April has been an incredibly busy month for me. As I mentioned in my previous post, I started work at my new job on the 1st. There are so many people who work at my campus -- over 60! The first day was just our school's staff, but after that it was all of the new staff for all of the campuses (including the Tokyo campuses). The first evening, most of the staff from our school went out for dinner and drinks and things together, and so we started to get to know each other. Myself and some others left a little bit early (as we had had a quite long day as it was) but others continued on and from what I understand, went out for karaoke as well.
That first week was a lot of training for us. Most of it took place at the campus that I teach at, however, I did have to go into Tennoji for one day of training. And I hope to never or rarely have to do that again, for one simple reason -- the train ride there was brutal!! Between Kobe and Osaka was busy enough, but then when I got on the subway to go between Umeda and Tennoji -- it was beyond ridiculous! I couldn't get on the first train that came because there was already too many people, and while I did make it on the next one -- it was equally packed! Everyone was so tight together that I couldn't move a muscle and my arms got pushed so close to me that it was actually mildly painful. A lot of our training was on teaching methods and planning and such things, but there was also some other unique things as well. For example, our intruder training. Apparently our schools have these stick things with a u-shaped prong on the end and we can use them to immobilize intruders (so long as we don't get them taken away from us by force). Originally, us new teachers had thought that we wouldn't have training or only a little bit on the Thursday before the students started (they came on a Friday), but we ended up having training for all but about 30 minutes. That made it kind of stressful because we also had to prepare our classrooms (in my case I had all blank, white walls, no toys, and things like that) and also figure out what we would be doing with our students that first day. So -- as a result everyone put in some overtime that evening --- I must have stayed til around 9pm, at which point I decided to go home or I wouldn't be useful at all the following day (not to mention - I was SO hungry!!) In addition to the overtime --- that first Saturday was also the entrance ceremony for the new K1 (3 year olds) students at all of our campuses -- so add another half day of work. Apparently this ceremony is usually held in Osaka, but this year they couldn't book their venue so they ended up having it in Kobe, actually in a place quite close to my apartment, which was very convenient. Since then, the overtime in the evenings has continued as I have been trying to complete my classroom displays and such, but hopefully with time that will calm down somewhat.
On the first Saturday of the month, I got my hair cut (just a trim) and I ended up going to another live that evening (as he had told me about it on Thursday evening and recommended I come if I had time). That evening was really fun -- he did the live with another singer and in the second half when it was his turn to sing -- he only used his guitar for a couple songs, and then had a guy who played accordion accompany him. It definitely made for some different feelings for some of his songs (and I prefer his guitar), but it was interesting anyway. Although when they had finished, the accordion guy kept staring at me....kind of uncomfortable. But I got to talk together with ヨシダさん and he made me try on the new glasses that he was selling as part of his products, and he kept high-fiving me and gave the impression that he wanted to talk more.
Outside of work, in that first week -- the sakura were blooming, so I took many walks in the evenings to go see them...
Of course I also saw them during the day as well...
On the Saturday afternoon that we had the entrance ceremony I went in to Osaka because there was a place I knew of which had many sakura trees along the river, and I wanted to see them....
But...there was a festival going on that weekend and there were so many people that you couldn't really enjoy it because the stalls were in the way and you had to spend your time focusing on making your way through the hordes of people.
After getting through all those people, I was really tired so I headed back to the Umeda area and listened to a street live for a little while before heading back home.
In the middle of the month the weather was great so I found a beach which is really long and went to take in some sun and read for a little while.
The day following the beach, I went into Osaka again, for various reasons, but I was still looking for things that I needed for my apartment, and on the way home, I saw ヨシダさん again at Grand Front! I was surprised, and it turned out that he was just getting ready to start his street live. Lucky! So I stayed and listened to him again. As it was a Sunday evening not so many people were around, so when he finished, I got to talk with him a lot and he asked me to watch his guitar and stuff while he put away the music busker sign and got to talk some more. Good night!!
The following week, on Friday evening, I had been out for a walk and I got a big surprise --- while I was on my way back to my apartment, I saw something big on the sidewalk, and thought someone just left something there. And then it started to move. It was a boar! A giant boar! It was dark, so I couldn't see it well, but based on what I could see it was probably tall enough to come up to my hips, and was quite wide as well. My reaction was to freeze, quietly back up to the intersection of the street (while keeping an eye on it), and cross to the other side of the road. I had wanted to go hiking that weekend, but after seeing that, I was understandably less enthusastic about that, and decided to do ither things instead. Later, when I told some of the staff at my school about this encounter, they told me stories about people's bags being stolen by boars, and other such things. Not particularly reassuring.
