Well, that's settled

Kicking bag: 1
Big Toe: 0

The big toe lost a point for the long wait (2 -3 hours without an appointment) at the health clinic, but gained a point for being a clean break that's not on a joint.

On the plus side, I am now certain that I know where the clinic is. I have my little ID card. I can get through an exam and X-ray speaking little Japanese.

On the minus side, I have a broken toe - the only one that people seem to care about if it breaks. It's my right big toe, just above the joint. It's my first broken bone - ever. I have to go back in 2 weeks to make sure it hasn't moved out of position. I have to keep my weight off of it for a month. The doctor showed me how to walk funny with my toe held up to accomplish this. At least it's not crutches...we all know I'm WAY too stubborn for those to be an option. He gave me little anti-inflammatory bandages to wrap around it twice a day. I may pair them with some loose tape to keep them on and the toe semi-set. He offered me pain medicine. Honestly, the pain's not so bad that Tylenol can't take it out and I somehow managed to convey that I was still breastfeeding which made him retract his offer.

Speaking of stubborn, I'm still going to Tokyo Disneyland in a week. Chrys says he may rent me a wheelchair which excites me because that gets you moved ahead in the line in America. I'm also still planning on going to karate twice a week, but I won't contact anything with my foot and I won't do anything that requires me to move around much since it's hard to move well and keep your weight off of your toe. Hopefully it won't affect my belt test too much, but we'll see.

Japanese snacks

There is one thing that I am going to miss horribly about Japan - snack food.

You cannot beat a good box of Men's Pocky. Dark chocolate, pretzel stick...it's goodness in foil. Of course, that's only one of a dozen really great flavors of Pocky and we haven't touched the non-Glico brands.

Then there's Pretz. Pretzel sticks with flavoring. The current favorite is Maple & Butter.

Sesame crackers, potato sticks, bakeries everywhere, fresh fruit galore (always in season)...I could thrive on snacks alone, I'm sure of it.

Then there's onigiri. Yummy stuff (mostly) wrapped in rice and seaweed. A couple of them make a great meal.

I haven't managed a personal relationship with azuki beans or chestnut paste, even though I'm sure they're better for me. Rice crackers, I can take or leave. Nevertheless, the 'snack' options here never cease to amaze me and leave me waiting for my stomach to growl...just the tiniest bit.

Request time

It's that time. We're over 50% of our way through our tenure and it's time to start collecting stuff to bring back for people. This is your big chance. What do you want from Japan for Christmas? I'm not Santa, but I'll see what I can do.

Somebody's butt's getting kicked

...and it may well be mine.

I started karate a couple of months ago. My tutor helped me find a dojo in one of the prep schools that holds classes twice a week, in the evenings. The classes are pretty informal, mostly for sport. Most of the kids are less than 10 years old. Better yet, one of the sensei is an American so I'm not completely lost.

The classes are free since I'm an adult. I had to buy a dogi (my uniform), but that was only about $200. It and my belt are embroidered with my name...in kana. They're so cool.

The first few classes hurt...a lot. I am slowly getting better. The movements are feeling more natural. My knees don't scream near as much. My flexibility is improving (though I started out better than the other adults in my class). I can do a few more situps and pushups than I could before (though my sensei was laughing at me tonight when I could barely do a cruch for the last few situps).

I don't get picked on as much as the kids do. The Japanese sensei doesn't bother with me much and the American one likes to talk to me quietly. I was pretty amused when the Japanese one swatted my leg on Wednesday to tell me I had it in the wrong place. Were I 20 years younger, I would have had it yanked out from under me so I consider myself lucky.

They spar pretty regularly in class. I did my first bit this week - against a black belt - and it went pretty well. I punched and didn't contact; she contacted (gently) and apologized profusely.

When I started, they told me I would be lucky to get a colored belt by the end of the year. I am just fine with that.

Last week, my Japanese sensei explained that he wanted me to be at least a brown belt by the end of the year. I think he must have lost his mind. Mike, the American sensei, says I can do it. I have much less faith, but I'm certainly willing to try.

Hydrangea season

As the azaleas started to taper off, we began seeing hydrangeas everywhere.

There are two varieties: one has a full cap of flowers and the other has a perimeter of large petals with smaller flowers in the middle. I see more of the full cap variety around here.

They come in an amazing array of colors. As I take Chrys to work, I drive past a bunch of them. The ones at the top of the hill are a rich royal blue. As we continue, they go through lighter blues, purples, pinks. At the bottom, they are the palest shade of lavender and pink - almost white. It's amazing.

I can't wait to see the next array of flowers. Japan's flora just keeps astounding me.

Gone so soon?

Fyoire left us in all too short a time. Nevertheless, we did a lot in the time she was here. I think she saw a decent part of our piece of Japan and that's something most foreigners won't get to. We spent a couple of days in the Hamanomachi arcade and did venture to the Hypocenter Park. We spent some time in Omura. We also took random drives around town to see bridges and other points of interest. She shopped for all of her friends and her new doll.

We shopped for lots of fabric and she learned how to iron and use a sewing machine so she could make her first dragon. She got him probably 85% done while she was here and he was impressive to behold.

I miss my playmate terribly. She has grown into an amazing young woman and everything I could ask for in a younger sister. She is fun to talk to and lots of fun to pal around with. I think of her as a friend. I am very lucky to know her.

