Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo!!!

I am sure that most people who read my blogs are aware of the same thing that seems to be happening in, what feels like all of Japan where, every child you pass bye is singing the Ponyo song, over and over and over…. and over again! I have to admit at first I thought it was a pretty cute and catchy song, but now it feels like there is no way to escape it, it is always stuck in my head. It probably does not help that I am neighbors with an Elementary school and the children sing it right outside my window everyday. Even some of the girls from my guesthouse were on the roof, singing it together the other night. I feel bad because I still have not seen the movie although, I am a Miyazaki fan. Maybe it will help me to be not so crazy if I do? I think I should be complaining to Hayao Miyazaki but he is just so good at making movies that everyone loves. I remember that even in America, children were always singing the Totoro song after it came out. Oh well, I guess I will just have to join in the next time I hear someone singing it, or wait for the next new popular song to come out.

Camping

My Latest camping trip to the Fuji area has turned out to be the best experience that I have had in Japan since I have been here. It started with a late night car ride thought Tokyo. Lights were flashing everywhere; The buildings, signs, big screens, bridges, everything! Even the huge Ferris wheel as we passed Odaiba. It was so beautiful and it was the first time that I had got a chance to see the city like that.

After about two hours of driving up mountain roads, we arrived at the top. Almost the opposite of the bright city lights, the mountain tops were even more beautiful! The only things that could be seen were, the mountains, green forest, and the ocean down below. The air was so clear and fresh, I felt completely relaxed and happy to be so close to nature.It rained a few times but it was still so enjoyable to be in the middle of nowhere with all of my friends at my guesthouse, just relaxing and having a great time. When the weekend was over I didn’t want to think about leaving that place. I felt like I could live there forever.

Chiba!

What a great day in Chiba! It all started with a visit to our friend who works at the Chiba History Museum. We got a full personal tour and even got to try on a Samurai Helmet . I felt as happy as a kid in a candy store =) Our friend¨s boss even gave us tickets to the Chiba Art Museum AND walked us there. So nice!

After that we headed over to the cat cafe, since my wife had not yet had a chance to see it. She loved it and was so happy to be able to pet and play with all of the nice kitties. They all went a little crazy at feeding time though. Haha.

Saying Goodbye

This weekend we had a goodbye party at our guesthouse for two of our members. It was a happy party but it was also sad to see our friends go. One woman was from England and only lived here for a short time but, we quickly became good friends with her. There were many days talking about our favorite show One Piece. The other woman was Japanese but is moving to New York again, to continue her singing career. She lived here for a few months and we also became good friends. There was a BBQ as part of the celebration, and also a live music show in our small courtyard. It was performed by two guesthouse members and a music partner. Of course the woman who is moving to New York did the singing and it was great! They will both be greatly missed but I feel lucky to have known them, even if only for a little while.

Obon holiday vacation (part 2)

For the middle part of our trip we stayed on a beautiful, tropical island called Phuket. The scenery was so beautiful! There were palm trees, blue ocean, and white sand. Our hotel was located right across the street from the beach and had a nice view of the ocean and a serpent shaped shrine. This part of our vacation was mostly spent relaxing but, we did go on a few tours. The first was an island boat tour, to see some of the many small islands in the area. We stopped to feed wild monkeys and go snorkeling. Our second tour was into the forest area of the island where we got to learn about Thai history and go on an elephant ride. Another thing we did was to go to a show called Fantasea, which is one of the biggest shows in Thailand and is based off of Thai history and tradition. It had many dancers, fireworks, and performing elephants. The show was amazing and so was the whole trip to Thailand. I really hope we are able to make it back someday.