And Finally Some Pictures

Hey everybody,

My apologies for the last post. That's what I get for not having my own connection... I think it posts, but it doesn't. Oh well.

So, besides a quick update, this should include some of the pictures I've been neglecting to update and post for everyone.

Last week was my birthday. It was odd having it away from home for the first time in as many years. But, I did manage to find some decent company around the town, mainly consisting of the other English teachers I've run into at the supermarket or shopping for housing wares. They also planned the late Halloween costume party which was its main them, so that got two done with one party. Generally a fun and fantastic evening. Pics below should everything go well.

I've been having some foot trouble on and off for the last few months. When I went to Nikko the other month, got rained out and consequently had everything wet, including my shoes, and my feet got infected with something. I thought it was a reaccurance of some athlete's foot I had back in the day (which hadn't made an appearance for awhile for my usual treatment), but the usual treatment of tea tree oil wasn't doing it. They eventually got infected and then I decided to see a doctor.

So, finding out about the Japanese medical institution has been interesting. The doctor at the general clinic my friends at work refered me to was an interesting fellow. The friends spoke of him tentatively though, using a word (I can't remember right now) that translated as "dreadful." Luckily, he wasn't so bad. Spoke enough English to get by with my bad Japanese luckily. He essentially said the foot meds I had been using had caused it (which I am skeptical) and it wasn't athlete's foot (which I quite agreed) and that it was some kind of other dermatitis (oh fun). After that, some antibiotics and other anti-inflamatories (god knows what kinds), and a B2 vitamin (for the antibiotics), and some various cremes (again with god knowing) and my foot got better. They're like new, almost.

Except, after the party, the other one (one was more infected than the other, though they both had something in the beginning) got re-ifecte. Blame the alcohol, or whatever, but last week was another one of hobbling from class to class and wearing sandles so my feet could at least fit in a shoe. But, another round of antibiotics seems to have done the trick again.

Now, to figure out what's up with my chi and get it realigned. Something chronic going on perhaps. Oh well.

But, enough about my feet.

I did learn that my work visa has been approved. No word yet when it will actually show up, but my company said sometime this month (oh, yay...). Then, another week for the foreginer registration card to come... and then I can be a real boy. Get me a cell phone, internet, and... er,... um... get legally paid... yeah.

I've also been slacking on doing my nanowrimo attempt. Got somewhere around 15,000 words and have been entirely lazy about doing it regularly. Must do so. Tomorrow's a holiday in all of Saitama Prefecture, so here's hoping I get to at least a good stint of it.

I've got two RPG groups to attend as well, with plenty of other opportunities awaiting, though most of them a fair bit away. One is currently playing a game called Polaris, which is very interesting and a bit hard to play, but very enjoyable. The other is a Shadowrun game with a bunch of hippies who don't want to kill anyone, myself included. We'll see how they go.

Learned there's an Aikido group in town that meets at the Fukaya Big Turtle at some point, so I'm hoping to get to that once my foot's good enough and they'll let me in (with my pending gaijin card). Still need to get more than the bike commute's worth of exercise though. More yoga for sure, but perhaps some jogging is in order. The winter is beginning to set in rather good now and I wouldn't want to fatten up too much.

Otherwise, not much else to report.

On to the pictures:

First, I went to Nikko back in late September. Nikko is a good two or so hours by train from Tokyo, which I went through in order to get a better ticket price. Nice place. Best known for the fall colors, and a decent place to see the spring ones as well--it also has a large congregation of natural hot-springs, making it a tourist attraction for locals and internationals alike. Spendy, but that didn't stop me.

I got a late start on Friday so got there late at night. Took the last bus as far as it would go, which got me in the middle of no-where's-ville and a little hot-spring resort with not much else. Not even a convenience store, which is hard to do here. Dipped my feet in an outdoor foot dipping place. Found that and eventually befriended a young couple who were also there past curfew. They were meeting other friends that worked at a resort a bit later, and eventually wasn't able to hang out with them, but they did direct me to a place I could get a bath (baths usually being part of a resort deal stay as I found out). Took a nice bath in the sulfurous waters and camped in a park nearby. Rained a bit, but nothing much.