I cannot wait for Roo to grow up and get to know her aunt. She will be a great influence and lots of fun to boot.

Fukuoka Revisited

We decided that Fyoire should get a trip to the beach, too. She apparently had great fun explaining her vacation-within-a-vacations to her friends. She spent quite a few hours on the beach on Saturday and Sunday, despite the rain. She brought back sand for us to clean and use in her dragon so he'll have even more of Japan in him.

We went and got yummy pizza again. We also ate Chinese food...ohhhh Chinese food.

The restaurant was buffet style. They had these neat little tray like plates that had 6 smallish compartments for you to sample bunches of things without them comingling. Beef sauteed with avocado, sweet and sour pork, spring rolls, fried rice, dumplings and frozen strawberry Fanta - "who could ask for anything more?" I don't think I ate anything that didn't taste good. We even sampled what we decided were rose and jasmine teas. (and Fyoire snagged one of each to take back to a friend...sssshhhh) I now must eat more Chinese food here - tis that good.

We stopped by Japanese outlets - Marinoa City. It was a pretty typical outlet-like mall. We got Fyoire an Engrish shirt (Life Requires Gentleness...) and I snagged another one as a gift for Kyosuke. I got to try on some new slings at Babies R Us (they actually had a sling department). Unfortunately, Roo wasn't too keen on the net one that I wanted for summer so we came home empty handed. There was even an import shop that had some Doritos, Cherry/Vanilla Coke, etc. We got lime and pineapple haichuu there.

It was a nice, relaxed trip. I look forward to our next visit since we still have MUCH to explore there.

Mitsui Greenland

Last weekend we made a trip to Mitsui Greenland with Fyoire. She had never been to an amusement park before - GASP! - so we had to remedy that. This one came well recommended from friends.

In our quest to go places where there have been pretty major earthquakes, we were off to Kumamoto (we actually felt a few shocks from that one that shook the doors and woke Chrys and I up, but didn't bother anyone else). We drove down to the Shimabara Peninsula, took the Ariake Ferry to the other side of the bay and we were off. Roo loved the ride on the ferry - wind, water, jellyfish - oh my!

We got there around 12:30, checked in to the Hotel Blanca. They let us into our room immediately and it was pretty nice - 4 beds, deep Japanese bath, A/C. They also gave us our tickets to the garden area of the park (no rides). We walked out the door, past the foot spa (ahhh) and into the park. I love on site hotels!

From there, we got our wristbands and we were off to the rides. The wristbands were cool barcode things. All we had to do was flash them at the entrance, they scanned and we were waved on. Awesome system, since only those that want to ride have to buy bands/tickets and it's much cheaper to just get simple admission tickets.

There wasn't much for Roo to do, even though they had a long list of things that were ok for the under 2 crowd. We didn't seem to stumble across any interesting ones. She did get to go on the 'horseys' (carousel) and that made her day.

Fyoire and I, on the other hand, rode every roller coaster in that park. Some twice. Sooooo freaking cool. I need more roller coaster friendly people to visit me so I can go back - any takers? - Did I mention, yet, that there were NO lines for anything?! Chrys took pictures and hung out with Roo and Owl (since Chrys and Owl don't really like roller coasters).

Chrys and Fyoire went on the giant slide. I'm told that was great fun. I can do coasters just fine. I'm packed into a box with no control and I like it. However, put me on a cart on a slide and I'm going to be a BIG wuss.

After many hours in the park, we stopped at the foot spa. It was a little cool for our tastes, but nice after a long walk. That night we had dinner that Chrys cooked on an open grill embedded in the table (I think it's called Shabu Shabu). It was fun and tasted great. Beef, veggies, great sauce. Mmm mmm...

Then we slept - hard. Got up the next morning for breakfast at the hotel - nice Japanese/Western combo buffet - and went on our way.

Shimabara (now with Fyoire)

Ok...so I never actually talked about our first trip to Shimabara. I took Fyoire down there so I'll cover that.

We went to the Castle. It's a neat walking tour. The primary display is all relics of Christian persecution from the area. It's kind of neat to look at. I wish I could read more of the signage to understand all of it. They also have a really neat display of Samurai armor that's great fun to walk through. Another floor has pictures of various Japanese castles around the ceiling.

There are 4 or 5 buildings on the grounds. The main castle is 5 floors, I think. The top is an observation deck that's kind of neat to look from. There's another that has antique household and farming goods. One with statues, including prototypes of the Peace Statue that's in the Nagasaki Peace Park. One has more current things in it, but we didn't fo there this time. There's also a small temple and another little 2 room tatami house that's behind the castle.

After we finished there, we went to the arcade. It's nothing too special. We stopped at the foot bath, though. Bliss! We happily soaked our feet in water that was so hot our skin turned bright red in an instant. Roo kept trying to put her feet in, too, only to pull them back with a wince as soon as the tender bottoms hit the surface of the water. It was delightful. Our feet felt fresh and happy for the rest of the day despite the walking we did. I want to do that over and over again.

We also drank from the springs in the arcade where the water is cool. It was delicious and crisp with a slight aftertaste (maybe the sulfur). Roo wanted LOTS of that.

Then it was time to come home, where we learned that it takes twice as long to get back as to get there - oops! Too bad Roo didn't sleep that round.