Wow!
As far as weekends go (note; my 'weekend' runs from Monday to Tuesday, as these ae my days off) this one was absolutely fan~bloody~tastic. In fact, i would go as far as to say theat it ranks as one of the best ever. By anyone. Anywhere. I loved it.
I finished work on Sunday at about 8.30pm, nd left as soon as possible, which is odd, because I usually spend a few hours after I finish my official hours getting ready for the next day. I am finding the work tough going, but I am steadily improving. Slowly...but steadily. I am currently enjoying looking back on my lessons, but not the build up or the execution. This will change soon enough.
Anyways...back to the 'weekend.' On Sunday evening I met a fellow teacher from Kawasaki (near Tokyo) who was to spend the next 2 days in sunny Gifu prefecture. Rachel and I did a lot. In fact...we definitely made the most of the (far too) short time we had together. Sunday we had a few beers in my local bar, which was empty except for us, and we had a good old fashioned chinwag. I really am a big fan of this bar- although the company I was in would have ensured a good time was had in any old place.
Monday was busy.
I registered at City Hall for my 'gaijin card' (gaijin meaning foreigner), which sounds like an easy task, but it also involved obtaining passport photographs. Could we find a passport machine anywhere in Masa 21 (a HUGE shopping centre where my school is based)? Of course not. We asked a friendly lady, she knew nothing of passports photo machines.We then asked an employee of the amusement arcade. She was great. Speaking no English (and us very very very very very very little Japanese) she attempted to show us the way- which included drawing a highly detailed map (complete with Japanese kanji labelling) of the whole shopping centre (which is the size of a small town). It worked. We found a photos shop that did the job for us. Amazingly, it worked.
So- off to city hall, where the clerk attempted to convince me that my address was not in fact my address. Not to worry. I received my certificate declaring I was awaiting my card. This will, in turn,allow me to buy a phone and obtain a Japanese bank account- both of which are vital. I feel a little severed from the rest of civilisation at the moment!
We then climbed a mountain. Actually...we wandered around Gifu (en route to the mountain) looking for a suitably appealing cafe in which to get some food. We gave up, and bought some food to be consumed in the park near the mountain. We bought the food, walked around a corner, and were immediately surrounded by quaint little cafes. Bloody typical. Such is life. I wouldn't have minded, but the bread-based product that I had purchased turned out to be a roll with some kind of chemically-produced banana paste in it. It was possibly the most vile thing I have ever tasted. I don't thing any ingredient of the paste had ever so much as seen a banana, but banana was definitely the intended effect. Awful. Truly awful. Almost as bad as the deep fried chicken gristle I inadvertantly purchased a couple of nights ago.
Anyhoo...up the mountain we headed, suitably nurished with bananas (natural, grown ones) and our 'sandwiches,' if they can be referred to as such. We followed a man who looked like he knew where he was going. However, we saw what looked to be a better route up mount Kinka ( http://www.gifucvb.or.jp/en/kankou/meisyo/kinkazan.shtml ) - a little steeper maybe- but definitely better. We nearly died of exhaustion. The way was steep, uneven and seemingly neverending. The climate was best described as muggy with spells of burning heat. We hiked upwards. Ever upwards. And up some more. We saw a scary spider. We hiked some more. At one point I honestly thought we had taken a route that was going nowhere, and that we would have to turn back. We climbed a few more rock faces and, after 4 or 5 rest breaks (when we consumed a drink called sweat, of all things) we finally spotted some steps. We looked awful. I think I lost about 3 stone during the asscent. But...we had done it- and what's more, we had done it the hard way. Probably the quickest way, because of the steepness, but definitely hard. When we emerged at the top, there was a sign attached to the ext we had just taken saying: Danger. Do not enter. It should be said that the sign was not 'active,' although it soon would be when the rain came, but I felt really proud- we had made it. And the view was amazing.
This was the first time I got a good look at Gifu. We were very high and Gifu is very big. We went up to the castle's top floor (which sits atop the mountain) and had a good look around. I was finally able to see my new home town.
Apparently whenever Rachel goes up a mountain, it starts to rain. I doubted this would happen, because of the sun bursting through the trees during our climb but, sure enough, cometh the girl, cometh the rain. A rather sweet lady gave us an umbrella so we could walk to the cable car (we weren't walking down- we' had enough exercise for one day), and then a lady who I think can best be described as PURE EVIL (maybe a bit harsh) sold us an ice cream. She seemed annoyed at everyone and everything. Perhaps that's why her company had posted her at the top of a mountain. I don't know.
The castle at the top of the mountain is beautiful, but not a patch on Squirrel Village, which is undoubtedly the main incentive for climbing Kinka. What an attraction. What a show.
Enough about that though- we got down the mountain and set about our next task, which was buying a shiny guitar to keep me sane ( I find playing the guitar just about the most relaxing activity in the world). We didn't know Gifu well, although I had been told by an employee of my firm that there was a guitar store in a certain shopping mall. There wasn't. So....we chose a random road. I had a feeling there could be a guitar shop down there. I had never been down this road before but, sure enough, we found the place I had an inkling about. I tried 6 guitars. I bought one. It's great. I love it.
After that...beer, food, home, guitar playing, bed. All of these were immensely enjoyable.
Today (Tue) we slept in. It was deserved. After doing some auick jobs at school, we headed into Nagoya (via the bank and a restaurant where you paid a vending machin- my first experienc of such a place). Nagoya is big. Too big to just hope to wander around. We visited the serene and peaceful Atsuto Shrine ( http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3301.html ) which was calming, drank some mass produced coffee (which was very tasty, I might add) and headed back to Nagoya centre for food and goodbyes. This was an hour or so ago.
Back to work tomorrow.
