a japanese fox

Warning this is a gratuitous post of me in a Japanese matsuri so many pics of me. This was back in May but I didn't have the pictures until recently. I posted pictures from the whole procession last year. If you would like to see click here!

This year I was asked to be part of the procession and happily accepted. My back and neck however were angry at me later. My role was lady attendant of the bride and we walked just before the bride and groom.. The procession started at 6 but we had to begin getting into makeup at 1:00. It was a hot day and quite a few layers of makeup and clothing. The kimono was hot but the large metal Japanese hair helmet that we wore on our heads was much hotter and very heavy( thus sore back). It was altogether a good experience but when they asked if I would participate again next year, I politely decline. The three hour procession in straw sandals and heavy hair was a once in a lifetime thing.

After makeup, before hair with one of my old students. The hair station.
Me in the prefectural newspaper!

A group of my elementary students who were playing the taiko before the procession.
Cute little foxes!Do I look like a fox or just angry?

This one I definitely was angry and look slightly evil as well!?Once people realized I was not Japanese I heard "Gajin-san, Gajin-san" and they all wanted a picture. It almost scares me to think of how many Japanese people have pictures of me from my two years here so far. I even took a picture with someone's dog!

I was suppose to drink sake out a large bowl at the wedding ceremony but it ended up being water because the groom doesn't drink. I still had to pretend though. This is from the big screen.
Video from the procession.

Video from the wedding ceremony.

the kids love the oppai

After teaching at five pre-schools and five elementary schools I saw a strange pattern among all the young children. They love breasts! They are constantly commenting on the size and trying to touch my breasts. I can't recall thinking about or knowing the word for breast when I was three years old but here it seems all children have breasts on the brain. I have tried to express this strange fascination to Japanese friends and they don't see why it strange. I now understand when they are raised with children songs such as this.




Here is the translation of the song.

おっぱいがいっぱい』Big breasts
ぼくがのんで　いもうとものんだのにI drank it. My sister also drank it.
ちっちゃくならない　ママのおっぱいBut mother’s chest doesn’t become small
おふろのなかで　さわらせてもらったらI was going to touch it in the bath.
空気たりない　ゴムマリみたいIt’s by not sufficing of air like the rubber ball.
ぼくがのんで　いもうとものんだから’cause I drank it, my sister also drank it.
おっぱいがでない　ママのおっぱいMilk came from mother’s chest.
あまかったのか　思い出せないIt was sweet or is not possible to recall it.
たくさんのんだはずなのに　へんねIt is strange though should have drunk a lot.
おっぱいが　いっぱいbig breasts.
おっぱいが　いっぱいbig breasts.
おっぱいが　いっぱいbig breasts.
うれしいな　さわりたいI am glad, and wanna touch woman’s chest.
ぼくがのんで　いもうとものんだのにI drank it. My sister also drank it.
おっきなままだね　ママのおっぱいBut mother’s chest doesn’t change like being big.
ひとさしゆびで　ちょこんとおしたらIt was lightly pushed by the forefinger.
びっくりするほど　やわらかだったIt was very soft surprisingly.
ぼくがのんで　いもうとものんだから’cause I drank it, my sister also drank it.
おっぱいがでない　ママのおっぱいMilk became it from mother’s chest.
もひとり赤ちゃん　生れるときはIs another baby born
また出るようになるのかな　ふしぎand does milk go out? So, wonder!!
おっぱいが　いっぱいBig breasts.
おっぱいが　いっぱ Big breasts.
おっぱいが　いっぱいBig breasts.
きれいだな　だいすきさIt’s very beautiful so. I’m lovin’ it.

Fukushima

James and I went on a little day trip to Fukushima. He had mentioned this nice shrine there forever ago (maybe my first year) but we had never got our act together. It was a beautiful fall day and a beautiful shrine.The shrine was covered in beautiful woodwork carving- this is the native dragon elephant!Inside it also had many interesting older paintings. I'm not a huge fan of Japanese traditional style but I enjoyed these paintings and they livened up the dark interior.The shrine is on the bank of a river and affords a stunning view.

This the mascot of Fukushima and if you can believe it, is a cow. Not only is it a black and red cow but it is a bobble head black and red cow. The first thing I though of was the bright red Swedish horses though I think it looks more like a pig.

last birthday in japan

I suppose from now I could probably label all my post last~ so I leave this as the last, last post. Beginning to be redundant but my birthday was a while ago ... Yasuko made a delicious ice cream cake (she made a cake from ice cream!) and she also made a wonderful feast. I didn't really take any pictures but of the cake! Not too much to say, became older...

last halloween in mangaland

The last Halloween...was a good time! Many familiar faces were absent and many new ones came out of nowhere. I whipped together a last minute safari hunter costume with a genuine tiger kleenex box cover (yes they even decorate their kleenex boxes here) and James was a pretty convincing Mr. T and even won a prize for the likeness (thought I did the tough job of crafting the Mr. T hairstyle). Nothing too crazy happened...I think!?

