Moshico Round 2

Went back to Moshico to pick up the pottery I made a few weeks ago. Also got a few coffee/tea cups. I enjoyed the city much more this time not having unreal expectations of the small I had originally imagined. I also went and looked at motorcycles a few weeks ago so hopefully I can figure out a few more details and get one so I can cruise around Japan and see the countryside doing my favorite hobby. Getting a license is pretty tough here though! Had a house party this month also which turned out pretty good. My coworkers (Boeing) came and so did my new Japanese friends. One Japanese girl had about 2 sips of alcohol and was wasted on the floor. Luckily her boyfriend was here to take care of her. Japanese style normally do not have others over to their houses so coming to the party was a different experience I think. I made some enchiladas... kinda using whatever ingredients I could find. They turned out pretty decent, but definitely not as good as using NM green chili. My new favorite drinks are vodka and grapefruit juice (preferably fresh squeezed) or vodka and ginger beer. The ginger beer doesnt have any alcohol, but tastes slightly different from ginger ale. Link below to pics from Moshico.

Moshico Part 2

Hanami Party

Hanami Party is a celebration for the cherry blossoms in Japan. People are cherry blossom crazy here because it only last for 1 week. Work set up a small party just outside the FHI campus and provided food and drinks for only about $35. Afterwards I went out with my Boeing coworker to a bar that put on a little show where the bartenders flipped the bottles and blew fire. I overheard some guys talking about us in Japanese and I looked over and they invited us to sit down with them. We ended up hanging out with them all night and they showed me another sweet bar. For such a small town they sure do have a ton of bars here, and once again I have met some very friendly Japanese people. Misato and I went to the shrine the next night and then a park that had a "family fun center" to view more cherry blossom festivities.

Hanami Party

Kinugawa

Kinugawa hot spring last weekend. Kinugawa is a small city north of Utsunomiya built around the hot springs. Went on a little hike with Misato saw some monkeys caged and wild. There are a bunch of little statues around called Oni, which is a little demon guy. From what Misato said Kinugawa means something like evil river because a lot of people used to kill themselves there, hence the demon figure guy. Great place for a resort! Click Oni picture below for a link to more pictures.

Kinugawa

Moshico Pottery Town

Went to a town called Moshico, which is supposedly a very artsy town with a lot of pottery. I was a little disappointed though because it seemed a lot more commercial than I was expecting. I did get to sign up for a pottery class and made a flower vase and a big serving bowl. I have to go back in a few weeks to pick them up. In general it was pretty good. I am having computer problems and am now booting my OS off my external hard drive, which is not that great. Hopefully Ill get my new hard drive in the mail and will be back to my normal computer soon. I really need to get my pictures and music off my old hard drive... I am going to an Onsen soon. Check out the pics from Moshico. There are some that are awesome, especially of Tanuki, which you can see in the picture he has huge testicles, yeah those are not his feet!

Moshico

INTERNETT!!!!!

I got my internet set up in my apartment, so now my phone and internet should be working. I have some pics and a few stories to post in the next few days about the last 4 weeks!

Another Nomihodie

I was crazy busy on Saturday and ran all kinds of errands, even got my hair cut.. which was an experience. Kinda hard to tell them what I want, when I cant speak any Japanese. Also went to the furniture store again and got a coffee table and an entertainment center for my TV. My coworker Josh took me to the homestore where I got a bookshelf and a huge bag of rice as well.
Saturday night was sweet though, went to a nomihodie (3 hrs drink all you want for a set price) that Misato had orgainzed. I met some other foreigners who work at a winery to the south of here. They told me about a harvest festival in November that I will have to try. Sounds like you just go down and get drunk at the vineyard. The whole operation is run by people with special needs. Sunday Misato took me to this area called 100 caves at Nagaoka, which is really just 52 caves that are made from volcanic rock. They are each a tumuli and have a bodhisattva Kannon, which is a god of sorts for compassion. Then she made me okonomiyaki. It is a Japanese cross between pizza and a pancake and it has seafood and veggies in it. Pretty yummy. My Japanese is getting a little better, and the more I struggle through it the more fun it is. I have the two alphabets down pretty well Hiragana and Katakana, but Kanji is still really hard.

Nikko and Valentines Day

I bought bike for getting around town on saturday, its a POS, but I think it will work for commuting. Another Boeing coworker, Josh, showed up beginning of February so he rented a car and took his wife, Jessica, and I up to this famous shrine in a town called Nikko. The dragon man is an awesome artist. I will have to go back and get him to create one for me. He does the whole body of the dragon with only 1 brush and 1 continuous stroke. It was pretty amazing. I bought some nice sake that I will have to drink later. Valentines day was pretty awesome my friend Misato took me to the furniture store and I was able to get a couch and dining room table. I went out earlier in the day and bought us a strawberry tart thing for a treat later and bought Misato some flowers. Valentines is really supposed to be where women give men gifts and then there is a womens day in March, but I figured Im American so i can keep it my way. Misato and I went out to dinner then went back to my place for desert and she gave me some home made chocolates. They were delicious! Check out picasa for the pics of Nikko and the dragon man.

From Nikko 2/13/10