Tanomura-san and his 10-string Spanish guitar 

Me, completely blown away by this massive beast of a stringed instrument 

Neil, holding what appears to be a wimpy guitar in comparison 

With a Banjo on My Knee

Because my life wasn’t hectic enough, but mainly to get away from some of the hustle and bustle of everyday Japanese life, I’ll be taking a 4 day weekend in Tottori Prefecture for fun in the sun, a visit to a famous onsen, and the world-famous San-In beach party. Always one to please (and save money), I will be arriving in style inside of an 18-wheeler big rig truck driven by a friend of my host mother. This seems like the setting for one hell of a great Japanese adventure, and an excellent way to end my second to last week in Japan.

In other news, the day I arrived in Japan one of the Rotarians who came to greet me at the airport informed me that he played the guitar, and I told him I would love to hear him play. 11 months later, I finally got my chance to hear Tanomura-san play the 10-string Spanish guitar, an instrument he has been studying since Junior High school. I had never seen this type of guitar before, and in fact didn’t even know it even existed. Tanomura-san was amazing, and I captured some videos of his musical performance.

But for now it’s off to the beach with a bottle of sunscreen. Major updates to follow. And balloon animals for the kids.

Looking sharp on my way to the city 

Feeding a bat crewing gum from the tip of a pencil 

Endo, and his new friend, a baby bat 

Yuka and Nanaka

This guy was a riot! 

Yuka and Neil at the Jamaican restaurant 

Jez. Enough said 

Everyone wears slippers at school, so here is the shoe graveyard 

This is simply baffling (pot brownie?) 

Nakkan and Honda 

The Judo teacher laying down some instruction 

Me, refereeing a Judo match 

Not quite sure what this move is called 

Endo, the special guest referee 

My Final-round match in Judo 

Dogpile in Judo 

This is the "getting my ass thrown to the ground" secret move 

Miyu and Shoko at Jacasse 

Home Economics Day at Tamano High 

The Home Economics teacher with Tamaki 

Chef Ben 

My classmates eating lunch, Endo making a weird face in the corner 

My group's creation 

Aketa-san looking quite thoughtful during my farewell Rotary meeting 

Being recognized at my final Rotary meeting 

Typical Japanese classroom. Taken the day I taught English to the third year students 

The baseball team of Tamano High School owns this sweet bus 

With the owner and his girlfriend at Nalu 

Ikebana class in Mishi 

Junko and I in front of her Ikebana 

An evening game of Mahjong at Nalu 

Found this car in Okayama, bright yellow with a giant Stitch in the passenger's seat 

Keiko, in her new dress, and me trying on some Pirate garb 

A Collection of Thoughts

As I near the end of this exchange, I’m a little frustrated at my lack of time to blog the more mundane, or not instantly gratifying aspects of Japan. The weekends and parties sometime outshine the small things in life, which is in part what makes Japan the place it is for me. In order to combat this situation I find myself jotting down random snippets of text into a notebook, leaving me confused and questioning what was going through my mind when I originally wrote the comments. So let’s take a step back and review the last few weeks in no particular chronological order.

In addition to mentioning this numerous times before, I have now confirmed (with hard evidence) that hairdressers are the coolest category of wage-earning individuals in Japan. Neil, Jez, and I went out with Jez’s hairdresser Monday night in Okayama to a Jamaican restaurant. I believe he promised us “good food and pretty girls,” which is exactly what he delivered. There were about 9 of us at the restaurant, drinking Red Stripe and downing plates of Jerk Chicken (to an ever present Reggae beat in the background).

Speaking of popular Japanese music, The Ventures are huge in Japan. They must tour here almost every year, and my teacher at school even quoted one of their songs (not an actual lyric, but more the sound of the guitar riff) when trying to illustrate the use of sound effects in Japanese. In addition to The Ventures, my Rotary counselor really enjoys Elvis, enough that he can sing most of the lines by heart regardless of his inability to actually speak English. My history teacher at school also blew me away with a crazy rendition of “Clementine” when discussing the 1948 California Gold Rush.

