J-Mouse

Korean Food

2007-05-20T09:40:00.001+09:00

Korean food definitely gets the thumbs up although speaking Korean would probably have provided a more varied diet! Barbecued pork with kimichi on the side
BBarbecued pork with kimichi and lettuce
Kimichi hotpot with barbecued pork

Namdaemun Market

Korea

2007-05-20T08:33:00.000+09:00

Rather than let my last few months fall by the wayside I'm attempting to ressurect my blog...first stop; KOREA!

After accidently booking first class seats, myself and fellow shipmates Steph and Matt got comfortable on the Beetle hydrofoil which takes you from Japan to Korea in a mere 3 hours! Then on to the high speed KTX train (modelled on the TGV) to Seoul. On arrival we navigated the taxi rank which turned out to involve putting our bags in the back of an occupied taxi, throwing said (by now understandably disgruntled) occupant out and driving/racing/ swerving at high speed with a total disregard for safety, other cars and red lights...welcome to Korea. Arriving at our hotel in one piece, the glow of the Hotel Kaya's landmark neon palm tree provided a warm welcome!

What followed was three days of kimichi, barbecued pig cheeks, sweet Korean high school students, turkish ice-cream vendors, temples, shopping, markets, dodgy pop-dance moves and a faulty air conditioner- strangely, the exact components required for the perfect mini-break.

Our favourite temple in the city...Changgyeonggung
" Korean High-School students with Tourists"(who know a little too much about Japanese animation.)

Seoul-scape

Changing of the Guard Korean Style!

Winter is upon us...

2006-12-01T20:25:00.000+09:00

Winter has arrived and in Japan that can only mean three things...mikans (clementines), kotatsus (heated table contraptions) and hmm, kerosene.

Today, as a waft of kerosene drifted in my direction, I was filled with mixed feelings; relief that my extremeties would not be grey forever, exasperation that this constitutes a heating system for 127 million people and a pang of loneliness since the installation of the "heaters" (read archaic kerosene stoves) has resulted in my desk being moved away from what I now realise is the fun side of the Staff Room. Here's to 3 months of sitting next to my head of department, light-headedness and small oranges.

For Marko

2006-12-01T20:11:00.000+09:00

If you've ever wondered how we are perceived by Japanese people, take a look Saki's imitation of that ever so foreign trait... "The Gaijin Smile"

Tammy, your face says it all.

Cheshire Cat Visits Japan

2006-11-25T10:19:00.000+09:00

Himeji Castle, said to be one of the three best castles in Japan!

2 weeks ago I went away with a teacher from one of my school's and his family. They are lovely and have been so generous to me ever since I arrived. Their daughter, Maki, is studying english at university in Kyoto so we went to visit her. It was a typically gruelling Japanese itinerary but as a result I ended up seeing more Unesco World Heritage sights than you can shake a stick at and visited a lovely onsen town, nestled in the mountains north of Kobe.

However, when it came to choosing some photos to post it dawned on me that Japanese people just don't smile in photos unless it's a freak accident. So, guess who looks like the over zealous werido foreigner tourist who is being reluctantly tolerated by her Japanese hosts??!!

So, the ruthless investigative journalist inside me decided to carry out a little research...

Hannah: "Hey, why don't Japanese people smile in photos?"
Saki: "What?! Why do foreigners always show their teeth? "
Hannah: "Because the whole point of a photo is to create a happy memory. "
Saki: "You're right. We don't smile like this (pulls a cheesy/ moronic grin) but maybe it's because Japanese people don't have good teeth."

So there you have it, gound breaking research, from which I can conclude that Japanese people look miserable in photos, not because they are in fact miserable, but because they don't want to show their toothypegs, which on the whole do tend to be worse than the brits (shock horror). I think this may in part be true but I think it also has more to do with the culture of remaining composed at all times and the dissapproval of public displays of emotion and affection. It upsets me a little because on the whole, Japanese people are so kind-hearted yet in photos they look stern and serious which just seems to perpetuate our stereotype of Japanese people in the west. It comes as little surprise that "purikura" emerged from Japan- small photo booths where people take ridiculous photos and decorate them with kitsch graphics...so ridiculous that I've heard people even show a bit of incisor!

Cosmos Season

2006-11-09T20:11:00.000+09:00

Saki and I had a lovely, if slightly nauseating looking at the photos, day larking around fields of flowers!!! I think I've finally succumbed to this whole romance/ love thing. It feels nice though!

