"It's the Tropics..." III

Have finally got Singapore photos ready for viewing, more when I have time for the commentary but for now, here is something I am feeling rather proud of...

At last Blogger have got themselves sorted out so I can at least post...!

I did promise an update of my trip to Kyoto, but then work was really busy and then it was the choir retreat and then some situations at church came to light that incensed those of us with any sort of brain at all, and there ensued a storm of emails within the middle of which I found myself. As usual, where ever there is trouble I am bound to find it. Oh yes, and then Blogger decided to go all weird and not let me put up any photos...and what's a trip to Kyoto without the photos?! Why can I not just have a quiet life?! Anyway, I intend to write a rather long entry on all of that at a later date to coincide with the next Koinonia and direct everyone to my blog, as I will get my backside kicked if I name and shame in that, I am sure...

Back to Kyoto. The first day I was there, I met up with Yuko and Kuniko and went to Uji to see the (World famous) Byoudou-in which is on the back of the 10 Yen coin.

Now I had been wanting to visit this temple for a long time, ever since I picked up a postcard of it in a shop in Tokyo by chance... Looks rather stunning, doesn't it? Apparently, this main hall is called Phoenix Hall because, it looks like a Phoenix. Well, I've looked at it and I've looked at it and I just can't see it myself... .So, does it, or doesn't it, look like a Phoenix....? You decide...!

This, however is the sad reality of Byoudou-in on a dismal day that rained so much my jeans were soaked up to the knees... Now you can't tell me that photographers don't lie.... I was so disappointed, I nearly cried. On the upside, I did get to take the rather fabulous picture of the pink flowers and raindrops that we saw the other day...After the disappointment of the old non-Phoenix looking Phoenix Hall, we thought a short trip to the other side of the river might be in order. Where, according to Mary-of-the-uncommonly-good-sense, there are a few good shrines.

On the way there, I stopped to take this snap of a statue of Murasaki Shikibu who is credited with having written the first novel in Japan - Genji Monogatari, or "The Tale of Genji". Supposedly, it's a story about this absolute stud called Genji who was some sort of Prince, and his conquests in and around the Emperor's court. Or something. I read it -in English obviously- and I couldn't make head or tail of it. It is supposed to be an amazing work, perhaps it is better in Japanese, but I couldn't find much to get excited over as Genji cried all the time and wrote bad poetry as he propositioned all the women at court... Except that he never actually did anything with any of them at all. Baffling.

By the time we made it to the shrines, unfortunately, I only had the patience for one, which given the weather, was surprisingly packed, and we all know how I feel about crowds. I did manage to get this rather amusing picture though.

I was laughing hysterically while taking this, trying to explain in a way that was not vulgar, why I found it so humorous. Yuko, whose sense of humour is quite similar to mine was smirking while Kuniko explained to me absolutely deadpan, that this formation of sand is VERY difficult to achieve. I really think she had absolutely no idea why I found this "particular formation" so comical. I'll let you be the judge of its amusement factor. Unfortunately, I had to take it at an angle so you can't get the full effect. Still, it makes me snigger....!

There followed a rather damp lunch followed by a somewhat damper train ride back to Arashiyama where we picked up the sightseeing tram to go through the Sagano area. I wasn't feeling thrilled by the prospect at all, thanks to the rain which was still hammering down, however, it turned out that a rather mysterious mist came down over the hills and made the valley look spectacular. About half way down the line, a chap dressed as some sort of traditional demon-type got on and started raising havoc up and down the tram which caused a great deal of hilarity amongst the passengers, especially when he made the mistake of jumping off and the driver shut the doors on him and left him with no umbrella! After that, it was a bit late and I really didn't feel like trekking to Osaka and visiting the aquarium again, which had been the original plan, so we found a restaurant in Gion and holed up there for the rest of the evening.


