Say hello to holidays & say goodbye to school badah daah!! Love that song.
Kicked off the hols by catching up with an old friend in the city for some drinks & yakitori.
On Wednesday night, Aki, Todd, Ritsuko & Ken met up with Trevor & Miyuki for dinner.
Here's Todd telling yet another side splitting tale of the time he told yet another side splitting tale. Needless to say, many a side was well split that night & we were lucky to have a nurse on hand to keep things under control.
Ken didn't quite get Todd's gags & thought his dad was having a go at him, so he quickly counter attacked with some of his own devastating repartee.
Group photo time. It had been a year since we had seen Trevor & Miyuki ( they now live in Vancouver) so we had a lot to chat about & catch up on. Three hours flew by really fast.
Ken then reminded us all that his dad had to get up early the next day to bugger off to Tokyo.. so we called it a night.
Friday night saw the meatacular return of some old faces to Choupana. Even though Shun & I have been in contact throughout the past year, we hadn't had a chance to meet up with each other as he's started his career as a doctor & has practically zero free time.
Aaah Choupana... a rose by any other name would still taste so meaty.
On Saturday we caught up with Trev & Miyuki again & headed over to Mike Boyce's place for some afternoon beers & margarita's.
On the left are Darryl & Hako...
& below is their few month old baby Maya. She's a real bundle of cute.
Even though we didn't travel out of Hamamatsu this summer we still had a fantastic time. It was by far the best 'Stay'cation I've ever had. Ate far too much delicious food & caught up on some much needed sleep. Even managed to do some chores around the house.. well, a few minutes worth anyway.
Kicked off the hols by catching up with an old friend in the city for some drinks & yakitori.
On Wednesday night, Aki, Todd, Ritsuko & Ken met up with Trevor & Miyuki for dinner.
Here's Todd telling yet another side splitting tale of the time he told yet another side splitting tale. Needless to say, many a side was well split that night & we were lucky to have a nurse on hand to keep things under control.
Ken didn't quite get Todd's gags & thought his dad was having a go at him, so he quickly counter attacked with some of his own devastating repartee.
Group photo time. It had been a year since we had seen Trevor & Miyuki ( they now live in Vancouver) so we had a lot to chat about & catch up on. Three hours flew by really fast.
Ken then reminded us all that his dad had to get up early the next day to bugger off to Tokyo.. so we called it a night.
Friday night saw the meatacular return of some old faces to Choupana. Even though Shun & I have been in contact throughout the past year, we hadn't had a chance to meet up with each other as he's started his career as a doctor & has practically zero free time.
Aaah Choupana... a rose by any other name would still taste so meaty.
On Saturday we caught up with Trev & Miyuki again & headed over to Mike Boyce's place for some afternoon beers & margarita's.
On the left are Darryl & Hako...
& below is their few month old baby Maya. She's a real bundle of cute.
Even though we didn't travel out of Hamamatsu this summer we still had a fantastic time. It was by far the best 'Stay'cation I've ever had. Ate far too much delicious food & caught up on some much needed sleep. Even managed to do some chores around the house.. well, a few minutes worth anyway.
On the bus to the forest. Saki was stating how she'd already been to the toilet twice that morning. Hana however had only made it one and a half.. uh oh.
Bubbles! whoooooooooo.
It flies! HOly crap.
Suisei making his monster sandwich, which he then dropped on the ground. Back to the drawing board. Phase two was even more impressive. For a little guy he can certainly cram that pie hole.
Lunch.
My PET bottle rocket.. which would have worked too if I'd only spent more than100yen on the pump.. damn thing was only rated to 50psi (50 Pumps then it Shits Itself.. an international standard for 100yen goods.)
Mentos & Coca-Cola Zero. 5 bottles of coke never went to waste more admirably.
Slip n slide..
The beginning of an epic water gun fight. Daaaamn I got drenched.. I guess I was singled out because I'm such an easy target & a honky.
Hana blazing ahead in an attempt to earn her medal of honor. Keichi in the background laying down a round of suppressing fire... in the wrong direction.
A river runs through it.. & the kids ran through that.
All exhausted in the end. & a grand time was had by all.
Bubbles! whoooooooooo.
It flies! HOly crap.
Suisei making his monster sandwich, which he then dropped on the ground. Back to the drawing board. Phase two was even more impressive. For a little guy he can certainly cram that pie hole.
Lunch.
My PET bottle rocket.. which would have worked too if I'd only spent more than100yen on the pump.. damn thing was only rated to 50psi (50 Pumps then it Shits Itself.. an international standard for 100yen goods.)
Mentos & Coca-Cola Zero. 5 bottles of coke never went to waste more admirably.
Slip n slide..
The beginning of an epic water gun fight. Daaaamn I got drenched.. I guess I was singled out because I'm such an easy target & a honky.
Hana blazing ahead in an attempt to earn her medal of honor. Keichi in the background laying down a round of suppressing fire... in the wrong direction.
A river runs through it.. & the kids ran through that.
All exhausted in the end. & a grand time was had by all.
I took a stroll up the road from my place today to take some photos of what may well be the most decent abandoned house in town.
Anyone who knows me knows I'm a stickler for fine architecture. Now all those people who know me are saying, 'I know Chris, yet I didn't know he was a stickler for fine architecture!'
That's because I'm not.
I'm not even really sure what 'stickler' means.
