The Summer Wind

It seems the one year mark has snuck by us quite stealthily and I guess we must have enjoyed it because we've signed on for one more year. Of course we miss home, the things there, and sometimes even some of the people... but this run has been given a great boost of endurance from our many guests over the course of the summer.

Last YOU (our faithful fans) saw, we were singing karaoke with Meaghan, then she left and we were wearing yukata (summer kimonos). Hmm.... well, that does skip one little sub-plot we call CLIMBING MOUNT FUJI!!! We still owe you a healthy dose of pictures from that excursion, and I promise they WILL come eventually!

Just a few weeks after Meaghan left, a little group known as "my family" popped in for a visit! Understandably, they are very eager to be featured here on the blog (Fictional magazine recently rated appearance on this blog 8.7 points Cooler - using the standard international system - than appearing on Saturday Night Live), so I'll use this space to introduce them:

Meet (from left): KEVIN - sporting a jinbe top for maximum summer comfort, DAD, MOM, myself and Tara, and my older sister YOUSHINA SHIMASHITA.
This is atop Kyoto station on just their 3rd night in Japan!


HEY LOOK!!! It's the GUPPY; my long-told-of-yet-never-shown-vehicle! Well, sadly this first time will also be the last that the Guppy is shown, as he met an unfortunate end (specifically the end of a blue car) a couple weeks ago when I missed a stop sign. I'm fine, and nobody was hurt badly, but Guppy is damaged beyond the point that he's worth repairing. For the time being I'm back to doing my job entirely by bicycle!

Back to the family visit... I had 10 days off work for summer holidays, during which we did a whirlwind tour of Kyoto, Nara, and Tokyo. Much of the rest of the time was spent enjoying the casual lifestyle in our little town, Ichinomiya.

Here are mom and I outside a coffee shop where we tried "morning service", which is a breakfast free with the purchase of any drink. Mmm...free breakfast.
We later tried a few other cafes but this one (just down the street from our house) proved to have the BEST free breakfast around. The "Canadian Coffee House" may have been the skimpiest breakfast, or maybe we were just disappointed because we expected special Canadian treatment.

Kevin had a chance to enjoy these stylish Japanese floor chairs. He enjoyed them so much that he decided to buy one and take it back to Canada.
He was also a big fan of the jinbe, which he wore for most of his time in Japan, at least until he found organic cotton hippy pants in Tokyo.

Everyone found Kyoto beautiful, and it was also unanimously agreed to be HOT. The heat combined with the huge crowds (during Japan's biggest summer holiday) meant that we couldn't walk far without seeking shade and drinks. Despite the intense humidity, we managed to make our way around to some great spots.
Of course, the ever-convenient vendors of ice-cold drinks, proved to be one of the most popular sites with everyone.

Maybe it was partly due to the heat, but the summer feels like a blur! It was great to have so much family time this summer and now that the end of September is nearing it feels like not long at all before we will be coming back to Canada to celebrate Christmas and New Year's at home. We will be both be home for a little under one month, hopefully arriving in Canada in mid-December.

-IAN!

Hi Dad!

Hello to all. As you may have read, I have been visiting with my family for the past 3 weeks. My dad headed back to Canada last Friday (he is already safely back at home), and my mom and brother will begin their trip home tomorrow. Needless to say, it has been a very busy summer, and there will be many more pictures to show of trips to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara, as well as adventures in daily life here in Ichinomiya, and a special trip to a Buddhist temple in the mountains.

As many of you already know. Tara ALSO headed back to Canada last Friday for a special 1 week visit, in order to celebrate her grandparents` 50th anniversary! ~~ Congratulations!!! ~~

Tara took her computer back to Canada, so I`m using the internet at a *manga cafe* at the moment -- I:ll explain about those another time. Unfortunately I haven:t been able to figure out how to SEND email on here. Even using my hotmail account, I seem to run into problems sending, but the error message is in Japanese, and I have no idea what it means. SO, SORRY TO THOSE WHO HAVE TRIED TO CONTACT ME!!


Dad, and Justin, I got your messages. Might not be able to respond for awhile, but thanks!
Ok, well that:s all for today. Just didn:t want anyone to feel neglected.

He's looking more and more like them....

The summer months are quite festive in Japan, with Tanabata - a star festival - occuring July 7th, a myriad of fireworks shows in every city (as well as more private shows like in the parking lot of our apartment), and Obon - one of the biggest festival/holiday times of the year - happening in August. These festivals, like many things in Japan, incorporate eons of tradition of which we understand probably only the most superficial layers. Most observably, a great number of people wear 'funny clothes' which they like to call "yukata" (a kind of summer kimono). This past weekend Tara and I, with a little (lot of) help, had the opportunity to don the traditional summer garb and venture out into public.

