Stephen's Travels in Asia

Sunday, August 26, 2018

August 26, 2018

August 26, 2018

I’ve been sick. Very sick. For those who were not in the know, right after my family left and I posted my little trip down memory lane, I got deathly ill. We’ll end this with photos to be a bit of an upper, since I don’t want to be a downer, but it started off with me getting super dehydrated during my travels with my parents. We chugged water and sports drinks, but it weakened me greatly, to the point where it reached a head(or rather, it reached my head) and I got a throat infection when we were leaving Tokyo, which grew as I started to lose my voice, right up until it was time to go back to work.

I missed 4 days of work because of this sickness. It’s a great shame on my record, because the last time I missed work for sickness was 6 years ago. The last time I was laid out for more than a day or two by sickness and we’re going back DECADES. So, this was pretty bad. I learned that while I thought walking and standing was all I needed to work, but as a teacher, I also need my voice. And this bronchial infection cost me that. I sounded like a dead frog for four days. Then it got worse, if you can believe that.

No, really, it got worse. My infection climbed up to my ear and I lost hearing in my right ear. At this point, the writing was on the wall. I needed to see a specialist. I’d been to my local clinic twice and it just wasn’t cutting it, so, for the last week I’ve been seeing a throat and ear specialist. It was a harrowing affair, with the pressure in my head being so crippling I could barely walk, with the blood I had to get taken for tests making me feel too weak to stand, and with the sickness and coughing being so severe I couldn’t sleep. Don’t let anyone tell you sick days are fun. I focused all my strength on just surviving to the next day and trying to recover. To that end, I cut all cheese, soda, and sweets, along with anything that could irritate my throat, from my diet. It was not fun.

I did manage to go back to work and while my voice isn’t at 100%, it’s good enough. I’ve been able to get back to my regular teaching schedule, so that’s good, but this sickness has been a trial for everyone. I am on the road to recovery. The specialist I saw gave me good medicine and cut into my ear to drain the fluid causing the pressure buildup in my head. I won’t go into more detail than that, but suffice it to say, I survived…somehow.

Now, that’s out of the way, so let’s do some Tokyo photos with the family. Enjoy.

My first big sight in Tokyo was the Ghibli clock right next to my family's hotel. I have video of it moving, but it's too big for this blog.

Had to get the local shrine on camera

Welcome to Kawaguchiko, gate to Mt. Fuji and a pretty magical place all told.

My mom and I standing at the start of the journey of our family to explore Fuji.

Love the architecture

My mom and dad loved this aspect of Japan and so do I. I love the just natural blending of nature and modernity to create a place that is calming to rest and beautiful to pass.

Lake Kawaguchiko, before lunch and the ropeway.

Speaking of the rope way, we climbed up high to see Fuji through the cloudy skies.

Along the way to Fuji, we came to the top of the ropeway and a fun little tribute to a local story of a naughty tanuki and the rabbit who punished him for his misdeeds.

Heart bell, to tie together those who love.

This is probably the best of the pictures of me, with Fuji in the background just through the clouds, if you look carefully.

Welcome to the music box museum, aka, Music Forest.

Mima the opera clown sang opera for us and it was a great performance after out long trek.

So many beautiful and elaborate music boxes that dance and light up when you start them

I loved the aesthetic of this place from start to finish

We must be home before midnight!

I did SEE the Tokyo Skytree, but the line was too much and I was too tired and starting to get sick, so I didn't climb.

Instead I hung out with Totoro

And saw the National Museum and all it's weirdness

Love me some museums.

This marks the end of the trip, which is how I wanted it to end. I shared my gourmand tastes with my family and gave them a hit of real, local Japanese food. I hate chasumen, my dad eating some donburi, and my mom with some special crunchy yakisoba.

My father's only picture because he didn't like the camera, but yeah, he did have a good time, tired though all of us was. I had a great time with my family, I just that I hadn't been sick through the last bits of it.

