99 Islands

I understand that I'm no great photographer, and that Sasebo's 99 Islands (くじゅうくしま - in kanji i think its 九十九島) are heavily photoraphed, but I'll share a few any way.

Tim and I stopped in a Navy bar after being kicked out of a "Japanese Only" bar. We chatted with the bartender, who told us to check out the 99 Islands. It was a hot tip!

Tim's getting quite good at japanese and asked how to get to dock via bus. After hopping on the bus, he asked these old ladies if they were going to the same place, turns out they were, so we followed them around. They showed us where to buy tickets and held a place in the line for us, but weren't too chatty.
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Here is our boat, the Pearl Queen.


The Pearl Queen herself.


Tim looks like a model.


I made some random japanese kids take a photo with me in the crows nest.


Across from the dock, part of the park path peaked out near the water.


Rock outcropping looks cool, but I somehow messed up the coloring.


We have enjoy time!


This is the other ship tourists can take around the 99 islands.


There were people scattered throughout the little islands, kayaking and fishing, but this beach was clear.


Some scenery.


There is diving in the area as well, I'll be diving in here, I hope.


Me and an island.


Yes sir, I can't wait to dive here.


The water was a beautiful color.


On the boat.


The kid behind me was dancing crazy, so cute.


Tim's still single, no idea why!


Sail boatin.


Cool shrine's we saw on the way out.


The red ship!

妹 ー いもうと (Little Sister)

I have been without a computer for two weeks. This weekend I finally got it back. It needed a new CD/DVD drive and apple replaced it for free. They also cleaned it so it looks like new! I should be able to keep it that way too, Leah gave me some cleaning stuff.

I've been pretty sedentary lately, but I went to Fukuoka a couple times and one of the nearby waterfalls despite my lazy mood. Our supervisor also exposed us to some traditional japanese culture. Without further ado ...
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Behind Chris's house is an infrequently visited beach. On a beautiful sunday, we strolled on he rocky out cropping of volcanic rock to watch Chris drop his line in the water to hunt for fish.


Eric explores the landscape.


I believe this place is something close to paradise.


We sat kneeling in seiza watching a group of ladies perform some traditional japanese music. This woman prepared the Shamisen (japanese banjo). It started in pieces and she assembled it for us, putting the three strings in just the right places.


This lady seemed to be the ring leader and demanded I take a photograph of her costume.


The shamisen is difficult to play, the number of people who can play it well dwindles every year. Rather than finger picking the strings, the player uses a paint scraper sort of tool to pluck the strings.


The ring leader entertains.


After the shamisen performance, we were treated to taiko drumming. This is was a scaled down version of the kind of thing you can see at Lafayette's Festival International. Taiko is a mix of drumming and stationary dance. Its quite fun to watch.


They took one shoulder of the happi off, not sure why, but it looked cool.


When they finished they got us to give it a go.


The finishing move, it gets em every time.


Chris and I also got hair cuts from our favorite local barber, Araki-san. A hair cut and a shave will set you back 3500 yen. Its no cheap affair, but the hair cut is good and the shave is amazing. He also seals the deal with a massage.


At the waterfall a couple of young japanese guys summoned the courage to talk to the weird foreigners eating bento lunches on a rock at the top of a waterfall. It was rewarding though as this guy was really interesting.


Tim took this photo and it shows off the shrine in the background. There are a few shrines around the waterfall's top. Most places in Japan with a natural beauty have a shrine or two tucked near them.


From under an overhanging rock, the waterfall is quite impressive. This picture is rubbish though.


Rowan is one of my favorite characters in this whole Japan saga. He's as tenacious as they come and taught himself japanese with a kind of dedication I rarely see.


This WILL be swum in this summer.


So that's been my past couple of weeks. Looking back on the pictures reminds me that it was really fun and not so sedentary.

Tonight I was driving home from Tim's house, cruising along the 251, the main road that tightly hugs the coast and circles the entire peninsula. The night was much to dark to see out into the ocean but its salty scent is ever-present. I looked up at the hangnail moon, it was an orange peel, dimly lighting the hills in an orange glow. I was thinking of my little sister and how much I miss her. She recently emailed me and confessed she's having sort of a rough time. Our friends and peers offer us a mirror of who we are. Right now she doesn't like the image she's getting back from that mirror. I wished that I could show her what she is in my mind. I wanted to tell her that the universe is better with her in it, that she improves where ever she is, just because she's there. I wanted her to see that she is a beautiful, intelligent young woman. I wanted to reveal to her that its rare to meet people who are truly interesting, who after meeting, leave you feeling like you connected to the core goodness of humanity. Its so easy to forget that people can blossom into someone engaging and pure. There is pure joy in the world and she reminds me it springs from within you, it need only be cultivated. I want to tell her people more often than not reflect a distorted picture of who you are.

