Holiday (Part II)

After Christmas we decided to take a little vacation from all our business. We went on a small road trip. We didn't really have much planned. Just see what happens. We rented our car and left for the Kumomoto area. We had reservations at a Ryokan. A Ryokan is a tradition style Japanese inn. We stayed in an 8-tatami mat room. In the middle was a large table where they would be serving us dinner. We had about 2 hours til dinner time so we decided to get settled in. We had some tea and played Ludo (similar to Sorry). When dinner time came our girl came in and started to serve us. It was a 7 course dinner.

Course 1 was this. In the cup was some type of peppers and spices and then some kind of cartilage or something... Not very easy to eat. Onion, some type of veggie sushi or something, a shrimp, potato, and a little cake.

Course 2: Sashimi

Course 3: Raw Beef or Horse (quite tasty)

Course 4: Soup

Course 5: Salmon with Ume sauce (sour plum)

Course 6: Nabe - Meat and veggies you boil in a "hot pot".

Course 7: Something like Chawan Mushi - an egg custard (this one was oyster)... not the best of the night.

Dessert: A soy milk custard.

After our dinner we had reservations to use a private onsen. Natural Hot Spring. We put on our Yukata's and our Japanese socks and went down. It was nice.



We could sit, relax, and look outside at the beautiful stars and garden. It was very cold that night so the hot water and cold air was a great combo! (sorry - no pics!)

We returned to our room and actually watched a bit of TV. (We dont have a working TV in our apprt. So it was fun to watch Japanese TV.) We got up in the morning and went to our appropriate gender public onsen. After which we got dressed and went to breakfast. Another big meal! A lot of tofu dishes and different things.


We left and headed for the Kumomoto Castle. When we got there we found out it was closed due to the holiday. We then went to the Suizenji Park\Garden. But that was also closed. We decided to go to the coast to catch the Ferry to Nagasaki. When we got there we found out that they had canceled the Ferry for a while due to high winds. We still had til 1:00pm the next day with the car. But everything was closed for the holidays. We decided to check out a ski resort to see about skiing for a few hours. We drove for a while, up the mountain and got to the resort about 6:30. Turns our that during the week, they close at 5, weekends 9. So, we decided to cut our loses and head back home. We got home and made plans to go to a nearby city, the next day, to play in the snow. Our city Oita, is very near the sea so the humidity doesn't let it snow too often.
As planned, we woke up and went to Yufuin. We traveled up the mountain and instantly it was snowing. We found a little temple. We parked and made Rupert the Snowman.


We started to head back. We took a small detour to a golf course\hotel. We still hadn't got to PLAY in snow. The golf course had enough. We slid down the hills on our shoes and Thayne went on his stomach. We had a few snowball\snow fights. Freezing, out of breath, and smiling from ear to ear, we went back to Oita and returned the car.

That night we just stayed in, playing games and enjoying the new year about to come in. There were no fireworks or anything at 12:00. We opened the balcony and shouted happy new year - but all was quiet. Many people were at family's houses or at the shrines. We hugged and kissed and talked to a few people on skype, then went to bed.

The holidays here were great!
Happy New Year!

Holiday (Part 1)

We had a wonderful holiday time! Christmas and New Years were lonely yet amazing!

December was filled with many events! The first of which was a party thrown by the Japanese Class we go to. Many came and we filled the place with food and laughter. We performed a few songs for the group: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Santa Baby, Silent Night, and Baby It's Cold Outside. We had a huge Bingo game where literally everyone won something! Twice! :)



Later in the month we had a large group of the JET's at our house having a decorating party. We made oragami, cards, and Erika taught everyone how to make Norwegian heart baskets.
There was lots of food and fun!



Thayne got to be Santa for some type of charity work for Filipino's. I don't really know much about it. I just got a call from a friend and asked if I wanted to be Santa and pass out gifts at this big party. I said sure!

At school, Erika started her holiday lessons at school. She taught about the traditions, celebrations, and songs that are experienced in America and Norway. During these lessons, her students had the opportunity to earn (fake) american money for participating, answering questions right, etc...
This money could then be used to buy items at her Christmas Shop at the end of December. While searching around through old boxes and debris in a side room, Erika and O'Hara (the other teacher) found a bunch of Christmas decorations and a few Mr. and Mrs. Clause suits.

