Happy Christmas

I just wanted to share this post for those of you who may not otherwise see it.

Just spreading the good word.

Winding Down

Merry Christmas Vancouver, and Happy New Year.

The year is winding down. Japan doesn't like to cut loose at this time of year like we do. Monday is a holiday here, and I'll be training Karate in the Dojo xmas evening. Last class for me for the year as I am teaching Wednesday and Thursday. Friday is going to be clean up day and then we are done until the 7th. So it's going to be quiet here for me at least. I can't say I won't miss Christmas with the Fam and New Years with the friends, but I knew this come when I signed on for the trip. I hope everyone at home has a safe and happy holiday.

This is me. You knew that. This is me and the Dojo's 2 newest Shodans. Koshi and Riintaro.
I took this picture tonight of the night sky outside my apartment. Its just the moon and some power cables but I thought the lighting looked kinda cool, so there you go.
This picture was taken at Shirotoriyama (White bird Mountain) on the border of the Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefecture. Yes, thats me, my bike and Fuji in the background. IMHO, the picture of the trip so far, maybe my arctic fox.
Fun time for now. '08 is near then its back to work. Take care Vancouver.

The Power of Beer

I'm getting fat. There is no denying it. Winter has come and my appetite has returned with a powerful vendetta. It takes all my will power not to crack open the Xmas chocolates my mom sent me. "No, those are for the kids," i keep telling myself. Worse than that, it seems that after Sharp Sensei's visit, I have found myself addicted to Ramen noodles. Before I couldn't even finish a single bowl. Now I am often tempted to have 2. Yeesh. To make matters worse, I had to take my bike into the shop to me fixed. A minor glich with the chain. Kaz was kind enough to swap out chains for me, even kinder he no charged it. Seems I owe him another 6pack. The point is tho I didn't get in my normal diet of riding. I missed Karate on tuesday to teach Shunji, (once a month) as normal I missed wednesday for the Narita class (every week) and then on thursday evening I found myself playing hookey one more time. So like I said, I'm getting fat.

Maruyama-san is one of my students. He is a dentist, Sakurai Sensei's Dentist acutally. He's also a Yandan and teaches at his own dojo. During class last week, I happened to mention that one of my favorite foods in Japan was Yakatori, so we made plans this week to go out for some socializing and Yakatori. Maruyama-san, who I call Sensei even tho he is not my teacher, knew the best place in Shizuoka City for Yakatori. So off we went.

The evening had a really rough start tho. Lines of comunication were crossed. I waited for a phone call but never got one. Just in case I thought I walked to Fujieda station and waited for him for 15 minutes. 'A crap' I thought. I made my way home hoping to figure out what was going on. When I got home I had 7 messages waiting for me all from Maruyama-san. I called him back and after a brisk walk back to the train station were we on our way. I really need to talk to Sakurai Sensei about trading in the land line for a mobile.

The first place we went to was small, dimly lit and had nice jazz music playing on the speakers. Maruyama-san, had indeed found some of the best yakatori I had ever had, and also the most expensive. Mind blowingly expensive actually. But Sensei treated. I did a good job, took it easy on the drinks. We talked a fair bit, it was there I discovered what his personal dreams are. Godan next year, run in the Tokyo marathon and of course travel North America. He also taught me a little Japanese slang. Gochi kara Otoko means 'from 5 man'. A funny little expression used to describe public employees in Japan and how they seem slow and sluggish at work, but at 5 when their job ends, they all spring to life and head down to the Yakatori joints for beers and a little 'Kampai!'

After the Yakatori bar I was quite satisfied. Maruyama-san, as I am finding many little Japanese people can be, still was a bit hungry. So he found us the nicest tasting and most mind blowingly expensive sushi I had ever tasted. We ate moderately and shared a large bottle of Asaki beer. Then we moved on.

