Celebrity-sensei

My students were most active to display their opinion on my haircut, while most said it was cool, I looked handsome, nice hair-cut, great head... they clearly felt it necessary to compare it directly to the only other white folks they know, celebrities.
The following are those lucky enough to have made the cut, roughly in order of frequency.
Way in the lead was...

Mr. Beckham got about 80% of the vote, leading to the adoption of Beckham-sensei by several of my classes for a couple of weeks, but following that there were healthy supporters for...


the next was heartily agreed a group of 5 girls in the third year, and heartily disagreed by everyone else.

only one student saw this link but I think it's the best of all!

Happy with no trousers

It's been raining for the last 3 weeks in Hamamatsu, cancelling a 200km cycle to Nagano and a hike up to an isolated Buddhist temple I had planned to do. So this weekend, I thoughts balls to that and went to Tokyo.
Went with Al and Nathan and pottered about in the electronics district (a mecca for computer-game players), and back to Ueno park to look around the National Art Museum; fantastic hanging scrolls and prints.
Met up with some of Nathan's friends and went to a dissapointing art show in the evening before crashing out in a capsule.
Sunday was amazingly bright and sunny (and as yet not humid!) so we pottered around some more; going to Yoyogi park (where all the crazy teenagers go to be seen) and back through Harajuku. Checked out a big festival in Asakusa called the Sanja festival. People haul portable shrines around the area shouting as per. Really packed. It's particularly famous for the Yakuza being present in only their loin-cloths - showing off their tattoos. Didn't see any of them, but there were plenty of bare buttocks on display. Sadly no pictures.



This was a traditional wedding happenning at the Meiji-jingu shrine in Yoyogi Park.

Hamamatsu Matsuri

Been off all week with thanks to Golden Week, three national holidays coupled with a weekend. The Japanese, not ones to waste such an opportinity rush into festival gear and party hearty.
The Hamamatsu Matsuri lasts three days, and each local town has its own festivities. I joined up with Kita Terajima-cho, my local town with Christine and Mina. We got hapis (overcoat thingy) and chyuchin (lanterns) with which to join the 'neri'. Which involves parading through the streets. then into town and down all the main streets shouting "AISHO, YAISHO, YAIZO, HAISO, AITSO, ZAYO!" and anything that sounds remotely like it for about 4 hours jumping up and down... and of course, drinking large quantities of sake. In the day time everyone goes down to the sand-dunes and flies these rather impressive kites.
The first day, I took my cricket bat and ball out to the beach and played cricket for two hours in the sun with a bunch of other ALTs. Ahh, beach cricket!



When the lines of the kites get crossed the two towns involved roar into action hauling on their ropes to try and cut the others rope with the friction. It can get a bit hectic and you see several kites (which are worth very large sums of money) spiralling downwards in loops and whirls. The teams don't seem too upset though, they just pick it up, head back to their tent and get back to the serious task of drinking.







This is the neri, heading through an underpass, this is a different town, I didn't get any shots of my own, being too deep within it. Mine was much larger, and has a reputation as being particular boisterous (and linked with the Yakuza)... ahem.


Every hour or so, everyone stops and sits down, eats, and drinks. This is right outside my apartment block. We also stopped one time in the middle of a reasonably heavy traffic junction... no-one seemed especially put-out.
On the last evening to finish off the festivities they broke open about 20 barrels of sake and threw it all over the crowd who were... having a lovely time jumping up and down.

I made some new friends too, this was the group that adopted us.

On His Baldness

"For I dreaded the time when the last lock should go...
They are all gone and I do not mind at all!
I have done with that cumbrous washing and getting dry;
My tiresome comb is forever laid aside.
Best of all, when the weather is hot and wet,
To have no top-knot weighing down on one's head!"

from 'On His Baldness' - PO CHÜ-I