Last Sunday was ice hockey night in Hamatown!
The old G in his ice tractor smoothed the surface to a teflon like sheen.
& then it was on for young and old!
The stars really came out to shine that night.
Well in actual fact, half the other team didn't show so they had to borrow a few players from the other side.
The game started slow but thing really started to intensify by the last period.
Takashizer scored a touchdown late in the 3rd half to secure victory for the presidents eleven. At least I think that's how it happened. I know very little about ice hockey.
It was, fast it was exciting & it was cold.. very much like Australian rules football.. apart from the cold bit.
Todd's little boy Ken was turning 2 last week so he gave me a call on his way back from picking up the birthday cake & we met up at the local nerd shop. Here's Ken spying Ponyo in action from a few hundred milometers away.. very impressive.
Ken found a car/bike device that he liked so he taught Todd how to make it go beep.
After an hour or so of wandering around in that massive shop we departed for a local greasy spoon & indulged ourselves with tea & strumpets.
The next day we went to one of the many shopping malls around here to buy an air humidifier/purifier device in preparation for the soon to be born addition to our family.
Aki is 31 weeks pregnant in this picture.
Later that night we met up with one of my original colleagues that I worked with when I first arrived in Japan 6 years ago. He now lives in Canada with his wife but they are back for a visit at the moment.
I unfortunately didn't take any photos of them.. but took a bunch of their little boy.
7 month old Shoji. Super cute and very well behaved. He refrained from making a ruckus the whole time we were having dinner.
The next day I attended a maternity class with Aki to be bombarded with information about what to expect in the coming weeks. Personally I can't wait. It's all a very exciting time of year.
The old G in his ice tractor smoothed the surface to a teflon like sheen.
& then it was on for young and old!
The stars really came out to shine that night.
Well in actual fact, half the other team didn't show so they had to borrow a few players from the other side.
The game started slow but thing really started to intensify by the last period.
Takashizer scored a touchdown late in the 3rd half to secure victory for the presidents eleven. At least I think that's how it happened. I know very little about ice hockey.
It was, fast it was exciting & it was cold.. very much like Australian rules football.. apart from the cold bit.
Todd's little boy Ken was turning 2 last week so he gave me a call on his way back from picking up the birthday cake & we met up at the local nerd shop. Here's Ken spying Ponyo in action from a few hundred milometers away.. very impressive.
Ken found a car/bike device that he liked so he taught Todd how to make it go beep.
After an hour or so of wandering around in that massive shop we departed for a local greasy spoon & indulged ourselves with tea & strumpets.
The next day we went to one of the many shopping malls around here to buy an air humidifier/purifier device in preparation for the soon to be born addition to our family.
Aki is 31 weeks pregnant in this picture.
Later that night we met up with one of my original colleagues that I worked with when I first arrived in Japan 6 years ago. He now lives in Canada with his wife but they are back for a visit at the moment.
I unfortunately didn't take any photos of them.. but took a bunch of their little boy.
7 month old Shoji. Super cute and very well behaved. He refrained from making a ruckus the whole time we were having dinner.
The next day I attended a maternity class with Aki to be bombarded with information about what to expect in the coming weeks. Personally I can't wait. It's all a very exciting time of year.
On Sunday the 8th Aki & I went into the city to check out the first day of the Hamamatsu international piano competition being held at ACT city. We parked near Hachiman station and then caught the good ol' red train on in.
Aki was looking mildly preggers as she waddled on down the stairs.
I had heard that the Christmas tree wasn't going to be erected this year due to the construction nearby. Contrary to those rumours, there it was in all its light bulb encrusted glory.
We stopped off for a quick bite at a Chinese restaurant that Aki likes. Was my first time to go there & I must say it was indeed a capital feed.
Then over to ACT city where I took a few random shots..
While Aki did her makeup. (yawn)
Was pretty stoked to stumble across a petrified Chain Chomp.
& here's one in action.
At the top of the stairs is a pretty decent statue of Frédéric Chopin. Polish composer and pianist. He's fantastic for so many reasons.. one of them being that his name reminds me of the greatest restaurant in the universe: Choupana.
It was then on to the show. Not much to say except that it was simply mind blowing. Among the day's performers were two young Australian guys, they were brilliant and flawless. If they don't win then the contest must be rigged.