Thursday, August 16, 2018

August, 16, 2018

August, 16, 2018

So, let’s talk holidays. Before that, though, I want you to know that as I am writing this, I am sick. I have been sick from the start of my holiday, until now, the end of it. Looking back, it was a very good vacation and I got to spend a lot of time with my family, but it was a challenge at the time, battling the heat, my own frustration with said heat, and sickness that cropped up basically from the word go.

So, where to begin? Well, I didn’t sleep before heading down to Tokyo because I had a very early Shinkansen to catch and I was afraid I would miss it, so I started out this trip pretty out of it. I made my train and my family was on a tour that was unable to contact me due to some crossed wires, but the hotel let me into their room and I crashed until their tour was over. We got Mexican that first night. You might laugh, but after so long without, it was so damn good. I was really happy…then the snoring. Everyone in my family snores, but it’s hard for me to manage, personally. So, I didn’t sleep much in Tokyo.

Fuji was…a difficult trial. Not a bad one, mind, but a difficult one. The heat was an omnipresent entity during this entire trip and it beat me down. I sweat from every pore and I was gross by the end of every journey. Thankfully, it was higher up in the area we went and cloudy, so it was more manageable, but I still felt like dying each and every day. The bus to Kawaguchiko, the lake just below Fuji, was supposed to take only about 2 hours but traffic caught us going and coming so we arrived and returned an hour late. It was super frustrating. The area itself was beautiful and I got to have a lovely Indian lunch and talk with another US citizen living in Japan. Gave me some food for thought about my future. We also got to climb using a ropeway to a tanuki and rabbit shrine and got a decent view of the peak of Fuji. Pictures to come later. A running theme of this tour would be our giving up on walking, as we were so tired and hot after the ropeway that we took a bus rather than walk to the last spot on our journey. The music forest, or music box museum. I love this place. It’s like a giant fairytale garden, but it’s based in realism, with music boxes from all over the world preserved. We even got a performance from a charming opera singer and our tickets could be turned into music box reading cards. We also got to see a wonderful concert that had live sand painting with the accompanying music. It was crazy seeing the indistinct sand smudges turn into a whole scene to enjoy. But after all that, it was time to go back. I was hoping to get Kaiseki in Tokyo, which is a special style of Japanese feast, but our schedule didn’t allow and we got back to our hotel right as the Kaiseki restaurant was closing. We could still get food elsewhere and I had a Japanese twist on American mini burgers which was great.

Sunday was where the chinks in the armor started to show. I began to feel not just hot and tired, but sick and with pain in my throat. I headed to the Tokyo skytree, but said to hell with waiting two hours to climb up. We visited a Ghibli store, which was cool and nostalgic, and then headed to the national museum. It was full of great art, but again, the walking killed me and my family. After that, we headed out to an Izakaya tour to try some amazing delicacies from Tokyo and all of Japan, including eating a still twitching fish. It was meh, I’d rather have had regular tuna, but the food overall was excellent and again I got a chance to think about my future as our guide was an Australian woman who found her calling in giving food tours with another company. Sounds like a heavenly job.

Monday, I felt like garbage. I’ve felt that way basically all the way up until today. My throat was on fire, I had a wheezing cough, and the heat didn’t help. So, I struggled to get ready for the trip to Natori. My family and I got Taco Bell which was a nice taste of home, plus now I can say I had Japanese Taco Bell, along with KFC, Mcdonalds, and Subway. The waiting and the heat was brutal and when we got to Natori, my family got lost and I had to do some quick thinking to find them. They actually managed to call my phone after we missed each other and apparently some wires got crossed so they were waiting upstairs while I was waiting on the 2^nd floor. After heading to Natori, we got a taxi, which we would get every day afterwards due to being tired of walking, and my family checked into their hotel. Then, I took them to Yakiniku. My restaurant had a great selection of different meats and my mom and dad left satisfied, so long as I didn’t tell them what was in any of them, hehe. It felt good to sleep in my own bed. After the snoring and the heat, I had my A/C and my own futon back.

