Heather and Kevin in Utsunomiya

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Final Post Thursday June 25th 2009

The last several weeks have been a blur with many dinners, gatherings, parties, etc.
Heather departed last week and I am currently sitting at Narita, and will be boarding a plane tomorrow morning. Living in Japan has been the experience of a lifetime for Heather and I and we couldn't begin to post here in writing what this stay in Japan has meant to us. 2.5 years has shot by in a flash and in it we have learned much about ourselves and made so many new friends, again most difficult to even lightly explain in writing or pictures on a blog. Thanks to everyone who has taken care of us at home and thanks to everyone who has befriended and taken care of us in Japan.
We will miss you all and we hope our paths will cross again on either side of the pond, however it may work out.
We will leave the blog and flickr account up for as long as they will allow.
Also we are considering a live cam around our residence in Dublin, but it obviously wont have the appeal of the Otani/Dennys cam.
Best wishes to all who have visited and enjoyed our blog.
Kevin and Heather

Monday, June 8, 2009

Cookout at Furei beach

This weekend there was a nice cookout at Furei Beach Koen, which is not actually a beach but a river bottom. The party was in celebration of Memorial Day and a Sayonara party for a couple of fellow expats Keith and Kyle. It was rained out on Saturday but we recovered nicely on Sunday with lots of food, beverage, sports, etc...A very very nice time considering this was also an opportunity for Heather and I to visit with a lot of people we have met and may not have the pleasure of seeing again for quite some time.......
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157619429814974/?photo_deleted=3607245166

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Sayonara Heather and Kevin

Last night many of our friends held a farewell tabe/nomihodai on our behalf at the Houfbrau Haus. Later we headed down the street to the IceMan where we hit it pretty hard until about 6am. It was a fantastic night and we cant thank all of you enough for making it a such a memorable evening. Looking at the photos it is really now sinking in how much we will really miss you all!
(special thanks to Yumiko for putting it all together)
More Pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157619028283114/

McHotdog and Mega Sausage

200 percent tasty.
2 tempting treats recently available on the breakfast menu.
Nope, havent braved this one.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Graphics and Friends

Monday all of our friends from Graphics had dinner on our behalf at ChikiChiki which is owned by one of the members from Heathers golf group . It was excellent time, with the owner making us some excellent dishes including a not on the menu Sushi Cake, very cool indeed. Of course after dinner we found time for way to many rounds of darts(for a work night) at FuruSato.
More pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157619027932226/

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Dinner with the Kawai's

Saturday night we went to dinner with Heathers Sensei and her husband. Later we threw some darts at FuruSato. Like all of the friends we have made in Japan, the Kawais will be missed.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Sapporo Beer Factory Darts Tournament at Nasu

This weekend Heather, Myself and a few friends hit another darts tournament. This time it was at the Sapporo beer factory in Nasu. The beer factory is a really nice place, housing of course the beer factory and a large beer hall restaraunt that have visited before and of course an excellent place to hold a darts tournament. This time we fared a little better in the darts actually winning a few games and even a match in our low level division. Though we didn't make it to the 2nd round we had a great time and of course tossed back quite a few cold, very fresh Sapporo beers.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Sendai and Matsushima 仙台市と松島

The last couple of days we traveled to nearby Miyagi Prefecture and visited the City of Sendai and nearby Matsushima. Matsushima is a small bay fishing town famous for oysters and some 260 tiny islands and is considered the 3rd best scenic view in Japan. Sendai itself is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. I was thinking it would be similar to Utsunomiya but it was much larger with over a million people and a whole lot cleaner with a very nice downtown area. Gyu-Ton or beef tongue(and beef in general) is the regions famous food dish and is served in many ways. We had it a few times and must say it was pretty good. Of course we tried several of the advertised gaijin friendly bars and nightspots and we found a few good dart bars close to our hotel where we spent the evenings. We also found a very authentic Mexican restaurant (well Mexican American anyway) called Casa DelSol. It was great as good Mexican food is definitely a rarity in this country.
Anyhow we would recommend both Matsushima and Sendai for a visit and would say you could definitely cover them with a day trip or single overnight visit. We drove it but both places are easily accessed by the Shinkansen and local train system. There are more pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157617495854121/

Sunday, April 26, 2009

2009 MotoGP Rd2

This years MotoGP weekend was a little rough. We spent most of Saturday in the cold rain and didnt see any action at all as the Qualifying was cancelled due to water on the track. We arrived on Sunday morning with a forecast of no rain but were greeted by a heavy downpour as the morning warmups started. Fortunately it cleared off and the track dried up for the days racing. Lorenzo took the win in some exciting racing with Rossi and Pedrosa in tow. Our man Hayden was unfortunately torpedoed off the track in th first lap by the local hero Takahashi which was a complete bummer. Anyhow heres a few pics and a vid of the start. Added 4/28 some photos from our friend Yuji Ishihara, who was sitting in turn 5 and caught "Torpedo Takahashi" giving Nicky the "bump".

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Golf at Bato GC

Tuesday Heather and I joined some friends and a group of 14 others in a monthly gathering for a round of golf at Bato GC in Nothern Tochigi prefecture. The weatherman had called for rain all day but we were lucky and played in cloudy, but rain free conditions. Afterwords we joined the group for the a little post play tabe/nomi hodai action at a local izakaya and then on to Graphics for some darts.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

All Japan Motocross Series

Today we took a trip to the Saitama motor sports park for round three of the "All Japan Motocross" series. Weather was great, there were a lot of riders and a lot of fans. As Ive been away from off-road and motocross for a few years, one of the first things that struck me was the total absence of 2-strokes. It was strictly a thumper fest. I for one will miss the smells of all the various 2-stroke oils, but it was quite enjoyable just the same.......
More photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157616942934537/

