Potty Humour

I promised a post on Japanese toilets, so...

I guess I should warn readers that this is going to be graphic and there will be photos of toilets (clean, not with anything in them) so if you are not interested in that sort of thing stop here.

"toire wa doko desu ka?"

Hmm...I'm not entirely sure how to begin this one.  Well, let's start with the Simpson's.  Many of you may remember the episode when the Simpson's go to Japan.  They have a little bit about the toilet. I've included a clip to refresh your memory but, youtube only had it in German:




It is actually a little crazy how accurate the Simpson's portrayal of Japan is; it's exaggerated of course, but still.


So, now that you have that in mind let me talk a little about the real thing.  These uber-fancy western toilets do exist, in varying degrees. 

Most are like this one.  It has: a heated seat with variable temperature control, a bidet button, a front bidet button (both of which have pressure control), flushing sound (misnomer as it usually sounds more like running water than flushing), and a "powerful deodorizer."  All of these are meant to make your stay more comfortable.  Flushing occurs either with a handle attached to the toilet (not common) or there is a panel in the wall that you wave your hand in front of, and the toilet flushes.  You will often find these toilets in airports, restaurants (depends on the type of restaurant) and in some shopping malls.  They do not spout coloured water, nor have I seen one yet that talks to you.  Although, most bathroom stalls that sport said toilets do have an "emergency" button; which looks like an intercom that you can press if you need assistance.  I am not sure what kind of assistance you would be requiring, or who would come to help, but it is nice to know the option is out there. 

Now, there are some uber-fancy western toilets which are more complicated than this, and I have run across one.  I didn't take any pictures.  It was at the fancy restaurant I went to in Kyoto that I mentioned before, and the toilet "door" was pretty visible.  I didn't want walk out, grab a camera, and walk back in; wrong impressions would doubtlessly abound!  The control panel for the toilet was mounted on the wall, and had no English translations.  Unlike with the toilet above, this toilet itself had no flushing mechanism, nor was there a panel in the wall.  I was unsure of what to do, so I did what comes naturally and began pressing buttons at random.  All sorts of things started happening, the toilet seat raised and lowered, as did the lid.  A humming noise began at one point, toilet massage???  I assume I changed the temperature of the seat and likely the water pressure, woe betide the next customer, but no flushing.  I was beginning to get a little worried now, I didn't want to have to ask the nice lady how to flush the toilet, as that would do nothing to help out our Western reputation in Japan.  So I calmed down and looked at the confounding panel.  There were two kanji on it that I recognized, one was for river (川 ), the other for water (水).  Ha, one of these is bound to give me results!  Logic dictates that I try river first, as it is moving water.  But river, just adds more water to the bowl.  So, with bated breath,I press water, and lo the water flushes!!  There are some things you just need to learn before you come to Japan.  And essential kanji is one of them, trust me I've learned this the hard way.

Here is a good time to mention that the Japanese do not use the bathroom wearing only socks.  In restaurants and bars where you have to take off your shoes (mostly fancy places) you will be given slippers to wear, or the slippers will be in the bathroom already.  USE THE SLIPPERS.  If you are in a public place like a mall, train station, or club anywhere you don't take off your shoes then you are fine.

That's it for our section on Western toilets.  Save one last comment, there are times where you will get just a plain old regular Western toilet, with no gadgets or complicated computer panels.  But these are self-explanatory and I've already posted a picture of mine in my first post.

Now we get to the nitty-gritty.  The traditional Japanese toilet, often called "the Squatter."

As you can see, and as the name implies, the correct way to use such facilities is to squat above the bowl.  Now, some of you may have been to other Asian countries where squatters are more common, and thus believe you know how to use such toilets.  You may be right, or like me, you may be gravely mistaken.  You see, I've been to Southeast Asia and have used "squatters" before, but Japanese toilets are different.  In Southeast Asia most squatters are little more than a hole in the ground, maybe with some tiling around it.  So you can squat and go, no toilet paper, just a hose or bucket for rinsing.  And family I know you are used to "roughing it" in the woods when there is no outhouse, or you don't want to use it if it is there, so you think you can handle a squatter.  Again, maybe yes, maybe not so much.  You see, those of us who are born and raised in the West, don't really understand squatting.  Sure, you work out at the gym and do them.  Sure, you Canadians aren't afraid to pull off to the side of the road when nature calls and the next gas station is 600 km away.  And maybe, just maybe, you watched too many kung-fu movies and decided you are going to learn the horse stance even if it kills you.

