Cleaning

Once again I have been distracted from informing you on what is going on in my life. This time it is due to cleaning. You see my parents have decided to come visit me and will be arriving this weekend. This is very exciting and I am looking forward to it with much anticipation.

Now if it was anyone else I would have no problem pushing my mess to the side and inviting them in for a chat. The thing is growing up my mother spent a lot of time working with me and teaching me how to clean properly. That means to prove that her time and effort was not in vain and to make her proud, I need to do a bang up good job of cleaning.

On an unrelated note, I will have no social life this week.

Masterpiece

Painted this for a co-teacher who is having a baby boy. I call it "Trouble".

If you have something you want me to paint for you just let me know. My pricing is similar to Aelita Andre's, as is my talent... http://www.art-mine.com/artistpage/aelita_andre.aspx

Land of the Rising Sun: Day Three

Had I thought about it before I finished my first post on Japan I would not have done a daily format. You will see why after reading this report for Day Three.

Today I woke up, had a breakfast of pastry, yogurt and grape juice, packed my bag and walked to the ferry terminal.

While there was a little more to it, there wasn't much so here are some pictures that I haven't posted yet.

A water clock complete with little peeing boys.

Judging by the crowd of young kids and interesting adults this was an amime convention.

Bergen.

I saw this at the end of a street and walked 10 blocks to see what it was. I was a little bit disappointed.

The ride. I got business class back due to seat availability. Let me tell you, the extra $40 might almost be worth the 3 free drinks that you get...

A slightly obstructed view of the port from the top of a building.

It may well be the land of the morning sun, but it is not the land of the morning people.

A road.

Another road.

This sink had automatic soap and water at the top, and a hand drier at the bottom.

The view away from the port from the top of the same building.

A Japan trip is not complete with out a picture of vending machines.

This sums up pretty well how I feel about Japan.

Fukuoka, Japan: Day Two

We awoke bright and early to the sun rising over the sea full of energy to explore near and far. That last sentence is not very accurate but those that only skim this won't know any better. Truth is we were awoken a number times in the night by our rummaging roommates resulting in us to sleeping till mid-morning and still being a bit tired. Also the weather was a bit overcast, but you would never know that from the first sentence...

Having the full day to explore we decided to rent bikes from the hostel for the whole day for a mere 500 yen. Having walk absurdly far the previous day the bikes were fantastic as they allowed us to cover the same distance in a ridiculously short amount of time. We did have one hiccup when one of the tires blew up but thankfully we were close to the hostel. We brought it back and ten minutes later there was a new bike for us. They bought a new bike or rented it from another place near by, either way stand up service.

Back on the bikes we wasted little time in attacking any and every paved surface we could find. We stopped by Tochoji Temple to see the face stack as well as the worlds largest wooden buddha. We ended up going down a hallway under the platform that the buddha was on and were quite shocked at what we saw. Some interesting pictures followed by a eerie, dark tunnel. It is comforting to know that Light has over come darkness.

From there we cruised to Hakata Station before crossing town to Maizuru Park where we stopped to feed some pigeons by which I mean that we watched someone else feed some pigeons. We happened upon Gokoku Shrine after seeing a market down a side street and decided to check it out, I don't think I took any pictures of it though. Ohori Park was across the road so we wandered through, stopping to watch a couple of older men race remote controlled sailboats in the lake there.

Stopping at a Mister Donut we wondered if our day would end with us running out of energy or if the rain would come before that time. Shortly after leaving we came across Nishi Park and just as we started to explore the rain started coming down, lightly at first giving us time to find shelter. We waited as the heavens opened all the while catching up on some much needed rest.

Thankfully our bikes had fenders as it was quite wet by the time it finished raining. Judging by our stomachs that it was about supper time we went in search of the sushi place. We found it fairly easily but were a little early so we went over to the Museum of Art to see what they had showing. Unfortunately they were between shows but they did have some comfortable chairs to sit in. After the appropriate amount of time had been used we headed back for what was hyped as incredible(it did not disappoint).

