11pm.

Today, we bought a new digital SLR camera: the Canon KISS Digital X. My sister-in-law has one, so we've played with it before and were thoroughly impressed with the picture quality and ease of use. We were thinking of getting the Nikon D40x, which was about 20,000 yen cheaper, but decided to get the KISS because we knew what we were getting.

Japan: GOOAAALLLL

The wife, sister-in-law and her husband, and I went to last night's J-League match between Kobe Vissel and Urawa Reds at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium. The Reds are top of the league while Kobe sit around 10th, so obviously the chances of winning were not good.

Trailing 2-0, about half-way through the second half Kobe managed to score. In the end it remained 2-1: a loss. 20,000 soccer fans and 20,000 baseball fans (whose game ended about the same time at the stadium next door) meant it took about 30 minutes to get out of the car park.

I think I prefer to watch it on TV. It's easier to see what's going on.

Japan: Bridge!

My parents-in-law and I went for a day trip to the other side of Japan to have a look at the JR Amarube bridge. The bridge is unfortunately known for an accident which involved a train falling from it due to strong winds. A four-hour train trip there was broken halfway with a side-trip to an onsen. Father-in-law and I went in while Mother-in-law waited outside. Bought a copy of Famitsu to keep myself interested during the train ride. On the way back to Kobe, a thunderstorm came in. I got some good lightning on camera. Got home at 9pm-ish (having started the day at 6am), in time to watch Japan beat Vietnam in the soccer.

Japan: Age of Wisdom

This morning, my two left wisdom teeth were taken out in a relatively quick procedure at the local dentist. The wife accompanied me and served as translator, although this phrase doesn't need much translation: AAAAAHHHHHHRRRRGGGGG!

Just kidding. It was painless, thanks to the aesthetic. Indeed, I even managed to laugh myself silly as the numbness of my lower lip caused me to dribble water as I tried to gargle. Good times. The remaining teeth will be removed sometime next month. I will get that procedure on video.

Japan: Another Wedding

The wife's friends' wedding was today, and I was the cameraman (again). It was far too hot (over 30 degrees easily), so the last thing I wanted to do was running around in a suit. The ceremony was held in Kitano, overseen by an American priest whose Japanese accent amused the kids in attendence.

The reception was held in a restaurant near Daimaru. The wife was co-MC for the night. I had a bit of battery trouble, and unfortunately I missed one thing from the night (not really important, but still). The room had mood lighting, which of course is terrible for a video camera, so I think the footage might be quite dark.

A smaller party was held after the reception for friends of the couple. Nothing special about that one, except for the game of group jankenpo with a prize of 20,000-ish yen. The bride eventually won that one, but that was probably intentional.

Japan: Tour of Duty

Today marked six months of living in Japan. To celebrate, the wife and I drove around to various stores to find a toaster to give to my parents-in-law. I thought it would be good to show my appreciation for them letting me stay at their house and leech their food and electricity. Eventually picked one up from Yamada Denki, which meant some extra points on my point card.

Japan: Fireworks

The family went down to Meriken Park this evening to watch the hanabi (fireworks). I went to this event previously; the first time I came to Kobe back in 2004. I don't know how nostalgic one can be of something that happened 3 years earlier though... Anyway, the wife and I dressed up in yukata (mine was Jean Paul Gaultier - seriously) and geta; both of which I found uncomfortable. It was also a warm night in the high 20's, but the wind across the harbour was fairly cool.

Meriken Park was full of people. We found a spot next to Oriental Hotel. The fireworks were good and we made it home quickly by avoiding the crowd.

Japan: School's Out for Summer

Yesterday was the last day of the YWCA Intensive Japanese course. All in all, I had a good time. It was interesting and it got me out of the house for a couple of weeks. I met some nice people and learnt some Japanese, which I guess was the whole point of going.

We were given surveys to fill out regarding the course and the teachers. During the long break of the day, we students filled out those surveys, only to realize that none of us knew our teachers' names. We had always referred to them as sensei and never had to address them by their actual name. So a good and amusing five minutes was spent trying to work out who was who.

I received a certificate of completion, which I'm kind of proud of. Thanks YWCA Kobe, the teachers and my fellow classmates - it was fun.