But, what you don't realize is none of this is squatting, not really.  Okay, in the woods pulling your pants down just pass your butt, sticking said butt out, and keeping your spread legs at a 90' angle will serve you just fine.  That technique will also work in some Asian squatters.  You know where you hold the toilet paper in one hand and your underwear/pants in the other, to keep it out of harms way, and stick your bum out as far as you can manage.  Well friends, that doesn't cut it in Japan.  You see, the fundamental difference one faces in Japan is...PORCELAIN!  Yes, it is amazing the absorptive power of twigs, leaves, and even dirt.  The backlash is often minute, unless you have been holding it for a while.  However, your worst held in, empending release will still not have the backlash of even a minor release in a porcelain bowl when delievered from the same height.

And here we come to the crux, the height of delivery.  The only way to properly use a traditional Japanese toilet is as follows:
a) stand facing the piping, or the little raised part of the bowl with your legs on either side of the bowl, but not actually touching it.
b) pull your pants down to either just above or just below your knees, too far or too close and it gets in your way.
c) squat down, and I mean down.  We are talking bum between feet here people.  If you try anything less you will face the repercussions, which usually involve wet shoes, if your wearing them or wet slippers/feet. I cannot stress this enough!  Bum just above the bowl, right down low.  In Japan, you have to get up close and personal with your waste, which is very uncomfortable and uncommon for us in the West.  If you need help balancing, and if you aren't used to this type of squatting you will need help, I suggest holding onto the piping in front of you.  You may be tempted to hold on to the toilet paper holder, but those aren't very strong and you don't want to suddenly lose your balance.

If you follow these instructions, you will be okay.  For the most part.  Because, one of the things with squatters is that not everyone can use them, but they are sometimes the only option.  Train stations are notorious for having only Japanese toilets.  And some people, for various reasons cannot get into the proper position.  Therefore, you will often walk into a stall and find that the area surrounding the toilet is very wet, and late at night there will sometimes be more than just wetness.  Oh, and the smell...very reminiscent of the outhouse, even indoors, with plumbing and flushing capabilities.  I think women's toilets smell worse than men's toilets here. 

Some of the Japanese toilets have these weird attachments on them, to make them more like Western toilets.   They are plastic and the whole thing can be lifted off to reveal the Japanese toilet underneath.  These attachments only work if there is a step, which sometimes there isn't.  Usually the step is there only if it is a small bathroom, no stalls.  I've only seen this once, and it was in a classroom I was covering at in Wakayama.  It was strange because the step isn't very high, so it is like sitting on a very low toilet that is sort of on the ground.  Very disconcerting.


Here's an interesting little fact for you.  It appears that "shared" bathrooms are common.  You will find them in smaller train stations and office buildings; there will be both a urinal and a squatter stall in the small bathroom.  But here is the weird thing; the door, if indeed there is one, won't have a lock.  You can go into the stall and lock that, but a man can walk in a use the urinal while you are in the stall.  I don't understand, nor do I like this situation and avoid them at all costs.

One last thing before I go, very few of the public bathrooms have soap, and even less have a means to dry your hands.  Furthermore, the water to wash your hands will be cold.  So you need to carry with you: a little face towel to dry your hands, and hand sanitizer.  I've heard that some washrooms will not have toilet paper, but thankfully haven't actually encountered that yet.

Coldest Canadian

My Dad told me about this contest Air New Zealand is putting on, the coldest Canadian.  You send in a video of why you are the coldest Canadian and if you get the most votes, you win a trip to New Zealand (25 'C in Auckland this morning).  I watched his video, which was pretty funny.  You can see it here: http://coldestcanadian.ca/coldest-canadian-0

Anyway, I watched a few others as well.  Some were pretty good, some were not so good.  It got me thinking, I wonder if the coldest Canadian has to be in Canada?  I think I may give some of them a run for their money.  Here's what I mean.  This was what I woke up to this morning:

I know you Canadians back home are thinking, snow?  Bah, hardly.  But what is important to remember is that my apartment, like most Japanese apartments, has no heating.  What's more, I also have little to no insulation.  I guess it is inaccurate to say I have no heating.  I do have a small space heater and a air conditioner/heater on the wall above the french doors.  But no central heating.  Therefore, if I want heat I have to get up and turn it on.  Now, 8C may not seem that cold, throw on a jacket and some mittens and your good to go.  But this is INSIDE my place.  I sleep in a toque and socks, and last night a hoodie as well.  I also have two blankets.  As I am wrtiting this, I've added a scarf (dangerous to sleep with a scarf on) another sweater, and have wrapped myself and my space heater in my blanket creating a tent of warmth.  But, winter should be over soon.  Then I will have to deal with the heat in Japan.  I prefer the cold.  Plus, with heat comes BUGS!!!

