I`ve never really been into caves* but travelling near Gujo recently, my friend wanted to visit Otaki Shonyudo cave, so we went & took a look.
It was very cool inside, so it was a nice relief from the heat outside. However, it was quite long & narrow, & there were a lot of people, walking very slowly, so it took a long time to go through.
I don`t suffer from claustrophobia [heishokyoufushou], but I was kind of glad to get outside again. I`d hate to be in a cave during an earthquake, or heavy rain, or a blackout [teiden], or if my kids needed the toilet...
Fortunately these things didn`t happen!
*that`s a joke - did you get it?
Finally a Thai restaurant has opened in central Ichinomiya! It`s called Mai-Pen-Rai, which means `nevermind` in English, or `shoganai` in Japanese. It`s just in front of Ichinomiya Station.
I went there with my wife on the weekend. We ordered Moo Larb (spicy pork salad), Som-tum (papaya salad), & Tom-kah-gai (a kind of coconut milk soup with chicken). Mmmm... delicious!
This is their homepage:
http://mai-pen-rai.jp/
Do you know the all-night dancing festival in Gujo? I`ve been to it a few times, but not recently. This year my wife`s sister really wanted to go, so we all went together. However, my wife`s sister had to work late, so we didn`t leave Ichinomiya until 1am, arriving in Gujo about 2am.
I thought it was too late, but I noticed lots of other people arriving at that time too. As usual for this festival, most people were wearing yukatas [summer kimonos].
We danced (when it wasn`t raining) until 4am, then drove home. We were wet & sleepy, but satisfied.
Did you enjoy the Olympics? It`s hard not to get interested when it`s on TV all day [ichinichiju] every day [mainichi] twenty-four seven [shirokujichu].
Anyway, who did better - Australia or Japan? Well, Japan got more medals (38) than Australia (35) - winner: JAPAN!
But Australia got 7 gold & 16 silver, while Japan got 7 gold & only 14 silver, so that`s why Australia was listed 10th, & Japan 11th on the official medal list. Winner: AUSTRALIA!
But Australia sent 410 athletes, Japan only 305, so Australia: 410 / 35 = 1 medal per 11.7 athletes. Japan: 305 / 38 = 1 medal per 8 athletes. Winner: JAPAN!
But Australia`s population [jinkou] is 23 million, Japan`s is 127 million, so Australia: 23M / 35 = 1 medal per 0.66M people. Japan: 127M / 38 = 1 medal per 3.3M people. Winner: AUSTRALIA!
Wow. I haven`t used a calculator for a long time.
Argh! The USA beat Japan in the women`s football final. It was an entertaining game, & the teams were evenly-matched. However, I was disappointed that the German referee missed a lot of fouls by the Americans, including a clear handball in the penalty box, as you can see above.
Never mind. An Olympic silver medal is a great result. Well done, Nadeshiko!
The men`s team didn`t get a medal. I don`t feel so bad about that, because I really dislike Yuki Otsu. He plays dirty & he cries too much.
Have you been watching the Olympics? I`ve watched some events, but I`m only really interested in the football. Japan`s men`s & women`s teams have both done well. I`m really excited about the women`s final between Japan & The U.S. later tonight. The U.S. are desperate for revenge for their World Cup loss to Japan last year, so it`s going to be an emotional, physical game. Come on, Japan!
I also watched a bit of archery. I was really impressed by the venue - Lord`s Cricket Ground. The archers standing on the neat, green grass in front of the beautiful 120 year old Pavilion was a wonderful sight.
Australia isn`t doing so well these Olympics. Even though we sent 410 athletes, we have only won 27 medals so far. Japan sent 305 athletes, but has won 31 medals.
Come on, Australia - get off facebook & twitter! Focus!
Thanks everyone who wore yukatas to school the other week - you all looked great!
Thanks also to everyone who kept a straight face [= didn`t laugh] when they saw me wearing my yukata. Bonus points too if you said it suited me (lying in English is a useful skill to learn & practice).
On Sunday I played golf with some friends. It`s the first time I`ve ever played a round of golf in Japan.
The course was very different from the courses I`ve played on in Australia, which are quite flat. Like many Japanese courses, this course is in the hills, so it`s quite uneven, with forest & valleys all around. In fact, on a couple of holes, there was a forested valley instead of a fairway - I was nervous about teeing off on those ones!
It was very hot, but I enjoyed myself, & my score was okay. I managed to score `par` on a couple of holes, so I was pretty satisfied. Also, I didn`t lose many balls, & I didn`t get any blisters [mizubukure]- great!
Sometimes Pepsi in Japan brings out new, strange flavours such as cucumber, or shiso (a kind of herb leaf used in some Japanese dishes). Now you can buy `Salty Watermelon` flavour Pepsi!
Actually, it`s not so salty. If you can imagine raspberry soda mixed with soda water or tonic water, I think it tastes like that.
Although `salty watermelon` sounds very strange to non-Japanese people, it`s not so strange if you know that in Japan people sometimes sprinkle salt on watermelon when they eat it. In Australia nobody I know does this.
On Monday we went to Laguna Water Park in Gamagori. I thought it would only take one, maybe one & a half hours to drive there, but because of some bad traffic it took more than two hours. That`s pretty tough, especially with two restless kids in the back, an annoying Anpanman CD on auto-repeat, the car navigation system giving strange instructions, & the sun getting hotter & hotter... Oh...
Fortunately my wife was driving. I slept the whole way.
Laguna has various kinds of pool. We spent most of the time at the pool with the pirate ship. There are also various rides [norimono], but we didn`t go on any.
Afterwards we looked around the shopping centre across the road, & had dinner at a restaurant there called Washaganchi. Not only was the food very good, it also had a nice view of the marina. A great way to end the day!
This is their webpage:
http://www.laguna-gamagori.co.jp/index.html
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