Japan: The Study, The Fallen

Let me start by saying that I drank a beer on Friday night, after I had vowed off alcohol a few weeks ago. I was invited to a beer garden (which was actually inside due to heavy rain), and as they say: do as the Romans do.

Saturday, the wife and I had lunch at a French restaurant with her workmate and his wife. It was good. For some reason, the meal kept me full for 24 hours - I skipped yesterday's dinner and today's lunch, and got my appatite back for dinner tonight.

Today, we went to catch the movie version of Saiyuki, the new version of Monkey Magic. The movie was good (obviously I didn't understand everything word or word, but it made sense by the end), but it felt like a long TV episode. This was understandable as it was based off the TV series from last year, after all.

Tomorrow marks the second and final week of my Japanese intensive course. After feeling lost on day 1, I did the smart thing and prepared for the next class by reading ahead. It's amazing what a little prep can do! I've been enjoying it, and know exactly where my skills lie (vocab - I need much more of it!)

Japan: Language Course GO!

Today was my first day at the YWCA Intenstive Course, which runs until next Friday. After a 30-minute walk from home, I arrived at the YWCA to find out that I was placed in the highest-level class (Class 4 of 4). This was a surprise. The lessons started at 9:30am and ended at 1pm. Everything was in Japanese. I think I understood probably 50% of what was going on. I was probably (definitely?) the weakest in the class. I may have to request to be reassigned to Class 3 if things get harder (which they will, as these things usually go).

The students were as multicultural as you could get: two Aussies, Indonesians, a German, Korean, Chinese, Nepalese and Indian.

Japan: TV

There was a rather good TV program on the weekend: 矢部＆ひとみ破局ＳＰ・プロポーズへの１５年愛. The title, loosely translated, was "Wedding proposal ends 15-year relationship." This was a true story, and explains something I saw a couple of weeks ago on the news.

Takashi Okamura, one member of the comedy duo Ninety-Nine, learns that his partner Hiroyuki Yabe has finally proposed to his girlfriend of 15 years. Excited, he runs off and tells a group of friends (who are various comedians/celebrities). Later that night, the duo meet up again for dinner when Yabe tells Okamura that he and his girlfriend have actually broken-up because she thought that the proposal wasn't serious enough. Okamura freaks out, because he's already told the group of friends. Both of them immediately go out and visit each friend one after another and explain the situation. Yabe apologises and gives each friend a bento box.

4AM that morning, the duo have finished apologising to everyone and relax at a restaurant. It is only then that Okamura remembers something bad - not only did he tell their friends, he also sent out a press release to the media. Yabe shakes his head. The next day, the duo and their friends attend the crowded press conference to apologise to the media. The program ended in a makeshift wrestling ring where Yabe is beaten by a pro wrestler after reading his ex-girlfriend's farewell letter.

I wish I had recorded it. There was just something about the events that amused me so.

Japan: A New Era

I'm now officially off cola and alcohol. I've been feeling sick after drinking both during the past week (especially after the delicious yakiniku onThursday night). Frankly, I'd just rather not feel ill in the stomach. I won't miss alcohol so much, as I was never a big fan anyway, but cola will be remembered fondly. You can't really beat a burger-fries-coke combination.

This morning, I went down to the YWCA to sit a placement test for a free Japanese intenstive course next month. I think I did alright, maybe 30-40%. I only answered the questions I knew and left the rest (though I did guess a couple). I figured I should not try and guess every question, because if I happened to get lucky and be correct, it would make the teachers think I was better than I actually am. Better to be accurate than out of my depth.

It's summer here now, and it is hot and humid. My skin is constantly sticky.

Japan: Cool as a Cucumber

The wife and I went to the Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium. The star attraction was a whale shark named Kai-kun. The jellyfish were cool. Afterwards, we checked out the Pokemon Center in Umeda, which sadly was just a big shop.

Pepsi has released a summer-exclusive drink called Pepsi Ice Cucumber. The only thing you need to know is that it doesn't taste like cucumber :(

Japan: Live Music

We went to Roberta, my brother-in-law's bar, for its third anniversary. The musical act for the night was Ariyama Junji, a folk-pop guitar-playing singer. At the last minute, I was asked to film the gig. No problem, except that the battery in my video camera went flat two songs from the end of his playlist.

