Life from a Distance

Kyoto

2004-10-11T01:14:00.000+09:00

Last weekend I went to Kyoto Japan. It's a half hour away from Osaka. It's cheap to get there, and it's a nice getaway from the big city.

It's got tons of temples, zen gardens, and great shopping. For those of you who read, Memoirs of a Geisha, this book was set on the street of Gion which is in Osaka. In fact, on any given day, you can see Geisha and Meika ( apprentice Geisha) strolling around on there way to and from work. It's pretty cool!

Kyoto is also famous for The Golden Pavillion - Kinkaku - a beautiful Gold Leaf Pavillion that served as a villa home for some at the temple grounds it is on at Rokuon-ji Temple.

Kyoto has so many attractions that I will be makeing multiple trips. A popular time to go is Fall season. I hear it's nice to walk around the temples and walking paths during "momogi" - watching the Japanese mapleleaf change colours. Its amazing how much the Japanese ppl appreciate something so simple as changing leaves.
Every season calls for a new natural attraction to stroll aroun to see. Spring is another big one - they love to drink and picnic among the cherry blossom trees.
For all there love of Brand-everything; there is still an appreciation for the simple and natural too.

Check out all my pics at Image Station

Offerings to Buddha

Give him an offering ( I gave 100 yen ) and you can take his pic

The colour is so bright! Even on an overcast day like this, seeing the temples puts me in a good mood! The architecture - beautiful and such a contrast to the regular buildings in the city.

They're usually so stone-faced, but give them a couple drinks, or in this case, the chance to shop - and it's all smiles!

Japanese slippers to wear with Kimono. So colourful! Don't know 'bout comfort tho - they're all wooden, and if you got a wide foot, ya toes fallin' off the sides. And you know they only make one style. Tradition Tradition

Lighting prayer insense and candles.

Check out all my pics at Image Station

Back online!

2004-09-29T22:31:00.000+09:00

Hey guys, it's been a while since I posted, but I was movin into my own place and didnt get internet until today! It was a long hard couple of weeks without it, let me tell you! In that time, I read tons of books, went to a festival, and had a heart-to-heart with myself (Tasha what the HELL are you gonna do with your future!!) I've got some ideas, some directions to follow, so I'm feeling "hopeful".

So the festival. It's called the Danjiri festival and a good 600 people pull an elaborate and beautifully hand-carved wooden float, down the street, and most exciting- around sharp corners, all at lightning speed. Its a very machismo festival with lots of energy and bravado. In years past, people have actually died at this festival, whether they were crushed by the float itself, fell off the float, or were flung so hard onto the wall as the float swung around the corner, that there was no life left! In the last couple of years, the organizers of the event have taken safety measures - number one rule is that the speed of a float has a max.

Here are some pics:

One of the many Floats

The Runners

Young and old , boy or girl - everyone takes part

Langkawi and Singapore

2004-09-02T19:17:00.000+09:00

Hey guys, it's been a while, but I've been pretty busy, and still am.

I got back from 8 days vacation in Langkawi Malaysia and Singapore. It was great! I recommend the Berjaya on Langkawi island - a traditional Malaysian lagoon getaway :)Before going to Malaysia, I didn't realize they were majority a Muslim community. Most women were covered in their veils, and at the hotel I saw a good set of women in full black attire. You see it in Barbados sometimes, where they cover everything except their eyes. It was a little strange seeing them with their families on an island resort, but I was told by the tour guide that they like Langkawi cuz it has secluded islands where they drop them off, and the women can then be free, without strangers seeing them. Cool idea.
Now since most of the women don't bare their legs and arms, there were a good set of creepy male eyes staring down Liz and I. Oh well! Langkawi has great beaches and beautiful rainforests! I loved it.

Singapore, is just a great mix of Asian culture. People with different backgrounds and languages, making a conscious effort to get along. N. America could take some notes from this small Island of Malaysia.
The government is intelligent and is really "for the people". The whole country is very built up, but they still try to get in some trees and nature, here and there. The architecture is fabulous and the people are friendly. The three main cultures are Malay- Muslim, Chinese - Buddhist, and Indian - Hindu. So each culture must learn there particular language in school, but all three have to learn the universal language- English. Isn't that cool! They're promoting their individual cultures and still maintaining that community spirit by have to speak English with each other. I was impressed.

