what do you see?

A two-week silence...how mysterious! Well I've been quite busy with this and that. Also went to Hong Kong again for a few days. Here's some proof:


So why all the interest in Hong Kong? Well, the news is, to those who don't know yet, that we're finally leaving Japan after over 4 years and moving on to Hong Kong. We think it's the right time to say goodbye to Japan, but not to Asia. We have a pretty definite date (August 3rd) although all the details aren't fully worked out yet. I'll keep you updated though.
That leads to the common dilemma of what to do with this blog, as the URL is specifically "nihon". Do I just abandon it and start a new one, transfer it somewhere else, give up entirely...?

Wow. 3-1. Amazing.
(no sarcasm I promise! It was truly an amazing result. Couldn't get to sleep for ages after that!)

I haven't mentioned the footy yet, so I suppose I should. It's weird to think that this is the 2nd World Cup we've seen while in Japan.

It's half-time in the Japan-Australia match at the moment, and Japan are ahead...I won't offer any opinions, I should stay neutral. Although I have to say that during this half-time period I've just witnessed an extremely strange highlight-selection on NHK consisting of inspiring music and clips of Japanese players either making brave shots on goal, or being tackled down by the brutish Ozzies. But I won't offer any opinions on that. It's hard...but I won't...

This afternoon we finally climbed up to what we always nickname "the mausoleum" - a continuous presence looming on one of the foothills of Mount Moiwa behind us, which often seems to be watching our every move like a cyclops; sometimes lit up at night - although we know that it isn't a mausoleum at all, but actually some kind of peace memorial.
Close up it's actually quite big, although not in very good repair. It actually seems to be about to fall apart, with ominous bulges in the walls, and lots of tiles falling off.

It was very quiet up there; just us and a beaming Japanese hippy girl padding around in natural clothes.

I'm quite loathe to mention the weather, as it's been terrible for what seems like an eternity. It's really about two weeks I suppose, but it seems like last year that it was sunny and warm enough to sit around in parks in the sun. Anyway, it's bad - rainy, cloudy, cold...the positive thing is that it's perfect weather for going to an onsen, which is what we did this morning thanks to another free-pair-of-tickets from a student. The location was the onsen at the Jasmac Plaza Hotel (the hotel that looks a bit like a huge, beached, tiled cruise ship) in Susukino - in the city but a real natural onsen with several baths including a large outdoor cedar one. Relaxing.