Next day I was on my own as the others had to work, so I hopped on a train to Himeji. I have to say that I amazed myself with my ability to actually find the correct train as I have a rather bad record when trying to find things in Kyoto generally, so the day got off to a good - if slightly later than planned - start, so I was pleased. The castle is reasonably easy to find although in the distance, the sky looked like rain when I arrived and I decided that a visit to the castle park gardens would probably be in order before the rain set in, rather than afterwards! The last time I had visited Himeji, the gardens and the castle had been closed for the holidays despite the fact that their website did not tip us off; so I felt the need to visit again, even if they might not be up to scratch. Well, the gardens did not disappoint and I was rewarded for my efforts by some glorious views of the waterfalls and ponds all chock full of elegant carp. Obviously the fabulous views came with the expected price, there is one at every sightseeing spot: the Annoying-Video-Camera-Toting-(insert insulting adjective of your choice here)- and his wife. Now as people who have had the misfortune of travelling with me know, I am a photo fiend. I rarely take pictures of people (because I am crap at it) and I NEVER allow random strangers to interfere with my perfect shots. I have been known to wait 20 minutes to get a picture that I really wanted... In a sick sort of way it is very satisfying to wait and wait and then get exactly what you want. Although, it infuriates absolutely everyone who comes sightseeing with me! So there I was, enjoying a temporarily gorgeous day, by myself, not annoying anyone.... Patiently waiting until all the old ladies had wandered through the section of the garden I wanted to photograph and THEN...Cam-Man appeared and decided he had to video the entire garden. I kid you not. The most irksome thing about this was the fact that not having yet identified him as Cam-Man, I had in fact stepped aside to allow him and his wife, (sporting an equally large camera bag)- to pass me by so I would not be in their way! Obviously neither of them had the courtesy to say thanks, let alone return the favour. I will not make the computer blush by repeating my language at this point, but it was not pretty. I was furious. Oh and they took their sweet time, I'm almost certain they knew I was waiting and did they make any move to step aside or even move slightly faster? Did they heck as like.... Anyway, I had the last laugh by standing right in the middle of a bridge in the centre of the garden until they finally got bored of filming me, took my perfect shot and legged it.... The park was actually made up of several gardens of different themes and sizes, they all had beautiful flowers, some of which I photographed and some I didn't! The fish were nice, so were the turtles and the tea houses. The bamboo garden was not up too much but by the time I got round there, I really didn't mind as I had already had my fill of green stuff!

And so it was off to the castle - now, as I rounded the corner I found myself confronted by the sightseer's horror of all horrors. Yes - the tour bus. And not just one. I thought a shopping break may be in order and went snooping around the copious souvenir shops, trying all the free samples for 45 minutes or so before deciding that it was safe to brave the castle. Having sneakily bought the "Castle and Gardens combo ticket" and saved myself about 400 yen and a lot of time in the queue, I was feeling rather smug and took the opportunity to stroll, rather than belt it, up the fairly long hill to the castle. On the way, I found myself at the back of a large group of people (mostly women and children) cooing and fluttering over something on the path. Of course I had to have a look and it turned out to be a bloke with two prairie dogs in tow. On leashes and dressed in ridiculous outfits, they did tricks and sat up when commanded to .... How very strange. I wasn't sure I really approved, but they were sweet so I took their pictures.

Leaving the ladies still oohing and aaahing over the poor creatures, I carried on to the castle keep. From a distance, Himeji Castle is very impressive; my students insist it looks like a heron but I really don't see it myself... It is, however, the genuine article and is now, as it was in the 18 whatevers. The view from the top was great - well worth the arduous climb up all the steep wooden stairs but inside the castle was less inspiring since everything has been removed and there aren't any reconstructive pictures or an audio-guide so I found it rather difficult to imagine what the place had looked like when it was up and running. I could have waited for an English speaking tour guide, but really, who can be bothered when you've already been walking around on a duff foot for 2 hours...?! I tell you, the amount of painkillers I consumed that weekend was obscene, but, I'm still standing!!! Eventually managed the death-defying descent of the stairs, which seemed much steeper than on the way up and decided that I simply had to see the West Bailey which is where Princess Sen lived, before going off to Osaka. It was totally dull. A long line of inter-connected rooms that, again had no pictures and not much information. I'm glad I went but I wouldn't go again... That all took much longer than I had anticipated so my trip to The Aquarium was foiled again. I had been before though, so I wasn't overly disappointed and staggered off to meet Kuniko for dinner. This post is long overdue though, so the rest of the trip will wait until tomorrow...

