Japan 8

Last one XD

Arriving off the overnight bus in Toyko, my iPad decided to be difficult and not show on the map where I was. So the good old fashion, 'Ask someone for help' came in. The guy was seriously helpful. He asked me where I was wanting to go and then took me to the train I needed to catch. Two trains actually - he went with me to the first stop, then showed me to the second train. Despite 3 attempts at saying that I will be going there tonight, and today I will just be wandering around the current area, he insisted that I get on the train, which I finally just gave into lol. Which meant that I got the day to wander around Chiba, which is near/part of Tokyo (the city never really finishes). Which turned out to be fantastic. Got to spend the day exploring, and there are plenty of beautiful beautiful parts. Later that day I went further into Chiba prefecture to a town called Ishinomiya, which is probably the size of Paeroa, and on the east coast. There I met up with Satashi San, the surfer dude from Ishinomaki, and went to the place that I would be sleeping in for the next few days. Again, I was very kindly allowed to stay there for free, which was fantastic. The next day, I went into Tokyo city to catch up with friend from New Zealand, who kindly took me to the Tokyo Sky Tree (only about 634 m high O.O), then to Asakusa Temple (one of the most famous temples in tokyo), and finished off at Daiba - super wealthy shopping district island. One of the best sun set views I've seen. And to make it better, they had a life size Gundam there.. Awesome xD (Gundam is like transformers, only they don't normally transform, and they are polited by humans). I had a fantastic day with my NZ friend and her friend that also came along. Again, reall appreciated it, it was awesome to have some kind enough to show me around xD. The other things I did in Tokyo was go to akihabare(the electronics and anime center of the world, spend a day of fun there. Highlights were the Gundam Cafe and AKB 48 cafe (it soo so different to NZ culture. An Nz equiviant would be like having a 'Feelers Cafe')). On the last Day in Tokyo I spend with another friend from nz, to be joined later by another NZ friend. Again, another day where I really appreciate the time that people took to show me around. Got to spend a lot of time checking out some of the jewellery scene in Tokyo (thanks Namiko XD). After an awesome dinner with my friends there, they showedme to the bus stop for the overnight bus to Osaka.
Osaka
Started off the day just by wandering around, before meeting another NZ friend who I would stay with for the next few day days. Now I've had many cases where I've just happened to bump into people that I've met along the way, but this would have to be one of the most out the - I bumped into the guy that helped me on the plane on the way over. Awesome having a good catch up with him. (the day before I bumped into (litteraly) the Man how run Samaratians Purse Japan and his wife, then the day after I would bump into a guy who also worked up in Ishinomaki at the same time I was, fully awesome!!). Over the next two days in Osaka, I spent most of it looking around the fashion districts which I have to say, Osaka is totally fantastic for fashion, or hanging out with my NZ mate. Again, incredibly appreciative of being looked after.
While in Osaka, I spend one day in Kobe. I had long been looking forward to going to Kobe, and it definitely ticked the boxes! Seriously beautiful. The day started of (and carried on) with much wandering about. Again, as well as seeing what the place was like, I was also on the hunt for any good galleries. I have to admit, although I did find some awesome galleries, I didn't find any that were what I was looking for. On the other hand, I did find some fantastic Jewellery shops, and possibly have some good leads there (fingers crossed). After some initial wandering, figured that the time was nigh to tick an important thing off the bucket list. Try the fabled 'Kobe Beef'. After much great adventures trying to find a restaurant that I was certain that had it(opposed to 'Kobe Style Beef') eh, I did find a real awesome, but super classy place. First impression after 'this place is awesome', was 'they get lots of stupid tourist coming here to try Kobe beef. But the meal and experience was fantastic. They have a chef cook your meal in front of you, and the guy I had was awesome. Between conversation about NZ and the all blacks, he gave me great suggestions of different ways to eat the beef. I have to say, wasabi was the best . Such awesomeness doesn't come cheap unfortunately. It's officially the most expensive meal I've eaten, at $100 nz or ¥6380. And that's getting of lightly. I've been told that you can easily pay ¥10000 and far more for the best strips.
Anyway
After this, I figured that I was so close to the hills, I should go up at least some of the way. And I'm glad I did. Although this ultimately would mean that I would miss out on seeing many galleries, it did mean that I got to see Kobe in all it's beauty. A serious stunner. Loved walking around all the quirky streets. They style of most of Kobe has a huge European influence, and it was nice seeing the blend of the two cultures.
From there I headed down to the water front, which was also fantastic. I got down there at sunset, so I got the best of both worlds - the fading sky, and then later, the awesome Kobe city light. Awesome awesome.

The last few days have been spent in Kyoto, saying my good byes here, which goes without saying, was seriously fantastic. My japanese friend Ryo San had a Takoyaki night, which he kindly invited myself and friends, to join in with homemade takoyaki (delicous!!). Again, totally fantastic, meeting an awesome fun group of Japanese people. For the last night in Japan, another awesome japanese friend, Hideyuki San, took my (awesome) school friends and myself out to a rad little bar in the back streets of Kyoto. A totally great night. Lets just say, im at the airport now waiting for the plane, and 7 at night with only 30 min sleep from the previous night xD. So super tired lol. So if some of this update is a bit brief, i hope to go over it with each of you in person the next few weeks xD. Then the perfect finish today was with some of my school friend, lunch, goodbyes, some tears :,) love you guys. ( sorry, this is brief - got to go catch plane in a min :p)

So this is over and out for me!! Thank you everyone who has taken the time to read my rambles. God knows (and now you too) how long they take to do. I can tell you now, that I have no intention of becoming a writer in the foreseeable future lol.
Seriously looking forward to seeing yoll soon. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions when I get back. I have a shocker memory, and questions help jumpstart my mind.
See you all soon!!


Asher

Location:Kansai Airport

Japan 7

Hey All

Possibly second to last update!!

It's been a good month or two!! I seriously can't believe how fast the time went. I ended up staying in Ishinomaki on the volunteer work an extra two weeks than I initially thought I would. The help is definitely needed, and I left the end part of my time in Japan open with the though that I may extend there if I can. So quick over view of my time here now. I finished up the volunteer work last Thursday to go back to Kyoto before going to Hiroshima for two days, to Osaka on the way back from Hiroshima, and am now in Tokyo/Chiba, for one week, then back to Osaka, then to Kobe, then to Kyoto, then HOME!! If you need a break after reading all that, feel free lol. I think I may go get a glass of water...



Surfer man!

Ishinomaki. I ended up staying 6 weeks in total there instead of the originally planned 4. Over my whole time there, the work varied quite a lot. Because I was a longer term volunteer, they put me on permanently with a Carpenter named Richard, to help him out in anyway needed. This was fully awesome, as he's an awesome guy with great life experience. Many great talks, and many awesome projects that I could help him with. He's been volunteering there since last year, so as you can imagine, he knows all the great spots and places to go, including what is probably the most awesome coffee shop in the world, but I'll get to that.



Richie!!

