How To Catch A Wookie

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This pic was taken in Bangkok, in a Lotus Supermarket. For some reason, this reminds me of the piece of meat hanging from the forest canopy in the scene from Return of the Jedi, when Chewie triggers the net booby trap.
I love the supermarkets in Thai. They?re like the supermarkets in Little Saigon, but cleaner and with a larger selection of weird stuff to look at. My only request: get rid of that nasty durian! It smells like rotting carcass!

Posted in Travel

Presque Vu

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In the early winter, I decided to go on a trip to China with Joe and, but SARS made me back out, and their BOE’s forbade them to go. I checked out the facts about SARS and decided to go on a trip to Thailand with my Jus and Nam, despite the (negligible, from my POV) risks.
During this time, it was a real pain trying to leave Japan to go anywhere, as everyone (meaning Japanese people) was afraid of SARS. Luckily, I won the battle with my BOE and slipped out of the country. I needed this. Japan was really getting to me, especially after the long winter spent in my uninsulated house, layered under no less than 3 garments at any given time to keep from freezing to death.
As soon as I stepped on the airplane, I felt good. Things were gonna change, I could feel it. I noticed that one of the stewardesses was really nice, and we started to chat in the back of the plane. After we had been talking for a while she started asking really specific questions like “what part of Orange County are you from exactly”, and “do you know (fill in the blank)”. Finally, she asked me “are you Merin’s older brother?”. It turns out that Kaori (the stewardess) was an old friend of Merin’s from OCC. I know that I look like Merin, but this blew me away and it felt really weird to have met someone that I didn’t know but sort of did. Anyhow, I snapped this shot (to the ire of the other attendants who told me that cell phones are to be kept OFF during the duration of the flight, thank you very much!), and it still brings back that strange feeling every time I see it.
At the end of my trip, I randomly met a teacher from Kaset Sart University, whom I had become friends with during a previous exchange program 6 months earlier. He was seeing off another friend at the airport, and we just so happened to meet just before I stepped on the plane. When you meet people unexpectedly in different countries, it can feel like the hand of destiny has pushed you together. This was indeed a strange way to start/end a trip.

Posted in Travel

Shiramizu

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Located only 40 minutes away from my pad is this waterfall. There is a hidden ladder you can climb to access the fogotten campsite, complete with pitfalls, rusty danger signs, and the stench of rotting carcass (no joke). Brought back memories of Stand By Me.

Posted in Around Kyushu

Rimshot

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Taken from the Milk Road, on the crest of the largest caldera in the world. In addition, this area boasts some of the best driving to be had in Japan, good clean air, and breath taking views.

Posted in Around Kyushu

Taro’s Meat Mobile

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Heh heh… I said Meat
For my birthday, Justin flew me up to Osaka to go see ADF in concert!!! They rocked the house, but I missed the lyrical barrage of Deeter. Anyways, the concert kicked major ass and it was one of the best concerts I’ve been to in Japan!
This also happened to be prime time for cherry blossom viewing parties (hanami), so we bought a lot of frozen meat(that kicked major ass!) for really cheap, got the other provisions together, and had a hanami party in the rain overlooking the Tenri Dam. It was friggin? cold, and there were no cherry blossoms up here, but it was good times. Playing with hanabi, eating awesome food, hanging out with good people- Yes, and it ended with a large bag of assorted fireworks (helicopters, ladyfingers, bottle rockets, roses, etc…Smilie: ;) being tossed in the bonfire, chasing the unwary from the warmth. It?s never officially a crazy time in Nara unless someone almost dies from the irresponsible usage of fireworks.

Posted in Uncategorized

Fireball, Tiger Uppercut!