Moving from music to food, the underlying theme of my Japanese exchange has been the preparation, viewing, and eventual consumption of a wide variety of edibles. Every night there are at least three television programs devoted entirely to food on basic cable. Often this manifests itself in the form of a challenge, such as one man who ate nothing but seaweed for a week while being followed around with a video camera. Last week’s contestants (the comedy group Untouchable, whom I randomly met in Tokyo Station) ate 8 days of salmon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Last week my home economics class consisted of the preparation of “the traditional Japanese lunch,” which I found mighty delicious. Jyagaimo (beef and potatoes with noodles), egg-drop soup, and mixed fruit with diakon all made appearances on the menu.

Also in the past few weeks, my addiction for Mahjong has grown to immense proportions. I usually play a few times a week with my host family and Ryosuke from next door (and more recently Neil and Aketa-san). One evening Neil and I played Mahjong with the owners (family friends) of a local café, Nalu, until the wee hours of the morning.

In school my class found a baby bat, and fed it chewing gum from the tip of a mechanical pencil. They weren’t really abusing it, and in fact the bat seemed to enjoy the gum, so I didn’t feel as if I should intervene and plead animal rights.

I taught my final adult English class at Otani-san juku this Sunday (English for adults, not porn stars). My students are great so I always have a fun time teaching, and after the lesson Shoko and her daughter Miyu came with the rest of the class to Jacasse, the Italian restaurant near the station.

Lastly, today was tournament day in Judo class. I didn’t get my ass completely kicked, but I somehow ended up being put into the heaviest weight class which means I was up against kids a lot taller and heavier than I am. In one match I completely ripped my opponents sleeve off his Judo gee which was slightly embarrassing on my part (each match was conducted one at a time, meaning everyone saw me commit the deed). Judo’s fun, but don’t look for me in the Olympics anytime soon.

13 days.

My host sisters in front of my grandfather's shrine 

Putting on my dress Kimono 

Dressing in Kimono at my grandmother's house 

My host sisters Keiko, Yuko, and I 

Neil with my host family 

My host sisters in Kimono with cellphone 

Can't get you out of my head 

Paul's photoshop madness 

Selene and Paul as Kylie Pirates 

Kirk and I looking mighty fearsome 

Kylie Minogue and Captain Redbeard 

The Pirate Brew 

Bren and I in Pirate attire

The Pirate crowd 

A gaggle of Kylies 

Sarah looking quite impressed with her choice of sparkler 

Fireworks in the back yard 

Ho ho ho, a pirate's life for me 

Paul, Sex in the City and a knife to his throat 

Nothing like a morning fruit salad in Japan 

All you can eat bread extravaganza at Granpa 

Mmm, Angela and Jessica looking delicious 

From Pirates to Rotarians, Kylies to Kimonos: A Rotary Story for the Ages

My third to last weekend in Japan has finally drawn to a close, leaving a trail of destruction and mayhem in its circuitous path. On Friday, I did not attend school and instead gave my final speech to the Tamano Rotary Club in the clubhouse of a golf course on a mountain in Tamano. My previous host parents, as a well as a teacher from my school, made speeches which made me feel more than a little teary-eyed. After the speeches and a good deal of picture taking, my host mother and I drove to the nearby Bizen pottery shop to pick up the vase and cup I had thrown about a month ago. The glaze set perfectly and there were no noticeable cracks, which makes my first attempt at Bizen pottery an apparent success (provided they survive the trip home).

That evening, Neil, Ryosuke, and Aketa-san (my Rotary counselor) came over to the house for an evening of mahjong, to which I am now thoroughly addicted. Much sushi was consumed, and a good time was had by all (my host father joined the mix after we had been playing for a number of hours, and Neil and I finished off the evening with a few rounds of rummy and casino).

Neil ended up spending the night, and a good deal of Saturday morning/afternoon, as my entire family gathered for a professional Kimono photo shoot. A Kimono sensei came over the house early in the morning to dress my host mother, two older sisters, grandmother, and me into a series of amazingly colorful Kimono. My host father (dressed in a suit), Neil (dressed in a flowery shirt), and the rest of the family (clad in Kimono) boarded two cars bound for the professional photographer in the city. We took a series of shots together, which might not be developed until after I leave Japan, but my host family has promised me a copy in the mail.

After the photo shoot we returned to the house for a feast of maki-zushi and cold soba noodles before I packed my Pirate outfit, bid goodbye to Neil and my host family, and embarked on my trip to Iwakuni and Angela’s Kylie Pirate Party.