Sunday, April 12, 2009

花見 Hanami 2009

I guess at this point we dont need to explain Hanami. By far our favorite Japan season/party. Sadly, it will probably our last, but it was a good one, with excellent weather, friends, drinking, and so on......
More of the days photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157616552914543/

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Yakatabune

This weekend we went with a group of 38 others to Central Tokyo for a Yakatabune river cruise. The boats are essentially a floating doubledecker restaurant/karaoke bar that cruises the Sumida river in Tokyo. 2.5 hours of all you can eat and drink, and really good service. The sightseeing was pretty cool as you basically cruise the rivers around central Tokyo. This weekend happened to be the tail end of Tokyo's Hanami so there were lots of folks partying under the trees and in the parks along the river. Unfortunately since our camera is pretty much a piece of shit so the photos of the sights outside the boat were pretty weak. Anyhow if you ever have a large group party and are looking for something different to do I would definitely recommend taking one of these cruises. All of the photos can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157616276753451/

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Tokyo Motorcycle Show 2009

Today Heather and i went to the Tokyo Motorcyle Show. It was held at the Tokyo Big Sight. It was very crowded but pretty nice as we got to shop a bit and throw a leg over a few potential candidtate street bikes for a new ride after we return home. Not so many off road machines on display but I must say that sitting on the the Husky TE250 felt about as good and as comfortable as it gets.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Golf outing at UI Golf Club

I was invited to golf last Tuesday with some friends at UI Golf Club. I have not touched my clubs in almost 3 years so I was a little nervous, I didn't play to great but did manage to have a really nice time. Afterwards the group i played with headed to a couple local izakayas for dinner, drinks and darts. Kev and I will both be playing with them next month.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Nasu Darts Tourney

Last weekend Heather and I joined some friends and traveled to Nasushiobara to play in a organized dart tournament. A first for us. It was actually a large event with about 450 participants.
Heather and I got spanked out in 6 games of 501 and cricket. The other members of our group fared a little better at least making it to the round-robin event before being put out. As this is a beer drinking event we still had a great time and met a lot of interesting individuals. We plan to hit another event before we depart Japan, and hopefully our dart game will actually show up along with us.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Eric Clapton concert at the Budokan

We were fortunate to get tickets to see Eric Clapton and his band Thursday night at the Budokan in Tokyo.
We must say Slowhand can still lay it down. They played about 20 songs including,I shot the Sheriff, Cocaine, Crossroads, Why does love, Wonderful tonight, of course Layla(heavy version) and several of his longer bluesy songs that I cant name.
The Budokan has been the host to many famous groups over the years and is a cool place to see a show. It is located in Kudanshita which is a really nice area of central Tokyo. It is actually a Judo arena, and only holds about 10,000, people, so all of the seats are close to the stage.
The Japanese fans can be pretty strange to experience a concert with though. The place was packed, but like everything else here in Japan with the exception of baseball and soccer they are a very very subdued crowd, almost afraid to clap between songs, let alone, dance around, scream, party excessively, or any of the other crazy shit you may see at concerts in the states. As soon as the show starts the beer and food stands close down for the night. At times it seemed like what I would guess an opera crowd would be like, with the crowd only becoming remotely excited at a few of the bands more popular tunes. We had the same experience with The Who concert a couple of months back at Saitama Super Arena. But, i guess if the arenas are full the bands don't mind, and they give them what they came for. Clapton is very popular in Japan and he does like 8 shows between Tokyo and Osaka.
Anyhow sorry that we only have the one lame dark photo of the entrance to the Budokan as we were getting our drink on before the show and arrived at the arena just in time for the first song.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Saipan Final

After lounging at the pool a bit more on Sunday, yesterday evening we departed Saipan and returned to the cold of Central Japan. We were greeted not only by the cold but severe winds which made it seem even colder. The high winds had the Shinkansen shut down allowing us time to really enjoy the cold in Tokyo station and delaying our arrival to home til around 11pm.
Anyhow our final days in Saipan were much like the first, just relaxing and enjoying the awesome weather and scenery. We did get a bit of rain Saturday night which moved our visit to the resorts cultural show/BBQ indoors. It was still enjoyable as we were seated with a couple from nearby Saitama area with whom were were able to communicate fairly well with and enjoy the show. Heather and myself along with a Russian family were the only westerners(maybe Russians arent westerners?) at the show out of about 200 people. In fact i would say in a resort with over 400 rooms, I believe we were the only Americans in the place all week.
If your looking for a good place to relax we would recommend Saipan as a place to go.
Outside of diving, a couple of golf courses, and a bit of sight seeing, there is not a lot else to do. There are a few western restaurants/bars, and a bit of shopping but it is pretty minimal. The Island is small and definitely caters mainly to tourists from Japan, Korea, and China. So if you need lots of shopping and interaction with other westerners, you may be better off with Guam, but given the choice I would go back to Saipan for its simplicity and Heather would choose Guam for the shopping and restaurants. For families Guam would definitely be the better choice.
The rest of our trip photos can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157613495604409/

Friday, February 6, 2009

Saipan Day 3

Sure there was a day 2 on Saipan but it was spent relaxing on the beach, by the pool and tiki hut. For pictures just have a look below at day 1.
Actually today we got out and went around the Island to see some of the tourist spots and war memorials. The Coast line is lined with cliffs and caves which are absolutely beautiful and surrounded by clean clear blue sea. The left over ordinance and war memorials are kind of a somber reminder of the heavy fighting that happened here so many years ago. Driving through the forested areas and along the cliffs can be kind of eerie as you see hundreds of little rock memorials marking the lives of killed Japanese soldiers. We visited Banzai Cliff, Marpi Point, The Last Outpost, Bird Island, and several other sights of interest. We were able to cover the whole Island by car in about 5 hours including lunch and some shopping. As far as the local villages go Saipan is inhabited by mainly Chamaros and has the same look and feel as Guam but on a much smaller uncommercialized scale.
We have found some good spots for eating, drinking, and some live music as well so the nightlife has also been enjoyable.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Saipan