I decided to show Maruyama-san the local Gaigin bar I had become acqainted with in Shizuoka. A nice, dimly lit, casual little place called "Our Boozer'. It's run by a nice enough Englishman (Birmingham) named Carl. Maruyama-san was very intriged by this place. I told him how this was a very common style for a pub in North America, and how often young Japanese people, in particular the girls, often came to bars like this practice their english with the Gaigin teachers who would unwind at these places. Maruyama-san said the experience was very exciting. It was there I invented the Japanese slang, Kuchi kara Otoko, the from 9 man because english teachers all seem to be done work (or Karate) around 9pm. haha! I wonder if it will catch on.

Sensei also got his first experience of beer from other countries. Stella(Belgium) Modelo Negro(Mexico) and Canada's most mediocre beer, Labbats blue(which is all Carl keeps around. I'll have to talk to him about that).

Sensei and I had a fantastic chat. We talked about the difference in cultures and languages. I mentioned to him that I found a lot of things in Japan confusing. That you can say something in Japanese, but what it really means in implied. He took the time to make an example for me. When being served food at a friends house, your friend will say something customary to you in Japanese. Translated into english it means "I present this delicous food to you." But actually what it means is "This food is not delicous, but please enjoy." Confused? Well wrap your head around this. The Implied meaning is "This food is delicous to me, but maybe not to you. Please enjoy." Or something like that.

I have been looking for my decoder ring in supermarked cereal boxes since I got here. It seems that they don't make them anymore and people like me are on their own. Only someone who has lived on this island all thier life can really understand the difference between what is said and what it really means.

Maruyama and I had a great time. We talked on a variety of topics, world peace, places to go in North America and the like. About the time we started breaking into Karate demonstrations the last train for Fujieda would be leaving, so we paid up and moved on back home.

I think last night I learned as much about Japanese culture as I have in the past 3 months. Not to mention that I now feel like a better english teacher now too. It's hard to explain, but having a slightly loosened tongue around one of my students taught me a lot about conversational english. I could never teach classses over a few pints but I had a lot of good ideas last night. It was a good thing and a timely thing.

I am however on the hook for all of Maruyama-sans drinking expenses when he comes to Vancouver, whenever that is. I had to pinky swear on that one. LOL

Another thing I learned last night was about the layers of meaning in the word 'Osu'. We use it in the dojo to acknowledge to our Sensei in a respectful and mindful manner that we understand what he is trying to teach us. But word 'Osu' also means, or at least implies, patience, endurance and tolerance. As with many of my experiences here so far, my visit with Maruyama-san was very very timely. Wouldn't you agree, Peter?

The 13th Rider

The morning started off as they often do these days. I woke up snug in my bed. Then I shifted a little bit and realised that every part of the bed that wasn't presently in contact with my body was cold. I got out of bed just long enough to turn on the electric heater in my room and the kerosene heater in the next room. Then I went back and hid under my covers. I looked up at the clock, I had 30 minutes more sleepy time before I had to hustle.

I got out of bed a few minutes early so I wouldn't have to listen to that obnoxious alarm clock. I went and got dressed, cooked myself some eggs and ate. Then I wheeled my bike outside, took off the front wheel and stuffed my bike into the car. Today the rally point was in Shimada, our trip would take us to the hills of Kawane. Kaoru did his usual fine job of taking care of me, meeting me at a parking lot I was already familiar with and then leading me to the parking lot at the Shimada hospital. I usually pride myself on being a fairly independent person, but I have to admit, I would not be getting out on these trips if not for the kindness of my riding friends.

I was the last to pull into the parking lot. Todays ride had drawn the largest crowd I had seen so far here. My late addition would make 13 people who would travel to Kawane. The drive took about 75 mins with some addition climbing time up the hill. Kaoru would sit out the first run, parked at the bottom, so we could make our way back up the hill again.
We started off. The ground was the traditional Japanese loose and loamy stuff I'm not really used to in Canada. Loose and loamy is very ridable indeed, but not comfortable for me at the high speeeds my friends like to travel at.
We made 3 trips up the hill in all. Each trip down taking about 25 mins. I stopped to take a few pics here and there. Just a random sample of some of the better stills.

