Concerning the Rain Dragon

Shibuya-san

2006-12-11T18:19:00.000-08:00

What can I say about Shibuya-san? She is the lovliest, most helpful, and caring lady in the world, and she is a major part of what made my time in Japan so special. She helped me with everything, from taking me to the doctor to showing me how to wash rice to helping me sell my car. But not only did she help me with my day to day life, she was a wonderful friend.

This picture was taken on Culture Day at the Board of Education. The lady on the left performed a tea ceremony, and the lady on the right is Shibuya-san.

Kyoko and Yuri

2006-12-11T18:10:00.000-08:00

Kyoko and Yuri are the daughter and son of Junko and Mitsuri, a family that was so nice to invite me over to their house several times for dinner. Getting to know this family was such a special experience. Mitsuri speaks excellent English, and is eager for his children to speak good English and travel as well. In the picture with Kyoko and Yuri and me is Sherry, the big black dog.

Eikaiwa

2006-09-04T13:53:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my Eikaiwa, or adult English, class. Going in a circle clockwise from me is Yumiko, Nobuko, Mariko, Shigeji, Shibuya-san, Hiroko, and Hiroko's little boy. I taught a series of adult classes in November, and then in March and April. It was one of the most special experiences I had working in Japan.

My friends at the BOE

2006-08-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

Uryu Numa again

2006-08-07T15:52:00.000-07:00

More Uryu Numa

2006-08-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

Uryu Numa

2006-08-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

Uryu Numa is a large marshland that was carved out of a mountain by an ancient glacier. Sugoi desu ne?!!! It is what my lovely town of Uryu is famouse for. I have been many places in Hokkaido, but I must say without a trace of bias, that Uryu Numa is the most spactacular and beautiful place that I have been. The small ponds that dot the landscape are pristine. There are no fish living in the ponds, and all the water in them is rain and ground water. When I went, the flowers were just starting to bloom. The geology geek in me was thrilled with how cool it was to be standing where a glacier once was, thousands of years ago.

Hiking up to Uryu Numa

2006-08-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

Jen, Dave, and I hiked up to Uryu Numa on July 16. I was very lucky to get to go, because the day after we went there was a big storm and the road to Uryu Numa was closed by a rock slide. Now, before I went to Uryu Numa, I thought, "what is all this fussyness, closing roads?" I thought it must just be some unnessesary Japanese precautions. Well, while we were driving there, and seeing the actual condition of the "road", okay, okay, so maybe they were right. It was essentially a one-lane, unpaved gravel road that I thought a bit cramped for Sweetums. Often too narrow for two cars, so if there's an on-coming car, one car either has to drive off the cliff or back up. A bit unnerving, but quite an adventure. What really amazes me is that massive tour buses use that road. That's just crazy. Most of the guard rales and mirrors along the road were smashed and bent. I think I know why.

But back to the climb. The climb up to Uryu Numa, which is a marshland carved out of the mountain by an extinct glacier, was extremely challenging. The humidity itself was close to unbearable. It felt like walking through a rainforest. Very steep, very wet, and extremely treacherous. But it was well worth it.

White Dragon Waterfall

2006-08-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

That's the name of the waterfall, written on the sign. I saw this waterfall hiking up to Uryu Numa on July 16. It was the most difficult hike I've ever done, but I must say one of the best. What I think is really cool about the mountain is that it was formed volcanically. Look at the cobblestone effect on the cliff face. You don't see cliffs like that in Colorado. Kokuii!!!

Furano Lavender

2006-07-24T00:47:00.000-07:00

On July 15th, my friend Asami took me to Furano to see the beautiful lavender fields. Her mom and aunt came with us. In Furano, I ate lavender ice-cream, which was very strange but rather good at the same time. Sitting in a field of lavender being inundated by the smell of lavender, I couldn't really tell if I was actually tasting the lavender in the ice-cream or just smelling the lavender around me. No doubt, it was a lot of both. Mom would have been in heaven.

