Tsurugi-dake

On the Last weekend in September I climbed the 3rd highest peak in Japan with three friends, Kirsten, Josh and Owen. I have now climbed in descending order the 3 highest mountains in Japan! Fuji-san (2002), Tateyama (2003) and Tsurugi-dake (2005)!
Even though Tsurugi is not the tallest, it is by far the most technical of the three.


At 2998 m, Tsurugi-dake is a lot of up and down scrambling over loose rock and boulders. In some areas the rock face is sheer and so you have to use chains (which are anchored into the rock) to climb both vertically and horizontally.


We hiked in on Friday morning and set up camp at the base of the mountain. This is a very popular climb - and where there are people there is -ahem, extortion....There are two lodges set up in the area along with tent sites. We opted for the tents of course!



We went to bed early on the first night after a mediocre pasta dinner (instant pasta and spam...never again). Got up at 3:30 -holy cowboys that's early -and we could already see people up on the mountain!! We had breaky, then packed our daypacks in the dark and headed for the trail head. We started the initial ascent at 5:00 a.m. -just as the sun was coming out and well behind the pack. But it didn't take us long before we were in the thick of things, giving hearty "OHAYO"s (good morning) to the people we met on the way up.

The only real mishap we encountered was a man who almost lost his backpack while waiting in line to climb the chains (yes, there was a line -this is Japan afterall). He set it down on the trail and all of a sudden it went tumbling down the mountain side. Before we knew it, another man was scrambling down to retrieve it for him. It so happened that he was part of the mountaineering staff (they jokingly refered to him as the 'mountain police'). Lucky guy!!

My first Japanese Wedding

On Sunday I attended a wedding in Toyama city. The couple are friends of mine from NOVA (the private school I used to teach for). Dale was my supervisor, and a great one at that. And Yoko was a dear student of mine. I'm so happy the two of them found each other!

The ceremony was very traditional, with both the bride and groom in formal kimono. It took place in a temple which is built into a hotel - parallel to chapels found in hotels at home. After the ceremony, photos were taken in a studio located on the same floor. The first photos included everyone who took part in the ceremony! Then there was a formal reception for family and close friends. Here they have speeches and toasts, serve tea, etc. My friend, Shigako, played the shamisen (a traditional Japanese instrument) for the couple.

The evening included dinner at a restaurant (about $40 per person and was a buffet and all you can drink Chinese Restaurant). This is common here -guests paying for the meal themselves. There were some games and speeches and of course, cake cutting.

The evening was completed by a couple of hours of karaoke at a local establishment and I was home by midnight! And excellent day spent with old acquaintences and friends -who are quickly becoming 'long time' friends!

Catching up

There will come a time when I will eventually catch up on this blog. I have yet to post my summer vacation, my latest VW event or my sports day experiences. I will try to do so soon!

In the mean time, here's a list of short but sweet moments I've had lately:

1. While I was home this summer, a fellow VW driver in Nyuzen stopped by my apt with his Beetle and took some photos of the two of them (my Beetle and his) side by side. When I returned to Nyuzen he dropped of a picture for me and a copy of "Herbie the Love Bug" for me to watch!

2. While sitting alone on the beach enjoying a book and the sunset I was invited by a couple of Japanese boys to help them set off some fireworks when the sun went down. Such a simple gesture of kindness and hospitality.

3. Dinner and a movie with my neighbors - twice this month!! A rare treat!

4. Being asked by one of my students to be a judge during sports day.

5. Recieving omiyage (souvenirs) from one of my students from his school trip to Tokyo.

Meters swum today: 4000m (500 fly) yahoo

Kurobe Sunset

Sports Day at Nyuzen High School

How I spent my summer vacation - 4000km in a Volkswagen!!!

July 27 - John, Wendi and I arrived in Vancouver from literally opposite sides of the earth.
Brad and Lisa squeezed us and all our luggage into their cute little apart-o. After showering and getting a bit of life back into us we headed down to the ocean to watch the fireworks competition that was going on that night.

July 28 - John and Wendi checked out the city while I visited with Dacia and yet to be born Zoi. We had a great day of catching up. In the evening we had a barbeque and got ready for the early morning trek to Kinuso.

July 29 - 6:00 a.m. -.......ok, 7:00 we headed out of Vancouver in the Jetta and the Rental -the first 1 400 km of my trip.










