Golden Week

I realize it`s been awhile since I`ve updated, but I still don`t have internet at home yet.

It` the end of japanese Golden Week and everyone will be forced to go back to work and school tomorrow. it will be my first day at the new job so I`m excited. Yesterday was Children`s Day. I happened to be on the waterfront at Meriken Koen yesterday to see some of the festivities. Check`em out!

Children`s Day in Japan



I was also hiking again a few days ago on Mt. Rokko in Kobe. I came across a little traditional Japanese house in a pretty sweet location.



Once I`m online at home I`ll update more frequently.

I moved to Japan!

Here are my first 3 Vlogs about my move to Japan. I've been here for almost a week.

Vlog20...I'm in Japan


Vlog21 My Sleepy Yet Industrial Japanese Neighborhood


Vlog22 IKEA Madness in Kobe!



Check out my Japan Youtube vids here...

Beer Machines and stuff...

Day 2 and I was feeling great until about 6pm and the jetlag kicked in again. I'm totally exhausted, but things are still fine. I went to my new school in Akashi this afternoon. I just wanted to check things out and find out what time I'm expected there in the morning. I'll observe classes there tomorrow morning and at another branch on Monday morning. Then Golden Week...which means I won't actually start teaching til May 7th. That's going to be a nice break for me to relax, settle into the new apartment (which will be in Kobe) and take in more things Japanese!

For those of you who live in Japan or have done the visa run thing there from Korea; you'll recognize this contraption. For my friends and other watchers from Canada and places "not-Japan", this may be a strange sight. Yes...it is what you may thing. A beer vending machine on the street. They aren't everywhere, but there are some. Reasonable prices compared to convenience stores too! HeHe...I find them amusing...hence the picture.


I can't imagine if these things were in Canada. They'd be torn out of the wall and stolen within minutes!!!

I'm in Japan...and Watch Out for Fake Police!

Alright...it always messes me up when I move to a new country and the webpage (i.e. Blogger) asumes the language script of the ISP it reads. As of now, All of my blogger tabs and controls are in Japanese. This would lead one to assume that I am in Japan...which is a correct assumption. I am.

I arrived in Osaka just a few hours ago. I'm jetlagged, but generally happy. My flight was a long one on which I couldn't sleep. Never have the good fortune of being able to nod off on an airplane. My theory is that the air pressure changes simply freak my body out. I was envious of the young U.S. Marine who slept scross from me for nearly 10 hours....of course is life is probably exponentially more stressful and busy than mine...therefore the easy slumber.

I arrived in Osaka about 7pm-ish local time and am staign downtown for the night. I was greeted by the warm feel of hundreds of men wearing black suits,stumbling home or towards the subway stations....red-faced and happy. The true sign of a good "sake or biru evening."

I hope everyone back in Canada is doing well. To all the uOttawa Sction D'ers....I hope you're all enjoying the Transition to Practice week. I wish I had a transition. I've been guided directly into the fire...nothing I can't handle though.

Hey there...to all the 6's in Mr. Kennedy's class. I made it safely to Japan and brought the card you gave me (special thanks to David and Chris D.) for that. I'll take a picture of it with my Japanese class in a week or two. David...I hope your knee is feeling better :) Thank you all for the goodbye party last Friday...it was AWESOME!!!! You are a GREAt class and Mr. kennedy is truley lucky.


Whoah...check this...all of you teaching and living in Japan....
Fake Police May be Casing Foreigners, Stealing Identities
Japan Probe

If you are a foreigner in Japan, you may want to take a good look at the officer the next time you are asked to show your ID, especially if at your own home.
I just caught this story at a online blog community called Expats Japan. You can see it here. In the article, the poster tells of a suspicious cop who came to her home and asked for personal information. She later called the local police and sure enough, they knew of no such information collecting activities being performed by their own officers. They offered the following advice:

1) the police department usually sends officers out in pairs, not alone, to someone’s door
2) if the police want to collect personal info, they will tell you explicitly what it’s for (and this would be a very rare case). if language is an issue, they would encourage you to call a japanese speaking friend or would just leave and return later with an (insert your language here) speaker
3) police officers will always show clear IDs, and you can copy down their ID numbers for your records
4) police officers who come to your door will always be wearing large badges, also with ID numbers
5) and of course the usual….always keep your door locked, hide your valuables, don’t answer the door to anyone you don’t know, blah, blah, blah.
See Original...

Weird Japan....you surprised??!??

Ok....this is some weird shit, but I suppose that's not a big surprise. I've been toJapan and seen maids on the street adverstising maid cafes. I've spotted them both in Osaka and in Tokyo. This is even more interesting for me since I'm moving to Japan in 5 days. BUT..this story is WAY BAKED....too weird for Kev!

Cross-Dressing Maid Cafe




Spelling error aside....this pic I found is still funny!