A Japanese skink in between the cracks of the foundation of the ruins of Usuki Castle (Oita Prefecture). Unlike most skinks in Japan, this one lacks the rainbow stripes against the black body. He was running away when I took his picture, but I guess he wasn’t worried enough to pass up a meal.

As I still have a decent amount of material about Japan that I have yet to post, I plan on running this blog until I exhaust my reserves. After that, I haven’t decided whether or not to maintain it as a static archive or to keep on posting. In any case, I have some time to mull this over before I make a decision.
Regarding the material: I need to prep the computer that I’m using before I can install Photoshop and work on my pictures and that may take some time. Once that’s done I need to review the few hundred photos that I took during my last days in Kyushu. I’ll should get started on this by some time tomorrow if all goes according to plan…

I’m in an internet cafe in an airport in Korea, and I feel disembodied. My keitai no longer works, my apartment is as clean as the day it was first constructed, and I have turned in my gaijin card. There is no changing my mind now. Leaving Japan feels like I’m leaving home. Going back to Southern California feels like I’m on my way to vacation to an old favorite destination.
I have had the time of my life in Japan since I arrived three and a half years ago. Meeting new friends and family while exploring the culture, language, cuisine, and areas of Japan has truly been a non-stop adventure. I know that I am truly fortunate to experience everything I have been able to over here.
So what now? I still haven’t decided what to do when I go back, and I am thinking that I might want to teach at a University in Japan in the future. For now, the plans are to go get a big carne asada burrito and go get a tan at the beach.
Japan, this isn’t a goodbye just yet…

link (via Gorilla Mask via Warm Milk Comics)

There’s something to be said for small pictures taken with a cell phone. The first cameras on mobile phones were nothing more than toys, but I was able to get a lot out of my Mitsubishi D251 before it finally lost its picture taking capabilities. I actually preferred this model to its predecessor, the sleeker looking D253. The later model Mitsubishi took higher resolution pictures, but it lacks a removable memory stick and has no flash!
The following pictures are a chronicles of my time on the JET Program, when I was living in Ubuyama-mura (in Kumamoto prefecture). As you might be able to tell from this photostream, my life has been a non-stop procession of fun and adventure.

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Today was the last day of work for some of us in the office, and to commemorate this occasion I am posting Huw’s “Countries of the World” flashcards. The flashcards are appropriate for elementary school level students, however, the spoofs are obviously not meant for anything other than entertainment value.
If you are easily offended by inflated stereotypes about countries, then you might not want to waste of your time looking at these. However, if you have ever taught English in Japan and have an irreverent sense of humor, I think you might be able to appreciate these. Huw sincerely hopes that he has done everything that he could to offend everyone equally… Enjoy!

Question 1

What has the head of a monkey, the body of a tanuki, the legs of a tiger, and the tail of a snake?
Hint #1: Eating it is thought to cure the hiccups (I wonder what it tastes like and how it is prepared. I imagine it would make a decent miso-based nabe…).
Hint #2: Miyamoto Musashi supposedly killed one of these with a lance.
answer
Question 2

This mythical creature is native to mountain passes in Kumamoto. What is it?
Hint #1: They have a potato-like head (or a stone one), and a straw covered body.
Hint #2: Monks who stole oil are said to have been punished by being transformed into one of these.
answer
Question 3

This monster is a humanoid with blackish-green skin, luminescent eyes, and a pointed beard. It is rarely seen by man because it lives in an underwater kingdom.
Hint #1: Combine the kanji for “shark” and “person” to make this.
answer
Question 4
What is the Japanese Will ‘o the Wisp?
Hint #1: A possible explanation for these phenomena is methane gas rising from the graves of decomposing corpses.
Hint #2: Combine the kanji for “ball” and “person”.
answer
Question 5
What mythological creature resembles a snake, can speak to humans (but often lies), enjoys alcoholic beverages, can leap 1 meter, and has never been captured in spite of many reported sightings?


Hint #1: It appeared in Doraemon, where it was reported to be about 60cm in length.
Hint #2: The kanji for earth and child are used to write its name.
answer