No one had decorated or been festive for about 7 years so, it was time to change that. Erika, with the help of her English Club, decorated the classroom with trees, garland, presents, etc.. When it came time for the Christmas Shop, Erika and Thayne dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause and O'Hara dressed up as a Christmas Tree. For sale at the shop, there was candy, chips, decorations, and more. The HOT items were the pictures, O'Hara-Sensei had taken some pictures of Erika, from the wedding\engagement, and printed them. These were easily the first to go. After the shop, it was time for OUR Christmas planning.


We had all of Erika's fellow English teachers (not JET's but Japanese teachers at her school that teach English with her) over for a small Christmas party. We ate and played a few games. The favorite was a game we learned at Uncle David's house. You roll 2 dice(die). If you get doubles then you have to put on gloves, sunglasses, and a hat. Once all 3 items are on, you start opening a gift. Once you tear into it, you realize that there is MORE to open.



The gift is wrapped with many layers that are NOT EASY to get into! While you are busy ripping through layers, the other players are still rolling the dice. Once another player gets doubles then you have to give them all the items and it's their turn. The game continues until some finally gets the gift. The Japanese tend to be very shy and calm natured. It took a lot of coaxing from the hosts to get them to put on the items faster than you would if your were casually going outside, and to RIP into the presents.. not just unwrap them without tearing the paper. After a while, they got into it!

Christmas day this year was spent a bit different then normal. Erika still had school to go to and Thayne went to his Japanese class, just like any other Friday. That evening we cooked a HUGE dinner. For an appetizer, we had some fun chips along with some great bruscetta that Erika made.


We fried a whole chicken in a frying pan (it was our 3 try at cooking it - but no other option). It actually worked GREAT! We also had (top left): Butternut Squash, homemade creamed-corm, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing (bot left:) cranberry sauce, green beans, and red cabbage with soy sauce. We had also made a broccoli\rasin salad but we forgot about that and had it with the leftovers the next few days. We were very full and happy! We opened presents and played some games. We definitely missed being with family but it was still a wonderful quiet Christmas!

Let's Sumo!

The day started with a nice 2.5 hour drive to Fukuoka. A friend Dustin drove us, along with Rhianna and her friend Mike. When we got there we finally found some parking and made our way to the arena. When we first got there there was a (lower class) sumo wrestler there. We got a picture with him. When we went to our seats we were surprised to see how empty the place was. We found our seats with our group. There were probably about 30-40 JETS in our section. We were, as many younger adults are, rather noisy. There was a Japanese man in front of us. He kept turning around and looking at us like we were doing something wrong. We (Erika and I) were not loud at all but because we were speaking English plus 30 other English speakers chatting at the same time, Im sure it SEEMED a lot louder than it actually was. Half way through, the crowds grew until the arena was packed! Everyone one else was just as noisy as us. (for the most part). Eventually our lil Japanese friend in front of us went and got a worker. The worker came to us and wrote a txt and showed it to us that said something to the effect of "It would be good to keep more quiet". So we tried.
Sumo is quite an interesting sport. We learned quite a bit about it. The basic is this: Get your opponent either on the ground or out of the ring. This is actually not as hard as it sounds. If ANY part, other than feet, of your opponent touches the ground - you win. If they step out - you win. Obviously there is skill involved but one slip or trip and you're out.
It starts with about 15 Sumo's coming out and "presenting" themselves. The all come out around the ring, do a little hand jig and then leave. The first two come out, battle then the next two, etc... You only get ONE chance to defeat an opponent. When the two get to the ring, there is a ritual that is completed first. A man comes to the center and sings their names. They enter and stomp a couple times (traditionally to get rid of evil spirits), then throw salt into the ring for good luck. They face each other, stomp again, bend down and intimidate each other facially. Then one stands up, goes back to the side of the stage, the other returns to his side. They repeat the process, stomp, salt, face, stomp, bend over, then back to the corners. This happens about 3-5 times. Finally when they are both ready they run at each other. The match is over within 5-30sec. Preparation usually took about 5 minuets, if not more. To rise in the ranks you have to win. The more matches you win the higher in rank you become.


We had a LOT of fun! There are, surprisingly, very few Japanese sumo wrestlers. Most are from Mongolia, America, Hawaiian, Samoan, and other nationalities. One wrestler told a friend that his breakfast typically consisted of 1 whole chicken, 2 bowels of rice, and 6 eggs. Many eat stews. Their days are long with much training and preparation for their matches. Many begin around 5am and last until 10:30. They typically only eat 2 times a day and often sleep after their meals to gain more weight. Surprisingly, many of the Sumo's, even though EXTREMELY LARGE, are quite strong. They can pick each other up!
The winner (of the top 2 ranking) does a "victory dance" at the end. It was a type of Karate staff routine.