Of Kick-ass Boots and Great Hair

Another weekend is swiftly approaching, and another adventure awaits.  I thought that before I head out to new drinking fiasco's, I should update you on the last one.

Two weekends ago, or so, it was Ches' 30th birthday.  He is the PS for Himeji, and a bunch of us headed there to celebrate with him.  Merran (lovely girlie from OZ) was gracious enough to put us up for the night (5 of us, equals 6 sleeping in her small apartment).  I arrived early, so as to have some prep time.  How unlike me you say to: a) be early and b) get prepped!  How right you are!  Normally.  However, Merran and I had, on a previous night out, seen this cool Japanese chick with a faux-hawk.  It was sort of unofficially decided that we were going to pull of said look on our next big night out.  Well Merran was thinking that it would look silly for both of us to do it, and I was super keen, so did it I did.  Hence the prep time.  I youtubed a video on how to do such things, as I don't often take time to get ready to go out, and set about fixing myself up.  It took about an hour and a half, but it was so worth the effort.  There are pictures below, if you doubt my assertions. 

But before we get to all that...
Here are the killer boots I mentioned earlier.  They are reminiscent of a pair that I own and left in Canada.  However, unlike those other boots, which have a 4 inch heal, these I can walk in.  Not only that, they are actually really comfortable!  They look super rocking desu ne?   I like the military-ish look about them.  They are just punk rock enough to compliment my punk rock hair.   I threw them on with a pair of dark blue jeans, and this cool button up shirt I got from Danielle.  Throw on a multi-coloured scarf and your good to go!  The only problem was, with my hair up I couldn't wear my toque.  And it was cold that night in Himeji.  But, that is the price we pay for excellence.

Made a "fringe" from the tips.

Looks Rockabilly from the top.

So here is the do, from various angles.  These two photos I took with my phone.  The one below, I knicked from Merran's blog.  Which, by the way if you want to see how real blogging is done, you should check it out: http://kawaiihunter.blogspot.com/
Hmmm... I'm not sure how I feel about posting so many pictures of myself?  I'm not narcissistic, I'm a little uncomfortable.  But, it is all about the hair!

As Merran put it, "Bad Ass".

The night wasn't all about me, it was Ches's birthday after all.  So what kind of trouble did we get into?  Well, food was a good start.  Sadly no pictures of that (must of been too hungry).  Karaoke soon followed, which was great.  Ches did an fantastic rendition of Rapper's Delight, by the Sugar Hill Gang.  I know some of you think you don't know this song, trust me you do.  You just don't realize you know it.  I do have video documentation, but I've heard it may not be appreciated it if said video was posted.  I sang my go-to song, Take on Me, which is strange seeing as I cannot sing worth a marshmallow.  Thankfully, there is no video documentation of that.  The night was filled with the Beatles, Johnny Cash, Gwen Stefani, and Journey, to name but a few.  Merran and Ches, with the help of Jorell belted out an awesome version of Baby got Back.  Again, documented, but left off for the sake of friendship.  There is one video I am willing to share.  It was of our (their) Japanese friend singing a Japanese song.  His name is Takeshi, the song, not a clue.  But here you go.

Oh, before we joined the karaoke, we ran into some Japanese boys outside, Merran and Danielle had to finish their combini beer.  Japanese convenience stores (combini), truly are convenient!  They were six shades of Sunday, or whatever, but very friendly.  They mostly stood around and stared at us, and we at them.  Danielle conversed a little with them in Japanese (she is taking lessons and learning the language, unlike yours truly).  But they soon grew bored and staggered off.  However, I do think the one it the green jacket is super cute, and all of 21.  Ahhh, trials and tribulations of aging...

After the Karaoke bar we headed to a Latin Dance bar.  I had the opportunity to get my dance on, and had a great time for the short time we were there.  It wasn't so much a club as it was someone's basement rec room.  At least that is what it felt like.  It was quite dead and was pretty small.  But, if there is music, I care little for my surroundings.  However, others were not so dance inclined and we made out way out.  Just a little side note, this Latin club was own and staffed with Latinos, who spoke perfect Japanese and Spanish, but no English.  Sigh, they hailed from Peru originally.  I've been thinking about going to Peru.  Teaching there, learning some Spanish...maybe.