The last Monday of the month was a curriculum meeting for my student's parents and it was a kind of intense event that we had to spend a lot of time preparing for (more overtime). The last week of April was a 4 day work week because on the 29th, Golden Week started! And that will be the topic of my next blog post, so look forward to it!
Also, I have updated my previous blog post, as I realized I didn't add in a video I had taken, and there were a few more pictures I wanted to add as well. You can either check it out by clicking on the links on the side of the page, or click here.
I don't even know where to begin! This month has absolutely flown by!
February ended with me being a little sick--nothing too bad, just a rather high fever. Luckily it only lasted for a weekend.
Then, the first weekend in March I had to come into Kansai to *drumroll* look at apartments in Kobe. I looked at apartments all day long on the Saturday. It was a really long day. Which wasn't helped by the fact that my real estate agent kept getting lost (I mean, okay, maybe she doesn't live in Kobe, but it felt kind of unprofessional of her). Also we had to go back and forth between various real estate offices to pick up keys and bring them back and such things. Anyway, we looked at a few apartments and I found out a lot of interesting things about apartments in Japan. For example, most of them don't have any pre-installed lighting except for in the bathroom and if you're lucky, the kitchen. Also, a lot of apartments don't have any cooktop system installed either. There's a space for it, but often you have to go buy it.
Anyway, at the end of the very long day, I decided on one and we headed back into Osaka (where their main office is) to fill out some paperwork. As a side note --never drive a car between Kobe and Osaka unless you have a lot of time. By train it takes about 30 minutes, but there was so much traffic that it took almost 1.5 hours by car. I may have been mentally pulling my hair out... Then, as we were driving and almost to Osaka, she got a phone call from her boss telling her there was a small problem. They wanted a guarantor. Now this is a kind of big snag-on Japan a guarantor is someone who is legally responsible to pay for you if you don't pay by yourself. So Japanese people are understandably leery of becoming a guarantor for someone. But, it was possible for my new employers to become my guarantor, although I wasn't going to be happy with the conditions attached to that. So the real estate agents said to wait until Monday and see because all of the apartments we looked at were supposed to not need a guarantor, so they wanted to contact them again. And good news for me! Turns out I didn't need one after all. However, at this point, I was already back in Takamatsu, so all the documents and such had to be sent via mail. Luckily, I was at home almost all week (so I could receive them) because I woke up that Monday morning with an extremely high fever that lasted almost the whole week--I got tested for influenza at the hospital, multiple times, but it kept coming up negative although I had all the symptoms.
It wasn't all frustrating though--I was able to see some street lives on both Saturday and Sunday thanks to that trip! Actually, when I showed up on Saturday night,ヨシダさん said he was really surprised to see me there, and so I told him about looking for apartments, and we also had a nice conversation after he was finished as well. On Sunday night, I saw one of the older women who I've seen at his lives before, and she came to talk with me, which was quite nice. And when she found out that I had come in from Takamatsu, she actually kind of started scolding ヨシダさん and FASE (they were doing a joint live) that they should talk with me more because I came from so far. That was so sweet of her. Unnecessary, but sweet.
I also visited Osaka castle really briefly in the afternoon, and saw the plum blossoms.
The following weekend, I spent Sunday afternoon and evening with Narumi. It was raining that day, so we basically just ended up taking a drive while talking. We drove all the way to Tokushima! When we got there we went into a shopping mall and Narumi looked at things in various stores and showed me clothes that she thought would look good on me. After that, she was a little worried about me because I still wasn't 100% after being sick, so we went and got some dinner. After that it was getting late, so we headed back home. On a strange and convoluted route on back roads because that's apparently what Narumi's GPS likes. I was so happy to hang out with her, but really sad after because I don't know when I can see her again!
The week following that was my last week at work and I spent as much time as I could playing with the kids between practing for graduation and getting things ready for when I left. Some of the kids said really sweet things to me and they were constantly hanging on to me. Not sure if it was because I'd been sick for a week or if it was because they didn't want me to leave. Some combination probably. On the Friday, we had a kind of going away party for me and my class and the younger class had both made a present for me and they have it to me and I got hugs and pictures taken with each and every one of them.
