A Trip to the Zoo

My wife is involved with the Camera Club at her school, and on Saturday they went on an excursion to the zoo at Higashiyama Koen in Nagoya. I went along for the outing.

The day started well when a Japanese women (thank you again) came up to me while we were waiting to buy tickets and gave me two free entry vouchers.

The zoo itself was enjoyable - it has a good layout and a good variety of animals from around the globe. Unfortunately the space limitations placed on the animals in some of the enclosures is a little sad.

Our First Year In Japan

As of the 16th, we have been in Japan for one year.

Wow - I can't believe how quickly the time has flown.

Other than my first ever hospital stay, my time here has been great. In actuality the hospital stay was fine, it was the reason for the stay that was the downer. I have had no "culture shock", no "what am I doing here?" (well actually I did have a couple of hours of it (^_^)) and no missing being in Aus.

I think I have surprised everybody but Mel with how well I seem to fit in here. I have had a couple of Japanese say that I must have lived in Japan in a previous life. I don't know about that but Japan is a great place to be.

Challenging Foods

Most Japanese I know like the fact that I try every food put in front of me, and that I enjoy almost all of them.

The are some Japanese foods that most gaijin agree take some getting used to. These include :

* natto - fermented soyabeans (Mel has forbidden anybody bringing them into the apartment)
* umeboshi - picked Japanese plum
* sliced raw chicken liver served with oil and salt (In Australia we are taught to never eat raw chicken)

Whether you try any of them or not is up to you, but if you visit Japan try to be open minded able your food options.

Getting a haircut

Although I have been to a couple of hairdressers since I arrived, I now go to a barber who is about a ten minute walk from home.

Even though he doesn't speak any English, he understands what I want and he does a great job. The session includes a shampoo and blow-dry and a neck, shoulder and head rub.

A great bonus is that when I leave I am given a takeaway pack of drinks. On my last visit I left with 3 cold sports drinks and on my visit before Xmas I walked away with 2 cold drinks and 2 cans of hot coffee.

It's hard to beat for only 2000yen.

Sumo - sport of giants

I am one of those gaijin that thoroughly enjoy the spectacle, sport and religious ceremony that is Sumo. I went to my first tournament in Nagoya last year and unless we are travelling I will be going again this year.

Today was the last day of the January Tournament held in Tokyo. The phenomenal Mongolian Rikishi (Sumo) Asashoryu won his twentieth grand sumo tournament. His opponent for today's match was the popular Kotooshu from Bulgaria. Sumo is definitely not just for the Japanese as a participant or as a spectator.

If you decide to come to Japan for a holiday or to live - check out Sumo. The colour, spectacle and athleticism makes it a truly a great experience

I Love Japan

I have been living here (a gaijin in Japan) for about 10 months now and the time has flown by. I have to say "I love Japan".

Imagine, getting married and two weeks later you are living in another country, and to top it off, you don't speak the language. I was of course, a bit nervous when I arrived but I shouldn't have been. I took to the culture like a duck to water, although the language is slower going. ;-)

The people are wonderful and have been very friendly and welcoming. The food is great, although some of the school lunches I've eaten have been interesting :-) More about that in another post.

Nearly everything here is an experience slightly different to what you would get doing the same thing in your own country. Whether it is driving (people are very polite) or shopping in the supermarket, it's all slightly different.

All in all it's a great place to be.