Well, after the club we made our way to this little bar.  Lots of people speaking Japanese, and drinking.  But also a fair amount of Gaijin.  It was fun, in a strange way; Japanese people practicing their English, English people practicing their Japanese.  Me watching it all unfold.  I did meet a nice Japanese guy, who spoke decent English and tolerated my lame attempts to say a few things in Japanese to him.  But I didn't get a picture.  Instead, I got a picture of me with the cute Japanese tattoo artist!  I loved him!  I was fascinated, and he spoke no English.  After the crazy hippie magician (don't ask) tried  to get him to take off his shirt to show me a tattoo, the cute Japanese tattoo artist high-tailed it to the far end of the bar.  However, on my way out, I stopped to stare and I admit to touch him.  I did it with the pretense of looking at the tattoos on his hands.  I didn't even attempt to speak, but all his mates around him were telling me that he was a tattoo artist.  Something the hippie magician already mentioned, but I listened intently anyways and nodded knowingly.  Now, if you know anything about the Japanese, they are not big on physical contact; no hand shaking, no kissing in public, nothing like that.  But this lovely man not only allowed me to grab both of his hands and turn them over to look at the ink, but to stroke the tattoos that covered the backs of his hands.  A moment I think I enjoyed more than he did.  But he was good-willed enough to indulge me in a picture before I tramped off into the snow.

The night was drawing to an end.  After an eventful walk home involving some ranting and chaos, which unfortunately is going to stay between the people involved, we bedded down for the night.  Or more accurately day, as I believe it was 7:30am by that time.  Can't wait for the weekend, this time we will be in Osaka.  Oh, the trouble we could get into here...

Kawai, not Kawaii

Kawai (ka-why) means scary.

Kawaii (ka-whyyy) means cute.

Just hold the E sound a bit longer and you go from scary to cute!

But you want to know what is kawai and not kawaii?  Earthquakes.  Holy hotdogs, do I really not like them!  I haven't even had one yet, not really.  What I've experiences are likely tremors, and not even big ones at that.  My Japanese neighbours probably don't even notice them, but they have me rooted in place, trembling (I kid you not, actually trembling) in fear!  It is a fear that is rooted deep in the bowls of my body, and holds me there, on the verge of screaming.  I am okay, don't worry about me, these tremors last all of 3 seconds or so and if there was an earthquake, I'm sure my fight or flight instinct would kick in after about 5 seconds and I would make my way to the nearest doorway.  I just wanted to share that little slice of my life with you.  But wasn't really supposed to be what this post was about.

You see, I've decided to do some posts as picture blogs, of a sort.  I've taken a few pictures and don't share many.  I thought if I have enough pictures on a theme, then I could do a picture based post, with only small captions about location, some tidbit of info, or the like.  That way you can see a bit more of what I get to see.

Don't worry, for all of you who pretend to like what I write, and for those of you that actually do, I will still do posts with me blathering on about things.  Just to keep things interesting, and to give you some visuals, picture posts might be fun.  This also may encourage you to ask questions, and thus I get more emails/comments.  Speaking of which, I'd like to thank Janice for her email promoting my blog to family.  I will respond to said email soon. :P

So with out further ado, PICTURES!  Today's Theme:  Buildings, Structures, and general decorative streets.

NAGOYA

Waiting for the Shinkansen, looking out at Nagoya.

Grounds at Nagoya Castle, part of the moat.

Nagoya Castle.

 AROUND KAWANISHI, OSAKA, AND SOME OF MY SCHOOLS

My building, with a little snowfall!

 

Woo, woo, woo looking out my backdoor (front door really).

Crazy narrow building on the corner.

Little shrine.  You see these everywhere.

Walking across the river, to Ikeda (near one of my schools).

Mosaic on the sidewalk in Sanada (near one of my schools).

Covered shopping street, Shinsaibashi-Osaka.

VARIOUS OTHER AREAS

Nikon shop in Kumatori ( near a school I cover at).

Crazy building, I think it is a church?? Tondobayashi (not so near a school I cover at).

Outside Tenri Station at night.

Castle grounds at Fukuchiyama.

Kawaii monkey barrier holders in Kobe.

Another look at the Golden Temple (from behind).  Kyoto

Noh Theatre in Kyoto.