He was always keen to show me new places, so he often went way out of his way on his own initiative so that I was able go more places, do and see more. The work itself was mostly orientated around building work, including building storage sheds of different sizes ('Boris' the shed was the best I think), jib fixing, 'Mudding Out'(basically tearing down walls, pulling up floors, cleaning out mud from everywhere - honestly amazing what you would find within the walls!!, water blasting it all , bleaching the wood skeleton, then scrubbing it all. The aim being to remove the dirt and mold that has built up, clean it and let it dry, before the wall and floors are redone), building stages for events, moving equipment and so on. I was there at an interesting time, as it was at a transitional stage for all of the 3 bigger volunteer organizations. The 3 groups are all in contact with each other and would often help each other out. For example, the group I was with, Grace Mission Touhoku (GMT lol) put me to work with Richard, who is with Samaritans Purse (SP)the bigger of the 3. Later, I would help out with B1, but I'll get to that too. SP are a disaster relief organization from the states, that do work world wide. It's been just over 1 and a half years since the tsunami, and the building side of the organization had already been there way longer than what is normal for them(disaster relief being short term work, vs long term recovery help). Some of what I did, was orientated around helping pack up their equipment to be given to help other various groups. GMT where also moving from their one base, to two different bases (one still in Ishinomaki, and the other in Minamisanriku). You can imagine the amount of stuff, tools, tables, chairs, giant army tents, etc, that had to be packed down, relocated and set up again. And as well as all this, the community work that was going on (myself, I wasn't so involved in this side, but there is always an element of it to everything that you are working on).



Minamisanriku. Repicture this in your head completely full of residential housing and a walk of water 4 stories high coming. I was on a hill taking this photo, and that wasn't high enough. There is a YouTube vid you can watch from about the same vantage point called 'Minamisanriku devastation' or something similar to that.

Probably the central event of the time there, was going up to Kesennuma, about 2 hours north of Ishinomaki. Seriously Incredible. The drive up started with a stop at the coolest, most awesome classy coffee shop ever. The guy who owns it is 30, and is a coffee artist. Travels the world to find beans to make his own blends. Had an awesome chat with him, before I bought some coffee making stuff, and he showed me how to make an awesome coffee, and then gifted me a blend of Panama Coffee powder. The shop is litteraly in the middle of no where, in a valley somehwere, yet it was busy!



Ippo! The coolest coffee shop!

From there it was a complete slamo! Minamisanriku! I thought Ishinomaki was bad. This city was wiped off the board. I can't describe it. I'll show you photos when I get back, I can't sum it with words. And even looking trough the photos now, doesn't sum up how vast the damage is. Its real hard to convey the vastness of it. The rest of the drive up was thoroughly stunningly beautiful and inspiring nature, but coastal town after coastal town that has been completely devastated by the tsunami. A lot of places look like, that's it, no more town. Just the building foundations remain. Real moving. the contrast between the beauty and destruction is, emmm, eery? terrible, incredible, unnerving, emmm doesnt cut it. Another thing that isn't thought of too much, is that most of the land up there dropped between 3-6 feet because of the earthquake, so come high tide, it's basically ground level, and I am told there are problems with flooding. You can see where new river bank walls and sea walls have been put in, but it's still unnerving seeing how close it gets to the edge.



Anyhow. Kesennuma itself was also badly hit, though the area I was staying in was back on its feet. We were there for about half a week, setting up for an SP event at which Bethany Hamilton was speaking at (she's a pro woman surfer, who lost her arm to a shark at 13 years old, yet still pursued on, there's a movie on it). Seriously lovely woman. Once again, and probably not for the last time, I was surrounded by people who are incredibly great people, with hearts bigger than elephants. I'm not able to put my finger on what it was, but something about being there really shifted me, and I find myself looking back on it and feeling both moved and humbled.



There were many highlights of my time volunteering, meeting many great people (seriously no shortage of them). But to name a few, meeting and getting to know the different groups of volunteers, the chats with everyone I worked with, the coffee shop just before Minamisanriku, the runs through rice paddys (more like running away from giant spiders in webs stretching lampposts) and on the shore, the crazy swimming miles out to sea with Satoshi San(surfer guy who was in the room next to me, funny thing there too - Pokemon in the west, the main character is called 'Ash'. In Japan, he is called 'Satoshi'. So Ash and Satoshi lol), bonfires, building things, and the Nomozi Jewellery Project with B1. But in reality the whole time up there is as one thing, so I can't really pick out single things.



The Nozomi Jewellery Project is aimed to help give employment and a support base for Ishinomaki women, more often than not, solo mothers as a result of the tsunami. I started helping them out with some of the basic things in Jewellery design, business and make. The concept is centered around making Jewellery from broken chinaware and pottery, which you don't have to go far to find and is in no short supply. They're also looking at making fabric string bracelets often made from kimono material. For New Zealanders, I would describe it as a surfy/casual look (wearing one now to test out durability as well come up with more simple design ideas for them). Im looking forward to being involved in this more in the future and helping out in anyway I can. Seriously inspiring.





Hiroshima is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to! Karl and I took the Shinkansen (bullet train x0 ) there. Imagine, 7/8 hours by bus, or 1 and a half hours by bullet train. Boofgar. Being Ash, and being man, I was perfectly organised -cough-. So originally we planned to get to Hiroshima around 1 pm, but didnt end up leaving until 4:50 pm. We got there just in time to meet up for dinner with possibly the four most hospitable girls in Hiroshima. They took us out to a Hiroshima style okonomiyaki, followed by a cafe that really reminds me of cafes back home. Over the course of the evening, it became apparent to them that we hadnt booked our hotel, as we planned to stay in a capsule hotel that I was under the impression you didn't need to book for (a turn up when you need it place).



As it turns out, it was a public holiday weekend in Japan. So everything was booked out. I didn't think that sleeping in the train station would be that bad, but thanks to the kindness of Emma (a New Zealand girl living in Hiroshima that Richard introduce to me), she let us sleep at her place, whilst she stayed at Jessica's place (one of the other girls who came out for dinner). Quite embarrassing to say the least. But we were very grateful to have a comfortable place to stay. Not to mention that there is a great view of one of the many rivers that go through Hiroshima.


The following day would find us wandering around, as well as going to the A - Bomb Dome (the building that was directly under the epicenter of the blast), The Peace Park (incredibly beautiful), and the Hiroshima Memorial Museum within (goes without saying that it was really moving. It covers all sides of what happened, leading up to it, the time of event, and then the aftermath up until today. I came out of there caught between trying not to be angry at the horrifying things that we are capable of doing to each other, and saddened by what happened).



After that we walked to the A Bomb Dome, at which, my awesome new camera chose to run out of batteries. Mum taught me that if I have nothing good to say, then say nothing at all. So ill leave my thoughts of my beloved camera there. Again being men, and super organised, we started the day too late, not fully anticipating how much there is in the Museum. To the websites and forums that say 1/2 to 1 hours, not quite right. More like 3 hrs to pay it the respect it's owed. This ultimately meant that we were too late in going to Miyajima Island, which we caught the train to the wharf anyway, but not time to go to the island itself (not to mention that by this time it was dark and raining). At this point, we made a humorous solemn pact that in five years time, we will return, as Hiroshima is worth far more than the time we gave it. Not to waste the train ride, we went to a coffee in the area that was the shizzel binizzel (that means awesome by the way). Great conversations with the staff there. Also they had a load of books around the place. The book that 'happened' to be on our table, was written by a Dan Freeman (seriously bizarre). A fantastic write up on the man (presumably by his children) at the front, that I am thinking is true on many levels (“He felt strongly that art and shared creative outlooks are mediums of profound empathy and understanding, that create friendships that transcend national and cultural boundaries"). And especially after the Memorial Museum, and seeing the art works of victims, this rings painfully true. From there, we trained back to Hiroshima, to have dinner with Emma for the last time. Hiroshima style ramen. Possibly the best ramen I've had. Seriously scrummy. That night we stayed in a capsule hotel, which was and experience in itself. Located in the seediest part of town, you could tell that it had been set up for men (no ladies allowed) who had gone out for a fun night. With 6 floors, it had almost anything one could need. Restaurant, a room with personal lazy boys and tvs attached, laundry, sleeping area, ....and public baths complete with spa and sauna. Each of the capsules were maybe 4 x 7 feet, with personal tvs. And on that lets just say that there is no sound proofing, I say no more.