Not sure about the weather where you are, but it was 86F (29C) here in Saipan today. We chose Saipan for a bit of a winter break and the first day was not a disappointment. Saipan is a lot smaller than Guam and a lot more laid back, I think we are going to enjoy the next few days of not doing much but soaking up the sun and maybe a killing a Lite beer or 2. Saipan is about 5x20 miles in size, so not as much sightseeing, shopping, or the other tourist trappings you usually find in these spots, and the main draws are diving, golf, and relaxing. I think you all know where Heather and i fall in that scenario. We will try to drag ourselves away from the Tiki Hut, maybe rent a bike and get around the island for a look around and a few pictures, but thats lookin like it might be a stretch at this point. You all try to stay warm.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

A stay at Akasaka in central Tokyo

This weekend for Heathers birthday we stayed in the Akasaka area of central Tokyo where we had dinner with our good friend Takahira and his wife at Lawery's Prime Rib.
Its a bit upscale and dinner was great and we would definitely recommend you visit for a great meal or special occasion. As the name implies their specialty is Prime Rib, but they have a full menu and the food and service is all very good.
Not a lot of pictures as we really didn't do a lot of sightseeing and just visited a few bars to celebrate Heathers birthday. We visited Omotesando for some shopping before returning on Sunday. For lunch we found our way to one of Tokyos BKs in the stop at Kanda which was fantastic. I know your thinking "BK" whats the big deal? Trust me after 2 years of Hamburger Steki, even the occaisional whopper moment is golden, as is evident by the pile of empty wrappers in front of the birthday girl.
To all the Smorkers out there we would like to point out that after all of these years they have officially banned Smorking on Takeshita St. in Harajuku. Beautiful.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Sports weekend............

Last weekend we again caught some local sporting events by going to a Tochigi Brex basketball game Friday night and a Nikko Icebucks game on Sunday afternoon.
The Brex who are have now moved from the JBL2 to the top level JBL league won handily over Osaka Panasonic 91-73. This year they have 3 American players on the roster and probably what is Japans premier and only Japanese player to get drafted to NBA team Yuta Tabuse, who really had some excellent skills.
Sunday brought the last home game of the year for the Nikko Icebucks. Its been another long season for the Icebucks even with the addition of the Canadian players. However we weren't disappointed as we finally got to see them win a game, and win it quite handily at 5-3. Good to see them give their rabid fans a victory to finish out the year.
Whether you live in Utsunomiya or just visit on business you really should try to get out and see these teams play if they are in town, you would probably enjoy it.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Not sure what this was...........

Heather and I drove down to Omiya/Saitamashintoshin on Sunday for some shopping and a Kua' Aina cheeseburger fix. In the station at Saitamashintoshin, we encountered this thing.
Not sure what it was, but it sure was creepy as hell and damn good at scaring children. If anyone could identify it, please let us know.

Smoking Manners

Japan like America is struggling with the right to smoke issue.
In an effort to improve the public image of smoking, over the years Japan Tobacco has created several public service announcements and posted them on public ashtrays, in smoking areas etc. This happens to be one of our personal favorites. The funny(or disturbing part) is that the sign doesn't tell you not to put the cigarette in the kids eye. It just says that's where you carry it. And the helicopter? Not really sure what the relevance of that is. Anyhow these have been around for a couple of years, and there are about 70 or so of them in the series. Take a look at Japan tobaccos website to see the rest, some are pretty intriguing. http://www.jti.co.jp/sstyle/manners/ad/gallery/index.html

Saturday, January 3, 2009

RecipeZaar Chef Of The Day!

Heather is truly a celebrity! She is the RecipeZaar Chef Of The Day January 2nd 2009! We're not real sure how she acheived this prestigious award in the world of online recipe trading, but hey heres the proof!

http://www.recipezaar.com/

Thursday, January 1, 2009

謹賀新年 Happy New Year to all!

あけましておめでとうございます! This year we stayed in Utsunomiya for New Years Eve.We had dinner at "Chanko" which is a chain of restaurants founded by the famous sumo wrestler Wakanohana. Great traditional Japanese menu of things that a sumo would eat on a daily basis to get big and fat, so of course we were right at home. Most of the businesses including bars and restaurants in Japan roll up the carpets for Oshōgatsu which is by far the largest and traditionally celebrated holiday of the year. After dinner we rang in the new year at a local pub and then went for a few hours of Karaoke. After finally becoming obviously out of our minds from alcohol consumption we even managed to stagger onto the dance floor at Birdland for a bit. All in all a fantastic evening/morning and no better way to bring in the new year with the traditional Jan 1headache. Everyone have a wonderful new year!
Lots of other December 2008 photos here!
Here's a link to Wakanohana's Chanko restaurant if you want to try some good traditional Japanese food. Reservations are a must.
http://www.chanko-waka.jp/store/utsunomiya/index.html

Saturday, December 27, 2008

"Happy" Christmas 2008

Happy Christmas to you as they say in these parts. Are you all enjoying the 45 days of Christmas back there in Ohio? Christmas eve and Christmas day were very peaceful for us this year, though i had to work the whole week, it was no hustle and bustle, no stress and we enjoyed both evenings.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Congratulations Myka!

