Friday`s naked festival was a lot of fun. Of course it was cold, but not too bad. When I met my team members at 7.30am it was snowing, but by the time we dressed - or rather, undressed - & started running at 10am, it had stopped & the sun was out.
As usual, we visited a local old people`s home & a couple of local kindergartens. The kids were really excited to see us. The old people were happy too, but one old lady kept trying to grab the carton of sake that I was holding & the staff had to hold her back. It was a little embarrassing, but I could imagine how how she felt.
Finally we arrived at Kounomiya Shrine at about 4pm. After that my group went to a public bath. We didn`t wait at the shrine for the climax, when the `shin-otoko` arrives & everyone tries to touch him. That was about 6pm this year - a little late. Maybe next year!
I`ve had my Japanese Driver`s License for 5 years. I haven`t received any tickets or fines from police, so this week I was able to replace my old one with a `gold` version. I`m happy about that, because a gold license is useful. For example, now I can say to people, "Do you have a gold license? No? Haha - Loser! I do!"
Maybe I can say this to a lot of people in Aichi Prefecture. You see, before I was given my new license, I had to watch a video & listen to a speech by a police officer. He said Aichi had the highest number of road deaths in Japan last year. Wow! I was surprised! My wife wasn`t. She said, "Yes - Aichi is highest every year."
Please drive safely!
There are a couple of interesting events coming up (= coming soon).
The first is the annual Konomiya Naked Festival this Friday (Feb. 22nd). Konomiya Shrine is right beside Meitetsu Konomiya Station, so it`s easy to get to by train. Or maybe, like me, you want to get there by running 7km from Kiyosu Town wearing a loincloth [fundoshi]. It`s up to you. Here is a link to some information (in Japanese): http://www.konomiya.or.jp/main/hadakamatsuri (thanks, Mr. Kuma!)
The other event is Teragoya`s Kimono Kyoto tour on Sunday Feb. 24. Teachers & students will go to Kyoto by tour bus, rent kimonos, dress up, then walk around Kyoto, have lunch etc. It`s going to be a lot of fun! I`d like to invite you to join us, but I`m afraid it`s already full. I`ll post photos next week.
Two more reasons to like my hometown of Brisbane - Asahi AND Kirin now available on tap! (on tap = なま)
Besides the animals we saw on my aunt`s farm, and in a zoo that we went to, we saw various other animals in parks or around the house, including possums. Possums are nocturnal, which means they sleep in the day & come out at night. They don`t like to walk on the ground, so they usually get around by using trees, telephone & power lines, and house roofs. If you put some food (e.g. fruit) on your verandah, maybe they will come down & eat it during the night. Sometimes, you can even hand-feed them. However, a lot of people dislike them because they eat garden plants, & they like to live inside house`s roofs, which becomes a smelly, noisy problem....
Do you know the animals in these photos? Have you ever seen them?
In my last blog post I told you about visiting my aunt`s farm. After reading that, I guess you`re in the mood for some country music, right? Right? No? Okay, maybe not, but I still think you might like this song by a Canadian guy called Daniel Romano. Sorry - the music video is weird (= strange), but I like the song, & I thought you might too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no3tNgZXIvE
If you like the sound of that, here`s another nice song of his: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpzl1VI4f-A
And another! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PYRExYcp_E
One thing I really look forward to when I go home to Australia is going for a long drive in the countryside.
As you drive inland, the roads become long and straight, the traffic starts to disappear, & the views get wider. I feel more & more relaxed & happy.
My excuse for driving west this holiday was to visit my aunt`s farm, about 4 hours west of Brisbane. As you can see, she keeps cattle (cows) on it. She used to have sheep too, but not anymore. It`s a really interesting farm, with various old cars, machines, a shearing shed, windmills etc. We also saw some wild animals: kangaroos, a goanna, and a big snake too - Wow!
Thanks for showing us around the farm, auntie. We had a great time!
If you read my blog regularly, you probably know various things about me, for example that I have lots of hobbies, that my Japanese is not so good, and that I often behave badly at Teragoya parties.
You`ve probably also noticed my interest in old & unusual cars, so it won`t surprise you that I took all these photos in Australia. I saw other interesting cars besides these ones, but usually while I was driving, & it was difficult to take a photo (& my wife`s screaming hurt my ears).
Which one do you like the most? As for me, I guess I like the black one under the red truck, or the Landrover down the bottom, or of course the yellow 71/72 Mustang...or... ah - it`s hard to choose!
* click on the picture to enlarge
Catching a river ferry is a great way to get to & from the centre of Brisbane, my hometown. It`s fast, comfortable & scenic. It`s not so cheap, but actually everything is a little expensive in Australia nowadays.
We stayed with my parents while we were in Brisbane, and fortunately near their house there is a ferry stop. You can see it in the bottom-right photo. It`s a nice one, isn`t it? But I`m kind of disappointed that it doesn`t have a flag-pole & flag on top - that would really look good I think. Maybe I will write a letter & make a formal request for one to be put up.
Hmm. When I was young I would have thought about stealing such a flag. Now I`d like to donate one.
I must be getting old.
I`m sorry for not blogging for 2 months. I was on holidays in Australia. I thought I might blog while I was Australia, but I didn`t really have time.
However I`m back in Japan now, so I will resume (= start again) blogging. Of course I have lots of pictures of my Australian holiday to show you, but first I want to thank Yuki, Kahori, Miho, Naoki & Naomichi (he looks like he has long hair in this photo, but it`s just shadow) for having a `Welcome Back` dinner for me on Saturday. We went to a new place in Ichinomiya called Neneya.
Thanks, guys - I really appreciate it!
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