Kasuisai temple in Fukuroi

While on the 2nd of January the visit to the temple was for wishing for a good year, yesterday we took Ken out to a couple of interesting temples out in Fukuroi for the purpose of sightseeing. Ritsy knew nothing about either temple but I had seen the signs for the two temples near one of the places that I teach at.
The first stop for the day was Kasuisai temple. The walk just before the temple you could see this interesting building with two beautiful statues bookmarking the door.
Naturally Ken was primed for sleeping by the time we got there.

The actual temple was nestled in the hillside and had a payoff of a beautiful cozy temple that was reachable with minimal walking.This temple had one of them cool giant shovels.
And the giant that crafted the shovel must have left his giant sandal behind as well.
As we walked away, quite satisfied with the discovery of this lovely little place, I was quite taken by this interesting guardian statue.
We then continued on to our next destination, also in Fukuroi- Yusanji.

New Years 2008

This picture just worked better in Black/White

One of the big traditions in Japan at New Years time is the trip to the temple to pray for good luck in the coming year. While Ritsy and I are not really religious people, we do believe that it doesn't hurt to just not tempt fate, be respectful to life, nature and to ask for safe passage. I do think it didn't work out too well for me last year, with the numerous trips to Temples in Nara- and my leg still got fractured so close to my baby's birth...
But we decided to lug little Ken out to Gansuiji temple on the 2nd. As I believe I mentioned, the temple is very popular for praying for babies, so it was a good fit. The other key point being that Gansuiji is so close to our home. Ken looked quite amused up to this point.
It was a pretty nasty cold day though, so we had to hurry along to do our business. At the front gate, they had their traditional New Years decorations out.
We went to the main shrine and said our Pleases and Thank yous. The shrine was decorated by a number of very colorful flags (not sure what the relevance is) and a thousand paper cranes as shown in the next picture.
Finally we had to hurry back to the car as Ken was not too happy about the cold weather, and I can't say that I blame him. It was pretty nasty.

My picks for the top 10 posts from 2007

One of the great things about keeping a blog is that there is a quick reference of the things that happen in our lives. Though it turned out to be quite time consuming (mental note, shorter posts) it was quite interesting to see the highs and lows of the year. A lot happened and it's always tough to say one post is better than another, but I tried my hardest.All you need to do is click on the title to relive each memory with me (and then the back button on your browser to continue on), here we go;

To Start we'll go with my pick for the worst post of 2007;

A Normal Post While it was actually a pretty special post, it was the first time I mentioned the imminent arrival of Ken, I also thought it would be funny to do up a picture in Photoshop combining elements or Ritsy's face and my face (and my nephew Mac's body). The end result was like Frankenstein's monster and probably severely traumatized some readers. So, it gets the worst of 2007 award.

Now the best picks;
10. A funny thing Fracturing your leg while playing basketball is not what many would consider good news to break (ouch! pun not intentional)- but this makes the list because of its relevance to my life. It was a pretty monumental happening!

9. A concert There was a few good party posts last year. A couple with Manami and Tet-chan's family and a couple at my student Josh's house. This one makes the list because it was quite a nice and unique musical show with a fantastic setting! Later Josh gave me a CD with the recording of the performance- a great touch.

8. Japanese Beauty At times I have been known to ramble. But every now and then a pearl of wisdom comes from this tendency. Japanese Beauty is very beautiful and speaks of the ways in which I appreciate Japanese culture- I can't believe that it was actually I that wrote it!

7. Princesses and Cherry Blossoms A nice post simply because of some beautiful pictures. 'nuff said.

6. Pete and Mari's wedding At the beginning of last year Pete and Mari had their wedding party locally. It was really interesting time and there was some nice pictures.

5. Lillooet This was my second Lillooet posting but I liked this one a little better as I took a little more of a humorous approach in recounting my story. Though some of the humour may be better understood if you read the first one too. And it really does look like the tv is eating him I think....

4. The Tokyo Series As there were a few series this year I tried to pick the best post from each group. The first was the trip to Tokyo. I picked this one because of the pictures of the old Kabuki theater in Ginza that apparently will be torn down. Beautiful looking building though.
3. Ise Another of my trips this year back in August. Man it was hot- and Ritsy was having a bit of the morning sickness still on the boat- but it was a great couple of days up there- and it's just great to explore Japan really. My choice had my favorite pictures from Ise, though I was actually torn between this one and the old shopping street.

