京都へ〜〜 (and bonus kit kats!)
2009-11-08, Kyoto-shi, Japan. By: NoraInu

Kyoto time. Kyoto is famously packed with things, so this was a tactical strike on the Sanjuusangendo, a big buddhist temple, having seen it in in books pretty much all my life. Sanjuusangendo's mai...

大阪城
2009-11-03, Kobe, Japan. By: NoraInu

Tuesday was Culture Day here (bunka no hi) so we had no classes. Now, the last holiday was Sports Day (taiiku no hi), a day I celebrated by sleeping in till 11.30, but Culture Day is something I can ...

Sushi Time!
2009-10-31, Kobe, Japan. By: NoraInu

Okay, I'm only covering this because I ended up taking several pictures while there. So, rather than do normal-person Halloween activities, a couple of us ended up going to find a proper sushi restau...

Two weeks and counting!
2009-10-20, Mito, Japan. By: badgerjen

I'm sitting here, unable to sleep, at about 1 in the morning!! In two weeks, I'll be in Prague. Starting a whole new adventure. I'm so excited and yet, scared. It seems like I've only been in Japan fo...

Freaky Japanese Snacks!
2009-10-19, Kobe, Japan. By: NoraInu

I've wanted to do one of these for a while, but in spite of their reputation, snack foods turned out to be kind of hard to find. The only non-standard kit-kat flavour I saw with any regularity was "sa...

Japan - Week Twenty Six.
2009-10-08, Tokyo, Japan. By: aarond

Wow, I just got back from Japan and what a country. This is one of those places that I've wanted to visit all my life. Japanese Architecture has been a great inspiration for me over the years and it...

The Eagle has Landed.
2009-10-05, Kobe, Japan. By: NoraInu

Well, here we are in Kobe, Japan. The whole journey process was about as interesting as you'd expect a 26 hour plane-trip to be, though I can officially put in a good word for Japan Airlines' food se...

Just under a month to go
2009-10-04, Mito, Japan. By: badgerjen

I just booked my flight to Prague!! So exciting...I leave Japan on the 3rd of November!! WOW- this is really happening!! I have to say I'm a lot more nervous this go around than when I was getting rea...

The end of summer break and the beginning of the end of Japan for me
2009-09-14, Mito, Japan. By: badgerjen

Last time we talked, I had just gotten back from Hiroshima.... I still had about a week and a half left of vacation. But one of my students, Kana, had made it to the prefectural round of Interactiv...

A few final thoughts on Hiroshima
2009-08-18, Hiroshima, Japan. By: badgerjen

I've a had a little over a week to get my thoughts about my trip to Hiroshima. I had such an amazing trip and I'm so glad I went. Besides a little bit of an uncomfortable ride down and a few showers i...

Floating Toriis, an Inland Sea, mountains and of course, Monkeys!!
2009-08-17, Hiroshima, Japan. By: badgerjen

Monday morning, I woke up and got ready to head out for my last day in Hiroshima. I got my backpack packed and checked out of the HIroshima Sunroute Hotel, which I highly recommend. What I love about ...

Day 2 in Hiroshima and things lighten up
2009-08-16, Hiroshima, Japan. By: badgerjen

After a fantastic night's sleep, I woke to blue skies. What a great day to explore the other parts of Hiroshima!! I had maps and brochures in hand and headed out into the heat. Yesterday, with the rai...

Oji Zoo in Kobe, Japan
2009-08-15, Kobe, Japan, Japan. By: MariNY

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Torture on a bus...and then Hiroshima
2009-08-15, Hiroshima, Japan. By: badgerjen

So, I've been back from my trip to Hiroshima for about 5 days now and I'm still trying to process my feelings about the trip and the city. It was an amazing trip and Hiroshima is a FANTASTIC place- I'...

Nikko is Nihon
2009-08-11, Nikko, Japan. By: badgerjen

One of the places that I've been wanting to visit is Nikko. Located about 2 hours NE of Mito in the mountains, Nikko was founded about 1,200 years ago by the Buddhist priest, Shodo Shonin, who was on ...

Summer happenings so far...rain, rain, yukata, rain, temples and oh yeah...rain!
2009-08-10, Mito, Japan. By: badgerjen

Summer holiday seems to be zipping along....I feel like it's almost over already but it really has just begun. What has been going on so far..... I finally rallied after having that awful bout o...