Kyoko's Gift

2006-07-24T00:42:00.000-07:00

Sweet little Kyoko made this doll display for me for Girl's Day a few months ago. I cannot take the box back to America with me, so I have taken all the paper dolls out and I will reconstruct it when I get home. The diorama is of a wedding party. The top two dolls are the bride and groom.

In the month of July, Milk is your friend!!!

2006-07-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

I just thought I'd translate that now while I still can.

Daisetsuzan

2006-07-02T18:44:00.000-07:00

Daisetsuzan is the largest national park in Hokkaido, and probably one of the largest, if not the largest, in Japan. I drove through the northern tip of it briefly on my way to Kitami last October. While Mom was here, I wanted to go see it again and maybe do a little hiking. Unfortunately, this is not so easy a thing to do. There is no official park entrance where you stop and pay, get a map of the area, that kind of thing. Apparently, you can find maps somewhere in nearby Asahikawa. The Lonely Planet book for Japan is utterly worthless. It could not tell me anything about where to go for hiking trails, or even how to get to some pretty drives. Most Japanese people, it seems, go there for the onsens, but Mom and I were not particularly interested in taking a bath, as we had already showered that morning thank you very much. So my trip to Daisetsuzan was looking rather bleak. I did not know where to go, it was rainy and very foggy. But then, what is that up ahead? Oh my goodness, it's a little wet fox running along the side of the road. KAWAII!!!!! What's this? A German restaurant with amazing food and a lady who speaks English? What luck!!! Driving back from the restaurant, who should we see again, but the little wet fox!! And he even stopped to let us take his picture. Well, I guess the day turned out to be wonderful afterall.

This is an absolutely spactacular view of the mountains, I know it.

German Restaurant

2006-07-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

Mom and I stopped and had lunch here on our trip to Daisetsuzan. It turned out to be a German restaurant, and the lady who ran it spoke excellent English.

Driving home from Sohya

2006-07-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

Here is some more of the beautiful scenery along the western coast of Hokkaido.

WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!!

2006-07-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

So, I knew that off the north-western tip of Hokkaido there are two islands, Rebun and Rishiri. I vaguely knew that there is a volcano on Rishiri. I had no idea that the volcano on Rishir was comparable to the size of Fuji!

While Mom and I were driving back from Sohya, we kept seeing this shadowy mountain off in the distance. At first, I thought that it was just some strange clouds. But time past, and it was still there, and actually getting clearer. We were a few miles from the coast, so I could not imagine that what we were seeing was an island. It was really starting to freak us out, so we pulled off the road to look at a map to determine what it was. Turns out Rishiri-dake is extremely large and impressive. This mountain was several miles away, perhaps as much as sixty or seventy miles away, and yet it appeared very prominantly on the horizon. Very Cool.

Think Together - a wise and profound suggestion

2006-07-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

Mom had me stop along the side of the road so we could take pictures of these adorable cow signs. We missed the one with the cow riding the bycicle, but I think these two sigsn are pretty cute. Northern Hokkaido is cow country. We took these on the way back from Sohya.

The tippy-top of Japan

2006-07-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are at Sohya, the northern-most extremity of Japan. From this point, on a clear day (clearer than this day apparently) you can see Russia. It was one of my best days here in Japan, made infinately more special because Mom was with me.

The Hills are Alive...

2006-07-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Absolutely breathtaking view on the way to Sohya, the top of Japan.

On the way to Wakanai

2006-07-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

Mom and I drove up the Western coast of Hokkaido to the northern-most point of Japan. Here is some of the beautiful scenery we saw on the way.

Beautiful Takikawa

2006-07-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

While Mom was here, I took her to see the beautiful fields of flowers in Takikawa.

coloring the rain dragon

2006-05-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

It was exciting to go to the elementary school last week and see that they had put up the pictures we colored during English, in the hall. This was an assignment to practice colors. The little boy in the bottom picture is actually a 2nd grader, and so didn't color one of these pictures; but he is one of my students, and I wanted his picture.

Hokkaido Cows

2006-05-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

Furano no ushi desu.

