And now for the rest of the Story...

Monday was supposed to be our scuba day, but Mike wasn't feeling so hot, so we just went over to Shikine Island and wandered around dipping ourselves in the outdoor hot springs instead. It was a mildly rainy day, but warm, and we were wet anyway! We had to take a small charter boat from Niijima to Shikine and back -it doesn't take too long - 20 minutes or less, but it is enough to make me seasick, surprise, surprise.



Monday night we did up some home made pizza and salad for din-din and lazed around watching a bazillion episodes of downloaded TV shows that I'd never seen before.

Tuesday we headed back over to Shikine Island - Mike had to work and I went as a guest teacher for a half a day! In the afternoon I went to the beach by myself. Read, swam, read, swam. Then I met Mike at the boat and we headed back to Niijima again.


Wednesday I went to school again. This time Niijima Junior High School. I taught lessons with Mike and the English teacher, and even had lunch with the students! We threw together a Greek masterpiece for dinner, complete with falafel and tsaziki and then on full, garlic-laden stomachs we went to badminton in the evening.



Thursday I had the day to myself. I wandered around the island, watched some surfing, went to the onsen, read my book, watched sumo...a very relaxing day. In the evening Mike took me to his Judo class and I tried Judo for the first time! It was really fun! I was petrified at first, but the senseis were so friendly, it was hard not to enjoy myself!


Friday was my last full day on the island. I went to the little museum up on the hill -of which the second floor is dedicated to surfing! After school we headed to the sand onsen and in the evening Mike and I went out to a local yakitori place with some of the teacher's that I'd met. We met a couple there who were visiting the island for the weekend. He was from Scotland and she was Japanese. They were very pregnant and very excited about the upcoming arrival of their first baby. A very nice couple!






Saturday it was back on the boat to Tokyo. This time we took the Jet Foil and it was a much shorter trip. We hung out in T-town for the afternoon, then went out for Mike's b-day in the evening. About 10 of Mike's friends came out. We rented a party room at a local 'sports bar'. It was called Billi-Bow and the main feature was billiards bowling!! Fun. Lots of fun, games and of course Karaoke! We then wandered over to a bar that's run by one of Mike's Aussie friends! We continued to imbibe for a while before finally taking a taxi back to our beds. It was a great time. On Sunday, Mike and I parted ways and I spent the day fighting Tokyo crowds. I had a quiet night, and wandered back to my hotel, ready to return home the next day.