I did my best to keep up, but like I said, there is a lot of slip and slide on loose loamy shit. My comp 16's might as well have been bald for all the traction I was getting. Instead of wiping out I just took my time and rode my brake pads down. I think I'll have to see if Kaz has any Juicy pads in stock.

Never go mountain biking without your crockpot, I always say.

Actually no, I've never said that before. It's really amazing what these people can do basic camping equipment. During our 3rd ride down the mountain, Kanewa and Tiesh stayed behind to prepare a tasty Japanese feast which they let me share. I can't name the dishes I was eating, but just trust me, these dudes can cook.

There was a nice vantage point from the area where we took our picnic. I rode over to have a look. Below you can see the Oigawa river and hills in the distance.

This is Kanewa. A lot of the best rides I have been on here have been thanks to his fine planning. He got the Mt Fuji trip going, Fujimi Panorama, Shizuoka last weekend and Kawane today. Kanewa and his crew had never met me before a few months ago but they always treat me as one of their own. One thing that Canada has in common with Japan is the riders. In both countries I only ever meet kind and supportive people on the hills. What a sport.

Cold in the morning, it had warmed up nicely by lunch time. We headed home after we ate. I miss the north shore sometimes, but great people can make up for some of that I reckon.

Take care Vancouver.

Feeling Blue

Chilly

It's chilly now in Japan. The days still generate some warmth, but when the sun goes down its time to pull out the kerosene heater and stay warm. Mornings are the worst. I have to get out of bed, turn on the heaters and then go hide in bed until its warm enough to exist in my appartment. The tricky thing about the kerosene heater is that you have to open the window every 90 minutes or so or you start to breath in the fumes and that can cause problems for your lungs.

I got home at 4am on sunday morning. Not a wise decision so stay out so long since I had commited to riding with my friends in Shiuoka. We shuttled up the hill and I got to see a new ride location in Japan. It was nice, fast and loamy. We had to stop once in a while to move around fallen trees sorta like the Mt Fuji trip.

If you haven't been paying attention, I went to Kyoto last week. Here are the pics from that trip.

English teaching has been going well. Having pictures to show your students is a really good way to practice your english conversation. Sensei and I have been trying to advertise a bit more. No takers yet but at least efforts are being made. Hopefully we get a few nibbles by January.

Anyways, hope all is good in Vancouver. Take care all.

God is in the Rain

I'm starting to feel bad about not making enough blog posts for my readers. I hope you guys don't mind.

Saturday was a holiday here. I had the whole day off. In the evening I was invited out to a small party for Sensei. We were celebrating his accomplishment in Tokyo last month. It was held at Yakko of course. I left my camera at home. I just didn't feel like bothering people for pictures. As thank you/ congrats gift I bought him a copy of V for Vendetta, one of my favorites. The Party was for Black Belt adults only, but it seems I get cut some slack for being a quest. We had a really good time, but you know what they say. "What goes on in Fujieda, stays in Fujieda."

Sunday there was another trip to Fujimi Panorama, but I took a pass on that one. I'm going to plan my trip to Kyoto which should be coming up soon and I decided to budget.

The weather is noticably cooler here however still nice. It's kinda grey and wet here today So I have decided to stay in, write, prepare class and relax.

My left leg has been bothering me for the past few days. Bad timing since I was hoping to grade before Sensei is off to Canada. But instead of training on friday I took my camera to the Dojo. Here are some pics from training.

A Good Post

Matthew Good has long been my favorite musician. Along with Arcade Fire I think he is the best Canada has currently producing music. Last night I read this entry on his Weblog and decided to show it to my readers. I think the content is appropriate given that I am currently in Japan. Check it out.

To give you an idea of how smart this guy is, this is another good example of his blog writing, if you have time.

Check out the other blog for pictures from the tournament in Shizuoka on Sunday.