Here are my pics, enjoy

Now, I say I'm still busy, cuz Saturday, I'm moving into my own apartment! I'm all excited cuz I bought some decorations on my trip and I'm just looking forward to having my own space! That same weekend, I also have my 6-month evaluation at work! - Can you believe it's been 6 months. It really still feels like a came here last month, but I do finally feel like it's "home" so to speak. I don't speak the language, but I'm comfortable here.

Mt. Fuji!

2004-08-18T16:24:00.000+09:00

Guys, I'm back, thrilled yet a little disappointed ...

The wind was rough, the rain was hard, the climb was fun! BUT BUT BUT, we had to stop the tour due to the bad weather conditions.

Temperature, Air quality
We climbed for about 6 of the 8 hours it takes to get to the top. It started out easy, with the temperature around 10 degrees Celsius, then as we went up, the temperature probably went to about 7, which was fine still. Some people noticed the change in altitude and brought along their trusty Oxygen canisters. I didn't notice much of a change and Liz and I were fine.

Gear
The climb itself is hard but doable. As you go further up, it gets steep and you really have to walk carefully and find solid footing. Some ppl brought along walking sticks or ski poles and this helped. A flash light was also important, cuz we walked at night. Some keeners had the ones that go around your head. We laughed at first, but we wish we had that instead of the handheld so you can have your hands free for grip.
I wore 2 pairs of socks, two pairs of sweat pants and a T-shirt, a sweater, a big fleece jacket and hat and gloves. I was warm. Nearing the 4 or 5 hour mark is when the weather changed and got really really WINDY! And it wasn't constant wind that you could get used to, but odd gusts of wind that threatened to knock you off the mountain! My heart beat a little faster during that time! lol.
On the way back down it was raining so we had our trusty rain coats and some ppl had full out rain coat and pants and a cover for their bag. These Japanese don't do things easy, yuh!

I remember I asked my friends that had gone weeks before how it was, and they never said anything bout crazy winds! They wouldn't let us climb if it was life-threatening, would they?! (That's what was going through my head on the way up! lol)

Anyway, so we made it to a rest stop and that's when we found out that this windy, foggy weather was not normal, and that it was too bad to continue climbing up. So we slept overnight at a rest stop and begun our treks down at 5am. Liz and I really wanted to continue climbing at 5, but our group was a mix of the young and old and we couldn't do it without our tour guide!

In any case, it was a great experience, and I can't wait to go next year and make it to my first crater! It's my goal to climb to the top of the mountain [in good weather only! lol] and since I know I can make it, I'm psyched for next year!

Fuji climbing is only July and August cuz of the weather, so I have to wait till July 05.

Find the rest of my pictures at Sony Image Station. Click here ->

cheerio!

SpaWorld

2004-08-01T12:50:00.000+09:00

Wow, it's been a while since my last update, but I've been tryin to catch up on sleep in between work and going out. How do ppl make time for this everyday, I don't know! I think I'm gonna do this once every week or two weeks! ok Andrew!!!

Anywho, for those on my msn, you may have noticed my nic, 2 Days at Spa World.

France

Ok, so SpaWorld - Niiiiiiice place! Liz (my big sis) and I spent Monday and Tuesday of last week loungin by the pool and loungin in the spas! It was great. I even got my first ever professional massage! It was good, she got out all those knots in my shoulders. What was funny was that she spoke no English, and I, no Japanese, so she had to mime all the positions she wanted me in for the massage. (hey that sounds wrong!) It was soooo good! I felt pampered.
Greece

Now the thing about Japanese spas -called Onsens - is that most are segragated - male female, and you have to be naked. I want to experience everything in Japan, but the public nekedness was not one of them. However, me and Liz are cool, she's my roommate, and so I thought "Out of anyone here, I could get naked with Liz ..." lol, sounds a little X-rated.

Grotta Azzurra - I felt like I was in a cave somewhere in the mountains at night

On the monday we spent 8 hrs there. It's 1000 yen ( approx 10US) and you can be there from 9am till midnight! Crazy huh!? So there's no rush, just chillin. Now the day we went it was "Marine Day" one of their weird holidays, so the place was packed! Which for us, being the only gaijin in the place, meant that we got nuff stares! nuff! but friendly ones all the same. The place we went is called "SpaWorld" so you can imagine how cool it was! It was a floor of spas! You felt like you were in ancient Greece or something, cuz we were all walking around from spa to spa in little little orange towels that you can barely get round ya hips. In the spa area there's also a restaurant and it feels like a nudist colony. All these women sitting around eating with no clothes on!
Imagine this place full of naked women eating, chilling and watching tv

Oh and in Japan, it seems like it's cool to have your little children come to the onsen with you, but the weird thing is is that the little boys can come too! So some little boy gets to see naked women for 1000 yen! Does he know how lucky he is! The only thing is is that some of those boys looked a little too old to be allowed to see all that ... I don't know, everyone else seemed to be cool with it. ;)

Finland - "you go from the Log cabin sauna to the f**ing cold water! ahhh!!!