Next day, lots of hiking. Saw some sights. Pretty. Found out eventually that there was a big storm blowing in, part of a typhoon apparently. Decided to camp it out anyway (there was a hostel back in Nikko, but I was only half way). Tried to find another bath, but to no avail. Got rained on hard. Blowing winds soaked me and the bivy sack got flooded. Woke up mostly wet and my shoes made better cups than protectors. Forgot to pack sandles. Slosh around all day did I.

Which eventually wore on the morale. I had planned on catching the, also touristy, temples and interesting structures back in Nikko. I did take a quick look, but didn't want to pay and check out any of the temples. So, tried to leave as quickly as possible. Got some quick gifts and was back to home.

I don't think that was the same weekend I bought my computer, which I had planned on doing soon or already that weekend when I got back into town. I think I did. Got a computer, took awhile, and eventually got home on nearly the last train around midnight.

Oh yes, pictures.

Me at some falls in Nikko. When I get the chance I'll try and look up the map points better. Suffice it to say that the one full day I was there was pretty and nice, so I ended up hiking around a lot and enjoying the scenery in the outer parts of Nikko which were mountains and hot springs.
The other end of that rapids behind me. Can't remember the name of the lake though. Darn.
I believe these were at the bottom of the previous two. Nice, if blurry.
Or this one... Or both. I seem to remember there was a few along the way. It went on for a bit, rather.
An interesting little set of monuments and a grotto on one of the riverside paths.
I think this was the smaller lake near where I started the day. Hum... notes are a good thing. This one was fed by a rather odorous hot-spring which I completely failed to take any pictures of. Lots of interesting bits of sulfur salts and corrosion and stuff at its origin.
Nara out by a shack on a trail just off of the river. Rather tame as well.
Mmmm.... Japanese mountains.
Tree and roots on the path as well. Did I mention I went hiking a lot... Like, a lot.
Mmm... Japanese mountains in the mist.
This was one of the bear gates at the end of one area of preserved flora. As you can see, it's also Cthulhu proof... or at least as much as anything is.
Me being very wet and mostly unhappy in Nikko.
A cute bug I found while I was waiting for my bus back to the train in Nikko. Looks like a samurai, neh?



Okay, now on to some pics of Fukaya!

This would be a water tower (I hope) on my way to school every morning. That would be a negi and tulip in the name, Fukaya's stantions.
The other side. Happy churipu [sic] indeed!
And the fields of negi right next to the watertower. Oh, how there are many of them. And when the farmers harvest them, they usually hack off the top half of the green-leafy part and leave them in piles, so one can catch a decent whiff of onion-y air every now and again. Also, due to the agricultural nature of the town, the fertilizer "smell" is often apparent from time to time. Reminds me of home (Corvallis) quite a lot actually. Nice touch.
So, a few weeks back there was a local harvest festival. Not much more than seeing this cart, or at least others like it, being drug around town. Lots of god-awful noise, but nice on the whole. I think we got a day off for it, but I couldn't find any more interesting festivities other than noise making. I'll spare you for now, at least.
Also at the harvest time, there were a bunch of these kinds of paintings displayed (if a bit haphazardly) around the train station (which is also a cool red-brick sorta new-old-fashioned deal I'll have to post sometime). This was one of the more creative ones, but the others had cool flowers and foliage.
As such. Actually, they were more about kids and surrealism now that I think about it. The flowery one was a long panel set and I need to photo-stitch it together sometime with software I don't have on me.
And again. I like these.
Fukaya's own attempt at a nice laquer-style bridge. It's not, but it is pretty nonetheless. This is right near the station, about a block from me, right in front of one of the three temples I know about. I pass the other two on my way to school (away from the station).

So, a few from Tokyo on some occasions I managed.

A sign right on the station wall of Harajuku. I'm still not entirely sure what it means.
This, taken in the vast underground section of terminal in Shinjuku station, is the Japanese take on Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Yes. Everything in Japan is, or will be, cutified.
Um... Detail...
A poster on the walkway at Harajuku. Don't know what it says, but I know it's Kino's Journeys in the Beautiful World. Good anime. Looks like either a movie or a new series coming out next year. Will work on translation.