Japan part 5

Anybody reading is probably quite bored by now so I won't say much more, just this, Japan is great, the Japanese people are very nice (on a whole), slightly shy but very forgiving to my mistakes. I hugged my Japanese friends for the first time this year( they had told my wife that they were dissappointed last year because I didnt hug them and they had expected me too becasue they thought it was an English thing to do) their reaction was very nice, one of them was very very hesitant but once I had hugged him he seemed to relax, and it made them all smile, hugging is wonderful, I think more Japanese parents, friends and relatives should hug each other, it makes people feel warm and wanted. If you get a chance check out Free Hugs I found this site after seeing a music video on the English man In Japan blogsite. Lets finish with some pictures of Japan, various places I visited while there in August.

Japan part 4

After the Yosakoi festival we went white water rafting on the Yoshino river, it was quite an exciting experience, I even discovered what it would feel like to drown, even if only for a few seconds, honestly I nearly panicked, I came off the raft in a very rough part of water and thought that I wasn't going to surface, I had just swallowed a huge mouthful of water when thankfully I popped to the top, thank God for life jackets:) I was rescued by a very tiny Japanese girl how she pulled me into her boat I will never know, it was a great day, next time I would like to try kayaking but preferably on calmer water I am not brave enough to do the extreme stuff:) . I also went to Tosashimizu to watch a fantastic fireworks (hanabe) display and the next day me and several friends went to a beach and I went snorkling for the first time in my life, it took me a while to get used to breathing through my mouth the correct way but it was well worth it, watching the fish was such an amazing thing for me, I was trying to annoy the puffer fish so that they would inflate but didn't manage it;) my friends got sunburnt but sensibly I wore a tshirt so only my arms and my calfs got burnt, stay out of the sun kids...

Japan part 3

This Japan post will have a disjointed timeline so please forgive me, next up I will talk about a pleasant meeting. Thanks to the wonders of blogging I met a very lovely lady, I won't mention her real name but she runs several blogs under the name Obachan. My wife and I had arranged to meet Obachan after reading her blog for several months, her blog always keeps us in touch of the things going on in and around the city of Kochi which just happens to be my wifes home town. Anyway we met on our first full day in Kochi after arriving the day before from England. We had a pleasant conversation and then went to a cafe for a drink before Obachan had to go to work. It was quite a pleasant cafe and I was enjoying the company very much. I was sat on what is best described as a long bench seat against a wall, the seat was about 3 metres long and at the far end of the seat was a young lady sitting on her own enjoying her drink. I leant forward on the seat which at that point proved not to be attatched to the wall and nearly tipped the unfortunate young lady onto the floor, much to the amusement to my new found friend and my wife... I apologise deeply to that lady. The next time I saw Obachan I was quite abrupt in my departure, she must of thought me ignorant at the time (and I have explained the incident to her since then) what happened was, I bumped into Obachan in the town centre, she stopped to talk with me but I was a bit distracted and made my excuses and left, the real reason I left so quickly was that I was desperate for the toilet but was to embaressed to tell her so, I only just made it in time otherwise I would of been a very wet Englishman indeed. If you get a chance please visit Obachan's site, and congratulate her on passing some important exams that she wanted to do:) CONGRATULATIONS OBACHAN I knew you would pass:)

Japan part 2

Heres a picture of me mid move;) to prove that I actually did dance, I was so hot and most of the people I danced with seemed to be questioning my sanity in wearing a thick black costume, I have never sweated so much in my life but seeing people smiling at me a taking photos was well worth the discomfort, next time I think I will go as a fat Tarzan though:) Loin cloth and nothing else, I think there would be some very traumatized people in the crowds if I did that.

Japan part 1

Ok lets start with Yosakoi:) on the top left is ME, then a beautiful young lady, then another beautiful lady in one of my favourite costumes of the festival and the dance troupe that I danced with:)

And here is another of my favourite costumes I loved this dance troupe.

Anyway the festival was fantastic as usual and I met some wonderful people, hopefully I can take part again in the future, time will tell. I will do a few posts in a row, it is alot easier to read small posts:)