The WORLD Shrimp Catching Competition

2006-11-09T19:44:00.000+09:00

I think they can get away with dubbing this the "world" shrimp catching competition because I know of no other country that would seriously try and stage an event whereby hundreds of people, armed only with a pair of white gloves (Micheal Jackson would be proud) and an orange plastic net, gallavant into the sea to catch as many live shrimp as possible. Apparently, the key is to stick your index figure into the sand to lure the no doubt terrified shrimp out of hiding and into your grasp. I was absolutely rubbish and slightly disheartened at having a grand total of zero shrimp to show for 40 minutes of scrounging around the Seto Inland Sea.

The Goldfish Festival

2006-11-09T19:29:00.000+09:00

This was way back in August. This town, Yanai (Saki's hometown), is famous for it's Goldfish papercrafts and puts on a great festival every year. Lot's of yummy food (barbecued squid and octupus amoung the delicacies) although in the photo above we're eating Japan's rival to the slush puppy- obviously. I'm yet to figure out the appeal of a rubbery octupus tentacle on a wooden stick... it's those suckers.

Long Time No Blog- Kyushu

2006-11-09T19:14:00.000+09:00

Gosh, it's been so long since I last wrote anything. It's been a mixture of being too busy and recently feeling not so chipper.

The good stuff has been great. A month ago I spent a briliant weekend in Kyushu with Ashley (a fellow jet in Tokuyama who has become a great chum). Managed to squeeze in Nagasaki, Unzen (a quaint Hot Spring village way up in the mountains) and Fukuoka. The highlights were reaching the peak of the active volcano of Fugen-dake in Unzen in record time which comes of being a slave to bus schedules, meeting the worst waiter in Japan who tried to pour wine out of a bottle which still had half the cork lodged in the top and just being in a city.

My Sumer Holiday- Part 1

2006-09-09T09:48:00.000+09:00

A geisha with her client

Me, Mark and Katchan!!! Our last night of Japan revelry!!!!

The mega famous Golden Pavillion (Kinkakuji)

Kiyomizudera- really beautiful views over the city

Shame about the swarms of tourists!

Maiko- novice geisha

Inspired by the theme of seemingly every English Oral Communication class in Tokuyama I am going to write about my summer holiday...

Worried I was going to be incapacitated by boredom over the summer, I am relieved to say that all is well and the summer flew by.

First up; Kyoto and Nara. After a 6 hours bus journey from Tokuyama I spent 5 days in what has to be Japan's most beautiful and impressive city. The city itself looks rather generic but nestled among the grid of long, stretching roads is an abundance of amazing temples and castles. Many more than you can shake a stick at and indeed visit in 5 days.

By far my favourite place way Nara. The expansive park is home to wild roaming deer (actually quite annoying as they try to ingest anything on your person) and then there is the famous Todaji- Temple which is something like the biggest wooden building in the world. I just felt a real feeling of calm and space which is kind of rare in Japan!

Summer Nights

2006-08-13T13:16:00.000+09:00

My JET status has officially changed from "newbie" to "veteran" with the arrival of all the new Yamaguchi JETs last week. As the only person who stayed in Tokuyama, there are 3 new people alone in my town. It's a strange time- I'm still feeling sad after saying goodbye to good friends but have to be in "friendly meeting new people" mode.

Fortunately, Hikari's resident veteran, Tammy, was on the case and organised an ace beach party yesterday. We spent the afternoon swimming, relieved that the jellyfish hadn't arrived yet, that was until both Marko and Brett got stung...twice each...one of which was on Marko's face! Ouch! As Marko pointed out, we should have all been outraged at the local jellyfishes audacity at swimming/ floating ?! (whatever jellyfish do) into "an allocated swimming area with young children"- unbelievable!

We then joined Tammy's j-friends- a group of young 20 somethings from the area who were back for the holidays- and perhaps some of the coolest Japanese people I've met. Just really easy-going and great fun. We hung out at the beach as the sun set, listening to music, eating meat and drinking chu-hi (a sickly sweet fizzy canned drink concoction claiming to be pinot noir chardonnay flavour- surprisingly satisfying).

The marines were obviously out in force and a few joined us- they were being bearably obnoxious until one decided to unzip his shorts and piss on the fence- nice!

