Urban Hotel Yonekyu 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 ...

... 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 ...

... carrying race', where with two bendy plastic poles, you and another person carry various sized balls around the track. The balls ranged from basketball to golf-ball. It's not as easy as it sounds.<br><br>Another game was called Tama-ire (Literally, Put the Ball In). They set up two baskets high on a pool about 15 or so feet in the air. One basket will have a ribbon on it, the other won't. The object is to put as many of your balls in the proper cup, where a point ...

... 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 ...

... he spotted me.<br>He wound up, started hissing bad barring his tiny little fangs (which for all I know, could still be poisonous, at least to my sense of courage), and showed me that he could, indeed, do more than play a statue.<br><br>Anyhow, I think I covered most of what went down. I had a ton of stuff going down the following two days, from temple visits to a trip to Nagoya castle (next entry!), so I had to leave early the next morning (which was rough). Needless to say, I've ...

... silent-shell all too quickly) 2 year old boy, named Kenta. What a joy it was to toss this kid around on their family living room floor. Their neighbors came by too, and their super-powered four-year old was no match for my armlock--it was only when they teamed up that I ran into some serious trouble.<br><br>The next morning, I followed my co-worker to the Undoukai meeting place in Toei-town, where several schools in the district participated: the two I work at, Tomiyama and ...

This took place about a month ago, so I'm going to do my best to recollect this and finally finish my entries for August.<br>I was rather tired for the event that day because I think I spent the night before with Derek, probably sampling some sake. But I made it on time, and ready to spend a Saturday (for which I was reimbursed with the following Monday off) taking part in the community activity of cleaning our school.<br>First off, I think this is one of the greatest accomplishments ...

... vegetables from their garden, and of course, freshly BBQd Ayu. I turned down an offer to go again this weekend, mainly because I was out of town and just exhausted. But this man's house is amazing: it's at least 100 years old, made completely of wood, and smelled great. He lives with his parents, wife, and kids (most whom have taken off for university already, I think).<br>All in all, an amazing time.<br><br>

... epic Pirates of the Caribbean...all three hours of it! I really enjoyed it though, despite not even seeing the second one, and the time seemed to fly by. I would hazard a guess that a few of the audience fell asleep at some point though! A popular activity amongst the youth of Japan is to go into a photo booth and pose for photographs with their friends, and after the movie the three of us joined the throngs of youngsters in an arcade and eventually found a free booth ...