Monday was graduation day, and my final day of work. I was like the MC of the ceremony again this year, although the ceremony this year was a little different--this year none of our students cried! At the end Rainbow class brought me a bouquet of flowers from the parents and I got smothered in a giant hug! After that Sun and Sky brought me a present they made, and more hugs! Some of the students wanted to have pictures with me and a couple of them brought me things they had made. It was so nice!!
After the ceremony and cleaning up, we went for lunch (curry) and I got a gift and flowers from the staff.
After that I had a day or so to finish packing and get things closed up. So many phone calls in Japanese. True story; in the past week I've not only used my phone more than I have in the past 2 years but also more Japanese too! Deliveries, appointments, set-ups, cancelling things. Ah...kind of difficult!
When I left Takamatsu, Narumi came to the bus stop to say goodbye. So kind!!! I was happy, but of course also sad to say goodbye. Once I finally got to Kobe I had to go into Osaka to get my keys. My stuff arrived on Friday, so I spent the first couple nights in a hotel and spent my days doing shopping. And shopping. And shopping. I hate shopping! But I had to buy stuff like a bed (actually a sofa bed), table, chair, fridge, washing machine, microwave, curtains and more. Ahhhh!!!!! So many trips to the stores and lots of going back and forth to compare prices and then find out that they couldn't deliver, or couldn't set it up or all kinds of ridiculous things. But I got them eventually. I had to build the table and chair, but I can do it!
There was also some exploring as well, but maybe I'll talk about that in a later post. And of course the requisite visits to city hall, immigration, the bank and I don't even remember where else at this point. There was a lot to do.
Tonight---nice live and tomorrow 1st day of work. I can do it!
Alright, this post might be a little bit surprising for some of you, but here goes.
This afternoon/evening I went to see ギルガメッシュ here in Takamatsu. Actually, I wanted to go last year when they came, but there was a school event that day, so I couldn't make it. But this time I could, and it was a lot of fun!
I guess I should give a little bit of background information so you have some more context first. ギルガメッシュ (girugamesh) is a Japanese visual-kei metal band. I started listening to their music when I was in university. I know it's kind of surprising that I listen to metal but a lot of their earlier music wasn't necessarily screamy and that was the music that made me like them.
Anyway, I was a little bit uncertain about going as it was my first time going to a live of this particular genre of music and I didn't know what to expect, and I was going by myself.
When I got there it was fairly straightforward. You know, give your ticket and go in. The venue was bigger than some of the other lives I've been to, but was actually smaller than what I was expecting. For this particular live it was standing only, so basically you could go wherever you want.
When the live started, the sound was super intense. It was extremely loud and you could literally feel the vibrations! There was no intro band or anything like that, once they got on stage each member did their own thing really quickly and then went straight into their lead song. And that was when I realized exactly how out of place I was. Pretty much the entire audience started banging their heads and swinging their hair around. (No, I did not do this). Then they had various hand motions to go with the song as well. I was really surprised! I don't know why though because I was well aware what kind of music it was.... Anyway, after the first song, Satoshi, the vocalist did some growling about welcome to the Takamatsu venue and then did some MC stuff, and then there was lots more music! During some of the songs they got the audience jumping and during one song a group of girls started running around in a circle, and of course more head banging and hair swinging ensued. I recognized some of the songs they played, whereas others were new to me.
*Borrowed from Twitter...*
Also, you know how I mentioned you could feel the vibrations, well I was also kind of fascinated because if you lifted a foot up a bit (to move or shift positions), you could feel the vibrations coming up through the floor and going to your shoe, and it kind of felt like magnets pulling at each other. Interesting.
The one problem I'm going to say I had with this live was the volume. It was SO loud! After a few songs, anytime Satoshi went to just talk or when people were clapping, it sounded really muffled because the level of sound was so different. As a matter of fact, I'm curious to know how long it will take for my ears to stop ringing.
Anyway, it was definitely an interesting new experience for me. I don't know that I would ever be able to go to something like this anywhere other than Japan -- Japan just gives this sense of security about things. But I definitely enjoyed it and had a fun couple of hours listening to their music!
