Kikusuitei Hamamatsu

... me so well on my form and quick learning. I simply didn't have the heart to tell these folks who are giving me free lessons, that I've had some previous training. Or maybe I just didn't have the knowledge of how to say it, but either way...dammit...something smells like kamemushi. Kamemushi, or the stink-bug, is a curse around here this time of year. They breed like crazy, despite the cold. They can get in anywhere, somehow. They have hard ...

... and then left within two minutes, did so because of my tattoo. Maybe he just didn't say anything. Or, that old guy who was flopping about in the waist-high, leaving as soon as I dipped in...maybe it was just because I was a foreigner. Or maybe it was that it was a chilly night...<br><br>I puzzled over these things for a day or two, rejoicing in my success.<br><br>And then I decided today, after meeting the second 65 year old doing the amazingly intense hike I ...

... Now just to make it harder, I'm going to stick rivers, mountains, trees, and piles of dirt between you and the hole. OH, and did I mention, that you'll have to wack at this wee ball with a wee stick? Har har har" and all that jazz. The point is, it's fun because it's a pointless challenge. Back in the days before telegrams or camel-riding, some poor sucker who was quicker on his feet than others had to deliver messages, well ...

... were as ridiculous and as fun as you can imagine. The first of these (one that they volunteered me to do) was Mukade (translation: by way of 1000 legs). We had a total of 6 legs, where 3 guys (myself included) slipped our feet into two wooden planks that we shared to complete this Mukade race. It was hilarious. I think we fell over thirty times, as the video of us competing demonstrates how well practiced at falling we are.<br><br>There was also a 'various ball ...

... high-tailed' it outta there, leaving his hapless victim (not his dinner, mind you...they're herbivores right?) on her own.<br><br>So, having disturbed this lovely display of primal roots, I burst out laughing, feeling awful for having taken part in playing the breakin-father. But heh, if I'm not allowed to have fun, neither are the bloody bunny-rabbits!<br><br>Kinball rocks!<br>

... not for this area). It followed the standard format: festival stands and decorations set up, ranging from drink-tent with soups, to toriniku (fried chicken) and takoyaki (fried octopus balls); early-morning drinking, usually made possible by trips to the liquor store the night before, as well as stocking the temple with its home-brew sake-barrel, music, costumes and festival outfits, and, of course, fireworks.<br><br>At this particular festival, the only ritual we saw was the ...

... skills, and other foreigners like myself looking for a chance to socialize. Always a blast.<br><br>But this evening, it was our official dinner invitation. Not the first I had, but the first that I remembered to bring my camera, and Andrew as well as Julie came along too, bringing his arsenal of English-gaming knowledge, and playing us a Ukalayle (forgive spelling!) song. We ate, ate, ate, and did just as much drinking. I remember the next morning all too well, it was rough.<br>

... 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 ...

... thunder and lightning, so I headed for a bookstore and passed some time in there. I knew that I had to walk back to Yusuke`s place at some point, but the weather showed no sign of relenting - in fact it felt like armageddon! In the end I just decided to go for it, and it was a relief to get indoors again and strip off, since my jeans were drenched! We went out for ramen later in the evening, before going to a huge Internet cafe that had many pool and table tennis ...

... and flattened. These must be taken to another recycling location, not the grocery store. It's only available on Thursdays around here in some parking lot. -Batteries, have many locations that they're picked up at. It's no wonder that there's so much trash on the streets. There's also no trashcans on the street, probably so ppl don't dump their **** in those cans. John just takes his trash to the base to let the military decide what to do with it. Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this ...