McDreamy-san doko desu ka? (Grey's Anatomy- Japan style)
2009-07-25, Mito, Japan. By: badgerjen

After my great summer kick-off weekend, we had our closing ceremony at school on the 21st. Then the kids all left on their summer vacation- I spent the rest of the day sitting through boring meetings ...

Summer Fun Has Begun
2009-07-18, Mito, Japan. By: badgerjen

This past weekend was a 3day holiday weekend and pretty much the kick-off to summer. Though I have to go to school to the end of July, a lot of other AETs are finished. And the weather has been good?!...

I must be doing something right
2009-07-16, Mito, Japan. By: badgerjen

Once again, Interactive Forum took place last week. This is the big English conversation competition that is my "main gig" every year. Each junior high school sends 4 students (2 8th grade and 2 9th g...

June highlights....
2009-06-30, Mito, Japan. By: badgerjen

The latest from Nihon.... I guess the biggest news is that I cut my hair. I know....how exciting, right?! Yep, I'm living the most fascinating life!! It's been hot and humid, and I've been weari...

Something to smile about
2009-06-21, Mito, Japan. By: badgerjen

So last week I got to leave school a little earlier than usual. And it just happened to coincide with the elementary school kids leaving at the same time. The elementary school is right next to my jun...

Osaka, Kyoto, Fuji and Tokyo
2008-11-19, Kyoto, Japan. By: siqueira

I came to Osaka to meet a great Japanese friend who I met for the first time in Australia and his friendly family!!! With Kohey (my friend) I went to a great place in Kyoto, went back to Osaka, ate...

Hiroshima, Himeji and Kobe
2008-11-18, Hiroshima, Japan. By: siqueira

Hello!!! From Nagasaki I came back to Fukuoka to take a train to go to Hiroshima, where the Atomic Bomb was dropped as well as Nagasaki, and was impressive, chocked as well. And, from Hiroshima,...

Another month bites the dust
2009-05-30, Mito, Japan. By: badgerjen

Asashiburi!! Long time- no see!! I haven't faded into oblivion, just been in the daily grind. Here are a few updates/highlights/etc. from May: 1) School: Mid-terms are next week. Which is absol...

Fukuoka and Nagasaki
2008-11-17, Nagasaki, Japan. By: siqueira

From Pusan - Korea, I went by boat to Fukuoka - Japan, that is a wonderful country, polite, concentrate, methodical, straight, healthy, etc people!!! I really loved Japan, I would live there for a ...

Sakura & Shopping
2009-04-16, Tokyo, Japan. By: badgerjen

Another school year has started at Futabadai Junior High School...I can't believe I'm starting my 3rd year here!!! Just crazy- I never thought I'd be in Japan this long. But I love, love, love my scho...

Leaving Okinawa
2009-03-16, Okinawa, Japan. By: badgerjen

So today was our last day in Okinawa and our flight was leaving in the early afternoon so we didn't have a lot of time to get things done. We still had shopping to do and some sightseeing. We got ...

Day 3- Oranges and the blue lagoon...
2009-03-15, Okinawa, Japan. By: badgerjen

Day 3 was bright, sunny and warm. A perfect day to head to the beach! Maki picked us up at one of the monorail stops in town and we headed to Nago. Towards the northern end of the island, Nago is t...

Okinawa Day 2....WWII Memorials and family dinners.
2009-03-14, Okinawa, Japan. By: badgerjen

Day 2 of the trip dawned cold and rainy! Yuck! But determined to make the most of our trip, we got up and headed out by 11. We bought umbrellas and snacks at the konbini and headed to the bus station ...

Okinawa!!! Day 1
2009-03-13, Okinawa, Japan. By: badgerjen

I've had a week to try and put together my entry about Okinawa....Elena & I had such an amazing time!! It was great but far tooo short. Just not enough to get everything done that we wanted to do, but...

Graduation
2009-03-11, Mito, Japan. By: badgerjen

March 11th was graduation day at Futabadai Junior High and as many of you already know, I couldn't wait for this crop of students to graduate and be gone. May sound harsh but they tormented me all las...