So, a quick update about what has been happening in the past month.
After getting back from winter vacation, life has been incredibly busy for me. Partly because after I got back, I had to catch up on some work as I'd been away for a while, and partly because in addition to my normal workload, I have also been doing a lot of interviews and demo lessons to try to get myself a new job.
Yes, that's right, after a long and difficult decision making process, I decided not to renew my contract here in Takamatsu (for a variety of reasons), and started to search for jobs in the Kansai area.
After what seemed like doing interviews every other evening, or multiple interviews per day, I moved onto the secondary interview processes, which involved various things such as creating a video demo lesson (which was in multiple parts and had to be 6 minutes or less --- so difficult!!), and actually going into Kansai to visit some of the schools I applied to so that I could show them how I interact with the students or do a demo lesson, or do more interview type talking.
Eventually, it all paid off, and I got an offer for a job...and again, considering the situation, and other various factors, I decided to accept an offer. Breath of relief! So...more details on that in the coming months! While it's definitely exciting starting a new life, it's also kind of stressful and intimidating, because once again, it means picking up all my stuff, finding a new apartment, moving, and then of course figuring out what's going to be around me, where my new favorite places will be, etc.
Not to mention, it's kind of sad too, because I really love the students that I'm working with right now, and I want to see them grow up more, but if I consider what's best for me, I think I made the best decision I could.
And other interesting things that have happened -- on one of those trips into Kansai to do those interviews, during one evening I went to a street live from FASE, who I haven't seen since September. It was a little bit cold, but I enjoyed it. Although, some strange things did happen. While I was listening, one lady came up to me and told me that I should go listen to another musician, just across the way because he could apparently speak good English. Ummm....but well, I wasn't interested in his music, and FASE speaks really good English as well, and don't just assume that I can't speak Japanese please! Then, after the street live was finished, many of his fans went up to talk with him, and I was checking out where I should go from there on my phone, when he suddenly shouted out "Amanda-san!!" and waved me over. Enter the stares/glares from his fans. And then he started talking with another person and then ran away for a few minutes. So why call my name???! Ahh....seriously....at least some of his listeners were nice...one older woman asked me if I was Amanda, and kept motioning me to come closer.
Oh, and of course my birthday happened, and once again this year I received many nice and thoughtful presents from the staff at my school. However, it did make some awkward questions come up from the students. First, the accusatory, "Why is it your Happy Birthday?" and then the "Why don't you have a baby here?" (touching my stomach).
For my birthday weekend, I ended up spending the whole thing doing prep work for my demo lessons and interviews as well as going to do those things, which meant extremely little sleep and lots of time going to various places for work, so it wasn't so much fun for me this year. I did, however, go out for a birthday supper of waffles and fruit tea. Which was delicious, although, slightly less so because I had to spend the time talking with a random Japanese person who decided that it would be good to sit down at my table and start talking to me.
So, since my birthday weekend wasn't that much fun, I decided to change to day of my birthday to this past weekend and celebrate it then instead. So, Friday night after work, I got home, changed and hurried off to go into Kobe. When I got there, I checked in to my hotel for the night, and then headed out right away again to go to a live that was going on that evening. Yes, it was a ヨシダヒロキ live. This time it was in a small little bar that I'd never been to before, and I had a little bit of difficulty finding the place because google maps led to the general area, but not the shop itself. So I had to ask around a little bit. The first person I asked was like, "Yeah, it's in this area." You think?? So helpful. So I found another person to ask, and they directed me to someone, who took me to the place I needed to be. Thank you!! When I walked in, I was really surprised because it was already after the time it was supposed to start, and there was only the bartender and one other person there. So I asked if it was the right place, and he said it was, but ヨシダさん had forgotten something. So I spent some time talking with those two, and they thought my Japanese was pretty good, so I was happy, even though it isn't. When he finally got there, he went into the story about how we met, and how we know each other and various things, and eventually he got set up and started singing. At one point, the bartender asked me if I had any song requests for him...only one?? hehehe.... Anyway, it was generally decided that I wanted to hear one of his original songs, and ヨシダさん figured that I wanted to hear "Love, love, love", which I really do like, but he actually didn't play that song. Lol. Most of the songs he played that night were actually cover songs, but it was a good night anyway. When he finished it was around midnight, and so we had one last quick chat, in which he found out that I'm finishing up in Takamatsu and will be coming to Kansai. I think he was a little surprised, but he said it's good that I can be closer, and told me to contact him when I know the area I'll be living in (I guess so he can let me know about lives near to the area??) Then he had the bartender point me in the general direction I had to go to go towards the station and my hotel (I guess he figured I'd have been turned around after walking around in circles to find the place).
