It got pretty chilly a couple of nights a go and I fancied some hot milk and Ovaltine. I’ve been having plenty of hot cocoa and tea, so I fancied abit of something else. Who knew that if it was left out for a while, Ovaltine melts to form a blob. Ros, thanks for bringing [...]

Last night, I went to the cinema to catch an early evening showing of the film “The Kingdom“. I won’t go into the details for of this film, as that isn’t the point of this blog. I will say that it was full of action and I was not let down. A great intro into [...]

Ack ack!… I took a week off work and went off hiking back in September over my birthday. Spent my birthday in a small tent by myself, wondering if the typhoon will soon pass as little droplets of moisture builds up in my tent. Once the typhoon passed the next few days were hot and [...]

Well, back in the end of July I recieved a Health Check which is included as part of the deal with working with the City Office (City Hall). During my first year here on the JET programme, I was offered it but neglected it simply because I figured that I was still young and also [...]

I realise that it’s already August, and I have no difficulty remembering which month it is, and I have the ability to recall what part of the month we are currently in. But, ask me which year it is, and I find myself totally confused. Especially since in Japan there’s another way of counting the [...]

I came across a couple of interesting new words for me at work yesterday.U-turn, J-turn and I-turn… The UJI-turn phenomenon. They wanted me to translate it for a small button for their webpage and as you can imagine, I had no idea what this was all about. The thing about Japan, and the Japanese language [...]

Just a few more image of the earthquake aftermath in Kashiwazaki, Niigata. I believe that this tall structure is the chimney to the incineration plant. But as you can see, the chimney is slightly tilting, and there’s a huge crack by the base of the chimney. I wonder if they are able to repair this, [...]

Well, I took a week off work to go hiking out in the northern Alps of Nagano prefecture. But unfortunately the weather was not really cooperating with my needs. Cloudy, foggy, and rain…. . My original plan was to hike from Shirouma-take to Oogisawa, the eastern range of the northern Alps,… just east of Tateyama. [...]

Sanjo region has entered the “Tsuyu” season. The rainy season before mid-summer. Also known as the beginning of the typhoon season. And as someone whom has to cycle to work every weekday, cycling through rain isn’t the most pleasant experience. I don’t mind if it’s on a weekend, and you know… you’ve got some great [...]

Well, on June 12th (Tues) a weird product was found on the shelves of Japanese shops. A new drink called Pepsi Ice Cucumber… Uhhh…. just like you can expect. It tastes like crap. Well, for me it does. But then again, I guess there are plenty of people in Japan with a different taste pallete. [...]