Didn't get to bed until maybe 1, and then up at 5am to catch tram to station at 6, to catch bus to Osaka by 7. Quite a sleepy bus ride to Osaka. Though I have to say that it is nice have a bus by day for a change. You get to see more of the out back of Japan. Which is stunning. Again, it is in a way similar to nz, but the mountains are less rolling and more dramatic, in stark contrast to the land inbetween which is completely flat (normally with lush green rice paddies). Its as if God was like "flat land... Hrmm... Let put a mountain range here, and here...mmm and here. I'll mold it into the land later but looking good, time for a beer!". It's seriously beautiful. I can definitely see an attraction to living in such a place. Probably the other big difference is that the bush in Japan is far far more wild. I would think twice before just rummaging through it. Snakes, spiders, giant grasshoppers....Bring It!! (the dust you see is from me running for dear life! lol).


For Hiroshima being so great, we really do owe it to the girls for looking after us in our complete unorganised retardedness. Especially to Emma. She and the girls sorted out dinner on the first night, followed by sorting the accommodation out (Thanks for letting us use your place Emma!!!), then she sorted the bus ride tickets back to Osaka, the reservations for the capsule hotel, and took us to the awesome ramen place. Not to mention the list of 'Must Do's ' in Hiroshima to begin with.
Karl and I arrived at Osaka around 11:30am, just in time to meet up with one of our friends, Tammy, to go to Osaka Aquarium. Have to say, I have come to really enjoy the chaos in try to catch multiple trains and subways across cities to get places. It's fun even when you get lost!! Though it's hard to get lost when all the locals around you are so so helpful. Anyway. We got to the aquarium around 1 and had a great time going through it. The set up there is quite different to Kelly Tarltons back home. In this aquarium, they have maybe 7 different tanks that are seriously deep. The path starts at the top and spirals down to the bottom, meaning that you go past different depths of the same enclosures a half dozen times. This was particularly awesome with the coral reef enclosure. It was also awesome because there were tonnes (I'm quite sure literally tonnes) of people there, and it gave you a decent chance to see everything. Personal highlights (excluding the obvious fun with friends) were: Watching the NZ dolphins at feeding time, the jelly fish (friggen amazing), and the giant deep(er) sea crabs (that reminded me of the War of the Worlds movie). Leaving there at about 5, we went and had ramen for dinner nearby, then headed back to Kyoto, as I had to catch overnight bus to Tokyo at 11:45 that night, and yet to pack.


The biggest low point of the whole weekend, and had I known I would of taken the time to appreciate it all more (more than I was already), was that it would be the last time I would get to hang out and see Karl before went our separate ways. It was only when we were saying the goodbyes that he mentioned it was Sayounara, to what I was like 'What?!' . But I'm glad that the weekend was loads of fun to finish it off on a high.

The over night bus to Tokyo was completely un eventful, other than sleep, which if you sleep walk, is eventful. But I don't, so nothing interesting to say about it really.

Will do another update soon xD currently in Chiba/ Tokyo having a great time. Hard to believe I will be home in two weeks xD
Hope everyone is well :)


Sun set in Tokyo


ash

Location:Chiba

Japan 6

Hey Yoll!!

I've started writing this to you while on the over night bus on my way to Sendai to start helping in Ishinomaki City, a little further north east from Sendai. The last few weeks have been utterly incredible, and I have to admit that as I write this, I'm doing my best not to embarrass myself in front of the others on the bus. The amount of joy that I've experienced with people over the last 16 weeks, quite straight, has changed my life (and all my Kyoto friends will start laughing at that as I'm constantly saying 'this will change your life' or 'that might change your life' etc). It's been a great time and I'm glad to have all the memories and friendships that I take with me. There were plenty of character building moments, that are shaping me and I'm grateful for. I realized on the bus, that, despite my 'beautiful' apartment, I have come to see Kyoto as home.



Language wise, I've learnt a hell of a lot (for me lol) though I'm still a wee way off from being even slightly competent at it. But I love it, and am inspired in language learning that it will now be a life long hobby. In a sense, it's seriously annoying stopping the schooling now, as I feel that I've almost got thought the thick ice of my skull to the juicy part where the learning will flow better. But all good! Now it's on me to keep it up, which I intend to xD

But anyway.

Gion Festival, 3 weeks ago.
Tractor loads of fun! Myself and alot of people from the school, dressed up in traditional Japanese Clothing. Which made the whole event more enjoyable. Though I have to say that the traditional Japanese wooden jandels were a little sore, but so Sooo much fun to walk in. Thousands of people out and about(mostly in traditional clothing, real beautiful), and between being tall and wearing the getta(wooden jandels) which added about 2 inches to my height, being able to see above everyone made it even more fun (I'm not saying that I like to look down on people...). The main streets of Kyoto were shut for the huge crowds and parades that were on. There were also loads of food and drink stalls along the roads, selling anything from fried whole squids, to toffee apples and toffee strawberries. It was a great time of spending time with people had forming memories that are unforgettable. Looking back, I only wish I could go back. It was so much fun... who am I kidding, I just like trying to dress up like a Japanese person.



Myself and Simon

The last week of school was also seriously great too. Class was loads of fun with a role play where I acted an old Japanese man giving directions, zimmer frame and all. The last day itself, I managed to simply enjoy too, and other than a small wobble in the good bye speech, I managed to hold it together. (I miss you guys XD ). After school we all went to dinner together, followed by karaoke, pool, table tennis, and darts! And of course a good walk home after.



Me Class

It's hard saying good by to people you have come to know well. I think one of the tough things with it is that we have all been on the same journey together, and to leave that path, and the people on it, feels like your passing up so many joys and the sharing of trails, fun, and times that are further down that path. But I believe that this is healthy to go through. Its easy to become despondent about it, and think 'what was the point' or 'wheres the meaning in this'. But I'm thinking that it's important to treasure all moments and memories, as they ultimate add to your life and who you are, and often, who you become and influence what you decide to do. Meaning is in the relationships, which relationship, in its very nature, doesn't (shouldn't) end. But I can rant for hours about this so yea. Me continue.



Paul, me, Su

A couple of Saturdays ago, (my second to last school event), we all went to Lake Biwa for a BBQ and a swim. Yes, A Swim!! Yo'll have no idea how much I've missed that :D. An awesome awesome day. We played Bash The Watermelon Blindfolded, In the Lake Baseball, Sumo Wrestling etc. it was great. Plus awesome food, awesome people, and awesome swim. Not awesome was my camera, which the screen broke somehow that morning, and I've no idea how. So all the photos from the camera were shots in the dark, literally, the screen was dark! So annoyingly I've had to buy a new camera. But I decided to get a decent one. So basically it's 'Ash Proof'. Underwater,shock proof, simple stupid to use xD lol. And just in time for Fuji xD




The Fuji trip... do I even need to say anything? It was soo incredibly unreal. Seriously. Unreal. It's surreal looking back at it, I can't believe it actually happened!! It was a totally great time. Started with us all meeting at Kyoto Station at 8:30 in the morning to catch the bus to Fuji San (as its known in Japan). There were probably about 20 of us from the school who went. The bus ride there was quite the long trip, with us arriving at Fuji San at 5:00pm (but to be fair we stopped for a break about every two hours, so it was a cruisie trip). The bus ride itself was good fun, with there being quite a few people on the bus that you see at school, but don't actually know. So the whole trip was great for getting to know them all. The roads here, in a way, aren't too different to nz, but rather they are done properly without skimping on cost saving, which makes them great to travel on. Went through a few 'normal' tunnels that would of been at least a kilometer long, if not longer. It funny thinking how nz, such tunnels probably would never be made, yet are common place here. Anyway. On arriving at the 5th Fuji level (there are 10 levels, 1 at the bottom, and 10 just before the top), at cloud altitude, we had our briefing and were on our way up.