All Quiet on the Eastern Front

No blog entries doesn't mean that I'm dead. Just that life is going as advertised and there is not much to write home about. It's raining here today, the weather is much much cooler now than it had been. Its nice during the day, but some rain or evening time brings a chill to the appartment and I actually have to wear clothes. haha.

Karate is good. I think in November I'll start making time to train a bit harder. I would like to get another rank at least before the year is out. (Before you email me Pat, Yes, I'm still a green belt). I've been washing cars at the Narita's dealership, making just a few bucks but am hoping to save enough to go to Kyoto in November. The time to train more Karate should be there as I prolly won't be washing cars after October.

I mountain biked twice this week in Shimada, left me pretty wiped out, but I need to get it in while I can. The weather as mentioned continues to get cooler.

I emailed Sensei to ask him about printing some business cards. The need to build the english school is getting more and more urgent as money is getting tight for me. If I cannot bring in more students I may have to consider going home early which would suck considering everything I have accomplished here in just 3 months. I'd really like to last the full 10. Plus I told Kathryn I would try to leave the school in running condition when I leave here.

For those of you who don't like reading words, here is a picture of me from the Fuji trip, one I don't think I posted earlier.

Peace out Vancouver.

Shooter

One of the better movies I have seen in a while. Friends who know me know I don't recommend many movies, but this one is worth your 6 bucks at rogers. check it out when you have time.

Hang out with Yer Wang Out

As a guest in Japan with limited ammount of time to travel, you really do try to soak in as much of the culture as you can before you get the boot home. After my excellent ride sunday in Nagano, I was looking forward to a day of rest, time to get over my cold and rest my rattled joints. I was indeed allowed this rest, but not at home. Instead I was treated to a Japanese cultural tradition, one I was not expecting, and something I probably would not have sought after on my own.

Sensei Sharp had arrived in town the night before after what I gather was a grueling few days at the masters clinic in Tokyo. I ran into them (he and Sakurai Sensei) at the train station as I was foraging for food. We parted ways after a few pleasantries, but Sensei suggested we hang out the next day. I said I was looking forward to it.

The next morning I got a call from Don Sensei. He and Sakurai Sensei were off to the Onsen.

"Whats that?" I asked

"It's a traditional Japanese hot spring." he replied.

"Oh cool, I'd love to go. I'll grab my bathing suit." I said, thinking that a hot spring might help me get over my cold.

A few minutes later, the Sensei's arrived to pick me up. Sensei Sakurai asked to use my bathroom and was soon displeased with the science experiment I was contucting in my toilet. After the Onsen we would be off to the drub store to get some house cleaning products. Why does sort of thing always happen when other Sensei's are around? I laughed and giggled to hide my embarrassment, but will never let my toilet slide into decay again, mark my words.

Anyways, back to the Onsen trip.

The drive to Kanewa was quite pretty. The terrain along the Oigawa river is quite amazing. Is was during the drive that I learned a startling fact. Sensei Sakurai asked me if I brought the correct towels. I did, a big one and a small one, although I didn't know what I needed the small one for.

"It's cover up your bit whiel you move around." Sensei informed me.

"Don't I just wear a bathing suit?" I asked.

"No, we don't wear bathing suits at the Onsen" he said.

"Oh." I replied while trying to come to terms with this startling piece of Japanese reality. As with everything I try to imperpret life with humour. "If you guys drove me all this way to see me naked I think you're gunna be dissapointed."

Sensei Sharp laughed. I did my best to relax and enjoy the experience. Not much else you can do when the guy driving is a 7th Dan black belt, and his protoge the 5th dan is in the passenger seat.

The Onsen was located quite nicely along the Oigawa river. I would love to be able to show you pictures of the scenery, but maybe this time its ok I forgot my camera. Kanewa also keeps a beautiful old relic, a train from the golden age of Japans modern history. Every day the train makes 1 trip each way across the river. The bridge runs at a 45 degree angle to the mens bath. When the train moves across the bridge it blows its whistle and all the men moved to watch the train roll blowing is dark grey coal smoke up in the air. The view was nice, one thing I think I'll never forget, but maybe not as interesting as the view the train riders had of us.

