firefly

I saw my first firefly last night and I was like a little kid chasing it around the parking lot. It was a lone firefly and stayed too briefly for my liking. I had never imagined they were so bright or beautiful. Apparently Japan has a long standing love for fireflies.

It is popular to view the fireflies' glow during hot summer nights (hotaru-gari). The Japanese word for a firefly is "hotaru." In some cultures hotaru might not have a positive reputation, but they are well liked in Japanese society. They have been a metaphor for passionate love in poetry since the 8th century. Their eerie lights are also thought to be the altered form of the souls of soldiers who have died in war. However, since hotaru inhabit only clean streams, their numbers have been decreasing in recent years due to pollution.

The firefly departs

so quickly, so breathlessly

it leaves behind its light

Kobayashi Issa

what goes away
is not limited to love
an evening firefly
Suzuki Masajo

I think I earlier wrote about Japan's obsession with Auld Lang Syne well I have since found out it is a song about fireflies.

"Hotaru no Hikari (The Light of the Firefly)" is probably one of the most popular Japanese songs. It is often sang when bidding farewell to one another such as at graduation ceremonies, the closing ceremony of events, and the end of the year.

Hopefully there will be more fireflies to come!

My beautiful town!

americans in agamachi

A couple of Jimbo's friends came to visit Agamachi so we partied it up to show them a good time. Evan and Jim were insisting they eat horse. The good man that Jeff is, he refused out of principal of owning horses. Chris gobbled it down like chocolate even though he has horses as well. I still am holding out and will remain staunch in my position.


Evan and I got into a little altercation because he (in an incredibly intoxicated state) slapped his JTE (who is a 90 pd Japanese woman) across the face. Rie and I are pretty good friends and as some know people should never mess with my friends. I ended up subduing him using dirty methods but only after he had done the same to me. He looks like he is laughing in this pic but it is a mad laugh.

Group shot, Jim, me, Evan, Chris, Rie and Jeff in the front.

We decided to tag along on the Tokyo leg of the voyage and went out to this great little Irish pub where there were lots of foreign men and rugby on the TV. The boys kampaiing with redbull and vodka...or I should say vodka with a dash of redbull.

Earlier that day Chris, Evan and I decided to venture into a maid cafe. It is basically a restaurant where all the waitresses dress up as maids and call you master. Uber geeks can go onto websites to check the stats of the maids and I have even heard of maid trading cards. Our waitress was mirukuchan or milk chan. It was interesting but I expected more. There were four poses we could pick for the picture. I attempted a heart but it is deformed.

My second attempt was a bit better but Jeff's outshone mine and he wasn't even there.

Dancing in the club, bottle full of bub.

Went to Hard Rock before we came home. It was so nice to have western food again.

city + soccer

More soccer pics thanks to James who ended up being the Niigata photographer!

Went to our favourite bar with Misael and Melissa. Melissa absent due to hate for the photographic media (well hate if she is the subject). I do have some but I'm sure she'd want them taken off so I'll just keep them for future bribes ;).

I had a taiko performance the next day and they weren't ready to quit party so Lefty and had a little nap.

overheard in new york

something interesting for a boring, hot day at school.

New York, New York!

conference in the big city!

I am really behind in my posting so I may play a little catch up this week. The conference is couple weeks ago already. We reconvened in the beautiful Keio Plaza hotel in Tokyo. I don't recall if I gushed about my room there at the orientation conference but it was gorgeous. I didn't have a digital camera then so I only have real life pictures but take it from me it was beautiful. Now, I am absolutely grateful that my BOE payed for the trip and everything but my room was a hovel compared to the last. I wouldn't think a room that ugly and worn down could exist in the same hotel as the beautiful trendy room I stayed in before. I have noticed this trend in Japanese hotels to have very nice lobbies and shit hotel rooms. Back home if you have a shit room the lobby will typically reflect that as well, god know I worked in Howard Johnson. These Japanese are tricky that way!

Enough about hotel rooms, though. The conference had its informative points and many sessions that were a waste of time. We had a good time out in the city though.

We ended up eating at this restaurant called the Lock up and it was an interesting experience. Japan apparently has many themed restaurants and the lock up is a jail or a mental institution where you are lead to your room in handcuffs and locked in.

Many of the menu items are eccentric as well. Reggie and I tried the test tube cocktail concoction and my salad had a bubbling glowing dressing.

They periodically turned off the lights and had a "prison break" where the inmates come and accost you with glowing cleavers and mangled up faces. Jason came and made out with Chris or stole his soul, we have yet to decide.

We also went to a few clubs and let me tell you they are a bazillion times better than those in Niigata. They play decent music and people actually go to them. The drinks are quite expensive though. We encountered these crazy dancing guys at Gaspanic one of which had Melissa in their sights. Its been a while since I have seen so many foreign people.

We missed the last train and Reggie decided she had a late night ramen craving so we squeezed into a cubicle of a store and she had a good chat with an old Japanese man while Chris and I were falling asleep over our bowls.

Shibuya the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world.
We did a bit of karaoke as well and Melissa and I rocked out the Whoomp, there it is.....

nagano soccer

Well this is long over due but I was waiting for pictures from someone who had said they would make sure we all got them. At this point said person has not delivered and so I will post other pictures that I have swiped off of some of the girls facebook pages.

So soccer...we went to Nagano to compete in an ALT soccer tournament. In the past the Niigata girls had done quite well and despite having hardly ever played the game I was fairly confident that the other teams were in the same boat. WRONG. Our team had maybe four experienced soccerettes but perhaps due to not a single practice we were all lacking in stamina. We ended up at the bottom of the heap with many bruises and sore muscles but at least we were as far as possible on the board from the hated saitama team. I have discovered through this experience that I am not really a foot-ball type person but much more a hand-ball person. I pulled my quad early on in the first game and assumed the heavy responsibility of goal keeper. Goalie is like a combo of volleyball and rugby so I was in my groove, although I did let some goals in. It was a good time being surrounded by people who speak English and enjoying the beautiful weather and Nagano scenery. Just made me realize how out of shape I am though.

Good to be back in the blue and white smurf colours of basketball days. I still have my snap off pant somewhere!

Suppose to be the tough team shot but some people didn't get the memo.


The boys and their ugly uniforms (sorry guys everyone is in consensus). Tom won the day with his broken nose but I got quite a few gold winning bruises.