Today I went to the ocean with my friends. It was really overcast and windy, but it didn't rain! Shashi and I went swimming, but it was a bit too chilly for everyone else. Because of the wind, there was sand everywhere, so I didn't risk taking my camera out on the beach. This photo was taken near the bus stop while I was waiting to join the group on the way out. This Tree Frog is relaxing in his conical leaf-house. I love the way the plant is illuminated from the outside while the frog is in shadow. It creates an almost negative image that I think is just surreal.
View from the tea room balcony.
In the early afternoon it started raining really hard. It got so bad that at around 3pm there was a public announcement to keep children indoors. I got to go home early, but I was really bored sitting around my apartment all day. This picture was actually taken on the 6th. It looks like someone lost this umbrella during the storm.
It's still a bit rainy today, but I felt like looking for Tree Frogs again-- so I went out anyway. And I'm glad I did! Along one long farm road, I found three populations of tree frogs. Two frog communities were somewhat close to each other, while the third was a good 500 meters away. The neighboring frogs all had brown stripes on their hind limbs, but the frogs in the separated area all had solid green (as pictured here). It seems the separated group is genetically distinct from the larger group.
I went out looking for my little green friends, but none were to be found. In the same places as Thursday the grasses were empty. I took a picture of some farmers spraying their vegetables instead. I don't know the word for "pesticide" or "fertilizer" in Japanese, so I couldn't ask which. I wouldn't have asked anyway, but it's a long story. Well, maybe I can summarize it for you. Grade school kids treat all foreigners like we're wearing Mickey Mouse costumes. Junior and high school kids treat us like movie stars. College kids think we're cool. Working age people are generally polite. But the older members of society see us as outside that society. Imagine for example, someone outside of your society. Lets say one of the space aliens from the Sigourney Weaver movies bicycles up to you with a camera and says "hi." It might freak you out.
Does your mind work the way mine does?
The tower disappeared again today.
I was surprised while grading tests to find that I had written an absolutely flawless '2' on a student's paper. A '2' so grand, I considered asking the Mayor to change the name of the day from "July Twelfth" to "July 2." However, upon further contemplation, I decided it may lead to some confusion.
This street has been leaking water for two weeks. If you look closely, you can see the water bubbling from the man-hole cover. Actually, it's a bit small for a man; let's call it a penguin-hole cover. In any case, I'm hoping the apparent burst water pipe is repaired soon.
Phew-- I have a lot to do before I go home. I need to fill out forms, cancel services, pack and more. This is a form for my Japanese Pension refund. Since I won't be retiring here, I'd like to get that money back.
Nothing interesting happened today... Tomorrow my friends and I were hoping to go to the beach, but it looks like it'll be rainy.
Today is "Umi no Hi" or "Ocean Day." I wanted to go, but it rained all day.
This is my going-away party from work. We're eating at Tako Pizza, my favorite pizza restaurant in Japan.
Today was the last day of school before summer vacation. There was a going-away ceremony for me, which was nice. This picture is the homeroom class I'm in charge of. It was the last time I'll see most of them, and a bit sad. Goodbye Sosa!
I had a nice day today. The weather has been pretty rotten lately, so when I saw a patch of blue sky I decided to go out for a jog. 29 laps of the grass field and I was pretty worn out. I had only planned on 25 laps, but at about lap 24 a couple boys showed up to play soccer and told me I was awesome so I couldn't stop just then. Anyway, I took this photo around six o'clock. I had great timing, I hadn't planned on any flocks of birds flying overhead.
The sky is blue today! I took the opportunity to take some pictures. I consulted my Chiba-ken festival book, and found today to be the last day of the Tako Gion-sai festival in neighboring Tako-machi. The thermometer outside my apartment read 37'C. This temperature happens to be exactly 98.6'F. Sounds fine, I'll be invisible to heat-guided missiles. When I arrived, I found the town to be fairly empty. This guy was fishing in the channel the guide book showed the townspeople floating down in boats. I investigated a little further, and found the events were actually to take place at night.
Here's a scene that may seem a bit strange if you don't know the automobile laws in Japan. This car is being sold at a used car dealership for zero yen. That's right around $0.00 USD. What's more, there have been no takers. It's a cheap little Nissan, but besides the big load of bird poo on the hood there's not a scratch on it. In Japan every two years, starting on a car's 3rd birthday, you need to pay a 130,000 yen inspection fee (Shakken). That's over $1000. Probably, this car is not worth $1000 and the inspection is coming up soon. My Canadian friend mentioned to me today that he knows of a shipping company that will ship a car to Canada for $1000. That's great, but one way or the other you're paying $1000 for a free car.
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Interesting bit of trivia for you, the Japanese word for "bird poo" is "fun." No joke. The pronunciation rhymes with 'spoon' however.
I just absolutely love these Japanese tree frogs.
I realize there is nothing for perspective in the shot, but this thing was big. I noticed it just as it was getting dark on my balcony. You know how a camera's flash sometimes gives people red-eye? I've seen it on dogs and cats, but have you ever seen it on a spider before?
This is the "Great Pagoda of Peace" within the Naritasan Temple grounds. It is currently the off season, so the temple grounds were almost empty. It was definitely the most enjoyable temple grounds I've been to in Japan. You enter the grounds through a 100 meter long tunnel through the mountainside. When you emerge from the darkness, you're thrown into this huge religious complex that has existed for over 1000 years. In fact, this year is the 1070th anniversary of the first temple. There are probably a dozen buildings on the grounds, but this one is the largest by far. It was built in 1984 as a symbol of peace. Beneath the foundation they buried a time capsule with messages of peace written by the world leaders of the time.
This is a water channel in Sawara city. Sawara is known by the nick name "Koedo," or "Little Edo." Edo is of course the old name for Tokyo. Sawara is said to be one of the best places to see what city life was like in Edo Period Japan. Many Edo Period buildings along this waterway have been preserved, and you can even enter the home of a wealthy citizen of the time.
The Edo period was from 1603 to 1867.
This young bird wasn't too confident about flying, so he let me get pretty close before finally jumping off the edge. Both of his parents were close by keeping an eye on him.