Hotel Ascent Hamamatsu

... br>Well, third time around, and I still love it.<br><br>The only place around here that has some form of organized physical fitness is the Karate club in Toei-town, about a 40 minute drive for me. Every Wednesday (and now every second Wednesday due to English Conversation Classes), I head to this dojo to attempt a mockery of Karate. I say mockery, because I only understand half of what comes out of the teacher's mouth. But I'm catching on, and they all ...

... some nice lady or manservant to come and tell me that it would be best that I didn't come again, but that they were really grateful for me coming, I took my sweet ass time enjoying every nook and crinny in that place. Unfortunately for me, my tolerance for warm saunas and baths is pretty low, so when I started to lobster-up, I took my leave.<br><br>The funny thing was, no one approached me. I could have SWORN that the man who walked with his kid, washed up ...

... rarity in Japan I suppose, and did my best on a busted up foot that I've been nursing for two weeks (while on this topic, I recommend to all foreigners in Japan to immediately ask for 'wide' fits when buying new runners; TWO WEEKS...).<br><br>Although it definitely was as bad an experience as I describe it, I think that's what gets people hooked: bragging rights. It's like Robin Williams' stint on how the Scots came up with ...

... which is part of my address, and there was a little under thirty of us in total. We met twice to practice some of the harder activities that took place at the Toyone Dome a small open-walled structure, about the size of an indoor gym. When I first arrived, people seemed a little anxious that I was "on their team". And really, they didn't open up that much until we got drinking the night after the festivities. More on that a bit later.<br><br>The games ...

... I came across on the middle of this road. I saw one pair of red eyes glint back at me in the darkness reflected by my headlights, glaring at me with pure hatred (as much hatred that is possible in a jackrabbit). "Jackrabbit?" I hear you say. Yes, and how could I tell this? Well, I'm not sure who ran away faster, but I could swear it was the jackrabbit who was on top who ...

... 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.<br><br>This makes planning trips both delightful and overwhelming.<br><br>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 ...

... to make her seem like an explorative girl in her twenties. Derek tells me that she can even remember one of the nights (vaguely) that they were firebombed in Nagoya. Ito-san, when she found out that Toyone had a new ALT (me!), invited me through Derek to her English conversation classes on Tuesday, and I've been attempting to attend every one of them since I've got here. They include snacks, lots of fun topics, energetic Japanese ladies seeking to improve their English ...

... that I think sort of gets left behind in Kindergarten back at home. The kids essentially 'own' their classrooms; it's the teachers that migrate from room to room (except for specific classes like music, tech, art and science). So I am always aware when I have the kids clean up my mess on the blackboard, and take my bags that I've left behind to me after class to the office. This cleaning duty extends to lunch as well, where the students (and sometimes the teachers) clean up the mess ...

... work the next day, so I was free to wander around with the help of a map that he`d drawn for me, and I began with a visit to Zenkoji, Nagano`s impressive temple. There was some construction work going on which detracted from the spectacle slightly, but the weather was fine so I relaxed there for an hour or so - things were to change shortly after... I popped into Tower Records back in the city centre for a quick browse, and emerged half an hour later to be greeted ...

... been several foreigner checkpoints in Tokyo where all foreigners are either to have their passport with valid tourist/work visa stamp or Alien Registration Card. Without this, you go to jail. Literal Jail. They're capable of legally holding you for 23 days without legal consultation and contact with your family, that's if they arrest you. They can bring you in to the station and you're free to leave anytime, however, if you get up to leave, they arrest you on the ...