odd pedestrian crossings

I took this photo in Tomo no Ura, a small fishing village not far from Fukuyama City in the south. If you're fit you could run up and jump over it but for the physically challenged I really begin to wonder how on earth....

A day in the old fishing village of Tomo no Ura

Monday, 9th March 2009

Corrina and I met up in Fukuayama, got on a bus and did a little sightseeing around the small and well-kept fishing village of Tomo no Ura (鞆の浦). It was overcast and it looked like rain was on its way but we ended up being lucky. The old parts of town are considered important national cultural properties and there was a fund set up to have the buildings restored to their original Edo period form. It is a pleasant place to have a stroll. There are also a handful of museums worth having a look in. A local told us interesting facts about the place including that most of the land we were walking on had been reclaimed all those years ago.

Tomo no Ura also seems to be known for its homei-shu (保命酒) which is a liquor made from a variety of herbs. There are shops brewing and selling it around the village. Apparently, it is best enjoyed chilled and after a sample, we ended up buying a bottle each!

the herbs used in the potion

the herbal liquor being brewed

Ramen in Onomichi

Sunday, 18th January 2009

Onomichi is located between Hiroshima and Fukuyama. Yoshi, Corrina, Naomi & myself met up at the station and went for a walk along the main shopping strip. There was a shop that makes hand-made knives and swords that was the main attraction for me. We also went up to where the well-known senko-ji temple is located which offers great views of the Seto Inland Sea and surrounding areas.

Onomichi ramen is also popular among the locals and Yoshi recommended that we eat at this one shown in the photo. We had to wait around half an hour before being able to get in. However, once in the restaurant, we were rushed to scoff our food down and get out so the next load could get their ramen! The ramen was a little too oily.

A nice day for a drive

Saturday, 15th March 2009

When I first came to Tojo I visited the huge yama-zakura cherry tree in Chidori-beshaku along the narrow Route 12, several kilometres from Tojo town. I enjoy going for drives along old roads that take you deep into the mountains where you'd be lucky to see a passerby. Today, Naomi and I decided to go for a drive along Route 12 that winds through to Okayama Prefecture from the large cherry tree. The road, with steep falls to the left and only wide enough for one car to pass, was covered with twigs, small rocks and dead leaves. There were even sections on the road where the trickling water had frozen over. Along the way we saw an amazing sight where the temperature had dropped low enough overnight and remained at the right temperature for the water passing through the roots of the trees above to freeze into icicles right below. Once we arrived at the prefectural border we got out of the car and took a breath of fresh air as we were both feeling a little car sick! It was a rough ride. We continued on and noticed that the road was in better condition once in Okayama and were a lot wider than the Hiroshima part of Route 12.

I have posted a entry about Mt. Daisen previously but since the visibility was great, I thought I would drive us to the little cafe where I had lunch last time. The view of the snow-capped Mt. Daisen was spectacular.

The Mihara Daruma Festival!

Sunday, 8th February 2009

Mihara is located between Hiroshima and Fukuyama in Hiroshima Prefecture. It holds the annual 'Daruma Festival' where a massive daurma which can be seen from afar is suspended up above all the little food and game stalls along the main festival strip. The daruma is a symbol of the 'Shinmei chi' area.

Yoshi, Corrina, myself & Naomi

me buying a frankfurt sausage!

the famous 'takoyaki' being made - fresh chopped up octopus

Chris, Camille, Stephanie, Corrina, Yoshi, Naomi & myself


the view from Mt. Fudekage overlooking the Seto Inland Sea

a very cold night indeed!

walking on ice!

Wednesday, 28th January 2008

Coming from Perth which enjoys long hot and dry summers and mild winters, adjusting to the extreme cold can take some time but you can see some pretty cool phenomena experiencing these sub-zero temperatures! This morning the mercury dropped below -10 and driving on old frozen snow sounds like driving over shattered glass. Today the temperature in the actual school building was -2! crazy! I've never known the room temperature could get that low!

a puddle of water, frozen over night and shattered by someones footstep

Snow, snow, snow!!!