We then watched this trippy laser light show which was going on called "magical fantasy" or something equally exciting which was accompanied by some awful heavily synthesised musac.

I could have been at an outdoor David Copperfield show...unfortunately the sultry magician was nowhere to be seen. However, it was brill just feeling like I was on holiday..as Keith said... feeling super relaxed and not thinking about tomorrow.

I realised how lucky I was to be living somewhere where you get this feeling at the weekend and it re-affirmed that a 2nd year on JET was definitely a good idea.

2006-08-08T21:47:00.000+09:00

Heaven Is A Place On Earth...just not in England

Had a funny linguistic blip the other day. My gym is frequented by the local obachan (elderly women) contingent and they always seem bemused/ intrigued by the presence of a half naked foreigner (me).

The other day one of the ladies started talking to me about how hot it was...I nodded and agreed. She then continued into unknown vocab territory and started talking about "tengoku". I continued to nod. She then asked me if I understood and without thinking I replied with a hearty "yep, sure do!".

She then asked me "So, how do you say it in English?". Fearing I would look ridiculous if I was honest (" Oh actually, I lied, I can't understand a ruddy word your saying, lady ") I opted for the language learner's "Get Out Of Jail Free Card" and mumbled something about it being difficult to translate because it didn't really exist in England.

She laughed, I laughed...we were internationalising on an epic scale.

I got home to discover that "tengoku" actually means "heaven/ paradise" - qeul idiot!!!

2006-06-25T12:34:00.000+09:00

"...and I want to play the game with you."

Yesterday, I had the privilege (and I mean this in the sincerest way) of attending an entertainment extravaganza: Saki's Uncle's Retirement and Life-Beginning Party (as the rather large banner hung above the stage informed anyone in doubt). On arrival, each guest was handed a beautifully wrapped present (which turned out to be a really nice ceramic cup), a bingo card, a raffle ticket and an 100 yen coin (about 50p). Little did I know what was in store...

We sat down and we met "Maki" our compere (ess) for the duration. Dressed in a rather fetching puff-ball sleeve circa 1982 number, she introduced herself as a colleague of Saki's Uncle, who would be running proceedings (the alarm bells are a-ringing!). She then went on to inform a room full of 80 people that she was single, had two lovely dogs and was looking for a boyfriend (cue nervous laughter). I felt bad because I fear she spoilt her chances with the dog comment.

So without further a do...Saki's Uncle (dressed in full kimono) kicked off the party with a bamboo flute recital accompanied by 4 rather stern looking Japanese harp (koto) players. We were then told we could start eating while Saki's Uncle continued with a solo performance. Next came the most nerve-wracking part of the party...waiting to see if your raffle ticket was selected which meant automatic enrolment in the forthcoming party games. I was one of the lucky ones but others didn't get off so lightly.

There was the balloon popping game which saw one woman of an extremely nervous disposition, nearly have a coronary at the prospect of a balloon popping within a 2 metre radius of her. Next came my personal favourite: "The dart board game" The sole aim of which, seemed to be to humiliate as many people as possible...each person had to throw a dart which landed on one of the following four categories:

1) You get an invite to Saki's Uncle's next BBQ party
2) You must sing karaoke on your own
3) You must kiss a foreigner
4) You get a free onsen (hot spring bath) at the hotel

(I should probably mention that Saki's Uncle- as an amazing English-speaker-worked for the American Marine Base in Iwakuni so there was a mixture of foreigners and Japanese people at this party).

So, inevitably most people scored numero 3 including Saki's dad who was selected to be kissed by the most pissed off looking American girl i've ever seen! She was a bit of a biffer and apparently humourless but Saki's dad didn' t seem too traumatised! Everyone who participated received a prize (which were really nice) so it seemed unfair to get too annoyed about being selected!

Bingo was next and the prizes kept coming- I was very chuffed to win one but as I walked up to accept it (as the previous bingo winners had done before me) I got heckled (in the friendliest way) by Saki's Uncle which was apparently the cue for " Maki" to get me on the mic.." What's your name? Where do you come from? Do you like soccer? Do you like Beckham?" Microphones terrify me so I kept my answers short and went and sat down, content that I'd got my initiation over and done with...if only I'd had known...