The second day, we just couldn't resist the place! So we went for another 8 hours! Walking around naked in front of 100's of women is cool! Nobody has a perfect body, and we're all cool with that. Some of the older women were so friendly too! The spa has a salt room where you just go in a sit around like a sauna and rub course salt on your body, very good exfoliant. Well, this old lady rubbed salt on my back for me! Cool! Then they also have a mud room, where you pour sweet smelling mud on yourself, and another lady offered to put some on my back! It wasn't kinky or anything, it was a motherly/sisterly feeling ... It was really cool. I don't think they'd ever have onsens and spas like that anywhere else in the world.

There obviously no pics with ppl in it, cuz we're naked! So just use your imagination ... lol. Hey wait, I found the SPAWORLD Website. Check it out, it has great pics of the different spas. July was EUROPE SPA but August is ASIA SPA it looks cool too.

Oh and on the top floor of the building is the outdoor pool area with a lagoon like theme. We got our tans on there! That's actually where we got the most stares! They must have been wondering why a koko-jin is tanning! lol, and Liz is a Cali girl, and Japanese ppl love blondes! lol. Here's the SPAPOO pics. Yup, it's "poo" not "pool", another Jinglish thing! lol.
This is where we tanned, this is an evening pic of course.

All the pics look a little less exotic when there's ppl around, but still, I love the place!

Cheerio mates!

The randomness of my interests ...

2004-07-19T23:15:00.000+09:00

Some things I think are cool ... interesting ... funny ... odd ...
Drinking in Japan...
Before I came to Japan, I did alot of research on the lifestyles and customs of Japanese ppl, but somehow I missed the part about cigarettes and drinking.
Japanese ppl luuuuuuve to smoke and drink. In my lessons at work, I'll ask a student "Nobuhiro, what are your hobbies?" - Nobuhiro says:"My hobby is drinking" - excuse me?? To any north american or european, if your "hobby" is drinking, you are an ALCOHOLIC! Not in Japan. I've never seen so much puke and drunkards around the subway platform as I have in Japan! lol funny, yet naaasssstyyyy!!

Smoking in Japan ...
I think a good 60% or more of ppl in Japan smoke. And why not, cuz they let you smoke at da club, in the restaurants ( including MacDonalds! bleh!) and guess what guys - at work too! They have smoking rooms! When I first started at my job, I was on the 14th floor- the smoking floor. Even though the smokers are designated to the smoking break room, the whole floor just reaks of smoke! So I moved to the non-smoking floor thank God. So foreigners who come here thinkin, oh I'll have to quit smoking cuz I'm sure Japanese ppl don't smoke that much, being Buddhist and believing in cleanliness so much, but no - when they get here, they actually smoke more, just cuz they can!

The bicycles ...
I think there are more bicycles than cars in Japan. They are definately more widely used. Mothers use them as a family car really. THe bikes have a back seat for the toddler, and a front seat for the baby - equipped with rain shields and baby colours and pictures, and they still have the strength for a front basket for the grocerises!Some of the bikes even have little motors on them so you don't have to peddle if you don't want to! Oh and if it rains, you need not hold on to an umbrella and manouver your bike at the same time, cuz you can get an umbrella holder for your bike! Oh and the really cool bikes are the foldable bikes, good if you have to take the subway too! the wheels are small and they're just cool! But they get stolen easily. I think I'll do a segment on bikes ;)

Flyers ...
I've collected so many club/restaurant flyers, they're so cool! The artwork is hype and the imagination is wild! The one with the black girl is interesting, and believe me I've seen some slightly more ex-rated ones :). Notice how much of the flyer is in English too. It's weird cuz they don't really speak english here,but they like to have Jinglish for their advertising. Japanese English- Jinglish ( Relax'in with coffee and bun -add for a coffee shop).