2. Aunt and Mom's Visit Sorry ladies, you will have to settle for second place! It was awesome to show the ladies around Japan a bit, and selfishly I was able to see a lot of stuff I haven't seen before. There were actually a lot of great pictures from the series- but I'll go with my favorite location Todaiji- the home of the great Buddha in Nara. Honorable mentions go out to Kohfukuji and Hatasan in Fukuroi.
1. Ken Of course the arrival of your baby- especially your first is just a special moment- and I took a lot of time and recorded the events leading up to his birth quite nicely.

There it is the highlights of my blog world for 2007.

Now it's time to build a new year of memories.

A New Post!

Call the kids in! Phone your friends! Hamamatsu Life has an update! A new posting! And the lead picture is a generic, unreferenced one, it must be time for one of Todd's miscellaneous ramblings entries! Wow!

Sorry: Yep, I don't know what's been going on, my posts have been a little too much spaced out lately. I guess this week I had two new classes which I usually get a bit stressed about especially when trying to teach a new textbook. I tend to think that in the end the classes always work out fine but if I don't get worked up for the classes, I won't do as good a job- so it may be part of my successful recipe (it's one of my theories anyway). Well even though I haven't been typing in my blog, I often think about what to talk about when I am driving, so this is probably the by product of those thoughts!

Baby Talk: Ritsy finished work this week, and is now on Maternity Leave. I think it's great that she will have a month to relax now, it's going to get really busy for both of us, especially for her in about a month. And wow- that really feels real now- one month away from baby arriving. We actually heard the baby's sex now- but I'm not going to mention it here just yet- I want to personally tell a few people first. We already have a baby bed- thanks to Kouji-san, and we bought a new mattress and blankets for it. We also bought a stroller at a used goods shop and a car seat. So I think that is a good start. I even have been trying to read the What to Expect in the Baby's first year to be prepared for the challenges ahead. Progress is slow...

Baby Talk part 2: I watched the movie Knocked Up the other day and had a good chuckle. Of course the movie isn't for everyone- very adult themes like drugs, etc... Though in the movie the baby comes about thanks to a one night stand- the actual pregnancy and everything after that was somewhat relevant to me, so it was actually good to watch for my situation. Especially when they showed the picture of the baby crowning, that is something I have to work myself up to...

Death Hill: One of my new classes this week was in Morimachi(actually both of them were), which means that for the first time in a long time I had to go out in the direction where I had my accident earlier this year. Well, the old road is now gone, they built a new, much safer road through the hills. It is a gradual incline with a much lower apex and very good sight lines- the drive feels much safer now! Good job government of Hamamtsu!
Not Farewell, it's see you later : Ya it was kind of a sad feeling on Tuesday. Some of my regular students for my Tuesday night class that have been attending for around 2 years will not be joining next semester. So it felt like goodbye, though I hope that we will all stay in touch as they were not only great as students but we also had some great talks and a couple of fun times at Josh's place. Well if you guys are reading this, thanks again!
Lanma: Asked me to put her picture in my blog again, so there it is.

I will try to be more on top of posting again! Thanks for reading!

Oh, Canada! (Volume 2)

Since I can't go home for the Obon holidays as I had hoped, I am stuck remembering Canada and preying for my next visit to come soon. In honor of this I wanted to help my Japan-living friends understand a little more of Canadian culture so here is the long awaited part 2 of Oh, Canada!

Ritsy+ me + toque = Synergy

1. Toque; It's not a beany... this is a beanie....
It's not a knit cap.. I tend to imagine a knit-styled baseball cap
It's pretty clear...
It's called a toque!

Yes, she is wearing Red Pants!

2. Totem Poles; What is more Canadian than the artistic works of the Native Americans. Though many won't recognize the style of a lot of the paintings- they are very much unique and beautiful and we can see a lot of that style in the Totem Poles. Always a tourist favourite, the Totem poles have been referenced for over 200 years in historical writings, but it is believed that the history goes back even further. It is difficult to say there is one meaning for totem poles, the reason behind each one being erected is probably routed in the history of whichever tribe built it. Either way they are a big part of the true Canadian history.