There was a girl from Mexico who had said she would sing La Bamba but they didn't have it so she agreed with another guy that they'd sing something else. Saki's Uncle was then dragged along who inevitably caught my eye ...before I knew it, I found myself on stage in front of the whole party with a microphone in my hand...it became apparent that the Mexican was just dancing, Saki's Uncle was clapping and that the other American dude was mute...leaving me to sing...of all the songs in the world..."She Bangs" by the one and only Ricky Martin. So there I was, in my beautiful Noa Noa dress singing "she bangs, she bangs, oh baby, it's the way she moves, she moves, ooooh" in front of Saki, his entire family and a bunch of American Marines. The word "Bingo!" springs to mind. I think Saki's comment summed up the quality of my performance..."Hannahchan, what WAS that song??"

The party came to an end shortly after this and I'd learnt two things; That organised fun is not my bag, baby but that Saki's family are the most lovely, fun and generous of people. They made me feel so welcome, comforted me post-karaoke and did so in the most genuine way.

Between us, Saki and I also came away with the ceramic cup, a bottle of whisky, a pack of beer, a huge bottle of pure honey, a Japanese wooden tray and a picture ...so all in all, it was just how I imagine winning the Generation Game feels, only better!

2006-06-18T17:41:00.000+09:00

Classic!!!

You just can't make some things up and Japanese school children's writing compositions have to be one of the best examples of this. I came across this the other day which made me chuckle:

Writing about her favourite person, one of my students had this to say about a Japanese popstar called Ryo Nishikido...

He is a hard wonker
He is very cool!!
He sings a song hard.
He tolls 170
His weight 50
His body is illness but he is handsome.
His smile through we are smile too.
I like the best him.

2006-06-12T19:08:00.000+09:00

I was woken up today by...an earthquake. It was "quite strong" according to Saki's careful evaluation and only lasted about 10 seconds but I was terrified. When I got to work this morning I asked my teacher if she had felt the tremors and she casually tutted a yes and rolled her eyes in a "oh wasn't it annoying that is happened at 5 in the morning" kind of way. I replied in a "actually I was a little on the scared side seeing as it was the first earthquake I'd ever felt" kind of way. She then, this time not so casually, piped up with, "what?! since you were born?"I tried to explain that, coming from the Thames Valley, I was not really accustomed to the earth pulsating. I got the impression she thought I was lying and promptly ended our conversation with "well, if Japan sinks, I'll move to England." Well that's bloody fantastic I thought. Not only is Japan shaking, it's now sinking...

2006-06-04T14:55:00.000+09:00

A Ruddy Good Day!

This weekend has been great. On Friday, thanks to Lauren's brother, Kat hosted a Eurovision Party. 4 Brits, 1 American and 1 Aussie sat enthralled, bewildered and baffled repsectively at the spectacle that is Eurovision.
Lordi were of course the outright winners and testament to how long I've been in Japan, I was genuinely quite shocked by the scantily clad offering from Moldova!

We then spent Saturday at the beach on nearby Oshima! We had a great day making sandcastles, playing football, poking jellyfish and throwing an unsuspecting fully-clothed j-boy with a mobile phone in his pocket into the sea. Gomen Sakichan!

Later on, after Saki had bought a new mobile, we headed back to his house for showers. I was terrified at this prospect seeing as it was the first time I've been to his house and only the 3rd time I've met his parents. But his mum welcomed me with towels and open arms despite us both being covered in sand. I also got to meet their dog who, overexcited by a new person in the house, proceeded to lick my mouth and hump my leg...this is why I'm a cat person. A cat would NEVER hump your leg in front of your boyfriend's parents.

We then joined the others for a yummy yakiniku (korean barbecue) dinner! A perfect end to a nearly-perfect day!

Saki minus trousers and Kat plus essential driftwood stick

2006-06-04T14:25:00.000+09:00

First Time for Everything

On Wednesday I went to my friend Yoko's house for dinner as I have been doing every two weeks since I got here. This is her here with her two sons Yuya and Shota. This week, Yuya (the younger, cheekier, chubbier one of the two boys) came up to me and asked me if i knew what "hotaru" was? I obviously didn't have a clue, and Yuya was pretty miffed that I didn't know. So out came the electronic dictionary and the word we were looking for was "fireflies". Of course! I'd never seen them before which caused much hilarity so after dinner and birthday cake, we spent the evening catching them by the river. Very Beatrix Potter!

2006-06-04T14:16:00.000+09:00

2006-06-04T13:31:00.000+09:00

Osaka Me Up!