So many other things that I find quirky, but can't remember them now, so I'll let you know when I do :)

Enjoy,

It's been a while, but I'm either sleepin or at da club :)

2004-07-19T00:24:00.000+09:00

I realize I'm not keepin up with this blogging thing, but I'm in front of a computer ALL day, so I tired when I get home. But nothin much has been going on. I mean, whenI'm not traveling, I usually like to ride around my neighborhood, and go bar-hopping and/or clubbing at night. I really love the nightlife here! So many tiny little bars that fit like 6 then it's full! lol. But also, it's a good way to meet Japanese ppl that have the same musical interests as you. For example, my fav bar is called "Bar Muffin" yeah I know it's a cheezy cheezy name, and somehow I haven't asked the owner why he called it that, cuz Koji (the owner) is a really cool guy!
Here's Koji doin his thing! Koji is "party ppl" as he calls it - he likes to be out at night, listenin' to tunes ( reggae head!) and smokin and drinkin. That's him all day everyday! He's cool, but I know his liver gotta be shot! We've had some niiice times. Me and my ppl always hang out here to start or end the night. :)

And of course, these are my boys that I been hangin with from day 1. Cool cool guys.

And here are my new found "girls" to hang with, the glamorous one is my roommate Juliette, the rootsy girl is Chinedu from the T.O and the tic girl is Jasmine from Harlem. There are more "girls" but they havn't been caught on camera yet :)
That night, Chiho (the cutsie Japanese gal) was takin us out. She works in our technical support department at work. Cool girl.

And the rest of the pics are just jokes! Check me and my impala - lol. Actually it belongs to Mr. Zebra.

Oh and the guy in RED and white was doin the crip  walk the whole night! lol.

Move your mouse over the pics for any extra info needed! :)

Koyasan - a sacred mountain city

2004-07-09T12:29:00.000+09:00

I'm back from my Little Big Adventure guys, I've published my pics, now Im just getting to the blog. I had a great time, and I recommend solo travel to anyone, it's a great experience.

So, I had 3 days, and a small budget, so I decided not to go too far. I went to nearby Wakayama prefecture. There, my first stop was Koyasan - it took about 2 hours by train and cable car.

It's a small town, but with so much history and reverence. It's wall to wall temples and shrines against a scenic landscape of far off mountains and nearby forests.

The first day I was there it was raining; at first it bothered me, cuz I was like - it just figures on my first big adventure it gets rained out! - BUT, it was a light rain for most of my journey in the train, and once I was in Koyasan, it was just a drizzle. It was also really beautiful! The place looked so lush and rich with colour because of it. So I was happy again ;)

My first stop was my Shokubo - the temple I would spend the night at. I got there around 1, but checkin wasn't till 3, so he took my bag ( how nice!) and lent me an umbrella. So off I went to begin my tour.

Being on your own, means no one to talk to for the most part, although you do meet more ppl that way. In any case, on my tour I was struck by the urge to express my impressions, so I wrote a few down, just some jottings ...

Kongobuji Temple

beautiful place ... smells of incense ... light rain that day, made the garden so lush ... The place was so quiet except for the sound of gongs ( and then I think I heard a leaf blower! lol)
... I'm currently sitting in Shinbetsuden - the temple's main hall, drinking complimentary green tea and looking out at the Banrutei Rock Garden. If I want, I could turn on their widescreen plasma TV that's sitting in the corner, buuuut I think not! lol.

at Dai-Garan in the Daito pagoda

beautiful statues has a definite "hindu" look ... such vibrant colours is what gets me - the gold leaf, the red/orange, all colours of the rainbow in fact - vibes are so bright and positive

Daimon

the gate to Koya-san ... guarded by two menacing looking gods ... on the other side was such a sight! - my first breath-taking view! Views I only ever saw on tv, as I've never traveled much - I felt lucky to be able to see it from the Japanese vantage point

Daienin - My humble abode

The travel agent recommended this place cuz it was in a central location and cuz the food is good - ooookkk, I hope so. :)
So checkin is at 3. I make it back by 3:10, no problems there. I think I'm their only guest. That's actually cool with me, cuz I feel like I'll get this whole experience all to myself! lol. ... so I'm all checked in. The monk guy gives me the tour - the bathroom - only open at night 5-9pm. oookkk. He shows me the main hall, I get to sit in on their morning service at 6am - yikes that's early. ( I say yikes cuz I don't feel right cussin in a temple.lol.) Then he says, in his much appreciated attempt at English, that breakfast follows at 6:30. I'm looking forward to this cuz Koyasan Shokubo are known for their great vegetarian dishes ... In my room he showed me a book of house rules - since I'm at Koyasan, I can take the opportunity to have the monks pray for my ancestors during the service. I think that's great! So I'm praying for the Rocks, Tyrells and Prescods. ... So I'm chillin in my room, and I'm thinkin it's 3:43 now, so I'll bathe at 7:30, go to bed at 8 or 9, so I can wake up in time for the service. But now I'm gonna go bother the monk guy again and ask him where I'm allowed to venture in this place - I don't want to offend anyone! ...