So much to do .....

It's been a while. I went to Kyoto but I haven't managed to get round to sorting out my photos since I got back because of the PSC and such like, still, I thought I'd share this one with you just so you don't get bored and I'll be back with a vengeance in a few days...


I'm getting on much better with the camera these days... I wish I could say the same about mary-the-hamster, but more on that later...

A night on the town...

So one of my students is a traditional dancer and at the moment she`s doing a show at a beer garden...hmmm....that`s what I thought, but Spencer and I decided to take a trip over there to watch her dance this evening, the place was fantastic. Beautiful green lawns and immaculate pine trees vied for attention with the Viking style torch like things and the dancers themselves! It cost a fortune so all we managed was a miniscule pizza and something called "grilled yams" - I could live without the yams, they were uhm... crunchy... strange things. Spencer said he thought yams were like sweet potatoes... They aren`t.
The dancing was utterly excellent, we arrived a bit late at 5.15(!) and were told we would have to wait for the next dance at 7.45 if we wanted to sit on the lawn... Not impressed by that- I tried pulling the old we are friends of the artiste thing which got us less than nowhere. When Spencer went out for a smoke (disgusting habit which I am trying to make him quit)- he happened to meet Satomi and she told him we could see the dancing from the comfy chairs in the lobby. So that`s what we did, and then she came back in and insisted we all had a photo taken, she grabbed some poor harassed sound guy and made him do it.
Then of course, because we had already been in line and taken the requisite ticket, we went back to the queue for the terrace and thoroughly ticked off a couple of guys by bypassing it. That was funny, they started moaning - obviously thinking we couldn`t understand them, so I whipped and the ticket which said "we were here an hour and a half before you so shut up" and started fanning my face with it... heh heh heh... How to make friends and influence people! Because the first set of dancing had finished people started to leave pretty quickly so we got escorted to a table with a great view and proceeded to watch two of the cast give instructions on how to do the next dance, apparently it was a "raccoon dog dance" I still have no idea. They were expecting the audience to get up and give it a go... See photos! I didn`t try as I was far too busy arguing with my camera but it looked like fun and the costumes were very beautiful. After that we were dragged over to have a Polaroid taken and Satomi took great delight in introducing us to everyone as her teachers... After that we had a brief chat and decided that we couldn`t afford to stay so we went to kinshicho and holed up in watami... Spencer decided to eat the family sized sashimi platter and I was just about tipsy enough to try some. It didn`t make me throw up but I won`t be having it again. Spent a pleasant hour teaching him vulgar British slang for being drunk!! Legged it to the station just in time for the last train and that was that. Probably ought to think about going to bed now, as is almost 2am...

Today`s photo opportunity

May 2006 - The Wisteria festival at Kameido tenjin, a shrine. The camera and I are getting on a little better by now...

Just another day at the office...

Since I am just getting started with this blogging business, I thought an insight into my daily life might be in order... Working in an English conversation school in Tokyo is impossible to truly describe. After four years, my students still never fail to amaze me, just when I think I really heard or seen it it all, a student says something that completely floors me; I thought you might appreciate some of the classics:

Me: (looking at an innocent picture of a cabaret bar) So, what can you tell me about this picture?

Middle aged female student: Ah, yes, they are in a bar and the waitresses are servicing the men...

That one made me laugh so hard I actually thought I would fall off my chair, the smile was wiped off my face fairly quickly when the student asked me why she couldn`t say "servicing"

Me: So, what kind of questions can we ask about a football match that we missed on TV?

30 something female student: Uhm.... Who was pointed...?

In the VOICE room which is for practicing conversation, not studying the book... "So what are we talking about this afternoon?" Middle aged female student who is hard of hearing and of questionable sanity " Jesus Christ came. Last lesson"

Me: So, what can we do to be healthier?

Retired male student: Oh, you should eat leather....

Then there was the time that I asked a student how he had been since I hadn`t seen him in a while. He told me that he had been in hospital, but not to worry it was relatively common in Japan but he didn`t know the word for it. Unfortunately he then decided to describe his condition in intimate detail, and I do mean intimate. It turned out to be hemorrhoids...