So after Kobe, it was off to Osaka for the friday night to celebrate my birthday. Numbers were somewhat depleted after the carnage of Kobe so Mark and I set off for the bright lights of Kansai!

We found a hotel and then met up with our friend Eko- this was a guy that we met in Australia and is one of the coolest Japanese person I know. He was travelling in Australia on his own for 10 months which is kind of unheard of in a country where travelling, 9 times out of 10, involves a coach, a brutal itinerary and a uniform clad guide. So, now he's back in Japan studying at Osaka University.

We met up with a group of other JETS from Tottori Prefecture and a few fellow Guchis and had a brilliant evening. Eko booked an izakaya for us all where we all had the tastiest, cheapest meal ever...sashimi( of which I am now quite a fan), karage (fried chicken), yakisoba (noodle dish) washed down with lots of beer in true Japanese style. We then headed to a bar in the main nightlife area called Shinsaibashi. We took the underground which was mental- i have never seen so many people crammed in, sardine-like, in a carriage at midnight! Being in such close proximity to so many people made me realise why they need the female only carriages! It's easy for hands to go a-wandering!

We went to club called "Pure" which is a cross between Revolution and Spearmint Rhino! Had i been in the UK i probably wouldn't have got through the door but the excitement of being in Osaka and out of the inaka (countryside; read Yamaguchi prefecture) and the cheap nomihoudai (all you can drink) eased the pain and got me through the door of, you guessed it, a hip-hop and r "n" b nightclub. I had to admit defeat at 3 am, although I had thoroughly enjoyed my ghetto style night out!

The following day Mark and I headed to Osaka Castle for a bit of sightseeing. This is supposedly one of the top 3 castles in Japan and from the outside it is stunning. So, in anticipation of stepping back in time where courageuous samurai warriors once fought, we paid our 600 yen entrance fee only to be transported through this building in a state of the art lift and computer aided displays. Basically, about 8 years ago they gutted the inside of this beautiful castle and re-fitted it with a completely modern interior. Suffice to say, walking into what feels like an office, somewhat kills the magic of the place.

After this, we headed to Amerikamura for lunch with everyone from the night before. This is a maze of streets, lined with shops, cafe's and bars. It was then home time- a 2 hour bullet train ride right back to Tokuyama. For me the best thing about Osaka was the general atmoshpere and attitude of the people. People seemed confident, and individual. People spoke really good English and were friendly to us but not in a sycophantic way. I'd forgotten how much I love the buzz of cities and while Tokuyama has become my home I'll definitely be going back to Osaka soon!

2006-06-04T12:35:00.000+09:00

KOBE 2006: Good or Bad Learner?

So, last week 900 JET's descended on a super swish hotel in Kobe for a three-day re-contracting conference. Of course, the seminar itself was not the main source of amusement although I must say I actually found some of the talks quite useful. The one that struck me the most was about learning Japanese while we're in Japan. They showed this video in which they identified a good and bad learner and as cliched as it was, I knew instinctively which category I fell into.

I have always been interested in languages but it's never been my passion because I've never been able to master one. I've always been too afraid to speak, worried that I'll look stupid and incompetant. And it is this that makes me possibly the biggest hypocrite ever...because I get frustrated, even exasperated when my students won't participate and take risks, yet I am exactly like them. So, I've returned to Tokuyama much more motivated to practise what I preach; to make more effort with my Japanese; to try and brush off the ritual humiliation which will inevitably ensue and to prove to myself and my students that people can and do master new languages.

Equally, I still don't feel teaching is for me but I have learned that, just like languages, maybe teaching is a skill you can learn and hone as opposed to being something you either can or can't do. One of my teachers told me the other day that my teaching had really improved. And rather than brushing it off, I thought about it and realised she was right. Of course, there's always going to be someone who is, or at least seems, more confident and competant but that's not to say my own effort is any less invaluable.

On a lighter note, Kobe rocks. It was so much fun to be in a big city, listening to people busking, seeing people on the streets past 10pm and having more bars and restaurants than you can shake a stick at. We found a couple of small, chilled bars and spent the evenings with the bars to ourselves, talking and playing connect 4 with the owners and trying to conquer our fear of slow dancing under Ginny's instruction. So here's to the slack ballroom hold, racing taxi drivers and the weird man with a dressed-up chicken with painted toe nails/ claws- viva Nihon!!!