I met a monk named Koyu ( call me Koy he says) ... he speaks good english. He gave me quite a different view of the present day Buddhist monk. More realistic view of course. ... We were standing in front of the temple when two monks pull up in a nice sporty car ( I don't know what it was - it just looked sporty!) they were wearing their monk uniform and it just looked odd to me! I had heard that when you become a monk you give up all your worldly goods, but Koyu said that was in the old days, nowadays monks have anything they want. Koyu was looking at my camera that I just bought " oh that's a nice one, I have a similar model but mines 5.0 megapixels" - well shoot! ok then Koyu!. lol. ... Koyasan also has a buddhist college and university, and he goes to the college, I asked him about the number of women there, and of course there aren't many and in fact their's fierce competition for the woman's attention from the guys at the college - "it's funny" Koyu says. Go figure!

The Morning Ceremony

Just came back from my first Buddhist service. The room is beautifully decorated. There were three monks conducting the service. The one in the middle seems to be the head priest and the other two are helpers. The service lasted 50 min. and consisted of chanting - long chants intermingled with something like heavy cymbals and a large gong bell. Something they kept saying "Namo diashi hen-go co-cho" - that's what it sounded like, but I don't know what it meant or how it's really spelt.
During the service I "think" I heard my name called, so I assume they prayed for my ancestors. After the service, the head monk guy turned around and bowed to me like a " Go in peace and serve the Lord" kinda thing and the helper gave me this card where they wrote my ancestors names. cool.

Just a thought ...

I forgot that I'd heard that Buddhism is all about "order". I think I put my shoes neatly by the door and facing the right direction ( outward); but I always catch a monk behind me "fixing" them. lol.

The trek to Okunoin

My "diary" as such ended here, but right after the service I checked out and headed to my last sight - Okunoin - A huge graveyard and mausoleum of the founder of Japanese Buddhism - Kobo-Daishi Kukai. The graveyard is history in itself - it holds several hundred thousand year old tombstones and monuments of famous dignitaries, elders, emperors, Shoguns, Samurai warriors, poets, religious seers, etc. The graveyard is set in a forrest area and so it is a cool dim walk for the most part - not scary tho. On my way up the path I met up with a group of people who were doing a pilgrimage to all the great areas of Buddhist history in Japan, so today they were in Koyasan. The graveyard path is also full of Buddha statues and at each one, these people would stop and give a few pennies of offering. This may not seem like a lot, but the walk takes about 20 minutes,and we saw well over 20 statues - all types too, big, little, cute, scare, funny. It was great.

Once inside the mausoleum and lantern temple, we were not allowed to take any photos, and I wouldn't want to sneak any cuz it seemed sacrilegious. So I walked with the group of Buddhists, and they went through the temple showing me some of the Buddhist customs and meanings of certain symbols - as much as they could explain with the language barrier. Then they went to pray themselves - lighting incense and candles, saying the same chant "Namo diashi hen-go co-cho" and then they sang some songs accompanied by some bells they had. It was all very moving, actually. I felt privileged to be party to their faith.

On the walk back down the graveyard path I was accosted by an older gentleman who was a pretty good english speaker. We talked a bit about Okunoin and he asked me my impressions of the place and such. He asked me the usual questions about why I was here, my job, etc. It's rare that I see the old people of Japan being so bold with foreigners. I suspect they're less shy once they know the language. I feel rude asking about his english speaking ability, so I never ask anymore. But I was wondering ... Anyhow, by the time we finished chatting, my group was gone, off to another city one lady had told me earlier. So it was me alone on my trek back down the graveyard path.

Serene, beautiful, historical, blessed place - these were my impressions of Koyasan.

To see all my pics - cuz I got nuff nuff more - go to my ImageStation photo album.

I don't have a tattoo YET :)

2004-07-03T23:39:00.000+09:00
I don't have a tattoo, but it might be cool to get one. You can get it done "traditionally" with bamboo needles! lol - NOT ME!

The BIG little trip!

2004-07-02T23:24:00.000+09:00

Guys! It's gonna happen! I've bought my tickets, I've planned my "itinerary" and I'm going on my first trip BY MYSELF !!
As you can see, I'm not selfish with the exclamation marks, so you know I'm excited!