We would like to send a big fat congrats to our daughter Myka who on Friday received her acceptance letter into the UT Nursing program. We are so proud of her!!!!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Icebucks vs. Halla

Sunday evening several of us got together for an Icebucks game out at Nikko. We are happy to report the bucks aren't in last place this year and played a pretty good game. Unfortunately they lost 4-3. It was our firtst opportunity to see the new Canadian players Eric and Mickey on the ice and they didn't disappoint. We hope to get out and see them another time or 2 before the season is out

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Another Utsunomiya Saturday Night

Saturday night Heather and some of the other ladies got together for dinner, drinks, karaoke, and other fun. Here i present what looks to be evidence of woman dancing on tables. Probably be a few more of the photos show up in the flickr folder when I get time to upload them. :)

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Miya Kids

Last Wednesday for Miya Kids our theme was Christmas, the kids decorated a tree and made wreaths. Here is a few pictures. Thanks to the Moms who prepared everything, it was very much appreciated!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

LaLa Cooking Classes

Heather and some friends took a cooking class at LaLa square. It was cakes and I must say Heathers Strawberry roll cake turned out looking and tasting pretty good.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Thanksgiving Dinner

Friday night we had a bit delayed Thanksgiving feast with a few of our friends. We threw down the usual Turkey, Potatoes n Gravy, Noodles, Stuffing, Green Bean Casarole, and other many goodies brought by our guests. Of course it was all washed down with plenty of cold beverages and a few rounds of darts until Saturday morning was well upon us. It was also our neighbors son Tora's 2nd birthday and we even managed a chorus of Happy Birthday for him. There are a few more pics in the Flickr folder.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157610350759181/

Friday, November 28, 2008

Time in Japan is flying by us very quickly.............

Our time here is sweeping by very quickly. November was a month filled with the usual fare of work, birthday and sayonara parties, cookouts, Thursday Night Darts, and we managed to catch The Who concert in Omiya at the Saitama Super Arena(yes those fossils are still rockin). Today puts us at 6 months before we return to home unless i receive some form of extension request from the company, its both sad and unbelievable that within 60 days we will begin making shipping and travel arrangements. We still have quite a bit to do both at work and on a personal level so stay tuned as we try to squeeze in a few more interesting events and trips to blog about. There is is a folder of random pics from the month of November in Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157610349472809/

Saturday, November 8, 2008

The Utsunomiya Gyoza Statue Lives

Last night while passing through the Eki we noticed the Gyoza had been repaired and placed in its new home on the West side. It was dark out but the seam was clearly visible where it had been "epoxied" back together. This is a low quality picture at night time from a cell phone but you can still see the crack. As famous as the Gyoza is and as much play as the doofuses breaking it got we felt they could have done a better job of fixing it or just given it a proper burial instead.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

2008 Halloween Party

This years event hosted by the Quebec contingent was held at Bar Penni Rain, It was really a great time and once again several of the 140+ people in attendance really went all out on thier costumes. More pictures in the Flickr Folders.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Charlene and Rita visit

Last week we were visited by my mother and her traveling pal Rita. They stayed for 11 days and visited all of our favorite Utsunomiya haunts and local sightseeing spots like Nikko and Mashiko. We were able to introduce them to many of our freinds and give them a taste of expat living. We finished out the week with a day of wine "tasting" at at CoCos and finished with a couple of days in Tokyo. We enjoyed really thier company and hope we were able to provide them with a memorable trip.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Sayonara Pat

Saturday marked a yet another Sayonara for friend, Pat Ellison who departs for home this week. The party was held at Plus Cafe which was a very nice gathering spot. Of course a second party at Iceman, and I am not sure where it went after that or if such things can/should be documented for future reference. Anyhow Heather and I brought along my visiting Mom and friend Rita and they seemed to really enjoy the gathering and meeting many of our friends, who of course were in fine form as the evening rolled along.
As you can see by the large qty. of photos I am posting, someone was obviously asleep at the camera, but I wont point any fingers. If anyone has a few extra pics they could throw our way we would appreciate to have and post them.
Good Luck Pat and see you soon.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Motegi MotoGP 08

This weekend brought MotoGP to town and a couple of friends from back home made the journey to Japan to join us for the race. It was a great 5 days with a little sightseeing around Tochigi, the track Friday Saturday, and Sunday, and of course plenty of beer drinking and BS'ing through it all. As far as the race goes we were happy that we were able to witness Rossi clenching the championship as he pretty much dominated from the get go. We would have like to have seen our man Nicky Hayden hit the podium but 5th was the best he could muster. Not a bad result considering the rest of his season and all of the drama surrounding his "team" and HRC.
We really had a great time visiting with Matt and Scott(yes, those would be original KFC buckets), and I believe it made us realize for a few days just how far away home really is.
Hopefully we were able to make their Japan experience a good one, as for most people the cultural difference can seem a bit strange at times.
Here are as always a few more pics in the Flickr folder, with full credit going to my man Yujii Ishihara for the bike action photos: Click for more Pics

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Sayonara John and Kindra

This week brought yet another sayonara party for good friends we have made during our stay in Utsunomiya. John and Kindra our resident Texans will be moving on to Germany in October after living in Utsunomiya for over 2 years. As you can see in the photos they have made many many Friends here in Utsunomiya and I am sure because of their friendly outgoing personalities they will make many more wherever their future travels take them. Good luck and hope to see you again soon.
More Party Pictures: John and Kindras Party Pics

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Heather's friends from MiyaKids

Here's a recent shot of Heather and her group of friends from the local library known as MiyaKids. She has made many good friends through the group and feels it has been one of the most rewarding parts of her stay in Japan.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

It's Homo Sausage! 　ホモソーセージです！

Occasionally we like to showcase some of the unique food products and other items we find around Japan.
Today at our local grocery in the snack section we spotted this little treat called Homo Sausage. With a name like Homo we knew it could be a risky purchase. Checking the Kanji on the label indicated its main ingredient was some form of a fish byproduct. We bought a sample anyway and brought it home.
After having a sufficient qty. of drinks to get the nerve up to actually open the package and give it a try, we broke it open and sliced some up. It had a very benign appearance and in fact looked a bit like a little bologna roll. But, let me tell you what Oscar Meyer it was not. The stench of rotted fish goo(think Tsujiki fish auction on a 95 degree day) was so incredible we couldn't bring ourselves to ingest even a small piece for the benefit of our readers. As you can see in the final photo it was abruptly shoved into a Ziploc and put in the trash. I think with a name like Homo Sausage its safe to say you wont see this product marketed in any western countries anytime soon. As i type this a half hour later the shitty stank from that sausage is still deeply entrenched in our nostrils. If you visit Japan and have the hankering for a snack to go along with your cold beer, we suggest you avoid this product at all cost.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Nikko Circuit Motokids 4Hr Edurance Race

Yesterday Heather and I went out to a small local track to watch my coworker and his friends ride in a 4hr endurance race. The bikes classes are from 80-125cc. Ishikawa's team rides a Honda Ape 100. Of course as soon as I smelled the 2-stroke oil in the air, I wished i was riding rather than watching. It was however pretty cool to watch and though the race was cut 20 minutes short by a nasty rainstorm, their team managed to get a 1st place finish. Pretty good especially since it is their first year of racing. Congratulations to Ishikawa, Hana, and Kazu!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Myka Visits........