'Okashi' San (Mr Strange) and I

A very cruisie pace all the way which made it great for taking photos and taking it all in. Within the first hour the vegetation gave way to the rock landscape that could be described as a grey Mars. There was quite a lot of people going up, so the closer we got to the top, the slower the going was. Not to mention the air being thinner. Myself, I felt a tad light headed and had a headache to begin with, though this soon dissipated. Have to say, it's a tad disconcerting climbing a steep rock face with a head full of helium. I managed to be the perfect parrot by repeating constantly, 'This is Awesome', and 'My new camera is seriously Awesome', and 'I can't believe that I left my hat on the bus, I feel like I've neglected it, poor thing!'. Fortunately, by this stage, most people on the trip had already work out that I'm a bit 'Special', so they were very understanding. No one pushed me down the mountain, so i guess that I wasn't too annoying!


We arrived at level 10 at about 10:30 pm, for a tiny dinner, and a small sleep before heading to the top at 11:30pm, to get there in time for the sunrise at 4:30 am. I got about 10 min sleep where I dreamed about going for a swim at Onemana, Coromandel. Now, it was warm when we started climbing, and it was pretty cold by the time we got to the 10th level. But that was before the wind picked up. So you can imagine the discomfort of being at 3500 meters, 0-6 degrees, on an exposed landscape that's windy. Cold. Also only taking on average 1-2 steps every 10 seconds, due to the swarms of other people with the same idea of seeing the sunrise (it's amazing how many people can be thinking exactly the same thing! Lol). It took about 1 hour to go 600 meters or less. But that was the only downer on it. Everytime you looked down, you could see Tokyo in the distance, another city, and this truly magical swarm of blue, green, yellow and white lights of the head lights from about 1000 people following in the distance, slowly shifting, making their way up, that I can only describe as glow worms floating down a river. Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful things I've ever beheld. We got to the top around 3:30am and the relief was evident on everyones face. Then it was just a case of keeping warm whilst waiting for the sunrise, which I think was probably an amusement for some watching on.


Sunrise was brilliant. Not too many experiences can match that. It was ...ah I need a thesaurus. I need a more awesome word than awesome. But awesome is toooo awesome. So yea, it was awesome!! xD




Then the epic walk down, loads of fun. Not the same way as the way up. Super steep to the point of concern at times, zig zag over loose scoria rocks (not very fun to slide down on your butt, trust me). About 30 min into it, I realized that the sunscreen wasn't working. And I left the great ’Ash Altered Old Womans Hat' on the bus (sorry hat, I still feel bad for you), so the famous New Zealand ingenuity came to the rescue again, and I made a ninja mask from my t-shirt and with the sunglasses on top, I did look like a genuine twit.



But I loved the walk down. Real enjoyable being able to not have to worry about where your walking and can admire the view. Also got to have some fantastic conversations with people on the way down. Fully whizz bang.



Myself and Elena

Got back to the bus at 8:15 in the morning. So basically, started at 5:30, 6ish pm, 1hr break with 10 min sleep, 1 hr at top, walk down by 8:15am. And. I felt brilliant (really).



Needless to say, everyone was sleeping on the way back. But we did stop to have all you can eat lunch and a bath at an Onsen - a traditional Japanese bath house. Bathing naked with lots of other naked guys. .. yea. Interesting, especially when a couple japanese guys unsubtley check you out. Actually, quite amusing. But a insightful experience anyway. To be honest, I didn't find the whole public bathing thing that weird, I could easily get used to it. .. I shouldn't say things like that, I think I'm beginning to worry some people lol. After that we carried on back to Kyoto. Got back at about 7, when the Great Teacher Ueda (my Japanese teacher) helped me with getting my over night bus ticket, to get to Sendai later in the week. Honestly, that guy is a God send. Not only did we go to the main bus place to find that they dont have buses to Sendai, but he then tracked down a bus through another company, called them, and organized it all.... Turns out, I got the last ticket for the bus. Another moment where I look up and in true Spieghts Beer Ad style, saying 'Thank You'.



Filip and Karlle

Then to top off the day, I went to Jens and Peters place to play Super Nintendo video games until about 2 am. Then ice cream + awesome conversations meant I didn't get to bed until I think about 4 am xD

So pretty tired right?

Yea, but up the next day by 10 to sort out things for leaving, and then to get ready for final goodbyes with people that avo/night. I had planned to go to a nz cafe with them all, but due to a true ash moment, I looked at the map to see where it was, but didn't take my iPad with me....so I couldn't find it. So we all went to have dinner at CoCo Curry house, which was a regular dinner place for us, so was very appropriate for the final dinner before going down to the river for a farewell drink (or four). We all ended up walking home that night which, again, was a very fitting way to end the night. I got home around 5am.




Karlle, Jens, Peter, Maria with expression reflecting how they feel about me leaving



Maria, Jens, Peter, Jim, Karlle, Poris





Sooo pretty tired right?

Yea, but got up at 9 to start packing and to clean up the apartment, to be at the station that night in time to catch the bus to Sendai. Found myself slowly loosing it throughout the day, as I began to realize that this is it. Was really touched when 3 of the swedes came out to see me off with a final dinner. And have to admit I didn't hold myself together very well. But the time was incredibly special to me, and I rate it a without a doubt, one of the most special moments in my life. As it turned out, I probably would of missed my bus if they hadn't come, as I was waiting at the wrong bus stop, and due to their help, managed to track down the right place in time!



The over night bus ride up was great, which is where I started writing all this (I'm now five days later). It was a great time to reflect over the last 16 weeks, the joys, the disappointments, the mistakes, the hopes, how far I've come, where I'm going (literally, character, life in all aspects, etc), but most importantly, the great people I've met. Needless to say, another night of little sleep.

Sooo pretty tired right?

Got into Sendai at 8am. Coming into Sendai had a strange effect on me. When you see the vastness of the plain that Sendai is on, you get a far more real feel for what happened than what a photo or imagination can give, the scale of the size and amount of water. Goes without saying, horrific. The condition of the City is very good. Every now and then you see something that makes you wonder if it was a result from the tsunami, but otherwise you wouldn't know something had happened. Though in saying that, there is plenty of rebuilding going on, and alot of places look very new. The people there, like Kyoto, are extremely kind, and I've had no problems getting here to there, and there to ..where? I'm loving using the little language I know, and this is inspiring me to learn more!