Tuesday, 13th January 2009
(new photos added 15th January)

It has been snowing since Saturday and has massive amounts of snow have been falling in the north of Hiroshima prefecture and in the mountain ranges of the wider Chugoku area. Takano currently has 120cm of snow. Last friday night there was around 20cm remaining from the last fall. It has been a good 3 years since it snowed like this in December of 2005 and the following months. I welcome more snow as long as I can get to work safely and in one piece!

Yawata Primary School (10km north of Tojo)

NEW YEAR in FURANO JAPAN!

Sunday 28th December 2008 - Friday 2nd January 2009

Furano, Hokkaido, Japan
(4 videos uploaded)

There is no better place to ski or snowboard in Japan than at one of the many resorts in the most northern part of Japan - Hokkaido! Powder snow as they call it is heaven for skiers and snowboarders making the sport addictive and the experience unforgettable!

The seasons starts from November and runs all the way through until the snow has melted around May! Just watching the daily weather forecast on TV shows you just how cold it is with day time temperatures mostly between zero and -10 and nighttime temperatures approaching -20. Added to that is the wind chill making it feel even more colder than it is. Despite the mighty harsh winter that Hokkaido sees Naomi & I were ready to snowboard for 4 days at one of the most famous resorts - Furano!

the wind was ferocious and the temperature unbearable but inside the igloo it was warm and cozy!


the snow depth increases and the excitement rises as the lift ascends the mountain


almost ready to snowboard down the slopes with Furano in the foreground


the peak of the Furano side in the background - where we are headed


Naomi on her way!


whizzes right pass!


Naomi on video


my turn!


me on video


break time at our favourite cafe up the top of the 'kita no mine' side
check out the icicles almost touching the ground!


coffee time - eyes wide open and face frozen!


we had a surprisingly delicious brownie!


NEW YEAR'S EVE

The shin-furano hotel on the furano side was the place to be for seeing the new year in. Naomi and I had a exceptionally good course dinner at the restaurant on the top floor with the slopes right in view lit up with people enjoying night skiing.

there were free rides on snowmobiles and the groomers shown above but due to our own messing about we missed out on this rare opportunity


with 50 minutes left before 2009 we spent it in the freezing cold with a hundred other people crazy enough to stand out there too! A local radio station DJ held the event and played group rock, paper, scissors in Japanese with the last remaining person winning a night for 2 at the hotel! There were 3 rounds with the final one done with an Olympic athlete who was ready to give his new skis - rare in shops - to the lucky winner! A 6 year old kid won and will have to wait until he grows taller so that he can use them! Afterwards they had a group of 40 skiers ski down in the dark from the top holding nothing but fire torches. The Olympic athlete sped down at the end with the last torch. It was quite a spectacular sight!



By the time that was over the countdown of the last few seconds of 2008 passed by ending with a spectacular fireworks display that lasted for a good 20 minutes with some fireworks that I had never seen before. It was too good to take photos so this is all we managed to get!




At the airport - Shin Chitose Airport

What do you think all the commotion is about? People lining up to check in? People lining up to go through security? People lining up to check in luggage? People lining up to get a bite to eat? Well none of these are correct but the last one is close. These people are lining up to get there hands on the amazingly famous pure caramel snacks that melt in your mouth. You can only buy it here at the airport and today the products were on sale from 2pm and only 4000 small boxes of it were available. These people in the photo have been lining up for a good hour or two and I was surprised that they somehow planned there flights so well that they could spare the time to line up before going through security, etc! Naomi's dad wanted us to buy some but there was no way we were lining up just to get some caramel!! even though I love it! And so we went through security and sat down outside our gate ready to board the plane. We saw people eventually coming through holding the bags that the caramel came in. At that point Naomi spotted the small shop that sells snacks, etc unloading a small crate of what looked like the caramel product! To cut it short we managed to get our hands on 3 boxes each (the limit) without even having to line up! There were some people who had lined up for hours outside who managed to buy it really #&$%&# off knowing that they could have got it here!! Anyway the product sold out within minutes and we did try the caramel when we got home. It was delicious but whether or not it is worth lining up to buy is another question. About getting your hands on the product - good things come to those to wait!

one box - 850 yen (AUD 13.50) at the current exchange rate


the product

Mt. Fuji from the air!

We were extremely lucky to see Mt. Fuji, Japans highest peak at 3880 metres rising above the clouds from the aeroplane! I had never seen the mountain before today!