For the last 10 days we were paid a visit by our daughter Myka on her first trip to Japan. We (hopefully) entertained her with many of the local attractions around Utsunomiya and the Tokyo area. We hope spending time with us, meeting many of our friends and colleagues, and seeing the local sights as as enjoyable for her as it was for us. Now it is time for her to head back to School and begin her 3rd year in pursuit of her nursing degree.
Gambatte Myka Chan, we miss you!
Above is a sampling of the pics she took, and about 500 more can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157606886845353

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Utsunomiya Miyamatsuri 宇都宮の宮まつり

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The Miyamatsuri is held on the first weekend of August. The streets are loaded with about eighty 'mikoshi', over two days. It is really something to see. It is a major Shinto holiday and a huge street festival, and as usual my photography doesn't do the size and intensity justice. By far one of the most festive weekends in Utsunomiya.

If it needs a lime............

Yeah i sold out for a few minutes last night and drank a few Coronas. Pitched the lime of course, but the beer actually didnt taste too bad. Having a couple of Corona girls to enjoy them with didnt hurt either.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Independence Day BBQ

As July Fourth and Canada Day fell on weekdays this year, and since we and many of our friends were out of town last weekend and or traveling on business, we decided to delay a week and hold a bit of a celebration BBQ on Saturday the 12th. Good call, as mother nature cooperated and we had a good expat and domestic crowd turn out at the Kinugawa river Furei Beach park for the event. It was the usual fare with baseball, frisbee, soccer, fireworks and of course lots of cold drinks and BBQ. Some of the hardcores pitched tents, or constructed vagrant style cardboard huts and spent the night at the park. For more photo's, click this link!

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Amano Gallery Visit

The original reason for this weekends visit to Niigata was to visit the Amano Gallery.
Takashi Amano is a photographer, designer and aquarist. Takashi Amano is essentially one of the worlds reknowned fish tank designers, or aquarist. He is best known to have naturally scaped arrangements of aquatic plants, rocks, and driftwoods. His aquariums are famous in that they perfectly mimic nature in their appearance, and can be regarded as a form of art. Anyhow as you know, we like nice tanks, and this guy is considered the best. His company has a complete line of high dollar aqauiums and accessories and there are shops in many major cities around the world . He is from the Niigata area, and his company and gallery are based near there. If you like freshwater aquariums and are visiting Japan, we would recommend a visit to the Amano gallery.

href="http://www.adana.co.jp/index_e.php">

A visit to Niigata-shi 新潟市

This week I took a couple of extra days off, so Heather and I escaped Utsunomiya for a bit and headed about 170 miles northwest to the coastal city of Niigata. Seems like no-one had visited Niigata before so we were a little pressed to find info about what to do there. Niigata is known in Japan for its large port facility and growing great rice and therefore sake. Recently, it was famous for last years tragic earthquake. The reason we chose Niigata was for a visit to the Amano Gallery which is located nearby. We stayed at the Nikko Nigata hotel which was located at the mouth of the Shinano river and Sea of Japan. Our 27th floor room offered a good view which was unfortunately obscured somewhat by the muggy skies. While we were there we visited the Marine Pia, which bills itself as Japans largest(maybe the only?) aquarium facility on the West coast. It was a nice facility but a bit older and much smaller than the Oarai aquarium located in In Ibaraki. In the evenings we hit a couple of pretty entertaining bars, the first being Northern Lights owned by a Canadian guy named Dustin, seen here with his dog "lefty". This was a great bar with awesome food and a nice group of folks working and drinking there. The next night we went to a place called Rocks, which had a 70s-90s rock music request theme. The owner had pretty extensive music collection, which people could request, and then drunkenly dance to or sing along with as they felt. Another excellent time and we were again treated well by the staff. We spent several hours driving both North and South of the city both days in search of a decent beach. Much to our dismay, the beaches were similarly lined with surf breaks and not very clean as those on the east coast are. Niigata itself overall was a very nice, clean, and friendly city and perhaps we will visit again sometime if on that side of Japan. During the drive, we set the navi unit for the "no main highway" or scenic routes, and while it added a few hours both ways, we were routed through some very scenic mountainous areas of (our own)Tochigi, Fukashima, and Niigata prefectures.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Sayonara to several departing friends.