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This is a picture from the famous Fire Festival (hifuri shinji) at Aso Shrine which took place in late March, on a rainy evening. The modest grounds of the temple were crowded past the limits of safety, and the monks handed out bales of hay to anyone wishing to set these on fire and to join in on the melee. No instructions were given, it was more of a “do as you please” atmosphere. The festival transformed the temple grounds into hell with spent straw bails skewed over the premises, burning bright and emitting as much smoke as heat. More and more people spun fireballs, adding to the intensity. Some whirled theirs too close to each other, and cinders shot out as overlapping ellipses came into phase, exploding like the Death Star.
There was one very enthusiastic Japanese girl who loved swinging the fireballs. She swung them in wild trajectories with great enthusiasm, to the horror of people standing 5 feet from her. Usually when others were swinging a bale and the rope burned through, the fireball would quickly fall to the ground and roll maybe a few feet. With this girl, though, the burning bales would arc through the air, as if lobbed by an Olimpiad hammer thrower. Luckily, the first nine times ended without incident, they just scared the bejesus out of anyone close to her. The tenth time, the rope snapped, and the fireball pounded into a guy not 5 feet away from her. Upon impact, the burning hay bursted from the bundle, fully enveloping the cringing man in fire, smoke, and cinders. Luckily for him, the fireball dissipated quickly and he walked away (albeit, with a slight twitch). If I go next year, I know who NOT to stand next to! Thank goodness for the shrine that Japan is not as litigious a society as the good ol? U.S. of A., or else there would be no festivals that I would really want to go to.

Posted in Uncategorized

Mamushi

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Don’t Fuck with this snake!!! I have had three encounters with this snake so far, with two of them in my town. This pic was taken in the Northern part of Ubuyama, where they are said to be common. Often seen infused in sake, the mamushi is said to give you “special powers” and to be a “genki drink”. Translation: it gives you a really big BONER. This is gross but not as gross as what the Chinese will eat, drink, snort, smoke, or otherwise utilize a wider and more disgusting range of “natural remedies”.
Anyhow, I tried to catch my first mamushi four years ago while at a flower park with T-bone in Nara. The small dark snake was just too fast for me, and Taro stopped me from jumping Irwin style into the bushes. Just a month ago, again I tried to catch a snake I saw, this time in front of my house. Armed with my broom, I pinned it down and grabbed the tail, but it freed its head from the broom and started back at my hand. I let it go and it got away. Afterwards I went back to English Camp, and during a hike with my kids, I noticed that this warning sign (In English this time) was the same one I tried to catch just an hour earlier.
Supposedly, people eat Mamushi around here. One of my greatest hopes is to go to a school barbecue and have one of the OG farmer parents pull out a live snake, dress it, throw it on the grill, and say “Adamu sensei, tabete mite onegaishimasu”. I’m down with eating the good ol? fashioned country cuisine!

Posted in Creatures

Nippon’s Very Own Davy Crockett

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I went to visit my friend Kei last February up in Kita-Kyushu, and got to meet his family. They’re great people, nice and hospitable to an extreme (even in Japanese standards). Kei’s grandfather is the dude in the picture. He speaks english because he piloted in the U.S. during the 50’s and now enjoys shooting stuff in his retirement years. On his head a Davy Crockett style cap made of Japanese Racoon-Dog (Tanuki). Other varmints he has plugged with his 20 gauge include kiji (pheasant), inoshishi (wild boar), and kitsune (fox). Miyahara Ojichan may look like a nice old man, but he knows how to handle the steel.

Posted in Uncategorized

Monkey Igloo

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My kids at Hokubu Shogakko made this at the end of winter, when the snow was melting, and it was a blistering 7 degrees C during the day. It felt warmer inside of this dome than my house (and this is not hyperbole, unfortunately). Thank god for summer! Right now its nice and cool up here and everyone else is stuck sweating it out all over most of Japan. Gotta learn to cherish the moments. Then again, there are no bugs during the winter months, and none of that insidious mold!

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Posted in Ubuyama

Monkey Art

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This picture was made by a former hoikuen student named Tatsuyoshi. Notice the badass romaji. and the badass fro on the hungry dude. Ta-kun knows whats up!

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Posted in Ubuyama