Key members of our team included Hime and her daughter Yumeka, both ex-students of mine from Nova. We had been invited over for a delicious lunch on Saturday, but lunch turned into yukata-shopping, which lead to a long and complicated session of yukata-dressing (the young Yumeka fortunately quite talented in the extremely complicated methods of obi-tying), and finally to a feeling of "Now that we're all standing around wearing yukata, we might as well go to a festival!"

And so we headed to Nagoya, making it just in time to catch the absolutely spectacular finale of the fireworks display. We probably only managed to catch the last 10 or 15 minutes of the show, but everyone knows that they save the best for last! When we showed up, most people were already heading home, tired from standing around for over an hour.

My yukata has TIGERS!!! COOL!!! And Tara looks pretty, but hers has flowers and not TIGERS!!!


I admit I felt a little nervous walking through the station wearing yukata. Particularly in the main train station where we were the only ones wearing traditional clothing. On the subway line, closer to the festival, many people were dressed for the festival, and we felt more in place.

Yukata pros:
- See Tara's big wide sleeves! Those are sewn at the bottom and you can keep your wallet, keys, cell phone, etc. in them. No need for cargo pockets!
- Hot weather? Light material, and that refreshing up-yukata draft keep things cool even on the most packed subway cars.
- They look cool!

Yukata cons:
- That thin material sure provides a thin boundary between you and the guy behind you on the cramped train car.
- The proper method to tie an obi (sash across your waist) is a skill requiring serious training (they really do have lessons, and people who do this professionally).

Down at the fireworks show we met up with the lovely Yuki. Her mother happens to be a professional kimono dresser.

Come on Charles! Wear yukata! Everyone else is doing it!!!





Hmm... unlike the fireworks show, I save my least impressive comments for last.

TIGERS!!!

There... Finished.

-ian

Meaghan in Japan!

Hello again!
Well, this year is more than half over already and we are rapidly nearing our one year mark in Japan (WOW), and there has been alot of questions concerning what our plans actually are. So far I must say that this year feels more like 5 years crammed into 6 months. There is always too much to do and I often feel like I don't even have time to breathe. I anticipate things for months and then they fly by in seconds leaving me standing around wondering if they even occurred. Looking back on when we first came, it seems like lifetimes ago, and I really can't even imagine how I ever thought a year would be enough. Of course getting to see my family really gave new vitality to that feeling....had you asked me 3 months ago my thoughts may have been different. My point is that right now we are feeling quite settled and though we have plans to be home for Christmas, our next extended return may not be until sometime in the later half of 2008. If this next year flys by half as quickly I am sure you won't even notice the extended absence!
Don't fret though...I can safely say that no one is being forgotten! In fact, I think the only reason I am able to securely live this far from most of the people whom I love and care about is because I know I have all of your support. I guess I owe you all thanks for making me feel safe no matter where I am. I am a very lucky girl and would not be here if it were not for all of you.
Anyways, getting too sentimental now...
Meaghan will be leaving me next week to go back home and I think its making me miss everyone!
So to give you a little summary of the part month I have posted some pictures. Here are just some of the things we got up to in June!




Some of you may remember the pictures of Yuki I posted months ago (an old Nova student). Well Ian and Meaghan and I were invited to their home and taken for a 'Japanese Microbiotic Meal'. Not exactly sure what that IS, but it was delicous!! Plus getting to see Yuki again is always a plus!


After this...let's see....
Oh! The Karaoke binges....
Why we weren't doing this before I don't know, but boy did we learn our lesson!! Cheap private rooms where we can make complete fools of ourselves???!! We were missing out....







This past weekend we actually experienced a 'real' night out in Japan...Karaoke til 6am!!! Fun at the time, though our Canada day celebration the next evening was a little bit less than festive! Sorry no pics from this particular outing, but I am sure if there were they would be along the same lines as the ones from above!

Ok, next up we have.....Meaghan's birthday in Japan! Happy 22nd!

In accordance with Rafferty Family tradition Meaghan woke up to find this message and lovely artwork skillfully applied to the mirror! That's Kuromi-Chan in the corner. She is an unfortunate soul, and we love her. We also kinda like the other girl in the picture...:P Oh and Meaghan wore those Kuromi ears allllllllllllllll day long.

What birthday would be complete without a lazy Panda!!??

Unfortunatly the lazy panda met a sad fate soon after this picture was taken..

We still aren't sure if Kuromi-Chan did it, or if Charles was the real perpetrator, but boy was he delicous!!

And what birthday would be complete without bowling!! Meaghan like it soooooo much that the excitement distracted her and made her forget to return her shoes. :P

Oh and they guy above in blue is Charles!

OH and Jeff visited!!!

This actually happened before Meaghan's birthday but its ok. That weekend also involved bowling!

We sure love riding bikes. Especially coooool pink ones!

