flashback...

been explorin’ like crazy lately. a while back liz, mel and i set out looking for the viking [in japanese: ba ii ka in gu], this infamous all you can eat in 90 minutes buffet. it was ugly.
1 bar of make your own dishes…soba, udon, curry rice. a second bar was nothing but tempura stuff…shrimp, veggie patties, beef and potato patties, squid, octopus, chicken. there was a sushi bar, a dessert bar, a salad bar, and the highlight: a yakiniku bar. tons of different meats and vegetables and seafoods to grill at your own table. oh my.
last wednesday, lizzy and i stumbled upon a new bar called the sleeping sheep. [sidebar: while there, i discovered that animals too speak different languages. in English sheep say “baa, baa” and in Japanese their noise is “meh, meh”. odd huh.] the bar’s master was incredibly hospitable. we ran into liz’s neighbor there and chatted with lots of friendly, drunken Japanese people. when we went to pay, the bartender said not to worry about it, it was ‘service’ which is the term they give to free things in bars and restaurants. can’t beat that.
on friday, we headed out to secure our re-entry permits which are necessary before leaving the country. complicated like every other official thing in this country. first to the post office to buy a 60$ stamp for your passport. then we ventured out to the port looking for the immigration office. by the time we found the nondescript building at 4:20 it was closed. we crept in, acting as if we didn’t know. we played the foreigner card and the awesome officer bought it and handled all our paperwork after hours. we promised next time to come earlier. next time, right…
saturday, we set out in my new wheels looking for an onsen we’d spotted on the map. it was a true hotspring located in Ogata, a town about 30 minutes from here. after a couple wrong turns, quite a few scary minutes on country roads with no lights in the middle of nowhere in the Japanese countryside and some directions from a couple of helpful store clerks, we arrived. it was misting rain as we lowered ourselves into the rock pit containing the spring water outside. the air temperature was cold, and the water was nearly scalding. so warm it felt cold and tingly. we only lasted a few minutes before retiring to the indoor area where they pipe the water inside and do a better job of controlling the temp. these public baths are so refreshing. you leave feeling effervescent and purged with skin soft, muscles relaxed and mind clear. that evening we taxied to a club near the center of joetsu for a hip-hop and reggae party. drinking, even a little, and driving is taken extremely seriously here and, in my case, would be punished by deportation. so going out takes a lot more planning and is quite a bit more expensive than at home. you can, however, drink en route to your destination in trains, buses and taxis. the party got rockin’ around midnight and it was the first time in a while we really got to dance.
sunday i hit the second hand store looking for some heating implements. bought a tiny electric heater [in Japanese: hi ta] fairly cheap, although i’ve been warned it runs up your power bill quickly. i do have a kerosene heater in my storage room but it reeks of fuel and i can’t imagine having that smell concentrated in my tiny apartment. you have to leave a window open when you run it too, which seems counter-intuitive since you’re trying to heat the place.
this is a shot of the countryside of sado island, where we practiced for the musical last weekend.
a punk-y not-so-fantastic japanese band we saw at the university's cultural day. they're all wearing pajamas and crazy masks. it's so refreshing to see some of the youth thinking independently and acting it out in a supportive environment.