Naomi is one of the Newbies and is the first person to say I have a Canadian accent rather than American!We have a range of costumes going round the guy on the left is suppose to be a tanuki if you don't know what that is please see here!Dustin's Dracula was pretty convincing.Iwan and Tomoko stopped by and Iwan was so sick of dressing up for school that he didn't dress up for the real thing. James really got into the Mr. T spirit, ne!

kanazawa

As in all my recent blogs it has been a while since James and I went to Kanazawa (mid-August) but there are some nice pictures I want to share. Kanazawa is roughly four hours away if one takes the expressway but we decided to meander our way down the seacoast and see what that route had to offer beyond the concrete walls and endless tunnels of the expressway. It was gorgeous! At times the mountains came down and buried themselves in the sea covered in brilliant green or stark black volcanic rock, and others the rice paddies crept almost to the edge of the water. Unfortunately, Japan has a habit of smearing concrete everywhere so many of the beaches were marred by strange concrete Xs that act as breakers and concrete steps that march down into the water. Along the way we saw a few beautiful shrines and many great beaches that we didn't have a chance to stop at. Apparently, sunset viewing is a popular reason to travel the "seaside line" and we stopped to partake as well. It was quite a site but the clouds covered the sun before it had a chance to kissed the water.

We stopped along the way in Toyama to hit a few golf balls. Often, when people think of Japan and golf they think of multitierred driving ranges. In my town there are actually quite a few beautiful , and expensive, country clubs but we had often driven by the driving ranges and thought when in Japan...
The 2nd floor was actually not in use but we went up there anyhow, since it was the only reason we were going. Our clubs were old and chipped and the grip of mine was sticky with who know what. The second floor was dirty and covered with cobwebs but we were determined. The ball tee was actually quite sophisticated and a little machine did everything you simply had to decided your preferred height. We had a little difficulty obtaining our balls in the first place though. We bought a card from a vending machine and after repeated tries at putting the card in the ball vending machine we had to ask for help. It turns out that James had been trying to put in a love hotel member's card rather than the ball card and the lady seemed quite amused. We went during Obon so the only open, available, and cheap hotels were love hotels!

My swing is a little rusty!Kanazawa is know as the "little Kyoto" meaning it has a lot of culture and history. Unfortunately the day we had for touring around was pretty dreary and rainy. We saw a few sites however. Kanazawa castle is no longer standing but a few of it's gates and towers remain so we had a chance to view them. To be honest, thus far my experience in Japan is if you have seen one castle you have seen them all. Don't get me wrong I love castles and all the history surrounding them but they are pretty much all the same. Himeji was definitely the best preserved but even so it was still a building with few adornments. Historically the Japanese decorated with hanging scrolls, beautifully painted screens and curtains but not much of this remains and is never set up in the castles like it would have been, end my rant on castles.

We also visited the 3rd most beautiful garden in Japan or is it the 3rd most beautiful garden in Japan when viewed in the winter? I forget among all the lists and rankings. It was beautiful though. The Japanese form of gardening is very precise and often involves certain elements such as moss, bonsai, ponds and careful placing of rocks. Because it was a holiday we got in free (yeah) but it was raining the whole time. I think this garden would be interesting viewed in all sorts of weather and all season!

We also went to a temple (where photography was not allowed) nicknamed the ninja's temple. It's history has nothing to do with ninjas but the many different secret stairways, trap doors, secret rooms and other such trickeries caused it to received it's nickname. We were exhausted after walking in the rain and didn't have a chance to visit the geisha districts in Kanazawa. I hear next to Kyoto they are the best!

Evan's goodbye bbq

Evan has sadly took his leave of us in Agamachi and he is definitely missed. I could usually count on him to go for Chinese food or yasaiitame at the Minagawaya plus there were our great times at taiko practice. We had a goodbye BBQ for him at the end of July on a riverbank in Muramatsu. The location was quite beautiful and we ended up playing cornhole and swimming in the freezing cold mountain stream. Unfortunately only a few of us opted to stay along with the rain. It ended up being four of us around a campfire huddled under our umbrellas talking and playing drinking games. It was actually quite enjoyable but I realized the next day that had its drawbacks. Namely, fifty or so monster mosquito(or some other creature from the insect family that enjoys sucking blood) bites covering my legs. They were really quite gross because the bites swelled up to massive proportions so it looked like the surface of my skin was bubble wrap though not as uniformed. I survived of course but it was an itchy few days.

The preparations

Iwan and his girl!

Minori and Aiko


The man of the hour