And what could top Meaghan's birthday you might ask??



FUJI!!!!!!
(that was us preparing to take on the mountain!) She was a formidable opponent and thus deserves a post all to herself, but I will leave you with this photo of the beginning of our journey
Stay tuned for more!!!
(including the ever-popular "EGG IN A BAG!!!!!")

Anyways...good bye for now!

The disappearing month of May

May has come and gone, and has taken with it a visit from my family. I am still in shock over the fact that it has already happened, seeing as it seemed to take forever to actually get here.
But such is life. Either way it was an amazing month and I have about 5000 pictures to prove it. It was amazing to get to see my family again and I had soooo much fun traipsing around Japan with them! Below you will find a little sample of things done and interesting anecdotes.

I will start off slightly backwards, with the last night of my parents visit, mostly because the story behind it is hilarious.
By recommendation of my lonely planet book, we decided to get dressed up and head to the Park Hyatt for a drink. Now, if you have seen the movie 'Lost in Translation' you might like to know the Tokyo Hyatt is where it was filmed. Its pretty much the best hotel in Tokyo and the view alone leaves one feeling like they are standing on the edge of the world.
So anyways, we go in and are sitting for a while, when suddenly I notice a guy almost walk into our table. He looked surprised and ducked around us, and me, being insanely observant, thought to myself...hmm...he's kinda cute, but also kinda drunk....hehe
So no sooner does he scoot by our table, then the 2 girls sitting next to us begin to freak out. Still not thinking anything of it, we go about our business. A few minutes later a large entourage of people meander by and one the girls trys to latch onto the guy who almost walked into our table. My Dad, being ever so shy, leans over and asks "who was that??"
Well, wouldn't you know.....With Pirates 3 premiering just 2 days prior in Tokyo, ORLANDO BLOOM was staying at the Hyatt. ARGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Orlando Bloom pretty much walked into us and I didn't even notice!!!!!!

Meaghan and I were obviously quite upset at our lack of observational skills, and determined we WOULD get a picture with him before we left Tokyo.....






We were so cute that night too!!!! Its no fair..... : (



Anyways, we have moved on. Clearly he is just not good enough :P


Ok! So backing up a bit in time....

These next few pics are a sample from our visit to Kyoto...
Gorgeous as always, I think it is impossible to take a bad picture here.
This trip was interesting because we actually met a few local people who toured us around. As amazing as everything is to look as it all means so much more when you actually know the history behind it.
The first person whom we encountered was a University student names Hatsuka who was doing volunteer tours at Kiyomizudera (interestingly, this temple is in the running for one of the "new 7 wonders of the world")




After a failed attempt to spot a Geisha the last time we visited Kyoto, I was on the lookout, and sure enough, at the first temple we visited I managed to see one! We were pretty far, but given the insane shoes they have to wear I figured we would race and catch her. She was nice enough to pose for a shot with us. I have to say, they are amazing people to look at. Its a wonder how they manage to move in all the clothing they have to wear. She was absolutely beautiful though.
As our trip went on we actually spotted quite a few more geisha, each just as amazing looking. Totally made up for my miss last time!!



This next picture is from the Arashiyama area in Kyoto...my favourite place!!! You may remember the monkey video from way back.....that was in this area as well. Its gorgeous and surrounded by water and mountains and temples.....
I'm not even going to try to describe it any further...you should just come see it for yourself.



Ok, moving on to Tokyo. Like I said I have a ton of pictures and these are only a tiny sample to give you an idea of what we were up to...


SUMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok seriously the coolest sport EVER. I didn't even think it would be that interesting but we ended up staying for almost the entire thing. Its another thing that can't really be explained. In fact I still don't really know the rules, but its interesting to watch. Its all about psyching your opponent out and most of the time there isn't anything more than a staring match or salt throwing going on, but its intense.

This is the biggest paper lantern in Japan, and it is located right in the midst of Tokyo. Apparently one of the only places where modernization has yet to take a huge tole (in Tokyo). This was actually one of the most impressive temples I have seen and rivalled any that we visited in Kyoto. And being in the midst of the largest city in the world only made it all the more intriguing.

The rest of these pictures are from a little trip to Gifu castle, just 20 minutes from Ichinomiya. Ian and I had yet to visit and though the castle left a bit to be desired, the scenery more than made up for it. And being on top of a mountain just made it even cooler. Of course, that will seem only trivial in a week....

Why you say? Because next Saturday we will be going on a 19 km climb up FUJI-SAN!!!!!!!

More on that soon to come!

We aren't sure what was going on here....

Or here....

In fact I think most times we have no clue whats going on! But it makes life interesting.

Anyways there is lots more to come....more family pics, and our karaoke spree after they left!! Possibly some of the most entertaining shots yet to date...so check back soon!!!

Miss you all!!

Lots of Love

Tara