3. French; Yes- Canada is a bilingual country! Our great history is riddled with tales of the battle between France and England for control of the great big county. Even as recently as 1995 there was a referendum- or decisive public vote about whether or not the French speaking Province should separate from Canada. The vote was won by the slimmest of margins- wikipedia says by about 1% (HERE). But I digress, while the East coast has a larger presence, the majority of Canada does not use French in any way shape or form. I just remember French class as a course I had to take to fill out my graduation requirements! That said- it is a large part of our history as a country and I do wish that I studied harder- just please don't expect me to be able to understand very much French!
4.Hockey; We love hockey. There is no sense in denying it. It is a fast paced, under-appreciated game. Nothing tops going to the stadium for the first time and watching a game live, once you understand the rules and you get behind a team, you understand why the games get more physical sometimes and you end up enjoying a solidly played, potentially beautiful game. Recently there has been a big crack down to make the game more accessible to the average sports fan (aka- the Americans :-)) and the game is looking more exciting and clean than ever- please give it a try!

5. The final bit we will give some quick facts about Canada;
- Tallest Mountain - Mount Logan 5,959 meters
- Longest River - MacKenzie River - 4,451 kms long
- Tallest Building - CN Tower - 553.33 meters
- Largest Lake (fully in Canada) - Great Bear Lake -31, 328 kilometers square
- Largest City - Toronto - population 2, 500, 000
- Some famous Canadians - John Candy, Mike Myers, Dan Akroyd, Jim Carey, Mike Myers, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morisette, Neil Young, Pamela Anderson, Shania Twain, Keanu Reaves, Bryan Adams. I could just keep on going...
- Most handsome Canadian.. This guy...

Typhoons, Nuclear Reactors, Drivers Licences, Dainenbutsu, Dinner and Drinks with Some Students!

I wanted to continue reflecting on the visit from my family in April, this time looking at my Aunt's pictures, but there are a few stray topics hanging around that I wanted to address.

Weather and Nuclear power: Last week some nasty weather blew through the region. It actually started on Thursday- before the typhoon hit we had a nasty dumping of rain that seemed to coincide exactly with my class finishing and my entire drive home. The rain was so hard that on the dark road I could barely make anything out. The picture above is a fairly accurate view of what I could see while driving home. Just nasty. The rain seemed to be a little reminder that one of the biggest typhoons in recent memory was paying a visit soon to Japan. Man-yi when it hit Okinawa was a category 4 typhoon and was cutting a direct path through mainland Japan up through Hamamatsu and up to Tokyo. Thankfully by the time it hit here it was category 1 and the winds were a manageable 100 km/hour. Honestly the damage looked minimal in the area- I cleared a few branches that fell off the big tree across the street, but it actually seemed a little anti-climactic.

The next day came news of the big earthquake in Niigata. There were a few concerned e-mails to me as the news characterized it as being central Japan- but it is actually northern central Japan- while I am in Southern Central Japan. The point of interest to me actually is the Nuclear power facility. Japan largely relies on nuclear power- I am sure that you can imagine with such a large population and such small land, the need for efficient cheap power is extreme. Well we aren't too far from a nuclear power plant here in Hamakita- okay it is probably about 40-50kms away, but sometimes that doesn't seem far enough. With the spillage into the sea and the knocking over of the nuclear waste barrels, it seems to me that we haven't heard the last of the damage caused by such a disaster. Well it just strikes a chord with me and I hope that the power plant is better setup to withstand the big earthquake that is overdue to hit here.

Drivers Licence: I went to renew my drivers license on Tuesday with my trusty translator Ritsy (and apparently my wife...). The process includes sitting down for a 2 hour video and lecture. The video is pretty good, at least through the campy acting I can get the point it is trying to make. If I drink with my colleagues they will convince me to drink more than I wanted then I will drive home and fall asleep at the wheel, then hit and inevitably kill a girl riding her bike. I will then be sent to prison and my wife will be forced to work so she will eventually lose the baby that she is carrying due to the extra stress. Okay- all sarcasm aside- I actually like the idea of the video it is presented as a drama which is quite popular in Japan so it will hold people's attention and the message it carries is a good one- don't drink and drive. I hope that it has made some people re-evaluate their habits and saved a life or two! The rest of the session is a throw away- even if I could understand what the man was talking about for the last hour and a half he would have put me to sleep. He was not an interesting public speaker and indeed, looking around I could see some people nodding off. After that was completed, I had my new license- I am now no longer a beginner in Japan (yes, despite my 10 years driving in Canada, I had to start as a beginner).
Dainenbutsu: On Sunday, at the tail end of my class, my students and I went over to the Cultural center in Hamakita and checked out the museum. As we had talked about the Dainenbutsu, they wanted to show it to me as there is a lot of information about the ceremony there. Pictured above are two masks that are used in the ceremony- the characters Hyotoko and Okame. The museum was small but surprisingly nice- I wish a few more foreigners might come out to Hamakita, as there was no English materials made at all! Incidentally about Dainenbutsu, the ceremony was actually last weekend, and that would have meant that the people doing the cermony that night would have had to be out in the typhoon conditions! I hope that they were able to cut the evening short!
Dinner: That night (after my usual Sunday basketball session with Chris and Peter) I met up with the same students again and we went out for a nice night of drinks and food! Kazuo and Atsuko are a couple of real nice people that tried out one of my group lessons and asked me to teach them privately as the class was too hard for them. They both have a great energy and we always have a great chat every class. For dinner we chose a local Izakaya called Iso de Raku that featured some amazing fish dishes.
After some great food, some beer and some laughs, we of course had to have the typical capper- a trip to karaoke!
It was a great night and they were both very generous and very fun to hang out with!