Looking back, I think Tokyo is a magical and wondrous place, for example there’s a giant Ghibli clock sculpture that moves at certain times outside the hotel we stayed at. That said, it’s also too crowded, too hot, and a bit too busy for my liking. Some of my favorite times during the trip was when my family and I didn’t have to run around and could just get downtime together to relax. Natori and Sendai mostly provided that.

I couldn’t go to the doctor till Thursday due to the holiday, so I’ve had to tough out my sickness. On Tuesday, we took the Sendai Loople bus tour, but it was so crowded and so hot. I love Sendai castle and we had fun looking at all the souvenirs and trying weird stuff, but the Zuihoden mausoleum was a bit much with all the stairs, waiting, and heat. We were going to make four stops, but settled at two. We were all so tired. We also wanted to visit Matsushima, but with me being sick and down and the heat beating us silly, we decided against it. I think I’ve sweat more in this one weak than in almost a full year. Anyway, after the tour, we bought some trinkets in Loft, had some crepes, and tried omurice for my family. I love food and think of myself as a gourmand, so I wanted my family to try the weird and wonderful daily food that I loved in Japan, like yakiniku and omurice.

We headed to the bathhouse on Wednesday and had a good soak. We also ate some cold soba and tempura along with ice cream to help refresh ourselves after the bath. It was very restful for everyone and a much-needed break, which helped us all to relax. That said, I was still sick and worn down from the whole trip. Bless my family for helping me. I didn’t get mean or angry, but I did complain a fair bit. I really do hate summer. After that, we had dinner at a hamburger steak restaurant called Bikuri Donki. I haven’t been very hungry through most of the trip just through sheer dehydration and exhaustion. I’ve only wanted water and tea and indulged in generally one to one and a half meals during my time in Natori with my family.

The final day of my family’s stay, I had to get up early and book it to a doctor. I got medicine to help with my horrible, wheezing, painful coughs and throat burning. I managed to get what I wanted and it has helped me to feel better, but I am going into work a bit down tomorrow, as I’ve just been run ragged. Today, the goodbye was pretty light, as my family knew I needed rest. I took my mom and dad to my local ramen shop and they got to meet the lovely family who’ve given me delicious food for so long. We shared a yakisoba, katsudon, and chashumen lunch and it was excellent. They love pickled food and our hosts gave them plenty, to my delight. Everyone had a good time, but I was finally weakened enough to want to rest and write this. So that’s how we’ll end my vacation. Sick, bedridden, exhausted from the heat, but with some pretty good memories.

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

July 11, 2018

July 11, 2018

So, let’s get a few things out of the way first. I have a super amazing mega cute story at the end of all my updates, wait for it, but I do have some house cleaning to do first.

Item the first, I have seriously considered getting rid of all my social media outlets. I won’t, because I know that some people would miss me and some people will care that I’m gone. That’s basically all that ties me to it. I don’t like the news in my feeds, it’s all depressing, and while I do like writing these, let’s be honest, less than 20 people read them each update. It’s not a huge deal. Also, throughout my life on Facebook or what have you, I’ve always had any statements or beliefs I’ve made be countered immediately, almost as a knee jerk reaction. It frustrates me. The people doing it aren’t necessarily wrong, but I just want to express myself and ironically, social media is not the place for that because it is like a den of wolves.

Item the second, I have started going into online dating again. That’s about all. It’s for the experience at the moment, to get used to online dating and trying to reach out to people, but so far, I’ve had no bites and have nothing of real value to share.

Item the third, I’m not in the best of moods, lately. It’s not that life here isn’t great…to be honest, life here is beyond my wildest hopes and dreams and we’ll get to that, but I just feel listless and a little lost, especially when it comes to games, which are my primary stress relievers, so if my mood reflects that, I’m sorry, but this is me. This is me right now as I write this.