Each performer had their preferred brand of piano that they would use. Kawai, Yamaha or Steinway & Sons. I asked a few of the professional pianists and other people who were there if they could hear the difference between the pianos & none of them said that they could.. I guess they're all built to exceptionally high standards then.
After a few hours of piano action we then headed on home for tea & strumpets.
Aki was looking mildly preggers as she waddled on down the stairs.
I had heard that the Christmas tree wasn't going to be erected this year due to the construction nearby. Contrary to those rumours, there it was in all its light bulb encrusted glory.
We stopped off for a quick bite at a Chinese restaurant that Aki likes. Was my first time to go there & I must say it was indeed a capital feed.
Then over to ACT city where I took a few random shots..
While Aki did her makeup. (yawn)
Was pretty stoked to stumble across a petrified Chain Chomp.
& here's one in action.
At the top of the stairs is a pretty decent statue of Frédéric Chopin. Polish composer and pianist. He's fantastic for so many reasons.. one of them being that his name reminds me of the greatest restaurant in the universe: Choupana.
It was then on to the show. Not much to say except that it was simply mind blowing. Among the day's performers were two young Australian guys, they were brilliant and flawless. If they don't win then the contest must be rigged.
Each performer had their preferred brand of piano that they would use. Kawai, Yamaha or Steinway & Sons. I asked a few of the professional pianists and other people who were there if they could hear the difference between the pianos & none of them said that they could.. I guess they're all built to exceptionally high standards then.
After a few hours of piano action we then headed on home for tea & strumpets.
Last Saturday Aki & I jumped on the shinkansen in the morning, bound for Osaka.
The reason? To visit my cousin Nathan & his lovely girlfriend Aki who had just returned from 16 months of traveling around south east Asia on a posties motorcycle. Regular readers of my irregular blog will remember I posted a link to their adventures a while back. Here's the link again if you'd like to check it out: http://www.faster-than-walking.com/
We met up with my cousin around 1pm & then strolled on over to the 'Aqua Metropolis Osaka' - http://www.suito-osaka2009.jp/en/index.html
We were lucky to have such beautiful weather.. only a few days earlier a massive typhoon had hit.. so timing was certainly on our side. Behind us is a huge fish made of junk.
Apparently it's made entirely of stuff pulled out of the river.. People certainly do throw away some strange things.
It was all really well laid out with a strong emphasis towards recycling & the environment.
There were several food & drink stalls along the way & we enjoyed some good Indian food, & a cucumber on a stick.
Deelish. I do like cucumber indeed.
There was music playing all day & we happened across this interpretive dance number. Which was.. erm.. special.
After a few hours of wandering around the aqua metropolis displays we walked on down to city hall.
Inside city hall was this massive robot baby statue. It was really impressive. There was a movie playing which showed it sitting down and breathing fire. Unfortunately we didn't get to see it do that, but it was pretty awesome nonetheless.
After that we caught the subway into a different part of town and walked down an incredibly long covered shopping street. It was packed with people & had a great atmosphere.
We eventually came to the famous Glico sign..
And posed.
This shop was so insanely pink that I felt sick from just standing in the doorway. The staff were very cute & friendly though so I instantly felt better. They sold all sorts of super cute maid style dresses & similar accessories.
We then ate some takoyaki & stopped at a cafe to have a coffee while we waited for Nathan's girlfriend Aki to finish work. From there we went to dinner and ate some great sushi at a restaurant called Jinen. One type of sushi that Aki recommended to us & we'd never had before was called Benitoro.
It was incredibly delicious. So much so in fact that it called for Nathan to celebrate by tying his air & beard together.
It was all over too quickly & around 9pm we bade them farewell.
Until we meet again.
A huge thank you to Nathan and AKi for a really wonderful day.
Looking forward to seeing you both again soon!
The reason? To visit my cousin Nathan & his lovely girlfriend Aki who had just returned from 16 months of traveling around south east Asia on a posties motorcycle. Regular readers of my irregular blog will remember I posted a link to their adventures a while back. Here's the link again if you'd like to check it out: http://www.faster-than-walking.com/
We met up with my cousin around 1pm & then strolled on over to the 'Aqua Metropolis Osaka' - http://www.suito-osaka2009.jp/en/index.html
We were lucky to have such beautiful weather.. only a few days earlier a massive typhoon had hit.. so timing was certainly on our side. Behind us is a huge fish made of junk.
