While the cat's away.......

Yuki and Clara are both in Tokyo at the moment and will return to Shimogo on Wednesday. As they are in Tokyo, I thought it would be a good idea to invite Alan (a friend from Scotland) and his girlfriend to Shimogo. It proved to be a busy 2 days.

On Friday at about 9.30pm, I drove to a station called Aizu Kogen to pick them up. While I was driving through the town of Tajima, I noticed that the small van in front of me had stopped on the train level crossing. Seconds later, a woman got out of the van and ran towards my car. She told me that she had just broken down! I can't think of a worse place to break down, apart from on Haifa Street in Baghdad.

I got out of my car and managed to push the van off the tracks - seconds later, along came a train. I was in the right place at the right time. If I hadn't have been there, the train would certainly have collided with the van. Exciting stuff!!

We got back to Shimogo at about 10pm and then headed to Wakatsuki for some food and drink. Alan and Akie seemed impressed with Wakatsuki and were surprised that such a place existed in Shimogo. We left Wakatsuki fairly late and this probably has something to do with our late start on Saturday.On Saturday, we drove to a town called Tadami for the snow festival. The drive took about 90 minutes but it was a good opportunity for Alan and Akie to see the real Japanese countryside. I think Tadami probably is the most charming town in the local area. I was expecting the festival to be really busy, and so was very surprised to see few people at this event. It was raining and I think that drove a lot of people away. Another bad point of the Tadami Snow Festival was the smell of cooked mutton - the smell was really strong and making us all feel nauseous.

After our brief visit to the Tadami Snow Festival, we drove to Yurari Onsen for a bath followed by lunch and a nap.

On Saturday night, we went to a newish place called Doronko in Shimogo for dinner and more beers. I would like to go to Doronko more often but it is too far from the area where I stay. The food at Doronko is excellent. Doronko is run by a young couple called Rie and Nozomi. New businesses run by young people are rare in rural Japan but are vitally important for the future survival of Japanese rural settlements. I wish them luck.

Alan and Akie planned to return to Tokyo at 2.30pm on Sunday. This allowed me to show them another snow festival in Ouchijuku (technically part of Shimogo) and also show them a place called Tonohetsuri with its interesting rock formations. They were really pleased to see Ouchijuku with its charming houses with straw roofs. After lunch in Ouchijuku, I drove Alan and Akie to Tajima so they could catch their train back to Tokyo. A good couple of days but I'm certainly pretty tired after the visit (and a lot poorer).
There has been quite a lot of snow over the past couple of days so I paid a brief visit to Daikura today (Monday) for a spot of skiing. It was really busy today as it's a national holiday (Foundation Day) in Japan.

Next week will see me visit 3 different elementary schools for the last time before we move to Tokyo. On Tuesday night I'll be busy cleaning the flat in advance of the return of Yuki and Clara. Bye for now.

January

Hello to all. Sorry that I have been fairly quiet recently. January has been a pretty run-of-the-mill month to be honest. There's been a little work, a little play, and only a little snow. I haven't been skiing much at all. I've been to Daikura ski area four times but didn't really enjoy it. What snow there was, felt pretty bad to ski on. This January at Daikura has felt like the end of season skiing days of previous years i.e. deteriorating skiing conditions that take a lot of fun out of the experience and also make it a lot harder. I'm pretty bored of Daikura - familiarity breeds contempt.

However, today I went to another ski area called Takatsue because I was lucky enough to receive 5 free day passes. I enjoyed the slightly lengthy drive there and managed to see some fairly nice scenery along the way (and also a carload of monkeys). The sky was blue today which was also another plus point. Conditions were excellent and I had a great time. Despite the car park looking full, the slopes did not seem too busy, possibly because it is bigger than Daikura. The only downside of Takatsue was that there were a lot of snowboarders, the nemesis of the skier. I have 4 more free passes (with the possibility of more to come) so I'll probably head to Takatsue again next weekend.For the next 2 weeks I will be at Hisawa JHS. Wednesday will be the Hisawa JHS ski day at Daikura which means I get to spend some time out of school and on the slopes. Hopefully the conditions will be okay, although I'm not very optimistic. If conditions have improved, I may also go to Daikura again for a bit of night skiing on Wednesday.

On Friday I have another shinnenkai (New Year party) and then it will be the weekend again.

2007 - Year of the Boar

Happy New Year to all. In Japan, people send New Year cards which are usually adorned with the creature from the Chinese zodiac that represents the forthcoming year.

After spending Christmas week (including Xmas Day) sitting at my desk at school, I was really looking forward to a good 5 day break in Tokyo over New Year. The break was pretty good. I met up with a friend from the Isle of Skye for a curry in Shibuya - we met at the Hachiko statue which is a famous meeting place in Tokyo. The curry restaurant was called Raj Palace and was cheap but the food was nice. As usual, I ordered one of the hottest dishes on the menu and therefore I ended up leaving half of it. Will I ever learn my lesson?

What else did I do in Tokyo? Well, I bought a good suit which will hopefully assist me in finding a plumb job in Tokyo. I spent a lot of time watching the new Sharp Aquos 65 inch TV which Yuki's Dad bought. I went to my favourite local bar a couple of times which was nice and I found out that one of the customers is host to a weekly TV programme - I thought he looked vaguely familiar. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name or that of the programme he presents so you'll just have to take my word for it.