I did check the battery before I went, if you were wondering, so I blame the GS500's very inaccurate battery icon.

Japan: Weekend

Due to studying and a lack of money, I have been spending most of my time at home these days. However, this past weekend was fairly exciting:

• Saturday - Went to watch the Minatogawa-Jinja Matsui parade with the parents-in-law, sister, and nieces and nephews. Afterwards, took the kids to Toys R Us where father-in-law bought a remote-control helicopter.
• Sunday - Went to the top of Akashi bridge. Almost 300m high and a perfect day for viewing.

Found out that my brother-in-law's NTSC LCD TV isn't compatible with my PAL video camera, even though it can do HD. You would think that by now, especially with HD, that TVs should be able to handle any signal you throw at them... but no.

Japan: Back to Kyoto Again

Yesterday, half-way through Golden Week, we went to Fushimi Inari in Kyoto. Thousands of Torii gates line the walking path up and around the mountain. An impressive sight.

Japan: DS Get!

Today saw the release of the Nintendo DS Lite Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings Sky Pirates Edition (or NDSL FFXII SE?). I had decided long ago to get myself a Japan-exclusive DS Lite, so I jogged down to Softmap this morning, put my name down with the friendly salesperson and waited for the store to open. Perhaps surprisingly, there was no crowd to fight through, so I made my way up to the fifth floor and bought one with my credit card (for I am running out of cash). The DS itself is white with a FFXII logo and character portrait on the lid. Not terribly exciting, but last week I saw a FFIII DS Lite on sale in Denden Town for double the original price; so if anything, my purchase may be a long term investment. I'll play with it as soon as I get some screen protectors.

Japan: My 'hood

Caught the special rapid train for a 40-minute journey to Himeji castle (the friends took the shikansen which took half the time - love that Japan Rail Pass). The wife's knee was hurting, so she didn't come along. For lunch, we ate some expensive soba - really should have checked the price before going in.

In the afternoon, we headed back to Kobe to meet the wife and niece at Motomachi Cake. Then, went to Harborland and checked out Uni Qlo, Toys R Us and Softmap. Said farewell to the friends at JR Kobe station as they headed back to their hotel in Osaka and a week in Tokyo.

Japan: Back to Kyoto

Took the visiting friends to Kyoto to check out:

• The bamboo forest in Arashiyama, which appeared in Memoirs of a Geisha
• Iwatayama Monkey Park, where monkeys roam free (don't stare them in the eyes)
• Kinkakuji Temple, also known as the Golden Pavilion
• Yasaka Temple, where the wife and I shook the rope and bell for good fortune

A long day of walking resulted in sore feet.

Japan: The Same Thing, Really

Some friends from Melbourne arrived today, so we went to meet them at their hotel. Went to the wrong one however; instead of the Hotel Shin Osaka, we wasted 20 minutes going to the Shin Osaka Hotel. For lunch, we had all-you-can-eat sushi. Afterwards, we were walking around when we saw a guy offering "free entry!" to something that we weren't sure of. We went in anyway. The place, Doutonbori-Gokuraku, was like a little theme park - a recreation of an old Japanese town across three floors of a building. It was cool and strange at the same time.

Japan: The Body Renewal Project

I"ve started exercising. Actually, I started a couple of days ago, but today was the first day to commit to the full program. I accompany my wife to her workplace in the mornings via a run/jog; and possibly pick her up in the afternoon if she doesn't work late. At night, I do some push-ups and crunches. My goal is to lose the flab around the stomach area. I'm already fairly skinny already as you would know, so I'll try to lose the fat while keeping the weight.

The key here is consistency. I plan to do this for a month.

Japan: The Earth Moved

Australia, for the most part, does not have earthquakes. Japan does. So, it is with much pleasure that I announce that I sat through my first 2.0 earthquake this morning. Funnily (and scarily) enough, it happened while I was on the toilet. As I sat there thinking, I began to sway side-to-side. Of course, at that stage I was not aware of how strong (or in this case, subtle) this quake would be, but I knew that I did not want to be in the toilet should things reach crisis stage. I finished up and got out as the quake ended.