The next day, I went and checked out one of the potential locations that I could be teaching at soon, and it seems like a nice spot. Also on the train ride there...I scouted out a location of a potential beach area I could go to in the summer, so I think it was productive. I came back to Takamatsu that afternoon, did my grocery shopping and then spent Sunday catching up on a little bit of sleep -- I got a whole 7.5hours....can't remember the last time I slept that much!!!!! I think it was good, because I could relax a little bit and since I felt like I might have been getting sick, I was able to deal with that.
Winter vacation, finally came! Let me tell you, it was definitely long-awaited this year. This year I was able to take an extra week off of work, and so, I went and travelled somewhere new!
Although, before I could go to that new place, I started off my winter vacation with a weekend in Kobe. I headed up to Kobe on the 26th, and as the weather was quite nice that day, I spent a lot of the day walking around, thinking about doing some shopping (when I go back at the end of my trip). Then that evening, I went to a ヨシダヒロキlive in Sannomiya at a cute little cafe, Kitchen Hisami. I'd actually been there one time before last January. This night, there were actually quite a few people who came...they filled up the place (not that that was so difficult because it is quite small). It was really fun, and as it started a little later than planned (because people hadn't shown up yet), I was able to talk a little bit together. After the live finished one of the owners (who apparently used to do some DJ-ing), turned on the little disco ball that they had and started playing some music (really loudly) and doing some DJ stuff. Some of the other people who had come to the live got up and started dancing (not that there was really so much room for that, mind you). They tried to get me to join them, but if you know me, you know how I feel about dancing, and what my response to that would be.
The next day, I went to get my hair cut, and then did some more window shopping before I hopped onto the airport limo bus to head out to the airport for that evening. My flight went out at 10pm, so I was on the plane all night long, only to arrive in Honolulu around 10am of the same day that I had got on the flight. Time changes try to mess with your head! After getting to Honolulu, I had to switch over to my domestic flight to get to Hawaii Island, where my parents were waiting to meet me. However, on that switch to the domestic flight, I got yelled at by the staff of Hawaiian airlines. When I got to the airport--I found the Hawaiian airlines section, and went into the line that said "Neighbouring Islands" (since that was where I was going), and I specifically didn't go into the line that said International flights. However, there had been a lot of people in the international line, and literally NO ONE in the neighbor island line, so you'd think I'd get through fast, but nope. The international line moved, but they completely ignored me. Finally, one of the ladies at the international line called me over, and told me (*angry voice*) that this was the international line, and I should've checked in at the kiosk first. Umm....well...but....I didn't go to the international line, and if they didn't want people to try to check in at the desk they should've closed off the rope lanes that said neighbour islands and posted something that pointed people in the direction of the kiosks, right? I was equally unimpressed with their service on the flight, as I was completely ignored by the flight attendants as well, even after making eye contact with them. But that's life. Things can only get better, right?!
I didn't get in until kind of later in the afternoon, so after my parents picked me up and we dropped my stuff off, we just went out to do some grocery shopping and then went to go find some supper, while I tried to stay awake -- having been awake for maybe 35 or so hours.
The next day, we went out to a tiny little beach, which was pretty, but SO small!! It also made you really confident, when this interesting sign (see below) was posted at the entrance.
That evening we went out for dinner, however the restaurant that we went to was packed and the only available tables were outside, but it was a first come, first served basis, so we kind of had to hover around tables to wait for others to leave...that was kind of uncomfortable for me, so I let the parents do that while I took some pictures. Also, when we did get to eat, I ordered pineapple fried rice, and interestingly enough, it arrived in half of a pineapple!
The next day was a shopping day for me, as I needed to pick some stuff up, but again, if you know me, you know that a shopping day feels like a wasted day to me.
After that, the next 2 days were beach days!! Nice and relaxing, and we got to see the sunsets as well.