Apparently It's some kind of grass hopper, but at the time I would have sworn it was a giant jumping spider (about the size of my palm)

From there I caught the bus to Ishinomaki City and got there at 12 noon. Ishinomaki is a different story to Sendai. Some parts are not 'too' bad, but some areas are completely flattened with only clearing work done, and no rebuild. The need here is so great that you can't really fathom it, it's just too huge to grasp the enormity of what needs to be done. I got picked up at about 12 and by 1:30 I was in a house working on it ('Mudding Out' - clearing the damp sludge underneath it before the new floors can be laid). Back breaking stuff. Love it xD Then went and visited the nearby Onagawa, the worst hit area. They showed us the total height that the tsunami came to (42 meters there), and explained a whirlpool effect that caused so much damage. You stand there, picture the height of the water, fill of debris, in a whirlpool the width of the valley, and ... yea, don't know what to say, How can that be? Then you see a 4 story solid concrete apartment that has been ripped off its foundations and lying on its sides with a smashed car in it etc. I can go on.
Im living in an area that is probably half of what it was, with the remaining places all with signs of damage. Very simple living, but the people, honestly, incredible people. But theres heaps to do, and what is being done feels like its barely scrapping the bottom of the barrel with what is left to be done. But it's something that will help someone and that's something xD (it's becoming my motto).

Slept well that night!

My timing arriving here has also been interesting, as I arrived a day before two American teams left here, and it was great getting to know them all, though it sucks that they left as they are all good people (one of the teams leader asked his team who is willing to fit me in their luggage to take me with them, so definitely cool in my book XD Actually, I'm disappointed that the time was so short. They are amazing people that on reflection, has really made me stop and reassess my attitudes and where my current attitudes will take me in life. Two days with them and life long friendships straight away).


The Awesome Texans

I'm staying in a house that is almost exactly like a nz beach house, on the second floor, large room to myself. It has a swimming pool (only 2 feet deep, but enough to swim in, or just lie in the water). Right now I'm sitting on my bed, with windows open, listening to the sea xD. Been swimming in the sea twice, as its a 5 min run from where i live, and intend to make this a morning ritual. An awesome japanese guy lives in the room next to me, he surfs, and hopefully we will go out soon and surf some.


Most groups are here for a week at a time, but because I'm here for a month, they are putting me with a carpenter to build houses and what not, I think for the whole month. The work I'm doing is basically working on houses how ever need be (all sorts of stuff, yesterday I was putting the jib lining up on walls, today building a shed). Hard work, but fun with fun people. Fully enjoying doing real physical work for a change. Love it. The house owner is so grateful she makes us French toast, buys us alsorts of drinks, snacks, and buys us bento boxes for lunch. End of the day, this one feels well satisfied. Oohhhh I want a swim now xD lol



Not so fantastic - you can not look anywhere without seeing the devastation. It's always sobering and keeps your feet on the ground. It's tough to not be moved by it. There's a school on the way to beach that looks abandoned 20 years (lots of places around are like this), all the clocks have stopped at exactly the same time, like a movie kinda. You see fields of weeds where old foundations of building only remain, rubbish piled high in some areas with thousands (not exaggerating)of cars stacked on top waiting to be delt with. It's very sad to say the least. The hardest thing is hear the stories. I was helping in a house yesterday morning where the old man who owns the house, only survived because the tatami mat on the floor lifted up when the water came through, pinning him against the ceiling. He lost both his wife and mother who were in the house with him.
So yea. It's great being here, but it's very real why I'm here. Meeting more and more people with stories like this.




Another update soon! In the meantime, hope things are well wherever you all are. I'm over halfway through the trip now, and coming to the pinnacle of my reason for being here xD so Awesome Awesome!

Take Care Yoll!!


Asher

Location:Ishinomaki Machi

Japan 5

So, this one is shocking at the updates. It's impossible trying to write about things that happened weeks ago.

Life is Japan is simply awesome (I use this word way too much, if you have any good, easy descriptive words, please tell me). Life in Kyoto continues to live up to expectations and I'm making the most of my last few weeks here (note no updates, been having way too much fun). A couple of weeks ago, the 10 week course students left, and I have to say that it was a bucket of cold water for what it's going to be like. But right now, am just enjoying every minute of Kyoto with my friends here.

I have 3 weeks left here in Kyoto before I'm up and off up to Ishinomaki city just north of Sendai! The volunteer work that I'm going to be doing is quite literally anything that they need me to do! But I'm quite sure it's going to be lots of visiting and talking to people, ie mostly people orientated rather than physical work orientated. Personally I would prefer to get stuck into hard physical work, but this is going to be a very good time of showing people that someone cares. It's going to be interesting to see how my thoughts, ambitions, and attitude changes over this time. At the end of it all, people are the reason for helping.

Language wise, it's getting easier. Putting less pressure on myself, just enjoying learning. Am loving learning the kanji (Chinese writing in written Japanese), and through this, it'll get easier to read and write. It's like being allowed to draw pictures instead of writing, which is fully whiz bang! Also learning a bit of swedish from friends here too, though some helpful, some you wouldn't repeat to your mother. Goes without saying that the latter are always the ones you remember.

The iPad is hanging in there, though is slowly disintegrating. Doesn't help that a piece of glass on the ipaddy came loose, and on removing it, I didn't notice that there was wire glued to it. So no more wifi capability. Roaming Internet is about $150 for 1 gig, nasty! But serves me right lol.

The last month here it still up in the air. But it'll likely be, money depending, 1 week in hokkaido on a farm (top island of Japan) , one week in tokyo, one week traveling a bit, then one week in Kyoto for last goodbyes. Some of us are talking about going to Hiroshima for the weekend mid sept, which I've been told by many is a must, so I think I'll go regardless if no one else does (probably good to do it alone as I've been fore warned to take a box of tissues).

This coming weekend is the Gion Festival, one of the big festivals here in Kyoto, which I'm looking forward to very much. Myself and a lot of the others have bought traditional Japanese clothing to wear. So I'll make sure there are good photos for you all. (am right now learning to walk in Geta, which are the wood japanese jandles. Think Samurai Champloo for those who have seen it). I have gone for a more causal style (wish I still had my shaggy hair, it would do the look perfect), but some of the people are going more formal and are going to look seriously flash hot.

Talk Soon Yoll!!



Asher

Location:Kyoto

Japan 4

Hey Yoll!! Been a bit! You'll hate me when I say that the weather is beautiful here, and that I am once again, sitting here at 12:30 am writing this in my grunds because it's way too warm for anymore clothing to be possible ;p TOO MUCH INFORMATION !!!

So anyway. Yup, it is super warm here. We are currently in spring, coming into summer, and its already quite hot, and very humid, mushii atsuii as they say here (you like that?- I make it sound like I can speak Japanese!! Lol). One of the awesome things is that in one day, you can almost get all four seasons. Today it was nice and sunny in the morning, cloudy mid morn, dark thunder storms midday, and then perfect clear skies in the evening. Love it. Thunder storms = Awesome.

Daily life, very little has changed, except that I've discovered what a bakery is, and now have a seriously delicious lunch everyday for about $7 that leaves me stuffed like a lamb chop until dinner. And speaking of lamb chops, I would kill for a good steak right now, a huge marinated hunk of meat, that I can sink my teeth into a devour like cave man on steroids. Dribbling. Oh yes - thanks to the running, I can officially run as fast as I can when I was 10! I feel somewhat redeemed lol. Bought a bike and am biking about 10km to and from school most days. Bought some steam punk goggles to go with it, which makes me look like a full twit. But awesome fun! Everyone bikes here, real safe and the motorists are good for looking out for you.