I went into the living room and told my wife and sister-in-law. They both said they didn't notice.

Japan: Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Attended by first ever baseball game tonight. We went to Koshien Staduim to see the Hanshin Tigers versus the Chunichi Dragons. I was given a Tigers shirt to wear by my sister-in-law's husband. After going to Daiei to buy dinner, we went to the stadium. At the door, we were given scratch cards. I won a "Tigers 2007" cap!

At the start of the seventh inning, the crowd blew up ballons and let them go at the same time. This is a tradition for Tigers fans at their home stadium. It was repeated at the end of the game too, but I think that was because we won 3-1.

I can see how baseball can be boring (which would explain the serving of beer), but tonight's game was a good one. GO TIGERS!

Japan: Romantic Train

A group of us went to Kyoto to see the sakura. We caught the Sagano Sight-seeing Tram (also known as Torokko) and made our way along Hozu River. Unfortunately, there wasn't as many sakura as expected around the river gorge. On the tram, a guy dressed up as an oni found out we were Australian, and then proceeded to talk about "Shark Norman".

After Torokko, we went back via boat, shooting the Hozu River rapids. Actually, the rapids weren't so rapid, but it was a 1:30-hour relaxing boat ride. A snack/drink boat pulled up alongside us towards the end of the trip and we bought some beer and dango.

After lunch, I had some tofu ice-cream. It was not bad.

Japan: Animals

Went to Oji-koen zoo. An even colder day than yesterday with a brief burst of hail. The zoo's main attraction is two pandas, one of which was nowhere to be found and the other was sleeping in the corner. Disappointing. However, there were many sakura trees in bloom, which was a lovely sight.

Had yakiniku for dinner afterwards and now my clothes smell of smoke and meat.

Japan: Love the Wait

Went to Universal Studios Japan. Quite similar to the American one. Our first ride was the Amazing Spiderman, which we waited 2 hours in line before seeing. Also saw Terminator 2 3D, Backdraft, Back to the Future, Waterworld, and Jaws (only a 15 minute wait!) A cold and windy day.

Japan: The Great Dictionary Race Part 2

Went to Den-Den Town in Osaka to buy a PDA. Found only two places that sold them (and only secondhand units). I believe PDAs aren't popular in Japan because their mobile phones pretty much do the same thing, and if they need some more power, they can just get a tiny laptop. Bought the Sony Clie TJ25 and started loading it with Japanese dictionaries and other language tools.

Japan: The Great Dictionary Race

After deciding not to buy a real Japanese electronic dictionary (and purchasing the Nintendo DS dictionary instead), I was intending to buy a paper dictionary. Going paper meant that I had access to romaji, which would allow me to pronounce Japanese (and especially kanji) easier and faster.

However, now I have decided that paper is dead and I'm going back to the future. My plan is to buy a PDA and load it with the free EDIT dictionary, which unlike all Japanese electronic dictionaries (including DS), was written for English people. Much to my surprise, PDAs are really hard to find here in Kobe; so I'll be going to Den-Den Town Osaka to complete my quest.

Japan: Weekly Update

Not much has been happening recently. Here's some small stuff from the past week:

• Niece had her third birthday. She cries for no reason.
• Mother-in-law and sister-in-law (RT) had their birthday (on the same day). Bought a DVD/VHS recorder for mum and gave the sister a lamp which we won in a lucky dip at the supermarket while buying some Kirin beer.
• Family all got new mobile phones due to a discount family plan from au by KDDI.
• Been studying Japanese by watching videos and listening to/repeating after CDs.
• Won some Super Mario plush mushrooms from skill tester machines (my current addiction).
• Doing some work - near-finished the AFL video, starting doing some light graphic design work (business cards, pamphlets...)

I read that Melbourne's in Stage 3A water restrictions. Meanwhile, I have a bath every night! The sakura (cherry blossom) trees are starting to bloom, so we'll probably go to Osaka to check them out.