Sakura

2006-05-21T21:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Cherry Blossom season in Japan, and I missed it. What a shame, huh? On Saturday, I went with Jen and Dave to Furano in search of beautiful cherry blossoms. Well, we saw a couple of trees that were still in bloom, but most of the blossoms had already fallen.

Let's pretend the whole grove of trees looked just like this.

They actually looked like this. Wouldn't it have been beautiful to see them all in bloom?

Me and Jen.

The last of the cherry blossoms. I'm just going to pretend that the whole grove of trees was this pretty. When I'm 80 and look at this picture, I won't remember anyway.

Shopping in Furano

2006-05-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

These little cabin stores are at the bottom of the ski hill in Furano. I went here with Jen and Dave last Saturday. It's a very pretty little area, and the stores are surprisingly cheap.

Curry shack

2006-05-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

This is the famous Furano curry shack. They have the best curry and hot chocolate in Japan. I've eaten here three times now. It's a bit hard to find at first, because it really does look like an old shed, but there are actually places to sit inside, and the menu is written on a piece of old cardboard.

Thank you for Smorking

2006-05-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

It can be a little tough to find non-smorking friendly restaurants in Japan.

YMCA

2006-05-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

A very cute moment happened today that I must write down before I forget. Sadly, there are no pictures to remember the moment. I was working with the 1st graders at the elementary school for the first time (this is a new school year) and I was going through the alphabet. When I came to the letter "Y", one of the little girls bursts out singing "YMCA", complete with hand gestures. KAWAIIIIIIII!!!!!!

Otaru Boat-Ride

2006-05-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

These photos are from the boat-ride out to the Otaru Aquarium.

Jen and Dave

Seagulls follow the boat because people like to feed the birds bread-crumbs.

You can see a ski resort in this picture. Wouldn't it be lovely to go skiing and be able to see the ocean from the mountain? It's a little too bad I didn't get to ski here.

Holiday Dress

2006-05-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

It is indecent for a small dog to appear in public without clothes.

Otaru Canal

2006-05-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

Last week was Golden Week for Japan. What this means is that three national holidays fall in the same week. (So it's not exactly a "week", it's more like a long weekend, but hey, this is Japan. We can't have too much free time). On Thursday of Golden Week, I went to Otaru, which is just south of Sapporo on the sea-side. It was a very pretty city, although the weather was a bit chilly. I drove there with Jen and Dave. Here is a picture of Jen and me at the canal. This canal is a popular spot in Otaru, because there are many art venders along here, and there are many restaurants nearby.

Crazy Scary Chairlift

2006-04-02T17:05:00.000-07:00

So far I have been skiing in Furano twice. The last time I went, I rode on this insanely old and scary chairlift. You're basically propping yourself up on this little backless bench, holding on for dear life, on the very long and very slow ride to the top. I think these chairlifts are left over from the 50's. They are actually made of WOOD!!! This is not to say that all the chairlifts in Furano are made of wood and built for Julius Ceasar. They also have a tram car, gondolas, four-person superfast, and just regular two-person. Quite a variety to choose from.

This is Katie's good friend, Judy. Give it up for her, She's British!!! (If you can name the movie I'm ripping off, you get a sticker when I get home.)

Graduation Day

2006-03-29T21:43:00.000-08:00

March 14th was the 3rd graders' graduation day. Graduating from junior high school is a very big deal in Japan, unlike in America where it's kindof a joke. The 3rd graders spent the last several months of school cramming for their high school entrance exams. These exams determine which high school they will be permitted to attend. I can't say I like the system, but I know the students worked very hard, for whatever it's worth. The day was very emotional and even got me a little teary-eyed. It was a special day to be a part of.

The graduation ceremony, in the gym.

Asami and Akiko. Akiko was one of the home-room teachers, which is why she was so spiffied up in her kimono.

The 3A nen-seis.

Me and Akiko. I always love a chance to wear my suit.

Little Snow Cave

2006-02-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

I'm honestly not sure how impressed you all are going to be by this. This picture was taken when the snow was melting. There's not actually very much snow around my house at the time of this picture. It was a lot deeper before at the time I took the pictures in Let it Snow Part III.

