Spread love and fairydust

LOVE Japan HEART

I thought the cube-shaped watermelon was just a joke from the Simpsons. But, No! they are for real and they do cost about $100- crazy!

Spent most of the year on Sado-ga-shima and Island off the Niigata coast (Northern Honshu). It was isolated but very beautiful and a perfect contrast to Tokyo. Some parts of the island made you feel like you had stepped into a time machine.

It could get a little lonely at times in the winter but night snowboarding, hot ramen and onsen kept us sane.

The low time for me was November but I think more because my Grandfather died. Coming back from Thailand after the tsu was also really hard- bit of a shock.

I went to the mainland nearly every weekend but i began to appreciate the island more and more. It has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world... except for the concrete and garbage on the beaches.

Keito and watashi near Acadomori

Johnny and Chibo Wales Johnny and Chibo are amazing people who helped me so much. They were like my parents in Japan but also great friends. Going to their house felt like going home and i always lose track of time while we talked and drank late into the night. We often went skating around the island and then they did a mean bbq too. Johnny helped so much with my art as well. They have done so many amazing things like working with Kodo and touring the world with them, canoeing around Canada through the ice.. they are both awesome.

PROS of JAPAN-

People are kind, polite and friendly, you can snowboard there, you stand out there so you get attention e.g. strangers want to be your friend, there is far less crime there, there are lots of cool festivals and traditions, the Language Looks and sounds cool, wicked fashions and everything is my size! even trouser legs! , delicious food, beautiful landscapes, cartoons are works of art, the old buildings are beautiful, Temples are mysterious, transport etc runs efficiently, the towns are very clean, onsen- public hot baths from volcanic springs, the seasons change obviously from a hot hot summer to a cold snowy winter, the people are Beautiful, and in many ways more open-minded....

CONS of JAPAN

People are more conservative in their outlook and surpress emotions, so they are easy to get to know on a superficial level but it's hard to get to know the real person, the New buildings are ugly, you stand out so you get attention e.g. wierdos follow you at the beach and everybody knows your every move, the Language is bloody difficult, concrete is everywhere (river beds, beaches, mountain sides, villages... everywhere), beaches are very dirty, women get a raw deal there, people drive everywhere (in rural areas), people work much you feel they have forgotten how to kick back and ENJOY life..... oh and earthquakes and Typhoons r cons too..

There are so many contradictions and dichotomies and it's hard to explain but that's what makes it so exciting!!

Kyoto no ame

dancing in the rain outside a cafe in kyoto. it rained so much so had to have a bit of a dance as was invigorating and was slightly eccentric behaviour but everyone in the cafe laughed and clapped when i went back inside .. Maybe they thought i was a lunatic, maybe not but was so much fun. i loved kyoto.

posted by Uma the Puma @ 7:31 PM