The Onsen in Kanewa is one of the most famous in the region. The spring was actually discover by a Canadian Geological company about 10 years ago.

Sensei and I relaxed and chatted. I told him about my experiences in Japan and asked him about his new son, Logan. The day was a surreal experience, well in the Category of things I did not expect to be doing when I woke up that morning.

Since I came to Japan, it has always been important to me to be a good ambassador from Canada. Sensei Sharp and I represented Canada quite well at the bath. When he returns in April I wouldnt mind going again. Maybe I'll take my camera.

Its been a few days since the Onsen as I write the story. Sensei Sakurai's training has been particularly difficult , I think he's grumpy having caught my cold.

Today is October 14th. 3 full months in Japan for me, the quater poll of my trip. Time flies, does it not? I'm celebrating, you guys hoist one for me, I'll hoist a few for you.

**Edit**

Don gave me a few minutes of his time on monday to answer a few questions. Here is what I gleaned from his story.

EPIC - the Fujimi Fellowship.

The big news that I was hoping to have a few weeks ago finally happened this past Sunday.

I had got a cold though, on monday I taught Matsui -san inspite of the fact he was feeling ill. I thought I was up to the task but would later regret my choice as I came down with his illness. I was in such bad shape on friday that I had to cancel 2 of my morning classes as I was just in no shape to teach. Saturday came and I did my normal class with the wonderful Ohtomi group. At the end I went home thinking that I had the rest of the long weekend to recoup from my kaze. (Japanese for cold, and wind too ;-)) .

But saturday night I got a call from my friend Kaoru. The trip to Nagano was finally going to happen. "Doh! I can't go" I thought. "Sensei would kill me if he knew I went mountain biking when I was ill." I diplomatically told Kaoru "Tabun" (Maybe in Japan). I said good night to my friend, hung up the phone and immediately started to stew.

The Bike park in Nagano will close on November the 4th and become a ski hill much the way Whistler does. I knew they would only make one trip to Nagano before then. If I was going to see the bike park there, this would be my one shot. I would have to risk Sensei's admonishments. So at 4:30 am on sunday morning, I woke up. I loaded up with cold medecine, emailed my Mom, packed up armor, loaded my bike into my car and headed for the rally point near route 1 here in Fujieda. Same as the trip to Fuji-san, we loaded all our bikes into Kaniwa's super Toyota van. 9 Bikes, 9 riders, 1 Van this time as there was no need for a shuttle. They gave me shot gun, 9 people in one van is crowded in any van, so might as well let the big guy ride in the front seat. The people here are very generous to guests.

It would be a 3 hour drive to Fujimi Panorama, the bike park in Nagano. I would sleep most of the way there, but on the way back I was treated to some fantastic Japanese scenery. Hopefully I can write more about that in a later post. This pic is of 7 members of the ride crew. Kaniwa and Kaoru are in the back row with Tiesho and Hida.
Here is one thing we never did at whistler. A tent was brought along for a comfortable place to change clothes and relax after each run. One thing about my Japanese friends is that they are always ultra-prepared.

If riding is not your thing, and you have faith in an engine strapped to your back, your can try para gliding here too. yawn.

OK back to mountain biking stuff. The above pic is of my friend Kaoru and the scenery behind him. Down there below the mountain is a town I don't know the name of, but I know it's in Nagano somewhere. For those of you who are wondering, the Olympics in '98 took place about 3 hours to the north of where we where. Nagano I guess is one of the larger prefectures in Japan.
5100 yen for day pass on the gondora. I swear to god I'll make them change that to an 'L' before I leave.

There are only 3 different trails here. They are creatively named A, B and C. The trails are long though, with many interections so you can mix and match different parts of your ride.
The trails are quality, well kept and fast. It seems to me that the people here like their speed. The A trail is a speedy, steep sorta ride, maybe comparable to whistler's 'frieght train' without the jumps.