Japan: Golden Years

For the weekend, the family and I went to Tohaku, Tottori prefecture to visit the wife's grandmother, who celebrated her 88th birthday (in Japanese: beiju). "8" is a lucky number in Japan, so obviously "88" is extra special. It was a three-hour drive from Kobe along toll highways where the posted speed limit was 80KMH yet everyone was easily doing 100KMH. Apparently this is normal.

Relatives came from all around and we had a lunch party on Saturday at onsen-hotel Sanin Hawai-Spa Bokoro, overlooking Togoko lake. Being the birthday girl, grandmother wore a yellow hood and vest.

The wife and I stayed at Bokoro Saturday night, after staying at grandmother's house on Friday. We had a dip in the onsen (separately; they are unisex). One must be naked in an onsen - do as the Romans do. We returned to Kobe Sunday afternoon, after stopping at a roadside rest-stop restaurant that had all-you-can-eat for 1000 yen per person.

Japan: For Good Times

Yesterday, I went to Kawasaki Good Times World with my father-in-law and a nephew. I didn't know that they made more things than just motorbikes and jet skis - shinkansen trains and the drills that dug the England-France channel tunnel are some other examples. Highlight was the Rubik's Cube-solving robot.

There was a hydraulic flight simulator that was simply pants (running MS Flight Sim 2002 on hardware that wasn't up to it...)

As an aside, today is White Day in Japan - the opposite of Valentine's Day if you recall one of my previous posts.

Japan: Ignorance is Bliss

Yesterday, the family and I went to Osaka to watch the March Grand Sumo Tournament. It was great. The yokozuna Asasyoryu was defeated, which traditionally means that the crowd throw their cushions towards the ring in appreciation of the effort.

As we took our seats, we noticed that there were a bunch of foreigners in the seats near us. As I later found out, the President of Georgia was sitting immediately behind us; there to watch his countryman Kokkai win his bout. The President and his entourage left after it was over.

Japan: Slow News Day

I've stayed home for the past couple of days working on video stuff. Hardly exciting, and not interesting enough to post on the Internet (even by the Internet's standards). Seeing as I'm not doing as much tourist-y stuff anymore, I'm planning to abandon the every-day-posts and only write when something worthwhile happens. Sorry daily readers!

I'm up to the last chapter of The God Delusion. I've been reading it while waiting for my computer to compress things.

Japan: Soaring High in the Sky

Yesterday:

• Went to the Tezuka Osamu Manga Museum in Takarazuka.
• Visited a friend's house and saw her new dog.
• Had two dinners, at Freshness Burger and an izakaya, which was a mistake.
• More AFL work.

After a lovely day yesterday, I have awoken today to rain.

Japan: I Can't Sing

Yesterday, also known as Hinamatsuri (Girl's Day):

• Met some friends for lunch and karaoke.
• Had special Girl's Day dinner.
• Worked on AFL video.

No one cares if you can sing or not - karaoke is all about participation.

Japan: Now Official

What I did yesterday:

• Woke up early and went to Kobe Mitsubishi Shipyards to see the launch of the Evergreen Ever Summit container ship.
• Went to the ward office to register for my Alien Registration Card. Also went to immigration office to check some information.

What surprised me about the ship launch was the sound of the ship rolling into the ocean. It wasn't as loud as I thought it was going to be. It was rather smooth - the sound of a thousand greased ball-bearings.

Japan: It's Alive!

Yesterday's events:

• Woke up early and helped the wife deliver fruit jelly to schools in Arima and Mt. Rokko.
• Bought a SATA cable and finished building the computer.
• After installing Windows, did a Performance Test. The old computer scored around 259. The new one achieved over 700.

My skin's feeling dry.

Japan: Missing Link

Yesterday:

• Bought a Zun CD.
• Won a couple of Mario Bros plush toys from a UFO Catcher.
• Had some bad Chinese food for lunch at Nankinmachi.
• Started building the new computer, only to find myself one SATA cable short...

There is a certain joy one can have watching Windows install.

Japan: Should Have Waited

Yesterday:

• Walked around Kobe, from Harborland to Sannomiya and back.
• Found a Nvidia 7300 for the same price as the 7100 I bought the day before. Tried to return the latter, but was denied. Lucky I don't play games on PC.
• Got a Super Mario Bros 1-Up squishy mushroom from a capsule machine.

