I got an update coming soon I promise, but here's a great pic to hold you over till then.

I just got back from two days of exhilarating canyoning and rafting in Shikoku (the island to the south). It took a little over two hours to get to the company's building (Happy Raft), but it was totally worth it. We spent the first part of Saturday canyoning, which is by far one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. After donning full wet suits and helmets and heading up the mountain in a rickety old van, we hiked down to the canyoning base, where we took a quick dip in a mountain pool. Although the water was cold, the wet suits made the whole thing very comfortable. We started by going down some rock water slides and doing all sorts of roping. We also took a trip on a long zip line across a gorge, hanging at about 70 feet above the ground. The trip was topped of by a controlled 40m (130 foot) decent into a canyon. After a quick lunch of Okonomiyaki, we headed to our cabin for the night--a traditional Japanese house, complete with BBQ, which we used all night cooking up lots of good things. We awoke early the next day for rafting, and after a long delay at the bathroom (which almost made me miss the bus), we headed down to rafting starting area. Although I had rafted before in Colorado, rafting here was a completely different experience. We were on the river from about 9:30 in the morning up until dusk. I got a crazy high, not to mention some sore muscles and a nice sunburn. Apparently the river we did was rated a 3.5 (out of 5 in terms of difficulty), but it was a blast. In addition to the rafting we also did cliff-jumping and raftless rapid riding. The day was topped off by a trip to a local Onsen (Japanese hot spring) where we relaxed for awhile before heading back to Awaji. It was an incredible trip that was a wonderful way to top off my already amazing experience here on Awaji island. It's sad to be leaving in two days, but it had been a fun-filled and adventurous two-and-a-half months. (There will be videos up soon, YouTube seems to be down at the moment...)

I know its a few days late, but here's the Tokyo post. I got back from a 3 1/2 day trip to Tokyo where I stayed with my friend Hiroyuki from Germany. Together, we traveled to the big tourist places in Tokyo, including Akihabara (the Anime mecca of the world) Shinjuku, the Asakusa temple and Tokyo Tower) as well as some lesser known locales. Tokyo was the biggest city I have ever been in, and it was quite cool actually, a lot different than I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a concrete jungle with no green, and people hectically rushing around. While there were quite a lot of buildings and high rises there, Tokyo seemed to have its own kind of homey feel, and the people seemed to be surprisingly laid back.

After getting in around 4 on Monday, we went out to dinner and I met some more Japanese who I met in Germany. It was a lot of fun talking with these people all of whom I hadn't seen in two years. Many of the men have become "Salarymen" (Hiro included), which is means they work 12 hour shifts six days a week and get less than a week of vacation per year. After dinner, we headed off to a karaoke bar and sung crazy songs, before heading back to Hiro's parents' house, completely knackerd.

Day 1, we went to Akihabara and Shinjuku where we took and elevator up the Japanese parliament building. We also had lunch in a sky lounge (25th floor restaurant) in the building where Hiro works. I also was worked on by a guy who did some kind of energy work, like Reiki. Akihabra was absolutely crazy, hoards of hungry Otaku scoured the streets looking for their next fix, while we tried not to get trampled and took a break in a maid-cafe, where young girls dressed as maids served us melon soda and root beer floats.

As day 2 rolled around, I had regained much of my energy. We headed off to Tokyo tower, the large red and white likeness of the Eiffel Tower, where we took an elevator up to the first level. Afterwards, we headed to Asukusa, a famous temple in Tokyo, where we did a little shopping along a famous pedestrian mall.

On the day I left, I was awoken in the early morning by an earthquake, apparently registering a 4 or so. It was the first one I had ever been in, and was quite a scary experience. It was a unique way to top off my Tokyo experience, and it was a trip I won't soon forget.

I'm heading off to Tokyo tomorrow, but heres a quick update of Awaji happenings. I went to Sumoto (a nearby town) yesterday to meet with a kiwi named Steve, with whom I'll be rafting later this month. After a quick lunch, we headed up the mountain and literally into the clouds. There were all of these low clouds that were passing over and through us. It was all quite surreal and cool. Additionally the wind was blowing like mad, as you will hear on the videos, which are below.

First video, sorry for the inane babbling, but it was quite awesome, never been in a cloud before.

At the top of the mountain where there was a cool lookout tower, it'd be a cool place for a BBQ!

Last Saturday, I went to a town to the south, Minamiawaji, for dinner and fireworks. After a nice ramen noodle dinner, we headed to the beach where I met with Atushi. After watching some very cool Taiko drummers and having banana-melon flavored ice cream, he headed down to watch the fireworks. It was a cool show. Never have I been so close to the action, so much so that when the wind shifted in our direction bits of the fireworks rained down on us. The show lasted about an hour, after which we decided to hang out at the beach with a bunch of Atsushi's friends from Tokyo and Osaka for the next five hours. We didn't actually leave until about 3 in the morning, at which point I was completely wiped out. Still, it was a fun night, and my first exposure to a traditional Japanese festival. Check out the videos below!