The C line which we rode as a warm up is supposed to be like Whistlers' 'B-line'. It's a lot faster though. I would call it an 'A-line' without the jumps.

My favorite trail was the first 3/4 's of the B trail. A super fast version of "Muddy Pirate". Which is actually "Angry Pirate" when it's dry but I hear that wasn't that often this year. LOL. The last quarter of the B trail was SOOOO muddy and greasy that you just had no control. The whole way down I could hear IFO's voice in my head. "Let it happen, Let it Happen. "I skipped it the second time down.

This is a good pic of Kaoru taking a corner on the B trail.

Tiesh riding the same line.

We stayed most of the day, left a bit early as people were wearing down after a few runs. I'd like to invite all my friends to Vancouver one day, take for some endurance training on Fromme and maybe a full day of Whistler lovin. Had I not been ill, I coulda rode all day and night.

I am so glad I went. First Mt. Fuji and now one of 2 known MTB parks in Japan, and all while mountain biking is just getting started in this country. If my friends could ever come to Vancouver they might see how limitless the potential for moutain biking is. Having rode in Japan, I had a taste of what the sport was like before I got into it.

3 months into my trip here, I have had a few experiences I will never forget. The next day I would have another. But you'll have to read the next post for that story.

A persons life can be truly amazing if they can just let it happen.

Rest

I'm pooped.

The week was pretty busy with Karate stuff. I rode in Shimada on thursday and that took it's toll for training for the rest of the week. Thankfully today is sunday and I get to sit around the appartment and chill out. It's even raining mercifully outside so there isnt much motivation to go outside.

In the Biking category, Kaz is fixing my bike. The Hub on my rear wheel needs replacing. The whole thing should cost me about 112 bucks. Ouch. I didnt really come to Japan ready to handle expenses like those. I just hope there aren't too many more of them.

Anyways, back to chilling out. Hope all is good back home.

Plugged in

Well finally I have been able to get myself plugged into the local mountain biking scene here in Japan. Thanks to word of mouth, my Narita class was joined by Kouta, seen here in the middle. He mountain bikes like I do and offered to take me up one of the hills in Shimada, one town over from Fujieda.
So I was up at 6am on Saturday to make a 7 am meet down at the bottom of the hill. The group climbed up the old fashioned way, peddle peddle, sweat sweat. I managed to make the entire climb (about 4km up?) without stopping. I wanted to stop for a break, but I think pride was f***ing with me and I pressed on. Thinking back, 2 months of the Cruel Tutalage of Sensei Sakurai may have had something to do with my trip up.

This is a picture of me and owner of Naruoka Cycle in Shimada, his name escapes me of course. But thats not the point. Check out the view.

We made it to the top and a little bit of down was followed by some more up. Ach! Eventually we made it to the entrance of the main part of the trail. The ride began and It was nice and fairly easy. Lots of loamy loose ground tho, so I took it easy until I could get used riding with a lot of slip and slide.

The ride down only lasted about 20 minutes. I was wondering how you could get to the bottom of a hill when all you were doing was riding up the f***ing thing. Im not complaining though. It's nice to be plugged in here and finally able to some honest riding. The morning was nice and cool and there was no complaining about the view.

In other news, Sensei was finally able to bring his computer over. I installed a new hard drive and put windows on it. Sensei was nice enough to hang around and translate the Japanese text so I could finish the install. He has some files on his old HD which is in it's death throws. I hope I can get his email back, he's got a lot of stuff there that he can't get back.

As a reward for helping him with his computer he brought over a whole flat of beer. And this while I thought helping him with his computer was just my chance to help give something back for the opportunity to be in Japan. He is very generous indeed. The man gives everything and I have not been able to give much back yet. I hope that changes.

In the BIG NEWS catagory, I rode Mt. Fuji sunday morning with another group of friends. I'll post up pics of that on the other site. Please check it out.

