MOVED!!!!

HEY!!!!!!

I am home. Go to mine and Erin's new blog.


http://ma-n-pa-barker.blogspot.com/

Nikko and pic update

So I finally updated the flickr account and added about 400 pictures from when I went to Nagoya, like 3 months ago, and the ones from Nikko.

I had a really good time at Nikko and I went to an onsen in Kinugawa, which was really relaxing!!!! I will be home in about a month and cannot wait to get home. I am looking forward to returning to some kind of normalcy whatever that is. Let me know what you think of the pictures.

The Cure All

So as I have been in Japan I occasionally watch a lot of online videos to keep me up to date about what is happening in the US and just to keep me busy sometimes. Probably the one set of videos that I watch pretty religiously are those for 60 minutes that are posted online. I just watch this 2 part episode on sleep and all I got to say is WOW . . . . .

Here is the link to the video:

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml


You just need to select the video you want to view and it will open in another window. Also check out some of the other videos as well . . . some of them are rather interesting.


Also I am going to Nikko this weekend and am really excited as I will be staying at an onsen. Here is the wiki entry on Nikko:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikko

It does not way to much about it, but it is one of the few places I want to go.


I'm going to bed now!!!!

What next Pigs fly?????

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/0806_exclusive_pregnant_man.shtml


This is just plain weird/freaky!!!!

Love What ???!??? . . . . . . .

Okay so in Japan we have these things called Love Hotels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_hotel


They are everywhere and you just kind of get used to them . . . its really weird seeing a couple walk out cause you know what they were just doing. I understand the necessity of them and I am sure they add a little spice. So a friends show me this site for one and HOLY HECK!!!!!

Here is the link . . . nothing to bad but http://www.hotelalphain.com/room/f5/f5.htm


Here is a pic of one of the rooms:

No this is not where Erin and I are going to in November

Why I am glad I live in Eastern Kansas

Horse its for dinner!!!

Yea so this is the second time I have eaten horse and if that isn't bad enough for you . . . it is raw!!!! YUMMY!!!!!!! The picture is below. I only had my camera phone.

I am cramming for midterms and I am really tired. Its raining . . .my life is boring . . .yeah . . . OH YOU ALL NEED TO ASK ERIN ABOUT HER SUPER COOL GIFT THAT I GOT HER!!!!!!!! AND TELL HER YOU WANT TO SEE HER WEAR IT!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!! AND ASK HER WERE WE ARE GOING IN NOVEMBER!!!!!!!


MOOOOOO . . . Oh wait I mean NEEEEEIIIIIGGHHHH

RAIN RAIN RAIN

So its not even June when the rainy season begins and I am already sick and tired of the rain. I have no clue why, but I just hate the rain for some reason. I watched Prince Caspian the other day and I have to say that I thought it was really good. I really did not like the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe . . . so I wash surprised by how much I like this movie.

Also if you want to see a really weirdo movie you need to watch Jesus Camp. Especially, those in the KC area as it is about a local church in and around Lee Summit. You can watch it on youtube. It just amazes me how fanatical some of these groups are . . . and I am supposed to be the fanatic.

Funny

This is a pic I took with my camera phone . . . this guy was really drunk and that black thing that is on the ground next to him . . . . . . thats his wig!!!!!!!!!!!

UGHHHHH

Man I cannot believe I went almost another month without making a post ughhhh . . .

I guess because my life is so uneventful. I basically go to class, study and work. Oh and I watch movies online . . . just watched the new Indian Jones movie today (it was a cam version). The action scenes were good , but the context of the story was ehhhhh.

The movie that I am REALLY looking forward to seeing is the new Batman movie . . . I think it is going to be awesome.

Well I am really looking forward to coming home, only like two more months left or so. I am planning a trip after the semester to climb Mt Fuji. I am really looking forward to that.

It is also warming up here and its getting humid. The rainy season starts here soon and about a week ago we had a typhoon of the coast of Japan and it was rainy for like 3 days. I really do not like the rain, but I got use to it on my mission. Still not a fan though.