The evening started with a splitting headache, which put me out of commission for the night.

Japan: Introducing the New Computer

Went to Joshin and Dospara yesterday and finally bought my new computer. The specs:

• Shuttle SD32G2
• Intel Core 2 Duo E6400
• 2GB RAM
• Maxtor Maxline Pro 500GB HD
• Asus Nvidia 7100GS
• Asus Lightscribe DVD Writer

All for $1199-ish. I'll be putting it all together in the coming days and moving all of the wedding work over to take advantage of the upgraded performance.

Japan: I Got Nothing

Spent most of yesterday working on the cousin's wedding video, which is close to finishing.

Japan: Found Apostrophe!

Yesterday was a quiet day:

• Was going to start buying parts for the new computer, but the area of the post office for currency exchange was closed. No cash, no computer.
• Afterwards, went to Book Off, a second-hand shop, and bought a couple of books and a camera carry bag.

Can't sleep again for some reason...

Japan: Trip to Shodoshima

For two days, the wife and I went to Shodoshima, an island 90 minutes away from Himeji by ferry. We took the car and stayed at the Shimayado Mari ryokan. Highlights in no particular order include:

• Shodoshima is known for its olives. We had olive ice-cream, which tasted like green tea.
• The onsen at the ryokan was way too hot for me.
• Went to the Marukin soy sauce museum. Had soy sauce ice-cream, which tasted like caramel.
• Driving around, we saw a place that served fish ice-cream. Was not interested at all, but the sign said, "it`s better than you think!", which almost changed my mind.
• Took the Kankakei ropeway up the mountain for a high view.
• Went to 24 no Hitomi eiga mura, an old-style Japanese village where they filmed 24 no Hitomi (1954).
• Drove for the first time. The roads were too small for my liking. Also, the car (a Nissan LaFesta) has really strong brakes.

A good time had by all!

Japan: I Ate Whale

Yesterday:

• Went to Akashi and looked at their bridge - the longest suspension bridge in the world.
• Ate some takoyaki for lunch.
• More wedding work.

I`ll be off to an onsen for a couple of days, so there will be no posts until I get back, which should be Saturday-ish.

Japan: Tradition... Tradition!

Events from yesterday:

• Did more wedding video work.
• Went to Sushiro for dinner with the wife and friend.
• Felt a bit sick afterwards.

Nothing to complain about.

Japan: Travels of the Nerd

Yesterday:

• Checked out the Lunar New Year happenings down in Kobe Chinatown Nankinmachi. Had Chinese for lunch to complete the experience.
• Went to three separate electronic stores to look for more computer stuff. Came out empty-handed.
• Waited 15 minutes to get into a nearby restaurant for dinner.

Slowly but surely getting to work on the two wedding videos...

Japan: Happy Lunar New Year

So what was up?

• Ate soba for lunch at home with the family.
• Met one of the wife`s friends for tea.
• Went to Joshin afterwards to look at computers.

Finally had a good night of sleep. Yeah!

Japan: Getting Cold

Yesterday:

• Went to a Vietnamese restaurant in Sannomiya with the wife. Still not the same, though.
• After lunch, met some friends of the wife and played some games. Was victorious in Tetris DS. Failed at Puyo Puyo.
• Bought some warm clothes at Uni-Qlo in the evening.

Turns out the new Uni-Qlo catalogue today has the clothes I bought last night discounted by 33% - boo!

Japan: Quiet Days

Yesterday was quiet.

• Went to Don Qui Valley, a nice little restaurant on top of a nearby mountain with the family. Nice view of Kobe.
• Did some more wedding video work. Was trying to cram 4 hours of footage onto one 4.7GB DVD.

Thanks to everyone for reading my blog and posting comments. Unfortunately, I will not respond to each comment as Blogger does not post a notification to the original commentator. I enjoy reading them though, so please continue. Or just email me if you need something answered.