 That's it for now, there are some other buildings I've left out.  May post at a later date, if I get enough for a picture post.  What do you think?  Do you like the picture post idea?  Just so you can see some of Japan, rather than hear tidbits about it.  I like it, so I hope you do to, plus this may inspire me to take more pictures!  Next theme?  Maybe food?  Ideas?  Drop me a line, ask me a question, tell me to update more often...

Catching up

Okay, so it turns out that I am really horrible at this.  I didn't expect much else from me, but I was hoping I could really put in an effort this time.  Oh, well.  I have a lot of catching up to do.  Last I wrote I was headed to Kyoto.  I went and it was really nice.  I met up with some friends and their boyfriends, but surprisingly I managed to not feel like a 5th wheel.  We ate and had a bit of excitement with a missing wallet (she got it back right away, with everything), and was able to hit one Temple. 

We ended up at the Golden Temple, 30 mins before closing.  It was enough though.  The grounds are pretty small and it was cold out, so we wouldn't have stayed much longer than that anyway.  The temple is on this really big pond, or small lake, depends on how you look at these things.  Anyway, it is quite something, and the pond is full of Koi, which you could see from the edge of the pond.  I took the picture of the stairs, because I like stairs and because it was all roped off, so I think it was the actual stairs that the monks? priests? used.  It was starting to get dark and everything was shutting so we had to prepare to leave.  Not before my friends stopped at the souvenir shop.  I didn't pick up anything, it was all very expensive.  We did throw some coins at the wishing bowl, but nobody landed one.

This picture is from the exit of the Golden Temple.  I took it because it reminded me of the temple that Naruto got tangled in the bell ropes when he was travelling with Jiraiya to look for Tsunade.  I don't know how well you can see the bell or the ropes in this picture, but I thought of my brother and wanted to take this picture for him.  So, just in case he reads this, I decided to add it.  We went for some food after this, I spend a lot of time eating in Japan.  We were travelling with someone who spoke pretty good Japanese, and so we went into a posh-ish place.  The food was ridiculously expensive, but it was kind-of a neat experience.  There were definitely interesting people eating there.  Unfortunately, I had my back to most of it, so missed out on a lot of the action.  Just really interesting characters, old salary men and their "companions."


 NEW YEAR'S EVE and DAY
Next up is New Year's Eve.  My friend and I
decided to go out to meet up with some of our 
mutual friends.  Well, it turns out that we only knew one person in the group, and I didn't really know him at all.  But that didn't matter.  We spend the first part of the night in a bar called Absinthe, which I later figured out was a gay bar.  Then we went to a club just down the road to ring in the New Year.  It was packed!  As you can see from the above picture.  I had a great time, dancing my little butt off!  I think I terrified most of the Japanese guys in the club.  For those of you who have been out dancing with me, you know I can get a little...provocative, when I dance.  Well, most of the guys at the club were unsure of what to make of me.  I'm sure some thought some not so nice things, but I was so in my own little world, I didn't care.  And as it turns out, I had significantly less "grinding" than my friend, who is a much more conservative dancer.  I was pretty much left to myself, which is the way I like it.  I noticed some interesting things this night and may make a future post about it, but I need to go out to more clubs to see if it was a one off thing, or happens all the time.  I will bring earplugs next time I am out clubbing, because the music was inhumanly loud.  I included a pic of the car, because on our way back to Absinthe, we passed all these decked out old American cars.  Like at the end of a parade or something, but people were just hanging out in the street. 

SHOPPING!



 So New Year's Day is all about the shopping.  Here is the line up outside one of the stores, OPA that we passed on our way home at 5:45 am.  We didn't actually shop on Jan.1, we slept in until 2pm.  Which wasn't too bad, considering we got home at 7am.  But we did partake Jan. 2, which was chaotic.  Above you see the spoils of out outing.  3 of those bags are mine!  I got some killer boots, which I am absolutely in love with. 

I have to go, I need to get to work.  But hopefully this lets you know a little of what I've been up to, and you will forgive me for being so awful about updating.  I think I will have a decent amount of time at home this weekend, so I will try to get you completely caught up with me.
 

Holiday Fun

Okay, so it has been a while since I've posted something.  Really, you shouldn't be all that surprised.  I'm the worst for keeping in contact with people and interneting isn't really my thing.  But, I started this and I'm not much for quitting something.  Plus, I have something to say and show you all.