Taiko Drummers

Japanese fireworks

I've spent the last few days frequenting one of my new favorite spots on the island, a small beach that is in front of Derek's house. The water is quite warm and although I saw a stingray the first day I was there, is relatively private. Derek left about a week or so ago and said I could use his beach whenever I wanted. One of the JETs on the Island, Jeff, also recently left, and left behind a very nice road bike which I can use until I find someone to buy it. So I've been riding his bike everywhere, to the beach and also to explore the town I'm in. Just this morning, I was exploring around and found a cool road/path up into the mountains, where I saw a little park. To the side were wooden steps leading up to some kind of shrine at the top of a mountain. I took some pictures and ate lunch up there. The weather has been getting hotter so I'm thinking that going to the beach and chilling in the ocean is going to become a regular activity for me.

On the way up to the mountain where I had lunch. It was a hotel built in a nice, southern European stlye. The racing bike up against the wall completes the European look.

A panorama shot of the southern part of Tsushi from atop the mountain.
Another shot of the central part of the town from a little bit down the road.

Another shot of the private beach. With the exception of a few high school/junior high school students I've seen every once and awhile (today for instance, a bunch of young girls appeared while I was swimming and then started yelling "I rub (love) you"! from across the beach :))
the beach is quite private and nice.

The typhoon lasted all night last night, but thankfully both Nappa (who finally came into the house after I picked her up and brought her in) and I were able to sleep pretty well throughout the night. I awoke this morning to find sunlight blaring into my eyes. I got up and after a quick glance outside, grabbed my camera and rode my bike down the long driveway to a road where I would have a better view. The view after the typhoon was spectacular. And sadly its hard to capture the beauty with just photos. But here they are nonetheless.

First, the house after weathering the storm, unscathed and glowing in the morning sun.

A view from the end of the driveway, gazing out across the houses, rice fields, mountains and
contrasting sky. The air feels wonderful this morning.

A view going up the driveway to the house, note the sharp constrast in the sky between the dark rainclouds and the white...normal.... clouds. Very pretty.

Again, gazing out across the western part of Awaji Island where I am at the moment. Stunning (at least I think so).

Well I'd say my time in Japan has been deserving a proper inauguration in true Japanese fashion. I understand that a typhoon is due to strike southern Japan on Saturday (July 14th). I've never been in a typhoon before, but I have to say there is something intoxicating about standing at the precipice of nature's pure power. Its like watching an oncoming thunder storm move in across the lake from the shelter of a boathouse. So yeah, I think it might be a cool experience. I have been making preparations for it, buying enough food for a few days (although it isn't supposed to be much worse than a big wind storm with lots of rain, better to be safe than sorry). And I've also put up wooden storm shudders on some of the windows of the house. Whatever happens, I am grateful for the chance to be here, and relish in all the opportunities this place has to offer, both the good and the bad, and maybe even the bad-ass.

(pictures, sat image of Typhoon, boards over the windows and Nappa soaking up the rays while she still can)

It's been both a very relaxing and very strenuous past week. One of the highlights was going to Minamiawaji ( A city to the south) to play soccer with Atsushi and his team on Thursday night. After three hours of hardcore indoor soccer, in the middle of 80% humidity, we were all quite tired not to mention pretty wet. It was a lot of fun though, and I got to meet more Japanese people which is always great. The Friday prior I went to the beach in Sumoto with one of the JET's (English teachers) on the island, Jeff, who I met the first day. We met two of his friends there, Micah (An American) and Alex (A brit from outside of Oxford; all of them JET English teachers). It was pretty cool just hanging out and grilling on the beach. One of their Japanese friends, Yoshi, showed up a little later. After we finished eating we played Frisbee on the beach. I'll be seeing them again this Friday for another barbecue. I've also been spending a lot of time hanging out at Derek's house, and playing rummy with him and his friends. While I still have a long way to go in mastering the game, its been a fun experience. What I didn't realize is that the Japanese and English are hardcore gamblers, and when they play they play for keeps. I lost maybe 500 yen (about 5 bucks) over the course of a few nights, but it was fun. Otherwise, I'm getting along great here, walking Nappa everyday and avoiding the massive spiders who live in the house (One of the cats, Boogie, found one last night and was tossing it around and crushing it, kind of sad really). Big barbecue party coming up on Sunday, Atushi and a bunch of his friends, Jeff and his friends and some people from Tokushima are coming, it'll be a blast.

(pics top to bottom: Jeff, Micah and Alex at the beach in Sumoto, Derek laughing during dinner, knowing full well that he's about to singlehandedly beat me senseless at Rummy, The Spider in the house, a sunset from the vantage point of Derek's balcony)

Two mornings ago, I decided to go down to the beach and just walk around. There were two things that really stood out about the beach here. One, there were shells absolutely everywhere, and not just small ones, but large ones too and even crab shells. Second, all over the place, there are these massive concrete blocks that look like fat pieces of barbwire ( I understand that they are used to break the tide coming into shore). It was quite a cool experience. Living in Colorado, I have been by the ocean a total of maybe 4 weeks in my entire life, so I guess I'm impressed easily. I also visited a local temple that morning, which was also quite cool. I was invited to lunch later that same day at Derek's house, where I was treated to a western/Japanese mix meal. It was quite good. The next day, I was also invited to Derek's for dinner, but because I was walking Nappa, they didn't want to wait and just started without me. It was fine though, once I got there I had some great leftovers and played this game that was kind of like rummy, but played instead with plastic pieces. I actually ended up staying until about 12. Tonight, I'm going to a BBQ with Jeff Lewis, a local English teacher on the island.