Japan: Vietnamese Food

Yesterday in brief:

• Valentines Day in Japan. I got some chocolate. Here, women give gifts to men only. There is another day reserved for the men-to-women-giving next month, I think.
• Captured more wedding footage onto the computer.
• Wife had computer training in the afternoon. Met her afterwards at Starbucks.
• Bought Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten for DS. It was the cheapest electronic dictionary, seeing as the more expensive dedicated ones do pretty much the same thing.
• Made rice paper rolls and pho for dinner at home. The pho did not taste authentic - the appropriate sauces were not available.

Email service is now operational.

Japan: These Feet Were Made For Walking

Yesterday:

• Had Italian for lunch with the wife. Had to run to the restaurant because we were late for our booking.
• Went to Yamada Denki and bought various things: writable media, USB flash disk, speakers, etc.
• Across the street at the Sports Authority, bought myself a new pair of Reeboks. Finally, new shoes!
• Had nabe for dinner.

It is raining today :(

Japan: Lots of Starbucks

Not much yesterday:

• Started copying the various wedding DV tapes to my computer.
• Met the wife and her friends at Starbucks. A jazz trio was playing some tunes.
• Afterwards, went to eat some ramen. Returned home to watch Ainori.

I really need a new computer. MPEG2 compression is taking ages...

Japan: Nice Day For a White Wedding

I spent all day yesterday filming the wedding of the sister-in-law. The actual wedding/reception at The Garden Oriental Soshuen Kobe was about 3 hours, from 3pm to 6pm. But there was a lot of waiting and preparation. Tired afterwards, I went to sleep early.

Forgot to add that two days ago, after returning from Royal Host, the wife pointed out some yakuza parked along our street. Apparently they are quite common.

Japan: Can't Sleep, Clown Will Eat Me

The events from yesterday:

• Having trouble sleeping. I blame the various pillows: too low, too hard...
• Had French lunch with sister-in-law and family. Spent a couple of hours at their apartment.
• Went to Sannomiya and looked at more dictionaries. Also went to Daimaru.
• Ate dinner at Royal Host to mark the last single night for the sister-in-law, whose wedding is today.

Will spend today filming the wedding. Fortunately, Japanese weddings are not as long as Vietnamese ones.

Japan: TGIF

News from yesterday:

• Wife had a job interview. Offer was received.
• Had soba for lunch with father-in-law. Tried to pay but failed.
• Looked for dictionaries, both electronic and paper, in and around Sannomiya. My eyes are on the Canon Wordtank G55 (it is a bit slow to start-up though) and the Kodansha English-furigana dictionary.
• Got my first capsule toy - Street Fighter II Sound Drop. Press the button and it says SHORYUKEN!
• Went to Porto Bazar Outlet Park to look for shoes. Nothing took my fancy.

I have lost all sense of time. Days no longer have a feeling. Thus the weekend begins in name only.

Japan: Cannot Find Apostrophe on this Keyboard

Stuff that happened yesterday:

• Did some shopping to get some power cables for the computer. No Wii or DS, but plenty of PS3.
• Checked out electronic dictionaries. Most do not have kana readings for kanji, which is an issue for my studies.
• Went to Motomachi Cake to eat some zakuro and see the All-Japan-winning candy creation by the brother-in-law.
• Met the nieces (again) and nephews (first time).
• Skin is beginning to peel due to the sunburn I received during my farewell sausage sizzle last week.
• Finished the slideshow for the sister-in-law which will be shown at her wedding this weekend.

Email service will return soon, when I get myself a flash disk and a copy of Portable Thunderbird.

Japan: Here Now

Thus begins my Japanese adventure. What happened yesterday:

• Was a little bit worried about the weight of my luggage due to computer. Ended up carrying the 6kg Shuttle box in my carry-on bag.
• Had a smooth flight. Played on DS Hotel Dusk but got stuck at cutting the coat hanger. Also played Castlevania Portrait of Ruin and read first two chapters of The God Delusion.
• Arrived in Japan to find out the Japanese Embassy in Melbourne gave me the wrong visa. Was sorted after 15 minutes.
• Parents picked us up and got back home at around 11:30pm JST.
• Am embarrassed by my lack of spoken Japanese.

Have not decided how frequent my posts from Japan will be. Keeping them short, I believe, will increase frequency.