The concept of the gathering, as envisioned by Jo, was a costume party where you come dressed as either a scurvy-dog Pirate, or any rendition of Kylie Minogue from the past few decades. With Pirate materials packed in a small bag, and carrying a slim plastic katana, I took a bus to Okayama and then the Shinkansen to Iwakuni in a lightning-fast hour and 40 minutes. About halfway into my trip I noticed I was a getting a few more stares than usual for a foreigner in Japan. I then realized I was not only carrying a bright red child’s sword, but also wearing a shirt with the kanji for “samurai” written across the front. I must have looked like the biggest dork this side of the international dateline. Can’t say it wasn’t rather thrilling.

Arriving at Iwakuni station, I met Selene on accident, and we decided to wait together for the bus to Angela’s. About an hour later we were standing at a bus stop next to numerous rice paddies, dressed in complete pirate gear. We crossed a small street, drawing some astonished gazes, and walked up the hill to Angela’s house.

Selene and I were greeted by a slightly intoxicated Paul (minus swan costume), who called to use as we almost took the wrong road to Angela’s house. Also awaiting our arrival were Jo and Jessica, while Angela was “Kylie-ifying” in her room. It was my first time to meet Jessica after reading her blog for a good part of the year and I always get a deep satisfaction from that sort of get-together.

When Angela emerged from her room I was shocked to see her dressed in little more than a tattered bed sheet, straight out of Kylie’s “Can’t Get You out of My Head” video. Paul and Selene put on their Pirate garb, consisting of photoshopped images of Kylie as a Pirate (deftly created by Paul, even with little knowledge of photoshop). Next to arrive at the party were Kat (who I met at The Killers), Kirk (who accidentally called me out of nowhere while I was in Tokyo), and two friends of Kat whose names I can’t recall because that is not my strong point in life (I apologize in advance). Bren, Sarah, and Chris arrived with bottles of wine apiece, and the party was underway.

Over the course of the evening I ended up meeting numerous Yamaguchi bloggers for the first time. Selena, Victoria, another Paul, his wife Elissa, Nate, and Erin arrived, with plenty of people whose names were replaced with crafty Pirate-related monikers. There was much “yo-ho-ho-ing,” “bottle of rum-ing,” and maybe even a game or two of spin the bottle. The food was to die for as Angela pumped out tacos and hummus, with an assist by Kirk in the chips and dip department. Paul provided the liquid refreshment (Angela provided the hurricanes), and overall this party was by far the CRAZIEST and most eclectic (Pirate related) function I have attended in Japan. There were games, music, dancing, fireworks, and all sorts of assorted skullduggery. After disappearing from the party for a while, I was welcomed back as people started to wear down and crash wherever they could find space on the floor.

The following morning, Angela’s house was a graveyard of bodies, discarded pirate clothing, and feminine Kylie attire. Some people left Iwakuni to return to their regularly scheduled lives, while the remaining crew decided to recharge at a local onsen. Thus Angela, Jessica, Paul and his wife Elissa (an amazing couple from New Jersey), Nate and Erin (for some reason I was sure her name was Melissa, probably because reminded me almost exactly of my good friend Melissa from OMC), and I hauled our broken bodies to a local Iwakuni onsen (with an amazing view of the city) for some rest and relaxation. In my time spent mostly naked with Paul and Nate I learned about the wonders of Japanese animation, the mysteries of pottery, and more about being a JET. As the only non-English teacher among the group it was interesting to compare the differences between out time spent in Japan as a student or a teacher (which are numerous).

Exiting the onsen, and feeling like 100,000,000 yen, the seven of us split up to reconvene at Granpa, my favorite restaurant within a 100Km radius around Iwakuni. We chatted, reminisced, laughed, discovered the definition of little-used words, and enjoyed our Ja-pan before we finally finished our meals, exited to the street, and were immediately presented with balloon animals. Before we said our goodbyes, Jessica gave me a drawing she had done from a photo on my website, which was thoroughly mind-blowing. I feel sad that I may never get the chance to meet these friends I have made in Japan again, but I am a better person for the time I was able to spend with them.

Boarding the train back to Okayama, I had an interesting talk with a group of old women about Ballroom dancing, and realized that everyday in Japan is one crazy adventure. Two more weeks left, I’ll be sure to make them count, Mateys.

MVQ (Most Valuable Quote) Nate the Anime Pirate: “...and this is my Bootleg”