Nikko Festival

Went to Nikko again for a festival that has been happening for 400 years, where a shrine gets carried away from the main shrine, and a demonstration by traditional style archery on horseback. Misato found a nice B&B where we took a private onsen, had a really nice dinner and breakfast. Took the motorcycle up there and found some nice winding roads to tour up and took a gondola ride up to see the trees leaves changing color. Here are some videos.

Nikko Festival

Nagano Motorcycle Trip

Our energy saving summer schedule came to an end so after working 6 days this week I had a three day weekend so I decided to go to Nagano by motorcycle despite my route being "not recommended" by my Japanese colleagues. Here are the highlights: first country road from Utsunomiya was washed out by the Typhoon, here are a few pics near the wash out.


Those are pieces of the retaining wall for the road in the middle of the river.

It started raining on my way down a mountain pass, and couldnt find a hotel for hours while lost in Nagano.
Hung out in Obuse (one of my destinations) for only an hour or so, then missed my exit to meet my colleague and see the monkey park. Monkey park was pretty sweet, although only about the size of the one pool.


Saw some beautiful views along route 292, 55, 353, 145 and 120 from Nagano to Utsunomiya if there are any other motorcycles out there in Japan looking for a nice route.

View at the mountain pass on 292

Waterfall near Numata route 120.

Road down the mountain pass from Numata to Nikko maybe still 120.

Check out the rest of the pics here.

Nagano Motorcycle Trip

Taipei and Moto Adventure

Not really Japan related but Misato and I went to Taipei. Check out the pics, there are a lot of us from arms length so I hope you enjoy. Taipei was much nicer than I was expecting, clean and safe. We ate a lot of delicious food and saw some pretty views. I finally got my motorcycle!!!! My ride back from Tokyo was a bit busy for the first half, but the second half was nice through a mountain pass. Misato and I then took the bike out up in the mountains up north of Utsunomiya. Got off to a late start, but took a break at a nice bridge. Started to get a bit dark on the way down and since it was our first ride on my new bike I was a bit timid, but it all turned out ok with a nice steak dinner at the end 320 grams is more than I was expecting. Any motorcycle riders out there in Tochigi the hunter mountain pass is a nice ride from Nikko to Shiobara.

Taipei and Moto Adventure

Magome and Tsumago

Had a meeting in Nagoya so afterwards I went to the Kiso valley for a 8km "hike" that is part of a mail route or path something like that from the Edo era maybe. Some nice views, but it was raining, and rained pretty hard at one point. Luckily there was a tourist information center halfway through the hike so I stopped there and they gave me some tea, pickles, ume, candy and a larger umbrella to borrow. Pretty nice and relaxing. I stayed in Nakatsugawa which was cute little town, and at a business hotel which was affordable. At one restaurant I went to the owner had been to NM, the only time he had been to the US, what are the odds, small world.

Magome and Tsumago

"Bought" a motorcycle

I went to the bike shop and paid the money for my new motorcycle, but I am not able to get it for another 2 or 3 weeks. I have to send in some form from my city hall saying I am an alien resident first for whatever reason, then the processing starts. So for anyone else looking to buy a bike in Japan make sure you go to the city hall first. Once the bike shop recieves this they will start the processing, registration, insurance etc... that should take about 2 weeks and then I will have my bike. Finally!! I think this is officially step 10 or 15 of getting a motorcycle in Japan.
link to the bike i bought, although it may not work once the posting is removed from the bike shop.

5th Time's the charm

Here is a picture of my drivers license, with a few things kinda botted out, dont want anyone to steal my identity and the course map. For anyone who is actually going to take the test in Tochigi, or if you are just curious about how ridiculous the test is, check out the video on the course "instructions".