The beach that we went to had a really interesting mix of both black and white rocks, and the first day, I found my own private little mini beach to relax on. However, the next day, when I went to go back to that same spot, I discovered that the tide from the previous night had covered up my little sand section with all sorts of large-ish rocks, and so I had to go find myself a new spot elsewhere.
This was the view I looked at straight ahead for that first day at this beach...not too bad!
Sunset - December 30, 2015
Sunset - December 30, 2015
View from our accommodation of the very end of the sunset
View from the second location I had to find
My spot for the second day at this beach
The beautiful sunset of December 31, 2015
On New Years Day, we headed out to the volcano (Mt Kilauea-one of the most active volcanoes in the world!)!! This was definitely one of the things I was really looking forward to on this trip, and I had been really hoping to see some active lava flows, but that unfortunately didn't happen, but it was nonetheless really interesting and fun for me.
Interesting views on the drive out!
My geo mind is so happy!
When we first arrived at the volcano (which was maybe about a 2 hour or so drive away from where we were staying), we stopped in at the visitor center to get some information and pick up some brochures. After that we set out in the car to stop in and see what we could (if I had more time there would've definitely been more hiking included, as there are a number of longer hikes you can do out there, but we were able to see a fair bit anyway, and get a general idea of the area.)
The first area we went to was Devastation trail. When you arrive in this area, you first get to see a crater lava lake (from 1959) which is actually still steaming a little bit as it hasn't completely cooled yet!
The crater lava lake
This area was created by cinders from the 1959 eruption. Vegetation is slowly returning to this area.
Unique vegetation growing on Devastation Trail
After that we drove along a little further and stopped to check out some various pit craters.
This one was HUGE!
The next area we went to was the Pu'u Huluhulu Cinder Cone/Mauna Ulu Lava Shield area. This particular area was formed by lava flows in 1973-74 (also still steaming in areas!). We spent some time here looking at some interesting formations and walked for a while over the old lava flows. Exploring time!!!
See the weird shaped 'rocks'? Those are actually trees that got covered by lava!
Cool colors in the rock thanks to different minerals!!
More interesting vegetation!
You can see how it flowed!!
Can't really show how EXTENSIVE this area was, but take my word for it --in no way is it a small area
Let's use those people for scale...and keep in mind the trees in the background are full size trees!
I read a board somewhere along the way that referred to these flowers as alien flowers...
After this particular section, it started to get cloudy and was a little cooler, so we continued on, and stopped at a couple more lookout points.
This area was interesting because you could see out past the lava flows to the ocean!
After that, we went all the way down to the end of the Chain of Craters Road...
Not going to lie...I was really excited about this!
At the very end of the road, you can see some pretty cliffs and the Holei Sea arch, which is an 18m tall landform created as a result of erosion.
Holei Sea Arch
More views from the end of the road!
Next, we headed back up the road towards the visitors venter, and stopped at the Thurston Lava Tube, to check it out and take a walk through. It was just a short little walk (600m round trip), but interesting!
Going through the lava tube
Then we continued on past the visitor center to the Sulphur banks and steam vents. It reminded me of a smaller scale of what I saw in NZ. You could also see some of the caldera from the steam vents location.
The sulphur banks
Steam vents
Caldera view
Finally we went up to the Jaggar Museum which is also where you go to see the glow and cloud from the lava lake within the caldera!
The caldera from Jaggar Museum
Starting to get dark, and to glow!
The glow got harder to capture on camera as it got darker
A short video of the glow. For links click here and here.
That was my day at the volcano! Not bad at all!
The next day, we went to the beach again! This time though, we went to Hapuna Beach, one of the few white sand beaches on the island, and it was really nice (the best beach yet!) It also had insanely strong and high waves that tried to beat a person up.
I was happy!
On the way back, I took these photos of the sunset! January 2, 2016
The next day was ziplining day!!! I was super excited for this! The place we went to was just outside of Hilo, on the other side of the island, so it was a bit of a drive to get out there, but definitely worth it! Before we started, we took a walk through the gardens in the area...
Lots of geckos everywhere!
This particular ziplining course went over rivers and waterfalls, and the first few lines were tandem, so I went together with mom, although she zipped along much faster than me!
*Taken while on the zipline*
Suspension bridge!
Really nice scenery!!