The final week of June has brought on a slew of gatherings in honor of several of our expat families and friends who are returning to the US and Canada after finishing their assignments here in Utsunomiya.
The best of luck to Mark,Susie,&Abbey, Jim & Jenny, and Marc-Alex, It was a pleasure hanging with and you will all be missed.
Here's a few pics, with a few more to be found in the Flickr folder.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Trout Fishing the Yugawa River　湯川日光

Today we went to the Yugawa river to try a bit of trout fishing. The Yugawa is a river running through Nikko that connects Yunoko and Chuzenji lakes and is the source of the Yudaki, Ryuzu, and Kegon Falls. It is a very scenic area, and the weather was great. I was pretty much skunked on the trout fishing, but my co-worker Brad being the fly fishing aficionado that he is at least managed to land 3 brook trout, one was actually decent sized at 9-10 inches. As the river is fairly close to here, I will have to go back and try it again, hopefully a little better prepared for the fishing at hand. We started the day fishing the river below the Yudaki Falls and after the fishing we took time to stop at the Kegon Falls to sight see and and take a few more photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157605601347998/

Saturday, June 7, 2008

The Trips Final Day in Miyajima 宮島町,

Day 4 we traveled to Miyajima Island by ferry. It is said to be one of the three most beautiful sights in Japan! I think it is on the very top of my list out of all of the places that I have seen so far. It is very peaceful and relaxing, there are deer that walk the street and seem to be pretty much everywhere. I actually had one following me too closely at one point, I had to give him the batsu.
I highly recommend checking it out if you are traveling Japan and end up in that area.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/hiroshima/miyajima.html
http://flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157605479466343/

Hiroshima Visit 広島市,

The 3rd day of our trip Kindra and I visited Hiroshima and stayed at The Hotel Granvia in the station. We visited The Peace Memorial Museum, which was very interesting and moving. I had a hard time with the childrens exibits and the story of Sadako Sasaki.
http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/frame/kids_e/sadako_e/index.html
We followed it up by spending some time at the Peace Memorial Park which was absolutely beautiful. We took some great pics at the park and there are more in the flckr folder.
http://flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157605479069435/

Kyoto Visit 京都市

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Our friend Kindra and I spent two nights in Kyoto, where we stayed at The New Miyako Hotel. Our first stop was at Toji Higashi Monmae, and what a way to start off our trip as it was beautiful. The pagoda is 57 m high, is the tallest wooden tower in Japan and is surrounded by gardens. We also enjoyed seeing the Buddhas of Toji which are located in Kondo-Hall, I don't have any pictures since they are prohibited. The very large statues are very intricately carved and just unbelievably beautiful.
Day two was a busy one we took the local JR line to Inari and visited Fushimi Inari Shrine, it was a 6 minute train ride. Fushimi is surrounded by thousands of torii all lined up making a beautiful path through the wooded area. For our next stop we took a city bus to Kiyomizu Temple, and after they dropped us off we had quite a hike up a steep hill. This required a little break about 1/2 way up for a few cold Kirins! It was worth it, there were many school age kids there and many of them wandered over to speak a bit of English and asked us to join them for pictures. Kiyomizu was also a very beautiful spot. Our last stop of the day was Heian Shrine, this again was a very nice place to visit. We didn't spend allot of time here since they were doing some restoration work.
In my opinion, you really need to have more than two days in Kyoto, we didnt have enough time to see it all. Enjoy the pics and of course there are more in the flickr folders.
http://flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157605478483529/

Monday, May 26, 2008

Congratulations Abby!

This weekend the Hummels threw a high school graduation party/cookout for their daughter Abby.

She graduated Magna Cum Laude and will be attending Ohio Dominican upon their return to Ohio this summer.

We would like to wish her the best of luck in the future!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Cookin out with Nao and Miyoko

Last weekend friends Nao and Miyoko threw a nice cookout at their house. Even Flat Stanley flew in from Canada for the event. While towards the end some people were a bit "sleepy" and some a bit noisy, it was good friends, good weather, good food and drinks, which equaled a good time.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Home Leave 2008

Just returned from our home leave back in Ohio. Thanks to all of our family and friends who put us up and entertained us over the last 2 weeks, we really do appreciate it. Heres a few pics with a few more to be found in the Flickr folder.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

R/C Crop Dusting

This morning on the way to work, Heather and I were sitting in traffic when we spotted a guy in the field next to us spraying a patch of winter rice with a remote control helicopter. The Japanese make good use of their limited tillable land and will grow crops in every nook and cranny. This field is right inside the city limits and next to the road. We had enough time to see him take it off and start his first pass. Not sure if he was fertilizing or spraying insecticide, but he definitely had an interesting method.

Tokyo Giants Vs. Yokohama Baystars

Last night a group of us went to the local baseball stadium to see the Tokyo Giants Vs. Yokohama Baystars. It was the first time the Gaints had played in this area for 50 years. It was sellout crowd, and I the believe the Kiyohara stadium holds about 30,000. The Giants won 6-1, It was colder than all hell after the sun dropped, and believe it or not the only food/refreshments sold, were beer, coca cola, and donuts(what more does the typical Japanese baseball fan need?). Kind of odd when the game started at 6pm. Needless to say attrition took its toll on our 15 people group and by the 7th inning Heather, I and our neighbors were the last to bail. Sorry, as there are not so many good pictures as I mainly focused on staying warm and sipping my dinner.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Pete Dye VIP G.C. in Imaichi, 今市市

Today some we all skipped work for a day and headed out to play the Pete Dye course in Imaichi. The weather was perfect, the course was challenging to say the least, and of course we all shot stellar scores, relatively speaking.

http://www.pacificgolf.co.jp/petedye/index.asp

CoCo's

While the guys were out golfing today, the ladies and I took a trip to Ashikaga and out to the Coco's winery to have lunch and sip a little wine.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

The Mashiko Pottery is complete

Saturday, Kindra and I returned to Mashiko to pick up the pottery we made a while back. Here are the results of all of my work. While it shrank about 50% I was happy with how it all turned out.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Hanami at Hachimanyama Koen 2008

OHanami at Hachimanyama Koen 2008. Just another mellow Sunday afternoon in Utsunomiya. My guess is your starting to understand OHanami at this point so we'll just post pics instead of babble about it. More pics in the Flickr folder.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Ueno Hanami 2008 上野花見

Yesterday we met a few friends in Tokyo's Ueno park for what is by far one of the largest Hanami gatherings in Japan. Ueno park is home to the Japan National Art museum and the Ueno Zoo. They claim over a thousand mature cherry trees. I would say by all means there must have been a half a million people crammed into the park yesterday, with probably at least that many more just walking through with no place to sit. Pretty enjoyable day, and with the blooms peaking in Tokyo this week, it means only 1-2 more weeks before we have our own bloom in Utsunomiya and have a bit of a fest in the Hachimanyama park. This time of the year is by far some of the best party action in Japan.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Easter Sunday 2008