Im going to a nearby (2hrs) town called Wakayama. On my first night, I'll stay overnight at a temple ( how cool!) and then in the day I'll go sightseeing.

The temple I'm staying at is on Mt. Koya or Koyasan.
Koyasan itself is the mountain top mecca of Japanese Buddhism.
Kobo-Daishi Kukai returned from China in 805 A.D. and started the first Buddhist mission in 816 A.D in Koyasan. For a more in depth history lesson, see The History of Koyasan This is a good website that gives all the cool details.

That was day one; now, day two, I'm going to Shirahama, also in Wakayama, where they have hot springs and a BEACH! I hope the weather's decent. :). The hot springs are centuries old, among the oldest in Japan, and have a seaside view. I hope this means it's OUTSIDE, cuz the thing about hot springs (ONSENS) is that if they're indoors and segregated ( men women :) ) then you CANNOT and I MEAN CANNOT wear ANY CLOTHES! ahhh! I don't want these ppl seeing "ME"!

Oh and you guys know the Yakuza right, the mafia guys with the body tatoos; well Japanese ppl have a stigma attached to tatoos because of them, and if you have one, you're not allowed in. Even if you're a girl and have a tiny one on your ankle or your back. It's silly, especially for foreigners.

Now I have 1 more day, and it might be spent sightseeing or just tanning if the weather's nice!

Wish me luck!

Friendship

2004-06-30T01:24:00.000+09:00
For a foreigner in Japan, the most helpful magazines and newspapers are:

They are all in English, and just what we need to keep up with current events in Japan and know all the cool places to travel to.

AND, my favourite of all, is the PERSONALS ... hehehe
I don't know if you guys knew this, but more than half the gaijin that come to Japan are Asia-crazy! They want a Japanese girl. And the Japanese girls, with ideas of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt and Denzel -like personas, want them a cute foreigner too!

So what better way to find your love interest, but in the classifieds!

Under the cutesy heading of FRIENDSHIP; here are some of the wilder/weirder ones. Enjoy! (My commentary in neon green :) )

Disturbing:

"ARE YOU VIRGIN ? Do you want to change it? Nice, slim, tall and kind european man in 30`s can help you. Don`t worry about it. If you are healthy 20-35y.o. and you want to try it let`s meet in Kobe and decide next.I will teach you how to enjoy your first experience
EMAIL: kobehappy7@hotmail.com "

Are you fa real guy??!!:

"DESPARATE NEED OF A CUTE JF Hi I aint beating around the bush here! I've been in Japan 4 a month & I DESPARATELY need to get layed! Any cut JF 19-35 single or married, please email me. Im a fit and athletic Aussie 30's & very discrete.Email:desperatly_need2getlayed-injapan@yahoo.com.au"

Cuh-dear, doesn't look like it's workin out for lova man, but Im sure this is sure to bring the girls a callin!?:

"SHALLOW JF EVERYWHERE Are ALL the girls in Japan shallow,childish & lazy & only interested in dating WM to practice their English? Or is it the size of our appendages that facinates them? From my VAST EXPERIENCE I've found that JF are a waste of time-any SWF out there email me with a topless pic of u please!
EMAIL: desperately_need2getlayed-injapan@yahoo.com.au "

Give her an english lesson too:

"IM BORED WITH MY TRAM-TRAM LIFE Looking for funny gentle man 30-45years old to make intimacy relationship. Not only fisically. Im matured JF. I prefer European especially italian because I lived in Italy for long. Even if I'm very busy for my job, I could make free time for my lover-man. Please give me some fun!"

Well lets not be picky with the age! right!?:

"WELL, HELLO.... Hi, I`m an attractive, fit white male, early 20`s, looking for Thai, Phillipino or Japanese girls, 17-40, for coffee, chat, and maybe sexy,passionate fun anytime in Osaka or Kobe! Lets get together and have a nice time when you are free!
EMAIL: boxtricks@yahoo.co.uk "

Get tru!:

"SUMMER HOTEL FUN Handsome BLK married American guy in Nishinomiya seeks sexy, confident and busty Japanese girl for passionate love making. I wanna have fun and enjoy the summer with a fun girl who likes to enjoy life. Age 25-34 OK.
EMAIL: mpg5@hotmail.com"

What is he saying, exactly? Is it a joke? Funny!:

NICE GAY FRIEND Hi Im a friendly and slim type and looking for a nice friendship. I m easily exited and love music, movies and the nature. I m a bit shy."