I'm still finding myself doing things and realizing things that have me coming away from them thinking to myself "Baka Baka Baka" , which means Stupid (x3) in Japanese (which in a roundabout way is actually encouraging, because it means that I'm beginning to think in Japanese lol). I'm having to be careful to assume nothing, as its easy to form thoughts based of assumptions that are wrong, especially when it comes to cultural differences. And not just the Japanese culture. There are a lot of different cultures studying here, and you can't think ill of somethings that people do based on preconceptions. And in saying that, I refuse to think ill of people regardless. Another very good character changing thing that I hope I can make into a habit. Did a classic thing yesterday when I went to go have lunch, didn't take my wallet with me (who does that?!), and didn't have enough money in my pocket to pay the full meal. Incredibly embarrassing. But begin awesome, they weren't bothered and I ran back to my apartment to get the money for them. I amaze myself sometimes with how daft I am. I'm thinking of starting a list of "Classic Ash Moments".

I've ended up deciding to stay in the apartment I'm in, ultimately because I'm not here for that long and it's super cheap. I've worked out the cleaning times each day, so I'm first to use the bathroom after its cleaned in the morning. The showers are seriously average. There's only 4 of the 7 that work, 1 of the 4 the door doesn't lock, and 2 of the 4 are invaded cockroaches (there's one particularly large one that I've nicknamed Frankie). The bottoms of the showers usually fill up with water when you use them so the showers are often on and off and on etc experiences. I was talking to an american girl here (not in the shower), and she was saying that in summer here, the place gets overtaken by giant flying cockroaches, so it would seem that Frankie and friends aren't that bad after all. Recently they same put some cockroach traps in the showers and I confess my thoughts are split on it. Part me is like "Run Frankie, Run. They're trying to kill you!!". And the other part of me is like (with a deep italian voice) "Die Frankie Die!". I'm still trying to work out if that makes me a bad person or not.



My pre class study spot

Study wise it's going... Well, Interesting. Lol. To be straight, when most classes start, I can't help but feel like I'm Morgan Freeman in the Batman movie at the part where the guy says "Didn't you get the memo?". Quite disconcerting to say the least. It's interesting seeing how different people in the class are doing. It's awesome seeing some people fully flying along, like ants to honey (not that ants fly, but you get the idea). They are not far away from being able to hold some decent conversation in Japanese. Others, myself included, have a bit more of a path to walk before we get there (indeed learning a language is a life path that can always have more to be walked what ever stage you are at with it).
Currently when I speak Japanese, sound like a sick lawn mower running out of petrol. In a way, it feels like my brain is at point where it's saying to me, "Didn't we do well... Buuut I'm full now, and now it's sleep time, read me a bedtime story!", which I do, Whinne the Poo in Japanese!! HA!! You like that Brain!! Owp, hold on, got a blood nose! lol. I have more than once cursed my luck with being blessed with a terrifically terrible memory.
So yea. Getting a lot more difficult retaining vocab and the different sentence structures for different situations. My 30 words a day has gone belly up, and I'm finding it a great effort to get 10 in my head.
Actually, I think that it's the verbs and their quadzillion different forms and exceptions that's doing me in. The other part thats challenging is turning of the english in the head so that you can 'hear' properly. For someone who thinks too much, this is an interest predicament.
We've just started doing Kanji, which is the insane looking Chinese writing, which a reputation for being super difficult. Funnily enough, in true backward Ash fashion, I'm really enjoy it and finding it the one easy thing in Japanese. It's really encouraging when you are out and you see a sign that you've seen a zillion times suddenly be more than some pretty patterns, or tell you that the after sunburn creme you bought, Yea?, its actually a face scrub, of by which stage you have already discovered from using. (I'm not complaining, my poor fellow New Zealanders coming into winter). This all said, ask me again in a couple of weeks, as so far we have learnt only 30 kanji, with a couple thousand to go.
As with anything, you just have to keep working at it. Its a very healthy thing for me to go through, and im greatly appreciating the character building that its is doing in me. I figure that the more I learn the better, and I'm going to make sure that I learn every little bit i can, its a beautiful language. And you have to relax at it - study hard, but don't 'try' too hard. So trucking on.

Events wise, it's been an awesome few weeks (do I sound repetitive?). There's always something happening, and it hard to know which ones to write about.
As some would remember on facebook, a few weeks ago i went to see a saxophonist friend (Kenta) i made few weeks before, busk by Kamigawa River in central Kyoto. A totally amazing night that I will hold dear for life. The weather was thunder and lighting but no rain. Night time by the river, with all the lights and nightlife out. It was the perfect back drop to awesome beautiful melancholic sax jazz. He finish up on Amazing Grace, which I had secretly hoped he would play. Then it rained, and it was awesome biking home in it.


A couple of weeks ago, we all went to a BBQ by river in west Kyoto (I think). Spent the entire day in the sun with about 50 others, Japanese students and fellow Gaishins. Got thoroughly roasted despite putting on SPF 60 three times during the day (actually the areas I didn't put any on didnt get burnt, not sure if I should pay attention to this detail...). Once again, a perfect display of Japanese hospitality. They cooked us all sorts of awesome meat dishes, that thinking about it is making me hungry as I write this. We were well looked after with drinks and all provided. On Facebook there are photos which are worth looking at, including a few which I beg you not to ask me to explain lol. One of the swede guys, Karl, suggested skipping stones in the river, which was possible the best idea of the day, better than me suggesting to put on sunscreen it would turn out. A bunch of us applied ourselves to the stone skipping, with a few others who were keen enough to learn. I have a short video of some of the Japanese guys doing an impromptu dance which I'm going to try load onto Facebook and will try link it here. Seriously awesome fun xD. Afterward, some of us decided to over do it by going to karaoke and table tennis. Was awesome, though most of us were well pooped by that stage. Was definitely worth while though, as the conversations, and getting to know some people better can never be underrated. I'm surrounded by great people who I'm very sadly going to have to leave soon, though I'm not crossing that bridge until it comes under my feet. And who knows, I might come back to kyoto for good.
Last Sunday, we had drinks by the Kamigawa River (the River that runs down central Kyoto) which again, another awesome night. You are allowed to drink in public here, and the nightlife by the river is super duperly rad.


There have been more events with the same people, karaoke, dinners etc, that is resulting in real friendships are being made, and hopefully there will be many more events to come (a horde of us are descending on Osaka, going to a temple tomorrow, etc). After visiting the zoo here, I've decide that they need to make a zoo where you can hug the animals. Imagine what it would be like! "Look at the Tiger!! So Cute!! I can give him a hug!?! Really?!! Yay!!!". Then he eats you.



I need to make sure I write this more regularly are I feel that I'm missing out sharing some awesome things.



I heard back from the volunteer organization earlier this week. I am going to be working in Ishinomaki City, just north of Sendai for August. I'm not sure exactly what work I will be doing, but the impression I got is that it'll be more community, people orientated work. I hope that I'll be able to really help in some way. I don't want to be a 'spectator' there, and to just get in the way. But it does sound like good things are being done up there, and I look forward to helping anyway I can. Again, it's going to be sad leaving Kyoto and the friends that I've made here. It's challenging not to get disillusioned about it, as it feels like 'Hey! Great to meet you. My name is... Oh! Sorry Got to go! Bye!'. I did think about not doing the volunteer work for staying in Kyoto as I do want to stay with the people here. I'm really gutted that I'm going, but in the end the decision came down to a sense of purpose. As much as I do want to stay, the work up in Sendai is going to really help people in great need, and it's important that I go and do what little I can. Its hard to explain, but there is little doubt in me what I should do. The difference between what I want to do and have to do is quite clear. Interestingly, I feel no burden from it, but that doesn't take away the disappointment of leaving soon. But enough of the Sally sob story!! Life here is great, and I'm making sure that I make the most of it. Also, on the bright side, because I not doing the volunteer work until August, it means that I can stay with friends studying until August. 5 extra weeks!! Wheel barrows of fun to be had. Also because I'm staying longer -I'm going to be climbing Mt Fuji at the end of July! It's going to be unreal!!