Bentenjima hanabi

Yesterday, my wife and I had been invited by one of my coworkers out to Bentenjima to
watch the fireworks they display out there. My coworker, his name is Warwick, here he is with the children of one of my students, has a place with a great view there.
That's right - I said the children of one of my students. Warwick's wife and my student's wife happen to be sisters so they are brothers-in-law. So here is Warwick, Shun (my student) and I enjoying some wine.
Well Warwick and I seem to have a fair bit in common. We are foreigners, we are both hansom, we both work for the same company, we know Shun, he is building a house right now ( I built a house), and he just had a baby(Ritsy is due in November)-okay well his wife just had the baby. His baby is very new and is so tiny- very cute though...
Warwick's pad was pretty nice, they have a great view of the water and the bridge in Bentenjima (you can find an old picture of the water gate at Benten in this old post). Unfortunately some greedy jerks built some condos across the way that partly blocked the view(you can see the building in the picture below)- doesn't matter it was a fantastic venue! This was also the last chance to see the fireworks at his place as he will be moving into his new home in about 3 months time.
Great to enjoy the fireworks and a beer a chuckle or two all at the same time. Everyone was so nice, and my wife enjoyed talking to Warwick's wife as their situations are very similar ( I guess that means having to put up with stinky gaijin?). Unfortunately Shun couldn't keep up with us and we found him passed out in the upstairs room.
All in all, the night was a great success and very fun for both of us, I hope to do something similar again in the future!

Happy Canada Day (Oh! Canada! issue 1)

Okay this is almost late as there is about 10 minutes left in Canada Day in Vancouver, but late is better than never. Well as Canada likes to do things just a little bit better than our neighbours to the south, we beat them by 3 days to celebrate our great country- picking the 1st of July for the event. In honour of my great countries birthday I will do a special entry in the style of my "That's Japan" Posts- I like to call Oh! Canada! (meant to be said while rolling your eyes into the back of your head)

Whether you imagine Canada as a vast land covered in a thick sheet of ice, or populated towns filled with people wearing Roots and drinking Maple Syrup lattes, chances are you have never been there. Let's get right down to it!
1. Donuts; While for most of my life I had thought that the love of donuts was more of an East Coast of Canada characteristic, it seems that recently Canada's biggest food chain, a donut shop named after a former Defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs has finally managed to get a foothold in Vancouver as well. Tim Hortons is a national staple, probably more Canadians eat their donuts and drink their delicious coffee than people use Maple Syrup or eat spring salmon.
2. We do say 'eh?' a lot. I never noticed this living back home, but the word 'eh?' tends to escape from my mouth at a rate of once per every 2-3 sentences. There is nothing to be ashamed about, most cultures have a version of it, Aussies (and sometimes Americans) say "hey?", in Japan the say 'ne?', well you get the idea. so give us a break already, eh?
3. Mounties. The National Police force in Canada is called the RCMP- short for Royal Canadian Mounted Police. So often when depicted in movies, the usually bumbling police officers show up riding their horses (Untouchables...). Well I have only ever seen a cop on a horse on special occasions or in select areas like parks and beaches. While their history is on horses, they do in fact have cars now.

I wanted to get to my usual 5 points, but time constraints ( I have to go to work now) mean that I can only post 3 at this time. I will get back to my beautiful country in the not too distant future. Happy Birthday Canada!