Let it Snow Part III

2006-02-26T17:16:00.000-08:00

I'm guessing the snow on the roof across from me is about four and a half feet deep. That's just a guess though. No one lives in those houses, so they aren't heated, and therefore snow is allowed to accumulate. The snow on my roof is not that impressive. I'm still not sick of the snow. In fact, at the time I'm writing this, a lot of this snow is melted, which has made me rather sad. We've had an unusually warm winter, I am told.

(By a lot of this snow, I mean about a foot.)

Let it Snow Part II

2006-02-26T17:11:00.000-08:00

This is the view out my bedroom window. Impressive eh? Well, check out Let it Snow Part III.

Susukino Ice Sculptures

2006-02-26T16:56:00.000-08:00

Frozen Fish!!!

Me and Hedwig.

Dragon.

Yuki Matsuri at Night

2006-02-26T16:53:00.000-08:00

Sapporo or Bavaria?

2006-02-26T16:46:00.000-08:00

Everyone sing with me... "willy wanka, willy wanka, the amazing chocolateer..." Who would have known that right in the middle of Sapporo, there is the most amazing chocolate factory with the most wonderfully delicious chocolate cake in the whole world? I had never been to a chocolate factory before, and let me just say this right now, it's way cooler than the Spaghetti or Cheesecake factories. (I didn't get attacked by a waiter with an umbrella once.)

Yuki Friends

2006-02-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

Jen and Dave in front of the massive three-story sculpture.

Jen and Dave in front of Dave's favorite anime ice-sculpture.

Christy, Katie, Lori, and Jen dancing to the YMCA.

Jen, Dave, Christy, Lori, and Katie were really nice to come out with me for my birthday. We had a lot of fun seeing all the ice and snow sculptures, eating Italian food, and going to the Sapporo Chocolate Factory. Our last stop for the day was back to Odori Park, where they had a live band playing YMCA and trying to teach the audience the dance moves. (We needed no instructions). At night, they lit up all the sculptures. It was very beautiful, but very very cold.

Yuki Matsuri

2006-02-26T16:10:00.000-08:00

For my birthday, I went to the Yuki Matsuri (Yuki means snow, matsuri means festival) in Sapporo. I went with my friends Jen and Dave, and met Katie, Lori, and Christy in Sapporo. The largest snow sculpture was about three stories tall. The Narnia sculpture was pretty sweet. It was about two stories tall I think. I was particularly impressed with the massive polar bears. (If you look in the Narnia picture, you can see Lucy going through the door on the top left of the sculpture). The Taiko drummers were also a lot of fun to see. They must have been freezing!!

This one's made of ice, not snow.

This one's based on the Narnia movie poster.

Taiko drummers.

Me and a friend.

"Ahh. Dasubeda."

2006-02-26T16:06:00.000-08:00

Sugoi!!!

Beautiful Kyoto

2006-02-19T22:10:00.000-08:00

I'm the one in the middle.

Kiomizudera, the most famous temple in Kyoto.

More pretty pictures of Kyoto

2006-02-19T22:07:00.000-08:00

A politician I can believe in

2006-02-19T22:05:00.000-08:00

Now here is a man who's got it all together. He knows what he's doing.

How to use a salt shaker

2006-02-19T21:51:00.000-08:00

Before you read this, yes I know, we are 13. But here's the thing. Katie very clearly asked our waitress for pepper. ("peppa" in Japanese). But the frustrating thing is that a lot of times, Japanese people are so shocked to hear a foreigner speak Japanese, that they assume you are speaking gibberish, and do not even try to understand. The waitress assumed Katie was a 3-year-old, and was confused about how to use the salt shaker. This situation was so thoroughly absurd that we just had to take to following sequence of pictures.

hmmm. How does this work?

Wait. I know!

Cool!!

Help me, Tom Bombadil

2006-02-19T21:48:00.000-08:00

The Vortex

2006-02-19T21:46:00.000-08:00

This one's for you, Kandi.

