Business Hotel Tsujiume Shinkan Hamamatsu

... t involve techno-music, bright lights and glow-sticks. Gathered here were about 30 to 50 parents and children, taking turns cheering on the costumes and various dances that were being presented to them. Scattered throughout, the local students and children wear elaborate temple-gear and perform intricately complicated dances. And, three times during the night, devils come out, dressed in red with large-nosed, very, very scary painted ogre-masks.

This is Hanamatsuri.

This ...

... pace. I kept thinking, along the way, about my weekend excursion the Monday before. I was still hurting, I think, a bit from lack of sleep and over-drinking. Somehow, and I still don't know how, I finished with 22 minutes, almost a minute ahead of Tanaka-san. It hurt. Alot.

But I was very relieved, and happy that I didn't have to be a substitute for a race I wasn't initially inclined to take part in. A couple weeks later (this past weekend), we were schedule for a group time ...

... back into that calmness of familiarity. But does the fish really know what's outside the deep, dark blue of his home until he hops out for a peek, or gets caught by a hook? I'm sure I've swallowed the bait, hook and all by now. But I think the less I've struggled to get free of this feeling of awkwardness, the easier it's become to adjust to it.

Oh and on a side-note: I've managed to make my very first, solo-sushi this evening. Freakin' delicious!

... be slowing down on the videos I post. I got my internet bill, and despite how freakin slow the speed is, I guess they took record of how many bites I sent (or received). Yea, no more $100 bills. So some things might just have to wait for a 'welcome back' presentation, and the such.

As for the hike I hinted at, I'll wait until I get the pictures up before I talk about it. It was AMAZING. It even compares with Alberta's hikes, albeit a bit more dangerous...

... The course wasn't too difficult, with winding roads, long bridges overlooking a green lake (they don't call it Midori-ko Marathon for nothing), and surrounded by mountains on all sides. I almost tripped three of four times, Run Fat Boy Run-style, while trying to take all of it in while jamming to Enigma or screaming out Coldplay through my iPod. I tried to say 'Ganbatte' (Good luck! Try your best!) to everyone that went by ...

... It was scary. I had these Karate fathers CARRY their kids in one hand, and drop-fly-kick anything that moved around them. I had bruises! But I didn't pop my balloon.

There were other races, of course. Relay races, 100m dashes for the kids, a massive 60+ tug of war, and many, many others competitions. I was exhausted by the end of the day, having spent the night before drinking in Toei with some of my buddies at the local bar (that's another story, oh boy ...

... areas, town and villages by whichever specialty they claimed to have perfected. Whether it be cooked eel, specialty breads, the best chestnuts or miso-flavoured grasshoppers, everywhere you go in Japan will have a reason for you to visit.

This makes planning trips both delightful and overwhelming.

Needless to say, along with specialty foods comes specific and sometimes very original festivals. I don't think that Taguchi's festival was anything out of the ordinary (at ...

... the school D.H. works at (Toei), and the schools that Derek commutes to (Tsugu and Taguchi). It was a good turn out of young soon-to-be athletes.

Much like the last ceremony I attended for Cleaning Day, the day was rigidly structured and it adhered to all the time constraints so that everything was done and done well. Things started early, Ichikawa-sensei and I arrived there a little after 7:30, I believe. I took the opportunity to kill some spare time before we got ...

... as well as some of the usual fare...including toy guns for sale...at every matsuri we've been to, you can always buy toy guns! Some look very realistic too...A matsuri just isn't a matsuri without a gun! This matsuri was really fun! And everyone was decked out in their festival wear, right down to tabi, and many played trumpets and drums. Apparently there is only one official tune to play for this matsuri though, haha...

... The bridge place?". "Yeah, wasn't it cool?". This is how we describe a location of immeasurable natural/historical importance to the world (UNESCO definition of a world heritage site). It was cool though. Transport is easy, 500 yen gets you an all day bus pass (vending machine dispensed, like everything in Japan). Although buses are a little more tricky than trains, as there's no help with English. But in saying that, you know a spectacular bridge bus ...