Sushi Den is a fabulous place. As the tip that drew us here mentioned, it has a high value to price ratio. For the atmosphere, presentation and especially taste, the price for what you get here is an incredible value. My stomach was felt so happy and content, I can't even describe it. I would have to say that it is the best meal I have eaten in the past 6 months, by quite a margin.

With our stomachs satisfied we headed back through Tenjin to explore what it had to offer. According to me we spent much too much time walking through a mall looking at stuff because it was Japanese. Once we found our way out of there we found that we had gotten warning tickets on our bicycles because, long story short, we had parked them in hallway of the mall.

In our wanderings we happened across an arcade, it being Japanese meant that we had to stop. This was where my understanding of the exchange rate was solidified. We decided to play one of the two person games available and after depositing our 100 yen started playing. Now in my mind because the 100 yen looked like 100 won it was only worth $0.10, it was a great deal. As I realized later 100 yen is actually more like $1.25, fantastic...

We also happened by a pachinko parlour and decided to check it out as we had driven past a large number of them. There were tons of machines with tons of people losing, what I imagine to be, tons of money. The thing that surprised me though was how unbearably loud it was in there. After how quiet the rest of Japan was, this was puzzling, but we didn't wait to figure it out, we had lost enough(hearing) as it was.

We spent some time people watching and using our minimal Japanese to engage them as they walked past and that just about did it for our day. Some where the day we also stopped by the Fukuoka Symphony Hall because I have a picture of it.

Glance into Japan: Day One

This past Monday Korea's independence from Japan was celebrated meaning that I did not have to work. In order to better understand what the Koreans were celebrating and what was so bad about Japanese rule I decided to make the voyage in to the belly of the beast, as they say, to visit the only country remaining under Japanese rule, Japan.

I decided to make the journey from Busan to Fukuoka using the Beetle ferry, a high speed hydrofoil ferry. The trip takes 3 hours and cost me 250000 won with taxes. One tip to those who are looking to go this route, from what I understand, if you reserve your tickets online you have to pay within 3 days but if you reserve your tickets by phone you only have to pay at the terminal before departure. Their phone number is on their site, they speak great English, use Skype to call.

I made the voyage with another friend from the island who had been to Japan several times but never spent much time in Fukuoka. While we had originally wanted to spend some time planning what we would do in Japan but ended up putting it off until we were on the ferry, which we agreed was to late to plan so we slept. Thankfully we are really good at winging it...

Upon arrival we found a free map of Fukuoka and took a look at it to get oriented and decide where to go first. We spotted a hostel and decided to make that our Japanese home. Before heading off we decided to take out some money but found out that there is no international ATM in the ferry terminal. Thankfully the kind people at the money exchange office they gave a handy map to find the nearest international money machine. Those of you planning to go to Fukuoka make a note to bring a bit of money to exchange in order to avoid a hot and humid walk* resulting in much sweat secretion.

One interesting note about Japanese ATM's is that all of the ones we used dispensed the 10,000 yen bill. At the current exchange rate that was equal to $130 in one bill, this made me a little nervous, thankfully the crime rate in Japan is low. To break my first one I bought a bottle of water for 150 yen, I got some mad change.

If you are entering Japan after Korea one thing that you will notice is that the 500 yen coin and the 500 won coin are quite similar in size, shape and design. The only difference is that one is worth $6.50 and the other is worth $0.50. This plays tricks on the mind when paying for things. You think you are getting something for really cheap and then you realize the actual price and wonder why you bought it. Thankfully I am super smart and never got duped by this...

After getting money we realized we were halfway to our hostel and hungry so it only made sense to walk the rest of the way in hopes of finding a place to get some Japanese lunch, our hope did not disappoint After a few short blocks we stumbled upon a classic Japanese ramen shop, could it get any better you ask? Yes it could! We ordered our food with the help of a vending machine! Put the money in, push the button for what you want, and the machine spits out a ticket with your order printed on it. You give this to the server and a few short minutes^ later you get exactly what you wanted.

Our stomachs filled with soupy goodness we continued on our way. We ended up walking along the river as the map showed the hostel to be along it. It was nice but there was no protection from the sun making us as wet as the noodles from our soup. Little did we know, we could have been following a covered shopping street for a good part of our walk, as we found out when we arrived at our hostel.