Never a dull moment with Katie

2006-02-19T21:43:00.000-08:00

Katie was really excited to be having lunch.

How? What?

2006-02-19T21:41:00.000-08:00

Coming down the mountain

2006-02-19T21:40:00.000-08:00

Thoughtful Katie

2006-02-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

Katie thinking some very deep and meaningful thoughts.

The center of the daimonji

2006-02-19T21:30:00.000-08:00

At the top of the daimanji mountain. A very pretty and impressive view of Kyoto and Osaka in the distance.

We met these very nice people at the top. They lived for a time in Chicago actually, and they gave us some really good cookies that tasted like gingerbread.

On the way to the daimonji

2006-02-19T21:19:00.000-08:00

We visited many beautiful temples, which I somehow did not feel moved to take a picture of, and then Katie and I hiked up one of the mountains surrounding Kyoto, on which there is a giant kanji, oki, which they set on fire in the summer. It must be very impressive. (Katie seemed to think it would be even more impressive than the school initials kids used to burn and paint onto the side of the Cherry Creek Dam, along I225. I don't know though. Those were pretty wicked too). Anway, these are some pictures I took on the way up. It was a rather treacherous hike in the snow in my old sneakers. A bit cold at times too.

Kyoto

2006-02-19T21:08:00.000-08:00

They have a very sweet deal here in Japan. In the month of your birthday, you can fly anywhere in Japan for a seriously low price. Katie and I took advantage of this deal, and flew to Kyoto for the weekend. We stayed in the Higashiyama area of Kyoto, where all the major temples and shrines are. Here are some pictures I took around where our hostel was.

Takikawa English Camp

2006-02-19T21:00:00.000-08:00

Right after getting back from Thailand, I was off to the Takikawa English Camp. I was not thrilled about going, and I was coming down with a cold, but the camp actually turned out to be pretty fun. The kids were really cute anyway, and I was so impressed with how much English they were able to speak. My team's name was called the "bad rabbys", a name inspired by the sweatshirt of one the team members. On her shirt she had a picture of an evil, "satanic", rabby (rabbit). A very amusing and rather scary sweatshirt that I suspect she did not fully understand the meaning of. (Perhaps the rabbit took a little trip down to Thailand and had some EVIL drinking water.)

Haru no Hana

2006-02-19T16:59:00.000-08:00

I took a flower arranging class two weeks ago from my friend Naoko. We did a very simple arrangement. (Not a traditional Japanese arrangement). It really was a lot of fun. And just by coincidence, a few weeks earlier I had painted this calligraphy, which says "haru no hana" or "spring flowers".

Calligraphy

2006-02-19T16:48:00.000-08:00

Here is a sample of my calligraphy that I have done. I have been taking calligraphy (shuuji) from my friend Abe-sensei, who is a teacher at the special high school here in Uryu. I wanted to take calligraphy because I love to paint, and I know I'm absolutely terrible at it, so I thought this might be a fun way to improve. Also, I though it would help me learn Kanji, and it has. This piece says "shin shun" or "new spring".

Ni-nensei

2006-02-19T16:41:00.000-08:00

These are the 2nd graders at Uryu Elementary. Their teacher, Kawakami-san, is in the back of the group picture. The little girl in the bottom picture is just the cutest thing that ever was. She's extra tiny, and even needs a special tiny desk and chair.

Ichi-nensei

2006-02-19T16:34:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of the 1st graders at Uryu Elementary. The bottom picture is Tsujioku-san, the 1st grade teacher. Last year, I met him at my friend Tomo's parents' house, and he was so kind as to give me his Playstation 1. He's very nice and speaks excellent English.

More Bangkok

2006-02-19T16:30:00.000-08:00

Wat Po

2006-02-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

This is the temple of the Reclining Buddha. He's absolutely enormouse. Very impressive. This temple is also in Bangkok. (The Buddha is not made of gold, but of plaster painted gold. There is a Buddha in Bangkok made of solid gold, but alas, I did not get the chance to see it. Next time.)

