Nice Mantis

Here's a little uninvited guest we found just outside the window today. At least some of the bugs here are friendly. There seem to be a fair number of mantis around, and during the afternoon, you can see them on the side of the road soaking up the sun.

Side-Trip

Today we decided to take a little side-trip to Ashizuri-misaki, a small peninsula at the very southernmost part of Shikoku. We went with our new friends, Koji and Koji. They're our campsite neighbors, and joined our "BBQ" late last night. They were more than generous with gifts of food, tequila, and music. I'm astounded everyday by the generosity of the people here. We tried to return the favor a bit and offered to take them along for the afternoon to see the cape with it's lighthouse and temple. Having no car themselves, both Kojis were thankful to be able to join us and get out of the oppressive midday sun. This is a picture of the coast at Ashisuri, and below Koji and Koji at on of Shikoku's famed 88 temples.

Camping with Kiwis

This weekend we're camping with a few of Hania's friends who are also doing the JET program in Ehime. This is Sarah and Amy, both from New Zealand, and both living in towns near Mikame. Hania and I hang out with them quite a bit, especially when the "Japanese experience" starts getting a little too intense. Below are a few shots of Oki beach, the place we're staying for the weekend. We're in Kochi, the prefecture south of Ehime, known more as a holiday destination than anything else. It's beautiful here with the white sand and warm water, and the waves here are huge, supposedly because of a typhoon offshore. I guess the only thing that could be a bit better are our camping skills. We have the necessary tents, food, and beer (thank god), but don't really have anything to cook with or any sort of a lighting for nighttime. Oh well, better luck next time.

Cheesy Sunset Pic

Amazing sunset last night. This is for all you back at school. Sorry guys.

Takami, Fish Master

Nami left Hania with an unexpected message last night. She said that Takami was calling in sick at work the next day, and was going to go fishing... with me. The next morning, at exactly 11, Takami arrived in his Land Cruiser with all of his fishing equipment ready to go. He said he was going to take me into the mountains to go fishing for Japanese Black Bass in his favorite lake. I've never fished for bass before, so I was excited. Along the way we stopped in "The Big City" (Yawatahama) for a quick udon lunch, then headed to his parent's home in Ozu to get the boat. Soon after we were on our way. We arrived about 45 minutes later to a huge turquoise lake in the middle of a steep valley. This here is Takami's first catch, though he managed to get 11 more before the sun had set. Below is a Bluegill that I caught, one of a respectable nine fish that I hooked.

Mukade!

Mikame is wonderful. I really love it, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, except for this. This is the Mukade, or 8" (20 cm) centipede that haunts southern Japan. Apparently they love our house, and that's not good. Hania told me the girl that lived here before us was bitten so many times she had to buy a raised bed to replace the Japanese futon she was sleeping on. (I guess sleeping on the floor makes you easier to prey on.) And it's bite isn't just like a bee-sting either. I've been told the Mukade packs quite a punch. When bitten, the area around the bite swells up and turns bright red, then the venom goes for your lymph-nodes, while finally leaving you with a fever for the next few days. It has even been known to take-out the odd old person or baby. As you can tell, I'm pretty scared of them, and it doesn't help that I've already seen three in the house. I killed each of them, but it was more work that I'd expected. Unless you hit the head, they just get angry and run around as you try to smash them. The best way so far is to kill them with hot water. They die quickly and in one piece, but how often do you have a pot of water boiling in the middle of the night?

BBQ, Japanese Stylee

Nami and Takami, the couple who took me ika fishing, have been great hosts and friends so far. Hania met Nami through her work, and Takami is Nami's husband. He works at the local nuclear power-plant. (I hear they do tours, but I guess he's working in the super-secret section, so he can't really show me around.) Anyway, they have shown us around Mikame, introduced us to many of the people here, loaned us a bike, and now, to top it off, they invited us to join them for a big BBQ at a new park that sits atop a hill overlooking town. A couple of their friends from Matsuyama came down to join us while we stuffed ourselves with fresh ika, matsutake, eggplant, onion, pork, sweet potato, and whatever else we could get on the grill. We left soon after dark, but not before lighting some fireworks to properly end the evening.

Ika Fishing

Today a couple of Hania's friends invited me to go squid fishing. I couldn't have been happier. See, years and years ago back in Federal Way (my hometown near Seattle), I used to be the only white kid that would drive down to Redondo pier late at night to learn the skilled art of squid-jigging. My many Korean-American mentors eventually became impressed as I could hold my own, and now it seems those lessons still pay off. This evening Nami, Takami, and I went to Shuki, the town just north of us, and fished for squid ("ika" in Japanese) from the big concrete breakwater at the mouth of the harbor. We gave up fishing around 10 o'clock, and returned home with three large squid. Hania was still awake when we got back, so we cleaned the squid and made calamari and sashimi. I'm hoping we do this again soon.

Big Picture

Hania and I drove around a bit today so that I could get a better look at the place. The first picture here is Mikame town. This is where Hania works, and where we go for fresh fish, groceries, gifts, and pretty much anything else. The second picture shows the entrance to the bay in Mikame. The floating pens in the water are where they raise Spanish mackerel, flounder, and sea bream. Modern aquaculture was invented here, and this seems to be the biggest local business. The last picture here was taken at a hilltop temple that looks over Shuki, the town to the north. It's a beautiful place, but there's a plant there that burns the unused parts of the fish for fertilizer. It's a pretty smart way to get cheap fertilizer for the local farmers, but when the wind blows in the wrong direction it smells horrible... something like sardines cooked in parmesan with yeast.

Kaki Tree

This is the kaki tree behind our house. The fruit is really sweet and is a one of the fall foods that is popular here. There's also a few kiwi vines, and lots of mikan trees just outside our door.

First Impressions

Hania worked today, so my first day in Mikame was spent alone, wandering the mountain roads on her bike. I spent most of my time trying to figure out how the town is arranged, which is tricky because Mikame is actually a central town surrounded by a number of fishing villages to the north and south, each of which is on the same large bay. We are living in Nigyu, about 5 minutes north of Mikame. The picture here shows Hania's house on the lower-left. It's the white, two-storey apartment building behind the school. It's really nice here, lots of forest, farms, beaches, mikans, and tons of bugs. This is a beetle I saw today in the forest. This place is definitely a welcome change from the city.

The Road to Mikame

I just arrived in Mikame after 14 hours on the plane and another six on the trains here in Japan. It was pretty miserable, being as I haven't slept for two days, but it was all worthwhile getting to spend four hours on Japan's fastest train: the Nozomi. This is a picture of the train that I took from Tokyo to Okayama, where I transfered to Matsuyama, and from there finally took the train to Yawatahama, the closest train station to Mikame. From Yawatahama, Hania and a couple of her friends took me on a 20 minute drive back to Mikame, where I was given a short, nighttime tour of the town. Mikame looks amazing, but a bit small. Hania said there are only 8,000 people living here, and only 800 in the village where her house is (Nigyu). I think it's going to be a good three months.

Auf Wiedersehen Hamburg

Tomorrow I leave Hamburg for Mikame-cho, a small town on Shikoku, Japan's fourth-largest and most rural main-island. I'm taking a much-needed, three-month break from the Miami Ad School to recharge, work on design and advertising projects, and spend time with my girlfriend, Hania. She's teaching English at local schools as part of the JET program, and will be living in Mikame for a year. I think this is a good chance to see a part of the country that I'd otherwise probably never visit.