It took about a year to painstakingly build this place & the attention to detail & quality of construction is certainly something to be admired. Keep in mind that this is in Japan so not only were the builders faced with something out of the ordinary, they also had to ensure that it was strong enough to withstand any minor eathquakes.
At least two years have passed since its completion & no body or business ever moved in. I heard the owner went bankrupt, but I guess I'll never really know the full story.
Here's the right side of the house.. just ready & waiting to be hooked up to air-conditioners & plumbing.
Sad as it may be that this place may never see tenants, I think it's quite amazing that it has just stood here for over two years & it still looks brand new.
Not one window is smashed.
No one has tried to force the door open with a crow bar..
Actually I didn't check, but I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't locked it any way at all.
It's all in pristine condition inside. ( I took these photos through the window) Obviously the workmen left pretty quickly as there is still scaffolding left behind.
Everything flows & blends so smoothly throughout the place. Even the shelves look like they're part of the wall.
The rear of the house is a far more simple design, yet still has fantastic little features like the bows in the roof & the little side window podules.
I hope that one day someone moves in.
It's so lonely sitting in this field all on it's own.
Anyone who knows me knows I'm a stickler for fine architecture. Now all those people who know me are saying, 'I know Chris, yet I didn't know he was a stickler for fine architecture!'
That's because I'm not.
I'm not even really sure what 'stickler' means.
It took about a year to painstakingly build this place & the attention to detail & quality of construction is certainly something to be admired. Keep in mind that this is in Japan so not only were the builders faced with something out of the ordinary, they also had to ensure that it was strong enough to withstand any minor eathquakes.
At least two years have passed since its completion & no body or business ever moved in. I heard the owner went bankrupt, but I guess I'll never really know the full story.
Here's the right side of the house.. just ready & waiting to be hooked up to air-conditioners & plumbing.
Sad as it may be that this place may never see tenants, I think it's quite amazing that it has just stood here for over two years & it still looks brand new.
Not one window is smashed.
No one has tried to force the door open with a crow bar..
Actually I didn't check, but I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't locked it any way at all.
It's all in pristine condition inside. ( I took these photos through the window) Obviously the workmen left pretty quickly as there is still scaffolding left behind.
Everything flows & blends so smoothly throughout the place. Even the shelves look like they're part of the wall.
The rear of the house is a far more simple design, yet still has fantastic little features like the bows in the roof & the little side window podules.
I hope that one day someone moves in.
It's so lonely sitting in this field all on it's own.
Well, before I talk about the hanami I thought I might post a picture or two of this free sample of 'Mintia' that came with a bottle of something the other day. The designer obviously was in a rush as he hadn't bothered to change the label of the free sample from that of the regular product. As you can see it says, '50 tablets'.
However, once opened a paltry '3' tumble out.
Can't complain if it's free I 'spose.
Tremain & Yeni came to town a week or so ago. We meated it up at Choupana & Trey busted out some delightful tunes on the shitty guitar they had there.
& now on to the Hanami! Every spring, once the cherry blossoms start to bloom, it is customary to have a picnic under these beautiful trees, eat, drink & be merry. I saw a few of my students at the park that day.. Here is Kazuma.
& here is the always overenthusiastic Hayato!
There was also some kind of arts & crafts event going on for the local kids that day. they were playing several different strange games & making tables. Yes.. that's right, tables.
By noon many familes had set down their groundsheets & were happily enjoying the Hanami atmosphere.
I played a bit of baseball with the kids, & like most sports it's a hell of a lot more fun to play than to watch. At one point a mini tornado formed & all the kids ran straight into the center of it. It had mostly dissipated by the time I took this picture, but it was quite a sight to see all of the kids getting knocked about by the wind & debris.
That weekend my wife Aki had gone to Hokkaido for a small vacation which left me home alone! Todd & his boy Ken came over & Misa did too.. We had a pretty tame evening, beating my drums, eating pizza, playing games & chatting.
Aki brought me back a fresh crab for dinner & I spent a good 15 mins hacking him to pieces & digging out all the good meat.
He didn't put up much of a fight & I soon had a pretty decent sized bowl of crab meat to chow down on.
Deeeelicious!
However, once opened a paltry '3' tumble out.
Can't complain if it's free I 'spose.
Tremain & Yeni came to town a week or so ago. We meated it up at Choupana & Trey busted out some delightful tunes on the shitty guitar they had there.
& now on to the Hanami! Every spring, once the cherry blossoms start to bloom, it is customary to have a picnic under these beautiful trees, eat, drink & be merry. I saw a few of my students at the park that day.. Here is Kazuma.
& here is the always overenthusiastic Hayato!
There was also some kind of arts & crafts event going on for the local kids that day. they were playing several different strange games & making tables. Yes.. that's right, tables.
By noon many familes had set down their groundsheets & were happily enjoying the Hanami atmosphere.
I played a bit of baseball with the kids, & like most sports it's a hell of a lot more fun to play than to watch. At one point a mini tornado formed & all the kids ran straight into the center of it. It had mostly dissipated by the time I took this picture, but it was quite a sight to see all of the kids getting knocked about by the wind & debris.
That weekend my wife Aki had gone to Hokkaido for a small vacation which left me home alone! Todd & his boy Ken came over & Misa did too.. We had a pretty tame evening, beating my drums, eating pizza, playing games & chatting.
Aki brought me back a fresh crab for dinner & I spent a good 15 mins hacking him to pieces & digging out all the good meat.
He didn't put up much of a fight & I soon had a pretty decent sized bowl of crab meat to chow down on.
Deeeelicious!
