Greetings, everyone.

Well, last week, Doug got it into his head to go to Nagasaki for the annual Lantern Festival. So, after a four-hour drive and a night at a love hotel, here we are. During the Tokugawa Shogunate (I'll edit in the dates later), this city was the only place where foreigners were allowed to come in contact with Japan. The second Tokugawa shogun (I'll add his name later, too) put this restriction into effect. Soon after, contact was further restricted to just the Dutch only, and they had to stay on an artificial island built in the harbor. This island, Dejima, is now a historic site, but Nagasaki has grown around it.

Of course, Nagasaki is also the second city to be hit with a nuclear bomb. I chose not to go to the peace park and museum. I don't think I could deal with that today.

Nagasaki has a very large and interesting Chinatown, and that's where we're staying. The streets are liberally bedecked with lanterns, and they look very impressive. I assume they'll look even more impressive when the sun has set and they are all lit. Jamie and I saw the king and queen of the festival (?) carried into the main park on palanquins. Very impressive.

I've only got a few minutes at this internet cafe left, so I'll wrap it up for now. I hope to hear from you all soon....

Learn your Ninja Clan at the
Ninja Burger website.

If you're wondering just what the heck's going on in the new splash page picture, here's another photo from the same event.

Oh my God. I've got to post this now, while it's still fresh (eeewwww) in my memory.

So I got on the train at Nishi Kagoshima Station, ready to come home after a day of shopping in Kagoshima City. I had just gotten settled in my seat, when all of a sudden a remarkably ugly woman got on the train. Never had so much makeup been used to so little effect.

This person deposited a number of big bags by the door and proceeded to walk down the car to find a seat, stopping at the seat behind mine. At this point, a definitely MALE voice gruffly asked if the seat was free. Getting a nod (the other person was apparently speechless), he went back to the door, and schlepped his bags over to the seat.

Later in the train ride, the seats on the other side of the aisle from me freed up, and so this guy (old, ugly) moved over there. He then proceeded to put his legs up on the seat in front of him, put a green knit...thingy on them, and then he hauled out a camcorder and videotaped...his legs. For about five minutes. I have no clue what he was doing. I'm not sure I want to know.

When I got ready to get off the train at Higashiichiki, he proceeded to move all of his stuff again, across the aisle to where I had been sitting. He then put the green thingy back on and continued to videotape.

Everyone in that car of the train was staring at him.

Actually, I am sure. I definitely don't want to know.

Okay, I've gotten about four hours of sleep, and now I'm back. Most stores and restaurants are closed today, so I'm still at home. I'm taking advantage of the down time to do some long-overdue cleaning.

Earlier today (while waiting for a load of laundry to finish), I took a walk around town. Even though everything's closed for the holiday, there was still a lot of traffic on the roads. Many people are visiting the homes of family and friends today. Last year, I got to go along with Dr. Kawabata, a local (retired) physician, as he made the rounds. I ate a lot of traditional New Year's foods, met a lot of people, had a good time, and was dead tired by three in the afternoon. (Late night, y'know...)

One service that was up and running this morning was Postal Delivery. Every year, people send "new year's cards" to each other. These are simple postcards, sometimes decorated, with a brief "Happy New Year" message. The Post Office accepts these for delivery around the 25th of December, and they hold them all until January 1st. This year, I got five of them; three from JET friends, one from the superintendent of schools (my boss), and one, surprisingly, from the principal of one of the junior high schools in town.

No one is surprised that I don't send these. My Japanese handwriting is atrocious; even worse than my English handwriting.

The sun is shining, so I'd better put out another load of laundry.

Later,
Rob

Well, now that Blogger's up and running again, and seeing as how I haven't been able to go to sleep tonight (it's what? 5:30 AM?), I might as well make a new post.

Happy New Year, everyone!

I begin this year just as I did last year, sitting in my apartment and watching TV. I did make the midnight visit to the local Shinto shrine, to pick up a few good luck charms, and pray for good fortune in the year to come.

I took a couple of days off of work -- Christmas, and the day after. Yep, those would have been regular work days. But, I had some leave that I had to use before the end of the year, so I was able to take paid vacation for those days. And, this entire week is winter break for the school system, so I don't have to go back until Monday the 5th.

[aside -- I just saw a commercial for a new TV show, starting next week. The (English) title: "Bewitched in Tokyo." It even has the same theme music]

While we were in Fukuoka for the Japanese language test, my friends and I had dinner at the Hard Rock Caf�. Just like Hard Rock in any other country, the food is overpriced. . . but that's actually normal for Japan.

It looked and sounded like any other Hard Rock Caf�, but there was one part of the menu that struck us as odd.



Do these look like "Japanese Specialties" to you? Okay, maybe the Teriyaki Chicken. . . .

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Well, 2003 was kind of difficult for me, for a number of reasons. I could say that a lot of it was wasted time, in fact. I'm actually rather glad to put it behind me. (Some of you know some of these stories already.) 2004 looks to be a challenge, too, but at least I know about these in advance! For example, my job here in Higashiichiki will end in July. I have been debating looking for a new job here in Japan (though probably not in Kagoshima). I think I'll try this. I've already got a lead or two.

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I saw The Last Samurai last week. It was much better than I was expecting (I don't normally go for Tom Cruise movies). In case anyone was wondering, there actually was a rebellion at around the time the movie depicted, although it didn't happen around Tokyo. Actually, it was around here, in Kyushu. The leader of the rebellion, Saigo Takamori, is still a local folk hero in Kagoshima, although not so much in the rest of Japan. Saigo was one of the leaders of the Meiji Restoration, helping to oust the Tokugawa Shogunate and reinstate the emperor. Afterwards, he did come to believe that Japan was moving too fast away from it's historical roots, and he led a samurai rebellion. After losing most of his troops in battle, Saigo committed suicide in a cave near Kagoshima City (now within city limits).

At the end of the movie, Emperor Meiji said something to the effect of, "Japan must become a modern nation, but we must not forget who we are and where we come from." This line really struck me.

I'm not sure that Japan ever really learned that lesson.

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I hope that everyone has had a joyous holiday season, and I hope you all will have a good new year.

You know, I'm not sure that anybody reads this anymore...

Oh, well. Even if nobody knows about it, I still wish all of you a happy new year.

Rob