With all that out of the way, let me say summer has been kicking our butts up and down the pacific here in Natori. The heat is manageable on some days, but others, walking outside feels like stepping into an oven. I had to step into the oven and head into Sendai to get some new clothes and a few supplies for the school and it worked out well, I now have a reliable clothes vendor that fits me, shock of shocks. I’ve been struggling with the heat and with dry throat because I NEED my A/C on whenever I’m home to just function. It’s not all that bad and it is getting more manageable as I get used to it, but it has left the last month a bit difficult, which might add to my listless feeling.

Now, for work. God, I love this job. I love working as a teacher where I am right now. We have a supportive staff, my skills continue to get better, and my students and I have developed the kind of rapport I can be proud of. More on that later, but this job is probably the best one I’ve ever had in my life. Point of fact, my bosses are also pretty awesome. They sent a care package to our school and my part of it had instant mac and cheese that only needed water. Now, you might think that the instant stuff isn’t that great…but good lord, no. It’s magic. Magic in a little plastic cup. I haven’t had mac for a solid year and this is something I need my family and friends to send me more of. Haha, so good!

I’ve recently had a chance to just relax, more like been forced to relax due to the heat, but it’s nice to just explore the shrines, visit my bath house, go to fine restaurants in my area, and try new things. I tried the 8-cheese pizza from a local pizza shop, you know, a hole in the wall delivery place, and it’s wonderful. I am gonna get me some more of that later. The Seims shop near my house has also been a wonderful supply of useful items from cleaners to candy. I love my candy. Exercises are still going, though I do miss days once in a while due to things like scheduling. I had to get my A/C cleaned one day and that started at 8 and lasted till 10, so I just collapsed after that and skipped it, for example. As a way to try and deal with my listlessness and because I have money now, I bought an SNES classic, but since it was the English version, it’ll be near the end of July that it arrives. So sad. And my family is coming to visit me in August. Super excited for that, though we couldn’t get tickets for the Ghibli museum. Of course not. So sad. Or is it? I’ll have a good time either way. As I get older, I’ve learned to let go of fleeting sadness more and more to try and embrace the joy in life. My writing of my personal tarot book is going well, thank you friend who sent me the awesome leather tome, you know who you are. I’ve got the major arcana and two minor arcana done. Just two more minors, the face cards, and my personal tarot quiz from Ogre Battle. My writing is going well, but it’s become difficult at times to keep going. I want to tell a great story but sitting down to write is hard. Anyway, we’re entering end game. When I finish around December, I’ll need to start looking for a serious copy editor and then shop it around to publishers.

Before we get to the awesome story, I need to take a moment of silence. It’s been very difficult for me personally for a number of reasons. One of them was due to the toxicity of the politics in the US, which I try to avoid, but which still drags me down. In other news, Daniel Floyd from Extra Credits stepped down as the iconic narrator, which was sad…he’s got a good replacement, nothing against Matt, but it’s the end of an era all around. He’s still making videos, and that’s cool, but…yeah…and what I’m still trying to process on some levels is the passing of John “TotalBiscuit,” Bain from cancer. He was a world changing force and a source of great joy, humor, and happiness in my life as a video critic, commentator, and pundit and he will be missed. I donated to the charity set up to help his wife and played a few games I normally wouldn’t have in his honor.

Okay, okay, you want the juicy stuff. Let’s get to it. So, the reason I decided to write this today was because I had a special feeling. It doesn’t happen often, but as I was riding down to the bento shop during my break to get food, a voice calls out to me from a car. “Hi Stephen!” I look and it’s one of my students. I get my bento and another student shyly waves to me. Another student I taught. I am riding home and I get another call of, “Hey Stephen-sensei!” from yet another student. I’m no celebrity, but…it got to me, a little. These people know me and they think kindly of me enough to say hello. They smile and wish me well. And put that together with this wonderful town, that has everything I want. Everything I need. And then ask me the question, “Could you see yourself living here in 20 years?” You’re damn right I could. Seeing my students grow and improve has been a joy of mine as a teacher from the very beginning, but this time, I just felt…home. I love Natori so very much. If I ever do leave, like for Hokkaido or China or to return to the states, I’ll make it a point to visit again. My favorite places in the world. Number 1, Fushimi Inari. It’s because of an old love. Number 2, Hakodate. It’s the food and the beauty. Number 3, Natori. Because it’s home. And yes, for you readers getting upset, my hometown stateside is tied at number 4 with Osaka. It too is wonderful, but…Natori has won me over. So, that’s my little cute story. About being home. I’m glad to be here. Always. This places makes me so very happy.

