Where are we??

This is a rundown on the Japanese obsession with theme parks. When we were driving to a town, famous for pottery, we found a sign reading ‘Porcelain Park’, so we drove among mountains for a few minutes before arriving. I was expecting to see some pottery machines and people making things but all we found were these buildings.

Due to the failing Japanese economy, the place was almost deserted and at least half of the shops and places of interest were permanently shut down. It was a bit like a ghost town, with maybe 50 people in the whole park. Very strange.

There are many theme parks in Japan. It is as if the Japanese people only get one week’s annual leave and therefore a Theme Park offers them a chance to see as much as possible in one hit without having to travel far. That is why cameras are so important to Japanese. They do not usually have a lot of time to relax in any one tourist venue and so the photos are important to relieve the moment.

Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan (like a movie world) are the popular ones. Other popular ones are Huis Ten Bosch, a Dutch theme park. It has cobblestone streets and brickwork to create a resort that has an atmosphere of Europe. There is also Space World and Harmony Land. Sanrio Character Park brings to life its many brand characters including the world famous Hello Kitty; and yes you can have your photo taken with Hello Kitty.

Other Japanese parks include Edo Wonderland, it recreates old streets and buildings of Japan. Spa Land, consists of hotels, hot springs, sport facilities, and lots more. The Steel Dragon 2000 is known as the world's longest coaster. It becomes a large water park in the summer!!

I have been to New Zealand Theme Park, it mainly had kiwi fruits and sheep, and I have also been to Monkey Park, a zoo with more monkeys than people.

So I guess I can start an Aussie Park with live AFL games with pies, fish and chips, and walk around in T-shirts and thongs teaching the locals to yell out Oi! Oi! Oi! The name of the Park will be ‘G’day Mate’ Land.

Unzen Jigoku

The Unzen Hot Spring is located at the foot of Mt. Unzen.
In the area, there is a place where high-temperature hot springs and steams spurt out which is called "Unzen Jigoku” (literally, "Unzen Hell") and the water is at boiling point. Because of the sulfur constituent, plants cannot grow here and the atmosphere dense with steam makes you think as if it is a scene right from hell.

Mt. Unzen is an active volcano that forms a part of the Shimabara Peninsula in the eastern part of Nagasaki prefecture.

Its dominant peak, the Fugendake, erupted from 1990 to 1995 which resulted in numerous deaths and injuries. Since the eruptive activity has currently come to an end, it is now possible to go hiking up this mountain except for some certain restricted areas.
(Info from www.kyushu-tourist.com/unzenjigoku.html)



This is specially made as a foot Spa. The water is not at boiling point, but is warm.
Please don't put your feet in one of the 'Jigoku' if you come to Japan or your feet might get scaleded!!!

NAGASAKI

Thursday 17th February, Mami and I headed South by car to the prefecture of Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu.

I have always wanted to go to the city of Nagasaki, which is the major city in the prefecture and had never got around to it on my previous trips to Japan.

Mami as usual did meticulous planning and timed our visit to coincide with the Festival of the Lanterns.

This is a Chinese celebration associated with the Chinese New Year, and as there is a large Chinese community in Nagasaki, it is a very festive time.

Chinese lanterns decorate the streets for two weeks during the festival and it is a major tourist attraction for the city of Nagasaki.

Traditionally, Japan was a very insular country and did not readily welcome gaijin (foreigners) but in 1571 the port of Nagasaki was declared an open port to foreigners who wished to settle or trade with the Japanese community. It was for many years the only such port in Japan.

It is now a very interesting city with British, Chinese and Portuguese influences apparent in the architecture, food, culture and celebrations.

More Snow!!!

We had a lot of snow today!!!! We loved it! It is the first time Rob has felt cold since we got here. Mind you it did get down to -5 degrees!!

dreams!!

We have a lot of reasons why Rob and I decided to live in Japan for 6 months. Today I felt I have achieved one of them.

As some of you know, my older sister Nana and I have never really been close. We are different in many ways. We have never been away together nor spent a lot of time in each other’s company and talked about boyfriends or other girl talk. It has not been like Lemone, Fiona or Elaine, who talk with their sisters and do things together. I would not have chosen my sister as my maid of honour even if she had been able to come to my wedding.

I was hoping I could fill the gap between my sister and me. I just wanted to do normal sisterly things like going shopping, going to café to chat and to talk about whatever.
It is with great happiness that I can tell you that I have already achieved all of these dreams. I will keep spending time with my sister doing sisterly things and hopefully we can keep in touch more frequently after I go back to Australia.

My family is well. They are very happy to have us and have been very accepting. My niece went to her primary school for orientation today. In Japan, the school year starts in April and there are no Preps so she will be in grade1 in April. She is very excited about it! Even though she is only my niece, not my daughter, I am thinking of going to the school and telling them she is gifted and talented and should be put in an accelerated class!! What do you think??

Sunday 6th February

Had a good day today. Mami and I and the family went to Yamaguchi City to check out the market they have there. It is quite big, selling everything from food, to used clothing to some valuable antiques. Even saw an Australian 50c coin amongst the coins for sale. I might try and flog some of my loose change while I'm there. about importing the small speakers shaped like anime characters from China and selling them for twice the price. No one else at the market had anything of a similar nature and I think she could do quite well given the Japanese love for anime and things electronic.

I did the drive home which took about an hour while Yoshi, Yoko and Yurina slept in the back seat and Mami was not far off joining them.

For dinner that night Yoko made a great meal. The highlight were her patties (they call them croquets) that were delicious and a varIety of salads. The meal topped off a great day.

Bean Throwing Festival

Today is Setsubun. Sestubun is a specil event to celebrate the change of seasons. This means a special dinner and a visit by an evil spirit (Mami's dad,Yoshi, dressed up to frighten Yurina) who we had to scare away by throwing soy beans at him and hitting him with swords made out of rolled up newspaper!! I kid you not!!We have a big, friendly Santa Claus and they have guys dressed up to scare the crap out of kids at kindergartens!! It was quite funny watching kids balling on the TV news as they were chased by the evil spirit.
The special dinner was green tea noodles. It was very nice, you don't really taste green tea in them at all!!(“Thank God” says Rob.)

Sometime in the next couple of weeks we are going to visit Nagasaki which is on the island of Kyushu. I was hoping they may have a museum or Peace Park like they do in Hiroshima but I have heard if they do it is very low key which is perhaps understandable. It is also has a very big ship industry in the port and an active volcano!! So there will be plenty to see.

Sorry I haven't written for a little while.
I haven’t been busy, it's just that we haven’t done anything interesting lately.
I have been looking for a job and applied for a short term shelving job at a craft shop, but it was so popular that didn’t want any more workers.
I also applied for an online translating job. You receive an email, translate in either English or Japanese and email them back. I did a test sample of the type of work they expect me to do, and I am still waiting to hear from the company.

As I have too much time in my hands, I have been planning a few trips in Japan. I would like to go with my family but they have jobs to consider and it has been difficult getting everyone together. However, I managed to plan a trip to Okinawa, the southern most island in Japan, at the end of Feb. Okinawa has a tropical climate therefore it is much warmer than the mainland.

We are planning to stay at a resort with 2 outdoor pools, one indoor pool and a golf course. There is also a spa on the hotel room balcony with an ocean view. (Meg, you are totally missing out!!!) Life is tough isn’t it?


I am thinking of my teaching friends who have gone back to work. Do I miss them? Yes I do. Do I miss being back to work? NO, I DON’T. Sorry!!

But for now, Rob is enjoying swimming and gym everyday, and I am enjoying planning trips and baking bread.

Mami