Naive!- you know she got at least 20 replies! "I'll be there for you!":

LOOKING FOR FRIENDS I have recently broken up with my boyfriend am feeling lonely and sad. I need someone to talk to. Please email. ... I have lived in Canada for many years so speak Eng fluently. "

This is better than cartoons!

My English Lesson::My Lesson in English ...

2004-06-28T00:02:00.000+09:00

Believe it or not, I was a english student yesterday; in THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH folks!
Apparently, the English are years ahead of us in the number of SLANG words they use in this "mother tongue" of ours. Listening to my European collegues in their convo by the bar; it's like listenin to a Jamaican, but worse ( for all you non-Caribbean ppl who don' know what de ras dem is suh! lol)

Here's a little taste of what I hear:

"shag" we all know this word! and yes they use it!

"I went to this club last night, it was the dogs bullocks!!" I had a good time

"That's bullocks man!" That's b*sh*t/ That sucks

"I wanted to go out last night, but it was chuck down rain here!" It was raining hard

"Don't talk to her,mate; she's a slag" She's a hoooo

"In fact, she's I hear she's the town bike!" ditto

"She's a slappa" ditto

"He's mingin'!" He's ugly as sin

"Megs got the cob on mates, don't talk to her now" She's maaaad (upset)

"I'm goin' out on the piss, wanna come?" I'm goin out drinkin

"I gave her a snog" I gave her a kiss

" I don' know guys, it looks a bit dodgy ..." a bit strange

"Ya bringin the bird with ya tonite, mate?" you bringin your girl

They also do alot alot of this interesting RHYMING, I'd never heard of this stuff either, maybe you did:

"Would you Adam and Eve it mate!" - Adam and Eve --> believe

"apples and pears " - stairs - sort of a joke on the rhyming thing

"Someone half inched me bike!" half inched --> pinched --> stole

"trouble and strife" wife

"north and south" mouth

**NEW** "horse and trap" crap

AND there's tons more!!!

I just had to share this, it's so cool/weird that they use this stuff!

My Trip to Nara

2004-06-26T10:46:00.000+09:00
Todaji Temple in Nara
see more pictures of my trip: NARA @ IMAGESTATION.COM

Dotombori Crab

2004-06-25T11:41:00.000+09:00
This seems to be a famous picture to take when you come to Dotombori bridge in Osaka - all the Japanese tourist take the pic! The crab moves it's legs a bit. It's the icon for this nice Crab restaurant. It's huge!

Mitsudera Temple in Namba Osaka

2004-06-25T11:36:00.000+09:00
A temple near downtown, beside a hotel and a Ramen(noodles) shop, so cool!

2004-06-25T11:29:00.000+09:00
Even the Japanese think they're worth a picture! Look at the one on the left - It's a boy and look how dark his face is! lol

The Tanned People

2004-06-25T11:28:00.000+09:00
Ko Gyiaru people on Dotombori bridge -- Amazing!

Ok, so the story with these odd kids...
They tan their skin 365 days a year it seems, ( I havn't seen a tanning salon yet, but they must be around) and wear this psychadelic makup and bleached hair all the time.

The reason is that they're trying to copy the look and lifestyle of the Hawaiian people.(?) I don't know bout you, but I never heard that Hawaiian's look like this! I think they've taken it a bit far. But to see these ppl up close, all you do is stare in amazement. I guess it's like the goths in Canada, - and they got goths here too!

A couple years ago, they used to have "their dance" too, it's called "Para-Para" and it's something like the Macharena apparently.

The day I took this pic, they were on the bridge posing for everyone! Sometimes I think it's rude to take pics of ppl, but if the other Japanese ppl are doing it, well shoot, I can do it too!

Next I'll find the hip-hop and reggae dudes, they're a laugh too with their corn rows, and "afro-perms". Japan is cool, guys ...

2004-06-25T11:25:00.000+09:00
Which do you think is the black guy? lol

Me and my girl chillin in Yokosuka!

2004-06-25T00:37:00.000+09:00

COOL WORDS FOR TODAY:
1. KOKO-JIN - BLACK FOREIGNER
2. KOKO JIN ONNA - BLACK WOMAN
3. Gaijin - white foreigner - what the books never tell ya of course!

Here are some more cool pics of my first mini vacation to Yokohama, Yokosuka and Tokyo. COOL PICS OF YOKOHAMA YOKOSUKA AND TOKYO @ IMAGESTATION.COM

Yokosuka was cool! I went with my boy Nic and stayed with his cousin in Yokosuka. Let me tell you - it was sooooo nice to be in a family again! To stay in a house in a regular quiet neighbourhood - not at a noisy intersection- and how nice it was to drive in a family car with kids - not the crazy subway with pushin and shovin! lol So niiiice.