Last night, I went out to Sumoto (the biggest nearby town - 30,000) with Atsushi and Makoto. We just drove around for a bit and then went up to a castle (which was really more of a tall observation tower.) Afterwards, we met up with another one of Atsushi's friends and went to a restaurant, where I ordered spicy kim chee. One of the guys, Matsashi, is going to New Zealand next week for a year study abroad program, so I helped him a little bit with his English. It was funny, I was a hotel clerk and he was a guest. (We did a role play). Afterwards, we went our separate ways and I got a ride home with Atsushi. A fun night out on the town!

Day 1,2,3,4

Well, the last few days have been quite interesting. The day after I arrived (Saturday the 17th) was nice. After a nice breakfast with Richard and his wife Jackie, Richard and I headed out on our bikes with Nappa (the dog) so I could see where and how to walk the dog. The island is real pretty during the day, green everywhere. It reminds me of Canada and Germany----maybe a bit more humid. We went on what Richard called "loop one", which meant that it was the first typical route for walking Nappa. I'm not sure if I should say that Nappa is walked though, we both got on bikes and rode behind Nappa as she bolted ahead. Along the way, we found a tree bearing a fruit I had never seen before ( If forgot the name), but the fruits were incredible. They are these little orange things about the size of an avocado core; very juicy and sweet. After a few more hills and encounters with local rice farmers who were less than enthusiastic about Nappa running though their rice fields, we returned home and and chilled for a few hours before heading out again in the evening, this time to a traditional restaurant, where I was treated to a wide variety of Japanese cuisine. Among the tasties: Yakisoba (Japanese fried noodles), Okonomiyaki (Savory pancakes with different vegetables, meat and fish inside) and the most interesting---Takoyaki, which is a fried dumpling with octopus inside. It was all great. Afterwards we headed back to the house and pretty much went to bed. Jackie and Richard were leaving the next day, so I got some more information about my responsibilities around the house.

(pictures from top to bottom: The house, Nappa (who is finally warming up to me) and me posing together, and the Japanese food (flat pancake thing-Okonomiyaki, balls-Takoyaki, noodles-Yakisoba, The Sunset on Awaji)

The first day having the house to myself was a bit eerie--it was very quiet, but the constant buzzing of nature all around was nice, and much preferable to the background noise of the city. During the day, I pretty much just relaxed and set up my things. I got a call from Derek (the older Englishman) around 1, inviting me to dinner and a viewing of the first fireflies of the season. I happily accepted, and headed down to his beautiful seaside house a few hours later. Unfortunately, it had started raining right before I left, so I took an umbrella and headed down. We met with some other people who would be coming with us (including a first grader who was the grandson of one of Derek's friends who was obsessed with trying his English out on me), and left about fifteen minutes later. We drove about 30 minutes to another part of the island, but we had bad luck finding a restaurant that still had space for a big group like ours. We did eventually find a place though. I ordered an eel dish, and we all sat and talked for awhile before heading off again to see the fireflies. We drove through a winding pass up a mountain and stopped at the end of a long driveway overlooking a river. Although it was a bit chilly, it was cool seeing the fireflies serenely strobing in the air.

(pictures from top to bottom: My room with Japanese futon, and one of the cats, Boogie, overloading my cute-o-meter by sleeping on the spare futons in the closet)

The next day, I was picked up around 11 by Derek to go and pick up my car from his house. I had left it there the night before (Derek offered to let me park it there overnight, I was pretty wiped out by the time we got back to Tsushi) Anyway, as I was backing out, the back of the car bumped against a telephone pole. Thankfully, the car was fine, but I decided to take it to the local gas/service station (I had been introduced to a father-son duo who work there) to get it checked out anyway. They took a loot at it, said it was OK, and then I was offered coffee and cookies by the owner (the dad). He also offered to show me his new LCD TV he had just bought. Later, I was talking with his son (Atsushi) and found out he played soccer. Atsushi invited me on Thursday to play with him and some of his friends in another part of the island. We also decided to meet on Wednesday in the evening and just hang out. Overall, it was a successful day.

Rice fields: they are EVERYWHERE

Wednesday, I pretty much just hung around and cleaned up the house a bit before Atsushi and his friends showed up. Atsushi ended up bringing two friends with him, Makoto and Matsuri, when he arrived at 8:30. We just played some music and talked for a few hours, before they headed home. It was cool to meet some Japanese people who were a little closer to me in age.
I got invited to a going away party on Saturday for one of Atsushi's friends who lives in Osaka, but I'm not sure if I'll go because he said it;ll be an all-nighter and I'm having dinner with Derek, his wife and some of their friends on Sunday. We'll see....