Sunday we invited our new neighbors Hiro, Makiko, and Tora over for a typical Heather and Kevin holiday meal of Italian pasta and all the trimmings and of course we also managed to sprinkle in a few cold Kirins.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Bakery Fire

This morning we noticed that we had a bit more than the usual fire truck and ambulance noise on the street outside of our apartment. When we finally got up to look out the window, we found that it was a small cracker bakery down the street with flames shooting out of the roof. Nothing too exciting I guess but probably more than we usually get on a Sunday morning.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Skeet's Sayonara

Last night we attended a Sayonara party for our co-worker Skeet who is this month closing out his 2.5year stay in Japan. It was a good night starting off at Graphics for the usual 2.5 hour tabe and nomihodai, and then on downtown to the Iceman and Birdland. Here's a few pics from the Graphics or what we will call the PG portion of the evening. Best wishes to Skeet.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Kyu Shinoharake Jutaku 旧篠原家住宅

Friday Kindra and I took a tour of the former residence of the Shinoharas. The Shinoharas were wealthy merchant family who became that way distilling soy sauce and also dealing in manure.
The house is designated as a cultural asset of Utsunomiya. This home was built in 1895, it was donated to the city in 1995 and open to the public in 1996. This Meiji era house is one of the oldest buildings in the Utsunomiya area and is all that remains of what was once a large plantation. The rest of it was burned during the air raids of WWII. Its actually located right down the street and around the corner from our apartment and an interesting piece of local history.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Hanami 花見 is on the horizon.....

Sunday while in a large park down in Omiya, we spotted our first Ume tree in full bloom. The news is already reporting the progress of the bloom down south on the Island of Kyushu. To those of you in the states and elsewhere, I'm sure your thinking no big deal, blooming trees we have those too. But to those living in or who have lived in Japan we know this means that O hanami will soon be here. And in Japan this means the beginning of the outdoor party season. After a fairly cold winter, we are ready. The blooming process across Japan is actually tracked and forecasted with the daily news and weather, more or less like a regional party forecast. Here's an example of a tracking website: http://www.tenki.jp/skr/yosou/index.html
While in Omiya we also did a little shopping at the cocoon mall and while there we visited the Kua-Aina for lunch. Kua-Aina is a burger joint based out of Hawaii. We must say it was a damned good burger. Next was a stop at the Hikawa Shrine (yes, I know, yet more shrine pics), which was located in the large Omiya Koen also containing the Omiya Zoo. We took some time out to people watch, snap a couple of pics, and drink a few cold ones.
http://www.kua-aina.com/

Sunday, February 24, 2008

The Tochigi Brex 栃木ブレックス

Tochigi has a team in the JBL2 which is like the AAA of Japans pro basketball league the JBL. The Tochigi Brex split time between the cities of Utsunomiya, and Oyama.
Here in Utsunomiya they play at the City Gym which is a 3 minute walk from our apartment, so we went over yesterday to watch a game. We had court side seats which was nice. The Brex are actually pretty decent(relatively speaking) and are currently in 3rd place in thier league. They easily handled the Ibaraki/Hitachi team they played 109-78.
The Brex currently have 3 American players, 1 of which had 10 years NBA experience(quite a while ago as he is now 38), who along with another had recently been playing in Europe. There is another Japanese American who has only played pro in Japan, but he played his college ball at Nevada-Reno. It was nice to see some hoops, and while the crowd wasn't that large for this game its my understanding that they usually do have some pretty large crowds both here and at Oyama.
For PR they come around after the game and shake hands with the fans and it was kind of funny because several of the guys actually recognized us and our friends because we hang out at the Iceman bar, which is also one of the places they frequent and have "team gatherings".
Since the Gym is close and we like hoops, I'm sure we will attend a few more of their games. It is our understanding they are trying to build the team up and get there fan base better established for a push to acquire a slot in the top level JBL. Anyhow, enjoy the pics and here are some links.
http://www.tochigibrex.com/index.html
http://www.blogger.com/http//www.tochigibrex.com/player/index.html/index.html
http://www.jbl.or.jp/jbl2/

Saturday, February 23, 2008

In case you have forgotten the basics...........

Here are some instructions to help you get through、日本語だけごめんなさい。

Saturday, February 9, 2008

JLPT 4 Success

This week I received the results of the Japan Language Proficiency Test, taken back in December and I am happy to say that I recieved a passing score. The First level or Level 4 requires knowledge of Hiragana, Katakana, 140 Kanji characters, 800 basic words, and some basic grammar. The test is given once a year and consists of 3 sections, writing/vocabulary, listing/comprehension, and reading/grammar. I took the test on a college campus in Oyama, it took about 3.5 hours to complete, and I really struggled with parts of it, so I was pretty happy to find out I had received a passing score.
Next year I may take on the level 3 test that requires 300 or more Kanji and about 1500 vocabulary words. In consideration of what I have for a brain these days and in talking to other expats who have taken Level 3 I am pretty sure that I would have a snowballs chance in hell of passing it by next December, but it may be fun just to at least try it before we depart Japan in the summer.
If you’re interested in the JLPT, here a few hyper links to some Study Guides:
JLPT Level 4 Study Guide
JLPT Level 3 Study Guide
Original website of the Meguro Language Center who's materials I found very helpful in my preparation to take the test.
Another JLPT Study page Another helpful page with online quizzes.
Now if I could just pass that damned Japan Drivers license test so Heather doesnt have to drive me around for the next year and a half...............

