Ise Jingu

the short story is walled off temple and shrine buildings that you try to see through trees and over fences, unless you happen to be part of the imperial family, or a priest, or a small group of those holy types. needless to say, we looked in from afar



the highlights were the lack of crowds and cool refuge from the hot sun, oh and the wildlife



for anymore information please click here

http://jogoestojapan.blogspot.com/

and just to prove i was there

so it's 0:13 monday morning, tomorrow Jo and I will be heading to Ise to visit the very popular Ise-jingu and the neighboring small town, maybe have some lobster and maybe have some beef, Ise beef is the second best in Japan, so take that to the bank.

a spoon full of sugar

helps the absynthe go down! Step one, pour your absynthe, step two put sugar on a spoon and heat it till it melts, then dump stir and enjoy.

Oh, did i mention i had some of this too



that's right! there's a snake in that jar o whiskey. Also a ginger root and some seeds. HIs mouth has been pried open so the venom would get into the mix. Tasted like a strong almond whiskey.

Lets just say the night included drinking, fireworks and an 8am bedtime.
A local bar was closing so it was the closing festivities.

rainy days

It's Friday today, and I'm pretty sure its been raining since Saturday. On the up side, its been nice and cool.  Forecast looks like more rain at least through tuesday, and  I thought the rainy season was over, oh well.  I was supposed to get up early and go hand out pamphlets at a local high school, but thanks to the rain no dice. So i've just been relaxing in bed, looking at the news and staring into space. Jo and I are trying t othink of somewhere to go for the weekend.  If I didnt have class on Sunday we'd probably go to Hiroshima, but it's a 2hr trek on the shinkansen, which kills a large chunk of time and there are closer options, just have to figure them out.  At some point i hope we'll get out to do a hike near kyoto, its a 5 to 7 hour hike over rivers, past 8 waterfalls and through some rocky terrain, it sounds pretty fun. well, i guess i should get up and head into work, its my day to do the cleaning.  Somehow i've managed to get ahead with my prepwork for Tomorrow and tuesday, so im not feeling too rushed, maybe ill go in and clean then come back home for a while.  anyway, have a good day

days off

So Jo and I got our days in december approved. That means we'll have a good chunk of time off, i think its from the 24th to the 4th of jan, which means we will most likely be travelling. So far there are a couple of places on the table, Hokkaido, Okinawa, Thailand, Korea maybe China. Who knows. And its almost August, which means the family is getting ready to head out.

time to iron and goto work.

Knuckles?

Did liz nichols post a comment?

Did she pass her Div3?
Was she holed up for the past 8 months catching up on the past four years of slacking?

What is she doing now?

its hot

that's right, its really hot here, and humid, its crazy, stays around 83 even at midnight

i have a feeling the air conditioner may be put into effect soon

so heres a picture of one of my friends who lives outside my apartment



he's about the size of your head, honest

and there are a few of him kicking around, lots of turtles too

so

do you like frogs?

house arrest

catchy title huh?

here's a quick note to give ya'll the heads up that i now have the internet at my apartment
go me!

and my nifty airport express is doing its job quite nicely, although, if anyone has any pointers on how

i can have a password on the signal, AND use my DS to connect to nintendo WIFI,

id greatly appreciate any ideas

anyway, laundry calls,

and i should prep breakfast and lunch

any questions

wow eeee

so i thought id be getting internet access at my apartment around the 5th, guess i was dreaming cuz its not until the 7th, rats

once i have it at home ill be messing with everyone trying to convince you to download gizmo and have a talky talk with good old dave-o-mate as my aussie friend germaine likes to call me.

i'm kind of in the mood for questions, doesn't anyone have any questions about Japan????? Not that i have all the answers, but hey i am living here, i'm still alive and not doing too bad.

so please ask.

Christina, i asked my students if they were interested in an email buddy and one has a few already, in and out of japan, she used to live in Kentucky so eh. but the other girl in the class seemed interested so ill give her your email and hopefully get hers. I would imagine that she'll be scared/shy to initiate contact. cool.

does branden (brandon?) read this how about your parents??

so from the topic of my little cousins

he has the xbox 360 (yes i know incorrect use of the article the, deal)
and a PSP

and its too bad, because NINTENDO owns the future of gaming end of story

DS is way way way better than the PSP
and the WIi will put the 360 to shame,

ok you still get halo 3 (and yes ill probably partake in such madness when it happens).


=================================
=================================

any way, back to the idea of QUESTIONS...

please ask, I work for an international "the man"
i teach English,
I live in a country where i dont speak most of the language
i eat crazy things

I want you to visit, but maybe you dont have the time / money

so ask me things, it'll be fun

and where's the Dolan contingent ?????

is it because i'm american???

watch it cuz the Thomson etc clan is like the yakuza,
hahahahahahaha

ok, so that is a total lie, had you for a second though

Yarrrrrr!

so the other weekend jo some japanese peeps and a trainer went to see da vinci code

its decent, as in sub par decent, but they could have made it worse.


i suppose this it me being out.
have to try to configure my airport express to work with my ds

its digital getdown time!

shane you better be reading and then you better get that reference

new toys

id post something substantial, but im too busy trying to get this wireless router to work with my ds

computers are fun.