Weekend update

Well... it was another wonderful (and tasty) weekend here in beautiful Southern Japan. This weekend's action sports consisted of a paddle around lake Ikeda with my good bud Ben and a speedboat ride.

Despite some early setbacks trying to figure out how to build the kayak... it comes in a bag and fits in the trunk... yeah its an overpopulated island alright!... there's just no room for a solid state boat... luckily we had an obachan (grandmother) staring at us for the entire build which gave us some inspiration to actually get this thing floating... we could tell that she was really excited and kept on laughing and yelling something in kagoshima dialect that i could not quite make out. The yak as I will call her hence forth was borrowed from my good friend Sunada-san and he had given me a quick lesson on yak building the night before... turns out that its missing a few pieces, nevertheless it floated!

The day was beautiful and we even took some time out for some swan dives off the rocks along the side. Water temp was perfect and I'm happy that I was not eaten by the giant eels... oh yeah, no one really swims in this lake because of the giant eels and rumoured loch ness type monster who lives in the lake... the giant eels can be up to 10 feet long!

Later in the day we were invited out for some relaxing time on a barge (see pics). This man named Aki (who will further be called the godfather) has a barge where he throws parties in the summer, and a speed and sailboat for cruizin up and down the coast. This guy is quite the character... he also runs a private kindergarten. The afternoon on the ocean was a good ol time. We went for a spin in the speed boat... and got to drive through this awsome rock (see pic). The temperature here in Kagoshima is still around 28 degrees during the day cooler at night so I'm lovin it.

That night, the girls who live in Ibusiki (a city near my town) were throwing a Canadian Thanksgiving party at the Godfathers giant cabin. The food was amazing! complete with tofurkey and 12 or so pumpkin pies! some of the godfather's friends were in attendance too which added a little something to the festivities.

Sunada-san and his wacky yak in my living room

taking break on the lake

The yakkers looking on Really, who owns a party barge?

Da barge

The Godfather and some pirates, luckily we were not the target of the birds overhead.. but the next group was not so fortunate and there was a direct hit on one lady... oh yeah... why do you think the rock is white?

A joyful party guest and the Godfather entertaining the crowd

Hiking in Kirishima Park

This past weekend Lucky and I went exploring in Kirishima Park. We didn't know where we were going to stay, but we packed up her car Saturday morning in search of mountains, hot springs, and adventure.

Kirishima Park turned out to be one of my favourite places thus far and I'm already planning a trip back there.... especially since its not too far away!

We ended up finding some huge waterfalls, an amazing old Temple, some bright blue crater lakes, a beautiful campground, and even some wildlife... yes.. apparently japan has a little.

We ended up staying in a small cabin at one of the campsites rather than tenting... it was actually a lot colder than I had expected... it was quite high in the mountains. We ended up stumbling upon an outdoor skating rink where you can rent rollerblades in the summer and ice skates in the winter... I think one of the only places that gets cold enough to make ice in these parts...

It was a long weekend so we were able to do three days of hiking and found some beautiful places. The whole area is volcanic so it is mountainous, lush, and somewhat like the surface of the moon. There are warnings not to explore too much on your own as you may find it a little hot under-foot. You can see steam spewing from the rocks as you drive around the area, and there are numerous onsens (Japanese hot spring bath houses) around the park.

We saw quite a few deer.. which at first we though strange to be so comfortable in close proximity to humans, until we saw everyone feeding them at the sides of the road...

The Kirishima Shrine was a beautiful temple, and the first big temple I've visited in Japan. It was incredibly beautiful and I think about 300 years old. There was this spectacular gigantic tree near the temple that is 800 years old.. an amazing sight.

The trees in the park were starting to change colour, as autmn is in full effect. I would like to go back in a couple weeks when all the colours have changed.

Here's some choice pics:

First Day in Kindergarten!

Last Monday was my first day at Ei-Kindergarten. What a great time.. the kids are soooo much fun... and pretty damn exhausting too. We played with bubbles, sang some japanese and english songs, had lunch, and played some soccer.. all in all a great day. Here's a few pics...

Playing with bubbles never gets old

Kids on lunch duty ... all schools have special "lunch helper outfits"

Josh vs. the extinct volcano

This past weekend a big gai-jin crew and myself tackled Mount Kaimon with great success. We got off to a late start but made it down in time before it was dark. It was a wonderful day and the weather was great. Mt. Kaimon is only a 15 min drive from my house and I can always see it from anywhere in town... so climbing it has been on my mind... it took us about 2 hours each way.

Saturday night all the folks that came down for the climb stay/partied at my house.... we checked out the local izakaya (japanese bar/pub type place) for a bit and a few new local japanese friends came by too.

Sunday morning it was nice and hot so we all went down to the beach for a bit... sooo nice to swim on October 1st!

The crew...

My town off in the distance... that stretch of coast is my beach..

Lucky and I
Lucky, Marta, Casey, and Harry

Relaxo time after the hike..

A week at the Kanoya Asia Pacific Intercultural Centre

30 new English teachers spent a week at the KAPIC centre on Lake Osumi for Japanese culture and language training. It was a great week. We had language classes in the mornings and a cultural activity in the afternoon. There was also a wonderful Asian museum on the grounds which had all sorts of instruments which can be tried and traditional outfits that can be worn. The centre is on a beautiful lake. Not a bad little business trip!


Lucky peeking through her flowers at flower arranging. The traditional Japanese tea ceremony.
Zoe and me.

Homestay Weekend

Back in early Septemer, I had a wonderful homestay for a weekend with the Nakano family. The weekend started with a cooking class for all the participants and their homestay families. We made some delicious sushi cake, somen noodles, and some other things which I can't remember the names of now.
The Nakano family took me around to some places around Kanoya, the city that they live in, including this beautiful waterfall, a rose garden, and an airplane museum (the dad is an airplane mechanic in the Japanese Self Defense Force).

On the Saturday night, the kids were in the local sumo competition which I had a lot of fun watching. All the kids in the community battle sumo style against other kids their own age.
Me and the family.

The Nakano family invited over some of their relatives on saturday night to meet me. They were all super nice. The Nakano family has a beautiful home and treated me like royalty. I got first use of the bath water (in japan, the bath is filled once with hot water and everyone soaks in it... after a good washing before getting in.

The homestay was a great experience, and I hope to go back and visit with the family some more another time.

Paragliding and Rafting!

Paragliding in Miyazaki
Tomoko and I
The Group
Karen, Tammy, and Me