I wanted to tell her that friends who are honest with themselves, with you and that keep you honest with yourself are worth more than the money you'll make in 10 lifetimes. I wanted to say "I love you" and somehow make her know that I understand her feelings without saying it. I wanted to say that my life is immeasurably fuller for having watched a baby girl grow up into someone I'm proud to call my sister.

Go Parlor

Go is an ancient game. It's most likely a chinese game but the Japanese and Koreans both play it and have taken the game as their own. Chris started playing Go back in the states and when he heard there was a Go Parlor in a town near us his mouth started watering. I had a lot of fun even without playing. I took a ton of pictures and talked with people. Mostly I just nodded and smiled.

Also, because of my ridiculous sinus infection I have been having nose bleeds. Just before I walked in the door my nose exploded and dripped on my pants. Eventually it quit bleeding and I went in.
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The Go Parlor is mostly old guys socializing, so they were quite excited to see not only some young blood, but FOREIGN young blood.


Everyone just sits and plays game after game, they switch to a different partner sometimes, but mostly they play slowly and chat.


This is from the corner of the room. The whole place is just this big. It was quite warm and comfortable, I wanted to take a nap. They lady that runs the place gave us tea and cakes. Woot!


Chris, Rowan and I all noticed that whatever age everyone was, they all sat on the floor. They looked pretty comfortable in that position. There were folks who could barely walk, that couldn't stand up straight, but they sat on the floor with legs crossed. Rowan theorized that because they have sat like this their entire lives their joints are stronger and are quite used to this position. The 2 or 3 chairs in the room were often left empty, used only by spectators to better see the whole board.


Mrs Tabuchi, the lady running the place, tried playing with Rowan, but could only explain in Japanese and we couldn't figure out what she was saying. She kept taking Rowan's pieces off without telling him why. He got a little frustrated but he persevered.


When the going got too rough, Chris would lean over and explain what was going on to Rowan.


It looks like he's going "What about this move, see if you can handle THIS!"


I really like this picture, I used my new lens. I stood on the opposite side of the room and could still get in pretty tight.


Chris says that in Go, you often have to try to think up to 25 moves ahead. I can't imagine.


One can join the Go Parlor for about 3000 yen a month and have your name put up on the board. As you gain levels your name plate moves up until you are the master.


These are the white pieces...


This guy blew me out of the water. At 93, he suffered from a little hearing loss but remembered lots of English. When he saw us he sat down and said "Hello! Rejoice! Spring is here and the winter is gone, the flowers will bloom and the earth is beautiful!" He met some navy guys when he was younger and learned English when he was younger. He was in incredible shape for 93.


This guys with long hair heard about my nose bleed and came over. Mrs Tabuchi kept saying "JUDO MASTA". He grabbed my hand and rolled my pinky finger like a cigarette then pulled it quickly. This apparently will stop the bleeding. Since my nose was fine before he did it, I'll never know. But I haven't had a nose bleed since!


Though I'm started to feel better now, yesterday I was given a mask to keep my nasty cough germs out of the little kids faces.

Kumamoto Two

We had a quick trip into Kumamoto, a city I like more everytime I go. I bought a new camera lens, which I haven't used yet! I only took a few pictures and none of them have turned out. So desu ne...

Also I was super sick last week. I had to go to the hospital, which is basically like the Dr.'s office in the states, to get my fever down. The hospital was only about 50 feet from my door so no big. Turns out I had a 104 fahrenheit fever. After about 2 hours I was better and went home to sleep. People brought all sorts of blankets and food to cheer and warm me up. Everyone was super nice.

On to the pictures!

I finally got a picture of the capsule to do it some justice. We found a great hotel in Kumamoto for really cheap. I love capsule hotels!


They even supply sleep wear. Tim models it for us. And Chris makes like he's on a street car.


We ate at this pretty delicious italian restaurant. This picture really sucks, its quite boring, but the place had an atmosphere I really liked. The light was beautiful and it was sort of basement place. Your head was about where people's knees on the street were. I'd like to go back and have a couple drinks at night.