After ziplining we took a bit of a drive, went to Akaka Falls, the Mauna Loa macademia factory, and then finally took the drive up to Mauna Kea to the visitors center of the observatory for some stargazing. You couldn't go up all the way without 4WD and they wouldn't let anyone up after sunset anyway. Our night was good timing because it was really clear, and no moon, so we saw so much!! A few 'shooting stars' too!
Along the drive
In Akaka Park
Akaka Falls
No explanation needed, right?
The following day, we went back to Hapuna Beach again for some more sunshine and playing in the water. The waves were fun and may have induced random maniacal laughter (in my case). That night we went out for Japanese food (I was feeling deprived).
The next day, my second last full day, was supposed to be a hiking day. I had chosen a hike that would be easy, and wasn't in the rainforest (due to concerns about mosquitoes carrying dengue fever). It was supposed to follow the coastline from a historical park and a beach down into another beach, but when we got there, we found out from a ranger that the beach on the far end was closed due to dengue and they didn't advise doing the hike either. Boo. I was sad. So instead, we took a walk through the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Park. With the brochure, it was a self-guided tour, and I took all kind od interesting pictures. I also spent a lot of time picking my way over the volcanic rock and looking in the tide pools at various colorful (and not-so-colorful) fish, and there were a number of dark little crabs as well. And of course, I admired the rocks as well...
After that we took a drive and made a number of short stops. We went into a honey place where we were able to sample a few different kinds of the local honey. It was a really small place but was still interesting even if it was nowhere near to the size and didn't have nearly the same variety of products as the honey place I visited in NZ. We also visited a place that was supposed to be the resting place for some of the local dolphin population ( we think we may have spotted a couple fins way out in the water). In this area, the rocks were crawling with all kinds of crabs that blended in really well with the dark rocks they were walking and jumping on. Also saw some really colorful birds there too!
Dolphin resting location
That evening, we ended up back in Kona, where we spent a little bit of time going through a market and taking a peek through a shopping area, before finding a spot for our dinner. The restaurant we went to on this evening, again had outdoor seating, and we were able to wait for our dinner while watching the most colorful sunset of our trip. We also go to listen to some live reggae music.
Sunset January 5, 2016
For the last full day, we made it yet another beach day! Last chance to catch that sunshine and enjoy those brutal waves!
My last sunset in Hawaii (January 6, 2016)
The next day , I had to catch my flight early in the morning, but I had a few hours wait in Honolulu, so I wandered around the airport shops for a little bit and was consistently shocked by the RIDICULOUS prices of things. Seriously...$4 for 500mL of water? Really???!
I arrived back at Kansai airport the evening of the next day (again brutal time change). I was able to breeze my way through immigration thanks to having special re-entry with my residence card to Japan (it took maybe 5 minutes total because I didn't have to wait in line) Special line...felt like having a superpower!! But then I had to wait over 30 minutes for my luggage to make its way down. Figures. When I got out of the security area, I made my way down to figure out if I would take the train or bus back to Kobe and as I was looking at the schedule, I heard an "excuse me" from behind me, and when I turned around, there was a camera and microphone in my face. Without even being asked, I was suddenly being questioned by a TV crew about why I was in Japan, where I was going to go and what I would do. Not the kind of thing you really want to do after spending a rather long time on the plane. Not to mention other Japanese people started taking pictures. I'm not a huge fan of that particular type of situation.
I spent the rest of my weekend in Kobe, and went into Osaka as well to do a little bit of that shopping I'd been talking about at the beginning of this post. Of course, I was also able to catch a couple of street lives (although it felt kind of chilly after getting back from Hawaii. One of the street lives I saw was
フタリシズカ (Futari Shizuka), the pair of boys who play the piano, who I first heard on my spring vacation. Interestingly enough, this time, I went to talk to them and Yuma, (who seems like the friendlier of the two) talked with me a lot, and even started out with 久しぶり (long time, no see) He also introduced me by name to his partner (which really surprised me, because I didn't actually talk with them in person last time...I just followed them on twitter and had replied to a message that they sent after that) But I guess that's kind of Japanese style. They were also surprised that I was older than them, because apparently I "look so young" (they're 22). I had also been planning to go see some of the evening illuminations in Osaka, but because I was feeling really tired from jetlag by the time the evenings rolled around (and the temperature didn't help either) I decided not to go and do that this time. But I'm sure there will definitely be other times in the future to do that.
And I do believe, that pretty much concludes the highlights of my winter vacation this year!!