Just today, when I asked a pharmacy student what she did at university, she told me that in experiment class, she practiced making medicine to "take from hole of hip". Obviously I was absolutely baffled. It turned out that she was talking about a suppository, and it was down to me to teach her the correct anatomical vocabulary. I love my job...


It was reasonably quiet today which was a bit of a surprise for a Saturday, I really object to working on Saturdays, unfortunately though, they are the busiest day of the week so I will get Saturdays off when Hell freezes over, and possibly not even then. Usually it`s all kids in, but I think they are all on holiday because I didn`t have to teach any which was marvellous. As I write this I am watching episodes of Red Dwarf - series 1. Brings back some memories, I can tell you, unfortunately, it doesn`t bring back any memories of this morning, which seems to have been inexplicably erased from my brain. Weird that. Perhaps I need another cup of tea.
I have a lot to do this weekend, I`m singing a duet from Pergolesi`s Stabat Mater with Nancy tomorrow morning at church. I didn`t want to do it but the choir is on holiday until September and we need offertory music, Shiozawa-san the director of the choir told me I had to do a solo, and I said I`d rather not. To which he said "Ok you can do a duet with Nancy" It wasn`t quite what I had in mind but it`s too late to get out of it now... I wouldn`t mind but it`s really hard and it feels like we`ve hardly rehearsed at all. I suppose I`d better make sure I don`t go to bed at my customary 2 in the morning and get some proper sleep!

After church I have a Pastor Search Committee meeting, it`s all very secret so I can`t say anything about it. Not that you`d want to hear, I shouldn`t think, it`s all very dull really, essentially we are trying to find a new pastor for our church because the last one`s contract expired and by mutual agreement, we decided he wouldn`t renew it. When I say "we" I mean the congregation, of course. Anyway, somehow I found myself on this committee and then I found myself chairing it. Now *that* is a laugh. In the next few weeks we will have a couple of pastors over here for visits and we will interview them and see them do a worship service, then we have to choose one of them. I wish it was all over, I am seriously sick of it. There`s no real explanation for why it`s a load of old rubbish but it is. I told my house group how I was feeling because they always ask me about it, and they told me not to be a wuss! They are right, of course, I simply must see it through til the end, but honestly, it is *such* a massive chore. I had a nightmare about it last night which involved loads of chasing around after bits of paper and running for phone calls, Kana was in it too, for some reason she had turned up at church to wait for me but this meeting ran on and on and she was being a total bitch, which is funny because she is the nicest person.

After that, I am going to Tony and Guy on the second most expensive street in the world. Tokyo Union Church is on Omotesando, next door to Louis Vuitton, up the road from Dior and Emporio Armani, Chanel are there somewhere, along with Tag Heuer and Hanae Mori. Absolutely ghastly. Apparently Armani objected the queues of homeless men who come for the weekly homeless lunch on Saturdays... Sucks to be them - I suggested we ask their staff to lunch as well!! Anyway, I have an appointment to have my hair cut with the lovely Jun; very handsome, very charming and knows exactly how to get his own way with my hair! Perhaps I`ll get a photo of him tomorrow and post it for everyone, although if I do that, everyone will want to see him, and I won`t be able to get an appointment!
After that it will be an hour on the train to get home and a trip to the local laundrette... Life in Tokyo; one big old hurrah.

Today`s photo opportunity:
































February 2006 - Still not really very friendly with the digital camera...

Why yet another uninspiring, ranty blog...?

A few weeks ago, a very good friend of mine, who is jolly holy and much more sensible than I will ever be, suggested that I write a journal to rid myself of my angst. I told her that I had neither the time, nor the inclination... However, on seeing jongudmund`s blog I thought to myself, what a fantastic idea, I could write a journal online... that way I can sit and type away until the wee hours without having to waste a perfectly good notebook and ink on the effort! I`m almost sure that you won`t enjoy my blog, which will probably be insufferably dull but you might like the photos...

The first time I tried out my digital camera was at the January Sumo Tournament at Ryogoku. The camera and I did not get along, I wished I had bought another 35mm we are friends now, I think... just about.