AND - Yokosuka has a Navy base that is HUGE - its got stores, Mcdonalds, Taco Bell, Starbucks, a cinema, gyms, everything! You don't have to leave base, really.
Anyway, Nic's cousin's husband is in the Navy so we got to go on base and check it out ANNNND go shopping! They have all American stuff- it was nice!

AND - they had other black ppl! - Americans yes, but hey, Im not picky!
What was funny is that when you go out in the city you see guys and gals in their Naval getup - Nic is from SanFran and is used to it, but me - a Canadian, it was weird.

There was one local club we went into where it was all black Navy guys and local Japanese women - a full out pick up joint. I was the only black girl there! We went there 'bout 11 o'clock, and by 12 they had all cleared out - CURFEW! lol

Tokyo is just a big busy town with a million department stores and a billion people. It's pretty at night with all the lights and advertising - like NY city, sorry the disposable camera didn't do so well at night ;).

Yokohama was nice too, we went to their China Town, which is one of the biggest in Japan. Had me some nice Chinese food!

I'll definately go back again and see more ...

Its all about the experiences ...

2004-06-25T00:15:00.000+09:00

Today's my day off but it was still pretty busy.
Today I decided to be a good girl and stick with my original plan of SAVING money; so I sent an undisclosed amount back home. Aren't you proud of me!!?? Tryin to pay off those damn loans!

You know, it's always an experience any time I have to talk to the Japanese speaking public. :) Either I don't have the Japanese for what I want, or when I do, they don't expect to hear Nihongo(Japanese) from a koko-jin, so they assume I said some other gibberish ... lol

"Sumimasen (excuse me), Money Transfer? Transfer??" I have my Lonely Planet travellers guide, but I couldn't find the word! Go figure. In anycase, after much hand gesturing I got what I needed!
It's funny how good we foreigners get at the hand jestures. lol

Come visit, you'll do it all - gestures, sounds, the whole comedy show!

In any case, after that, I went to do my weekend grocery shopping and met up with my girl Chinedu - she's from T.O, in fact of the 8 black girls at Nova, 5 are from the T dot! Small world eh!? ANYWAY, Chinedu's a cool chick, she's been here 8 months and plans to stay 2.5 years. We ended up hangin the rest of the day. She's been to a few cool places, and Im always tryin to find good travel spots - since that's half the reason for coming, ANYWAY, I was complainin to her that its hard to find cool ppl to travel with, cuz they never want to do what you want, and someone's always unhappy ... she agreed, since it's happened to her, but she said that she's been to Thailand for 10 days all by herself! WOW! I was thinkin it would be unsafe, scary and boring, but she had a blast and met so many cool ppl!

Sooooooooo to make a short story shorter, Im gonna do that same! I'm got some time off in July and I'm a going on an adventure ppl! Pray for me!!!!
lol

Chillin with Bob

2004-06-24T18:40:00.000+09:00

in Japan with Bob

Well, here it goes ...

2004-06-24T18:33:00.000+09:00

Konnichiwa!

It's been a long night trying to decide how to start this thing. But finally, at 2 am my time ( 1pm your time) I've started. So now, you guys get to read my ramblings and see my ghetto pics ( untill I get the digital,sorry!) and have a good laugh at my silly thoughts - but isn't that what blogging is about - posting your silly thoughts and hoping someone understands/agrees and hopefully doesn't get offended, well that's me at least.

I get to tell you guys all about Japan! Osaka at least, cuz each prefecture is different, but Osaka is the coolest to me! and we have the most screwed up 'patois', so to speak. Osaka-ben they call it. As if the language isn't complicated enough.

Anyway, here's a quick lesson in the basics:
(and about as much as I can say now anyway! lol)

Watashi wa Tasha desu- My name is Tasha

Watashi wa ego no sensai desu - I am an english teacher

Kanada kara kimashita- I come from Canada

Watashi no tanjoobi wa Sangatsu nijuu yokka desu - My bday is March 24

Suki desu! - I like it!

Cawaii - cute!

matta ne - see you later!

zen zen - cool! (Osaka ben)

wow, too much to say, but it's just a taste.

Here are some pics of Namba and my neighbourhood. Enjoy!

2004-06-24T15:11:00.000+09:00

"AROUND TOWN" @ IMAGESTATION.COM