July 29-July 31 - Pine Point on the Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta. Had a great time at the family reunion.

July 31-August 8 - aaaaaah [happy sigh] HOME! Days spent sleeping in, eating, visiting, swimming, visiting, sleeping in, eating, visiting. My mom went all out one night with a big turkey dinner (something I hadn't had in years -literally) -and everyone showed up to welcome John, Wendi and me home.

August 8-August 11 - Swan Hills with the Litkes (and Whiskers). 3 days of non stop action! Thank you for your hospitality and escape! I loved every minute of it.

August 11 - Off to Edmonton for a CT scan to confirm my herniated disc (fun fun). Lunch with the Pearson boys and John and Wendi at BPs on Whyte Ave. I have to say it was a little surreal.
On to Calary for a VW meeting and a great night's sleep at Ryszard's house.

August 12&13 - Ross's wedding festivities. It was great to see everyone again.



August 14 - Family Day at the Zoo -topped off with dinner on Dad at the Cheesecake Cafe. A perfect day!









August 15 - Shopping and Kathy's day!

August 16 - A day in Lethbridge with Dave and his fiance. What a great gal! I can't wait for the wedding!

August 17 - Back up to Edmonton via Drumheller. VW meeting at A&W on Whyte - just like the old days!

August 18 - The Great Canadian VW Cruz. The Air Riders took off on the first leg of the journey with a stop at Mt. Robson before arriving in Kamloops for the night.

August 19 - Kamloops to Vancouver with more VW fun. A night at the drag strip to top of a great day.

August 20 - Pancake breakfast, an afternoon at Stanley Park and saying goodbye to everyone before getting on the plane for 'home'.


Thank you to everyone who put me up/put up with me while I was home. It was a real holiday full of fun and laughter. Much more than I expected it to be!

Things I've decided I miss about home:

The sky.
The open roads.
Tim Horton's.
Slushies.
Turkey dinners.
Lasagna.

Meters swum today: 3500m - 1500free pull 24:50

Another Pumpkin Festival come and gone.....

Saying Goodbye

Well, it's the last week of the 2004/2005 contract year. Those that have decided to go on to bigger and better -or just different - things, are making their way out of Japan in the next couple of days. On the weekend we held a Hawaiian Party and I had to say 'mata ne' (see you later) to a lot of wonderful friends who I know I will meet again in the not too distant future.

Another English Camp - Uozu

On Saturday I was involved in yet another English Camp, this time in Uozu, a city two towns over from Nyuzen. We visited some of the biggest trees in the area as well as Snake Rock. The kids were great, but my real reason was to spend the day with Sandy, one of the first JETs I met when I came to Toyama 3 years ago. She and her husband Steve have finished their three years on the JET programme and are heading off to lands far and wide in search of more adventures. I wish them luck and will miss them dearly.

Hanging out with my students.

Nothing much to do now that classes are done. It is parent/teacher day today and students are hanging out, preparing for their sports day in September.




Keiichiro thinks I'm cool enough to take pictures with...lucky me!

English Camp at Nyuzen High School

Although there wasn't a lot of English, there was a lot of fun!

How I spend my weekends...

Friday, July 1 -
Canada Day Celebrations in Toyama City -Dinner and print club with friends, what more could you ask for?
Saturday, July 2 -
Morning: Teaching Engish to preschoolers and elementary school students.
Afternoon: Playing beach volleyball with the Nyuzen High School staff.
Evening: a nice long swim
Sunday, July 3 -
Up at 4:00 a.m. and off to the Temple in Toyama for the charity flea market.
An afternoon in Ishikawa Prefecture to play in the gorge.

Friday, July 8 -
Off to Osaka to spend the weekend with a friend from home and his group from the YMCA in Lethbridge.
Saturday, July 9-
Touring Osaka with the YMCA kids from Osaka and Lethbridge.
Sunday, July 10 -
Back to Toyama for a farewell dinner for the JETs who will be leaving this year.

Friday, July 15-
Dinner and live music in Takaoka with Shigako.
Saturday, July 16-
Tateyama English Camp with Thip, Jamie, Rene and Jimmy.
Sunday, Juy 17 -
End of the Tateyama English Camp and an evening with Thip in Namerikawa for fireworks.
Monday, July 18-
Lunch at the Nojiri's with Takako, Tomoko, Tadayuki and Kotaro.
Dinner with Ai and Kazu in Toyama.