Sunday, June 10, 2018

June 10, 2018

June 10, 2018

It’s been a while since my last update, so I figured now would be an okay time. The reason for the drought of updates is simply that life has stabilized around a routine. I wake up between 9 and 10 most days, then I do exercises, which I’m proud to say I increase by one each day I do them. It consists of squats, push-ups, and sit ups, then a shower, lunch, and whatever project I have for the day before a quick nap, then work. My current projects are: a journal that details my views on Tarot, going through each card, with meaning, story, and picture descriptions for them. This will take a while, since it’s hand written. Also, I edit my book, and I’ve started working towards getting a dating profile back online. I’ll drop the money I need for that come July, right now I’m still getting the Q/A section of it finished, or at least well along.

My family and friends are coming to visit me in August and October respectively, so I’ve also been micromanaging that. We have hotels booked, but I need to book the ferry and Shinkansen tickets for my respective visitors. I also REALLY wanna get back to my Japanese studies. My language has improved since staying here, but I feel I could improve more with proper time, even if it’s just once a week, dedicated to studying, so I think I will in July or August. I want to take a language placement test to prove my worth as a Japanese language speaker at some point in the future.

In other news, life is pretty stable here. Summer has come and good lord do I hate that. It’s got some beautiful scenery, like the rice fields which are a sea of green at this point, but the heat and sunlight are difficult for me, especially since I burn really easily. Classes are hot, well, those without central A/C are, but the students get a kick out of my fan, which I need to survive. I always doubt myself, no matter how skilled I become, but it seems like my students are having fun and enjoying my lessons, so I am happy here. This year has been spectacular in small ways. It’s the little improvements that make things, like going to Seimes weekly to get my special candy or visiting my ramen shop or yakiniku. I can’t overstate how much I love this place and how happy I am these days, even if it is tempered by exhaustion after work days.

My staff and I went out for an all you can drink party as well, which was cool. I don’t drink beer, so I had my fill of soda, then headed home. I’m not much for big parties, but I had a good time. I also checked out a house because I am getting in the mindset of buying one. Nowhere near enough money at this point, but…maybe someday. I’m also hanging out with people a bit more, some Japanese, some foreign. But I do also enjoy my private time.

The Switch is still really fun for me, though I just finished Hyrule warriors and good lord was that a slog. I like playing as Zelda characters, but the story mode is just awful. And I’m stuck in limbo waiting for an entry into the Magic the Gathering beta online, which I want to try while Gwent gets its crap together. Games are still a big part of my life, but…eh…I’m okay with less of them these days.

A reason for less games has been the death of John Bain, which…I took harder than I thought. He was British, but he lived in my state and was one of, if not the most, influential games journalists of all times, acting as comedian, rights advocate, critic, and newscaster, all with a level of wit, humor, and professionalism that shames modern news outlets. It’s been about two weeks now, and I’m only just getting over it. I still have his backlog to watch, but…it’s the end of an era. A sad end, too. Cancer at 33. Just this once, I’ll also be posting a link to a gofund me for his wife and son, who deserve help after all the medical bills for cancer. God bless capitalism. I do want to take a moment and say how awesome universal health care is in Japan…get your act together, US.

