Hello and thank you for your patience! My blog is just as it should be: rather vague and surprisingly concise, yet indisputably my sort of thing. However, for those of you just hankering for one of those lengthy e-mails where I regale you with my adventures and diversions, print off this e-mail, curl up by the tv fireplace (which Japan has unfortunately not yet adopted as part of their interpretation of Christmas), grab some eggnog or whatever bevy floats your boat and enjoy.
Before I get into anything interesting, let me paint you a digital cell phone photo of my present circumstance. I am sitting in the modest non-smoking booth 3 at Media Cafe Popeye. A complimentary cup of hot green tea from a vending machine sits to my left and the menu hangs neatly on a hook to my right. I am very warm, despite the temperature being a little closer to zero than usual outside; the heat on the inside is turned up twice as warm when the mercury drops, or at least when calenders flip to October 1st, so I've heard. Therefore, I am wearing a simple t-shirt that I picked up for about ￥400 (about $4.00) in Kumamoto last week. Its green fabric and pink writing go well with my jeans, and the cheery phrase matches my cheery disposition perfectly: "MOUNTAIN AIR: Feel like a river as it carries me and takes me." This would be funny, but the little boy staring innocently into the eyes of the goat render it kind of gut wrenchingly cute. And there, right above my knees is the slightly tricky keyboard and my hands doing their best to interpret this experience.
Fukuoka has been an excellent base for me, though I sometimes find it difficult to explain to people why it is I prefer visiting local parks, gardens, cafes and ruins to exploring Tokyo and as many other cities as possible while I am here. Fortunately, the amazing time I'm having as a short-term resident of Fukuoka is making up for the pain of explaining my travel style. I have visited a couple of small museums here, and have attached a photo from my cell of the Oohori Kooen Japanese Garden, a rather stunning find.
When not bruising my heels on the pavement and paths of Fukuoka, I work of my Japanese (reading, good; conversation, bad), try to stay organized (I'm a tidy person trapped in a messy person's lifestyle), eat tasty tasty food, and work on picking up a private English lesson or two.
The food has proven very tasty and very healthy, with the biggest surprise being my new found love of the eel sashimi at Yodobashi Camera. Yummy and a half! I Haven't had too much that I didn't enjoy, though nato (if you have checked out Alex's blog) will not be making my top 100 list of good food for this year. The taste could be worse, but it kind of smells like, er, things you don't want to smell at breakfast. Not surprisingly, though, I reveled in my recent dinner of all you can eat Korean-style yakiniku where you grill your own meat and other tasty things at your own table. I also enjoyed a very tasty strawberry shake at this place in Tenjin (downtown) while being photographed for a (reputable, I swear) magazine where I will be teaching a cartoon character how to speak English. Very tasty shake indeed.
For the last two days, though, Alex and I have been gallivanting around Beppu, a small city southish of here which is famous for its innumerable onsens (hot spring spas) and bamboo crafts. We didn't spend as much time exploring the bamboo crafts as we did savouring the sheer bliss of an outdoor onsen and the stunning Hells (hot springs for viewing, not bathing). Our experience was crowned with the gem of a hotel that the Nippon Travel Agency found for us. Our rather affordable package included transportation, accommodation and meals. To be slightly more specific, we had a sixth-floor, ocean-view tatami (traditional Japanese room) with dolphins (firggin dolphins people!) right below us. Dinner was served in our room at the hour of our choice by the sweetest Japanese woman who brought somewhere around four loads of food (we lost count once we tucked in) to our room over the course of an hour. The food was all very Japanese and by the end of the meal, we were rolling around a little with our fullness. Breakfast was big, though strange, offering the usual miso and rice (I like this, and I think it is what most Japanese people eat), some toast and fruit, in addition to a vast assortment of spaghetti, raw fish, some white squishy stuff and many other odd delights. What an excellent weekend! Seriously people: dolphins!
And now for the next, and perhaps most fascinating, cultural adventure: Christmas in Japan. For those of you who do not like the mad shopping part of Christmas, you might not like the atmosphere here. The stores play horridly awful versions of familiar Christmas carols and are packed with boyfriends and girlfriends looking for the right gift. Yes, folks, if you didn't know already, Christmas is for couples. If you are female and dateless on the 24th, you do not qualify to be a woman in the coming year. The pressure is on, ladies, get to it! Though the commercial aspects are all that really exist here in Japan (though I heard rumor of a Santa nailed to a cross in one department store...they almost got it!), I do enjoy seeing how the juxtaposition of east and west is heightened during this season. Please check out the meditating frog santa below. Please do not ask for an explanation as I really don't understand myself.
Anyhoo, I must be on to other adventures, but for now, so long and thanks for all the fish.
Much love and Merry Christmas,
Joanne
P.S. Dolphins!!!
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