We have just received great news that our friends Matt and Hils have had a healthy baby boy named Miles.
Congratulations!!! おめでとうございます
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Goodbye Gary!
Last Saturday one of the teachers left to return to Vancouver. He has been with the school for over two years and he will be sorely missed by all of us.
He is heading to Vancouver with his wife Yoshie. It will be quite an adventure because Yoshie is pregnant and Gary has yet to secure employment. However, they are two wonderful people and we know that they will have no problems!!!!
Best of luck to the Loucks!
He is heading to Vancouver with his wife Yoshie. It will be quite an adventure because Yoshie is pregnant and Gary has yet to secure employment. However, they are two wonderful people and we know that they will have no problems!!!!
Best of luck to the Loucks!
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Ohgiya - an Izakaya
I have decided to try a different post style. Occasionally I am going to write a post that helps to understand some regular part of our lives here in Hamamatsu. They may seem a little boring but it is as much a diary entry for us as info for the readers.
I'll start with an average trip to Ohgiya.
Ohgiya is an izakaya. An informal drinking and eating establishment. It is conveniently placed between our flat (I am making a conscious effort to stop using the word apartment) and our place of work. This makes it a very tempting way point on our journey home after a long day. It has an area without permanent walls on two sides. In the summer this area is open to the street and in the winter it is protected by a heavy-duty shower curtain. The tables are small solid wood lumps surrounded by simple stools. As you enter staff shout 'Irashaimase!' (something like 'welcome') and one staff member will approach you to find out how many people are in your group. If seating space is available you are shown to it. The clientele at this particular venue is unusually varied. It is not unusual to see a mixture of Japanese (young and old) and gaikokujin (teachers, factory workers and professional drinkers). The atmosphere is relaxed and certainly not a place that salarymen would take important clients. It is cheap, one of the biggest draws. The beer is about one pound fifty for a glass that contains approximately 350ml of draught beer (varies massively though, the head can be anything from 2% to 50% of the glass). Other drinks that are popular with us are nihon shu (sake), sho chu (paint thinner), appuru saua (apple sour- an interesting collection of colourings and flavourings that produces mild intoxication), and ume shu soda (previously mentioned- the plum drink).
Although we usually order the same food every time, we often ask for eigo no menyu at ohgiya. Not many places have such a useful bit of paper. It's the menu in english and it is interesting to read the translations and be tempted by the dishes such as burnt gristle and bottom meat.
Our standard dishes are edamame (salted green soy beans - a great beer snack), daikon sarada (giant radish salad), yakitori (barbecued/grilled chicken on a stick), yaki onigiri, (barbecued rice ball). Something like a single stick of grilled chicken costs less than 50p. The service is polite and quite speedy. You pay at the till and it is worth checking the bill if you have been part of a large group because they have been known to make mistakes (not insignificant ones). We have had very few bad nights at Ohgiya which, considering the number of times we have been there, is surprising. I think they are a national chain and when looking for something cheap and cheerful we are both happy to call in at other Ohgiya venues. If anyone is in Hamamatsu and wants a no-frills evening then you could do a lot worse than this place!
I'll start with an average trip to Ohgiya.
Ohgiya is an izakaya. An informal drinking and eating establishment. It is conveniently placed between our flat (I am making a conscious effort to stop using the word apartment) and our place of work. This makes it a very tempting way point on our journey home after a long day. It has an area without permanent walls on two sides. In the summer this area is open to the street and in the winter it is protected by a heavy-duty shower curtain. The tables are small solid wood lumps surrounded by simple stools. As you enter staff shout 'Irashaimase!' (something like 'welcome') and one staff member will approach you to find out how many people are in your group. If seating space is available you are shown to it. The clientele at this particular venue is unusually varied. It is not unusual to see a mixture of Japanese (young and old) and gaikokujin (teachers, factory workers and professional drinkers). The atmosphere is relaxed and certainly not a place that salarymen would take important clients. It is cheap, one of the biggest draws. The beer is about one pound fifty for a glass that contains approximately 350ml of draught beer (varies massively though, the head can be anything from 2% to 50% of the glass). Other drinks that are popular with us are nihon shu (sake), sho chu (paint thinner), appuru saua (apple sour- an interesting collection of colourings and flavourings that produces mild intoxication), and ume shu soda (previously mentioned- the plum drink).
Although we usually order the same food every time, we often ask for eigo no menyu at ohgiya. Not many places have such a useful bit of paper. It's the menu in english and it is interesting to read the translations and be tempted by the dishes such as burnt gristle and bottom meat.
Our standard dishes are edamame (salted green soy beans - a great beer snack), daikon sarada (giant radish salad), yakitori (barbecued/grilled chicken on a stick), yaki onigiri, (barbecued rice ball). Something like a single stick of grilled chicken costs less than 50p. The service is polite and quite speedy. You pay at the till and it is worth checking the bill if you have been part of a large group because they have been known to make mistakes (not insignificant ones). We have had very few bad nights at Ohgiya which, considering the number of times we have been there, is surprising. I think they are a national chain and when looking for something cheap and cheerful we are both happy to call in at other Ohgiya venues. If anyone is in Hamamatsu and wants a no-frills evening then you could do a lot worse than this place!
Friday, October 20, 2006
My wifey now Dave
On the left you can see a picture from a traditional Korean Nobleman's house. The unusual item in the centre is a bamboo wife. Yep 'wife'... Men would sleep holding them fondly. They keep the sleeper cool allowing air to circulate. They really were thought of as part of the family and could not be shared with other people. When the owner died the inanimate wife would be buried with them. 
Woohoooo!
We are settled back in Japan!!!!!!