Goofing off

Sensei Sakurai has been absent from the last couple of training sessions. I'm not sure where he is but I guess he's busy being a pilar of the Karate community somewhere. Sensei's Osawa and Adachi have been filling in for him. At friday nights B&B, Ikki let us through some pretty hilarious warm up excersises like this attempt at a 3 legged race across the floor.
Takumi here got his Nidan a few weeks ago. It was nice of him to pose for this goofy looking pic. I quess he's still just a kid afterall. - maybe we all are?

I was taking part in this relay race in the dojo before I realized I should stop and get some pictures.

I found myself wondering if I would look back on this trip as a chance to relive my childhood. If all that is expected of me while I am here is to relax and goof off with the kids when Sensei isn't around then I think I can handle that just fine. I wish there was some way for me to convey to my readers just what great kids these are. But words fail me for the time being at least.

Anyways, for those of you who think that I should be more serious in my pursuit of Karate excellence, here are some pics of actually training.

Team Empi in mid-flight

Team Empi, not in mid-flight.

Adachi Sensei prosides over some Ippon Kumite before Sensei Sakurai arrives on Thursday.

The fujieda story blog has a new post up. Check it out. Its just a few pics from the fireworks in Yaizu last month.

In the crappy news category, the news I was hoping to share didn't happen this weekend. I'm not going to share what it might have been, only hope that next weekend I have better luck. Lets just say that Japan and Vancouver have a common trait when it comes to the timing of rain fall here. I think my friend IFO would feel right at home, if not a little grumpy, here in Fujieda.

Take care Vancouver.

A lull in the action..

Well I quess you guys notice that I am not posting as much as I used to. I'd like to have good escuses for this like Im too busy, but the truth is life has taken a turn for the routine here in Japan.

I'm still training karate 5 nights a week. I am noticing slight improvments in my kicks, stretches, and overall physical fitness, but not enough to really quantify. Its not really for me to quantify anyways.

I still worry about what Sensei thinks of the job I am doing over here. I could whine about it but I'll spare you this time. I'm starting to get the feeling I won't know until the end. I speak him before class each day. Each day he is tired. He works a full shift at his job, spends time with his family, and helps out on various karate commitees in the Shizuoka Prefecture. I keep asking him whn he'll have time for me to fix his computer, but there never seems to be an open slot in his week. He told me that a friend of his asked him to go dirt biking up at Nagano. I hope he can make, the man deservers a little fun time.

As far as I go, I am hoping to have some really interesting posts to put up after the long weekend coming up. I'd like to tell you what I have planned but I'm afraid I might jinx it.

I hear that home has had a pretty abysmal summer. A rain every weekend classic. It's been getting like this more and more over the past few summers. I wonder if it keeps happening, is the housing boom in the lower mainland going to get reeled in a bit.

Anyways, to keep my readers interested in whats going on, I have posted a student profile up on the other blog. Check it out.

Other than that, there is news, but Im going to hold on to it for a week or so. So relax for now, but be sure to tune in next week!

Out of the loop

So we had a really nice Typhoon here in Japan on thursday. It was slow moving and took a full 24 hours to clear itself from our coastline. The storm was impressive but without great big trees to fall and crush houses and kill people (like we had in vancouver last november) there really was little sense that my life was in danger. I drove to Karate training in the Typhoon only to find that Karate had been cancelled. haha. Oh well, I took Sensei for a little guilt trip on that one. Normally I like to get lots of pictures of the goings on here in Japan, but to get good pictures of the typhoon I would have to have gotten wet and I just don't like my readers enough to go do that. Instead though, I have recieved a few emails from friends and family with a few pictures that I think are worth posting. None of them have anything to do with Japan, but it's my blog and I'll post up what I damn well want. Anyways, in no particular order......... I hope you enjoy.

The first few are courtesy of Ian and Camerons Surfing trip near Tofino.

Lake Louise is from Lynne at work

And Sami (and his picture) are courtesy of Pat and Ashraf.

Anyways, off to dinner at Hide's (heeday) place. And Sensei Osawa just called to invite me to Yakko. Its rough being so popular.

Take care Vancouver.