Everyone is curious about Christmas in Japan; what do they do, how do they celebrate it?  I tell ya, Christmas in Japan is rather a non-event.  Most Japanese people do not get Christmas off, December 23rd is the National Holiday.  I've learned that most Japanese people do not even get National Holidays off.  What does happen on Christmas is shopping!  Lots and lots of shopping!  Christmas in Japan is like Boxing Day in Canada.  Everything goes on sale and the shopping is crazy!  I went out for turkey dinner with a bunch of other teachers, and as par for course, I was late.  Really late.  I thought we were meeting at 6pm and was already running behind, but it turns out we were to meet at 5:30pm, so you can just imagine how late I was.  I was busy taking pictures of myself getting ready to go out (no, I did not go out with my hair like this, it was prep to give some shape to my hair.)

Anyway, I wasn't prepared for the amount of people that were out.  At home, if you have to leave the house on Christmas day, you run into very few people.  Mostly last minute gravy runs and the like.  I thought, "Okay, I'm late.  But at least it isn't far from the subway to the pub, I can just boot it."  Well, Shinsaibashi is one of the big covered outdoor shopping streets in Osaka.  There was NO WAY, I could leg it.  It was really hard just walking it and staying headed in the right direction.  It was also very hard not to get distracted.  I've been wanting a new pair of boots, and we walked past many a shoe store that had amazing sales on gorgeous boots.  But I was already really late, and just couldn't justify stopping to buy boots.



  I eventually got to my destination and everybody was already on their 2-4 beer.  But we sat down, and exchanged gifts and ate great food.  Peter is a good cook.  There was turkey, veg, roast potato and sweet potato.  And gravy!  It was a bit runny, but still good.  There was even dessert, which for me was a lone two-bite brownie, because I cannot have ice cream or whipping cream.  But it was just enough to finish off the meal.

Later in the evening the pub began to get more and more crowded.  There was a band playing, not an Irish band, and not Christmas music, but they were good.  People danced, drank and were merry.  This is a picture of me with two of the girls I met during training.  Daisy is in the middle and she was sort of a surprise guest.  She lives in Nagoya, but is dating one of the teachers from Tokai North, which is close to Osaka.  And Danielle is on the end, and she works in the Himeji area.  We see each other often, as it is only 2 hrs to Fukuchiyama, where she lives.  It is nice to have someone close by.
 
I am going to Kyoto tomorrow, to meet up with other friends.  And I will be back in Osaka for New Year's Eve.  I will be celebrating with a different teacher and hopefully some of the same people from our Christmas night out.  I included a short video, such fun we had, well at least Konrad had fun.  Nah, we all had fun.  If you listen carefully, you will hear Peter giving his commentary on Konrad's dancing, in his sexy Irish accent.
  

merikurisumasu to shin'en akemashite omedetogozaimasu!

I was going to write about Japanese bathrooms, but I've had people asking about Christmas and the time seems right for it.  Only 10 days left till the big holiday.  Do they celebrate Christmas is Japan?  Well they certainly decorate for it.  As you can see.  This is just around my little city.  Once I go to Osaka and take some pictures, then you will see what a Japanese Christmas really looks like.  So they decorate, but do they celebrate?  I've been told that there is a lot of prep and hype before Christmas, but as the day comes along it just carries on as if nothing has happened.  People go to work, people shop.  Really it is supposedly business as usual.

I will have to let you know, once I've experienced it for myself.  Thankfully, I won't be alone this Christmas.  I have friends who are coming to stay for a couple of days before they head home for the holidays.  And one friend who will be here to celebrate Christmas with me.  Unfortunately, I  just caught a cold.  Yeah, so I'm pretty sick right now, but I have 10 days to get better, so I am going to try my best. I bought some more vit C dink.  Have been having lots of fluids, and trying to say as warm as is possible in my cold, drafty, no central heating little place.  Christmas day I am meeting up with other teachers for nomihoudai and tabehoudai, which is basically all you can drink and all you can eat respectively.  You have a 2 hrs window to gluttonize and drink as much as humanly possible for a set price.  This will be my first nomihoudai/tabehoudai, so I am looking forward to it, even if I don't drink.  Because, I sure do eat!

I really like hearing from anybody who reads this.  You can leave a comment here or as most of you have been doing, email me a note.  To answer a question or two posed in email; the photo in the background is one I took of a temple that I saw on my way to one of the schools.  It was in a narrow street and just down the road was a graveyard. And, Japanese mandarin oranges do taste better here, but they are also really expensive.

To answer some possible questions: the title of the blog is "Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year" in Japanese.  And the embedded video is my favorite Christmas song and some Naruto video, which actually is perfect, because it shows you where I am in the series. :p