Notes

The roller coaster is coming to an end here, and we are glad for it.  Our new teachers arrived last Wednesday and they are wonderful.  We have spent the past week showing them around Marugame and we are looking forward to this week being much more relaxed than the past six weeks have been.  Melissa now only works two hours a week and our schedules only overlap forty five minutes, which means that Callan comes with Melissa to class for forty five minutes and then he comes with me and he doesn’t have to be watched anymore.  

It’s already January 9th, which means we are almost half way through our one year contract.  We’ll be stateside before we know it, and all this will be a wild memory.

Today, despite Joey being a little ill, and a lot tired, the three of us took a train to Okayama this morning to go see Okayama castle.  With its abrupt black walls and golden carp ornamentation, it is one of the most eye catching castles in the country.  Inside is a museum dedicated to samurai life and the history of the feudal government that ruled the region in the 16th and 17th centuries.  There are some authentic samurai swords on display next to elaborately ornamented sheaths, a half dozen or so suits of samurai armor, a replica of the Castle Lord’s chamber, and a hands on replica of a wooden Lord’s carriage built to be carried on the shoulders of servants.  In addition, there is a small café, gift shop, and play area for children to try out traditional Japanese festival games like ring toss.

I’m not sure what kind of bug I had today, but it was very similar to the bug I had last Monday on the way home from Osaka.  Besides being exhausted, all my joints hurt, my stomach was cramped, my cough was wicked, and my head ached.  I think I would have chosen to stay home had we not needed to use our tickets before the twentieth of January.

Melissa was very patient with me and though I know she would have rather stayed out longer and gone to see some of the museums in the next town over, she took me home instead and has been taking care of me this evening.  

Callan and I took a bath together again tonight.  Our bath is so deep that when you sit in it the water comes up to just about your neck.  Callan loves it.  It is like a little swimming pool for him.  In fact, because the bath and the shower are in the same waterproof room, he has been using the bath as a place to practice kicking.  I hold him a float in the bath tub and he kicks and kicks and kicks, spraying water everywhere.  He also has been experimenting with putting his head in the water.  He doesn’t go all the way under yet, but he is learning to keep his mouth closed and to pinch his nose.

This is a dark picture of the big buddha inside. I'll try to lighten it and repost it.

This is the secondary buddha statue next to the big buddha at todaiji temple. Though smaller it still stands twenty or thirty feet in the air.

We all went up and down a lot of steps on this trip. This particular set is outside a large shrine built on the side of a hill in the north section Nara park. We took Callan's stroller with us but only ended up using it for the long walks between venues.

On saturday we spent all day in Nara, the first capitol of Japan. The streets in many places are barely wide enough for one car, and ferral, but harmless deer rome the streets.

This deer is actually inside an open fronted shop in Nara Park. According to the store owner the deer's name is Sakura (Cherry blossom) and it comes into her shop every day. Another deer has also taken a liking to the shop too.

Here is a funny english sign we saw at a construction zone at a train station.

outside the aquarium is one of the largest Ferrace wheels in the world. It is really tall, and takes 15 minutes to go around completely.

We all enjoyed the ferrace wheel ride, particularly the view.

Callan and Dad on the Wheel.

Here is a freeway bridge and downtown Osaka in the background. You can see the Osaka pool on the right hand middle of the shot, and in the upper right hand area just below the horizon you can see sun reflecting off the Osaka dome.

Cool wind sculpture outside Aquarium. We don't know the sculptor.

Another shot of the art museum from the wheel.

This is the aquarium as seen from the ferrace wheel.

Here is the urban sprawl from the other side of the ferrace wheel. There are I think 9 million people in the osaka area. It is Japan's second largest city.

We didn't go in this art museum but we took plenty of pictures of it and I walked around it with Melissa, who kept saying "Wow, wow" about the architecture.

Here is another shot of the art museum from the ferrace wheel.

This is a famous art museum in Osaka, just across the street from the Aquarium. It famous as much for its architecture as for its art.

Inside the shopping center next to the aquarium we ran into a familiar face from America.

That's one big turtle.