Water Taxi

2006-02-19T16:19:00.000-08:00

This picture is difficult to see, but it's a picture of Delane and Ali on the water taxi in Bangkok. While we were in Bangkok, we took this taxi many times. (Sometimes more times than we needed to when we missed our stop). It's a long narrow motor boat, that (comfortably) holds maybe 100 people. I had a lot of fun riding on it, and I got to see a lot of pretty views of the city along the river.

FISH!!!!!

2006-02-19T16:18:00.000-08:00

Bangkok again

2006-02-19T16:13:00.000-08:00

That middle one could be a postcard, couldn't it?

Bangkok

2006-02-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Bangkok

2006-02-12T17:11:00.000-08:00

It was hard being away from home for Christmas. Everyone in America says to me incredulously, "how can you be homesick? You're in Thailand?" Yes, yes, this is true. I was in Thailand and having a very nice time indeed. But what my family cannot understand is the concept of time spent with them being even more special than a trip to Thailand. Alas. Anyway, I spent Christmas touring Bangkok. Katie and I had a lovely breakfast in the morning, of waffles with mango, and in the afternoon we went to the Bangkok zoo. In the evening we had dinner at an Indian restaurant. At dinner, we decided that after dinner we would go to the Bangkok street market and buy a nice Christmas present for one other person. We drew names to see who would buy presents for who, and we kept it a secret. After dinner, we went to the market and split up. I drew Delane's name and she actually drew mine. She got me a lovely purple lantern that I have sitting on my dresser in my room. Overall, it was a lovely day, but I still look forward to being home for Christmas this year.

(by the way, the building in the picture is the Royal Palace, right next to the zoo. For animals seen on Christmas, see "White Animals" entry.)

White animals

2006-02-12T17:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, for some reason when I was in Bangkok, I only took pictures of white animals. I promise I am not a white animal racist. Anyway, here you can see a white crane, a rare white deer, and two white siberian tigers.

More Sukhothai

2006-02-06T00:53:00.000-08:00

The Ancient City of Sukhothai

2006-02-06T00:48:00.000-08:00

Sukhothai is the ancient capital of Thailand. It was my favorite place that I visited while in Thailand.

The Orchid Hybiscus Guesthouse

2006-02-06T00:39:00.000-08:00

I LOVED this place. WHEN I go back to Sukhothai, I am going to stay here. It was wonderful. The owner of the guesthouse was an Italian man named Paulo, and I thought that fitting in a fatherly sort of way. I can't describe him well in words, but I'll be very happy to do an impersonation when I see you all again.

The Elephant Wat

2006-02-06T00:35:00.000-08:00

Evil Drinking Water

2006-02-06T00:34:00.000-08:00

Outside the city walls

2006-02-06T00:27:00.000-08:00

Riding around Sukhothai, we came across countless small Wats just like this one. I don't know how old they are, but they are ancient and as Anne Shirley might say, "they provide so much scope for the imagination."

Riding bikes and other things

2006-02-06T00:20:00.000-08:00

Katie and I rode bikes all around Sukhothai. The picture of me walking up the hill was on the way to the statues you see in the bottom picture, looking out over the valley.

In case of fire, beware of fleeing deer?

2006-02-06T00:18:00.000-08:00

Wat Sri Chum

2006-02-06T00:08:00.000-08:00

This was my favorite Wat that I saw while in Sukhothai. Ann told me all about it before I went, and it exceeded all my expectations. Really spactacular!

New Years

2006-01-15T16:15:00.000-08:00

Katie and I spent New Years in Au Nang in Krabi. We had dinner at a really nice Thai restaurant, and then we went to the beach and watched people light paper lanterns that they released over the ocean. There were fireworks at midnight that were a lot of fun to watch. They were setting them off only a few feet away from us, so they exploded right over our heads. We could see fireworks being set off on beaches and islands all around the area. It was lovely and a very memorable New Years.

Elephants!!!