Apparently it's made entirely of stuff pulled out of the river.. People certainly do throw away some strange things.
It was all really well laid out with a strong emphasis towards recycling & the environment.
There were several food & drink stalls along the way & we enjoyed some good Indian food, & a cucumber on a stick.
Deelish. I do like cucumber indeed.
There was music playing all day & we happened across this interpretive dance number. Which was.. erm.. special.
After a few hours of wandering around the aqua metropolis displays we walked on down to city hall.
Inside city hall was this massive robot baby statue. It was really impressive. There was a movie playing which showed it sitting down and breathing fire. Unfortunately we didn't get to see it do that, but it was pretty awesome nonetheless.
After that we caught the subway into a different part of town and walked down an incredibly long covered shopping street. It was packed with people & had a great atmosphere.
We eventually came to the famous Glico sign..
And posed.
This shop was so insanely pink that I felt sick from just standing in the doorway. The staff were very cute & friendly though so I instantly felt better. They sold all sorts of super cute maid style dresses & similar accessories.
We then ate some takoyaki & stopped at a cafe to have a coffee while we waited for Nathan's girlfriend Aki to finish work. From there we went to dinner and ate some great sushi at a restaurant called Jinen. One type of sushi that Aki recommended to us & we'd never had before was called Benitoro.
It was incredibly delicious. So much so in fact that it called for Nathan to celebrate by tying his air & beard together.
It was all over too quickly & around 9pm we bade them farewell.
Until we meet again.
A huge thank you to Nathan and AKi for a really wonderful day.
Looking forward to seeing you both again soon!
Two weeks ago an old friend from Perth came to visit along with his delightful girlfriend Anle.
I was pretty tired after a long day of work, but once we had arrived at Ogiya and consumed a large amount of yakitori, I was fully charged for a fun night out.
Chicken on a stick... with garlic. Extremely tasty.
We then went on to Liquid Kitchen & met some of the gorilla sized players of the Yamaha rugby team.
Made some stupid poses..
& met up with a few more friends.
An experience of Japan would certainly not be complete without a couple of hours in a karaoke box.
Grant said it was his first time but he took the reins & belted out some classic tracks like a seasoned pro.
Misa treated us to her specialty: Ayumi Hamsaki.
& then ordered more drinks for all.
Grant & his girlfriend were absolutely brilliant together & their duets would have made a deaf man cry.
I was not so awesome but managed to capture the hearts of a few select fans.
Then last week Todd, Ken & I boarded the fully packed train out to the end of the red train line.. for the Kajima fireworks!
We had been invited out there by an Australian friend of ours named Shaunna. She lives in an apartment block with a fantastic view.
It was great to see some new & old faces.
And to watch the fireworks.
I met what at first could have been mistaken for a mini Chewbacca or midget bikie..
However, it was just this funny little girl who entertained us with crazy stories the way only little kids can.
Ken took a liking to her..
& she really took a liking to Ken.
We all had a great night. Thanks a lot to Shaunna for inviting us & thanks to everyone else who helped prepare.
I was pretty tired after a long day of work, but once we had arrived at Ogiya and consumed a large amount of yakitori, I was fully charged for a fun night out.
Chicken on a stick... with garlic. Extremely tasty.
We then went on to Liquid Kitchen & met some of the gorilla sized players of the Yamaha rugby team.
Made some stupid poses..
& met up with a few more friends.
An experience of Japan would certainly not be complete without a couple of hours in a karaoke box.
Grant said it was his first time but he took the reins & belted out some classic tracks like a seasoned pro.
Misa treated us to her specialty: Ayumi Hamsaki.
& then ordered more drinks for all.
Grant & his girlfriend were absolutely brilliant together & their duets would have made a deaf man cry.
I was not so awesome but managed to capture the hearts of a few select fans.
Then last week Todd, Ken & I boarded the fully packed train out to the end of the red train line.. for the Kajima fireworks!
We had been invited out there by an Australian friend of ours named Shaunna. She lives in an apartment block with a fantastic view.
It was great to see some new & old faces.
And to watch the fireworks.
I met what at first could have been mistaken for a mini Chewbacca or midget bikie..
However, it was just this funny little girl who entertained us with crazy stories the way only little kids can.
Ken took a liking to her..
& she really took a liking to Ken.
We all had a great night. Thanks a lot to Shaunna for inviting us & thanks to everyone else who helped prepare.