After the volunteer work, I'm going to play it by ear for the
last month, most likely travel around (I'm really hoping to go up to Hokkaido, as well as Kobe and Hiroshima, and Okinawa, and ow ow So many places xD. ). Before leaving Japan, I'll definitely come back to Kyoto to say good bye to the Kyotonites. They will all be on Summer break at that point, and I'm hoping that we can all go traveling somewhere, as the experiences pyou have are always more special when they are shared.

Thats pretty much it. Thank you for reading. I hope that my english still makes sense. And I hope that you are all well and warm(hehe) down there. Talk soon!

Kiwo Tsukete!!

Ash!

Location:Kyoto

Japan 3

Where to start.

It's 10pm and stinking hot. I'm not going to tell you that I'm sitting here in my underwear writing this as that'll give you imagery that you will probably fine unpleasant!
The last few days have been fantastic. Really beginning to enjoy myself. I can't tend to order the right amount for meals, so there has been more than a few occasions when I've come away from a restaurant more than a bit concerned for my health. Sunday or Sat are definitely necessary not to study too hard, need the reset. I have a 30 words a day goal, which realistically is more like 20 which is still good, though constant revision is necessary. Meeting lots of great people. Between broken English and Japanese, we get there.

Loving it. Love the pace, love learning, but most of all, I can't get past the people. Everyone in the class is great, serious fun. I could quite happily stay here with them all for the full year (but i would stay at a different apartment to the one now, thinking of changing anyway). Also because we have all started together, all going places together and all so it really is a good scene. I'm a bit disheartened about that its probably only going to be for another 8-9 weeks, but well see (may see about extending it if it works with the plans in Sendai). I'm really learning the value of making the most of time without dwelling on 'the end'. It's daft to do so. Make the most of, and value the time to its fullest with those around you. I'm thinking that that also reflects the value you place on those people. Otherwise you end up dulling the time your having now.

Been around looking at different Jewellery stores. Most are ok with some nice pieces, but a couple has some good work. It's about the back streets it seems. There's seems to be very little middle ground. It's either mass produced, or craft. Though one exception so far.

Anyway, getting on with it.
Two Saturdays ago, we had a 'meet Japanese students' karaoke night, seriously seriously awesome. Unbelievable. The Japanese people are great. They really get into it, really refreshing after nz karaoke,'to cool for school' types or the 'I dont do that', which I am fully the worst person in the world at, that I am. So seeing all these people just going for it 1,2,3,4,5,9 people at a time, dancing, yelling and singing along etc, was real refreshing. Great fun. There's this Aussie guy called Jeremy, who is possibly the funniest man in the world, who started it off doing a Japanese song, in Japanese, brilliant. The swedes all did a couple of songs, which rates as some of the most awesome karaoke ever (wish I could remember the names of the songs!). It's actually cooler, I think, because of the number of different cultural songs, so you end up with a great cross section of culture over the night, which you can't help but appreciate and enjoy. Japanese pop, Korean pop, your English classics, European songs etc, awesome. One of the guys from class got a couple of us to do bob marlys 'no woman no cry' , loads of fun, though I wish I could sing, but fun never the less lol. Following the karaoke, we were all off to a bar, which ended up being too small. The group segmented and I ended up with one of the swede guys (a good chap) and about 7 Japanese guys and girls, who took us to a great shoes off bar, off a back street off a back street. I rate the time as possibly some of the most special in life. Sounds OTT. Really does, but I can't begin to describe the appreciation I felt by being so well looked after, so selflessly by them (who weren't the karaoke hosts or anything, and around 18-20 years old. I remember what I was like then). Great conversations about nz, Japan, dreams, futures, and governments. The language barrier made it all the more fun, it's not a problem, their English was very good, and for the parts we can't get across, just makes it more enjoyable. I learnt allot about good society and people that night, and feel quite humbled. Ran home from town at 2 in the morning as I had no money for cab. Jeans, flat shoes, and long sleeve. 4km, raining, seriously awesome, perfect end to already great night (running + nighttime + rain = perfect (seriously, you should try it)).

Awesome moment on the Monday. On my way home, (seriously cool, you'll be walking through a very narrow side street of modern tight space living, then suddenly, immaculate temple, then apartments, then another immaculate temple, with perfect zen gardens and all), anyway, I digress. So yea walking, walked passed this store and casual glanced inside and was like, oh yea, another day I'll check it out. Carried on, then felt compelled to go back. So back I go and it turns out on this back street off a back street to be the Japanese equivalent of trade aid store. Looked though, it was the first time in japan that I have been genuinely practically creatively inspired. The first thing that got me was the music. Japanese folk music!! Brilliant!! I thought, "I can't speak Japanese, but I am going to find out who this is!" So carried on looking through the store, decided it was the appropriate place for me to buy the pokey jar (see Facebook pictures). A very understated style cup. Really hit home in realities of beauty, it's refined nature. Kept looking around. Then thought to myself that I kind of recognized the tune playing (about the 3rd song on since entering of same artist, Japanese women singing in Japanese, similar to maybe some American folk). Singing in Japanese for the verses, I was intrigued. Chorus came to, in English, No women no cry. Reminded so much of Saturday night and how special the times were. I asked the lady about it, and they had the cd on sale. so I bought and look forward to being able to listen to it in six months time (iPads can't play CDs it seems). Lmao!!

Last Saturday, alot of the people for the course went to a bar to meet a lot of Japanese people, organized by our teacher, Ueda Sense (30), possibly the most awesome guy in the world, he plays tennis. Hope to have a hit with him. He's a very kind and unassuming guy, and a brilliant teacher. A Good night. Talked to allot of people. (I think I'm going stop telling people I'm a Jeweller. From now on, I'm Ash, the Spring Maker!). Live music. Bumped into the guitarist and saxophonist at the bar whilst getting my one whisky of the night, and talked to them for about 1 hour. Seriously the most awesome guys on the planet. Have a bucket load of music to check out, can't wait. From what they were saying, it sounds like the same story in the music scene in Japan to the jewellery scene (small middle ground). After that, we were all meant to go to another bar, but again, segment group, ending up with 3 Japanese girls, one Japanese guy, all the swedes (about 7 of them) and myself. The Japanese guy took us all to this extremely classy shoes off restaurant with sliding walls, personal service, and our own room. Unless you knew it was there, you would never find it. Another fantastic night (it like a disease here, every time you go out its like, 'Oh dam it, its going to be fantastic again, erhh'). Cant undervalue the great times with great people. It was humbling again seeing how well we are looked after. I'm stunned at how much Japanese people go out of their way to look after you. I hope to learn from this attitude, it's not to be undervalued. Another very late night walking home from miles away at some ridiculous hour.

This week is Golden Week in Japan, basically a weeks holiday over the entire country. Which means bucket loads of people coming to Kyoto. If you think the number of people walking around Queen St at rush hour is bad, it's a human sea here lol, no actually, it's not bad. Or maybe I'm used to it... But it is a great vibe. Been having random conversations with Japanese tourists at restaurants and what not. Some Japanese people actually asked me for directions!! And it was rad actually being able to help.

