Dinner and a half

One (very) large sashimi set and a tempura set. Mr Ishii and I shared them, and he got away with the bill again. I ate some giant sea snail I've never seen before. It tasted like a snail.

Oh I do love to be beside the seaside

The view from my ryokan window, overlooking Karo fishing port.

I am the only guest tonight. Which means that the two onsen baths on the top floor are ALL MINE.

GAME OVER

Mr Ishii brought me to a "recycle shop" near my ryokan. Kimono and yukata for as little as 300 yen! I wanted so much stuff I left with nothing. He's taking me back after dinner, the shop is open until 11pm. This kind of thing makes me want to live here...

Dune!

Mr Ishii met me at the station and we had lunch followed by a trip to a local craft museum and sand sculpture museum. And we climbed the dunes!

I've been doing it wrong all this time

I accidentally bought a "carry-around" bread. There's a pun going on with "mochi-aruki" (to walk around carrying something) and "mocchi" (describing a soft, chewy texture) being combined into "mocchi-aruki", but beyond that I couldn't tell you what's special about it.

Please note the illustration is just a suggestion. Maybe non-singing men can eat it too? I'm sure the bread police will appear if I eat it sitting down on the train.

And we're off

My first improper breakfast of the trip, snatched at a convenience store between the hotel and Nagoya Station.

And it's the first long-distance train journey of the trip, four hours on a Kodama bullet train to Shin-Osaka and then the Super Hakuto limited express to Tottori.

Another first, the Kodama is completely non-reserved except first class. Like a normal train, except completely not.

Now this takes me back

The train back from Akechi to Ena has a few students on board, chatting to or ignoring each other. They could well be from the school I used to teach at (although the name and uniform have changed since then).

I was able to meet both Akiko and Tomoko, which was great. They both have small children and it was a flying visit, but I'm really glad I had the chance to see them.

Akechi station sells used tickets as souvenirs. I got one for Iwamura and one for Yamaoka.

Meeting hopefully three more teachers tonight for dinner - definitely a better result than last year!

Back to the past

After an hour in Iwamura, I'm back on the Akechi line to meet Akiko, another of the teachers I used to work with.

I remember what I thought the first time I came to Gifu - green, green and more green.

Fire

Imamura No.2 fire station, crewed by volunteers if I remember correctly. Mind you, I didn't even know there were two stations. I knew nothing about anything when I was here.

I can't figure out where I used to live. I will probably get horribly lost if I try to find it, so I'll stay on the tourist route for now.

And Kawai's restaurant is still there, in front of the station.

Biting off more than you can chew

It looked smaller in the photo.

I can't explain this

Having both "horse foot" and "horse fat" on the packaging doesn't help.

You might want to retranslate that

I think you want to say "no additives".

Not blackface, I swear

Charcoal face pack. Really.

All this for only 100 yen!!

I'm back in Ena with nothing to do, so it's time for the yearly 100 yen shop raid.

Nothing changes

Back in Akechi after... 10 years? More? It hasn't changed much, but cheerfully full of day trippers.

Nom

Basically a creme caramel with a hint of soba tea flavour, especially in the liquid caramel. I could eat it again. Daily if neccessary.

Nagoya chicken

Cooked! (Old family joke.) Chicken and egg over rice with a side dish of soba in hot soup with tiny shrimp.

And they have a soba tea pudding. I've never had one before. It is my solemn duty.

I see what you did there

For a moment, I thought the Akechi line was gone... This local goods/souvenir shop is new (to me) and I couldn't see the station. The building on the left is the station entrance.

Ena hasn't changed much. My hotel is behind the home center where I bought a suitcase once after mine disintegrated at the school I was teaching at right before I went to the airport to go home for Xmas.

What's posh for nom?

Today's very nice and fancy lunch at Cepages on the 51st floor of JR Towers in Nagoya.

The height of something

Yes, I'm in Loft again.

Double win

Win on the view, win on the food. Next stop, aquarium.

Kyoto cider

Better known outside of Japan as lemonade.

Table with a view!

I wandered into the restaurant beside the steam train museum for a late lunch. Good choice. ^_^

Choo choo!

At the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum! Just gone on the steam train ride (slow and short with walls on either side - you won't miss much if you just watch it pull in). There's a new aquarium in the same park, which is ideal for hot weather sightseeing.

In other news, 初めてナンパされました. Kazuya helped me find the right bus at Kyoto Station, then decided he'd tag along... He got the message when I refused to hold hands on the train, and dissappeared after I asked him if he was bored. Well, one more Japan experience I can cross off the list.

Late, late, late

The very impressive Kamigamo-jinja shrine. The main hall closes at 4pm so I didn't get to see that, but worth the long bus ride.

Neither is a good idea

Alcohol-free stout, in a hamburger restaurant whose name loosely translates as "surprised donkey". Or it could be "surprise, donkey". I didn't ask.

