Assorted ramblings

The full moon shines over the Miyakoda area of Hamamatsu

Sorry, it's been a few days since posting, I will make 2 posts today...

1. Driving
It can be pretty scary driving around in this country at times. I am not saying that just because I had the accident a couple of weeks ago, I have actually thought so for quite a while. The first thing I have been noticing is that even though it is illegal to drive and talk on your cell phone, an alarming number of people are still driving with their keitai jammed up against their faces. In North America, without the law, we have seen a gravitation towards 'hands-free' kits- such as an earpiece and microphone for those worried about radiation or bluetooth devices for those just looking to free their hands. For the most part someone talking on their cell phone doesn't scare me, but some of the roads are quite a bit narrower than back home and at those times I think drivers need the ability to maneuver a little bit more than on a wider road. Just today, I passed by a guy driving a large dump truck at about 60 km/hour on a rather narrow road yammering away on his cell phone like there is no tomorrow. Freaks me out. I see at least a half dozen people each day on their 'keitais' in their cars, and I hope they crack down on this a bit more. Also of note, GPS (or Navi as they say here) devices are quite widespread with TV and DVD capabilities- I remember being on a bus on the highway one day and looking to my left to see a guy driving his truck and staring at the TV screen. Hello! You are Driving! It's also pretty common on the morning commute to see people reading and driving at the same time (quite literally- book open behind the steering wheel). If these people want to endanger their own lives, that is fine, but they endanger mine too- that is crossing the line!

2. Hamamatsu loves gyoza
In my class yesterday, my student told us that Hamamatsu eats more gyoza then any other city ( I guess that is on a per household basis). We sure do love our gyoza here! I know I do... My class picked their favorite gyoza in Hamamatsu:
- Fukuraiken -- located near Nishikajima station, they make only gyoza and apparently cook it very uniquely, so you can only eat it cooked at the restaurant. Apparently you can bring your own rice to eat- as they don't even make that.
- Maruwa -- is a store actually but apparently they make some great gyoza which you can buy either cooked or raw.
*Sorry I can't find a link for either just now!

Tojimbo picture borrowed from here

3. Fukui
I also learned about Fukui prefecture and Tojimbo yesterday from the same class. Fukui is about 5 hours to the north of Hamamatsu and there is a great fishing community there so you can enjoy fresh crab (which I would travel 5 hours for!). I also heard of the place called Tojimbo that has a dubious reputation as a popular place to commit suicide. According to the wikipedia, the area is also haunted by an old Buddhist priest. Looks like a beautiful place I would like to check it out sometime.