Yesterday, caught up with some people from kendo that live here at the 7 dan grading (takes at least 21 years of training to get to that level). Fantastic to seem them again, despite the disappointment of an unsuccessful grading. Was amazing seeing so many kendoka's of this level going for it (the average percentage of people that pass is less than 20% on a good day). More people of this level in one room, that every person who does any kendo in nz. Awesome.

A fantastic day today. We as a class went tramping up daigakugin mountain. Fully beautiful. Funnily enough, looking at it from afar, I was like, it's a hill, not a mountain. But when you get up there, (abt 1hour) it's actually pretty darn high (serves me right, it would seem I'm a slow learner and i look forward to losing this quick fire thoughts i have). Awesome views of Kyoto, then a bit further on, views of Kyoto (Nara too?) and Osaka. Truly fantastic. Worth every second. I'm intending on going back to see it all again. The bush made me feel very much at home. No ferns or the 'wet' feel of nz forests, but home. Interesting also seeing it with the history of 1000 years. All the way through, despite being bush, you can see the history. Channels made eons ago, dug out for rivers and creeks, steps cut into the land, etc etc. and all done in a very tasteful and unhindering of the feel that nature gives (Something things that there would be riots over if done in nz, though that's half the beauty I think - different cultural's ways of expressing through their environment). It's interesting looking into the way they have done it. Its feels like a effortless mixture of both nature and cultural that creates a special serenity to the environment. You would think that all the human 'interference' would destroy the effect, but it really doesn't. The Japanese seem to have an instinctive way of making it work, a delicate balance. It is truly beautiful. I've taken loads and loads of pics, but quite frankly, they don't do it any justice what so ever. Dare I be blunt, but I would say that 96% of the photos value to me is the memory of the people I was with, and the time we had. How fortunate and blessed i feel to be here is indescribable (unless your Debussy or something). Spent the entire day walking, would of covered at least 10 km, but myself I would say 20km, as I had the intelligence to walk home, most of the way with a chap named Paul from class (which was awesome, great conversations, without a doubt worth the walk). The mountain part of the walk was about 4hrs, - 1 hr for lunch. Then walking to other temples - seriously no shortage of them, but everyone of them done to excellence, with that instinctive execution and balance. On that note, I've been giving lots of thought to Japanese design aesthetics, and at this point I'm think the magic comes from an incredible subtle balance of contrast, be it in shape, size, colour or proportion. Sometimes the size is huge, yet the colors that are used in the different parts of the structure tie it into its environment, whilst it retaining its own beauty and intrigue. Sometimes the colors and size punch the structure out so bluntly that it can't help but be admired amongst the green backdrop. But anyway I digress. After walking around a couple of neighboring temples we all split of to go to our homes at maybe around 4. To be honest, I can't remember exactly when we split up, only that I got back home at about 7, having walked past many a place that I will return to in the next few weeks. There are many spots that are perfect for sitting in reflection, doing some drawing, a picnic, or if it strikes your fancy, maybe some planking.


So yea. Thats about it.
Place of everything future, far future, inpiration, and how it'll all fit together, I have little idea. But I feel quite at peace about it. I look forward to seeing how it all comes together.

Talk soon!!

Kiwo Tsukete!!

Ash person

Location:Kyoto,Japan

Japan 2

Hey guys,

Been in Kyoto for almost a week now. Have to admit that there has been a bit of readjusting to get used to it. Goes without saying that not knowing the language makes things harder. But people really do try, so it's more on me not to be too shy. I'm realizing that although I like challenges, I don't enjoy so much the isolation that comes with cultural barrier, but that'll come down to attitude at the end of the day.
The room I have is about my arm span wide by about 2 long. Walls are paper thin and am next to a school that has music lesson every afternoon(musics quite awesome actually, I really appreciate it). I have a room on 2nd floor, facing east, a school with a relative spacious view. The 2 hours in the afternoons are rad - Drums, clarinets, trumpets, saxophones, and a trombone all going for it. This poor girl on the trombone doing scales for that time. She must of been no older than 11,very dedicated. The thought of it helps keep me going, some how her dedication rubs off, I really do admire and respect their attitudes, truly incredible. What's not so nice is the bathrooms and kitchen. I have always said I can rough it, now it's time to prove it. By the time I'm finished here, no one will say I'm slow in the bathroom. Living with mostly Chinese people. To give you an idea there's is about 25 rooms to 3 or 4 toilets. 6 showers to 50. 100ish total rooms in the whole complex. After experiencing the clean and tidiness everywhere, including in tight spaces, I wasn't prepared coming here, though I do believe that this place is an exception, every other place I've been has been clean and tidy to level thats unbelievable! It's amazing noticing the different cultural things. The good thing in Japan is that your generally fine as long as you are polite. People are very gracious as long as your sincere and polite. Also they smoke everywhere (everywhere, no where is sacred it seems, what in the toilet? Really? Come on, who has ash trays in the toilet?) some people do it seems, not that I have a problem with it, as long as the toilet seat is heated. I got the impression that in Osaka the are being to clamp down on it (on the smoking, not the toilet seats), for example, not smoking in the hotels. From what I hear, the areas you can smoke I now are quite restricted, though unsure of what the restrictions are. I think the guy in the room next to me has had too much coffee. I'm contemplating oiling the hinges on his door.
I'm finding that mentality of observing, but not judging very healthy. Not easy to do. But I'm finding that if you choose accept and like people regardless, it's easier. A very important lesson for myself. I normally try to be like that anyway, but when in a different culture, there's less try and more do (said yoda).
Meet the class, a good bunch, I'm really fortunate to have the class mates I have. We all went out to lunch and it's easy conversation(too easy, some no English laws are coming up I think).
It's awesome seeing the others, mostly European (mostly Swedish), mostly in the same boat as i with varying levels of understanding. Two young guys in particular from Sweden, hard out into anime, with good Japanese language foundations. Another chap, Paul from England, exactly the same as me, just 35 with long term girlfriend here with him who is a Japanese translator, and he's a civil engineer, otherwise on same page. There is one aussie guy though... Funny as hell character (not that hell is funny, but this guy is), is incredibly self confident and knows allot of japanese, lol, a good chap (offered me 1000yen for lunch to save me trekking off to find an ATM first time meeting!). Looking forward to the routine and getting to know the people there , our teachers are very good too, very patient and helpful.
I've decided that heated toilet seats are the greatest thing since cheese on pizza. ...mm pizza, I can almost remember what that tastes like....
All in all, it has been a good challenge. I'm too timid for my own good. But I reflect back on even just the last few days, and although I have a lot of character building to go, it has been really good for me. I'm sure that there will be plenty more challenges ahead. This is really extending me, and I'm purposely not relying on 'things' that will make it easier as far as avoiding the issue goes (eg. Whisky (lol), or relying on others to do the talking,etc).
Replies will be quite slow I'm afraid, it seems the Internet that Ive been using wasn't the one the living complex gave me, someone's bared access to that one, and the one I have seems to be only plug in... A bit hard on an iPad (bought attachments and still no luck). Can get sim for ipad because it has to be bought in japan to work. Free wifi spots are far and few, and never seem to work lol.

Take care you'll, hope to be in touch soon!!


kiwo tsukete! (take care)

Asher

Asher

Location:Kyoto