Getting back to things

Okay so its nice cause work is starting to slow down and with the new hires starting next week I will be able to actually have some time to really focus. It was really nice to have today off, so after school I came home watched Charlie's War then because it was a nice day I walked to the park and enjoyed a smoothy.

There is this website that I found . . . I will send it to you if you want it . . . where it gives you the links to movies that have been uploaded to websites that host videos, like google video, megaupload, and a lot of various Chinese sites. I have watched a lot of movies, when I have had time, that will not be in Japan any time soon or are old favs that I do not want to rent. Its pretty cool, but then again quality is sometimes an issue. Especially with stuff shot on a camcorder.

Also A lot of people asked if I was dead sinc eI had not updated this thing in forever and know that I have updated no one ever leaves a comment. Erin gets tons of comments on her blog . . . where are mine?????

What is Japan like

I get that question a lot so here are some news article that pretty much sums it up!!!!


http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/news/20080428p2g00m0dm003000c.html


http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080428p2a00m0na025000c.html


http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080428p2a00m0na006000c.html


http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080428p2a00m0na005000c.html


http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080424p2a00m0na007000c.html


http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080426p2a00m0et025000c.html

MAD!!!

I saw this today and it makes me so mad.

http://www.breitbart.tv/html/84523.html


I guess one part of Tokyo that a lot of people do not see or hear about is how many homeless people there are in TOkyo. You see them in parks or sleeping or stations in cardboard box houses and there aren't really any charities, soup kitchens or shelters for them to stay in.

I'm ALIVE!!!!!

I know can you believe it I finally updated my blog!!!! At first I did not do it cause I was begin lazy but then work started getting really busy because the English school I am at is growing really fast and I had to start working more hours a week. Then the semester started and I have been really bogged down.

Okay now enough with my lame excuses. So I went to Nagoya a while ago with Arokokai (walking club) it was a lot of fun. I went to Nagoya castle and we traveled about an hour from Nagoya to go to a really famous shrine called Ise Shrine. They rebuild the whole shrine every 20 years. Nagoya is also really famous for some of its food and it was really delicious. Overall it was nice to go to Nagoya and just have fun. I did not take the shinkansen (bullet train) back because I wanted to save money so some of us rode the local trains all the way back to Tokyo. It took us about 8 to 9 hours, where as the bullet train is only an hour. But, hey I saved like $80 and it was a lot of fun. I also got to see a lot of Japan.

Work has been picking up. Because of this Mr. Kotaki wants to hire 2 new English teachers to teach the course that I developed and offer. He placed the ad and I have been looking at resumes and have interviewed 4 people for the job so far. I have asked him to hire two of the candidates and I hope they accept the position. One of the people I interviewed was 52 and he seemed to have a problem with someone who looks like they are 25 interviewing him. There was no way I would of hired him after he swore like 5 times and started dropping the N word.

The funny apart about the whole hiring process is that Mr. Kotaki is so disorganized. He often forgets to tell me that I have classes schedule or if people are coming or to give me the appropriate material I need for my classes. Both he and I are very lucky that I am able to do a lot of the work on the fly and able to teach at a moments noticed. He asked me if I wouldn’t mind staying fulltime after the semester and he would be my visa sponsor and help Erin and I relocate to Tokyo, but I had to turn him down. But, back to what I wanted to get to. So I had to write different kinds of email responses for him so he could invite people for interviews, tell then they did not get the position or that they were hired. He does not seem very confident in his English despite the fact that he owns an English school and teaches the subject. I think that is part of the reason why he wanted me to do the interviews.

So, the cherry blossom were in bloom but they have pretty much all fallen. You can seem then in some of the picture I took in Nagoya. I am slowly uploading pictures and have most of the ones from my second trip to Kamakura with Mike up. I will post when I get them all up.

