Hanami & Hakone

Part 1: Hanami
The last 2 weeks saw the famous "Cherry Blossom" bloom its way North through Kanto. This is a great excuse for Japanese people to eat and drink under the said trees, so it was a good excuse for me too. Some sub-standard weather during this time hindered my plans to celebrate every night, but the sun shined last weekend and Mark and I set out early to catch the buzz. Unfortunately some misinformation led us to Sankei-en Garden, which is a really pituresque garden.....but we were the only people drinking there. Later in the evening, after a good head start on other Hanami participants, we ventured into a Cherry Blossom park and walked around until we were invited to join a group of party people. Here we drank and ate their food until it was last train time. We also had fun with a homeless guy - excellent entertainment and it only cost Mark a 1/4 can of his Beer!


Cherry Blossoms-people start saving spots from early in the morn; Lake and Pagoda at Sankai-en Garden


This guy makes more money than me and he just sits there!; Fun with a Hobo; CB's

Part 2: Hakone
After 7 months living in the brick metropolis of Tokyo/Yokohama, Aki took me away to the famed hide-a-way of Hakone. The Hakone area is about 1 1/2 hours outside of Yokohama and is famous for its beautiful nature and onsen, the natural hot springs that adorn the region. Our first stop was at Odawara Castle, a big house on a hill that was rebuilt in 1960 after being destroyed in 1870 by Emperor Meiji who had a problem with the Warriors that lived there. We then went to Gora Park and relaxed in the warm afternoon sun before heading to our Ryokan (Traditional Japanese Hotel) in Tonosawa. Our room had an outside bath with a fantastic view of the river below. After a delicious meal, we went down to the onsen, where I experienced bathing-Japanese style. Men and Women bathe seperately, so I entered the Men's, stripped off my yukata, and entered the room. Before hopping in the bath a shower is required, which consists of sitting on a stool, soaping up and rinsing off with a wooden tub. Then I got in the bath and relaxed in the steaming water. Not long after, three old men entered and I yarned to them about NZ and Rugby in broken English. (Note: I had to drink a bit to feel comfortable enough to bathe with guys, but it wasn't so bad and i'll try it again sometime!) The sun took a holiday the next day, so we were unable to see Mount Fuji from the lookout points in the region and were generally robbed from a lot of good scenery. Nevertheless, we took a gondola up a mountain (Owakudani) to see the "volcano", which smelled like Rotorua. We then caught a boat ride on a Pirate ship across Lake Ashi and enjoyed lunch in Hakone Machi before heading home. Overall, a great weekend and I look forward to going back sometime.
Odawara Castle; I was the only person in Japan wearing a singlet on this warm day; Yukata Style; "Well, then, I confess, it is my intention to commandeer one of these ships, pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfer my weasely black guts out"

Enjoying a rest; "But, Why is the Rum gone?"; View from our rooms onsen


PS: Last week I played in my 1st official league match, won by "Burnin"(my team) in a big come from behind win. Thanks to AT and Fumiko for the new kicks, they helped me score 10 and cause chaos in the opposition ranks.
Sweet Kicks - The All Star VC Shox

6 Months Later.....

Well it's hard to believe, but six months have flown past in the Far East. The spring has finally arrived and the days are getting warmer and longer. Spring is the favorite season of Japanese people, not too hot, not too cold, cherry blossoms and "Hanami" (parties where we eat and drink under the cherry blossom trees). Hanami will take place around late March-Early April, so i'm keen to see if it lives up to the hype.
On the sports front, I have established myself in a Japanese Basketball team, playing most Sundays, and am enjoying it a lot. We had a team party last weekend, the first time I have been drinking with only Japanese people....awesome time, venue overlooked Yokohama from 25 floors up, huge feed, liquor flowed and learned a new drinking game! I go bowling a bit with Mark, but unlike NZ, he's been beating me with good form. It is becoming a weekly ritual to down some Chu-Hi (very good taste!) and hit the lanes. I took Aki to see her first Rugby game a few weeks ago. The All-Japan final was played in atrocious conditions at the National Rugby Stadium in Tokyo (Chichibunomiya). The game featured ex-NZ players like Glen Marsh, Scott McLeod, Shane Austin and Nick Holten. Final result: 6-6, no extra time, average game..... i'm missing the Super 14!
I have not done much sightseeing lately, but Aki will take me to Hakkone in a few weeks, where we can enjoy the Hot Springs in the mountains. Mark and I are also planning our trip to Hiroshima to watch the Tall Blacks take on the world in August. I also hope to see Thailand or Vietnam at some stage, but nothing planned yet.
Here's some random pics from the last few months......