2006-05-14T18:43:00.000+09:00

Honesty is always the best policy...

I'm afraid I'm in a ranting kind of mood which hs just this second been severely exacerbated by the fact that the "a" key on my computer has decided to stick.
Recently i've been feeling kind of irritable and have not been able to put my finger on it. I think it may have started when i was at school showing some photographs of when i went back to England. Everyone was being very complimentary and appeared to be interested when one older male teacher decides to pipe up with "your brother is very handsome, but you are...well, maybe a little bit fat." He then laughed and smiled as if he had just given me some invaluable advice and that i should be grateful...quite frankly gratitude was the last thing on my mind. The Japanese for "f*#k you, you rude idiot" escaping me (always the way), I grimaced and said "yes, my brother is handsome".
I'd been warned about this kind of comment before i came to Japan but never really thought someone would be tactless or ballsy enough to say it. After all, we're in the land of restrained emotion and chronic politeness. Perhaps, far from being offended, I should in fact be embracing these comical moments. Unfortunately, he got me on a bad day and i just wish this kind of honesty and frankness could be put to good use someplace else...grrr.

2006-05-07T09:08:00.000+09:00

THE JOY OF PORK!!!!

While I was perusing the shelves of Japan's answer to Homebase I came across these beauties; soft and fit "Pork Joy" leather gloves for professionals!

I'm not sure what kind of profession we're talking about here but i'll say one thing...there are NO sheep in Japan...

2006-05-07T09:03:00.000+09:00

2006-05-07T08:52:00.000+09:00

So it looks like summer has arrived in Japan which means two things...English style picnics accompanied by bemused Japanese onlookers and gardening.

Maybe I should explain the latter; since coming to Japan I've really noticed, and missed the lack of green open spaces. There is no garden of any description at my apartment, unless you count a concrete forecourt but I am surrounded by other people's vegestable patches and in a true 5-year old "I want what they've got" mentality I have decided to try and grow tomato plants...in a window box. (I figure these can't be that different from those grow bags.) So, on Thursday, off I trotted to Japan's answer to Homebase to pick up what have already become a very important part of my life. Sad, sad, sad. I'll keep you posted on their progress. The current situation being that I fear for their potential sweetness having being flooded by 24 hours of torrential rain. I suppose I should have bought them inside but it meant carrying a muddy, and now sodden, box over my tatami mats which would then inevitably need cleaning. Really wasn't worth the hassle. So much for summer and those green fingers!

2006-04-15T06:49:00.000+09:00

Congratulations Mr and Mrs Heaven!!!

Just wanted to say, once again, huge congratulations to Jessie-bits and Nicko! It was brilliant to see you tying the knot after so many years together. You make a wonderful couple and I know you'll be as happy in years to come, as you are now!

2006-03-25T11:18:00.000+09:00

2006-03-25T10:48:00.000+09:00

Last week I went on a walk with my students (17km around the hills above our school). It was a great day because I actually felt like I was doing my job for a change. I spent the whole day with the students as opposed to in the staff room or on a stage in front of them (got to love Japanese classrooms). So we could actually speak English together in a normal and sincere environment. I was surprised by the breadth of their knowledge and felt a little guilty for perhaps having underestimated their ability over the past few months. But, it can be difficult when they'd rather play dumb and remain silent in class as opposed to making mistakes and talking.

Yet I guess it's not their fault. After all, the students are never tested on their speaking skills in high school (and sometimes even at University-madness) and consequently, their is no incentive whatsoever for the students to actually speak English. Very frustrating!

All in all though, it was a great day walking around the lovely Yamaguchi-ken which made up for the excrutiating leg pain that followed...peace out!

2006-03-25T10:10:00.000+09:00

So, this is Tokuyama...finally.

Had a few technical difficulties!!!

2006-03-23T21:24:00.000+09:00

So this is Tokuyama...known locally and affectionately as Smokuyama. I think this photo sums it up quite well; it's not beautiful but there is something endearing about it. So endearing that, as most of you know, I have decided to re-contract for another year. I've decided to start "blogging"( as I believe this new-fangled thingeymajig is called) because everyone else has one and I was feeling left out. The blog is to the Yamaguchi JET, what Polly Pockets were to thousands of primary school girls in 1993. I just hope it's as entertaining as that pesky plastic-coin footed lady!

2006-01-16T20:42:00.000+09:00

So it's about time about time i jumped on the blog band wagon