I was planning on going to Hiroshima in a couple of weeks, but I am not able to get the time off from work cause how busy we are. However, I am planning on going to Nikko, maybe Fuji Rock Festival and climb Mt. Fuji before returning. These are the things I REALLY want to do before I return and have made it a priority to do them. I will not be able to get to Kyoto and Nara because of time and money constraints, but I feel like I have seen a lot of Japan especially parts that the average person does not see.

Okay well I will try and do better and update the blog . . . no excuses.

I have a visitor!!!!!!

Okay so been in Japan trying to get into the routine of things. On Friday Michael K. Houser arrived in Japan and was here till Tuesday. We took in a lot of the sights and also went to Kamakura. I really enjoy Kamakura. Mike, really enjoyed going to Asakusa, which made sense because that's were all the “old” people like to go. I will admit though his travel guide recommended a tempura restaurant there and it was REALLY good. I am still craving it.

I have been busy studying getting ready for the next semester. I am going to Nagoya next week for four days with the “walking club” I am in. It’s costing a lot of money . . . more then I would like to pay, but I have saved up enough to go and am ready.

Speaking of money I cannot believe how much the value of the dollar has gone down. When I first got it here it was about 117 yen to the dollar. Now, it’s around 95 yen to the dollar. Teaching English I make 3,000, so when I first got here that was about $25.64. Now I make $30.91 . . . crazy huh!!!

Well I will upload the pictures when I can . . . I also went with some friends to Kawaguchiko, near Mt. Fuji, and stayed at an onsen, hot spring. It was a fun experience and with it being spring break they had a really good discount. The only sad part was that you could not really see Mt. Fuji because of all the clouds and over cast. You could make it out and see it to some extent but none of the pictures I took turned out well. I did go to this awesome temple before returning home.

Mike at the Thunder Gate of Sensoji Temple in Asakusa

Me at Kitagushi Hongu Sengen Shrine . . . this was a really cool shrine!

Back in Japan

So went back to Kansas and got to spend a little over a week with Erin. It was really good to see her, we went out a lot and Juno was a really funny movie. Be Kind Rewind sucked. Some hoodlums vandalized our car while we were there and left these crazy messages for us . . . they best was the cake with the water balloon inside, however I ate a little corner then Erin notice the balloon. I wonder why that cake was so funky looking. Erin and I watched all of Season 3 and what we could watch on the NBC website of the Office. I think that show is so funny. I Barkived all of season1, 2 and 3 and made an extra copy to bring with me to Japan. The highlight was going with Erin and some friends to the Melting Pot. It’s all about the cheese . . . with the beer in it . . . Jason said the alcohol burns off and who am I to argue with a guy who designs nuclear reactors.

I then went to CSUCI (C-SUCKY) where I did two lectures: The Samurai for History and Psychology of Asian Warrior Cultures and The Introduction of Western Science for International Experience: Travel to Japan. It was really cool to be there and see how the University has grown. I still remember eating out of a catering truck. Also the students coming to Japan are going to be based in Kyoto, but are coming up to Tokyo for a few days which will be cool.

Mike Houser will be coming to Japan on Friday and will be here in Tokyo till Monday. It will be good to see him and show him around Tokyo!



Thanks!!!

Kamakura

Okay, sorry I have not written in a long time. I would say I have been busy, but actually it is really boring here with a lot of people gone from the dorm sightseeing across Japan and Asia. I went on a two-day trip to Kamakura, which was really fun.

Here is the wikipedia article about Kamakura: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamakura,_Kanagawa

I would of wrote this earlier, but I had about 180 pictures I knew I need to upload to flickr and was dreading spending all that time uploading them. There are tons of temples and shrines in Kamakura and I just visited the bigger ones and those that people had told me where really nice.

My first day after I checked into my hotel, I thought of staying in an internet café, but decided to find a cheap motel because I knew I was going to be doing a lot of walking. I then took this interesting train to Hase, which is close to Kamakura to see the Hasedera Temple and the Great Buddha. I took a lot of pictures at Hasedera Temple because it was so big and I thought I had charged my battery, but did not and left my backup battery back in my room on the charger, so that's why there are so many pictures. After that I went to the Great Buddha then I walked to Kamakura stopping at another shrine on the way there. I then took a 5 minute train to North Kamakura to see 2 temples and a shrine that was up there, but when I arrived at 4:30 they had closed it for the day so I turned around and had dinner and went back to my hotel room for the day.