As far as weekends go (note; my 'weekend' runs from Monday to Tuesday, as these ae my days off) this one was absolutely fan~bloody~tastic. In fact, i would go as far as to say theat it ranks as one of the best ever. By anyone. Anywhere. I loved it.
I finished work on Sunday at about 8.30pm, nd left as soon as possible, which is odd, because I usually spend a few hours after I finish my official hours getting ready for the next day. I am finding the work tough going, but I am steadily improving. Slowly...but steadily. I am currently enjoying looking back on my lessons, but not the build up or the execution. This will change soon enough.
Anyways...back to the 'weekend.' On Sunday evening I met a fellow teacher from Kawasaki (near Tokyo) who was to spend the next 2 days in sunny Gifu prefecture. Rachel and I did a lot. In fact...we definitely made the most of the (far too) short time we had together. Sunday we had a few beers in my local bar, which was empty except for us, and we had a good old fashioned chinwag. I really am a big fan of this bar- although the company I was in would have ensured a good time was had in any old place.
Monday was busy.
I registered at City Hall for my 'gaijin card' (gaijin meaning foreigner), which sounds like an easy task, but it also involved obtaining passport photographs. Could we find a passport machine anywhere in Masa 21 (a HUGE shopping centre where my school is based)? Of course not. We asked a friendly lady, she knew nothing of passports photo machines.We then asked an employee of the amusement arcade. She was great. Speaking no English (and us very very very very very very little Japanese) she attempted to show us the way- which included drawing a highly detailed map (complete with Japanese kanji labelling) of the whole shopping centre (which is the size of a small town). It worked. We found a photos shop that did the job for us. Amazingly, it worked.
So- off to city hall, where the clerk attempted to convince me that my address was not in fact my address. Not to worry. I received my certificate declaring I was awaiting my card. This will, in turn,allow me to buy a phone and obtain a Japanese bank account- both of which are vital. I feel a little severed from the rest of civilisation at the moment!
We then climbed a mountain. Actually...we wandered around Gifu (en route to the mountain) looking for a suitably appealing cafe in which to get some food. We gave up, and bought some food to be consumed in the park near the mountain. We bought the food, walked around a corner, and were immediately surrounded by quaint little cafes. Bloody typical. Such is life. I wouldn't have minded, but the bread-based product that I had purchased turned out to be a roll with some kind of chemically-produced banana paste in it. It was possibly the most vile thing I have ever tasted. I don't thing any ingredient of the paste had ever so much as seen a banana, but banana was definitely the intended effect. Awful. Truly awful. Almost as bad as the deep fried chicken gristle I inadvertantly purchased a couple of nights ago.
Anyhoo...up the mountain we headed, suitably nurished with bananas (natural, grown ones) and our 'sandwiches,' if they can be referred to as such. We followed a man who looked like he knew where he was going. However, we saw what looked to be a better route up mount Kinka ( http://www.gifucvb.or.jp/en/kankou/meisyo/kinkazan.shtml ) - a little steeper maybe- but definitely better. We nearly died of exhaustion. The way was steep, uneven and seemingly neverending. The climate was best described as muggy with spells of burning heat. We hiked upwards. Ever upwards. And up some more. We saw a scary spider. We hiked some more. At one point I honestly thought we had taken a route that was going nowhere, and that we would have to turn back. We climbed a few more rock faces and, after 4 or 5 rest breaks (when we consumed a drink called sweat, of all things) we finally spotted some steps. We looked awful. I think I lost about 3 stone during the asscent. But...we had done it- and what's more, we had done it the hard way. Probably the quickest way, because of the steepness, but definitely hard. When we emerged at the top, there was a sign attached to the ext we had just taken saying: Danger. Do not enter. It should be said that the sign was not 'active,' although it soon would be when the rain came, but I felt really proud- we had made it. And the view was amazing.
This was the first time I got a good look at Gifu. We were very high and Gifu is very big. We went up to the castle's top floor (which sits atop the mountain) and had a good look around. I was finally able to see my new home town.
Apparently whenever Rachel goes up a mountain, it starts to rain. I doubted this would happen, because of the sun bursting through the trees during our climb but, sure enough, cometh the girl, cometh the rain. A rather sweet lady gave us an umbrella so we could walk to the cable car (we weren't walking down- we' had enough exercise for one day), and then a lady who I think can best be described as PURE EVIL (maybe a bit harsh) sold us an ice cream. She seemed annoyed at everyone and everything. Perhaps that's why her company had posted her at the top of a mountain. I don't know.
The castle at the top of the mountain is beautiful, but not a patch on Squirrel Village, which is undoubtedly the main incentive for climbing Kinka. What an attraction. What a show.
Enough about that though- we got down the mountain and set about our next task, which was buying a shiny guitar to keep me sane ( I find playing the guitar just about the most relaxing activity in the world). We didn't know Gifu well, although I had been told by an employee of my firm that there was a guitar store in a certain shopping mall. There wasn't. So....we chose a random road. I had a feeling there could be a guitar shop down there. I had never been down this road before but, sure enough, we found the place I had an inkling about. I tried 6 guitars. I bought one. It's great. I love it.
After that...beer, food, home, guitar playing, bed. All of these were immensely enjoyable.
Today (Tue) we slept in. It was deserved. After doing some auick jobs at school, we headed into Nagoya (via the bank and a restaurant where you paid a vending machin- my first experienc of such a place). Nagoya is big. Too big to just hope to wander around. We visited the serene and peaceful Atsuto Shrine ( http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3301.html ) which was calming, drank some mass produced coffee (which was very tasty, I might add) and headed back to Nagoya centre for food and goodbyes. This was an hour or so ago.
Back to work tomorrow.
posted by Christopher at 6:53 AM
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