I’ve also been talking with my best friend a lot more. She’s had more free time after a grueling semester working towards her masters. It’s been…a nice addition to my routine. She puts me at ease, though I feel we pick at each other sometimes. She posed the question to me, do I want to stay in Japan? I’ve kind of held out hope that the US would shape up and I could return and find work there, at least for a bit, and see my family and friends, but the more I live in Natori, the more I don’t want to leave Japan. This country is wonderful and I love it. Still, my future is up in the air. The only thing I know is I want to finish my book. We’re drawing close. A few more months and hopefully it’ll be finished before the year’s end. Then the revising and editing begins.

So, yeah, we have small moments here, but my schedule is pretty set and, for the most part, I like it. I miss family and friends, I miss DnD, I miss some of my foods, but it’s a small thing compared to how easy it is to live in Japan. I do my job, which I love, and it feels as if I don’t have a care in the world. Can it last forever? Probably not, but…I intend to enjoy it while it does last. Not sure when the next update will be. Till then.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

May 9, 2018 + photos

May 9, 2018

Well, here we are again. I’d like to preface this with a few things. First, this is mostly my vacation for Golden Week. Second, we will get into some philosophy, so if that’s not your thing, sorry. Anyway, life up till now has been good. Not outstandingly spectacular, mostly due to the fact that I’m sick, more on that later, but very pleasant. Work is hard but rewarding as we try some new teaching methods and I can count on everyone on the team, which is nice.

Vacation for me started with a simple day off. I wanted to recover because for the last few weeks, I’ve had issues with waking up with a dry throat and in pain. I took medicine, but the changes have been minor, at best. I also started having sleeping issues, where getting a full night’s rest was close to impossible, all before holiday. My rest gave me a chance to recover, but still, I had to pack and my sickness issues were just beginning.

Day two, we headed out to Hiraizumi. The trains were a bit frustrating to navigate, as you’d have one train for a destination, per hour, which seemed dumb to me. Anyway, I love riding trains. When I have a place to sit, especially on the 2-4 car trains, it’s really pleasant. I started reading William Samurai, the book telling the life of who Nioh was based off of. My hotel wouldn’t let me in when I arrived, because I got there too early, so I explored Hiraizumi and saw Motsuji temple. It’s very quaint. That’s a good word for most of the town. Quaint. The atmosphere of the area was tranquil and it helped me to relax, despite the sweating, coughing, and feelings of exhaustion. More on that later. I made plans for the future and stopped at a lovely little soba place. It had some of the best music I’ve heard in ages, which was a mix of traditional Japanese melody and synthesizers, so it was like listening to the best video game Asian themed music never made. I may have to track it down since I have the name of it. The old lady was sweet.

So, here’s the skinny. I have a case of asthma, a dry cough/cold, and a wart/pain on my left foot. It also means that I have trouble sleeping due to the dry cough and needing water. I battled sickness and dehydration every step of the way with this journey. And on day two, it really was a battle. I rented a bike, which was nice, but the climb up to Chusonji was a hard one. I stopped at the Hiraizumi heritage center and learned a bit more about the Fujiwara clan who ran the area before the Sengoku Jidai. It was interesting. After that, I headed to the temple proper. It was beautiful and the climb up, while exhausting, had a mystique due to the forest surrounding everything. The Buddhas on display were large and very cool and the final golden pavilion to house them was a sight to behold. No photos of those because some experiences are ephemeral and are not meant to be recorded. Go see them for yourself. Anyway, on the way down, I was feeling exhausted and down on myself due to just loneliness. Chased it away with a bike ride, some ice cream, and a bit more planning. I wanted to go to a special temple, Takkoku, but I didn’t. More on that later. I want to end by saying my lunch was one of the local specialties. Soba and noodles are the bread and butter of Hiraizumi, so I got a special one which is six small bowls of soba with added condiments on the side so you can customize your experience. An odd but satisfying meal. The noodles themselves were great.