The second day I slept in till about 9am and then check out of my room and went back to Kamakura. I walked to my favorite temple Hokokuji temple which was about a 30 to 45 minute walk from the stationed then traced my steps back to Kamakura stopping at temples and shrines on the way back. I loved this temple because of the bamboo forest it has in the back. It is very peaceful and beautiful. On the way back I stopped at Kamakuraga Shrine and then finished my trek at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. I then had dinner and left back for Tokyo and was home by about 6pm.

Kamakura is only about 45 minutes from Tokyo and it was really nice to see nature and be away from the big city. I am thinking when Mike comes to visit in March that we may plan a fast day trip down there again as I would love to see some of the other temples and shrines I missed and I want to get some more pictures. Also you can get a great view of Mt. Fuji covered in snow . . . unfortanetely I could not make it to the beach to get a good picture.

Me at Hokokuji Temple

Sick

Well, I have been sick the last couple of days with a cold or something. My throat hurts and my body is achy. I was going to go to the doctors today, the clinic is 20 ft away from the dorm, but it is closed on Sundays and Monday is a holiday. I am trying to get over it and think the worst is about over. I am hoping that I get better by Wednesday when I have a two-day trip plan to Kamakura. It is only about 2 hours away by train and there are several people who take day trips to Kamakura, but I have heard that you really need two days to spend there. It is along the beach and there are several huge temples and a huge statute of the Buddha. I will be returning back to Kansas in about a week and a half and I know Erin is excited to see me.

The other thing that is disappointing is that I just grabbed a bag of hot chocolate mix because it was the cheapest and when I made some it tasted awful. I then looked at the bag and realized I need to mix hot milk with it and that it was sugar free. I need to read things better ughhh.

My recent staples: Mitsuya Cider (Sprite like soda), mikan (oranges), medicine (taste nasty) and face mask (don't want eveyone else to get sick)

Kanda to Ginza

Okay so Mitt did not do as well as everyone hoped. It's a little disappointing, but he is trying to still make it to the end.

Monday I walked from Kanda to Ginza taking a lot of pictures. I was only in Kanda for a couple of minutes, before I went into Nihonbashi, the financial area were the Bank of Japan is located and several other security and bank headquarters. It is here where I went to the top floor of the Tokyo Grand hotel and took pictures.

I then proceeded to the Imperial palace where I took a lot of pictures of the park that surrounds the main grounds. The palace is huge. You cannot go in either.

I then walked towards Ginza stopping off to have a light snack at about 3:30pm at a little café. I then made it to Ginza, which is kind of like the Beverly Hills area of Tokyo. That is why they have all the posh shops and stores there. After that I started walking back to Tokyo Station where I saw two interesting bars: Boro, a cowboy bar and Nelson’s Bar, a British pub. I found them both interesting and took pictures.

I have updated the pictures to my flickr account.

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!!

First off!!!!

A vote for Mike Huckabee is a vote for John McCain!!!!

Huckabee can’t win! So all you are doing is helping McCain! Vote for someone who will represent you . . . Mitt Romney!!!

I just did my morning read (Its Tuesday here already) about all the stories and what happened, while I was asleep.

It looks like Mitt has a 40% lead in the polls over McCain's 32% with a 3.2% margin for error. Oh all the states that I thought Romney would not get I hope he gets California . . . this will help out so much.

Monday, Romney flew from Nashville to Atlanta to Oklahoma then to Long Beach. He is then flying overnight to West Virginia for the convention there. A+ for effort! Plus, his 5 sons are out campaigning for him along with his wife in different states. Well the election should start in a few hours. Please go vote.

I promise that after Tuesday I will actually start focusing back on what is happening here in Japan.