Liam; Liam "Carl Lewis" winning his race; Shibuya-busiest crossing in the world



Hama-bowl; Drunken antics; How NOT to use a toilet in Japan! (painted on road)




In this game, I had to drink while the team jumped on me!; Ballin in Shibuya-Nike courts (much beter than Jordan court); Me and Aki-party in the penthouse suite

Enoshima

A beautiful winter day was a good excuse to visit the beach at Enoshima. Enoshima is about 30 mins from Yokohama and I'm sure I will be going there a lot more when the summer finally arrives! It was way too cold to go swimming, so Aki and I visited the Aquarium. I havn't been to an Aquarium for years.....Kelly Tarltons around 1990 I guess? I was dissapointed that they had no huge sharks but the small sharks were still cool to watch. Also saw a cool dolphin show.....

Snow-kohama

This morning I woke up and was greeted with the sight of snow! The last time I saw snow I was 12 years old, it was a five hour drive to get there, and I remember hating it because it was so cold! This time the snow came to me and I enjoyed spending the morning playing in the snow with Liam....and I acted like I was 12 years old!

Now with pictures.....that move!

Thanks to Steve for the heads-up, now you can enjoy some video clips. The quality is absolute crap, but hey, I only have a cheap digi-cam (without sound), so just handle it! Check out my nephews-James throwin' up the "Oop" and Liam "Dancing"! Sorry Jack, you didn't make the cut for obvious reasons......also, scroll down for a Sumo vid. Enjoy :)

Nihon Sumo Kyokai

Last week saw the long awaited arrival of Mark to the Land of the Rising Sun.....so to introduce him to Japan, we went to Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo to take in an afternoon of Sumo wrestling. I had been pretty keen to see the big boys live in action and it was well worth it! The action packed afternoon was fuelled by Ron Bacardi, who mysteriously appears whenever we go to live sports. The most amazing thing was seeing how flexible some of those guys were!
http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/index.html

New Year '06

Happy New Year everyone! For the first time in Years, I had nothing planned for the big night when I woke up on the 31st. But no need to worry, with 127 million people in Japan, I was sure I could find someone who would want to party! Admittedly, I felt homesick for the first time since being here, just knowing that the NZ summer is kicking off and longing for a cold beer at the beach! Oh well, only 2 more months of winter here! Anyway, after a few phone calls the stage was set for the night. I met Marcus, Yuka, David, Christina, Vijay & friends in Shibuya and we set off to find a bar to ring in the New Year. We went to a packed British pub to start drinking and before we knew it, it was 2006! After a few more drinks, it was off to Karaoke. Our Karaoke room was the same room that Bill Murray sang in (Lost in Translation). I've been to Karaoke a few times, but this was definately the most fun night.....probably fuelled by the copious amounts of alcohol, "Moet, anyone?". We packed it in at 5am and I passed on seeing Meiji shrine. Being in a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people at that hour didn't appeal to me, so I called it a night. I hope everyone had an enjoyable night. Best wishes for 2006!


Shibuya, 11pm; Vijay & B; Dave & Marcus



Sippin' (free) Moet; Bustin' out the bubbly; Wave ya hands in the air



Im just lip syncing; Bill Murray stood in that spot too; Take it away Dave



Not everyone lasted the night!