A few things I forgot to mention in the video are: at the wall where you lean over your handlebars to look right and left, you are supposed to be stopped, so you stop 2x at the walls (obstructed view). Also the dismount procedure is almost the reverse of the mounting procedure, but you dont have to touch the mirrors. Make sure the bike is in neutral, turn the key off, get off, then kickstand, then turn the wheel to the side and you are done. Lastly always use both brakes front and back, and pump three times when slowing from high speed. This course is always the same for foreigners in Tochigi but they dont have this course map for sale at the driving center, I bought the Japanese course and then the black line is my own writing. For more general information on the driving center and how to get there see this website.
http://www.mybelovedsushi.com/

Of course now that I have a license, even after I buy a bike it will take 2 weeks for "processing" to get a license plate, ensure that I actually do have a license with the government etc.... sure do love that Japanese bureaucracy. *Sigh*

Stupid F#$@ing Driving Test

I wasnt going to write on here until i got my motorcycle license, but I failed again today (4th time) and I was really freakin pissed so I thought I would release some energy. First time i failed was because I had no idea about all the stupid rules, second time also, both times I got 0 points because I did something that was an automatic fail. Then I was able to sign up for classes at the driving school, went for a 2 hour session and learned some of the stupid rules, like turn your head exactly 90 degrees right left then right again before any crossing, or look at the mirror first before turning on your turn signal. The third time after 2 hours of classes I got 40 points, so I was happy, improving at least, but you need a 70 to pass. The next time I could sign up for the driving test was took weeks later (today) so I decided to hit the driving school hard. I went 6 times for 1 hour each time 2 times were during the typhoon, so I had plenty of time riding in the rain/not so perfect conditions, perfect for getting the skills down no matter what, and driving school was actually pretty fun, got to practice some japanese and ride a motorcycle even if it was on the stupid course. Anyway after 6 hours of practice I thought id be ready and easily pass the test, but on the brindge (2 cm off the ground for about 10 meters where you have to stay on for 10 seconds) as soon as I hit the bridge i fell off.... automatic FAIL!!!!! Back to 0 I couldnt sign up for another 2 weeks, but there is no way im going to the driving school too much again. They already taught me all the rules, I know how to do all the stupid little things. I dont know what my problem was on that stupid bridge, I never fell off during the first 3 tries and seldom fell off during driving school. anyway I really want to pass so I can check out some more of the countryside. I will post again after I pass, if that ever happens. Going to the driving center is not the fun summer hobby I would like. I should also note that on the test where the examiner is writing your score they write down how long you practiced, so I figured having 6 hours of PAID practice would help win them over a bit. I had such a good chance to go from 40 to 70 with 6 hours of practice in between to pass and I blew it!!!!!!!! UGHHHH. Next time is August 12th, because the driving center is so "busy" with other foreigners.

Travel Not Japan Related

Pics link from the recent trip to Hungary, Boston, Albuquerque, Seattle then back home to Utsunomiya.

Hungary Albuquerque Seattle

Green Chili is good on Everything

Recently we made sushi and takoyaki (little ball with Octopus inside) with New Mexico Green Chili, and of course it was delicious. First the Green Chili Salmon Roll Sushi.

Next the making of takoyaki:

Thats green chili on the bottom left middle ish. Stage 2 turning the balls and adding more dough mix stuff.

And the finished product.

Of course since it is a bit hot and humid out we had to eat with a Chu-hi.

Motorcycle License

Working on getting a motorcycle license is a multiple phase project for me. Step 1. Get translation of american drivers license. This was pretty easy and only cost $30 or so and took about 30 minutes. Just went to the japan automobile association and they did it while I waited. Step 2. Get application for driving test. This was a little more complicated and since I didnt really plan ahead was much more time consuming than I had thought. The reception for foreigners is only open from 1pm to 2pm. I made my decision at 12pm that I would go yesterday. I thought I could get there by 1pm, but I ended up getting there at about 1:30, this after I told my coworkers Id be back at 2. I signed up on the sheet and was #5 in line. Didnt get called until about 4pm and every detail of my passport was scrutinized. The stamps that were faded from about 4 years ago and the 3 or 4 times we crossed between Argentina and Brazil were a bit skeptical. I also messed up a few key Japanese words like when they asked me what the license was for, I said a motorcycle, because that is what I want in Japan, but they thought I meant my american license was only good for a motorcycle when it is actually good for both a bike and car. Anyway I finally got through all that around 5pm, which was really a poor move on my part at work since I had volunteered to stay late for a special computer upgrade. I let them down, but they seemed to understand the underestimation problem and how long things sometimes take here... I hope. Now its time to take the riding test. I have heard horror stories of people taking the car test up to 18 times. I guess the driving/riding itself isnt too hard, but you have to memorize the course, and more importantly SHOW that you are following all the rules, ie turn your head exactly 90 degrees for 30 seconds to look over your shoulder before changing lanes, and turning on your signal at the right time etc.... My Japanese coworker Seki san just got his license so I asked him to show me the ropes a bit. July, August and September we might be working Saturday and Sunday and off on Thursday and Friday to spread out the demand for energy due to the plant at fukushima, so Ill have plenty of opportunities to go try for the license since the license center is only open M-F. Hopefully I havent forgotten how to ride, I was a bit shaky in the first place as everyone knows of my few mishaps with the dirtbike and the KLR. If I fail the first time I may go to a driving school where I can run the course a few times and learn what manners I am supposed to do. Hopefully Ill get the license sooner rather than later so I can go do some exploring later on this fall. I really want this bike 2010 CB1100, its a bit expensive so hopefully I can find a similar used one. Japanese generally dont like used stuff so its somewhat cheap, but for some reason retro motorcycles are popular now.