After my trip to Hiraizumi, I got food at an Indian restaurant run by Nepalese people who were very nice and interested in me. We communicated mostly using my poor Japanese, but the food was spectacular. I didn’t sleep much on the night before my return. I’d brought my book and my switch to keep me company, but it was my damn throat pain which kept me up. And then, in the morning, the big insult. The trains, I love, but the schedule around them is stupid. I missed the train to Hiraizumi, and by extension to Takkoku, but 3 minutes. So, here were my options. I’d tried to go to Takkoku before, but they kept moving around the bus stop and it was a really irregular bus. The next train to Hiraizumi was an hour and thirty minutes away. The next train to Sendai was an hour and forty minutes away. So, I could try and extend this trip by another 3-5 hours because of wait times or I could just go home. I decided to go home. The train ride was pleasant going home, but the reason why I went home? Well, after I got home, I headed right out to the doctor to get some medicine to solve this damned sickness. I got my medicine and then headed home to rest. Good lord, was I tired and sweaty. I was glad for the chance to rest, but sleep continued to be an issue. On the next day, Thursday, I headed out to Ionia and got some great pizza. My plan was to head out and see Infinity Wars in theaters, but guess what? Another miss. By 10 minutes. And the next showing was over two hours away. So, I could wait, in the hot, crowded, noisy, claustrophobic mall…or I could say screw it.

Here’s where we get to philosophy. I’ve always had issues with guilt. The old lady in Hiraizumi, for example, served great food, but her shop was empty. I wanted to do something for her, like go again or give money, but they don’t like charity. And Takkoku. I kept telling myself, you owe it to _________ to go see it. And the same with Infinity wars. It’s an obligation. I had a small epiphany, where I took stock and said…this isn’t my problem. If others say I have to play the new Dark Souls or Overwatch because they’re doing it or I have to see Infinity wars or any movie for that matter because they say I do…screw them. Why? Why does it matter? Why should I do something that will make me unhappy for some nebulous opaque idea of obligation borne out of guilt? And so, I decided to take care of myself instead. Get rest and water, deal with my sickness, and shocker, watch the movies on my own time. Amazon lets me rent Marvel movies. I wait like three months and I can watch Infinity Wars in my own home for cheaper. And so, I watched the marvel movies I’d previously missed out on to catch up for a fraction of the cost, with none of the frustration of the malls and theaters. It was great.

The moral of the story here, children, is to do what is best for you when no one else is involved. When people you love are involved, you can make an argument for compromise, but this was my holiday and I should enjoy it my way.

I was going to go to Yamagata, but I was tired of train travel by now, so I said forget it. Instead, I rode my bike to the beach. I felt truly content. The light rain, the cool sea breeze, the not so hot, not so cold atmosphere. On the way home, however, I got lost. Sigh. I just have the worst luck. I was halfway to Iwanuma before I got my bearings and headed back in the right direction. Added on another hour to my trip. Good for exercise, but bad for my patience. Still, I guess it was fine. This country really is beautiful.

Saturday, I was going to go to the bath house, but…eh…I was just too tired. I only wanted to run one or two errands, then rest. So, I went to a new steak house which pushed the boundaries of my patience. The lines, the ordering, it was insane. And this was 10 minutes after opening. The food was good, but I won’t go back, it’s just too much trouble. Instead, I did my laundry. Some laundromat style cleaning to help get them extra clean. It was an easy thing to do, since I had my switch to kill time until the laundry was finished. I chose to wind down my vacation at this point. Just rested, gamed, and wrote because I have big plans for afterwards. Sunday, bath house. Beyond that, resting.

The rest of my holiday was spent more or less as I said. I wanted to do more just resting and doing crap all, but I did go to the bath house and my ramen shop. For now, it’s back to school. It’s nice going back and it still being a good environment, but it is also hard after a long vacation. I probably mentioned before, but I got pretty badly burned, so I’m getting a few comments from students about my red skin, but it should be okay in a week or so. And that’s the end of this Holiday. Pictures? Pictures.