It has been stupidly long but the whole visa saga is now over. We have official permission from Japanese Immigration to work in Japan for up to three years.
Now, here as promised are some photo's.
It has been stupidly long but the whole visa saga is now over. We have official permission from Japanese Immigration to work in Japan for up to three years.
Now, here as promised are some photo's.
Monday, October 16, 2006
The end may be in sight...
We have finally received our certificates!!!!!!! We are heading to the Embassy in Seoul tomorrow morning.......
If everything goes well then we will be back in Japan on Wednesday.
Fingers crossed!
If everything goes well then we will be back in Japan on Wednesday.
Fingers crossed!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Things could be worse....
Sitting in the hostel on the PC next to me was an Irish girl who had been quite excited about a job she had found in Korea. She was crying because she had just visited Korean immigration to get her Visa extended. They told her that she had overstayed by six weeks already (she had read the wrong line on her visa). There is a fine of up to 50 quid a day, deportation and a ban on re-entry. I suddenly felt like our problems were nothing in comparison.
Anyway to lighten the mood.... on the right you can see a Korean delicacy- silkworm pupae. I can't describe the taste but it is almost as bad as it smells. It is famed for its nutritional values... definitely not for taste reasons.
Still in the land of Kimchi - Thanks for all your support!
Thanks to everyone who has been in touch.
Wow... what a time to be in South Korea... Nuclear tests, North Korean incursions, shots fired... As you can tell we are still here. Japanese immigration are still looking into our documentation supposedly. As neither of us has done anything remotely dodgy (apart from growing my beard) we know they are just being complete a**e-ho*es.
We cannot deny that we have had some great times in Korea but the lack of control and the open-ended situation has left us feeling exhausted and looking forward to a bit of normality.
In the meantime we have plenty of time on our hands so I will be doing some monster posts...
Wow... what a time to be in South Korea... Nuclear tests, North Korean incursions, shots fired... As you can tell we are still here. Japanese immigration are still looking into our documentation supposedly. As neither of us has done anything remotely dodgy (apart from growing my beard) we know they are just being complete a**e-ho*es.
We cannot deny that we have had some great times in Korea but the lack of control and the open-ended situation has left us feeling exhausted and looking forward to a bit of normality.
In the meantime we have plenty of time on our hands so I will be doing some monster posts...
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Reset my account...
Ok so we can post again!
We are in Korea. In a lovely town called Gyeongju. It is a crazy mix of tellytubby land and a big graveyard. Photos will follow to help to explain what I mean. Old Silla dynasty kings were laid to rest in a thing similar to a pyramid (except rounded and covered in grass) and this town is full of them.
We are staying in Korea for a few more days then going by ferry back to Japan (For a nice holiday with Rob and Fumi). Then we are coming back to seoul to complete the misery of Visa cr*p.
Sorry for the lack of posts but it has been extremely manic recently. Hopefully immigration in Fukuoka wont give us any trouble when we come back into Japan as tourists but who knows....
We are in Korea. In a lovely town called Gyeongju. It is a crazy mix of tellytubby land and a big graveyard. Photos will follow to help to explain what I mean. Old Silla dynasty kings were laid to rest in a thing similar to a pyramid (except rounded and covered in grass) and this town is full of them.
We are staying in Korea for a few more days then going by ferry back to Japan (For a nice holiday with Rob and Fumi). Then we are coming back to seoul to complete the misery of Visa cr*p.
Sorry for the lack of posts but it has been extremely manic recently. Hopefully immigration in Fukuoka wont give us any trouble when we come back into Japan as tourists but who knows....
Friday, August 18, 2006
Living.... NOT IN JAPAN
Unfortunately our employers made a mistake with our visa applications and this means that we can only stay in Japan for two more weeks........ No joke.
This will mean that most of the money we have saved this year will have to be spent on a trip out of Japan while they sort it all out. We think we are going to Korea but going by our recent luck we will probably end up in North Korea rather than South. I'm going to scream a few more times and bang my head on a brick wall until everything is magically better.
This will mean that most of the money we have saved this year will have to be spent on a trip out of Japan while they sort it all out. We think we are going to Korea but going by our recent luck we will probably end up in North Korea rather than South. I'm going to scream a few more times and bang my head on a brick wall until everything is magically better.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
What are they drinking at the Pepsi marketing dept?
Whatever it is... it isn't Pepsi.
These are the ads being shown on TV for the latest diet drink from Pepsi - NEX.
click here
These are the ads being shown on TV for the latest diet drink from Pepsi - NEX.
click here
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Pepsi Carnival / Pepushi Kaanibaru
The camp-est cola in town. PePuShi KaaNiBaRu. Good ol' Pepushi with the taste of tropical fruits. Could you ever see this bottle design catching on in the UK? I'm a fairly easy sell on new soft drink flavours but it really isn't bad (not as good as Pepsi Red though).
Friday, July 21, 2006
Regular readers may recall....
... the new year departure of a filling. Well... after the initial pain it didn't hurt so much and due to my strong dislike of dentists I kind of ignored it.... This decision has come back and bitten me (so to speak). The pain is now incredible, making one side of my face feel slightly numb and my whole head feel like a facehugger's spawn has taken temporary residence in my jaw and is looking to move on soon. I had previously posted that paracetomol was not available in Japan. The pain made me search a little harder and I discovered that acetomenophen is what it is called in the USA and it's sold under the brand name Tylenol. I found tylenol in my local pharmacy. Five quid for 20 300mg tablets!!!!! I bought them anyway. I have the number for a local english speaking dentist and I will be visiting him in the near future. AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGH!
Here are some pics from our recent trip to Takayama and Hida.....
Here are some pics from our recent trip to Takayama and Hida.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)