The hostel that we stayed at was called Hakata Riverside Hostel. It cost 2250 yen a night for a bed in a four person dorm room. Compared to the other options this was very agreeable to us as it met all of our needs. There is a small lounge with free water, coffee and tea and all the staff we interacted are very helpful in making your time in Fukuoka the best it can be.

We took a quick nap to recover from the sun before heading out for a walk about. I kept finding myself sighing while expelling the word Japan in amazement that I was actually in said country. Due to a motorcycle mishap the previous week my range was limited and so we did not get as far as we might have like. Another thing that Japan is famous for that we did not partake in due to my injuries was an onsen or hot springs.

Sushi being a must for any Japanese trip we attempted to hire a taxi to take us to a recommended place but unfortunately a number of them let us know that they were unable to fullfil our request. We did manage to find one to take us back to our home area and while on route we happened upon some hawker stands where we decided to stop for supper. While the price to substance ratio was poor, it was an experience that was irreplaceably enjoyable due to our interactions with those around us. On the way home we stopped by the grocery store to pick up some snacks and breakfast and headed off to bed.

*(The hot and humid walk is dependant on outdoor temperature)
^(Minute lengths do not actually vary)

Puppies

As some of you know I just got back from a trip to Japan which I am very much excited to tell you about. At the moment I am fairly busy so rather than do a sloppy post on Japan I will post some pictures of puppies. After all who doesn't like puppies?

These are the puppies of the landlord's dogs and as such greet me as I come home from work everyday. I may not have the best job in the world but the puppies do more than their share to make up for it.

the three c's of japan

clean. quiet. costly.

Laying it Down

Last week as Annabelle and I were on our final ride of the holidays, we hit some gravel while going around a corner causing the front wheel to come out from under us. The bike lay down with me still straddling it, slammed in to the concrete barrier on the side of the road and slid for 50+ feet.

All I can say is that the Lord protected. I (foolishly) was wearing shorts, a t-shirt and sandals(and helmet of course) as I was on my way to do some swimming. All I got was a few scrapes down the left side of my body. I phoned a few friends who showed up right away, one contacted a guy to pick up Annabelle and one drove me to the hospital.

Hospitals in Korea let me tell you... my time there was a story in itself, or a few stories I will tell you that they did an alright job cleaning getting the dirt off and a fantastic job wrapping it up. The next part though was less fun for me than iodine on vast amounts of exposed skin. Shots to fight infection.

I will tell you right now that I very much dislike needles, but to aid with the recovery of almost illness in Korea they insist. When the nurse walked in with the tray and the needles I tried to convince her that I didn't need them as I am a prime specimen(as if she couldn't see that...).

She was having none of it. The best got better when I learned that instead of being inserted it into my arm like normal needles, these needed to be inserted in to my bum...

Needless to say I did not like this and I made sure that the nurse knew it. Looking back, it may have been easier for both her and I had I just kept my mouth shut, realizing that this was just another consequence of my actions.

Having been cleaned up, juiced-up and x-rayed I went to settle the bill and had a bit of sticker shock as it was a little more than I was expecting. I ended up realizing that had I brought my insurance card it would have been less so after a quick trip home I ended up paying approximately 25 percent or the original bill. Still more than I remember paying in Canada(or was that because my parents paid) but much more reasonable.

It has added a little extra to my days as I need to start earlier and get home earlier in order to get in the daily quota of wrapping, unwrapping and cleaning. While it isn't ideal it sure beats nursing a broken bone or worse...

As for Annabelle she is resting and recovering as well. I checked up on her on Thursday and she already has a new clutch lever, her carburetor will be getting some attention and next time I see her she will be sporting a new front rim.

 It looks like she will be discharged later this week and I will do my best to be there to drive her home. This time you can be certain that I will not be wearing shorts...

Letter From A Student

I can't really add anything to this so I won't...

Cloud and Cows

I was out for a ride the other day when I saw this cloud and pulled over to take a picture of it.

As I was taking the picture I caught a whiff of a vaguely familiar smell. Upon investigation I found that I was on a Korean livestock farm. Once again I know nothing about the farming practices in Korea so instead of sharing my assumptions I will let you assume for yourself.