They have calorie values next to every meal, and the option of a natto burger if you want something less calorific.

Finally

After so many evenings spent hanging aroud Gion with my homestay father, I finally saw a geisha. 16 of them.

I haven't turned into some kind of traditional artist stalker, I've just seen the 175th Kamogawa Odori geisha dance performance at the Ponto-cho Kaburenjo. I definitely recommend it - I've seen Japanese traditional dance before and was just confused, but the way the geisha move is fascinating. There are moves that seem aborted, or like a faint or stagger, and the occaisional stamp, all carried out with grace and intent. Every face is different, and the white makeup transforms them. The sets are amazing, and the singers and musicians made me appreciate traditional Japanese music too where I hadn't before.

Game over

I found a huge craft shop under Kyoto Tower. I'm glad I only carry that day's budget with me..

Please reimport

I'll buy them. All of them...

Turn back now

Kyoto's finest seal off the roads as the Aoi Matsuri prepares to leave Shimogawa Jinja.

Hollyhock festival

I arrived late but managed to see the procession over heads and through trees. Surprisingly quiet.

Nom!

Enjoying a sweet potato cake after visiting the National Museum.

Nom!

Japanese-style omu-rice with mushrooms. (Is there any other style of omu-rice?)

Nooo...

100 yen shop out of shiso seeds. (I actually didn't know they sold them at all.)

The harder they fall

Sitting in Kyoto Station, listening to the students beside me and amazed smoking is still allowed...

My rail pass is valid from today, but it won't get much of a workout right now - the Aoi Matsuri (Hollyhock Festival) has been postponed until tomorrow due to rain so I'm planning on doing some indoor things. Nobuko is hoping to come in later so we can go to the national museum together.

Other news: I have my ticket for Kodo in Osaka on the 26th! There is wifi in Kyoto Station but it's so unstable as to be unusable. I should be able to get tickets for the geisha dances at Kamogawa later today. And my case hates me - the wheels aren't behaving, and as I was going through the ticket gate to meet Nobuko the front wheels locked up and as I was pushing it from behind I went over it like a rider thrown from a horse. Graceful.

Wish

My chariot - a Nozomi service on the Tokaido Shinkansen line. This is a rare experience for me, as I normally travel with the Japan Rail Pass and it doesn't cover the Nozomi. Taking a Hikari or Kodama would be cheaper, but there wasn't one for nearly another hour and I promised I'd be in Kyoto at 6:30.

Sweet!

Honey and black sesame cake after lunch with Hisako.

Not watertight...

Water seems to have made its way into my case, probably when I was getting drenched on the way to the station yesterday. My gifts are looking less than givable...

Send in the dogs

And towers and... zombies?

Correction

I'm not running for my flight. Occasionally, I drop the 1 from 24-hour time and read it as 12-hour time but 2 hours late, or subtract 2 hours when I shouldn't. Thankfully, this was the latter. I have 2h40m at Helsinki, not 40mins. We landed only 4 minutes late anyway.

The message I get from Helsinki Vantaa airport is, anything you like with a Moomin on it, and a selection of lots of other nice things as well. I thought I'd seen plenty of Moomin merchandise, then I found the Moomin Shop. If I'm not bankrupt by the time I'm on my way back from Japan I can definitely spend a few Euro here. There is a little too much salted liquorice around for my tastes, but some delicious-looking coffes, teas, sweets and chocolates too. And they make use of and sell every part of the reindeer...

There are also an awful lot of tractors on the tarmac - pulling luggage and even towing small planes. Vantaa is surprisingly quiet - elegant, full of nice-looking restaurants and shops selling well designed and/or designer wares, but still quiet.

Hold it right there

Captain has announced a 25 minute delay... I think I've got about 50 mins to transfer at Helsinki. The plane is virtually silent, and I wish they'd stop blowing cold air through the vents (still not dried out).

It seems my hand luggage is mostly but not completely waterproof - my Open University coursebook is swollen and curled with water at the side and corners.

Another announcement - switch off!

Nostalgia

Finland must be Shengen - no-one is
even remotely interested in my passport. I had a near miss when my luggage receipt tag fell off my boarding pass as I was walking around before security, but a lady walking behind me saw it drop and gave it back to me.

I managed to get the same nice unversal adapter plus USB charger that David got from work in duty free (I completely forgot he's going to Pittsburh tomorrow and will need it himself). It was even vaguely reasonably priced. I need to punch a hole in in it for the 3-prong Swiss plug, but after practising on the sealed heavy plastic cover that the adapter came in, I should be okay. Never underestimate a biro and desperation.

The plane has vintage Finnair livery to celebrate 85 years since the airline was founded, or as the stewardess cheerfully said, "it's just the makeup".

Next stop, Helsinki.

We're all going on a summer holiday...

