Hotel Listel Hamanako Hamamatsu

... t have the heart...) tell him he stunk. He figured it was a Gaijin-related joke. When he got home, he realized that he had kamemushi crawling all inside his shirt. Them being about the size of your thumbnail with meat attached to it, I don't know how he could have missed them, unless they're ninja-kamemushi. I guess they're that good at being awful.<br><br>Enough tangent. Anyways, it doesn't smell anymore. Maybe I'm just paranoid.<br><br>So, the last ...

So I managed (scold-free) to pay my second visit in an Onsen.<br>Now the reason why I did not post up my first visit (at least I think I didn't...) was due do a growing fear of being discovered for all my gaijin tendencies, which includes some body art.<br><br>For those who are not informed about Japan's general policies on tattoos, let me fill you in. Now I'm no Japan-encyclopedia here, but I'll do my best. Traditionally, the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) were the ...

... 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 ...

... an eye.<br><br>Another game with the kiddos I took part in (sorry no proof of this), was a game where an elastic balloon is tied to your outer foot, and your inner foot is tied to the foot of one of the children. So what you have is a balloon on your right foot, and the child has a balloon on their left foot, and keeping time is a must. You run around, trying to stomp out the balloons on other peoples' feet. When you're all out of balloons as a pair, you're out ...

... or talked me into confusion--joining their local team), and on my way back home on the winding road, when I spotted something moving on the road. Now in this area, this is a common occurrence. Wild boards (Unoshishi), deer (Shika), and all other forms of life find their way onto the half-wild half-tamed highway that runs through these parts.<br><br>"Wild" would describe the ...

... 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 ...

... Isn't part of the reason I'm here due to an expectation that I would share my culture with one different from my own (namely, that Canadians love to enjoy music, and share it, whenever an opportunity presents itself)? Isn't this just a little bit...I don't know...rude?<br><br>Those were my thoughts at the time, all at once I think, yet I responded with a nod and an "Ok, sorry," and quickly tucked the guitar away and out of sight. But now I realize that although that might be ...

... after helping serve everyone lunch. And, shortly after lunch, we have 15 minutes of our daily-cleaning routine, where students and most teachers take to their assigned rooms and dust, mop, sweep, windex, and scrub anything that needs the attention. I'm sure that they do this all over Japan, and you can only imagine the trade-off in discipline and education costs. I don't particularly feel sad when I realize that this doesn't create many jobs in the janitorial field; most of those ...

... this apart from my first experience (one in which I'll never forget, and which was equally fun). The wetsuit kept me in the water a bit longer. Although it made nature-calls a little difficult, I was one with with fish almost the entire morning. The weather was good too, so I was actually overheating in that rubber outfit. I liked the shoes too (picture included), they saved me many a tumbles.<br>Another thing ...

... as it is a lot less glamorous than Tokyo or Kyoto, but he is married to a Japanese girl and settled down so it suits him down to the ground. Still, you can never have too many contacts... As Yumi was working the next day, her mum drove me to the train station and waved me off as I headed back to Kyoto. I have a renewed desire to live in Japan now, and even though I can`t wait to go home and see my family, I am excited about returning later in the year to resume my adventure...