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Fresh Seafood Dinner

Friends Ishikawa, Muroi, and Ishihara, dropped by for dinner yesterday evening.
Ishikawa-sans parents had shipped him a pretty large chest of fresh かに (Crab) and 貝(Shellfish) from where they live on west coast of Japan. The crab was fresh and really tasty, while the best description I can give for the shellfish would challenging? This was our first experience with this type of shells and they are nothing like clams, or oysters, which I can usually handle if they are cooked or buried in a soup. I tried them 3 different ways, Raw, Broiled, and Boiled, and I just couldn’t find a way I preferred them. For me they were a tad on the bitter side, very slimy, and I required a heavy dosing of Kirin after each attempt, to make the taste go away. Did I mention how wonderful the Crab was? Anyhow Heather was a bit of a puss and wouldn’t even attempt the shellfish, but she did surprise me by partaking in the traditional drinking of the Sake and "Crab Parts" mix from the shell of the crab. This was actually sweet and quite good. Heather prepared some Shrimp Pasta, the guys brought a Baskin and Robbins ice-cream cake, and of course we washed it all down with a lot of Kirin and Shochu whiskey.

Making Pottery at Mashiko 益子町

Saturday morning Kindra, Shinobu, and I went to Mashiko and made our own pottery.
We made Bowls, Mugs, Vase's, and of course the always popular Ashtray.
It was a bit messy, and lots and lots of fun. When we were finished we had lunch a really nice Japanese organic restuaraunt. The pottery making class is a very popular, so the kilns had a bit of a backlog requiring us to return to the museum next month and pick our finished goods. Perhaps if they look nice we will post some pics along with tour pics of the museum.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Icebucks Tailgate Party

Saturday we made a brief trek to Nikko for the last Icebucks regular season games. We attended the 2nd ever Icebucks tailgate party (The first being on New Years eve this year while we were back in the states) The weather was a bit brisk but we still managed to have a good time with the beer and brauts flowing. As you can tell by the pregame desolation of the parking lot, the tailgaiting gig hasnt quite caught on yet here in Japan. The girls also managed to muster up a little cheese cake and some candles and a quick round of Happy birthday for Heather. The team took a 4-1 loss, but i believe will still make it to the Asian League playoffs this year.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Sumo 相撲

Saturday, Heather and myself joined my Japanese Sensei Shinobu, and Skeet, in a trip to the Tokyo Ryōgoku Kokugikan to see the ongoing Sumo Tournament. In all the years of Japan visits, it was the first time I had seen Sumo live and I must say it was pretty entertaining. There is a bit of pageantry surrounding the tournament that was mildy entertaining, but the fighting was clearly what people were there to see. The Ryōgoku Kokugikan itself is used exclusively for Sumo, and was a very nice venue to see the fighting from even the highest vantage point. We were about half way up and still had a very nice view. We probably could have bought seats in the lower bowl section, but this is all Tatami seating which means sitting on your knees and ass for 3 hours, something none of us were into. There was a total of 35 matches and they were all pretty good with both of the Yokozunas, Hakuho and Asasyoryu easily winning their matches at the end. It actually can get pretty exciting when someone gets thrown clear off the ring and falls into the crowd, usually mashing the fans in the first couple of rows. Having seen these 300-400 lb. guys in person, I would not want them falling on me from any height. Heather and I will definitely take the opportunity to go again, and I would recommend it as a great way to spend part of a day in Tokyo or one of the other large cities that the tournaments are held. The film above is the final match of the day between Hakuho and Miyabiyama and as always there are a few more pics in the flickr folder.
Click here for Sumo Wikifacts.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Shaka Shaka Chicken シャカシャカチキン！

Its here! Yet another fine culinary delight from our friends of Japan McDonald's. Its a chicken fillet in a bag, to which you add one of three fine flavor powders options, Hot Chili, Lemon Pepper, or Cheese. You then give it a "Shake Shake" or a Shaka Shaka which is Automonopia for the exact sound the chicken makes in the bag as its getting coated with all of that tasty powdered goodness. For our trial run, I selected the cheese flavor, which may have not been the best choice. The cheese was pretty much the same powder you get with A Kraft Macaroni and Cheese kit. My guess is the Chicken fillet alone by itself probably tasted pretty good before I gave it the old cheese Shaka Shaka treatment, with the cheese powder, Im sure you can imagine. As its on the 100 Yen menu, we will probably give the other 2 flavors a run at some point, but as with many of the great Japan exclusive McDonald's products that come and go, they may be gone before we get around to it. Stay tuned well into your next lifetime for my evaluation of another great new "Sando" option, the "Cheese, Egg, Double Mac". http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/sales/new/tamagow/index.html

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Over 3000 visits in less than a year.

Its Hard to believe that we have had over 3000 hits/visitors on the blog in the 11 months it has been up. Using the sitemeter (visible in the lower left column) we are able to see daily where the visitors are from, and its pretty amazing that we have had visitors from almost every state and so many countries from around the world.
We are looking for some ideas to freshen things on the blog up a bit, so if you have suggestions, let us know.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Snow is here.............for a few hours anyway.

Winter sets in, Saturday was freaking Cold, Snowey, and of course the drinking ensued..............Rumor has it we may get out of town and head to Tokyo on Saturday for something a little more cultured like the Sumo tournament, and of course more probably drinking.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Christmas and New Years in Ohio

Hi to all! We made it back to Japan quite tired but with no major complaints with maybe the exception of dealing with the throngs of psychotic Buckeye fan tards we encountered in the Airports first thing Saturday morning. O-H!!!!!....sheeesh.
We arrived in Tokyo where it was a sunny day and pushing 60 degrees thank you very much.
Heather and I both had a great time during our stay and want to thank all of our family and friends for going out of their way to make it so enjoyable for us. It was most enjoyable to get to spend time with you all, and it really went fast. Here is a sampling of pics from the visit, you know where to find the rest. Currently we are planning a return visit possibly in the beginning of May and we hope to see you all again then, maybe the weather will even allow for some outdoor activities. Remember the door is always open for you all to swing by and visit us here in Utsunomiya if your so inclined.