March and April

As everyone knows there was a huge earthquake in the northern part of Japan that triggered a tsunami and then problems at a nuclear power plant in the prefecture of Fukushima. The Japanese Red Cross is still taking donations though the US red cross just click here and follow the links to donate specifically for the Japan earthquake.
http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main&s_src=RSG000000000&s_subsrc=RCO_BigRedButton
Most of us here in Utsunomiya had some minor damage to dishes or glasses in our apartments, as well as a big mess of random stuff thrown everyhwere, no where near anything that the people in the north have experienced so we were all very lucky. There was some concern about the Fukushima power plant so Boeing had us all move down to Nagoya where the rest of the Engineering team. Below is a picture I took with my cell phone of a coworker of mine who was a bit worried. He carried this bag around with him for a few days that had a spare set of clothes, his insulin, and passport... just in case. He got quite a bit of harassment from all of us.

We ended up staying in Nagoya for about a month which wasnt too bad since we were staying in the Hilton. I say we because Misato was also able to come with me so there was no concern there.

My Family got to come to Japan at the end of April. Misato was great and helped plan the whole trip with the help of a travel agent to do the hotels and trains. We got to see some awesome sites and got really lucky with a Hanami matsuri near Mt. Fuji. We also went to this sweet ninja restaurant in Tokyo that was kinda cheesy, but really fun. They performed some ninja magic throughout dinner where our dinner was instantly turned from egg to quail, and it was also delicious. Momma san also performed some ninja magic with the lead ninja. We took a tour in Tokyo and it was pouring rain when we walked up to the imperial palace!! Then we went to see Asakusa and the Tokyo tower. From Kyoto took a day trip to see the Himeji castle, although its under construction, and got to swing by Kobe for a quick Kobe beef dinner, which was freaken awesome. In Kyoto we went to see the golden temple and tried to see kiyomizudera, but it wasnt in the cards. Then we got to see an authentic Giesha dance, sorry no pictures, but that is the policy. The next day we went on a train ride to get to a boat ride down the river which was man powered. After the boat ride we went to a sake distillery tasted a bit of sake and got a few free tastes. On the way back to Utsunomiya we drank the sake and were a little bit tipsy before we got here, then had a few relaxing days before my family sadly had to leave. Great trip though. Tons of pictures below.

Family Vacation Japan 2011

Setsubun & Yuki Matsuri

This year Misato and I celebrated Chinese new year Japanese stlye by throwing beans out of the house and saying Onie wa soto and then into the house saying fuku wa uchi. Basically means devil get out and goodness come in. We also ate the "required" sushi while facing the proper direction. Then for valentines weekend we flew up to Sapporo for the snow festival. Took a 747 on a 1.5 hr flight, cattle car for the event. Beautiful sculptures and huge stages/sculptures made mostly of snow. Also saw a ski jump competition and this crazy guy singing with barely a pair of tights on.

February

Kotoooooshuuuuuu

Got to see some live Sumo. Way better than expected, especially since Mark was able to explain some of the rules and terminology and the Japanese emperor came for the last few matches. The following weekend, finally went to Nikko and ponied up the $15 to get into the shrine. The shrines were beautiful with all the snow for the weekend. Watching Sumo every night now keeping track of the matches.

Mark and Cindy Sumo Tokyo

Nikko