Not the best start - I decided to put my rain jacket in my case, the weather decides to rain torrentially for the five minutes it takes me to get to the station. Fleece, trousers, shoes soaked through and hair dripping wet... here's hoping it burned off any bad luck for the trip!

International

Well, I've been neglecting you again. My excuses this time, I've been working flat-out and/or in Dublin with my parents for most of this year so far. Both of which are Good Things, but they have left very little time for other things (except for my Open University studies, I submitted the end of course assignments for Empire of the Microbes and Molecules, Medicines and Drugs last week!).

The main thing I've done since the last update, other than being in Dublin, is go to Geneva to meet a friend who's just starting a new job there and helping her to get set up in a new city. It was nice to be able to Do Things with my oh-so-rusty French (and doubly frustrating to come back to Zurich with my non-existent German). We crossed the border every evening and morning as she's staying in a hotel just inside France.

Sunset in France.

The UN at the far side of a plaza with fountains and a broken-chair sculpture. I'm sure it means something very profound.

I hung out in the sunshine in this park, which seems to be dedicated to the massacres in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Srebrenica. You can't see it that well in this picture, but there's a sculpture of a gun with its muzzle tied in a knot.

Other than that, the materials for my next set of OU courses have arrived! I have fat coursebooks for Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis (plus a 'Teach Yourself' book), Understanding Human Nutrition, Human Genetics and Health Issues (plus a DVD) and Living Without Oil: Chemistry for a Sustainable Future. I'm still wondering if I made the right last-minute choice to go with nutrition instead of nuclear energy, but I'm looking forward to the course anyway. The plan is to do two courses (probably genetics and nutrition) for the first deadline, and the other two (seismology and alternative energy) for the second deadline in October. And then... the mammoth Introduction to Science course, unless I decide by then that I'm not going into scientific translation.

And I'm going to Japan next weekend. I keep forgetting that. I ordered my currency early yesterday morning and it turned up at 08:15 this morning (when I was still in bed. Swiss Post is too efficient at times). I will need to spend tomorrow shopping for gifts. The to-do list has got to get shorter soon!

Nooooo!

I have no idea how this happened. I used the mixing bowl two days ago (more on that in a moment) and it was fine - I went to wash it up today and this crack was there. It didn't crack while I washing it, it was just there when I picked it up to wash it. I immediately went out and bought another one of the same, as although it's more than I'd like to pay for one it's a good size, has an anti-slip ring on the base and is available in the supermarket around the corner.

Two days ago, I tried making the amazing Post Punk Kitchen's green tea cupcakes, but using 'mocha' yoghurt (basically coffee with chocolate flakes) instead of plain yoghurt and coffee granules in place of green tea powder. It didn't work. They weren't cooked enough when I took them out, and I was in the middle of making something else (by the same author, but low fat and savoury) so I didn't check. When I came back to them later, several had collapsed in the middle like souffles, and they were all quite soggy. Himself suggested cutting them up and using them in something else.

I took that idea and ran with it. Ladies and gentlemen, with the addition of double cream and mascarpone and a bit of cocoa powder, I give you my first homemade tiramisu. We'll both need some exercise after this.

End of an era

I no longer remember when I bought this stationery set. I remember where I bought it - in Kiddlyland in Tokyo, along with a whole load of other Nyanko products including a little soft toy key ring Nyanko beer and Nyanko ebi-furai that himself still has somewhere. I'm pretty sure there was a Nyanko in a gyoza that you could unwrap too.

I guess this means more crazy stationery for me when I go to Japan again in May/June. Oh, the pain.

(For those not familiar with Nyanko, they are cats in food. Yes, you read that right.)

My chemical life

After working on patents for three months of last year, I found myself fascinated by reading up on genetics for some of the translations. One thing led to another... first Genetics for Dummies and Chemistry for Dummies... then courses on chemistry and biotechnology for translators... and to crown it all, I signed up for some entry-level courses with the Open University!

After signing up on Sunday, the materials for SK185: Molecules, Medicines and Drugs and S171: Empire of the Microbes arrived by courier today. I wonder if I'd have gone further in chemistry at school if I had a playset like this.

Oh, hi there

Have I really not posted anything since we got back from Japan? I suppose I haven't, or it would be here. I finally got the pile of stuff I brought back but didn't have anywhere to put off the floor last weekend, even if I did resort to creating a 'things to do/find a place for' box.

We spent the end of November and December catching up on work, or in my case deliberately not thinking about work and just doing what came in. I ended up relaxing followed by a crazy seven days - including working straight through a weekend - before we went to the Canary Islands for Christmas. It was a shock to get back to Zurich, particularly when our cases with our coats in them didn't make the connecting flight in Madrid. We stayed in listening to the freezing rain for New Year and I'm now getting ready for a trip back to the UK for some translation events.

We did get out a bit, and I picked up some nice promotional postcards for a Japanese-themed bakery (which I haven't been to yet) and a cabaret in Zurich.