TraveLLs

I have so much to be thankful for.  To start off, I have a wonderful family.  I wouldn't be where I am today without their undying support and love.  I also have met some amazing people in my lifetime.  I am thankful for everyone of them for without them I would not be who I am today.  Most of all I am thankful for life.  It has been a good one so far and I look forward to what it has to offer me in the future. This year I was lucky enough to have not one, but two Thanksgiving celebrations!  The first one was provided by the lovely Ellen.  Ellen is a coworker of mine at KIS.  She has lived here for almost two years and this is her second Thanksgiving in Japan.  She is also one of the best cooks I know.  She made a beautiful array of Thanksgiving dishes including green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, corn bread, and a tasty turkey.  Our friend Kumiko also brought a sushi dish to give our thanksgiving a Japanese twist.  A...

Fall in Japan is beautiful.  Back in Utah and Colorado fall lasts a whole two weeks.  Those two weeks are gorgeous but the come and go so quickly if sleep in too late you've already missed the beautiful colors.  In Japan the fall season has lasted almost a full month.  The leaves started changing colors a few weeks ago and they are still holding strong. There are several places in and around Nagoya to see the fall colors.  One of these places is the Nagoya Castle.  This is a castle located right in the heart of the city.  The city of Nagoya was bombed during WWII.  As a result, the whole city was destroyed, including the Nagoya Castle.  Fortunately for me and other tourists destined for Nagoya, they have built a replica of the castle and made it into somewhat of a museum.   I convinced my friend Phil to accompany me on a day trip to the castle.  It is silly to even call it this since it is located in the city in which we li...

"I sit quietly, listening to the falling leaves - A lonely hut, a life of renunciation. The past has faded, things are no longer remembered, My sleeve is wet with tears." Ryokan

Winter has arrived here in Nagakute.  Unfortunately, I believe the worst is yet to come.  It is unbearably cold with temperatures as low as 29F as night approaches.  This winter I have two main things pulling against me.  The first is the fact that I have been lucky enough to have avoided any temperature lower than 70F since May 2011.  Secondly, at KIS (and other traditional Japanese schools) they believe that children's bodies must learn to regulate themselves.  Therefore, we are not able to turn the heat on in our classrooms when the children are present.  I am not sure when and if these circumstances will change.  These fact alone would make for an unfortunate winter.  But pair that with the lack of insulation in any Japanese structure and I am doomed.   I have recently learned (by word of mouth through Kimmy) that because of the extreme weather conditions Japan faces throughout the year their houses must be built accordingly...

In Japan they have a shop that is equivalent to the dollar store in the States.  Unlike the dollar stores in the States, these 100 yen shops are not full of useless junk.  You can find anything you want/need from coffee filters and floor cleaners to candles and calendars.  There is a 100 yen shop right around the corner from my apartment that I pass every day on my way home from the school.  It is a dangerous thing. Everything seen here (sans jewelry)was purchased from a 100 yen store.  

Last weekend a friend of mine from college came to Tokyo to meet up with me.  She is in Japan visiting her grandparents up north in the prefecture of Akita.  Since I am in the southern half of Japan we thought it would be best to meet up in the middle in the great city of Tokyo. I took my first overnight bus in Japan from Nagoya Station to Tokyo Station.  Surprisingly they are not as comfortable as the overnight buses in Thailand, but I survived with the help of multiple stops at Starbucks (all the while stealing internet from the only free wifi in Japan) Akina and her cousin Corina met up with me early Saturday morning and we walked ALL over Tokyo.  If you look at the path we took on the subway map it would create at least two stars of David.  Here are a few photos of our progression of Tokyo. After dropping off our extra bags in a locker in the subway station we started our journey by heading to Asakusa to see the Sensō-ji temple.  We...

A few weeks back I mentioned Feel the World .  This past weekend Feel the World hosted the World Rally via Linimo.  Built for Aichi Expo 2005, Nagoya's Linimo service is a Maglev (magnetic-levitated) train and claims to be the first of its kind.  Here is a link for further information on the Linimo . The World Rally via Linimo occupied eight of the nine stations on the Linimo line.  Each station represented a different country.  The countries represented were Guam, South Africa, Vietnam, America, New Zealand, the United Nations and there were two stations designated to Japan.  Each station, except for the UN station, had a native from the country who was put in charge of presenting information about their country in the form of entertainment and activities.  The participants each paid 500 ¥ for a passport along with 800 ¥ for a day Linimo pass.  They were then allowed to stop at every station, participate in the activities, get a passport stamp ...

The past month has been spent building up to the candy filled holiday of Halloween.  In Japan they do not celebrate Halloween in the traditional sense.  In Japan there is no trick or treating done and if you choose not to dress up, you are one of many. However, there are many signs of Halloween around the city!  If you walk into a restaurant there will be a sign that says "Happy Halloween" or there will be some cobwebs set up to set the mood.  Japan acknowledges Halloween, it is just not celebrated here.  Nonetheless, being from the states, I was not going to let another Halloween slip by unnoticed.  In addition to all the Halloween crafts and activities we have been doing in our class all month, I had almost a full week of festivities leading up to the big day.   Saturday:   We were invited to a Halloween party the Saturday before Halloween by one of my friends Japanese friends.  For just 3000 yen one could enter into seven differ...