On the 3rd, we drove back up to Shimogo as I needed to do two half days of desk sitting at Arakai JHS. Today (Friday), I drove to Daikurayama ski area with the intention of picking up the new area ski pass which gives access to 4 ski areas. I was disappointed to be told I was not eligible to buy this type of ski pass and now I have to settle for a ski pass at the same cost but that gives me unlimited access to Daikura only. Pretty disappointing really, especially after being told yesterday by staff at Daikura that I would be eligible for the new style ski pass. Oh well......I either have to accept the situation or change into the Hulk and sort them out. I'll probably accept the situation and buy the same pass that I've bought for the past 3 years.

I went skiing today to Daikura and it was not great to be honest. Although the weather was wonderful, the snow was pretty light and icy in most places. I'm worried it won't change for the rest of the season. In previous years the snowfall has been REALLY heavy but not this year. Snowfall in the European Alps has also been pretty bad and many people blame global warming. I'm praying for heavy snow but I have to face the possibility that this skiing season will be short and conditions poor. If I had the ski pass that I wanted, I would have been able to go the ski ski area with the best snow. Grrrrrr........Classes start again next week although we are lucky that Monday is a national holiday. I'll probably go skiing to Daikura.

Skiing and Beer

This weekend has been very enjoyable. On Friday I decided to visit the local ramen (noodle) shop which is called Kunyan. In Kunyan I had some very nice fried Chinese dumplings called gyoza. The dumplings were washed down with several glasses of Sapporo beer and by the end of the evening, I was well fortified for the 15 minute walk home.

Saturday saw me get up at about 9am, wax my skis, and then jump in the car for the 30 minute drive to Daikurayama. I guess I was on the slopes by around 11.30am and spent the next 5 hours trying not to ski into a tree. Feeling good about the world, I returned to Shimogo with my lungs full of fresh mountain air. After dinner, I received a call inviting me to a nearby restaurant called Wakatsuki. Wakatsuki is only 5 minutes walk from the house and is an excellent place to sit and chat to the customers who come and go. All in all, an excellent nights entertainment.

Sunday saw another trip to Daikurayama. I really enjoyed today (just like every other day). The snow was hard and icy in places but I coped fairly well. Feeling a bit reckless, I upped the speed level slightly and this proved to be an enjoyable break from the overly cautious approach I often take. The extra speed almost resulted in a few collisions with other skiers. I very nearly came off at speed today but somehow I managed to keep my balance and avoid a trip to the local hospital.

What do I have planned for the week ahead?? I'm fairly busy this week and will visit Elementary school on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Thursday will see me return to Shimogo JHS and Friday will be another chance to renew my love affair with the slopes of Daikurayama. Bye for now.

Shimogo JHS Ski Day

Yesterday (Feb 8th) was when Shimogo JHS made their annual pilgrimage to the slopes of Daikurayama. Only 1st and 2nd grade students attended while 3rd grade continued to study hard for their high school entrance examinations in March.

We started skiing from about 10.30 and it seemed obvious that most of the students were much better than I. Some of the students started skiing when they were 3 or 4 years old and were able zip down the slopes effortlessly. However, I persevered and feel that I have learnt some good lessons which should help my skiing develop further.

Lunch consisted of a very nice plate of Japanese curry accompanied by miso soup. There was a brief photo-call outside the restaurant before the afternoon skiing lessons began. It dawned on me that I find skiing at high speed easier than low speed skiing - strange!

All in all, the Shimogo JHS day at Daikura was an enjoyable break from the classroom. On return to Shimogo, I met up with the ski instructors for a small party and managed to consume rather a lot of Asahi Lager. The weekend is now coming up and I will firmly grasp the opportunity for more skiing on the fresh snow that has just fallen. Three days skiing should prepare me for a busy week ahead which will see me going to a 3 day conference in Yokohama.

Skiing

The Fukushima area of Japan gets a lot of snow during the winter months and as a result, there are a lot of ski resorts close to Shimogo Town. I've purchased a season pass for a ski area called Daikura and have been making an effort to go skiing at least once a week. The season pass only costs 20,000 yen (about 100 pounds) and is well worth the money.

This week I've been 3 times and my legs are now aching. Drinking a couple of beers midway through the day also doesn't help!!! I think I'll drink AFTER skiing next time. I'll go skiing again on Wednesday with Shimogo JHS by which time I hope my legs have regained their strength.

I've had a really good week on the slopes. After a long time with no visible sign of improvement, I decided to change my skiing style on Friday. The minor changes that I made have paid off. I feel that my skiing has reached the next level (although I'm still no Franz Klammer / Pierman Zubriggen). I didn't ski well today but I think that was because my legs were too tired.

I'll miss the skiing when we move to Tokyo. When the snow melts I'll pack my skis away and get the mountain bike onto the road again. I'm trying to get as much exercise and fresh air as possible before we move to Tokyo in July. I'm sure I'll be busy in Tokyo and will not have as much time to exercise.

Well, that's what I've been doing for the past few days. Tomorrow I'm working at an elementary school in the morning and then I'll go to the Board of Education in the afternoon. I'll try and post another blog during the week.