2006-01-15T16:01:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of elephants in Thailand. They're everywhere. Driving in Krabi, I saw elephants standing by the side of the rode. In Bangkok, I saw baby elephants being led down the streets at night, and in the night markets. (That's rather sad actually. I didn't like seeing that.)
While Katie and I were in Krabi, we went for an elephant ride. It was a rather short ride, but it was a lot of fun. After the ride, we went for a short hike around the area. Katie went for a swim in the river, and then we were able to see one of the elephants taking a bath.

Krabi

2006-01-10T17:32:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of me, Delane, Katie, and Ali eating dinner in Ao Nang, in Krabi. Ao Nang is the beach where we stayed for four days and three nights. Before Ko Lanta, Katie and I stayed at a beach "resort" on Ko Lanta. Delane and Ali met us there on the 2nd day. The beach was absolutely beautiful. I really did like the beach, and I loved the pineapple banana shakes, but let us say the the "bungalow" at the "resort" left something to be desired. For instance, I'd rather not have a trail of ants surrounding the walls of my bathroom and making a Bee-line across my bedroom floor. I'd also rather the walls of my room not be made of rotting cardboard. I'd also rather not be greeted by a shreaking godzilla monster upon entering my "bungalow". What sounded like a screaming drowning rat (which turned out to be the godzilla monster living under my bed) waking me up in the middle of the night I could also do without.

So anyway, Katie and I abandoned this paradise for the tourist comforts of Ao Nang. Delane and Ali had just arrived in Ko Lanta and didn't want to go with us (seemingly), so we left them early on the 3rd day and went to Ao Nang. That night we were eating dinner at a restaurant near our guesthouse, and who should we see sitting at the table next to us? It turns out Delane and Ali didn't like the shreaking godzilla monsters either. It was a very exciting coincidence, and the rest of our time in Krabi was all together lovely.

The island in the picture is called Chicken Island. Can you guess why? On the 2nd day in Ao Nang, we all took a 4 island tour. We saw Tup Island, Chicken Island, Poda Island, and another Island I forget the name of (Princess something). The beach at the last island was amazing. The sand was so soft. The water was incredibly warm. We swam out around this high cliff and explored a hidden part of the island, where we saw rock-climbers. It was lovely, but sadly I could not take my camera, so I don't have any pictures.

Cliffs Man

2006-01-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

I went rock-climbing for the first time ever in Railay Beach, Thailand. It was scary but a lot of fun. Our instructor didn't really do a lot of instructing, so I was pretty much just learning as I went. By the third climb, I was able to get up really high, with a lot of help from the instructor. He was pretty much just pulling me up as I went, but I'm not going to let that stop me from wearing my T-shirt with pride.

Climbing with me was Katie and Delane, who are both far better climbers than me. Ali came along to watch and give moral support.

View of the Volcano

2005-12-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a view of the Volcano I stayed on from the road to Kamifurano. It's an active volcano and in the summer you can see the smoke rising from it.

Tokachidake

2005-12-11T16:47:00.000-08:00

This weekend I went to Furano to go skiing. It was excellent. Coming from Colorado, I am used to skiing on groomed and rather icy snow. The snow at Furano was fresh un-groomed powder. It was tons of fun. Saturday night, I spent the night at an onsen on top of a volcano in Kamifurano. I went to a Christmas murder mystery party there. I wasn't the murderer, but a lot of people thought I was. My friend Taryn, who can be seen in the picture along with Megumi, turned out to be the murderer. The setting of the onsen was lovely. I forgot my camera, but luckily my friend Linda had her camera and was able to take all these beautiful pictures. Linda saw the fox in the snow, but sadly I did not. I hope you enjoy these pictures.

My night as a geisha

2005-11-27T16:28:00.000-08:00

On November 11, I had the opportunity to dress up in this beautiful kimono. I was invited to attend the Takikawa Culture Festival. Before leaving Japan, I was hoping to be able to pay someplace to let me dress up in a kimono for a little while and get my picture taken. But the people at the culture festival wanted to dress me up for free, and give me presents for being so kind as to let them dress me up in a kimono, do my hair and make-up all fancy, and feed me a free dinner. What luck! This picture was unfortunately taken before I corrected my rather scary lipstick, but luckily it doesn't look too bad here. In the picture with me is my friend Jen, who was rather disappointed with her 80's pop-star hair-style, but isn't her kimono lovely? The picture was taken by her fiance Dave, who also got to dress in a men's kimono.

