This weekend, I met up with my friends, Greg and Kyle, whom I had met on the plane to Hokkaido. We had hung out a couple of times since then, and decided to hang out again for Japans 5 day long weekend which they have called Silver Week. Friday evening, I took a train to Kushiro, the 4th largest city in Hokkaido, and about 2 hours away by express train to meet the both of them; this being a good meeting place for all three of us, since we all live in different directions from one another. We all ended up meeting each other at the train station at the same time, and headed out into the city. I have come to the conclusion that I don’t want to live in a city if I can help it. I enjoy visiting cities and exploring them, but even more I really love being out doors and away from the noise and confusion; I find that I’m the happiest when I’m in the country. Greg is the opposite. He loves city life. While walking around Kushiro, he couldn’t decide which street to go down first. We ended up eating in some hole-in-the-wall restaurant. The counter, being the only place to sit at, must have only had enough chairs for a total of 6 people. These are my favourite kinds of places to eat.
After a light meal of fish and skewered pork, we headed off to the Karaoke club. You really do have to go with other people who don’t know how to sing when your not confident about your own singing capabilities. The evening was good except the part where my friend Kyle and I had to go running into the streets to find Greg, who ended up having way too much saki at the Karaoke club. Kyle and I eventually peeled Greg off the streets and taxied our way back to the hotel. The hotel room was only meant for one person, yet Kyle and I stayed there anyways. This had to be one of the smallest rooms, and awkwardest sleeps I’ve had in a while.
The next day Kyle left us to go back to his home town of Nemuro. By then, Greg had sobered up enough to drive us back to his hometown of Tsubetsu. On the way there, we were rerouted off the road and stopped by the police to be given the largest and whitest radish I have ever seen. It was a Japanese daikon. I’m not even going to try to understand this one. Before reaching Tsubetsu, we passed through some mountains, one of which was almost completely barren of trees on the top. Usually its me who looks for trouble and adventure, but this time Greg was the first to act. We ended up turning around and finding a hidden trail that led up to the bald part of the mountain. The trail we took was like walking through Narnia or something. Lush green flora surrounding us on all sides with cool little streams that cut through the soil with ease. A beautiful waterfall at the end of the stream ended the walk, and began the ascent. We’ve been told that Hokkadio has bears, so every twitch of the bushes made us jump. More often then not, it would be a deer, which would scramble up the mountain after seeing us. We eventually made it close to the top, but were restricted by the high plants, which substituted the absence of trees. Walking up there with no people around, no buildings, no bugs, and no noise made it feel as if we were on another planet which was only populated by a thick knee deep leafy weed.
We eventually made it to Gregs house, but not before missing a pack of wild dear, which hogged half the road. The next day we drove to Kitami, the nearest city to Tsubetsu, where we attended a Catholic Church Service. I’ve been to a couple of Catholic Church Services before, but this one was exceptionally long. After the service, I was asked to give a speech (The Japanese love their speeches!!!) about where I’m from, and what I thought of my students in Shimizu (???).
After a light meal of fish and skewered pork, we headed off to the Karaoke club. You really do have to go with other people who don’t know how to sing when your not confident about your own singing capabilities. The evening was good except the part where my friend Kyle and I had to go running into the streets to find Greg, who ended up having way too much saki at the Karaoke club. Kyle and I eventually peeled Greg off the streets and taxied our way back to the hotel. The hotel room was only meant for one person, yet Kyle and I stayed there anyways. This had to be one of the smallest rooms, and awkwardest sleeps I’ve had in a while.
The next day Kyle left us to go back to his home town of Nemuro. By then, Greg had sobered up enough to drive us back to his hometown of Tsubetsu. On the way there, we were rerouted off the road and stopped by the police to be given the largest and whitest radish I have ever seen. It was a Japanese daikon. I’m not even going to try to understand this one. Before reaching Tsubetsu, we passed through some mountains, one of which was almost completely barren of trees on the top. Usually its me who looks for trouble and adventure, but this time Greg was the first to act. We ended up turning around and finding a hidden trail that led up to the bald part of the mountain. The trail we took was like walking through Narnia or something. Lush green flora surrounding us on all sides with cool little streams that cut through the soil with ease. A beautiful waterfall at the end of the stream ended the walk, and began the ascent. We’ve been told that Hokkadio has bears, so every twitch of the bushes made us jump. More often then not, it would be a deer, which would scramble up the mountain after seeing us. We eventually made it close to the top, but were restricted by the high plants, which substituted the absence of trees. Walking up there with no people around, no buildings, no bugs, and no noise made it feel as if we were on another planet which was only populated by a thick knee deep leafy weed.
We eventually made it to Gregs house, but not before missing a pack of wild dear, which hogged half the road. The next day we drove to Kitami, the nearest city to Tsubetsu, where we attended a Catholic Church Service. I’ve been to a couple of Catholic Church Services before, but this one was exceptionally long. After the service, I was asked to give a speech (The Japanese love their speeches!!!) about where I’m from, and what I thought of my students in Shimizu (???).
Joey,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Tokachi. I have asked Adam to call you about our Welcome Gathering this weekend for new ALTs and CIRs in Tokachi. It is being held at Iwanai Gorge in Obihiro. An invitation SHOULD have been sent to your office. If you didn't get it, I am sorry about that. Chris is not able to come but I do hope you can. I think you'll like Iwanai. Bring your camera.