That's Japan (volume 4)

Ahhh- Japan. A land rich with cultural history and a promise of a bright future. The past and future meet in Japan and it shows itself in the most unexpected of places. As westernized as the culture is becoming we are constantly faced with traditional elements of Japan that make this place so unique, so lovable and so confusing all at the same time. Well.... that's Japan!
1.The Inkan - How do we authenticate documents and personal checks back home? With archaic, easily forged signatures. Well the Japanese have the best solution to this problem- forensically pure and virtually un-forgeable rubber stamps. The Hanko or Inkan has the earliest documented use in 67 A.D. a gold seal used by the emperor. The heritage of this system probably links back to China as my old friends at Wikipedia explain here. Honestly in this day and age with comprehensive scanning technology it is pretty apparent that both the inkan and signatures can be reproduced- what will be the next generation marker?
2. The commonly asked questions. - As an English teacher I get a pretty comprehensive read on some misconceptions that seem to be quite widespread here in Japan. Here are the top three that come to my mind:
- Only Japan has 4 seasons. To be honest I am not really sure what is in people's minds when they ask this question to me. In my humble opinion (IMHO to you internet geeks out there) in Canada the seasons are more clearly defined than they are here in Japan- anyway Chris had a great take on the 4 season thing in his blog- funny guy!
- People in other countries don't have allergies like they do here in Japan. - I can understand where this feeling comes from- there is a lot of pollution here and the air pollution intensifies the concentration of pollen in the air. But it doesn't change the fact that we have a lot of the same trees and grasses (like Cedar) in and around Vancouver and I have been suffering since I was 11 or 12.
- The chopstick thing. - Especially in western culture, international food is quite popular. In most countries everyone has been to a Chinese or Japanese restaurants more than a couple of times. So, yes most of us can eat with chopsticks.
3. Breakfast - I never picked up on it back in Canada that my wife never craved sweet food for breakfast. I mean how many hangovers have I tried to kill at IHOP over a plate of waffles- or what kid didn't enjoy a big bowl of sugar coated Frosted Flakes or Count Chocula? The truth is that people here in Japan think that it's weird that we eat sweets - they are used to their traditional morning meal of Salad (I mean salad for breakfast? That is weird), Miso Soup, Rice (of course), and a grilled piece of fish. Of course sometimes you can throw Natto into that mix- which I will talk about in a second.
4. Natto - When I first smelled the wonder that is natto- my stomach did about 3 back flips. The smell I would liken to how your toes smell after a long day of playing sports, or belly-button lint. When you get past the smell, the taste is actually acceptable- but I ask this simple question- why would you want to get used to such a horrible smell. I usually take a pass on this. What is it? It is fermented soy beans usually mixed with mustard and green onions- it is incredibly healthy for you and it is quite popular among the Japanese.
5. Holidays - While it is no secret that the Japanese work harder than people in most cultures- most of the workers I know start at 8 am and usually head home anywhere from 7pm- 10pm (sometimes later) just about everyday. Lately companies have introduced a 'No Overtime" day- to encourage employees to reclaim some of their lives (or more accurately cut down on the costs of paying overtime). Even though most employees are allowed some personal days off in the year, it is generally frowned upon to use these days. Well, the government is a saviour- most people are guaranteed 3 weeks off a year. There is one national holiday in April (Golden Week), one in August (Obon) and one in December/January (winter holiday). This alone has probably saved a number of people from just 'losing it' altogether. I know for me it always helps to recharge the batteries.

That's all for this installment of "that's Japan". Tune in next time as we delve deeper into the little details about Samurai life!

Talkin' Terrific Tokyo

The Hato bus people offered to let us off in the ginza area upon the completion of our tour and we were quite curious to see the area, so though that it was a good idea. One of the places that caught my eye is the Kabukiza- the Kabuki theater. The building has classic written all over it and should be treasured as a building of tradition. Unfortunately, according the tour guide, the place will be torn down and a new modern building will be put in it's place. If that truly comes to pass, I say it is unfortunate.
That night we met up with another guy that had gone to school with Scott and Makoto and had a good laugh over more Izakaya food and a few beers.
Can't remember exactly where this spot is (shinjuku or Shibuya) but Makoto said that it is a famous place to go to meet up with your friends.
We concluded the day going to Akihabara and while we wanted to see some of the freaky people that hang out there- there were only a few people garbed up as popular Manga characters and the only Maids we saw worked for some service called Moe- where you pay to walk around with the maids. Well the picture didn't turn out so great but in the background you can see the Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara- a building that we thought might be a stadium at first. It's big.