My little house

2005-11-20T20:23:00.000-08:00

I have a living room, kitchen, bedroom, sink/washing machine corner, shower room, and bathroom miraculously sqeezed into a space roughly the same size as my car. (See "Sweetums" entry). It's a lovely little house and very warm in cold weather.

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful

2005-11-20T20:18:00.000-08:00

It has begun to snow in Uryu. From what people tell me, it sounds like Uryu gets roughly 500 feet of snow each year. I look forward to seeing how close to the truth this is. As for right now, I think it's beautiful. Rather like living in the North Pole.

Sweetums

2005-11-20T20:13:00.000-08:00

This is my car. As you can see, it is roughly the same length as my house. It is a Mitsubishi Pajaro. Tons of fun to drive, but rather interesting to park at times.

Anne spelled with an "e"

2005-11-20T18:33:00.000-08:00

Since coming here to Japan, I have developed a special relationship with Anne of Green Gables. I have always been highly fond of the books and movie, but I have since taken that fondness to new hights. For example, I have actually been to Green Gables. Yes, that's right. Green Gables is not in PEI Canada as I once believed, but it is actually in the beautiful Japanese town of Ashibetsu. It is located in a bizar, dare I say creepy, amusement park called Canada World. I went to Canada World with my new good friend Jen in October. We were the only ones in Canada World for a good 40 minutes. (It felt a bit like "Spirited Away", and we were determined not to eat the food lest we turn into pigs).

Canada World was inspired by the Anne of Green Gables books, Ashibetsu being the sister city to Charlottown PEI. They have built a replica of Green Gables complete with Canadian antiques and recognizable items from the book. Look on the bed in Anne's room and you can see the brown puffed sleeved dress that Matthew got for her as a Christmas surprise.

A relavant question to ask is, "What inspired you to go to Canada World in the first place?" Well, it was there for starters. But there is another reason. When I first got here, I didn't have a DVD player and could therefore not watch any of my movies that I had brought. I was wretchedly homesick and in desperate need of hearing English. I have a VCR and the Anne of Green Gables movie was left here by my predassesor. I must have watched that movie over and over again about 7 times in the first month I was here. It always makes me happy.

English Competition

2005-11-20T18:19:00.000-08:00

These are three of my students at an English competition they participated in in Fukagawa, about thirty minutes north-east of where I live. They all did a wonderful job and I had a fun time of helping each of them prepare for the day. Here are their names and grade from left to right: Aika 3rd grade, Ayumi 2nd grade, Emi 1st grade. I should note that grades are numbered a little different here. 3rd=9th, 2nd=8th, 1st=7th.

At the competition, I acted as one of three judges along with Linda (my Scottish friend in Chippubetsu) and another AET from Fukagawa who I can't remember his name right now. That was rather challenging and nerve-wracking, but I think the right people came out on top.

2005-11-20T18:04:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of me, Maureen, Judy, and Katie in the beautiful seaside city, Hakodate. I went to Hakodate by train in the beginning of October. While I was there, I hiked two mountains (one of them an active volcano), ate hamburgers and Indian food, saw a spactacular night view of Hakodate, rode a tram, and slept in Katie's car in the middle of a cabbage patch. What a great time I had. I mention this as my first truly great experience here in Hokkaido.

Introduction

2005-11-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

I have been living in the exciting Japanese metropolis of Uryu, Hokkaido now for four months. Inspired by my excellent friend Katie, I have decided to make a little page of my own. My intent for this page is that it will be a place where I can post pictures and tell about my adventures, so that I don't have to use up precious email time saying the same thing over and over again and foregetting who I told what. As for the title of my blog, Concerning the Rain Dragon, this refers to my little town of Uryu, which means Rain Dragon in Japanese. I hope all my friends and family enjoy my pictures and comments.